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Unfortunately, my plan to take Elena off the path didn’t happen.

Perhaps because I was dragging my feet and walking slowly, the banquet hall was already filled with many people.

At the highest seat of honor sat Joachim, the owner of Winter Castle and the host of the banquet. Aside from a few who were wagging their tails in an effort to strike up even a small conversation with him, everyone else seemed to be enjoying the banquet in their own way.

But now it’s time for the main character to make an entrance.

As the door opened and Elena and I stepped into the banquet hall, all eyes turned to us. Despite being only sixteen, her appearance shone like a star, captivating everyone present.

There was no way I froze upon seeing her the moment I opened the door for nothing.

With attention focused on Elena, the gaze of the crowd started to shift to me, standing beside her. I wasn’t sure how Joachim had gathered everyone here, but it seemed they didn’t know I was a Kraus.

After all, judging by the feelings I perceived through their glances, they didn’t seem like they were willing to send anything fit for the heir of the Kraus family my way.

Of course, subconscious emotions are unavoidable, but the expressions in their eyes were too blatant to think otherwise.

Still, seeing that those looking at me were inexperienced teens trying to hide their emotions, it seemed that none of the people here lacked common sense. Their guardians, appearing as if they were seasoned in the dog-eat-dog social scene, skillfully concealed their feelings.

Yet, it wasn’t that I didn’t notice their glances toward me, though. Well, what’s the point?

Ignoring their gazes, I firmly held Elena’s hand and walked toward Joachim, who was quietly smiling down at us from the seat of honor.

There was no one to block my path as we made our way.

Through the parted sea, we arrived before Joachim. He stood up, came down toward us, and, with a disappointed expression, spoke softly to me while gripping my shoulder.

“What a pity. How can you look so relaxed with my daughter right beside you?”

“I tend to not show my feelings much on my face. Or did you wish to see me standing before them with a tense and awkward expression? Thanks to you, Your Grace, I’m making my debut in high society, and your personality isn’t helping.”

At my reply, Joachim chuckled softly, lightly brushing off my disgruntled gaze.

“I had some intentions like that. You resemble that scoundrel Arthur too much. I thought it would be fun to see something amusing for once…”

“Father?”

The cold voice that echoed in both Joachim’s and my ears.

I couldn’t help but wonder why, despite being indoors in the northern region, my hands felt so chilly. It appeared Elena’s magic was once again spiraling out in tune with her emotions.

Fortunately, it wasn’t to the extent of affecting the entire banquet hall, so only I, holding her hand, and Joachim nearby noticed it.

Immediately upon seeing his daughter’s Arctic gaze, Joachim cleared his throat and stopped speaking to me, hurriedly shifting his attention to those below.

Ah, he ran away.

Taking advantage of the moment Joachim averted his gaze, Elena shot me a wink, closing one eye without saying a word. Unable to hold back my own rising smile, I responded with a wink of my own.

However, Joachim didn’t avert his gaze for long. After scanning the banquet hall, he quickly signaled for me to come closer.

Receiving his signal, I stood beside Elena, confirmed that everyone in the banquet hall was watching us, and either humorously or gravely began to speak.

“Though it seems we have an uninvited guest, it looks like all those I summoned have gathered.”

With Joachim’s single line, the banquet hall began to quiet down, like a mouse had died.

There was a certain weight in his voice that pressed down on the crowd. Standing here now, he was not the bumbling father but the ruler of the North and the master of one of the seven Magic Towers on the continent, making it difficult for me to envision him as anything else.

‘Uninvited guest?’

But instead of pondering how Joachim had changed, my thoughts were focused on the identity of the ‘uninvited guest’ he mentioned. While there might have been others sharing my thoughts, they appeared too intimidated by Joachim to speak up.

I had no intention of asking him to clarify the identity of this ‘uninvited guest.’

If that ‘uninvited guest’ posed a threat to us, Joachim wouldn’t have casually mentioned it in front of everyone; he would have dealt with it where all could see.

The fact he didn’t meant he had intentionally said it to stir the listeners… is it possibly my father?

I shook my head, denying the possibility.

No matter how much of a father he might be, it would be difficult to make it from Sarham to Merohim in just two days. If he had intended to attend the banquet, he would have moved with us from the start—there was no way he would have come all this way unnecessarily.

Most importantly, if my father had come, I wouldn’t have failed to notice. Despite my father being at the pinnacle of his skill as a Sword Master, I had also trained for several years and could fairly confidently assess my own abilities.

It didn’t make sense that I wouldn’t sense his presence after spending years training with him. That would mean it was someone else entirely. But no one immediately came to mind.

Why was I so concerned about an ‘uninvited guest’ whose identity didn’t even matter? Even I couldn’t figure that out, but my instincts were uncertainly telling me that getting entwined with this ‘uninvited guest’ would complicate my future significantly.

“Those who may have already sensed it, I summoned you all today to announce the engagement of my daughter, Elena. The child standing beside me is to be engaged to Elena.”

Right now, however, there’s no time to worry about an unidentified ‘uninvited guest.’ I should put my personal curiosity and anxiety aside.

Though Joachim’s tone when introducing me didn’t significantly change, the atmosphere certainly did, making it easy for those listening to notice. Shaking off distracting thoughts, I faced the gazes directed toward me and spoke to them.

“I am Damian Kraus, engaged to Lady Elena Edelweiss.”

My voice was neither loud nor soft.

But the words I spoke carried weight enough to reach every ear present.

Whether they were surprised at my sudden introduction or startled by the name ‘Kraus’ coming from my lips, a significant number of attendees along with the teenagers who had been openly staring at me now looked rather flustered.

The ones most astonished were undoubtedly the teenage boys who had been giving me blatant glares.

Those obsessed with swords surely couldn’t be unaware of the legends surrounding the founder of the Kraus family, who was often mentioned alongside the heroes who established the Empire.

Moreover, in a world where dragons existed, the legend of the one true Dragon Slayer held a status comparable to the founding myth of the Estelia Empire.

I had learned about such legends concerning the family only after being reincarnated as Damian, but surely those tales wouldn’t be found in any book.

After all, stories tend to focus on the protagonist and their close associates, so readers couldn’t possibly know about the legends tied to a villain who only appeared in the early portions of the story and showed up just once afterward.

Anyway, aside from the old legends, there was also my father, the youngest Sword Master on the continent, who had already become a living legend. Everyone knew that fact; thus, the ones staring at me shifted their glares downward, as if to convey, “When did that happen?”

I chose not to waste my gaze on them. I simply continued sharing what I needed to say.

“For a long time, Kraus and Edelweiss have been steadfast allies. I am very pleased that this connection has now led to the engagement between me and Lady Elena.”

There was no falsehood in that statement.

Even if I had been desperate to break off the engagement until only a few days ago, I genuinely felt happy about being engaged to her. After all, there had been more than a few candidates in the original story who had gotten engaged to her.

“Of course, mere words would hardly suffice to convey my feelings. So, I, Damian Kraus, here as a representative of the head of the Kraus family, vow that this engagement marks the beginning of our everlasting alliance with Edelweiss.”

The ring on my finger symbolized the authority of the head of the Kraus family.

As the nature of the occasion dictated, even as a sixteen-year-old boy, what I said held genuine weight in this situation. While it sounded grand, it merely signified that the Kraus family would maintain a good relationship with Edelweiss moving forward.

Still, there could be no more convincing way to engrave my name in the minds of those present.

The authority to determine the relationship between noble families lay solely with the head of the family. If they saw Joachim nodding quietly at my words, they could not simply regard me as just Elena’s fiancé.

Letting them know, “Don’t think you’re equal to me,” was best conveyed through stature and authority. I believed my father would deem my performance worthy of praise.

Thus, my brief self-introduction concluded with applause from the crowd.

Even those who might have wanted to dispute the engagement would have recognized their place—especially since the venue was not the kind of place where even a mere retainer of Edelweiss would dare speak up. Thankfully, none in attendance seemed to misunderstand where they belonged.

As the applause died down, the banquet hall began to fill with the sounds of music performed by the previously arranged orchestra.

With the start of the performance, Joachim granted permission for the banquet to commence, and it seemed many of those present had been prepped for this because they began to approach me. However, I had no intention of engaging with them. I already had a prior engagement.

She gently smiled at me as she spoke.

“Damian?”

“Yes, I know. Hm, Elena, could you grant me the opportunity to dance with you?”

“Of course!”

*

“Damian, stay right here. I’ll fetch us some drinks.”

“No, it’s fine. I’ll get them.”

“Who nearly fell in front of me earlier? Just sit quietly here.”

“That’s…”

Before I could finish my sentence, she had already stepped away onto the balcony to get the drinks. I had no choice but to lean against the railing and wait for her to return.

The cold wind blowing in from Merohim cooled my flushed face.

Considering how much I practiced, I didn’t embarrass myself when dancing with her today. In fact, after the song ended, others applauded us, so it could be considered a success.

Yet, for me, it was not.

Throughout the dance, I felt as if I had returned to that first night when she taught me how to dance.

Her beautiful dress and the way she was utterly adorned made me feel thoroughly defeated, despite having reassured myself during those two days of practice.

Even though I didn’t make mistakes, I couldn’t deny that as the music ended, my body instinctively leaned toward her as my strength gave way. While to others it appeared as though I held her as the dance finished, only she, standing closest to me, knew the truth.

“I’m glad, though.”

“What are you glad about, you fool?”

I hurriedly turned my head at the sudden voice that reached my ears.

Even though I was relaxed, I hadn’t let my guard down to the point of being oblivious to those around me. Secrets of an unknown presence met with caution as I hastily prepared to draw my sword, only for the one who suddenly appeared before me to wave their hand, urging me not to.

“Hey! Don’t use that!! If you use the power of the Dragon Heart here, not only will Joachim find out, but so will that Arthur guy!!! I merely came to talk with you!”

“Who are you?”

I ceased channeling aura into my ring and asked the man.

At this moment, the only certainty I had was that the person before me was the ‘uninvited guest’ Joachim had mentioned. Nevertheless, I could not shake my suspicion. After all, there was no reason to trust someone who appeared out of nowhere and started talking.

“Hah. You’ve got that irritating gaze and face; you really do take after that scoundrel Arthur. Fine, if you’re curious, I’ll tell you!”

Ah, I learned something else. Mentioning my father or exaggerating my mannerisms was a clear sign this guy was either a friend of my father or Joachim.

The man threw off the hood of his black robe and began introducing himself with confidence. I recognized him the moment I laid eyes on him and immediately dashed toward the banquet hall.

“My name is Franz Ertuven!! Master of the Twilight Tower, one of the seven Magic Towers!!… Huh? Hey!! Where are you going?!! You should at least listen until I finish introducing myself!!! Why on earth are you more like your father than anything else…?”

Voices grumbling from behind fell on deaf ears. Right now, the only face occupying my mind belonged to one person.

With his sunset-like crimson hair and red eyes, the person I recognized could only be one of two people, and I rushed into the banquet hall before he even finished speaking.

As expected, the person I had expected to see stood before Elena.

“Richard Ertuven.”

One of the original candidates for male leads, whom I had thought I wouldn’t meet until a year passed, had appeared right before my eyes.

 

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