Standard Contract Guidelines for a Fraudulent Marriage - Chapter 58

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 58

Was it like that?

Was this right?

Her head was spinning.

Did one feel this disoriented when confronted with an exam written in a foreign language?

But Loerston pretended not to notice Adelia’s confusion and smiled softly.

“Shall we have some dessert?”

***

The next day.

When Adelia arrived at the Laboratory, she found Siern asleep, slumped across his desk.

‘He must have been exhausted…….’

As she glanced around his office, she noticed a worn Blanket draped across one of the coat racks.

It was old, with pilling visible here and there and one corner torn, but it bore the unmistakable marks of frequent use.

‘Just…….’

The moment Adelia reached to drape the Blanket across Siern’s shoulders——

Siern jerked awake and seized her wrist, nearly pulling her over the desk.

“P-Professor?”

Adelia’s eyes widened as she took in Siern’s weary expression.

His chest, still furrowed with a frown as he blinked, nearly brushed against hers.

“Oh.

Siern suddenly released her, as though burned.

His face flushed deeply. His eyes, now fully alert instead of glazed with sleep, widened with bewilderment.

“I’m sorry. A moment—— I mistook you for someone else.”
“Are you…… alright? You seemed very tired…….”
“I was up all night yesterday. That’s all. Anyway, I really dislike having people approach me while I’m asleep. I might hit you without meaning to, so be careful next time.”
“Ah, I understand.”

Of course, anyone would startle if someone appeared beside them while they were asleep, but hit them? Surely not to that extent.

‘So the professor is rather sensitive…… though I suppose if he were unobservant, that would be even more surprising.’

Adelia mentioned that she had only meant to cover him with the Blanket, then hurriedly left the office.

Yet even as she put on her lab coat, a nagging question hung at the back of her mind and wouldn’t let go.

‘Who on earth did he mistake me for?’

When she entered the Laboratory, the Report Abstract of yesterday’s submission had already been reviewed and returned.

Among the researchers, there was a saying that “Professor Siern is not entirely human when it comes to reading papers,” and it seemed there was truth to it.

Difficult as it was to believe—even for a mere abstract, even from a first-year research assistant—that he had finished reading it in a single night.

‘Oh no!’

Adelia carefully turned the cover and bit back a shriek that threatened to escape.

The neatly typed pages were covered in red marks, question marks, queries, and sentences pointing out errors.

‘It was…… that much of a mess?’

“Yes, Professor!”

Adelia jumped at the sound of Siern’s voice entering the Laboratory.

He had just come through the door when he glanced at her startled reaction, then noticed the Report Abstract she’d carelessly tossed aside, and smiled with what looked like mischief.

“Shocked?”
“……May I be honest?”
“That’s up to you.”

Adelia’s shoulders sagged as though the strength had drained from them, her mouth hanging open slightly, the corners of her lips drooping.

“I’m quite devastated, Professor.”
“Everyone who enters my Laboratory says something like that at least once, so it doesn’t move me much…… But think of it as a process you have to go through.”
“A process to go through? I’m taking this seriously. The truth is, I……something I love…… ”

Adelia flailed her arms, unable to find the words, then exhaled as though the ground had opened beneath her.

“……I was actually beginning to wonder if this isn’t just not suited for me!”
“If you were merely wondering, you’d be taking it less hard. Do you know how many students came to me after their first Report Abstract review with glazed eyes, saying they wanted to quit?”

He spoke of stripping away the spirit of first-year students like chaff as though it were nothing.

Adelia said:

“I’ve been having thoughts about whether I should be one of them too.”
“Nonsense. You’re not the type to think like that.”

Sting.

Hit where it mattered, Adelia bristled indignantly.

“How did you know that, Professor?”
“If you’d been the type, I wouldn’t have admitted you to my Laboratory in the first place. Now, shouldn’t we stop chatting? That report is due in one week.”
“One week?”
“Why, is that too long?”
“That……!”

If she protested that a week was hardly generous and objected that it was too short, she had an ominous feeling the deadline would be reduced to four days.

Something about awakening the researcher’s spirit.

“……It’s perfectly fine.”

Having surrendered, Adelia straightened her back, and Siern nodded in satisfaction.

“Once you submit that report, you needn’t come to the Laboratory for the rest of the semester.”
“What? Why? There’s still plenty of time remaining.”
“If you start new research mid-semester, what happens during break? At first, everyone promises they’ll diligently come in during the holidays, conduct Specimen Analysis, and properly maintain the experimental subjects. But does it work out? Absolutely not.”

He must have had various experiences. Adelia thought.

Perhaps when he returned to the Laboratory after the break, unmanaged, undiscovered mold had covered the walls, or something like that had happened.

“Then the remaining hours…….”
“I’ll cover them roughly.”

Adelia was about to ask if that wasn’t illegal but chose to keep quiet instead.

Partly because she had grown accustomed to Siern’s methods, but more because the joy of being able to travel with Loerston without complications outweighed her caution.

In truth, if Siern hadn’t said such a thing, Adelia would have been the first to beg and plead for a vacation.

“I understand perfectly, Professor.”
“In exchange, if the report’s quality is substandard, not only will you lose your remaining hours—you can expect no break at all.”
“Gasp, yes.”

Siern clicked his tongue twice, a signal to hurry along.

Adelia rushed off to observe Specimen 9, now in a stable phase, and began adjusting the Microscope.

She had to write that report properly, no matter what!

On any other occasion, Adelia would have begged to stay at the Laboratory, saying she didn’t even need a vacation, but now the mere thought of traveling with Loerston made her heart soar.

It was a remarkable change, though one Adelia herself had not yet recognized.

***

“Sir, a sudden vacation like this…… What will you do about the Assembly?”
“The agendas I proposed have been accepted and are under discussion. Even if I were to be away for half a year or a year, three weeks will change nothing, Rudolf.”
“But the Southern Archipelago…… The sea routes are perilous there. The weather is unpredictable. Perhaps it would be better…….”
“Rudolf.”

At Loerston’s quiet voice, Rudolf’s protests ceased abruptly.

He studied his old friend for a long moment, then smiled wryly and patted his shoulder.

“You worry too much.”
“I am in your service, sir. It is my duty to worry over every thread.”
“I know. I know, but do it in moderation. At this rate, you’ll die young.”

Rudolf fell into a subtle silence without answering. Then he asked:

“But madam has not finished her semester. Is it possible for her to travel with you?”
“Adelia said she would speak to her professor about it. If he refuses, I’ll step in myself.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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