I Became the Villain of a Romance Fantasy

48 – Way home (5)

The way back home was indeed very simple.

No matter how far the distance between Sarham and Merohim is, as it is located at the end of the vast empire, just like when I first came here, Yohaim, he just had to teleport the carriage carrying Elena and me to the front of the lord’s castle.

Joachim, who did not want to part with his daughter, looked at Elena with a sad expression until the moment she got into the carriage, but he did not delay our departure.

It seemed that the look he secretly sent me at the end had a meaning different from his actions. Unfortunately, I was the one who wanted to return to Sarham the most, so his will was not conveyed to Elena through me.

Yohaim sighed for a moment at the sight of me making a face that he didn’t know what it meant, and then immediately activated the magic with short words.

“I’ll see you again soon.”

In response, I bowed my head slightly to greet them, and by the time I raised my head again, pure white light was already surrounding us along with the carriage.

When the magic was activated, the white world passed by my eyes again, along with the strange sensation I felt when I first experienced teleportation. As before, when the light faded, we arrived at Krause’s lord’s castle, not the winter castle.

A week is not such a long time, but perhaps because of what happened in Merohim, the sight of the house after a long time felt more friendly than ever. When we opened the carriage door and came out, a cool breeze different from that of the Merohim greeted us.

The colorful flowers planted to decorate the yard come into view along with the chirping of birds that could not be heard well in the winter castle. The fact that I had returned home began to touch my heart as I saw a multicolored world, not a monochromatic world where only white existed anymore.

“Are you that good?”

“Yes. It’s good. After all, the house is the best.”

As I opened my arms wide and took a deep breath in the southern air that I hadn’t felt in a long time, Elena stopped laughing as if I looked funny. But even so, I didn’t feel ashamed at all.

Why do I like my house?

During the five years since he was possessed by Damien, this place has become the only resting place in this world. Therefore, there is only one place that can bring a rest to me now, who is mentally exhausted.

One year until the start of the original work.

Like in Merohim, I don’t know what will happen to me in the future regardless of the original work, but I think I should take a break by looking back at what has happened so far, at least for a while. Can’t we just be surprised by unexpected things forever? I needed some time to calm down.

“By the way, the castle is quiet today. I’m sure your father knows we’re coming back.”

Unlike usual, the atmosphere of the castle seemed to be quiet somewhere, so I looked around. It wouldn’t be strange if he waited at the door for us to come back, but all I could see was a couple of guards guarding the entrance in front of the bars.

Even though it’s because of work, my father even made a wooden sword to teach Alphonse before leaving, but I don’t see Alphonse like that, so something feels cheap.

I suddenly feel uneasy…

Just as the expression that had been relieved of anxiety was about to harden again, the door opened and a person walked towards this place. was not unknown. Coming out the door was sub-butler Paul, who took over Ken’s duties while he was away. I greeted Paul and asked him if anything was wrong.

Fortunately, Paul shook his head and answered my question with a light smile.

“Currently, the Count is having an interview with a guest. That’s why the atmosphere in the castle has subsided.”

The hardened face at Paul’s words begins to loosen up again.

Come to think of it, at this time of year, is it about time for the spring hunting competition? It’s a place I’ve never missed before, but I completely forgot about it this year due to the overlapping incidents.

If you heard about him from another family, it would explain why the atmosphere in the castle is so quiet right now. I wanted to go straight into the audience room and hand over the ring to my father as soon as possible, but I couldn’t.

Like in Merohim, incidents have been happening around me lately, so it seems that my nerves have become very sensitive to overreact even to small things.

It seems that meeting with my father will only be possible after the interview with the guest is over, so we decided to go back to our room first. I went to Hayley, who was unloading, handed over the luggage, and tried to escort Elena to the room, but she immediately moved the luggage from my hand into her own, and then said it was okay and refused.

“Damian. You promised Master Alphonse. When you return to Sarham, I will teach you the sword. In the meantime, I’ve monopolized Damian, so should I yield to the Master this time?”

Then, with a small smile, he added, ‘I don’t want to be hated by the boy.’

At Elena’s joking yet non-joking remark, I nodded, saying yes.

Alphonse is a clever child who can be said to have grown up already, but perhaps because he has not learned swordsmanship due to his mother’s weak body, he expresses emotions that are no different from his peers when it comes to swords.

Of course, that doesn’t mean that Alphonse was so narrow-minded that he would burst out laughing just because I escorted Elena for a while, but since Elena couldn’t have known that fact, her words meant to go to Alphonse as soon as possible.

Haley, who was supposed to be carrying the luggage again, looked at me with a sad face, but I smiled and said, “Thank you for your hard work.”

“Paul, do you know where Alphonse is now?”

Alphonse’s room in the main castle is a place where you can see the yard from the window. So, if Alphonse had been in the room, he would have come out after seeing us arrive, but Alphonse was not here now.

That means Alphonse is somewhere else now.

In fact, there was no place to guess at all.

“I saw the Bocchan go out early this morning. The maids say they saw the Bocchan near the Knights’ gymnasium. I haven’t heard of the Bocchan’s return, so I’m guessing he’s still there.”

I knew it.

I guess my prediction was correct.

I couldn’t help but laugh when I thought of Alphonse waiting for me at the gymnasium with high expectations. It’s good to be motivated, but I wish you would at least wait until I come.

I looked at the patriarch’s ring that was still on my hand.

Until recently, I had only thought of handing it over to my father as soon as possible, but now I feel relieved that I still have this ring in my hand. If I recklessly took out the sword here, I might be scolded by my father later, but I wonder if Alphonse can do whatever he wants for today.

Alphonse was so happy even when he first held the wooden sword in his hand, but since it was a sword used by ancestors in legends, I was looking forward to seeing what kind of expression Alphonse would make.

***

Leaving everyone behind, I walked alone to the place where the Knights’ gymnasium was located.

Located some distance from the main castle, it was the cradle of Krause’s proud ‘Black Dragon Knights’ and my old playground.

It’s a bit far fetched to call a place that has nurtured numerous excellent knights a playground, but if I recall the mindset I had when I headed there, I had no choice but to express it like this.

It was said that there was a separate gymnasium used only by Krauss in the lord’s castle, but that didn’t mean I was the only one who swung my sword there. It was a place I used to have ‘conversations’ with my father, but in reality, the place where I spent time forging my sword was a general gymnasium used by other knights.

Of course, as the successor of the Krauss family, there are many reasons why I went to find out the condition of the sword I would wield, but the biggest reason seems to be to find a replacement for my father, who is always away due to work.

So, my expression of playground is not too wrong.

Crossing swords with them was like a kind of play for me at the time. That feeling still lingers today.

“I wonder how much everyone’s skills have improved…”

It would be difficult to expect a big change in just a week, but since I had sparred with the Knights of Edelweiss just a while ago, I should be able to make an objective evaluation.

The weather was sunny and blue, perfect for swinging a sword.

“No. No. Look at my mind.”

It seems that the original purpose has been forgotten by the smell of grass after a long time and the familiar sight of the playground. Alphonse likes to watch me sparring with the members, but he can’t be happy about his share disappearing.

“aaap!”

There was a shout that signaled that we were almost at the gymnasium.

I can see the uniform of the knights with Krause’s pattern on it, not Edelweiss’s. They were standing in a circle in one of the gymnasiums, presumably a sparring between the members was in progress. Looking closely at the circular fence they created, I could find a small child mixed in with tall people like poles.

I quietly walked behind the boy, killing my presence.

Perhaps everyone was distracted by the sparring, but among the knights standing there, not a single one noticed that I was approaching. Well, it’s me, but that’s a good thing.

“yap.”

“Uh -ka ahhhhh … what brother?

As soon as I got closer, I lowered my stance and, without hesitation, put my hand between Alphonse’s armpits. Alphonse shouted in surprise at the sudden stimulation, but immediately looked back and showed a happy face when he realized that I had done it.

But I had no intention of ending it here yet. As I grinned and raised the corners of my mouth without saying anything, Alphonse’s face began to feel tense as if it had never happened.

“Now, wait a minute…”

“Yap. Yap.”

“Huh huh !! Ah .. Ah .. tongue, brother .. it’s tickling !!!!”

I stopped tickling Alphonse only when Alphonse struggled violently and dropped the wooden sword in his hand. After picking up the wooden sword that had fallen on the ground and shaking off the dirt, I handed the sword to Alphonse again and asked,

“how have you been?”

“yes…”

Alphonse replied in a hushed voice, as if there was still an afterglow left. I stroked Alphonse’s head and checked for any broken or injured places. Still, it was fortunate that he didn’t seem to have done anything reckless while I was away.

Some people’s eyes were on us. Hey, if you make a fuss and don’t pay attention to it, then that’s weird. But somehow, that feeling was strange. Alphonse and I joked around all the time, so there was nothing strange about it.

It wasn’t long before I understood the meaning of this gaze.

I turned my head towards that place with eyes that felt so strong that it was poisonous.

The center of the gymnasium, where sparring was taking place just a moment ago. There, only one person was standing there, as if the match had already been decided. The person standing there was the owner of the gaze.

I raised my head and looked into the face to see who was giving me this look. The bright golden light that is dazzling is reflected in the sunlight high in the sky. It looked like a halo of sunlight, and it seemed as if there was another sun on the ground. In the midst of that golden wave, eyes with the color of the blue sky met me.

“It’s you!”

A bright and glaring voice is stuck in the ear.

The wind blows. When the clouds covered the sun in the sky, it was only then that the figure in front of me came into sight.

“uh.”

When I saw the girl with the sword standing in front of me, a gasp escaped from my mouth.

This was the first time I had met the girl, but I immediately recognized who she was. Seeing her look completely inconsistent with the description in the novel, my head immediately raised her name from the sea of memories.

Noel Estelia.

The princess of the Empire, and one of those who separated Damian from Elena in the novel. That’s why I couldn’t have known if I didn’t know.

so why are you here