"This is unbelievable. Seriously."
In the early hours when everyone was asleep, I sat alone in a chair, took out a thin book, and muttered softly.
The pale green leather cover of the book in my hand had no title written on it. It was natural since it wasn't a book sold in stores but one I personally wrote. As evidence, the contents of the book were written in Korean, not the characters used here.
The first page was filled with a jumble of words, clearly showing the urgency I felt when I first possessed this body.
At that time, I only focused on recalling and writing down the contents of the novel as they came to me, so the characters written in the book were sloppy enough that they couldn't be called sentences. Even if someone saw it, the handwriting was so messy that they wouldn't be able to distinguish whether it was characters or drawings of an earthworm.
As the person who wrote it, there were several things that I couldn't understand when I looked at it again, so it was a struggle to organize them later.
The first page was filled with a jumble of words, clearly showing the urgency I felt when I first possessed this body.
At that time, I only focused on recalling and writing down the contents of the novel as they came to me, so the characters written in the book were sloppy enough that they couldn't be called sentences. Even if someone saw it, the handwriting was so messy that they wouldn't be able to distinguish whether it was characters or drawings of an earthworm.
As the person who wrote it, there were several things that I couldn't understand when I looked at it again, so it was a struggle to organize them later.
I flipped through the pages one by one and stopped my hand at a certain part of the book.
Unlike the previous parts, it was written in neat and clear handwriting.
[1. Breaking off the engagement with Elena Edelweiss. Be careful of any anomalies which may happen afterward.]
"Careful, my ass."
I scratched the paper with my fountain pen as if scraping off the words from the book.
The cancellation lines were drawn several times, and now the sentence was completely invisible. I recalled today's events while looking at it.
If everything had gone according to plan, today's meeting with her would have ended with breaking off the engagement or at most a simple greeting ceremony. Why did it turn out like this?
The words she said last are still echoing in my ears.
'Then, shall we get engaged? Officially.'
"Why would she say something like that..?"
At that moment, I went so far as to pass on the right to make decisions to Elena herself. I couldn't have imagined that she would think positively about our engagement, so I let her decide. But the outcome of the situation was completely opposite to what I had imagined.
'Unbelievable. That Elena Edelweiss offered an engagement to me..'
I didn't know what expression I had when she said, 'Let's get engaged,' but I was sure I must have looked like a fool.
For today, I had prepared dozens, even hundreds, of questions and answers based on the novel, considering her personality that I knew from the novel. However, nowhere among them was an answer to her proposal of engagement.
Because I had never once imagined her proposing to me.
"Did Elena ever say that to the other Male Lead candidates in the original work? At least, I don't remember."
Well, if there was a character in the novel who heard such words, then the term 'Male Lead candidate' would have been irrelevant.
In the novel, which revolves around Elena Edelweiss, male characters were connected to her since the genre was a romance fantasy. However, just as fantasy novels have numerous heroines around the male protagonist, here, there were several male characters who were attracted to Elena, but it was not clearly determined who would end up with her, so they were all simply referred to as candidates.
In the novel, it was not explicitly mentioned which candidate Elena had affection for.
The story followed a format where those who liked her helped her, leading to a butterfly effect, and later Elena would rectify the situation. It wasn't the typical development of a romance fantasy where the male and female protagonists would be involved in a clear flirtation or an open love affair.
Well, if the story continued until the end, a male protagonist could be chosen, and the development could focus on romance. Unfortunately, this novel was not a completed one, and at least until before I was reincarnated here, there was no description showing that Elena directly liked someone.
However, at that time, Elena had firmly closed her heart toward men, mainly due to her relationship with Damian. But the current Elena was not in that state.
That could be a reason, I suppose, but as far as I knew, there was one male candidate who had a relationship with her as a childhood friend.
Although things may have changed now, it was also a factor that allowed me to plan with confidence.
On one side there was Edelweiss, the owner of the Tower of Dawn, one of the seven great towers on the continent, and on the other side, there was Erthuwen, the owner of the Tower of Twilight. The one I had in mind was Richard Erthuwen the Great Mage, eldest son and the heir to the Erthuwen family, who would come to be known as the bridge to another realm in the future.
In the original work, the relationship between Elena and Richard, who were childhood friends, was not bad, and it was already described that Richard had been secretly in love with Elena for a long time. Therefore, if Elena were to choose between me and Richard, I naturally thought she would choose Richard.
I didn't know how Elena feels about him now since it hasn't been described in the text, but surely she would be closer to him than she is to me, someone she just met today.
So, I expected Elena to consider breaking off the engagement for Richard, but perhaps she didn't see Richard in a romantic way as much as I thought.
That expectation turned out to be completely wrong.
"I can't understand why she chose me when she had such a talented childhood friend."
Even at a young age, Richard Erthuwen was renowned for being a genius magician born into the Erthuwen family. In comparison, my family was well-reputed for being swordmasters. I, on the other hand, was not particularly famous.
'Just a son of a renowned swordsmanship family. Is that all?'
Taking into mind the difference in our skills and the time we spend with one another, it was rather strange she chose me.
In today's meeting as well, I didn't pressure her to choose, I didn't force an engagement. On the contrary, during our conversation, I subtly hinted that she shouldn't agree to the engagement.
And yet, the fact that she agreed means that the decision to become engaged was entirely her own.
'In that case, what did Elena see in me that led her to make that decision?'
Even from my perspective, excluding herself, and maybe even someone who knows her better than she knows herself, I couldn't find an answer no matter how much I pondered.
That means the answer to this lies solely with her.
"Still, the fortunate thing is that it was only an offer, and I haven't given an answer yet."
If I couldn't come up with something no matter how much I deliberated, it would be better for me to come up with another method.
There was still one year left until the beginning of the original work. In that time, I needed to find a way to break off the engagement somehow. Then, like Damian in the original work, what method could I use to make her turn to me without committing any misdeeds?
I tried to get lost in my thoughts again, but either as a recoil from using my brain too much earlier, nothing came to mind, and my head just throbbed.
"Ah, I don't know. Let's just go to sleep."
I gave up thinking about it.
Time flew by in an instant, and the dark sky suddenly transitioned to a clear blue sky.
The bed was like a time machine. Just lying down for a moment erases time in an instant, so it couldn't be anything other than a magical item. Even the cheap bed I used in my previous life did its job right, but compared to it, the bed in the Count's mansion was incomparable. Adding more to it, it was no less inferior to modern luxury goods.
The bed in my room was one of the few things in this new life that I was satisfied with.
Perhaps because I woke up from a deep sleep, my throat was dry.
I called for the butler and drink a glass of cold water, then entered the bathroom and washed my body. A shower was moving not by science but by magic. Even after spending quite a long time here, it never failed to amaze me. The water droplets hitting my body wash away the remnants of sleep.
The clothes were made with the highest quality of black fabric. On the left sleeve, there was a dragon embroidered in gold, symbolizing House Kraus. It was elegant and luxurious.
I didn't know when he came in, but I saw Ken with the attire prepared when I returned to the room.
The clothes were made with the highest quality of black fabric. On the left sleeve, there was a dragon wrapped around the sword embroidered in gold, symbolizing the Kraus family. It was elegant and noble, far from being extravagant.
I wiped the moisture off my body with a towel and naturally received the clothes from Ken, then put them on.
"The Count says not to come for breakfast."
"Hmm? Did I do something wrong? Suddenly starving his son in the morning."
"No, it's not that. He said to have breakfast with Miss Edelweiss in the eastern annex."
"...He's really trying to stick us together. Tell my father I understand."
Seeing my grimacing face, Ken tilted his head and asked.
"You seem annoyed. Don't tell me, Young Master, did you do something to offend the young lady?"
"No, how does my frowning make you come to that conclusion? Logically, it makes sense that Lady Elena did it, right?"
"I doubt it. Unless Young Master did something unconsciously, Lady Elena would not."
"Ken. Are you sure you are really my butler?"'
"It was a joke. A joke. But why are you acting like this? You should be happy to have such a beautiful fiancée. I'm 50 years old, and I've never seen someone so beautiful in my entire life. Is there something really bothering you?"
Worry crept onto the innocent face of the humble butler. I reassured Ken not to worry and tidied up my appearance before heading to the annex where breakfast awaited.
The morning mansion was busier than I expected. As soon as the servants woke up, they pulled the curtains hanging on each window and began cleaning without any hesitation between the exterior and interior. Ever since I entered Damian's body, I tried to act as exemplary as possible, and as a result, everyone I meet greets me with a smile and goes off to do their assigned tasks.
In the past, the maids used to secretly give me caramels and snacks under my father and mother's noses. Now that I had grown to a certain extent, they no longer give me treats, which was a bit disappointing. It was not that I disliked sweets, but I didn't mind them showing me favoritism.
As my thoughts reached that point, yesterday's events came to mind.
"Oh, Ken. Please ask the chef to prepare the same dessert as yesterday after breakfast."
"Young Master, you don't really eat sweets... Oh, I understand."
Ken smiled and responded with a face that showed understanding, then opened the doors of the annex, the Isillia Pavilion.
"Young Master, then I hope you have a pleasant meal with the young lady."
"Enjoy your breakfast too, Ken."
As I passed through the door opened by Ken, the sight of a sparkling room illuminated by sunlight caught my eyes. The wall of the Isillia Pavilion, made of glass crafted by alchemists, was famous for providing a space where one could see the flower garden receiving the morning sunlight inside the mansion at a glance.
But what caught my eye now was not the flowers, but a person.
Her snowy silver hair reflected on the glass, glittering from the sunlight. As if a star had descended to the earth, she made everything else around her fade away.
It was quite dangerous from the morning.
Hiding my hand behind my back so she wouldn't see, I pinched myself lightly and spoke with a gentle smile.
"Good morning, Elena."
When my face appeared in her crystal-clear, deep violet eyes, she smiled.
"Good morning, Damian."