I Became the Villain of a Romance Fantasy

30 – Unexpected guests (4)

A terrace a little away from the banquet hall, out of sight of people.

The open terrace overlooking the scenery outside the castle was quiet as if it were placed in a different world from the banquet hall filled with people’s voices.

Instead of a chandelier placed on the ceiling of the banquet hall, the moon and stars lit up the place, but those small lights were enough to see the panoramic view outside the castle.

The man, who was standing there alone and looking at the towering Mount Pelioros in the distance, took a small bottle from his pocket, opened the lid, and poured the unknown liquid inside into his mouth.

It went down his throat and warmed up the man’s body in an instant. No matter how cold the wind of Merohim was, it was infinitely insufficient to freeze him, but the reason he drank this viciously high alcohol was not just to warm himself up.

“Would you like a sip too?”

He passed the bottle to the boy standing next to him and started talking.

Even on a dark night, the boy’s scarlet hair was clearly visible. The boy politely declined his offer and stood next to him, staring blankly up at the night sky. The man clicked his tongue briefly at the boy’s behavior and started drinking the remaining alcohol in the bottle.

“Richard. In times like this, you should at least drink like this to feel comfortable.”

“…How does your father know that?”

The man did not answer the boy’s question. Just like before, he was holding the bottle in his mouth.

The boy laughed lightly at his father’s appearance, stood there for a long time looking at the stars, and then left the terrace without saying anything.

“Such a pitiful fellow…”

What kind of family is Ertuwen?

There are only three dukes in the empire that can be said to be the ruler of the continent. Even if it casts aside the framework of that empire, it is one of the most prestigious families that bears the name of the twilight that is the pillar of the magic world. There are few things in this world that such Ertuwen cannot obtain.

However, even though Richard was born as the heir to such a family, he was a child who did not want anything from the family. If you really think about it, it was just a foundation for advancing to a higher level like any other wizard, but the times Richard sought help from Franz were very rare, so much so that he could only be counted on one hand.

Nevertheless, at a young age, she reached the 5th tier, called the wall of wizards, with only her own strength. As a father and as a teacher, how could I not be proud of it?

It was the first romance that such a guy had.

The guy who had never been interested in anything other than magic, was the first to pay attention to something else. Even though every time we had a meeting, there were only short questions and answers that were embarrassing to call it a conversation.

Elena, who captivated Franz’s heart, was also a genius wizard with a talent comparable to Richard’s, and that’s why the news of Elena’s engagement came as a big shock to both Franz and Richard, as Franz also thought of Elena as his daughter-in-law.

Even Erthuwen, who seemed to have nothing she couldn’t have, still had things she couldn’t touch.

If it was a common aristocratic daughter, Franz would have tried to connect with Richard using all kinds of means and methods. However, Elena was Edelweiss, not the daughter of an ordinary aristocratic family, and Damian, who was engaged to her, was also Krause’s, not the common and common count’s.

Even Erthuwen, who can establish a country if he wants to become a king, is almost impossible to touch Edelweiss and Krause.

Above all, Franz knew very well that Richard would not have wanted Elena or the child anyway. In the end, all he could do was grumble about the situation, hoping that his son would be able to bear the pain of a broken heart.

“I’m sorry, but what can I do with something that’s not meant to be… But, thinking that he stole it, I suddenly get annoyed.”

“What do you mean by stealing?”

“Are you here..?”

Franz, who did not think that an answer would come to his thoughtless self-talk, was revealed on Franz’s face.

The one who answered Franz’s self-talk was, of course, Joachim, who had noticed from the beginning that he had come here.

There was neither annoyance nor anger in his eyes as he looked at Franz. It was rude for him to step into the banquet hall even though he wasn’t invited, but the relationship between the two wasn’t so tight that that was unacceptable.

It was Yoheim who suddenly broke into Krause’s castle a few days ago and teleported the carriage in front of everyone, so he had no intention of blaming him.

“You dare to set up barriers in my castle, you must have a swollen liver. Franz.”

“I wanted to have a quiet conversation with my son. Well, I couldn’t say a few words. Whom did he look like to be so taciturn?”

“At least not you.”

At Joachim’s answer, Franz laughed quietly.

He tried to offer alcohol to Yohaim, who was approaching him, but as if someone had finished drinking, all the alcohol in the bottle in his hand was empty. But alcohol wasn’t just in his hands.

“Surprisingly, he backed off more than expected. Fortunately, I was wondering what to do if he resembles you and causes a commotion at the banquet hall.”

“You bastard. Do you have to say that in front of me now?”

“What is it? The person concerned isn’t here right now.”

“I’m here, you madman.”

Franz frowned at Yoheim’s words and quickly poured the fruit wine from the glass in his hand into his mouth. As the sweetness of the fruit wine spread in his mouth, his face began to relax. However, he was still looking at the moon with sad eyes.

“It would have been nice if Elena had been with Richard.”

“I’ll tell you in advance, I’ve never forced my daughter to make any choice.”

“I know. I know that. It just wasn’t meant to be. But I can’t help but feel sad. I also wanted a cute and kind daughter-in-law. Damn it. Arthur has a lot of blessings.”

It was not the first time that Richard and Elena had met because they were two of the seven pagoda owners who were close friends.

The two had developed a close friendship that could be called friends, and that’s why Franz was able to have such expectations. However, Elena chose to be engaged to Damian, who had started simply as a joke between her fathers, rather than Richard.

What would the party’s choice do with such a thing?

As he thought about this, Franz naturally remembered the face of the boy he met today. The boy who looked exactly like his old friend. As he remembered his meeting with Damian, the glass in Franz’s hand rippled slightly.

“Certainly… they said that there is no one under the amulet, but he wasn’t normal either.”

“Of course. He’s the man someone’s daughter has a crush on.”

“Hey, tell me honestly. What did you say to Elena?

Damian Krause.

The meeting with the boy who was betrothed to Elena over her own son gave Franz a feeling he would never forget.

The boy did not merely bear the resemblance of his memory friend. From the chilling eyes to the tingling of the skin, the 16-year-old boy reminded me of a friend he only saw on the battlefield.

If I hadn’t stopped the boy from pulling out his sword at that time, I couldn’t easily imagine what would have happened after that. No, even though he knew it, Franz’s pride, who had risen to the level of being called the Archmage, did not allow him to think of what happened after that.

Franz inadvertently hung himself, denying the possibility.

‘It must be simply an illusion…’

Anyway, I’m only sixteen.

It seems that he has achieved quite high achievements as a knight, but even so, what nonsense is it that a young boy who is not even a sword master threatens the life of an archmage who has reached the 8th rank. It’s only fair to assume that he was intimidated by the very resemblance to that non-human fellow.

However, even thinking that way, it was the same as scratching Franz’s pride.

“Anyway, it’s all because of Arthur.”

“You’ve got to fix everything you blame on him. How many years have you been doing that?”

“Noisy…this is all his karma. Anyway, Arthur has never been a help in my life. I was listening to my father’s words to meet my friends.”

Even though he said that, Joheim, remembering that Franz was the guy he had the most fun with, always hanging out with Arthur during his academy days, looked at Franz with cold eyes.

Is it because I keep drinking?

Starting with those words, seeing Franz’s bad relationship with Arthur, which started when he was in the academy, Joachim pours alcohol into Franz’s empty glass instead of using a detoxification magic to get rid of drunkenness as always.

I can see what Franz will say, who will suffer from a hangover the next day, but what can I do then? As he said, it’s the fault of the guy who met the wrong friend.

***

Although this banquet was held with me as the main character, the time I was in the banquet hall was not very long. The original purpose was to announce my engagement to Elena, so there was no reason for me to continue to be in that noisy space.

If you remain in the banquet hall, you will be surrounded by people and only create tiredness for no reason.

The position of Krause’s deputy head of household is not a position where you can casually talk to, but there are always people who want to talk to you because I have a young appearance.

Even so, the reason I didn’t want to leave the banquet hall was because I thought that Elena might be enjoying the banquet.

In the original novel, she appeared to have no special feelings about the banquet, but Elena, standing next to me, seemed to be in a better mood today than usual, so I was reluctant to ask her to go outside.

“Damian. Shall we go outside?”

“Elena. I’m fine.”

“What’s okay is okay. It’s all showing on your face right now.”

is it? Even looking at my face reflected in the glass, I couldn’t find anything strange, but she revealed my inner feelings at once, as if she was looking into my heart.

Elena had been able to immediately match my mind before, but as time went by, she read my mind so skillfully that I began to doubt whether or not she possessed supernatural powers related to this.

“And you don’t have to think I’m considerate. I didn’t want to stay in the banquet hall either.”

Elena said that, but I couldn’t believe it right away.

After all, she hadn’t shown any signs of dislike once since she entered the banquet hall. But when I said I was fine again, Elena looked at me with a pouty face as if she didn’t like it.

“Does Damian intend to make me a liar?”

“Oh, no. Could it be that?”

“Then why do you keep refusing even though you say it’s okay?”

I hadn’t expected Elena to speak with such a face.

Did he really not like the banquet?

However, at the banquet hall, she was always smiling, and it was hard to believe that she had faked it.

I told her the truth without giving a clear answer to this contradictory situation.

“I’m sorry. I thought you were enjoying the banquet because you kept smiling.”

“Yeah? What is that…”

Elena seemed to be thinking hard about something for a moment at my answer, then suddenly turned her head back and held out her hand.

“Damn, Damian misunderstood.”

oh like that. I guess I was mistaken.

It was too obvious to think so.

I decided not to mention why she was able to laugh while attending a banquet she didn’t really like. I didn’t want to show that kind of Elena to others, so I took her hand without saying anything.

We left the banquet hall just like that.

We could hear people lamenting behind us, but that didn’t stop us.

It was Elena who took the initiative in the destination. Unfortunately, I was largely ignorant of the geography of the Winter Castle, and all I knew was the way from the banquet hall to my room and the way to hers.

Unlike when he was living in the Count’s family, his role had completely changed.

It was not likely that Elena would introduce me to all of this expansive winter castle, as we did not have much time.

So where is she going to take me?

Strangely, walking with her without knowing anything makes my heart flutter.

Whether this was due to simple curiosity or other emotions, I entrusted myself to her, burying it deep in my heart.

After walking for such a long time, we arrived at a certain door.

Standing in front of the door, Elena was looking forward to seeing what kind of expression I would make. What kind of place is it that makes her look like this? Such a curiosity arose inside her, but it was quickly dispelled by her opening the door wide.

“here is…”

“How about it? Damien. This is my favorite place in this winter castle.”

Inside the room was a different world.

Here, where various flowers bloom in harmony with each other, even the climate was different from the outside. This was a small garden. The only winter flower garden built to grow flowers in the cold and barren northern land.

i know this place

“Well, it might seem a bit lacking to Damian.”

“It can’t be. It’s very beautiful.”

Elena introduced this place to me as if she was embarrassed, but I was purely admiring the environment created here.

Yes, because this was her own flower garden that Elena decorated and created herself without anyone’s help.

Even though Elena is an excellent wizard, I knew how much effort it would take to cultivate this on her own. This place was not just a flower garden, but the fruit of her efforts and a sanctuary only for Elena.

Even in the novel, it was hard to express in words how I felt about stepping into a space that was only allowed to Elena and her family.

Elena led me and started explaining the things here one by one, and I quietly listened to her words and admired the small flower garden.

Although it was smaller in size than the garden in Krause’s lord’s castle, I never heard that it was lacking. Because of the different feelings they gave each other, it was as if they were in a cozy room.

I feel a trembling in my heart more than when I entered her room.

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Maybe it’s because it was the only place where she, who was tired from the original work, found peace, or because I knew what this place meant to her, so I couldn’t calm my trembling heart at the thought of sharing her precious memories.

But I guess I wasn’t the only one who thought so. Elena spoke to me in a trembling voice.

“Do you remember what I said last time? I will tell you the things I love, just like you did for me.”

“Yes. I remember.”

“This flower garden was created when I first learned magic. At first, it started with a few wild flowers growing here in Merohim. After that, as my skills improved, I was able to create more diverse environments, and now it looks like this. It became.”

She smiled at the flowers blooming on the lowest flower bed. Looking at it, I could easily tell that the flower bed was the first flower bed Elena had made. And at the same time it became imaginary. How the little girl would have tended the flower beds.

Freed from memories of the past, Elena looked at me again and smiled brightly.

“So I really wanted to show it to Damian. I wanted to put my memories with you in this place where my memories dwell.”

The way she shyly blushed and told me about her wishes was so lovely.