I Ended My Engagement With The Woman Who Despised Me

༺ 𓆩  Chapter 27 — Hero  𓆪 ༻

「Translator — Creator」

᠃ ⚘᠂ ⚘ ˚ ⚘ ᠂ ⚘ ᠃

I had said I wanted to hear the terms first, but in truth, there wasn’t much I could realistically demand from the Saintess.

'Money?'

Damian was the youngest son of the prestigious House Carsaril, a household that had amassed vast wealth.

Although it would be difficult to say the family's wealth belonged to Damian personally, I could receive substantial financial support if I wished, so this wasn't particularly necessary.

'Honor or power?'

The Saintess certainly wielded both, and aligning with her could grant me a significant amount of prestige.

However, with the Carsaril name backing me, obtaining influence was not an impossible feat on my own.

Moreover—

'The honor and power bestowed by the Saintess came with great responsibility, built on reverence and faith.'

Accepting these might actually prove disadvantageous, binding me with various shackles; therefore, what I wanted from the Saintess wasn't these trivial things, but rather her assurance to act as my ally going forward.

As I pondered how to maneuver the conversation in that direction, Rwen spoke up, her voice composed.

"…Is there anything in particular you wish for? Having spent most of my life in the convent, I find it difficult to grasp what people desire."

Should I be direct? Or take a more roundabout approach?

Both had their pros and cons, and I weighed them carefully.

But in the end, I found myself wanting to test Rwen’s sincerity.

Without hesitation, I answered bluntly.

"I want an ally."

"... An ally? That’s quite a romantic notion."

Hearing my answer, she looked at me with a strangely bitter expression, then spoke with an awkward smile.

"Though I'm not sure exactly what you mean by ally, if you're referring to a cooperative relationship without betrayal, that's actually what I'd like to request from you."

This was enough.

Though I couldn't know if Rwen would become a true ally in the fullest sense, it wasn't a bad deal since being bound by contract would make it difficult for her to become Dale's ally.

'Plus, I'll be able to keep getting information from Rihanna.'

This alone made it quite an attractive deal.

Nodding with satisfaction, I watched as the Saintess slowly released my hand and spoke.

"Then let's continue the rest of our discussion later. It was truly wonderful to meet you, Master Damian... no, Damian."

Dropping the honorific seemed to be her way of expressing familiarity.

I nodded in response and replied briefly.

"I was glad to meet you too, Rwen."

At these words, Rwen smiled lightly and departed.

I stood in silence, watching the spot where she had just disappeared.

Then, Rihanna slowly approached me and spoke.

"That was a good deal."

I let out a small chuckle at her words.

"It was a good deal, but I don’t see why you’re talking like it’s already over."

She rested her chin in her hand as she looked at me, then spoke with a shrewd smile.

"Isn't that why I'm sitting here?"

At that moment, I realized—

It was finally time to collect my own compensation for helping Rwen.

𓇘

I had three things to ask Rihanna.

First, the whereabouts of the impotence cure I planned to use to lure Dale.

Second, how she knew so much information about me.

And third was why Rwen specifically chose me.

As I began to ask these questions one by one, she spoke lightly.

"The eunuch cure does exist. However, the production method has been lost, so it's impossible to make it right now."

"Really?"

"Yes. There is a medicine that helps temporarily, but as I said, it's only temporary..."

At the word 'temporary,' I thought this might actually be better, and asked her.

"Could you tell me about that then?"

"Oh my. I'm an information broker, you know. You keep trying to get things for free... Even if we're allies now, isn't this too much?"

Perhaps judging that we should become closer now that we were allies, her initially haughty demeanor had completely vanished, replaced by a playful attitude.

Hearing her words, I replied teasingly.

"Should I pay you?"

"...While I'd appreciate that! I'd get scolded by the Saintess, so I'll just tell you. Besides, it's not entirely unrelated to the Order."

When I nodded, she calmly added.

"I'll write down the formula and send it to you separately."

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it. So what's your next question?"

"How do you know so much detail about me?"

According to the original story, she had the ability to gather information by placing magic artifacts throughout the world that served as her eyes and ears.

Of course, such an excellent ability came with major drawbacks.

Even considering these, there was no denying that this ability was overwhelming when it came to gathering information.

So while I could somewhat understand how she obtained information about me...

What I couldn't understand was how she knew so much about the good-for-nothing youngest son of House Carsaril, who wasn't even particularly famous, so I asked.

"Actually, it was because of Lady Loraine. Whether she reaches the realm of Sword Master status is an extremely important matter."

Just as I was beginning to understand, thinking about the significance of becoming a Sword Master, Loraine, who was beside me, spoke to Rihanna with apparent indignation.

"So that's how you knew about me reading romance novels..."

"Correct! It's such an adorable hobby, I don't know why you try to hide it. It's not even something to be embarrassed about."

"............"

Loraine fell silent, apparently unwilling to discuss the matter further.

Seeing this, I thought it best to change the subject and moved straight to the final question.

"So why did Rwen choose me?"

"That's simple. The capable young lord of House Carsaril who's made enemies of both the Order and the Dark Mages. That should explain everything."

Someone who shared the same enemies they wanted to deal with.

Someone who had proven their capabilities.

Someone from a family that neither the Order nor the Dark Mages could easily touch.

Upon hearing this, I could understand why Rihanna had suddenly approached me with such 'fondness' during our first meeting. She had approached me showing every possible sign of goodwill because she had come to draw me in from the start.

I looked at her, thinking this had turned out more interesting than expected.

𓇘

After finishing my conversation with Rihanna, I returned to the lodging without delay.

Not only had it become late evening, but Siren had been listlessly quiet the whole time, so I thought it best to let her rest.

Just as I was about to lie down on the bed to relieve the heavy fatigue upon returning to our lodgings...

"Um, Damian. I have something to say."

Siren approached me hesitantly, with Daisy perched on her head.

"What is it?"

"I want to be helpful too."

"You're already plenty help..."

"No, I couldn't do anything today."

Unlike Loraine, she seemed apologetic about not being able to offer any opinions or helpful words.

I patted her head to show it was fine, but she remained dejected, fidgeting in place.

While I was wondering what to say, Loraine, who was beside us, calmly provided the answer.

"Then why not focus on improving your magic? If you become an exceptional mage, you’ll be a great help to the young master."

Siren’s eyes widened in realization.

"Yes... I'll work harder. And I'll make sure no one can hurt Damian."

I was about to thank her, but before I could, she—now brimming with determination—declared:

"Let’s go, Daisy. We’re going to become the greatest mage ever."

"Myung-myung!"

With that, Siren, still balancing Daisy on her head, marched off with newfound resolve.

I watched her go, wondering why she even needed to take Daisy with her in the first place.

When I glanced at Loraine for answers, she merely shook her head, just as bewildered as I was.

𓇘

Just as Siren had resolved to grow stronger, so too did I need to.

So far, I had only faced enemies I could handle, so dealing with them had never been particularly difficult.

But if things unfolded as Elysia had warned—if Dale, the protagonist of the original story, truly set his sights on killing me—then my current abilities wouldn’t be enough to fend him off.

I needed to grow stronger.

I needed to reach a point where, no matter what happened, Dale couldn’t kill me.

As I was cementing that thought, an odd realization struck me.

‘Wait… was Dale always this consumed by vengeance?’

Of course, it was natural for him to be furious and hateful after being struck with a mace by a stranger and ending up in such a poor state.

Yet ironically, this natural progression served as evidence that this wasn't quite like Dale at all.

'How should I put it... his way of thinking is rather ordinary.'

In the original story, he was clearly a character obsessed with singing humanity's praises, firmly believing in human goodness.

But in reality, rather than being Dale-like, he felt more like an ordinary person, which couldn't help but feel strange.

I pondered this odd feeling for a moment before shaking my head.

'What's important now isn't Dale's identity, but how to counterattack.'

I closed my eyes, deciding to focus on what kind of plan I should devise.

𓇘

At dawn the next day, I was roused by a tapping sound against the window.

When I opened it,

"Chirp chirp."

A bird was perched there, a small basket clasped in its beak.

It clearly wasn’t an ordinary bird—it seemed stronger than the average one.

Curious, I peered inside the basket and found a single letter tucked within.

'Must be the recipe for the impotence cure.'

I was about to send the bird back after taking the letter, but feeling somewhat guilty about sending it away empty-handed, I fed it some fruit seeds first.

Then, to show gratitude to Rihanna, I put some of the tea I had brewed for Loraine into a glass bottle and placed it in the basket.

'Of course, she won't know what this is if I just send it like this.'

So I made sure to include a note explaining that it was tea for drinking.

Thinking this should suffice, I sent the bird back and examined Rihanna's letter.

[Potion ingredients:

Moonlight-soaked blue leaves - 2 pieces

Blood of Conteroil - 30ml

Starlight moss - 3 pieces

:

:

Add starlight moss to 400ml of purified water and heat with mana-infused fire.

Note: When heating, the fire must not be too strong...

:]

As expected, it contained the potion brewing recipe.

Not that it mattered—I wasn’t the one who would be brewing it.
So, after skimming through the details, I was about to tuck the letter away when—

I noticed a particular line that I couldn’t just ignore.

[The Order has begun moving to appoint Dale as the Hero.]

END of CHAPTER

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