However, as the eldest son of Count Kraus, I couldn't afford to just nervously stand in front of a lady. I reluctantly suppressed my heightened senses and faced the young woman in front of me.
Her pale white skin and her long hair resembled the snow. Her eyes were like a finely crafted amethyst, a clear and transparent violet. Even the slight curl at the corners of her closed lips would give rise to futile fantasies in the minds of men around her.
Truly a breathtaking beauty, deserving of the phrase 'Out of this world.'
As everything described only in words materialized before me, I realized how feeble my imagination had been in picturing Elena Edelweiss's appearance.
For a brief moment, various stray thoughts crossed my mind due to her enchanting beauty, but thanks to my strong sense of purpose, I quickly regained my composure. If even I, who was on guard against her, was nearly defenseless, I couldn't begin to imagine how the original male characters, who were undoubtedly more vulnerable, would have reacted.
So there was a reason after all as to why those guys, whether they were extras or minor characters, would take out everything for her, be it their liver or gallbladder.
Even Ken, who had experienced all sorts of things in this world, stood beside me dumbfounded, gazing at her. Needless to say, if it were those lustful teenagers in their prime, they would have swarmed around her like buzzing bees circling honey. In fact, it was written that after Damian and Elena's engagement was called off that day, the majority of men at the academy sent marriage proposals.
She would then be bombarded with letters of courtship starting from the academy's entrance ceremony.
"Nice to meet you, Lady Edelweiss. I'm Damian Kraus, the eldest son of the Kraus family."
"...Nice to meet you too, Sir Kraus. I am Elena Edelweiss, the eldest daughter of the Edelweiss family."
Although she hesitated for a moment, Elena replied to my greeting with a bright smile. That smile ignited an explosion within my calm heart.
Truly, it would be best to annul the engagement as soon as possible. Otherwise, I might end up falling for her and engaging in some foolish behavior.
I stepped on Ken's shoes while he stood there in a daze, signaling him to leave. Whether it was fortunate or unfortunate, Ken misunderstood and winked at me before exiting with Elena's maid.
Now that the two of them were gone, only Elena and I remained in the room.
Although I wanted to relax a little and have a conversation, as it was now just the two of us, I began to feel nervous. In order to ease some of that tension, I offered her a cup of tea that I had prepared beforehand, took a sip myself, and gently cleared my throat before speaking again.
"We're to be engaged, however, this is the first time we're meeting in person, is it not, Lady Edelweiss?"
It was an engagement between the rumored beauty of the empire, and me, who was known for nothing else but my position as the son of a master swordsman in the empire.
To explain this mystery and the reason for our strange relationship, there was actually a small backstory as to why we were engaged when we had never met each other before.
My father, Count Arthur Kraus, the head of the Kraus family, and her father, Duke Joachim Edelweiss the head of the Edelweiss family, had been longtime friends.
In this era where arranged marriages were common among noble families, it was natural for the two close friends to make a promise like "Let's marry our children in the future!" when I, Damian Kraus, the eldest son, and Elena were born. They agreed to our engagement, saying that they were happy with both of us.
However, the promise was only verbal and we had not been formally engaged. Perhaps they wanted to respect their children's wishes as this was a once-in-a-lifetime marriage.
Therefore, this moment was an opportunity to meet before the official engagement ceremony. In the original story, it was mentioned that the two of them already had a formal engagement ceremony, but well, I was glad it was not the case for me. If I was lucky, I might be able to break off the engagement right here.
There shouldn't have been any reason for the original Damian to be such an impertinent jerk to her early on in the novel. Elena could also have had some doubts about getting engaged to him. But her actions explained it all.
"Yes…"
She answered my question softly and just toyed with the teacup I gave her.
From this behavior, it could be inferred that she was a person with weak self-assertion and an introverted personality in the early stages of the novel. If the female lead, who was the center of the novel, had continued to have such a personality, it would have been 100% sweet potato, so it was inevitable that her character would change as the events unfold. And it was truly sad that the catalyst for changing her character was our broken engagement.
It was not because she had been mistreated when she was little. On the contrary, Joachim Edelweiss was so devoted to his daughter that he could be called a doting father, and her mother was also kind and loving.
The personality of a person was not solely determined by the environment in which they grow up, so this aspect of her was a disposition that she had from birth.
For her, who naturally received attention and admiration without having to do anything because of her inherent beauty, it became a burden and made her even more timid. Compared to Damian, who was always arrogant and reckless from birth, it was a completely opposite appearance.
Perhaps that was why she followed Damian's words, who spoke however he liked, and accepted the engagement without saying a word. It was probable that the original Damian said they should get engaged as soon as he saw her, and the meek Elena accepted it without a word.
Others had a difficult time approaching her because of her unique noble aura. In a way, it was almost comedic how their engagement was arranged due to Damian's bold and straightforward personality.
She was able to change after their breakup. She would become someone who would be able to refuse all the suitors that come to court her.
The chickling that couldn't say anything had reached the point where it could let out a small chirp, but the girl in front of me right now was in a state where she couldn't even do that.
What should I do in this case?'
The reason why she changed in the novel was because of the negative emotions of not wanting to be swayed by Damian's whims. There must have been a number of more complex reasons, but it was undeniable that 'Damian' had turned into a trigger.
'So, should I behave here like the original Damian, acting shamelessly, in order to change her?'
I didn't like that.
It was not like I was going to push the self-destruct button. I had decided to live a life for myself, not for her.
Besides, there would be enough scumbags who would pile up negative emotions in her without me having to step forward. They would be scattered throughout the academy, and the male lead candidates from the original work would take care of it on their own. All I had to do was give her an image that was neither good nor bad and break off this engagement.
"….."
"….."
First, there seemed to be a need for some change that allows for conversation.
Since I didn't say anything from my side, she never initiated a conversation. It was not that I didn't want to have a conversation, but I simply didn't know what to say, so I ended up fidgeting and playing with the teacup.
'There's nothing else to do. I have to take the lead in the conversation.'
I removed the silver plate that had been covering the food and placed it beside me, revealing a selection of different desserts inside.
Most of them appeared to be sweet. I prepared these desserts in advance because of the mention in the original work that she likes sweet things. Just as I expected, when I removed the cover, her eyes sparkled at the sight of the desserts. It was fortunate that it seemed to please her.
"I enjoy eating sweet things usually. It's embarrassing, but I prepared them in advance to have them with you. Do you also like sweet things, Lady Edelweiss?"
"Ah, yes. Yes, I do. I like them."
Perhaps captivated by the sight of the appetizing desserts, she didn't pay much attention to my question.
Well, these desserts were made by the top chef of our castle and estate, who put a lot of effort into them. It was no wonder her eyes are drawn to them. I had heard that he was a skilled chef who had worked at a famous restaurant in the capital.
Using the prepared tongs, I placed one type of dessert onto Elena's plate and another onto mine, then handed it to her.
"Thank you…"
'Does it really look that delicious?'
Although I said to her earlier that I like sweet things, it was just an excuse to give her the desserts. Personally, I didn't eat sweets much. They tend to be too sugary for my taste.
'Ugh'
After taking a bite of the cake, which was too sweet for me to continue eating, I quickly drank the tea that I had left beside me to balance out the overwhelming sweetness in my mouth.
'I wonder why people enjoy eating this.'
Of course, I knew that I was not good at eating sweet things compared to others. So, I could only eat chocolates with a high cocoa content; I didn't enjoy the ones sold in stores. I once thought that the 99% cocoa chocolate I always ate was the norm and recommended it to others, only to receive criticism.
After being lost in my past memories for a while, I hadn't seen Elena's reaction. Although the dessert looked like a work of art, it was over-the-top sweet. Even for Elena, it may be too much for her to enjoy.
"Is it to your liking, Lady…"
"Nyam~"
- Munch munch munch.
It was as if I was worried for no reason. Seeing Elena scarfing down the cake with a blissful expression left me speechless.
Just by slightly raising the corners of her mouth and smiling, she had an indescribable destructive power. Throughout my life, and especially never before with a desire for possession of another person, her smile created a magical feeling that made me want to be the sole focus of her attention.
'Do I really need to break off the engagement? I am different from the original Damian...'
-Squeeze
As unnecessary thoughts kept creeping in, I pinched my thigh so that she wouldn't notice.
The defensive wall of reason, regained through pain, buried uncontrollable emotions deep within my heart once again.
'This is driving me crazy.'
It seemed that each and every small action of hers greatly affects my emotions. It was too strange to say that I fell for her at first sight.
'Am I insane for feeling possessive just because a beautiful person smiled?'
It seemed that her being by my side was much more dangerous than I thought.