7 – Broken Engagement

The secondary invasion.

An incident where more than twice the number of monsters that poured out during the first rift burst forth.

In the original work, it was written to be a hellish event, depicting the Northmen losing all hope and falling into the abyss.

Only by the fortuitous arrival of the protagonist Dale, the North was saved, barely managing to survive.

Devastating damage.

Despair.

A glimmer of unseen hope.

The words written within the novel were entirely negative, but…

Funnily enough, what these words signified was one thing.

‘They survived, regardless.’

Regardless of the conditions, the story was that the North did not perish, and was able to endure the secondary rift, so the North was able to prevail in the secondary invasion.

And that was said to be the catalyst for the hero to form a bond with Elysia.

*

A festival was held in the North.

It wasn’t so much a celebration of survival, but rather a remembrance of the dead, an attempt to forge the will to live on in those who remained.

In short, it was closer to a funeral than a festival, and closer to a wake than a funeral.

As the festival for the living continued, not for the departed.

Dale, the hero who had contributed greatly in this war, stepped forward to receive blessings from the countless assembled.

Dale too was a stranger, but perhaps because he directly rescued them during the war, he garnered everyone’s affection, unlike myself.

His position, the polar opposite of mine, felt somewhat unsettling.

But in the first place, all that mattered to me was Elyssia’s approval, so I was about to turn away when someone pointed a finger at me, shouting.

“You… You piece of garbage! Because of you, my parents!”

It was a man, drunk.

He stomped on the flowers I had bloomed, pointing at me, before throwing a crude liquor bottle in my direction.

He was drunk, so the bottle missed me, falling to the side.

Perhaps it was because the snow had melted, revealing the stone ground.

The bottle shattered, its glass shards scattering all around.

“…”

Just a few months ago, even a crude glass bottle was a luxury in the North, something you couldn’t just throw away like that.

Realizing how much better off they had become compared to before, as I watched this scene unfold.

Voices arose from all corners.

“My mother… My mother is dead because of you.”

“Because of you, my husband… *sob*. Bring him back! Bring him back!”

“You son of a b*tch, what are you doing here?”

Truth is not needed for responsibility.

Only a target to bear it is required, instead of the truth.

They had already fallen victim to the political machinations of the Northern leadership, already treating me as the culprit, throwing food and objects at me.

Like the glass bottle, food was also something that many were starving for just a few months ago.

But it had become commonplace for them, now freely using it to express their disgust towards me.

‘… Hah.’

The emotions subside.

An intense sense of futility washes over me, a sense of meaninglessness.

But it’s alright.

After all, I had done all of this for Elyssia.

A surge of revulsion welled within me, but I forced my emotions down, calming my heart.

And so, ignoring them, I headed towards the office where Elysia was, soothing my mind.

‘It’s alright. Elysia alone needs to acknowledge me.’

After all, that was my only goal; there was no need to waste my emotions on useless things.

I endured the overwhelming sense of futility and opened the office door, only to be met with Elysia’s expressionless rejection.

“I would prefer you didn’t visit again.”

“… Why?”

“Do you want a political reason, or a personal one?”

That didn’t matter in the slightest.

I felt something gradually snapping within my head, and I stammered out a lame excuse.

“… I made the north warmer, just as I promised.”

Was there not a promise? Had she not agreed to truly see me?

“I am grateful for that, but that was an act that someone would have accomplished even without you in the first place.”

She showed a reaction as if she knew nothing of such promises, her expression pushing me away.

In that moment, I felt every connection sever, and my mind grew dizzy.

I stood frozen, staring at Elysia, who was regarding me with a look of loathing, until she spoke tersely.

“And something I’ve felt for a while now. I would prefer you didn’t cling to me constantly under the pretense of being my fiancé. It’s a nuisance.”

“……Ha.”

I found myself laughing in disbelief.

Seeing my state, Lorraine must have felt she couldn’t leave me like that, for she carefully pulled me away, speaking.

“… Young Master. Let us go, for now.”

As my fury crossed the line, I felt it strangely subside.

I nodded to Lorraine and turned to leave, but as I did,

the protagonist came into view standing in front of the office door in the hallway.

“……”

How should I react? No, I didn’t even want to react.

Ignoring him, I walked past, and the protagonist, as if waiting for this moment, entered the office and immediately closed the door behind him.

‘Judging by how quickly the door was closed, he must have heard everything.’

Which meant that even knowing I was that guy’s fiancé, he brazenly went inside.

Amused by the absurdity of it all, I was about to move forward when…

“Huhu, thank you so much. Thanks to you, hope has blossomed in the North.”

“Oh, no, no, what did I even do? It’s all thanks to everyone fighting so hard…”

Laughter echoed from inside the office.

“As a token of my gratitude, I prepared a small bouquet. I sincerely hope you like it.”

“Ah, thank you! It’s truly beautiful.”

Flowers did not grow in the North, due to the harsh environment.

To put it another way, the bouquet Elysia gifted to the protagonist was made using flowers I had created.

Seeing that, I felt everything severing, and walked forward.

As I walked forward without a word, Lorraine, flustered, began to add,

“D-Don’t be too disappointed, Young Master. Perhaps Grand Duchess Elysia thinks that if she gets involved with you politically, she’ll be pushed out of the race for the family head position, so she can’t help but act this way…”

What did that even matter?

Blatantly ignoring her, I merely continued onward, remembering that look filled with loathing I had seen earlier.

*

The meeting and trial, temporarily halted due to the second invasion, had begun again.

I stood before the northern people, their numbers slightly diminished, their expressions even more grim.

Unlike last time, problems had erupted to the point where they were completely unmanageable, and even public sentiment overwhelmingly favored punishing me.

Those who had only been watching were now leaning towards shifting the blame onto me.

In short, they knew the truth, but to avoid going against the tide, the majority were displaying animosity toward me.

I stared at Elysia, sitting expressionlessly before them.

Seated at the head of the table, it seemed.

Leikrik Wintraven, that is, the Grand Duke of the North and family head, appeared to be absent from the meeting.

I quickly assessed how strong the people around me were, then closed my eyes.

… I had abandoned everything to gain the heart of just one person.

My pride, my reputation, my worth, even my future.

Yet, all that had returned was a hateful reaction and a gaze that said she could never acknowledge someone like me.

A mocking smile escaped me at that look, which heralded that everything had been in vain.

Because I realized that no matter what I did, she never even intended to understand me.

“Then, let the trial begin.”

No longer trying to hide their intentions, they vehemently spewed forth, picking apart my actions.

Picking apart my actions meant there was no evidence, which meant they were simply repeating the task of tearing me down.

No system, no logic to be found.

At such words, I looked up at the ceiling and closed my eyes.

If only, just once, they had listened to me… or treated me with the fairness they showed others, could our ending have been different?

Briefly imagining a future that would never be, I opened my mouth, deeming all of it meaningless.

“Elyssia. Won’t you at least consider hearing my side?”

At my words, silence fell, all eyes focusing on Elyssia and me.

Elyssia gazed back at me, answering in a voice weighed down.

“It is pointless.”

“You won’t even attempt to grasp the context of events, let alone hear my story, it seems.”

“…”

Until the very last, I clung, begging her to listen, but she merely stood there, looking down at me.

The instant I saw that emotionless gaze, I felt a potent emptiness.

And I spoke the crude words I would never have dared utter before her.

“Then get lost, you b*tch.”

There was no need to endure any longer.

I raised the small hammer I had concealed and hurled it at Elyssia.

Of course, if I were to kill Elyssia right now, the Sword Master of the North would come seeking my death, so instead of hitting her, I aimed at the wall beside her, smashing through it with force.

Crrrack.

It seemed my years of brutal training, combined with the constant consumption of elixirs, had paid off. The hammer dug deeply into the solid stone wall, lodging itself firmly.

I watched it impassively, brushing off my clothes as I spoke.

“I will formally submit the details of this incident to the central government. There, the truth of the matter will be properly revealed.”

The key figures who had risen to attack me the moment I threw the hammer, upon hearing these words, seemed to understand something was amiss and fell silent.

I regarded their gazes, then gripped the mace I was holding tightly, approaching the protagonist in the witness stand, and brought it down upon him.

Kwaaang!

The suddenness of the attack prevented the protagonist from properly defending himself.

But, as expected of a protagonist, he managed to avoid a fatal blow and collapsed to the floor.

Seeing this, I twirled the mace and continued.

“A strange man shouldn’t lay hands on another’s fiancée. Besides, aren’t you a commoner?”

I never imagined I’d utter words befitting a third-rate villain.

It was clumsy, but I found it more entertaining than I expected, and I brought the mace down on the protagonist once more.

In truth, such an attack wouldn’t have troubled the protagonist in the slightest.

But Lorraine, stepping in, pinned him with her foot, ensuring the mace landed true.

“Krrraaakk!”

I watched the mace connect with his groin, a chuckle escaping me, before tossing the weapon to the ground.

“Let’s go.”

“Yes.”

Pushing back a stray lock of hair, I looked at Elyssia one last time.

Her face a mask of shock and bewilderment. Seeing it, I felt less sadness and more, strangely, amusement.

I knew then, my heart was utterly extinguished.

Well, nothing left to see here.

Leaving the core members, frozen as if by a Northern wind, I slowly walked away.

The moment they tried to seize me, it would become a feud between houses. They likely wouldn’t dare.

Normally, perhaps, but they’d lost too much strength from the second invasion.

‘And odds are, they’ll try to bargain with my House, to sweep what just happened under the rug.’

It was all so predictable. Stepping outside,

a carriage waiting for us came into view. Questioning it, Lorraine bumped my shoulder.

“I called for it.”

Sharp when it counts.

I resolved to brew Lorraine a tea when we returned to the main house, then climbed into the carriage.

‘No need to keep it warm any longer.’

Releasing the solar spirit’s power, which had been steadily draining my mind, I reclined.

Normally, ending things like this, there would still be anger simmering.

But a profound sense of futility washed over me, leaving me empty.

‘I don’t even know what I was working so hard for.’

I sacrificed so much, simply because she had saved my life.

…Though I don’t regret it. I did those things because I wanted to, in the first place.

Still, the result was such a catastrophic failure that even the thought of dealing with her, or anything to do with her, filled me with disgust, a desire to never be involved again.

Cold air swirled around my lips, exhaled in a hazy plume.

As if every emotion I’d ever held for her was evaporating, scattering into the wind.

I let go of all the affection, the fondness, even the pity I’d felt, and stared out the window.

Snow, pure white, scattering in small flurries, settling everywhere.

A common sight in the North, originally, yet unfamiliar somehow, seeing it again after so long.

‘White…’

Amidst the city draped in pristine snow, I watched people despairing as they gazed at the landscape, then expressionlessly turned away.

…The North was once again being graced by snowfall.