3.1 What A Couple Needs

‘The weather at the end of spring is nice. I should make the students’ final exam questions before the vacation. The midterm scores were too bad, so I should make the finals easy, right? Spring weather is nice. I should finish the students’ grades before the vacation… Wait. What am I saying?’

Delphinel, walking through the campus, gave up thinking and looked at the sky. Spring was in full bloom, and most of the petals had flown away. Yes. Soon the fruit, the result of life, will…

‘Bubbling reproduction… No, no, no! Think good thoughts! Be wholesome! Wholesome!’

Delphinel desperately tried to chase away the sticky thoughts in her mind by turning her gaze to the students’ poor reports. Ah, her blood pressure rose automatically. Apparently, there are days when freshmen help with her mental health.

It had been several days since Delphinel mixed bodies with Red.

Yet the events of that day kept bringing fresh sensations into her mind.

Until now, the s*xual act she knew involved g*nitals interlocking and exchanging bodily fluids. A biological action that might accompany s*xual satisfaction during the reproductive process.

However, what her body remembers, what keeps repeating in her mind…

“Ahh, ah, ahh! More, more, do it, ah… huh!”

“Delphi, Nel… Are you okay?”

“No, it’s strange, ah, but still, don’t go… ah!”

She even remembered wrapping her legs around his waist.

Delphinel clutched her head again.

‘What kind of disgraceful act did I do? Just having the s*men inside should be enough!’

How she uttered nonsense in such a lascivious voice, how much she clung to him, how many scratch marks she left on his thick forearms… Every hour, no, every second since that day had been a series of regrets and agonies.

When Delphinel sighed deeply.

Someone spoke to her.

“Professor Redermoon?”

“Ah! …Oh, no. Hello!”

Delphinel awkwardly smiled and turned her head.

The person who approached her from behind was Professor Larson, who until last year held the title of the youngest professor at Central Academy.

Since her graduate student days, he had consistently picked fights with her, saying, ‘Why didn’t you come to our lab? Basic Magic Mechanics is known for not making money.’ She thought he was annoying.

‘Seeing him in daylight, he looks refreshingly handsome. Wasn’t he said to be a young master from a well-off family?’

He somehow reminded her of the young master image from an erotic maid novel, which made him even more annoying.

Unaware of this, Larson exaggeratedly spread his arms and laughed.

“It’s the first time I’ve seen you greet me, Professor Redermoon. Is there some good news? Ah, have you already finished the final exam questions?”

“Not yet. It’s not easy balancing them with the midterm scores.”

“Ha ha, the students have been complaining that you made the midterms too difficult. It’s a common mistake for new professors…”

“Yes, the department head scolded me, and I reflected on it. Do you have anything else to say?”

She intended to respond coldly, but Professor Larson raised his sleek lips and spoke.

“Of course! Ah, I really wanted to ask. You were known for your diligence since your graduate student days, but suddenly you took sick leave a few days ago. Is your body okay now?”

“…”

Yes. A few days ago, after having s*x with Red and falling asleep as if fainted. Delphinel couldn’t even get up from her seat.

She thought the female protagonists in erotic novels were exaggerating when they said their waist hurt the day after intercourse.

‘It wasn’t an exaggeration; it was actually understated! Not just the waist, but the whole body hurts!’

Using muscles and bones she didn’t normally use in daily life, it was natural for her, who usually only sat, to suffer.

‘Even once is exhausting, how do people who do it multiple times walk around? Is it because I lack exercise? Should I try exercising… No, no, no! I don’t even know if I’ll have more s*x, why should I exercise!’

“Professor Redermoon?”

“Ah, ah, ah, no! I… I fell while reaching for the top shelf of the bookcase! Silly me!”

“…Is that something to be embarrassed about?”

“No, it’s not! Then I’ll be on my way—”

“Yes. About the anniversary party next month. Do you have a partner?”

“No one…”

29 years of a solo life. She has never danced with a man, even at a party she was dragged to against her will. Therefore, Delphinel instinctively answered ‘no’ when asked, only to later recall Red’s face. Is it common sense to bring a spouse to school events that allow partner participation? But before she could ask that, Professor Larson took the lead.

“Judging by your hesitation, you don’t seem very close with your husband?”

He had an annoying look in his eyes, as if expecting an interesting story. Delphinel had no intention of getting caught up in that.

“Well, honestly, we’re not that close.”

“Oh dear! Is there some problem—”

“There isn’t.”

“…Pardon?”

“My husband and I come from different backgrounds, so we’ve agreed to respect each other’s social positions outside of shared spaces. That’s why I didn’t think of bringing him to my workplace events.”

“…….”

“Please refrain from making rude judgments.”

She thought this was a wise response. There was no reason to smile at someone poking into her family affairs.

But the other party was more shameless than expected. Professor Larson’s lips curled crookedly.

“Respect, you say. But to survive as a professor at the Central Academy, you need your spouse’s help. At least showing that you maintain a household ‘like others’ can earn you trust from the higher-ups.”

“Such narrow-minded trust is—”

“Something you decline? Ah, you’re really young!”

“There’s no need to beat around the bush and call me naive. I left the social world because I hated that rhetoric. What’s your point?”

“Ha ha ha!”

Professor Larson raised both hands. It was a declaration of surrender.

“It’s nothing. I was going to ask you to be my event partner.”

“You want me to maintain a household and yet turn me into an adulteress?”

“What are you saying? The school anniversary event isn’t a social gathering aimed at matchmaking… Since I’m already disliked, I might as well say it all. I asked because I wondered if you might have separated from your husband.”

“What? What an absurd thing to say!”

Her resolve to ignore whatever the annoying guy said was shattered in an instant. She never imagined he would be this irritating.

Professor Larson shrugged.

“I know it’s rude. But this is a small community, and rumors are already circulating. People are bound to gossip since you two don’t even have meals or go for walks together, and your husband never comes to pick you up after work. I’m just being honest with you. Moreover…”

Professor Larson lowered his voice.

“There’s even a ridiculous theory going around that you contracted him as an experimental subject.”

“That’s an outrageous insult! We are a normal and equal couple!”

“Of course, I believe you. He must have plenty of qualities only you know, since you chose him.”

“…Professor Larson, you really remind me of Edward!”

“Pardon? Edward? Who’s that?”

“He’s an old friend of mine. Anyway, goodbye!”

Delphinel threw out the harshest insult she could muster and turned her body sharply.

Qualities only you know? In the end, it’s a mockery asking ‘why did you marry such a guy, we see no qualities.’

Anger filled Delphinel’s head.

‘That person is one thing, but why do people watch other couples’ lives? Is a spouse’s role important to survive as a professor at the Academy? Then why don’t they bring spouses to interviews? My ability should be enough!’

Hearing such words made her even less inclined to live a normal life.

If Delphinel cared about others’ views, she would have accepted life as the daughter of a Baron’s family long ago and spent her youth finding a husband. If she failed to find a match before twenty-five, she would have pretended to have always been pious and spent her life in a convent, as many noble children who failed to find spouses often did.

But she couldn’t completely ignore Larson’s nonsense.

‘If suspicion continues… Won’t I really get expelled from the dormitory?’

She was barely hanging on with a lie about living in a dormitory with three or more people, and if it became known that even her marriage was a contract marriage, it would be dangerous.

‘Do I have to act like a couple in front of others? How do you even do that? My parents slept in different rooms every day and attended parties separately, yet no one doubted they were a couple!’

While Delphinel was lost in thought and walking away, Professor Larson’s gaze lingered on her retreating figure for a long time. Perhaps it was because she was looking at the ground as she walked or due to her plain attire and hair, but most passersby didn’t even glance at her. It was the same within the school.

…The rumors about their marriage circulating were Larson’s lies. His handsome lips twisted as he cursed himself.

“Larson, you clueless fool.”

Why was he digging into others’ hearts with obvious lies when he should be saying nice things? Well, he was clumsy in human relationships from the start. That’s why he was paying attention to her, who was even more clumsy yet smart in human relationships. Perhaps he should have acted faster.

“At least if you had shown me the wedding, I wouldn’t have doubted and let go of my feelings, Delphinel.”