Chapter 35: Unexpected Guests (8)

It was embarrassing.

If an ordinary person were to confront one of the seven giants in the magical world known as the Master of the Tower of Twilight, they would likely be overwhelmed by the natural aura emanating from the giant’s body, rather than being affected by his social status.

These exceptional beings who had surpassed the limits of human abilities were like unstoppable forces, capable of overcoming even the most hardened of criminals.

However, this did not apply to me.

First of all, in the eyes of others, I was a person who had risen to the ranks of exceptional beings like Franz, so I was not affected by his imposing presence. I had no reason to feel afraid of someone who looked at me with amusement, as if he was having fun, rather than sending me murderous intent.

However, I found that pale smile on his face more terrifying than any outright murderous intent.

It was truly regrettable that this situation arose due to my own fault.

‘Let’s think back to the beginning of this incident. Yes, the banquet that was held last night. That banquet was the problem.’

To be honest, I lost half of my sanity when I saw his face on the balcony. His appearance was a sign that Richard was here, so embarrassingly, I, who had just made up my mind to stand by her side, was frightened by the appearance of the original male lead candidate.

Ultimately, the outcome I feared did not happen, but I made one mistake during the process.

My thoughts were solely focused on Richard, so I paid no attention to Franz Erthuwen, who approached me first. Despite my claim to be Kraus’ messenger, Franz was a prominent figure who lived in the same era as my father and held the title of Duke in the empire.

If I had politely declined his offer to talk, I would not have made the mistake of unilaterally ignoring his introduction and leaving without a word.

Obviously, this was a matter that could be felt as an insult to his honor, and I would have nothing to say if Franz challenged me to a duel.

Of course, if I were to refute him, in the first place, Franz was an ‘Uninvited guest’ who was not invited to the banquet, so it was possible to say that I had no obligation to deal with him, but considering the influence and power he possessed, this would not be a problem to him. 

But I wasn’t worried about a duel with him. After all, a person whose heart was so hurt that he would ask for a duel would not be laughing in front of the same person who had insulted him.

With this, I was able to relieve a heavy burden in my heart, but I still felt uneasy. Franz’s smiling face as he looked at me, reminded me of the face my father used to make before playing a cruel prank on me.

As I stared at him without saying a word, Franz took out a small candy cane from his pocket, put it in his mouth, and spoke to me with a calm expression.

“Hey, kid. You don’t have to be so tense. Well, I did something wrong yesterday too, and I didn’t ask to meet you to lecture you about yesterday’s events, so don’t worry.”

“…Then why did you ask to meet me in the first place?”

“Just wanted to see the face of my friend’s son. Do I need a special reason?”

Franz spoke in a nonchalant tone as he rolled a candy in his mouth. Although I did not have to concern myself with what had transpired the previous night, given that he was the one involved, it was clear that Franz was still burdened by it. However, since he did not know my feelings, Franz congratulated me with an innocent face.

“Oh, come to think of it, I forgot to say it earlier, but congratulations on your engagement. If you plan on having an engagement ceremony, I hope you’ll invite Erthuwen too, even though it’s a little late.”

“Haha, unfortunately, we’re planning to have a small gathering with just family, so I’m afraid that won’t be possible. However, I’ll make sure to send an invitation to Erthuwen for the wedding later on.”

As I replied like that, Franz looked slightly dissatisfied and stared at me. It seemed like he thought I was teasing him, but in reality, it was a story that had already been arranged with Elena, so I had nothing to say.

No, what was there for me to do when it had already been decided?

Suddenly, with talk of engagement coming up, I started to recall the events that occurred last night at the flower garden.

After leaving the banquet hall last night, we headed to the flower garden she created.

Since it was already late at night, we didn’t have much time left. However, even in that short amount of time, there was no problem in making our relationship closer than before.

There, I heard her wishes and saw the future she envisioned for me and for her.

Despite the numerous conversations we had shared, I found that none had been as meaningful as the one we had in the flower garden that day.

It was also the time when we had a serious talk about the engagement.

If Franz had met me just two days earlier, he might have been able to attend the engagement ceremony. Since that didn’t happen, it was undoubtedly ‘The Heaven’s will’.

“You’re lost in thought again while I’m in front of you. Anyway, that’s why Kraus…”

“Ahaha… I’m sorry.”

At Franz’s scolding, my mind which had been looking into the past for a while returned. It seemed that I had fallen into the memory of that day without even realizing it. The happy time there was very short, so perhaps that was why the afterglow was left behind.

If it weren’t for Franz, I could have spent more time like that day.

“What’s wrong? That look in your eyes. It’s making me uncomfortable.”

“….It’s nothing.”

Maybe I was not good at hiding my emotions. Still, I was confident in maintaining my poker face, but these days, including Elena, everyone seemed to be able to see what I was thinking.

Franz twitched his eyebrows a few times, then completely relaxed his expression, cleared his throat, and spoke to me.

“Ahem, anyway… You know about, Richard, right?”

“What are you talking about?”

“My son Richard.”

“Yes….”

When Franz mentioned Richard’s name, instead of feeling uneasy like before, I thought of the boy I had met this morning.

As a father, Franz probably noticed that Richard had been interested in Elena for some time now. Maybe Franz had seen me talking with Richard at the banquet yesterday because he looked quite disheveled while bringing up Richard’s name to me.

“Please don’t hate Richard too much. He won’t do anything wrong to you and Elena. I can promise this in the name of Erthuwen. The reason I went there yesterday was just to help him sort out his feelings. There was no other reason.”

It seemed like Franz thought I was resenting him or Richard. He vigorously defended Richard in his absence. I couldn’t say that my attitude towards Richard at the banquet yesterday was great either.

It wasn’t that I was angry with him, but I, who was standing in front of Richard at the time, was quite keen on the fact that the original male lead candidate and Elena had met. Franz couldn’t have felt it, so he must have been telling me this on purpose.

If he had seen my conversation with Richard at the training hall this morning, he might not have said this.

“Don’t worry. I know very well that Richard is not that kind of man.”

I responded with a gentle smile at Franz’s words. Seeing me like that, Franz looked at me with a puzzled expression as if he hadn’t expected me to react like this.

Well, from Franz’s point of view, the guy who had been glaring at his son until last night had changed his attitude overnight, so it might not be understandable.

From Franz’s point of view, it might be hard to understand how the person who had glared at his son as if he wanted to kill him just last night could suddenly change his attitude so drastically in just one morning.

“I see… I guess I said something unnecessary.”

The conversation between both of us had already concluded, and it appeared that he had made a fuss unnecessarily, causing Franz to feel slightly embarrassed. However, at the same time, he seemed to be at ease and relieved.

“Moreover, what was he like? Was he fine? No, there’s no way that’s the case. He must have had messy hair and his eyes were red from not getting enough sleep. Isn’t it?”

“Well, he certainly seemed that way.”

“Of course. He takes after me, you know. Well, every man is bound to experience disappointment a few times after being born. But at least he didn’t collapse from it.”

This guy seemed to have a knack for finding common ground between father and son in strange places.

Watching Franz in this way, I could somewhat understand why he was friends with my father.

[TN: You can support the translation and read 5 premium chapters on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/WanderingSoultl ]

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