Chapter 9 (Part 1)

Leonardo blinked at the sight of the guest who had come to his laboratory early in the morning.  

It was someone he hadn’t expected, someone he was glad to see, but for some reason, he felt awkward meeting their gaze at this moment.  

As he was about to say something, Grace abruptly thrust a small handbag at his chest.  

Leonardo, who caught it reflexively, looked bewildered.  

“There’s nothing urgent enough to bring this early in the morning… No, please, come in first.”  

Leonardo had intended to ask why she came so early, but he realized belatedly that no matter her answer, it would be troublesome if others overheard.  

When he stepped aside to let Grace in, she strode boldly into the room.  

Click. The door closed, and after confirming that the soundproofing magic was working properly, Leonardo asked again,  

“Sir Lowell. What brings you here at this hour?”  

It was earlier than expected, but more than that, after the last time they parted, he hadn’t thought she would visit his laboratory of her own accord.  

At his question, Grace instinctively narrowed her eyes.  

“Am I somewhere I shouldn’t be right now?”  

“That’s… not what I meant.”  

Caught off guard by her sharp reaction, Leonardo stammered, which was unlike him.  

Even so, Grace’s fierce gaze didn’t soften.  

“Then what exactly did you mean?”  

Though her reaction was sharper than usual, it was still gentler than when they used to hate each other, so Leonardo quickly began to think.  

Why was Grace acting like this?  

Only a few seconds passed as he pondered, but Grace fired back again.  

“Why aren’t you answering?”  

At that moment, her reaction reminded him of someone he lived with when they were particularly sensitive, and Leonardo blurted out without thinking,  

“Do you like lemon pound cake?”  

“…What did you just say?”  

To summarize the result, Leonardo’s sudden offer of pound cake was a successful strategy.  

Momentarily speechless from his absurd suggestion, Grace blinked rapidly before plopping into a chair with a pouty face, saying, 

“I’ll try it.”  

Leonardo quickly instructed the chef to prepare a lemon pound cake and then asked again,  

“Is there something the matter?”  

At his question, Grace hesitated for a moment before speaking.  

“Did I… ever tell you that I might have stomachaches?”  

Leonardo searched his memory at her question.  

It wasn’t something important, so it had passed by fleetingly, but it seemed like she might have mentioned it.  

Still, Leonardo nodded as if he remembered clearly.  

“Yes, is something wrong?”  

At his question, Grace hesitated again.  

Aside from her childhood, Becky, her close maid, was the only one aware of her menstrual cycle.  

Ever since she considered herself grown, she hadn’t even mentioned menstruation to her mother.  

The idea of discussing it with someone else—especially a man like Leonardo—filled her with strong resistance.  

‘Besides, he’s not even my lover!’  

Of course, he wasn’t her lover, but in some ways, they were comrades who had experienced even more together.  

Still, talking about this felt like sharing something excessively private, and that made her hesitate even more.  

“Sir Lowell. For me to understand you better—”  

As she hesitated, Leonardo urged her again.  

At his words, Grace squeezed her eyes shut and then blurted out in rapid-fire speech,  

“It’s because of menstruation. It was originally supposed to start next week, but maybe due to stress, it started suddenly. I tend to have severe menstrual cramps, so I rely on medicine, but thinking about you having to go through this in my body makes me uncomfortable and makes me wonder if it’s really necessary. So, what I’m trying to say is, can’t we just keep taking the potion on time during this period?”  

Her words were so fast that it was doubtful she even took a breath.  

But the conclusion of her lengthy explanation was straightforward.  

“You mean you want to maintain your original body?”  

“Yes. Sir Leonardom you don’t need to go through something like this.”  

Leonardo fell silent at her words.  

Menstruation. By definition, a physiological phenomenon where a mature woman’s ut*rus periodically bleeds.  

…As he recalled this, Leonardo couldn’t hide his unusual nervousness as he looked at Grace, who seemed visibly uneasy in front of him.  

Delia had occasionally been sensitive like this, so he had suspected, and it seemed his guess was correct.  

‘As Sir Lowell said, this isn’t something I need to experience, but…’  

If they kept taking the potion to maintain their original bodies, there was no telling what consequences might arise.  

Was it worth taking such a risk just because of menstruation?  

“I understand what you’re saying, Sir Lowell.”  

“Then, will you do as I ask?”  

Grace’s face lit up with hope at his response, but Leonardo shook his head.  

Her sharp gaze returned immediately at his refusal, after he had seemed to agree.  

“What’s the problem now?”  

In a calm voice, Leonardo replied,  

“First of all, I can’t guarantee that your body will be fine after taking the potion continuously. Moreover, we don’t know when this situation will be resolved.”  

At the mention of her body’s condition, Grace flinched slightly.  

That was a field she knew nothing about.  

‘And it’s not something I can discuss with anyone else.’  

In this matter, she absolutely needed Leonardo’s help.  

Grace bit her lip anxiously.  

‘No matter what, I don’t want to show him… that!’  

The unpleasant menstrual cramps, the discomfort, and the blood-stained menstrual cloths—while she couldn’t avoid them herself, she had no desire to share such things with Leonardo.  

Leonardo, who had been silently observing her, added,  

“You and I are in the same boat. Even if I learn something private about you, it’s not as if I’ll share it with anyone else…”  

Grace found herself staring at Leonardo, who had delicately referred to it as a “private matter.”  

Suddenly, she remembered the “dream Leonardo” who had held her tightly in a dream.  

“If you take too much of the potion, it might cause other problems, and my first experimental antidote might not work.”  

Smiling faintly, Leonardo handed her a glass bottle he had pushed aside earlier.  

He continued speaking gently,  

“I was wondering how to call you over, so this worked out well.”  

Grace quietly stared at the bottle in her hand, filled with a strangely colored liquid.  

Judging by its color, it looked dangerous to consume, but she already trusted Leonardo implicitly.  

No, she had no choice but to trust him.  

“If I drink this… will it solve the problem?”  

“I can’t guarantee it.”  

As he was about to say more, a knock sounded from the inner room.  

Hearing it, Grace looked at Leonardo, who smiled faintly and stood up.  

“It seems the lemon pound cake I ordered has arrived.”  

When he opened the door, a cake surrounded by a faint glow was set on a side table.  

Grace’s eyes sparkled as she unconsciously swallowed her saliva.  

Noticing this, Leonardo chuckled softly and used magic to bring it outside.  

As he gestured, forks, knives, napkins, and other utensils floated in from all directions and landed neatly on the table.  

It reminded Grace of the magic she had read about in fairy tales as a child, and she muttered,  

“You look like a mage.”  

“I am a mage.”  

Leonardo responded with a smile that seemed to say he found her utterly adorable.  

Realizing what she had just said, Grace’s face turned bright red.  

How foolish must she have sounded, telling a mage that he looked like one?  

But the moment she took a bite of the lemon pound cake with her fork, all her stray thoughts vanished.  

It was, without a doubt, the best lemon pound cake she had ever tasted.  

“It’s delicious!”  

“I’m glad to hear that.”  

Leonardo, watching Grace eat the cake with a contented expression, continued,  

“I understand your concerns, but it’s better if you don’t hide anything from me.”  

At his words, Grace’s fork paused for a brief moment.  

Though she resumed eating as if nothing had happened, Leonardo, who had been watching her closely, noticed that fleeting hesitation.  

‘She must feel guilty because she hasn’t mentioned anything about the dreams yet.’  

Grace, who had devoured an entire piece of cake without a word, wiped her mouth with a napkin.  

Then, looking at him, she said,  

“It’ll be more uncomfortable than you think.”  

“I’ll endure it.”  

Hearing his confident reply, Grace stared at Leonardo for a long time.

Grace looked at him with eyes still filled with unease and asked,  

“Can I… trust you?”  

Her gaze seemed to ask, ‘How can I trust that you won’t harm me?’ Leonardo raised one hand and replied,  

“Why would I have any reason to harm you, Sir Lowell, who is in the same situation as I am? If you still can’t trust me, I’ll swear on mana.”  

Grace, who had been watching his resolute expression, slowly nodded. Then, with a faint smile, she said,  

“I’ll trust you. There’s no need for a mana oath.”  

At her words, Leonardo smiled back at her.  

Seeing him smile, Grace said,  

“Then, instead of Sir Lowell, call me Sir Grace. I’ll call you Sir Leo in return.”  

Hearing Grace’s calm voice, Leonardo suppressed the corners of his lips from curling up and nodded.  

“Yes, Sir Grace.”  

Hearing her name spoken by him felt somehow sweeter than the best cake she had just eaten. Grace smiled brightly.