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That night after returning from the picnic.

I took out the green book I hadn’t seen for a while from the drawer.

This book contained my plans and actions for the year before entering the Academy after my engagement with Elena was broken off, but I ended up maintaining my engagement with Elena, so naturally, all the plans written here became irrelevant.

“No, is this a good thing…?”

The schedule written here was like a well-organized vacation timetable made during my childhood. A timetable that included no freedom for a child, meticulously crafted according to my parents’ wishes. It looked like a timetable that would certainly lead to getting into a prestigious university if followed.

In reality, I had lived within such a timetable until I met Elena. No one ordered me to do this, but I pushed myself into a never-ending hamster wheel of jogging, claiming it was preparation for the future.

As a result of diligently following my plans, I became a person fitting to be the heir of the Kraus Count House.

However, as I learned with Alphonse, just doing so didn’t guarantee the happiness I desired.

The reason I vowed to become someone worthy of this family, like the original Damian, to avoid destruction, was all for the sake of living a happy life with my family.

Yet, the efforts I made to achieve that inadvertently neglected my relationships with them, so even if it made “me” become a better person, it became unnecessary.

“Speaking of which, it seems I haven’t taken this out since meeting Elena.”

The content in the book wasn’t just my schedule. It documented events that occurred in the novel, those yet to happen, and events from the past.

The Kraus Count House is not an ordinary noble family. It is a prominent lineage and a senior family of the Empire, unique in this continent, ruling the South since before the foundation of the Empire. Just because the title is Count doesn’t mean it should be compared to any other Count family, given that they have refused elevation for generations.

As the heir of such a prominent family, I could easily obtain information about events occurring across the continent from a young age. Such information provided me with a form of belief regarding the knowledge I gained from books.

Every event has its cause and effect.

I can understand that “Oh, this incident happening here results from something that occurred in chapter and episode X of the novel,” and since I know the future that follows, it gave me conviction regarding the information I received.

Thus, looking at this book allowed me to find reassurance in the fact that I knew the future.

However, this ended with my continued engagement with Elena.

The story of Damian Kraus linked to Elena Edelweiss was an impossible story within the novel and an unknown future for me, so I could no longer find comfort in the contents of this book.

After glancing through the book once, I returned it to the drawer where it originally belonged.

Despite this, my engagement with Elena couldn’t completely rid me of my lingering attachment to the future I knew. The weight of the word “future” is heavy. Even if it may be uncertain, it might still be useful one day, so I shouldn’t judge hastily.

So, unable to shake off my attachment to the book, I couldn’t tear it apart or burn it and simply had to place it back in the drawer.

Let’s stop thinking about this for now.

Haven’t I come to realize over the past few days how foolish it is to be tied down by an uncertain future?

The same goes for my relationship with Elena.

It’s too close to simply think we will part ways. At first, I thought I could easily let her go, but now, after just a few days together, I find myself not wanting to let go, even though I know what kind of future awaits me beside her.

In the end, to keep her even a little longer, I audaciously asked my father to pass on the Isilia Pavilion.

I knew that my actions were akin to voluntarily walking into hell to stay by her side, yet strangely, my heart felt as refreshing as pouring soda on it. I tapped my head and shook it in confusion over the dissonance between my reason and emotion.

“Seriously, has my brain gone weird?”

I’m not some heroine trying to keep a legitimate spouse; even I don’t know what I’m doing right now.

To clear my cluttered mind, I lay in bed and recalled the happy memories of today.

Thinking of Alphonse and my father smiling made my head feel a bit clearer.

Since my mother passed away, it was the first time such an atmosphere emerged in our family. If I truly wished for my family’s happiness, I should have paid more attention to this aspect; yet now reflecting on having regained this image makes me both regretful and glad to see it again.

Thus, the film of my memories conjured up Elena sitting in a flower garden.

She was sitting next to my family, smiling, yet for some reason, there was a hint of disappointment on her face. It didn’t take long for me to realize why. I opened my eyes that had been closed and rose from my place.

“What have I done?”

Looking back, the promise I made with Elena resembled a date. But to insert family into such a promise is obviously my fault, no matter how focused I was on improving my family relations. No one would enjoy having others tag along on a date, no matter how friendly she is; she must have been disappointed inside.

Now that I think about it, she did seem a bit drained on the way home today; could it have been because of this?

Thinking this way pierced my heart like an arrow.

“I need to apologize right now…”

However, it was already too late. Even if I considered her previous visit to my room an exception, it wouldn’t be odd for everyone to be asleep by now, and going to her room at such a late hour would be crossing a line, even for an engagement.

Moreover, I doubted whether a simple apology would suffice to win her forgiveness. No, if it were Elena, maybe it would, but I still wouldn’t feel at ease. It would be best to fulfill what I promised her back then.

So caught up in my thoughts, I wandered around the room when my eyes landed on a book.

“This is it.”

I seemed to have found a method.

*

The book I discovered in my room was the city planning map of Sarham.

Immediately, upon finding that book, ideas began filling my mind rapidly. I unfolded the map and started planning where we would go.

Sarham is one of the most prominent cities in the South, and it is so well developed that one could say the street scenery is beautiful. My knowledge about Elena was limited, but I chose places that I thought she might find interesting as much as possible.

And as we walked through the streets, I was able to see her joy in a way that made my sleepless night worthwhile.

This world is one where magic develops rather than science, yet despite the different fields of progress, there were still some familiar foods to me.

One of them was cotton candy. When I bought her a piece and handed it over, she poked at it with her fingers, then pulled it apart, putting a bit into her mouth, marveling at the melting sweetness it left behind.

According to the vendor, she had never been anywhere but Sarham, which could be the reason. It seems cotton candy was still unavailable in Merohim.

Of course, I couldn’t eat sweet things, so I didn’t buy my share. While I did take a small bite when Elena offered it to me, hard as I tried, I couldn’t help but make a complicated and funky face instead of grimacing at the overwhelming sweetness. She seemed to find it amusing.

“Damian, your face is strange.”

“This is because you made me eat it, Elena…”

“Hm. Consider it a punishment for what happened yesterday.”

“That was when you pinched my cheeks in the carriage, right?”

“That was also something you did to me.”

“Hmm? Would you like to have cotton candy again, Damian?”

“No, thank you.”

Today, the situation turned completely upside down. I had just played a trick on her; I couldn’t just stand by and let her feed me cotton candy.

I made a mental note to squeeze her cheeks around ten times on the way back home.

As we wandered through the streets, we finally arrived at the highlight of the day—the artisan shop. Elena seemed puzzled by our sudden visit to buy furniture, but once I explained that we couldn’t just continue using the old items from the Isilia Pavilion where she would be staying, she seemed to understand.

However, both Elena and I had forgotten one crucial detail.

“Oh.”

Elena suddenly halted, looking at me with an odd expression.

“Didn’t…you contact my father?”

“Pardon?”

“I forgot to contact my father…”

Elena’s words hit me like a hammer on my head.

There was a description in the source material about Elena staying at the Kraus Castle until the Academy enrollment, so I had taken it for granted that she would be residing here, forgetting that for that to occur, someone else’s permission was required.

Joachim Edelweiss, Duke.

Elena’s father, someone I’ve also met, albeit just once.

He is known for his exceptional magical prowess as the head of Dawn’s Tower, one of the seven Magic Towers, but I also knew one more fact about him. That he is an incredibly foolish man.

In the original story, Elena could not have overlooked contacting her father. Otherwise, he would fly over in no time and declare the engagement null and void after seeing me. She must have reached out under Damian’s surveillance.

Thus, this happened because I am not like the original Damian.

Realizing this, I felt strangely relieved. To be unlike that original fellow meant there was nothing regrettable here.

I asked her, “Do you want to stay in Sarham, Elena?”

“Pardon? W-What do you mean?”

Elena blushed at my question. For a moment, I got a little dazed, then it hit me what she might have interpreted my words to mean. My mind was so muddled that words I had only thought about came spilling out.

“Oh no, that’s not it… Wait a moment. I was just wondering how you feel about staying here until the Academy’s entrance ceremony. I didn’t think of you leaving anywhere, so I completely forgot that you might need to return to Merohim.”

She gazed at me in confusion for a bit before smiling and replying, “Of course. After all, I am now the owner of Isilia Pavilion. So it makes sense for me to stay in Sarham, right?”

Her words seemed to seek my agreement, but hearing her say she would stay here made me hurriedly raise my hand to cover my rising smile.

“Then, let’s head back for now. We can let the Duke know when we return.”

She grabbed my hand and happily responded that she understood.

After all, Joachim, who allowed her to stay at the Kraus Castle for a year, would surely not refuse if Elena asked him. From now on, we could maintain regular contact as well.

Thinking everything would go smoothly, we boarded the carriage and headed back to the Lord’s Castle.

Little did I expect that as soon as we entered the castle, we would encounter my father holding a crystal ball.

The face reflected in the crystal ball was one that both Elena and I recognized very well.

[Elena. It’s been a while.]

“Ah, Father…”

Elena’s image in the crystal ball showed how much Joachim cared for her, but his warm voice carried a hint of irritation.

[First, return to Merohim.]

“W-What?”

Both Elena and I, even my father holding the crystal ball, were thrown into confusion by Joachim’s sudden command to return.

“Hey! What do you mean all of a sudden…”

[You shut your mouth. You too, standing there. That’s all I have to say. If I don’t receive a message in two days stating you’ve left, I’ll come here myself and take Elena away with me. That’s final.]

“What? Hey! Hey Joachim!!… What the hell?! You’re just going to cut off and hang up after saying that?!!”

My father kept banging on the crystal ball, calling out to Joachim, while Elena and I could only stand there, dumbfounded, watching the tempestuous figure of Joachim fading away.

What the heck is going on?

 

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