Chapter 29: Unexpected Guests (3)

Richard Erthuwen.

Even though I had never seen the red-haired boy who was talking to Elena before, I felt a sense of familiarity with him.

Of course, since the character Richard Erthuwen was a candidate for the male lead in ＜The Princess is Loved＞, in which Elena was the main character, it wasn’t unexpected to feel a sense of familiarity upon seeing him for the first time. This feeling was particularly natural given that I had read the novel and was already familiar with his appearance.

As soon as I saw Richard, my mind automatically began to pull out information about him.

Despite the fact that it was a year before the original work started, considering the talent described in the novel, he was at least the fourth or fifth rank wizard. His specialty was magic related to space and summoning, which was fitting for his affiliation with the Twilight Tower, an organization that studies the outside world. Although his physical ability was about average for his age, as a wizard, his sensory perception and reaction speed were expected to exceed that of an ordinary person.

Suddenly, all the information that popped out began to move in a strange direction of ‘how can I kill this guy for sure?’

By the time I felt strange about it, the conclusion ‘I can definitely kill him’ had already been reached in my mind, and my aura was ready to respond to the ring and summon the sword.

‘This is crazy.’

I quickly grabbed the string of sanity that was about to be cut off by madness and withdrew the ring and the aura I wanted to respond to.

The madness that had been dormant during the days spent with Elena seemed to have come back to life upon seeing Richard.

Perhaps it was because Richard’s existence intensified the anxiety that lingered in my heart.

‘Let’s think rationally, Damian Kraus.’

I understood why I was feeling so anxious.

If the other male lead candidates meet at the academy, where the story began in the original work, the reason must be that the relationship between Richard and Elena began even before the meeting with Damian, or me, before the beginning of the original work.

It was true that I felt uneasy that I wasn’t there during Elena and Richard’s time.

Although I had wished to be by her side during that future encounter, I knew it was impossible since it would occur before I had even met Elena.

It was not that I’d never thought about this before. Rather, prior to meeting her, I had often wondered whether she would leave me for Richard

However, she didn’t choose to break off the engagement and chose to be engaged to me.

‘So isn’t that enough?’

This was a decision made solely by Elena Edelweiss herself, without anyone’s intervention. Then, whatever past she and Richard had that I didn’t know about, there was no reason for me to worry about that anymore.

No matter what the past was, the one next to Elena now was me.

Realizing that, it seemed that my anxiety about Richard had subsided a little.

But I couldn’t let my guard down completely. Just like the Twilight Tower master who suddenly appeared in front of me, I wanted to avoid being stabbed in the back of the head for nothing. I stopped thinking and quietly headed toward the place where Elena and Richard were.

“Uh, hi, Elena. Long time no see.”

“…Hello, young lord Richard.”

Despite the singing and chatter echoing through the banquet hall, I could clearly hear their conversation. Maybe it was because I was only concentrating on the two of them.

Richard’s voice was full of tremors as he spoke to Elena, and his complexion didn’t look too good. I already knew that Richard had a crush on Elena from before. But looking at him now, I didn’t feel sympathy or pity for him.

On the contrary, I was more concerned about Elena.

From her face and voice, it looked like she was having difficulty to deal with him.

In the conversation between Elena and Richard in the original work, there was no sign of that at all. Even while still engaged to Damian, Elena was kind to Richard.

Did Elena notice Richard’s feelings for her?

No, if that were the case, the foundation of the story would be turned upside down. Although it was true that Elena accepted my engagement proposal, her eyes looking at Richard seemed to be on guard, as if she had noticed something.

“Elena.”

I stopped listening to their conversation and called her with all my strength.

As if my voice had reached her safely, she found exactly where I was. Before the conversation could go any further, I stood beside Elena and held her hand, just like when I entered the banquet hall.

“I was looking for you because you didn’t come for a long time.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I met a friend. Did you wait for long?”

“It’s not that long. And if you say it’s a friend…?”

I looked at Richard with a face pretending not to know anything.

Richard seemed quite surprised by my sudden appearance. Nonetheless, being the successor to the Mage Tower, he quickly changed his expression and greeted me with a calm face, asking for my name.

“It’s really nice to meet the deputy head of Kraus. I am Richard Erthuwen of the Erthuwen family.”

“Ah, the name of Twilight has a high reputation in the South. I accidentally interrupted your meeting with a friend. I’m sorry.”

I also smiled with the same face as him and held out my hand. Richard paused for a moment at the word friend, then smiled as if nothing had happened and held my hand.

“No. Rather, it seems that I was holding on to Miss Elena too much. Congratulations on your engagement. Elena too…Congratulations on your engagement.”

Our conversation did not last any longer. Letting go of my hand, Richard congratulated us once more, then turned around and disappeared into the crowd.

Although it was surprising to see Richard cleanly retreating, unlike in the novel, I was now Elena’s fiancé. The owner of the seat beside her had already been determined, and therefore Richard had left without saying anything.

“What was your relationship with him?”

When I was sure that Richard had completely left the room, I asked Elena.

Even after conversing with Richard, I couldn’t understand why she was cautious about something.

If asked what I could learn from that brief conversation, I wouldn’t have much to say, but at least the person I knew, Richard Erthuwen, was an infinitely harmless presence to Elena. So the emotions I could feel from him in our recent conversation were only sadness and resignation, and I couldn’t sense anything that would make her cautious.

Even though I had read the novel, it was certain that there was something I couldn’t understand. Even as a reader of the story, I couldn’t be all-knowing.

It was certain that something had happened between Elena and Richard, but Richard seemed to have only resignation about our engagement in his mind, and didn’t seem to be thinking of anything else. So  I tried to find it in the relationship between Elena and Richard.

But it seemed that Elena heard it differently.

At my words, she stared blankly into my eyes for a moment, then asked me with a face so red that I wondered if it was the person who was restless just a moment ago.

“Is that jealousy now…?”

“Yes?”

“Is Damian jealous? Is it because I talked to Richard? You’re jealous, right?!”

“No, Elena. What are you talking about?

I stopped making excuses to her and thought about it again.

It didn’t take long for me to answer that question, considering how my actions looked from Elena’s point of view. Certainly, as Elena said, I thought that my behavior seemed like that of a jealous boyfriend who was watching his girlfriend meeting with other men.

And finally, even asking what kind of relationship it was. There was really no corner to get out of.

When Elena urged me with a determined face to tell her, I couldn’t help but laugh bitterly.

But if I think about it, Elena wasn’t entirely wrong. 

The anxiety I felt while watching her and Richard converse definitely included the emotion of jealousy. However, I felt shameless telling her about it directly, so I denied it until the end.

“I wasn’t jealous. I was just really curious.”

“Ah, okay~  I’ll believe you just this once.”

Elena said this with a cheerful laugh, but she still seemed unwilling to trust my words. Nevertheless, I enjoyed seeing her like that, so I didn’t change my words until the end.

I think I had already lost, after all.

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