Chapter 5.1 – The Secret of This World

“Mu, I’m going for morning training. Keep sleeping.”  

“Mmhh… Ugh.”  

Elexion drew the curtains to keep the bright morning sunlight from disturbing Muriel’s sleep, kissed her cheek, and left the room.  

Too tired to respond properly, she mumbled and, after a while, managed to get up with a groan.  

“Bag, where’s my bag?”  

Last night, Muriel hadn’t only brought wine. From a small handbag, she took out a large potion, opened it, and drank it all at once.  

“It tastes like orange. It was expensive, but worth the money!”  

Satisfied with the potion’s effect, which blew away her hangover, Muriel raised her arms high.  

After putting on comfortable clothes on her refreshed body, she sat in a chair.  

The results of her experiment, which she threw herself into, were fruitful. The S-point rose when Elexion felt pleasure or satisfaction.  

“There were, of course, many happy moments in my childhood, but there were also several sad events.”  

The Duchess had been bedridden almost the entire year she died, her health deteriorating after Elexion’s birth.  

The late king and queen, who cherished their grandson, passed away from illness while Muriel and Elexion were attending the academy.  

As time passed and he aged, he gradually overcame his grief and found complete happiness after the engagement ceremony.  

“In romance novels, it’s always the heroine who saves the crumpled male lead. From now on, I should think of S-points as Xion Points.”  

Feeling relieved that some of her questions were answered, Muriel nodded and brought up the S-point window.  

Thanks to her efforts in the greenhouse, her points had risen by a whopping 70. At this rate, she could gather a significant amount of S-points by autumn.  

“But isn’t the number of 19+ scenes too much, humanly speaking? Even after the Crown Princess’s pregnancy, the original novel skipped that part, so there’s no description.”  

In her childhood, periods not described in the novel passed very peacefully and uneventfully.  

However, after the engagement ceremony, while her family and acquaintances faced no particular issues, Muriel lived through one hectic day after another.  

Honestly, it was amazing how Elexion managed to restrain himself all this time after becoming an adult.  

“This can’t go on. I can’t keep relying on potions.”  

Determined to survive, Muriel decided to exercise. As a romance novel heroine, she had to pave her own way.  

***

“Mu, is it good?”  

“Yeah. Exercising and then eating makes it taste amazing.”  

“Eat a lot. I made a whole pot.”  

Elexion learned how to make nourishing food for Muriel, who started exercising to become healthier.  

Training couldn’t be done by someone else. Feeding her healthy food was the quickest way to improve her skills.  

As a result, Henry, who was supposed to have free time while the Duke was on a business trip, became very busy.  

“Sir, didn’t you come by yesterday too?”  

“Yes, I did. Are there any new herbs today?”  

The herbal shop clerk discreetly moved aside to avoid being caught by Henry, who was scanning the counter with eagle eyes. But he couldn’t fool someone who had spent decades as a royal coachman and a coachman for the Duke’s estate.  

“Oh my! Mandrake has just been stocked! Judging by its size, it must be at least 50 years old! Hahaha!”  

Henry, with a heavy purse, cheerfully grabbed the box of mandrake. It was popular as an ingredient for nourishing food because it tasted similar to potatoes when cooked. Especially aged ones were very valuable.  

‘Oh no! Regular customers will be furious!’  

Thinking about the complaints from angry customers made the clerk sigh, but he couldn’t refuse the sale.  

True to his employer’s wealth, Henry always paid generously and didn’t buy in large quantities.  

He just expertly picked out the best herb of the day and took it away.  

“Sir, how do you know more about herbs than I, who work at a herbal shop?”  

“I’ve worked 30 years at the royal palace and 25 years at the Duke’s estate. I’ve delivered all sorts of wonderful gifts with these hands. It’s only natural I’ve gained knowledge.”  

“I heard you go to other shops too.”  

“Our young master is busy making nourishing food these days. I’m the one running around buying ingredients.”  

“But Lady Muriel Lake is so healthy she can catch pickpockets with an umbrella. Why does she need nourishing food?”  

“Have you ever thought she’s that healthy because she eats these well?”  

Clicking his tongue, Henry gave a sharp piece of advice to the herbal shop clerk.  

“That’s why you’re still single. Didn’t Margaret from the flower shop reject you? Even our well-born, handsome young master cooks nourishing stew for his lady every day. You can’t assume your childhood friend will accept your confession without effort!”  

The clerk was left speechless by the harsh truth.  

“Come to think of it, our young master was thinking of introducing Margaret to one of the knights from the Five Knight Orders. We owe her for sending flowers to Lady Muriel every time.”  

The clerk turned pale at the unexpected news. The Fifth Knight Order had a young age range among the royal knight orders, with many handsome, unmarried knights.  

“Ah, maybe you should start making an effort. Make herb packs for skin massages. Take herbal tea and help her with the flower shop.”  

With grooming and a barrage of gifts, who knows what might happen, Henry laughed heartily.  

Whether the herbal shop clerk would succeed in escaping the single life was still unknown.  

***

Spring and summer passed, and autumn arrived with a cool breeze.  

The Crown Princess’s belly gradually swelled, and the Crown Prince’s cooking skills improved daily.  

Duke Fredior, who had gone on a diplomatic mission, returned safely, and Elexion took a short vacation to go on a retreat with Muriel.  

With proper exercise and constant nourishment, Muriel could endure longer than before.  

Though she still couldn’t match the stamina of Elexion, an outstanding knight, the frequency of her fainting from exhaustion during their encounters significantly decreased.  

‘This is a great improvement. Yes, indeed!’  

On a day when a cart carrying 200 pumpkins broke down, blocking the main road, the two had no choice but to spend the night at the guild office.  

Having not seen Muriel for a week due to security duties for the autumn harvest festival, Elexion could no longer hold back.  

As a result, the digits of the S-point changed.  

[Notification]  

Congratulations! Your S-point has exceeded 1,000 points!  

Achieving four digits was apparently special, as an automatic notification appeared. She wanted to check the point window, but with Elexion, she had no opportunity.  

‘I’ll do it tomorrow. It’s impossible now!’  

Annoyed by the dress hindering his caresses, his hands hastily undressed her. Despite having already cl*maxed once, he seemed unsatisfied, biting her ear with an intense fervor.  

“Don’t tear it!”  

“I’ll be careful.”  

Worried about damaging her newly tailored silk dress, Muriel warned Elexion firmly. His long fingers slowly navigated between knots and buttons, reaching her bare skin.  

***

As soon as dawn broke, Muriel returned home by carriage and opened the point window.  

With over 1,000 points, a new notice appeared immediately.

[Notification]  

Since your S-point has surpassed 1,000 points, the point usage feature has been unlocked.  

Would you like to use your points now?  

Your current S-points: 1,020 points.  

Muriel hesitated briefly before deciding to use her points.  

The contents of the novel she remembered ended yesterday.  

The accident involving the pumpkin boxes spilling was from the 35th chapter of the free serialization she had read in her previous life.  

Originally, the two witnessed the accident on their way home in a carriage driven by Henry.  

However, Muriel deliberately left early under the excuse of working overtime, as she didn’t want Henry to struggle with maneuvering the large carriage.  

Any reader familiar with regression, possession, or reincarnation novels would wonder: Why not prevent the accident beforehand?  

As a so-called veteran reader in her past life, Muriel had the same thought and tried to prevent unfortunate events in advance.  

After struggling for 22 years, she discovered the cold, harsh reality.  

Knowing the future didn’t mean she could change everything for the better. Some things could be changed, while others couldn’t.  

Greedy and foolish individuals ignored her warnings and acted recklessly, blinded by immediate gains.  

For this accident, the only thing Muriel could do was ask Elexion to build a temporary barrier beside the main road to prevent injuries.  

With a deep sigh, Muriel decided to use her points, and two options appeared.  

[S-point information accessible to users with over 1,000 points]  

1. Consume 100 points: Discover secrets of this world unknown to you.  
2. Consume 800 points: Access chapters 36 to 55 of <I’ll Be Happy Every Day!>.  

※Minimum S-point usage threshold: 1,000 points.  

Users with less than 1,000 points cannot use the feature.  

However, viewing the point window is an exception.  

Having rules similar to supermarket or credit card points in her previous life, Muriel quickly understood the explanation.  

In essence, if she chose one option and spent points, she would need to accumulate another 1,000 points to access the remaining option.  

“This isn’t even worth debating. It’s much faster to gather 100 points than 800 points.”  

Muriel chose option 1.  

***

[Publication Notice]  

Hello, readers! This is Dalkongkong, the author ^^  

It’s been a while, but I’m back with a new work. Some of you might have seen this during the free serialization…  

<I’ll Be Happy Every Day!> is finally coming out!  

Writing this work was really, really challenging. ㅠㅠㅠ  

During the free serialization, it was an all-ages story, but the publication is now a full 19+ edition.  

In the free version, the male lead’s keywords were relatively simple, but switching to 19+ added a lot more!  

Originally, it was just #KindMan, #PuppyMan, #GentleMan, but now…  

#SubmissiveDuringDayDominantAtNight, #SchemingMan, #PassionateMan, #SeductiveMan, #DirectMan have been added.  

(While writing, some of these feel like they overlap… ^^;;;)  

The total length is 120 chapters.  

Additional side stories will be registered later, about 5–10 chapters.  

(Since I’m still writing the side stories, the exact length isn’t confirmed yet!)  

I hope you all enjoy reading it. ^^  

P.S.  

Many readers complained in the comments during the love scenes about the sparrow appearing…  

This 19+ edition has no sparrows chirping at all!  

So, please don’t take out your anger on the poor sparrows anymore!  

Sparrows are innocent!  

***

Muriel couldn’t believe it and rubbed her eyes, rereading the notification floating in the air.  

But the contents of the window remained unchanged.  

A full 19+ edition.  

The magical words that explained everything that had happened in one go.  

When she died in her previous life, the work was all-ages, so the title didn’t indicate its mature rating.  

However, during her reincarnation and growth, the official publication had switched the novel’s rating to 19+.  

Typically, when protagonists were young, there wouldn’t be any explicit scenes, so she hadn’t noticed until now.  

“With keywords like ‘Scheming Man’ and ‘Seductive Man,’ it’s no wonder I kept falling for it. How could a weak and innocent sunshine heroine compete with that?”  

Feeling frustrated and helpless, Muriel smacked the blanket repeatedly.  

After struggling for a while, she slowly closed her eyes and clasped her hands together.  

The five worlds given to a virtuous soul.  

Even if she had known about the full 19+ edition, her choice wouldn’t have changed.  

The male lead she loved most in her previous life was Elexion Fredior.