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As I opened my eyes, I was greeted not by a dead world, but by the ceiling of my bedroom.

Only then did I recall that all of it had been a dream.

Could it have been a problem that I met Richard last night? Even though I knew that such tragedies no longer existed in the future laid out before me, my subconscious insisted on dragging memories from my previous life.

Maybe it was the nightmare that made my stomach uneasy.

Ever since I returned, it seems that I feel this way every time I dream of my former life’s memories.

And it’s no wonder, as the dreams reflecting my past life never once showed me the moments I was truly happy. They always presented me just the moments full of sorrow and regret.

If I’m going to dream anyway, wouldn’t it be better to have happy dreams? Why, then, do they only show me those scenes? However, if there’s any silver lining to it, it might be that I’ve made a firm resolution to never let this current time turn into something like those memories.

Elena got up from her place and looked at the paper on her desk.

There were written down the things she wanted to do with him, filled with the thoughts she had had for a long time.

Remembering that she had written those in front of him, a wave of shyness rushed over her. Of course, there were still desires she didn’t want him to see, buried deep within her heart, but still, writing down her hopes in front of him made her cheeks burn for some reason.

As she touched her reddened face, she cautiously turned the paper over.

Just as he had watched her write, Elena had observed him as he wrote down his desires, so she already knew the contents on the back. Yet, somehow, it felt strange, like she was secretly peeking into his secrets, making her heart flutter.

“Hehe…”

The number of wishes he wrote was not comparable to the ones Elena had penned, but the little wishes he had written were enough to bring a smile to Elena’s face.

Recalling the memories from last night, when they had written wishes together in the garden, there was no longer any trace of thoughts about the past lingering in Elena’s mind.

The past was merely a page that had already turned.

If she continued to dwell on the past, then what was the point of having gone back in time? So, let’s just think about the good things. The future she would carve out, free from destiny, was just waiting to be filled in together with him.

“I’m looking forward to today too.”

Outside the window, the sun of today was slowly rising.

Elena carefully folded the paper she held in her hands and put it into the drawer.

Then, picturing the days to spend together with him, just like yesterday, she began to prepare to step outside.

*

I spent quite a long time at the training grounds, but fortunately, I was not late for breakfast.

As I entered the dining hall, I lightly nodded to Joachim, who was sitting in the main seat, and naturally took my place next to Elena, which had been decided since I started living here.

“Good morning, Damian.”

“Good morning.”

She greeted me with a small voice and a smile as I approached the table. Receiving her morning greeting was a refreshing source of energy that had newly arisen in my life. I responded softly and smiled back.

Before sitting down, I scanned the dining hall.

Currently, there were only three of us: me, Elena, and Joachim. However, having met the Twilight Tower Master at last night’s banquet, I wondered if he might appear here as well.

Unlike the banquet, this was a gathering reserved solely for family, so there wouldn’t be anyone trying to intrude, even if they were close. But still, if “if” existed, there was a chance.

As expected, I felt no presence of anyone else apart from us here. I sighed in relief and picked up my utensils.

I had nothing against the Twilight Tower Master but preferred to avoid the kind of disruptions that had occurred yesterday.

Today’s breakfast menu was quite simple.

It consisted only of warm meat stew and some fluffy bread for a light snack.

Someone might see this menu and think that Edelweiss was poor, but how could a Duke house, of which there were only three in the Empire, lack funds? The selection was likely a result of yesterday’s banquet. More than anything, this amount was appropriate for a morning when appetite was lacking.

I took a spoon and dipped it into the stew to have a taste. The warm aroma of the soup began to fill my mouth slowly. Since I wasn’t that hungry, it was better to savor the taste like this, awakening my still-drowsy palate.

‘The taste is good but… something feels a bit lacking.’

The chef responsible for meals at Edelweiss clearly had exceptional skills, as I had to say that I never thought the meals during my stay at Winter Castle were bad.

But still, homemade food was the best, I suppose.

After all, I had become accustomed to the cooking of our family’s chef over the past five years. Whenever I ate the same food I had at Kraus, I kept supporting our family’s chef in Sarham from within. This would sometimes remind me of the family back at Lord’s Castle.

Damn it. Isn’t this the early signs of longing for home?

I’m not some kid crying for his mother at a training camp.

Anyway, this was all because our family’s chef made meat stew that was impressively delicious. Otherwise, was it normal for Winter Castle to pop into my mind so suddenly? I glanced at Elena, puffing and blowing on her hot stew, to shake off the thoughts swirling in my head.

As the meal continued, Joachim suddenly initiated a conversation with me.

“So, how was last night’s banquet?”

“Um, to be honest, I think those kinds of events aren’t really for me. It felt a bit too stuffy.”

“Seeing you say that, I can tell you are still a young one. Banquets are usually like that. Everyone seems to be smiling on the surface, but it’s really a gathering of wolves eager to tear each other apart. But for a Kraus, you shouldn’t be afraid of such wolves.”

In that regard, you did well yesterday, Joachim suddenly complimented me. I thanked him and nodded, but I felt an ominous sensation at the unexpected praise. It felt similar to receiving a bribe before someone asks for a favor.

I didn’t take long to realize the source of this unease.

“Well, now that the banquet is over, it wouldn’t be bad to leisurely explore Merohim. In that sense, I’d like to take you to a spot with a great view.”

So this was the main point.

No wonder he suddenly started complimenting me. He was throwing bait to drag me somewhere.

To be exact, he probably wanted to take both me and Elena along. In fact, Joachim bringing up this suggestion was nothing new, so I had expected such a proposal to come on the day after the banquet.

As for my father, he wouldn’t keep the fact that our family and Elena went out together a secret. He was a doting father and would never let that slip by. It seemed he also wanted to take his daughter out, but… what should I do?

“Um, I have a prior engagement today.”

“Prior engagement? Are you telling me that you’ve gotten close enough to make plans after only a short time here?”

At my words, Joachim looked at me with a perplexed expression, as if he couldn’t comprehend.

First off, saying I had a prior engagement wasn’t a lie. I had indeed promised to spend the day with Elena. Perhaps I would say the same for tomorrow and the day after that.

During my time in Merohim, I had no say over the decisions. To fulfill what she had told me, I would follow her wishes, and therefore, going out with Joachim was something Elena needed to decide.

I looked at Elena without hiding my awkward expression. She shook her head and replied.

“Father, I’m sorry, but Damian has already made plans with me today.”

“Oh? Really? If you do have plans, would you mind telling your father where you are going?”

“The night market. Tonight is the day the night market opens for once a week. Since Damian has never been to Winter Castle before, I thought this would be a great introduction to Merohim.”

“Then! That was a splendid idea!! The night market is a specialty of Merohim. There will be plenty of rare items hard to find in the south, so it should be a wonderful experience.”

As Elena trailed off, Joachim immediately backed down. No matter how much he wanted to go out with his daughter, it wouldn’t be to the point of overriding her desires.

Yet still, the regret hovering at the corners of his eyes hadn’t disappeared. After all, his daughter had chosen her fiancé instead of him. It must have felt disappointing as a father. Elena seemed to understand that too, as she smiled and spoke to Joachim.

“Thank you for your praise, Father. Oh, by the way, I found a book about the magic ‘Light of the Stars’ in the archives of the Magic Tower, but there were parts I didn’t quite understand, so if you have time after the meal, may I ask for your help with interpreting it?”

“Is that even a question?! Of course, I’d love to help!!”

Joachim was now filled with excitement at Elena’s words. She secretly glanced at me, winking one eye. I realized that what Elena had just said was a little white lie.

While she had never brought up anything about magic in front of me, I knew better than anyone the level of knowledge she had regarding magic.

What Elena had just told Joachim was merely a pretext for wanting to spend some time with her father.

Considering how much Joachim wanted to go out with us was rooted in wanting to have a good time with his daughter, nothing could satisfy him more than the words Elena just threw out.

“I’m sorry, Damian. I wanted to show you a different side of Winter Castle before the night market starts.”

“It’s okay. Enlightenment is an important matter for a knight as well. Then, I suppose I can’t just sit here.”

Originally, Elena had promised to show me the remaining parts of Winter Castle that we hadn’t finished exploring last night, but it couldn’t be helped. I should continue with my training from this morning.

But just as I was thinking that, Joachim delivered truly unexpected news.

“Oh, speaking of which, Damian. There’s something I need to tell you.”

“Yes? What is it all of a sudden…”

“You already met him yesterday, so you might know, but the Twilight Tower Master mentioned that he wanted to meet you.”

Why on earth is that old man suddenly coming up?

More importantly, who had just invited me to go out just moments ago?

I looked at Joachim, harboring those questions, but he just beamed a warm smile at Elena as if to say he didn’t have a clue. What is this? Has my value diminished at this point?

Anyway, our breakfast wrapped up quickly.

As soon as we finished our meal, Joachim hurriedly took off with Elena.

“See you again, kid.”

“Ah, yes. Um, hello…”

I was thrown in front of the great mage that I had just bitten off.

I think I’m really in trouble.

 

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