---

My goal was to enjoy a happy school life with Elena, so it was my responsibility to eliminate any potential problems in advance.

Just because the development of events differed from the original work didn’t mean that the characters involved changed, so there was a method of tidying everything up at once, but that would be exhausting and more importantly, the aftermath would be an issue. So I decided to hold off for now.

Even though it was just a pretense to maintain some plausibility, I opted for a method of gradually building up information from the ground up.

It’s truly sad that even if you have the answers, you can’t just use them recklessly.

Well, even if I could solve the immediate issue, the thought of the subsequent aftermath causing me trouble made it better to keep the answers sealed. After all, in exams, if you just write down the answers without the workings, you only get partial credit.

Like Orcus who was running around diligently, I wasn’t just playing around with my friends either. Even knowing the answers in advance meant I still had to prepare the explanations needed to reach them personally.

As for gathering information… Before I met Elena, I was sick and tired of managing the intelligence network under the Count House. I wasn’t completely confident, but I had at least formed sufficient outlines that could lead to the general answers.

“It seems there aren’t any particularly suspicious individuals in the Department of Knights…”

After a thorough cleanup previously, the cadets at the academy had changed somewhat differently from the original story. Looking at George Heniwei, the significant characters seemed to still be around, but most of the smaller fry had been swept away with that one cleaning.

Thanks to that, the number of people to remove decreased, but since the main culprits of the incident were still intact, my responsibilities hadn’t changed significantly. Ah, since one of the main villains this time, Heniwei, is dead, does that mean my workload has decreased?

I was confident Heniwei was dead, yet contrary to my beliefs, his corpse had yet to be found.

A bounty had been placed, and both Orcus and I had let people loose to search for him, but after fifteen days, there was still no news. Whether dead or alive, I just needed to find this guy so I could figure out what to do with the remnants still remaining in the academy, but he was nowhere to be seen, which was a bit frustrating.

Maybe I was feeling impatient.

Given the circumstances, it does seem like there’s a bit of worry involved.

I decided to put Heniwei aside for now and pulled out the list that Orcus had sent me once more. There were quite a few names on the list, but after crossing out some, only five remained.

Initially, Orcus had set the scope too broadly. He included everyone who could potentially be a problem, making it cumbersome.

Even if the imperial family was caught up in a victory frenzy, they couldn’t possibly deploy as many personnel as listed here. If they could, this empire would have been gone a long time ago.

Considering that Elena, the original protagonist, belongs to the Department of Magic, I noticed that most of the villains appearing in the academy part were mostly from the Department of Magic.

Perhaps it’s smoother for things to connect if you’re near her?

For now, it seemed safe to say there weren’t any suspicious figures from the ecclesiastical side in the Department of Knights.

‘Besides, there’s the Sword Saint.’

Even if there were, with the Sword Saint having taken on the role of department head, I didn’t have to worry much about any flames of incident spreading wide when things blew up. Since the Sword Saint is here, who’s considered one of the top transcendents, that in itself is quite reassuring.

With the southern issues erupting first, the empire had gained a justification to do a significant cleanup, but I viewed the Sword Saint coming out of hiding and coming to Estelia as the biggest blessing.

Knowing how much a being with such overwhelming power as a god incarnate could accomplish, merely having him in Ruden meant that half the events that occurred in the original were averted. The rest were personal issues related to Elena that had nothing to do with the heretics.

“…Come to think of it, there was that.”

Continuing my train of thought in that direction, I remembered one fact I had overlooked. This world’s original work belongs to the romance fantasy genre.

The severity of the heretic issues had overshadowed it, and I had momentarily forgotten, but not all the incidents troubling Elena in the original were necessarily linked to heretics.

Romance fantasy.

As the name suggests, the main narrative of this genre deals with romance between men and women, and most problems and conflicts arising within novels of this genre often stem from romantic elements that connect the male lead and female lead.

That was true of the original “The Princess is Loved.”

If the cause and target of all conflicts within the novel were heretics from start to finish, “The Princess is Loved” would have been classified as a fantasy novel rather than a romance fantasy.

Though as the story flows into the latter half, it might seem that way…

In any case.

The process of Elena intertwining with the male lead candidates—those parts that caused such occurrences were the main storylines in the early part of the original. Even I, Damian Kraus, was originally a role typically seen in romance fantasies: a worthless fiancé.

Now that I am Damian, such things won’t happen, but you never know. As for the would-be male lead candidates, such as my friends, that’s one thing, but the original villains who aren’t heretics remain the same.

No student in this academy would be unaware of my engagement to Elena, but at times, people act on instinct rather than reason. The ones whose heads and lower bodies are switched cannot make rational judgments.

When I think of the current Elena, different from the original, I feel confident that even a truckload of such people wouldn’t pose any issues. But that’s not to say it puts my mind at ease. Just the possibility of such a thing happening is enough to be quite unpleasant.

“I have to be with Elena more often. Is there any other way?”

Even if I lack thought, with an engaged woman sitting right beside me, surely no one would dare to make a move.

.

.

.

“Damian Kraus. Please go out with me.”

Huh?

*

The Cornellier Pavilion, a subsidiary building of the Department of Magic, is home to a well-kept garden centered around a greenhouse near the building, making it a popular spot for many students.

The flowers blooming in the spring sunlight stir the emotions of children at an age rich in sensitivity.

Since the Cornellier Pavilion manages the growth of various magical plants, the flowers blooming in the garden it oversees were certainly not ordinary flowers; they appeared stunningly beautiful, even if their risks were second to consider.

No one would plant dangerous plants in a garden open to the public, so it became a common after-school stop for first-year female students with free time.

Currently, Elena was spending time in the garden after classes. Without the need for special adornments, her presence blended naturally with the flowers, drawing admiration from the other female students present.

“Wow…”

“Ah, that beauty is just unfair.”

“It seems Lady Edelweiss doesn’t smile much, but she beams when she comes to this place. Maybe she likes flowers? If I made her a flower crown as a gift, would she smile at me like that too?!”

“I doubt that.”

Even other women couldn’t help but find Elena’s beauty unreal. Her radiant white hair glimmering in the sunlight complemented her delicate complexion, making it seem as if she were radiating light herself.

Her stunning looks stirred jealousy and envy among many, yet at the same time earned her gazes of admiration and longing.

Elena wasn’t the type to care about the gazes of others. Whether good or bad feelings, she ignored all those stares through indifference and indifference, which only made her rise to a position that was even harder for others to approach, whether she wanted it or not.

It wasn’t just her outstanding looks. She was undoubtedly the genius of the Department of Magic.

Though she hardly paid attention to interpersonal relationships outside of Damian and her friends, those who followed her were quite numerous. Perhaps it was because she had already achieved something. Even without her trying, people tended to lift her up.

Of course, naturally, Elena had no interest in any of this.

Now as always, she only had one thing on her mind.

“I should probably place it outside so it will be convenient for him to move…”

Elena quietly gazed at the flowers in front of her and muttered. To outsiders, it was incomprehensible talk, but if either Damian or Orcus had been present at that moment, they would’ve understood what she was implying. The most troublesome matter for the two of them now was, without a doubt, the case of Professor Heniwei who had disappeared a month ago.

If Damian and Orcus had overheard Elena hinting that she was the cause of that incident, they likely would have gasped in shock, but fortunately, neither of them was here.

Compared to revealing such a shocking truth, Elena’s demeanor expressed a calm emotion, as if it were nothing. In truth, to her, dealing with Heniwei was merely about handling a minion hidden in the academy. That was all, and she didn’t attach much significance to it.

Knowing that Damian was acting for her benefit, Elena wanted to alleviate the burden, and the result was Heniwei’s removal. For her, whose goal was to enjoy a happy school life alongside Damian, eliminating obstacles in the way was a natural course of action.

She wasn’t the only one who knew the future; Damian wasn’t alone in that regard.

‘Heniwei has been missing without a word for a month now. Communication with the main unit has been cut, so everyone must be growing anxious by now. Even if I don’t hit the nail on the head, soon enough he’ll pop back up. Then Damian will handle everything in one go… Perfect!!’

Damian would surely know precisely who the heretics were, and if they showed any suspicious movements, he would undoubtedly spring into action.

Originally, he was planning on clearing everything up stealthily without needing to be concerned, but after seeing the reactions following Heniwei’s disposal, Elena realized that if she stepped in, it would only complicate things in his head. After all, a variable had been introduced suddenly.

With that realization, Elena decided to step back from dealing with the pests within the academy.

She merely wanted to help him; she had no intent to give him a headache. Knowing his skills well, Elena relinquished her grasp on the situation without regret.

“I should enjoy school life as he wishes.”

Though her management of interpersonal relationships was somewhat disastrous, she wasn’t without friends. Elena began to enjoy her school life as per Damian’s desires. Even if her standards were somewhat different, for someone who had returned from a world that had once perished, these peaceful days without any worries brought her true happiness.

As the garden became noisy, Elena sensed that he had arrived. Just realizing this made her feel a smile spreading across her face.

Elena’s happiness, as desired by Damian. It didn’t require as many conditions as he thought. All she needed was for him to be by her side and for her to be at his side. That was enough. Elena stood up and began preparing to welcome him.

“Heh.”

Confirming that there was nothing wrong with her attire, she grinned and made her way toward where Damian was. The garden was vast, but finding him wasn’t particularly difficult. If she searched for where the female students had gathered, that would lead her there.

As she approached the center of the commotion, she definitely felt his scent and essence.

However, the atmosphere among the kids was unusual; something must have happened, as it seemed overly crowded compared to usual. While she had no concrete suspicions, it was clear that Damian was at the heart of the crowd.

As she passed through the wall of people and entered, she found Damian standing face to face with a familiar-looking girl. They were silently staring at each other, and for some reason, it seemed these two were the cause of the chaos in the garden.

The atmosphere around them felt odd; it seemed something had occurred between them, but Elena didn’t intend to delve into it. Damian was right in front of her, so nothing else was that important.

“Damian…”

“…It seems you didn’t understand, so let me say it again. Damian Kraus. Be my lover.”

 

---