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“Good morning….”

I could only respond awkwardly to Richard’s greeting.

This wasn’t simply because I harbored feelings of animosity toward him.

Of course, I was glad that I wouldn’t have to meet Richard for the next year, but that was purely because he was the star of <The Princess is Loved.> I was cautious of him, but I had no reason to despise Richard, whom I had just met for the first time yesterday.

As a reader of the original work, if I were to objectively evaluate the character Richard Ertuven, I would say he was a decent guy without any sharp edges, someone you could share a friendship with.

In short, he felt like a pushover.

Richard tends to grant almost every request from those he knows. This doesn’t apply only to the protagonist Elena; it extends to anyone he considers a “friend.”

As a result, there was an episode where a magical tool borrowed by Richard became the cause of an unusual phenomenon that Elena had to resolve.

Later, upon hearing an explanation from a Magic Tower official, it was revealed that the magical tool was an artifact strictly managed by the Twilight Tower, which Richard transferred with the authority of the tower’s lord without any procedure.

From this alone, he could be seen as a character who causes problems, a so-called “cancerous character,” but he also lent the necessary magical tools to Elena endlessly and fulfilled various requests without any conditions, making him a double-edged sword of a friend.

One could think that Richard being infatuated with Elena was the reason behind this, but considering the previous incident, it wouldn’t be wrong to say he had that pushover tendency.

Thus, Richard had been one of the people I thought might be safe to associate with at the Academy when I was contemplating my annulment with Elena.

Well, now that he is engaged to Elena, he has simply become another figure to be wary of.

Unlike yesterday, the sight of Richard’s face didn’t ignite a surge of emotions within me. The absence of Elena here played a significant role, but my mind was clear due to the morning training, and I was under the firm control of rationality.

This meant that I could now converse with Richard as if he were any normal person, but unfortunately, we had just exchanged greetings and hadn’t spoken further.

Richard didn’t look too well, maybe because of the heartache from his unrequited love; he looked worse than when I first saw him.

His previously neat appearance seemed disheveled overnight; his hair was messy and unkempt, as if he hadn’t had a good night’s sleep, and there were dark circles under his eyes while they were bloodshot.

However, the awkwardness that hung between us wasn’t solely due to Richard’s disheveled looks.

When I first spotted Richard, he appeared almost mad.

He was running around, his face wearing a bizarre expression that made it hard to tell if he was crying or laughing, humming a lively tune, giving the impression that he wasn’t quite in his right mind.

Knowing how he must have appeared to others, Richard struggled to bring up conversation. But I also didn’t want to provoke him, fearing that he might collapse from embarrassment if I said something too casual.

If it were yesterday, I wouldn’t have cared what Richard thought, but now that logic reigned over emotions, I felt uncomfortable thinking I had caused him to look this way.

That being said, it didn’t mean I felt any deeper compassion for him; it was just that Richard’s current demeanor mirrored my own after saying goodbye to her, making it difficult for me to treat him coldly.

If only he had ignored me and walked past, that would have been easier, but instead, he chose to talk to me.

Thanks to that, we were stuck in an unwanted game of silent tension.

Fortunately, before my drops of sweat could dry up, Richard finally spoke. Looking at the sword placed before us, he managed to hide his trembling voice and said,

“Wow, you really train hard even in the morning. It seems you’re dedicated to it.”

“Given my family circumstances, that’s how it is. Speaking of which, weren’t you on your way out of the Magic Tower? Your dedication to learning is commendable. From what I’ve heard, the focus of each tower differs.”

“Ha ha. It’s just superficial at best.”

I had prepared to bring up the earlier incident, but Richard’s nonchalant reaction made his face return to normal. Once he started to open up a bit, he no longer seemed uncomfortable toward me.

Should I call this being affable?

Even so, knowing that he was engaged to someone he liked, Richard seemed surprisingly unreserved in his attitude towards me. I couldn’t tell if he had sorted out his feelings completely or if he was just making an effort.

Well, no matter his intentions, it definitely felt easier to interact with him than before.

As the awkwardness began to fade away, we eventually had to conclude our conversation. In the distance, Ken was approaching to take me to breakfast.

It seemed that more time had passed than I thought. Having worked up a sweat, if I didn’t hurry, I might not arrive on time.

Seeing Ken come toward me, Richard muttered an apology.

“Oh, I seem to have kept you too long, my lord.”

“It’s fine. It was a good time for me.”

Considering that I talked to a leading candidate from the original story and the future lord of the Twilight Tower, it truly was a valuable experience.

I gave Richard a simple farewell and turned my feet toward where Ken was.

We parted ways without further words.

As I walked back to my room to change clothes, I reflected on my conversation with Richard.

Our talk revolved around our respective families, Kraus and Ertuven.

Given that we had only just met, what topics could we possibly have in common besides Elena? However, he never brought her up during our conversation. To be precise, he was deliberately avoiding that topic.

Definitely not a suitable subject to bring up in front of one’s fiancée.

I couldn’t believe that Richard had completely given up on his feelings for Elena.

If he could cast aside feelings he had nurtured for so long in such a short time, could one truly say he loved her?

Nevertheless, I felt a lingering disappointment at not hearing anything about her.

It seems a bit selfish, but perhaps I had hoped that while talking with Richard, he might share something about Elena.

Certainly, in the past, I would have felt jealousy over that and wouldn’t want to hear it from anyone else, but what had changed in my mind?

I quietly smiled, recalling her words from the garden last night.

*

“Damian Kraus.”

Richard whispered the name of the man who had vanished before his eyes.

He knew the name Kraus well since he had heard it often since childhood.

Most people growing up in the Empire would probably know of him as one of the heroes famous across the continent.

The legend of the hero who defeated the Evil Dragon sparked excitement in many young boys’ hearts. Richard, who loved reading, didn’t aspire to be a knight like the hero in those tales, yet it remained one of the stories he had read countless times in his childhood.

However, now the name Kraus was no longer just a name attached to a heroic figure for Richard.

When Richard first met Damian, he was filled with an overwhelming urge to fire a magic missile at his head.

The rationality that had fled outside returned upon seeing Damian’s face, and as he regained his composure, an embarrassing shame welled up inside him.

To be showing such a sight to her fiancé—of all people, it had to be the one he least wanted to see this unflattering side of him. If Damian were to say something about his previous actions, Richard’s mind would surely collapse completely.

Although he wanted to flee immediately, Richard had already greeted him. If he left now, he could only imagine what that guy would think about him and, more horrifyingly, how his actions might reach Elena.

But fortunately, Damian didn’t mention Richard’s odd behavior and graciously accepted his words.

Just that act alone made Richard feel like the sun shining above Damian’s head was a halo of a saint.

“He doesn’t seem like a bad person.”

Though Richard was still young, he wasn’t lacking in his ability to distinguish between good and evil.

Therefore, this wasn’t because he was simply avoiding his own awkwardness.

Their conversation was short, but not too brief.

Despite having only met less than a day ago, Richard felt as if Damian was someone he’d known for a long time. The atmosphere had changed from that encounter at the banquet yesterday, making him feel oddly at ease during their chat.

As he left with his butler, Richard suddenly glanced at his own forearm.

“He’s a little, no, a lot taller than me. And his arms… hmm…”

Richard compared his forearm with Damian’s in his memory. It wasn’t that his physique was weak. Ascending the higher ranks tends to make a mage’s body reach peak physical condition.

Especially since Richard had ascended to the fifth rank, his physique was comparable to that of a well-trained man.

Yet still, in comparison to someone like Damian, who was considered one of the best in the Empire, his body seemed lacking in many aspects.

It was strange to compare Richard, often found reading books in the library, to Damian, who continued to train like this, but even knowing that, Richard couldn’t shake off the deep sense of defeat that clouded his heart.

“I should have chosen a sword over magic.”

Richard shook his head as he said this.

Could it be that he still couldn’t let go of that attachment?

Elena wouldn’t have chosen Damian for mere trivial reasons.

There must have been something deeper, something he couldn’t grasp.

But somehow, that thought didn’t make him feel bad.

Jealousy.

Jealousy was creeping in, but it couldn’t be helped; he hadn’t fully let go of his feelings yet.

Still, after talking with Damian, Richard couldn’t quite pinpoint what had changed in his own heart, but he felt distinctly lighter than when he spent all of last night reading books without purpose.

Now that his mind was clearer, Richard sank down into his seat. He hadn’t slept all night and had been reading, then suddenly exerted himself like a madman, pushing his body to its limits. He no longer had the strength to keep his eyelids open.

Eventually, Richard let go of the thin thread of consciousness he had been barely holding onto.

All jealousy and lingering feelings sank into a deep sleep.

A faint smile rested on Richard’s face as he closed his eyes.

 

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