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[In standard webnovel spacing/ formatting, this is 18 pages long…]

Chapter 22

I already knew Julie would be at the restaurant I frequently visited, but I didn’t expect the person next to her to join us as well.

Josephine. In Deculein’s perspective, she belonged to the highest risk group more than any other Named. It was the first time we saw each other in person, but I had seen her a few times behind the monitor. I was also familiar with her characteristics.

“You must have been stared at on your way here.”

Her presence made me wonder for a moment whether I should sit or not. However, I couldn’t just leave abruptly. After thinking about it, I realized it might be better for us to meet now. Josephine was a Named that could randomly send an assassin after me, after all. It would be safer to meet with her unexpectedly now than be fatally wounded at a critical moment.

I sat down and looked at Julie. Julie looked at me, too. There was a hint of embarrassment in her gaze, mixed with a bit of remorse. However, she had nothing to be sorry for when it came to Deculein.

“Julie’s my little sister, but even if she weren’t, I’d still find her beautiful. Meanwhile, you’re the same as usual, but you somehow look cooler today.”

I knew Zeit, entering the room last, was talking, but none of his words reached my ears. All I could do was stare at Julie.

“What do you think of Julie now?”

Josephine’s question brought me back to my senses.

“She’s beautiful.”

I felt as if I couldn’t take my eyes off of her for a moment. Even if she usually wore armor with no makeup, she was already a matchless lady whose beauty stood out. Today, she was even more beautiful than anyone I had ever seen in this world. Was this the effect of makeup?

“Hahaha! That’s right. That’s my little sister!”

Zeit chuckled.

“Anyway, it’s been three years since you two were engaged. When would you like to hold the marriage ceremony?”

He was already holding a knife and a fork, even though there was no appetizer on the table yet. Due to his size, he looked almost like he was about to cut the table up and eat it. He was such an impatient noble.

“Well, my lord—”

“The adults are talking.”

Surprised, Julie tried to say something, but Zeit’s cauldron-lid-like palm held her back.

“Be quiet.”

“…”

Julie pouted without saying a word. I noticed a faint red current in the air.

[The Villain’s Fate].

I thought it was manifesting through Julie at first, but it didn’t take me long to notice it was coming from Josephine, who was smiling at me tenderly while sitting beside her.

“What do you suggest then, Deculein?”

Josephine rephrased Zeit’s question.

“Yes, do tell us what’s on your mind. We will follow Professor Deculein’s suggestion.”

Josephine was the pinnacle of deceit. Her gentle way of speaking perfectly covered any traces of what’s within her heart. Even the way she manifested [The Villain’s Fate] was hard to notice. It could be perceived as mere dust if one didn’t look closely. No, to be more precise, it already disappeared.

She had a mask that deceived the characters’ eyes.

The door opened, and the chef came in, serving appetizers as he spoke in some alien language.

“Bitro Sygien. Grucious, Kigirln.”

Zeit skewered a piece with his fork and devoured it in one bite. He overindulged himself with food, but it didn’t make him seem any less dignified. On the contrary, there was an elegance in the way he feasted without spilling even crumbs.

“…I intend on leaving that up to Julie.”

“Leaving it up to her?”

Zeit asked, still gobbling up everything. I chose my words carefully. All the while, my five senses were all focused entirely on Josephine. I knew her dark side, after all. Perhaps I was the only one who did.

Inside her beautiful appearance was a monster that devoured even demons. She was a cold, cruel sociopath, having no qualms with whatever means or methods she had to use to achieve her goals. She was a snake wearing the skin of a human, equipped with a strength equivalent to Zeit. Despite the nightmare lurking within her, however, she loved her little sister Julie.

That made her an enemy of Deculein, one fully capable of killing him. Beyond the empire, the shadows that extended like a spider web all across the dark parts of the continent were hers. It wasn’t even a figure of speech. They were hers to control.

Why Josephine hadn’t yet killed Deculein and instead just left him be was something I wasn’t certain of. Only she and the writer knew.

“Deculein. What are you thinking about?”

“…I was lost in thought for a moment.”

this time was especially threatening, considering she still couldn’t hold all of her murderous intent, despite her already being so used to hiding her true intentions. I didn’t even know how to overcome was an ever-changing, unpredictable being. Her existence itself was truly no different from a shadow.

“I know.”

Right now, all I could do was show her my sincerity as Kim Woo Jin, not Deculein, to not cause her beloved Julie any harm.

“Know what?”

Zeit replied.

“Julie, the knight, is not confident in this engagement. If she doesn’t want it, then I have no intention of forcing our marriage on her.”

“…No intentions of forcing her?”

Creases formed across Zeit’s forehead.

“I’m the talk of the town for squandering 200 million on Routen overnight. At this point, anyone would blame me if our engagement was broken.”

“On the other hand, wouldn’t they think you purposely threw money away for Julie?”

“It’s not like that.” I shook my head. “Don’t worry. Even if Julie wants to break up the marriage, the relationship between the Yukline and Freyden Households will remain stable.”

Julie bowed her head. She seemed touched— No, I was wrong. Her hands were shaking. On the contrary, she was trying to soothe her anger. [The Villain’s Fate]’s red dust-like aura appeared around Josephine again before disappearing once more.

It was the wrong answer. I quenched my dry mouth with cold water.

“Oh no, no, no. How can you say ‘break-up the marriage’ so easily?”

“Oh, my. How thoughtful of you to think like that. Professor Deculein, you’re a wonderful man~.”

Zeit’s expression hardened as he shook his head. Josephine was smiling, but she didn’t seem like she appreciated my sincerity.

“The elders of the family will never allow breaking up your marriage for that reason. On the contrary, after showing us your sentiment, we only want you two to be together more.”

“…”

I sighed inwardly. There were many restrictions between a break-up of nobles, especially if the people concerned had thousands of people and millions in money behind them. The elder of Freyden, whom Deculein had coaxed beforehand, would be flustered, and I already knew how Yeriel would react.

“You mean to tell me you were bullshitting me when you said you wanted to get engaged? Just try breaking up with her. I’m warning you. Take responsibility for everything. Keep the Yukline and Freyden Households’ relationship stable even after you two have broken up? What if I don’t want to? Why should we help them? Don’t you know you’re supposed to become strangers after you break up? Give me back the 200 million Elnes you wasted!”

She would spout lines like that.

“…My lord.”

At that time, Julie spoke. Just in time, the main dish, steak, was served.

“Can you leave us two alone, please?”

She looked at me with clear eyes. Sensing her seriousness, Zeit replied.

“If Deculein permits.”

“It’s okay.”

“Okay. Come, Josephine.”

“Yes, ~.”

The two got up from their seats and went outside. Josephine stuck her head in at the door, not even moments after they left.

“Have a nice talk~.”

She then completely left— no, she pretended to leave. I knew her personality. She would have already prepared a wiretap of some kind. Fortunately, Josephine wasn’t aware that I had information about her.

“…You’ve become more intelligent.”

Julie squirmed first. She bit her lip tightly.

“Intelligent.”

I nodded my head in agreement. My character hadn’t acted as smart before. I learned of Deculein’s one-dimensional wrongdoings not only through the game but also from the rumors I collected in this world. Before their formal engagement, he used his family’s connections to suggest it, promised all kinds of rights to Freyden, persuaded their family and elders, and made them pressure Julie.

She was excluded from the frontlines; using fighting is dangerous as an excuse. Because of her fellow knights’ jealousy and because her family’s authority made them feel threatened, she was isolated by the Knight Order. Eventually, Julie quit the Knight Order herself, causing her career to be seriously damaged. At that point, she was shamelessly promised the Head position of the Hadekain Knight Order, which the Yukline family-owned. When she refused, they spread all sorts of rumors about her.

Despite that, Julie refused to give up and made a name for herself using her talent. They talked her into not joining other Knight Orders, interfered in her every endeavor, harassed her, brought her to tears, and angered her to the point she had to ask Josephine for help. Afterward, she was again abused, brought to tears, and humiliated.

Every part of their plan was villainous. They tried to break down everything and everyone around Julie to make sure she had no one to lean on but herself, so much so that she mistook the feeling of being protected by someone as affection. I knew. That was why I understood where her hatred for me was coming from.

As I cut through the tender steak, I went straight to the point.

“It looks like you can’t break up the marriage as you please. No, we can’t do as we please anymore. We’ve come too far.”

“…”

“You should have refused from the start.”

Julie trembled as she glared at me with angry eyes.

“You’re starting this again?”

Her voice was shaking. She had been harassed too much that she already seemed to be on the verge of tears.

“What do you mean? Are you going to put pressure on the new Knight Order? You probably heard it’s doing well these days.”

Freyhem was the Knight Order Julie herself and a colleague founded. It had only been a year, but its success story continued with several news companies stating their amazement of Julie’s disposition through their articles.

“Ah!”

Julie grabbed her fork and stabbed the steak.

“You’ve been forcing my hand up until this point!”

She picked up the whole piece and stuffed it in her mouth. The sauce splattered on her lips, her dress, and on the table, but she paid it no mind.

“I didn’t force you to have this meal. It’s Zeit—”

“You forced him to!”

Julie was eating loudly and messily on purpose, knowing full well I hated that. Oh, my. Such timid and petty revenge. Surprisingly, it was slowly but surely working. The sauce splattering around was my price to pay.

“Stop—”

“This is how I normally eat!”

“…”

“Ah, it’s so delicious!”

I closed my eyes. The sounds Julie was making were enough to make me squirm, but I regained my composure soon enough, allowing me to look at her straight-on once more.

“Julie, I won’t do it anymore.”

“I won’t be fooled!”

“I was the one who tied you up so much. Even your family knows what I did.”

“…What?”

Only then did her rowdy fork handling halt. Julie scowled at me with sauce and oil around her mouth.

“What are you trying to say right now—”

“I’m saying I did something bad.”

I picked up a napkin. Julie’s face was oddly contorted.

“Not just me, your sister too, and your brother, who’s been too aggressive.”

Julie clenched her teeth.

“…No. They are—”

“If they’re not aggressive, then why are they trying to stop our breakup?”

It was already a tight situation for me. I, indeed, knew the Freyden Household more than Julie, a woman who always sacrificed for her family.

“Of course, because you want to get married!”

“I said I’d follow what you want. Did that sound like a lie, too?”

“…”

Julie closed her mouth and looked at me as if she was trying to see through me.

“Right, I wasn’t truthful.”

“…?”

“I have no loyalty, and my conviction is not firm.”

Julie’s face was a mixture of surprise and suspicion. Her round eyes and cheeks made her look cute.

“I’m a completely different person from the painfully honest image that you want. I’m the epitome of a wizard that’s not suited for you.”

Deculein’s ego would have rejected this facade, which continuously defamed him. He wouldn’t have been able to devalue himself even if it meant his death. But the one controlling this body wasn’t Deculein.

“But Julie, didn’t you want to be a Guardian Knight?”

“!”

Julie’s eyes widened, seemingly surprised that I knew. She looked taken aback, her face filled with shock. She had never revealed that earnest dream of hers to anyone.

“How did you—”

“To be a Guardian Knight, you need the consent of your family, but your family will probably interfere.”

“No, they won’t. It’s not like that. My family—”

“To be a Guardian Knight, you have to leave your family. You know that too. That’s why you’ve been hiding this dream of yours.”

“…”

The Guardian Knight was the pinnacle of knighthood. It was the highest honor anyone in their profession could attain, for they were the Imperial’s, First Sword. But a Guardian Knight had no family. They could get married, but they couldn’t belong to any family. They were a warrior that only protected the Empire. The problem was that although it was the peak of glory for all knights, it was nothing but an honorary position for a family.

Protecting the Empire meant one shouldn’t be involved in disputes between families and territories. They wouldn’t even have a political right or political value, for that matter. That opposed the Freyden family’s strong ambitions in the political world.

“Right, this is good.”

I smiled a little as I thought of something good.

“Let’s keep the engagement but let’s not get married. I sincerely want to let you go, but I can’t with our current circumstance, so use my name as a shield if you want to.”

“…?”

“If you’re with me, and our relationship looks harmonious, they wouldn’t hinder you.”

“…”

“Until then, I will keep the engagement too and wait. I don’t even have a suitable partner yet anyway.”

I added a mischievous comment as a joke.

“Also, just in case. If you ever change your mind over time…”

Only then did Julie’s face become serious.

“… What are you up to? Why are you saying that now?”

“I’m not up to anything. I can even take an oath if you want to.”

She was once again shocked by my words.

“There’s no need for that! I don’t want any promises from you. It’s just…I’m curious about what you want. If it’s me, my body, or anything about me, I will never give it to you!”

A small flush rose on Julie’s cheeks. I knew very well what she’s concerned about.

“…What I want…”

I didn’t want anything. I just wanted to spend time with her like this and break up the marriage. I didn’t want her to be used to kill me or those around me. But if she wanted to doubt my sincerity, it was only proper for me to give her a suitable answer.

“I’m not sure.”

I looked at Julie, finding her fidgeting nervously. Belatedly, I realized that the restaurant had gone extremely quiet. No noise, no disturbance. Just the sound of Julie gulping, swallowing anxiously. I also noticed the faint shadow that was hiding within the room and conveying our conversation.

“Well…”

For Josephine, who was eavesdropping on our conversation, I prepared a line.

“Right, this is good.”

My actions shouldn’t be mistaken, however. This was just a play to con Josephine to eliminate the death variable coming from her. It was nothing more than that.

“Once a day.”

It was certainly nothing more than that…

My voice was strangely filled with seriousness. I stroked my chin and thought about the reason.

“No, once a week.”

Surprisingly, I felt like I could be at ease in front of Julie. I could laugh, feel comfortable, and be a little bit disorganized. What was the reason? Ah. It was simple.

“If you don’t have the time, then once a month, at least, since once a year is too much…”

Deculein seriously loved this woman so much that his affection remained a part of his personality.

“…Smile for me. That’s all I want.”

I said with a soft smile. My words were followed by silence.

“…”

Julie didn’t say anything. She just blinked. After a while, thoughts seemingly finally emerged from her suddenly vacant mind, allowing her to naively ask me a question.

“T-that…wh— Huh? Shmile?”

It wasn’t even a question. The words that flowed through Julie’s lips made her sound like an idiot. I found the crack in her voice at the end cute, though.

“What do you mean…?”

Julie only slightly moved her lips then lowered her head. Her hair ruffled as if there was static electricity coming from somewhere. Her honest response resembled that of a surprised animal, which made her even more adorable.

“…”

However, there was no agreement amid our silence. No affection, either. It was just frigid and filled with burdens. I paid no attention to it, but I sighed unconsciously.

Julie reacted to my sigh. Her head, which was lowered, trembled. I gave her a napkin. She raised her gaze and quietly wiped off her mouth with it.

“Haha.”

I just laughed, causing her to scrunch her forehead and grumble.

“W-what are you laughing at? I won’t be fooled!”

“It doesn’t matter whether you believe me or not for as long as you do as you please. I will do exactly as I told you.”

She wouldn’t be fooled no matter what I told her. She would never be fooled. Julie muttered that to herself. After that, the only sound left was the dishes clattering as they were transported all over the restaurant. No, there was one more.

[The Villain’s Fate: You have overcome a Death Flag.]

◆ Acquired Reward: Store currency +2

Finally, my store currency balance exceeded 10 won.