The people of Kraus's castle were unusually lively today. While the energy of spring might invigorate people, it alone couldn't make the castle bustling with activity.
The reason why the castle was so busy right now was because the owner of the castle went out for a walk after a long time, but the main news was that he was also taking his two sons with him.
In the eyes of others, it might be a question why a family outing was such a big deal, but the servants of the Kraus's castle knew that Count Kraus had never sent his youngest son, Alphonse, outside since the death of his wife.
His other son, Damian, despite being only sixteen years old, had always been overly confident since childhood. But Alphonse, now seven years old, was receiving plenty of affection from the servants due to his cute appearance and typical young boy's demeanor, unlike Damian.
Even so, the fact that he lost his mother at an early age made Alphonse a target of sympathy, and it was natural for them to feel sorry for him, who had always been sheltered.
But that was now a thing of the past.
Although they were not sure what kind of change of heart Count Kraus had, one important fact was that this outing would be the beloved youngest son's first memorable outing, and everyone was overly excited.
"Why do you keep staring at the wheels? Can't you see we're busy?"
"But seriously, I'm worried. What if this breaks while going?"
"That's why we replaced all the wheels entirely."
"What if the ones in storage were already rotten? Come to think of it, isn't this the young lord's first time riding in a carriage? What if he gets motion sickness?"
"…Just go and buy new wheels. I'll be fixing the carriage seat."
They checked the carriage over and over again and even went the extra mile to tear off the existing seat and replace it entirely, in case Alphonse got motion sickness during the ride.
As soon as the chef heard the news the day before, he got up early in the morning and started preparing food that Alphonse would like, and the knights assigned to escort the outing were more vigilant than ever.
That was how the eagerly awaited outing of the Kraus family was taking place, with Damian at the center.
***
After my conversation with Elena, I tried to spend time with Alphonse for a few days.
It wasn't that difficult to make time for it.
It was just a matter of slightly reducing the time I had been devoting to studying and training. To be honest, the amount of time I was spending on those two was for my own good as the anxieties I had been feeling about what would happen in the future didn't make me feel very relaxed.
While there may be a predetermined story in this world, as someone who had been assigned the role of a villain named Damian outside of "Elena Edelweiss's story," I wanted to break free from that role. The anxieties I had about the stories I didn't know outside of "Elena Edelweiss's story" continued to corner me.
So, even though I knew I was overdoing it, I wasn't satisfied. Until I met Elena, my life had been like a hamster endlessly spinning in a wheel.
I couldn't move forward, but I continued to hold onto those things.
But thanks to my relationship with Elena, which was different from the original story, that short time we spent together changed many things for me.
Strangely enough, whenever she smiled at me, I no longer felt anxious about the future.
Could it be because I knew she was the protagonist of this world?
I immediately erased the sudden thought from my mind.
In fact, the reason didn't matter so much. The important thing was that her presence by my side helped me to shake off the insecurities that were gripping me and helped increase the time I spent with my younger brother.
"*Nunim, the color of this hyacinth. It's just like the color of your eyes, so I think it goes well with you."
"Oh my, thank you for the compliment, Alphonse."
Of course, the time that was created in this way wasn't entirely my time with Alphonse.
Currently, Elena was a guest in our castle.
She also came with the status of being the fiancé of the next family head of Kraus. Although it was not yet a formal engagement, she was being treated as the next Kraus's mistress at the castle.
Of course, being engaged, I spent a lot of time with her, which also affected my time with Alphonse.
After the last meal, the relationship between these two seemed to be getting closer, Alphonse also started following Elena, calling her 'Nunim' or 'Noona'. As a result, when I went to Alphonse after work, there were often cases where the two of them were already talking
Seeing the two of them laughing and talking together made me smile, but in the corner of my heart, I felt as if my younger brother had been taken away.
Of course, I felt that the distance between me and Alphonse was getting closer than before, but I still felt sad about it.
'Can't help it… Let's think of it as karma for not paying attention to my brother.'
We were currently in the flower garden of Isilia Pavilion where Elena and I walked last time. There were several flower gardens in the castle, but the only place where hyacinths were planted was Isilia Pavilion.
More than anything, Alphonse liked hearing about our mother from me at Isilia Pavilion. When I told Alphonse the things written in our mother's diary one by one, I too was immersed in the memory of that time.
Unlike before, I wasn't just lost in my memories though, after all, it was about sharing those beautiful days with my younger brother, who wasn't there at that time.
As we talked, we ended up talking about myself, Damian's story, and even Alphonse's story, which I hadn't paid much attention to.
"I didn't really care about my mother. The only family I remember is my older brother and my father."
"Then, at Isilia Pavilion…"
"It wasn't my father's will that I went to Isilia Pavilion without telling anyone. I was just always curious about who my older brother and father were seeing through me."
And what I learned through this conversation was that my younger brother was much more mature than I thought. it was doubtful whether such thoughts could come out of the head of a seven-year-old. In fact, the answer was such that it made me think that Alphonse might be a reincarnated person like me.
"But after seeing the diary my mother wrote and hearing the story from my brother like this, I also… wonder what my mother would say if she saw me. I wonder what she would think. I want to talk to my mother too and be in the place that my brother and father remember."
Perhaps Alphonse learned more about his mother than before through his conversation with me. But nonetheless, Alphonse told me he was fine.
"But I'm fine. I have an older brother who thinks of me like this, the strongest father in the world, and a pretty and kind Nunim. So please don't feel sorry for me. I'm a happy child."
No one could take the place of the vacant mother.
However, we could accumulate memories to fill that void. But what worried me was how my presence, who was originally an antagonist, would affect my future family.
The Kraus family in the original work was good, except for Damian, but I didn't know if they were happy. They were just supporting characters in a passing novel.
But now I was Damian, and I was the next head of the Kraus family and was also their family member.
I wanted my family to be happy.
As I recalled it, the anxiety about the future that I thought had disappeared began to pop up again.
I immediately opened my closed eyes and looked for Elena.
The scent of hyacinth tickles the tip of the nose.
When I saw her smiling with Alphonse, it made me feel relaxed as if to say, 'When did that happen?'
It was funny how just a few days ago, I was thinking about breaking up with her but ended up like this.
'Why am I trying to get closer to her even though I know that she will be far from me someday.'
I was not sure either.
I didn't know if I was trying to rely on her because she was the main character in this world, Or maybe I was being drawn to Elena Edelweiss's appearance that she had shown while spending time with me.
Maybe both of them were true.
As I approached her, Elena turned her head and showed a different face than when she was talking to Alphonse.
I smiled and said to her.
"Elena, do you remember when we talked about going on a picnic together last time?"
Whatever the cause of this uncertain emotion was, there was no doubt that I wanted to spend more time with her now.