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As evening approached, Elena was tidying her clothes in her room, waiting for the dinner banquet. But then, Damian’s personal butler Ken entered her room with the news that Damian would not be attending the dinner.

“Due to unavoidable circumstances, Lord and Young Master Damian will not be able to attend tonight’s meal.”

“Oh, I see. Thank you for letting me know, Ken.”

Hearing that her dinner with Damian was canceled, Elena felt a twinge of disappointment, but she couldn’t dwell on it too much, as she had a hint about the reasons for Damian and Count Kraus’s absence.

There was no way Damian would simply brush off what happened today at the Isilia Pavilion.

The thought of the events at Isilia Pavilion brought the image of a young boy to her mind—Alphonse’s face.

Unlike Damian, who looked exactly like Count Kraus, Alphonse resembled the woman, Arwen Kraus, in the portrait of the pavilion’s owner that Elena had seen today.

Alphonse Kraus.

The boy had a connection to Elena, even from her previous life, just like Damian.

In her first life, due to Damian’s twisted possessiveness, despite living in the same lord’s castle, they had rarely crossed paths. However, after her engagement to Damian was broken off and time passed, Elena would face grown Alphonse again due to an incident.

That Alphonse was a man worthy of being called a hero.

He would personally encourage each and every citizen who had lost their homes, and although being the heir of the Kraus family, he ran to the forefront of the crumbling southern front and led the troops himself. He was only seventeen at the time.

While the situation was dire enough to require the aid of even a child’s hands, taking the lives of tens of thousands on his shoulders at such a young age was not something an ordinary person could do.

The burden to fill the vacant heir position after Damian vanished must have been immense as well. Alphonse, who rose up under such adverse conditions, truly was a hero.

But by taking the place of Damian, “he” began to change Alphonse Kraus’s story.

“If you wish, I can have your meal brought to your room,” Ken said.

Elena shook her head.

“No, does Young Master Alphonse have dinner in the same place as yesterday?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“Then I should go there too. As the fiancée of Kraus, I am to be the future mistress of this place. I cannot miss a family meal. More than anything, I cannot leave the young master alone.”

At Elena’s words, laced with a smile, Ken looked at her with a momentarily dazed expression before responding with a small smile of his own.

“Indeed, since you will be a Kraus now. I misspoke. My apologies. The meal will be ready before the 6 o’clock bell, so just move when it rings.”

Not long after Ken left the room, the bell signaling 6 o’clock rang throughout the castle.

Elena, seeming as if she had not spent just one day in this place, quickly found her way and headed to the dining hall. Hailey, who had spent all day trying to understand the castle’s layout to serve her mistress, could only feel a pang of bitterness at her mistress’s skill in finding her way.

Arriving at the door, Hailey knocked twice before opening it.

As she entered, the dining hall looked the same as yesterday. However, unlike that day, the seat of honor was empty, and the person who should be next to Elena’s place was not there now. Only Alphonse sat there, lonely.

Seeing Elena enter the dining hall brought a glimmer of joy to Alphonse’s face.

The boy before her was a lonely child, far from the Alphonse Kraus Elena remembered. She knew Damian would be conferring with the Count about Alphonse, but it seemed too soon. Ironically, Damian’s haste to resolve things had left Alphonse alone once again.

Yet Elena was here for him now.

“Good evening, Young Master Alphonse.”

“Oh! Yes. Good evening. U-Um, Elena… Sister?”

Alphonse struggled with what to call her, and ‘sister’ came out hesitantly. As soon as he said it, he looked up at Elena, worried it might be rude, but she actually seemed pleased by the title.

“Sister… I like that. I do have an older brother, but I have no younger siblings.”

“Is it really okay to call you that?”

“Of course! You’re Damian’s brother. I’m his fiancée, not officially yet, but still, Alphonse. We are family.”

Hearing Elena’s mention of family made Alphonse happy, but then he glanced at the empty seat beside her and his expression darkened once more. He too understood why Count Kraus and Damian were not at the table.

Alphonse lowered his head and, in a barely audible voice, spoke to Elena.

“I’m sorry. They should have been here. I’ve inconvenienced you, Sister…”

……

Alphonse Kraus, the son of one of the continent’s top swordsmen, Arthur Kraus. Although he was still young, he showed perfect promise as a successor. Damian, his exceptional older brother. Growing up beneath such two, could Alphonse possibly be overflowing with confidence?

Alphonse was not untalented. Elena had seen the future and knew that.

However, surrounded by such outstanding individuals, Alphonse’s abilities paled in comparison to theirs, and the gap became even wider when Damian became the youngest sword master on the continent alongside Reinhardt of the House of Cromel.

Even the future Alphonse that Elena knew had difficulty, and this inexperienced boy would certainly find it even harder.

Elena did not accept Alphonse’s apology. Instead, she asked him a single question.

“Do you feel upset with Damian?”

“Huh? No! I don’t feel upset with him…”

“Then why couldn’t you answer him while at the Isilia Pavilion today?”

“I was…”

As Alphonse faltered in his speech, Elena interjected.

“Alphonse, if you don’t speak, people won’t understand each other. Communication is the easiest way to convey your feelings to others. If you keep waiting for someone to figure it out for you, nothing will happen.”

If one doesn’t speak, others remain unaware. This was one of the crucial things Elena had realized through her previous life. Alphonse lacked confidence. Therefore, even if he had wishes for his brother and father, he found it difficult to express them.

Elena could not tell what influence her words had on Alphonse, but it was clear he made up his mind about something.

Her warm voice reached Alphonse’s ears.

“Young Master, if you have anything on your mind, don’t keep it bottled up. You’re still young, so if you want to act spoiled, go ahead. Can Damian not bear with his younger brother’s whims? That would be disappointing…”

“Oh, no! Brother is not like that! It’s just that I didn’t say anything… So, he didn’t know…”

Fundamentally, Alphonse Kraus was a good person.

He was still young, but it was not just a lack of confidence that kept him from speaking; it was also that he didn’t want to add to the burden of his brother, who missed their mother. But keeping silent would not do any good for either Alphonse or Damian.

When he heard that she would be disappointed, Alphonse immediately denied it. Elena, already knowing, smiled and affirmed his words.

“Of course I know. A person who cannot even eat sweets wouldn’t throw away the caramel given by the servants. So, Alphonse, trust your brother and tell him.”

With that, Elena finished her conversation, scooping a spoonful of the lukewarm soup in front of her and putting it to her mouth. The previously cold soup had now reached a suitable temperature for eating.

“Shall we not eat before it gets too cold?”

At Elena’s words, Alphonse smiled and replied.

“Yes.”

The meal began again.

*

I’m happy.

Today’s events with Alphonse and Damian were not simply about sibling strife; it held a deeper significance for her. A new story had come to fill the void left by “him” during the year after her engagement was broken in her previous life.

After the broken engagement, meeting him again would happen a year later at the academy where she would enroll. But now, the engagement had not yet occurred, and she was slowly blending into his life.

There was joy in learning about his life alongside him—how he felt about Arwen Kraus, what had happened with his father and brother; she was experiencing it all by his side.

Had he realized yet? That the future and fate he knew had already been wiped clean by her existence.

There was no longer any misfortune remaining in the future ahead of them. Just as today had been, she would make it so.

“Hmm hmm hmm~”

Humming, she walked toward his room.

In her hands, she carried snacks and a meal for him since he hadn’t eaten yet. Normally, it would have been the servants who brought it, but wanting to talk to him, she took it upon herself to deliver it. Since she had never been to his room before, Hailey had been curious about how she knew where it was, but that was a trivial concern.

Though she was simply delivering a meal, the sensation felt a little like sneaking out for a midnight rendezvous, and her heart fluttered slightly.

Knock, knock—

“Come in.”

As she knocked, his voice came immediately. Had he thought she was one of the servants? Well, what of it? Perhaps she might catch him by surprise when he suddenly saw her. With that expectation, she opened the door with all her strength.

“Is today’s dinner a meat stew? The smell wafted over from the door. But just came to ask; I’m sorry, but could you bring the bandages and medicine… Elena? Why is Elena here?? No, wait! First, please step out…”

“My arm…”

She clearly saw the shock painted on his face, especially with blood running down his right arm.

 

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