I Ended My Engagement With The Woman Who Despised Me

༺ 𓆩  Chapter 28 — The One Who Was a Hero  𓆪 ༻

「Translator — Creator」

᠃ ⚘᠂ ⚘ ˚ ⚘ ᠂ ⚘ ᠃

‘A Hero’s appointment, huh…’

In the original story, Dale was appointed Hero only after stopping the second invasion in the North.

Afterward, while traveling alone, he had saved the Saintess from a dire situation, earning immense merit in the process.

Only then was he granted the title of Hero.

But now?

He hadn’t even begun his journey.

He hadn’t saved the Saintess.

Yet, the Church was already preparing to name him a Hero.

It was strange.

‘The only person with close ties to Dale is Elysia, so she must have orchestrated this somehow.’

My concerns deepened as I couldn't figure out how she had managed it.

I tapped my fingers on the desk pensively before shaking my head to clear away the worries.

'Perhaps it doesn't matter much. He's not a Hero yet.'

They were merely moving to appoint him as Hero; he hadn't become one yet. There would be no problem if I crushed this possibility before it could materialize.

So, resolving to stamp out Dale as quickly as possible before his Hero appointment, I stepped into the hallway.

'First, I'll commission the potion's creation.'

Then I could use it to lure out the would-be Hero.

Walking down the quiet hallway lit only by moonlight, I fell deep into thought about how to deal with Dale.

𓇘

Once the potion's preparation was complete, I immediately sent a letter to Dale.

The letter contained two things:

That I had the cure, and

If he wanted it, he should come alone to the empty lot in the outskirts.

Though there was a possibility he might ignore it, given I sent just these two points without any proof.

However, the very fact that someone was trying to negotiate using his weakness would likely trouble him.

He would probably come, if only to confirm who had sent such a letter.

'Furthermore, considering how desperately he searched for a cure immediately upon arriving here...'

The probability of him ignoring this approached zero.

While I was staring at the blank wall thinking this, Loraine posed a question to me.

"Are you going to kill him?"

The question gave me pause.

‘There’s no reason to let a potential threat continue to grow.’

Right now, Dale was manageable.
But if he did become a Hero—if he fully developed into the warrior he was destined to be—he would inevitably become a nuisance.

There was no need to let that happen.

‘And at this stage, eliminating him—and covering it up—wouldn’t even be that difficult.’

Crushing the seedling entirely might be fine.

So, considering he was merely nominated as Hero but wasn't one yet, and though he was the hero of the North who stopped the second invasion, he was essentially just a wanderer of unknown origin from common birth - I was leaning toward killing him when a question arose in my mind.

It was the fundamental question of whether it would really be alright for the original story's protagonist to disappear.

Would the story continue properly without its protagonist?

The plot has already deviated significantly from the original, so maybe Dale’s absence wouldn’t matter…

But if it did—if his removal triggered an unforeseen chain of events—

I could end up dealing with a much larger problem down the line.

As I wrestled with this dilemma, my gaze drifted toward the far end of the room—where a familiar bird perched, a basket in its beak.

A bird that had lost its freedom, only doing what it was told.

The sight of it sparked an idea.

A brilliant idea.

If I executed it correctly, I wouldn’t have to take any risks at all.

Only benefits.

With a smile, I rose from my seat, ready to set my plan in motion.

𓇘

Though it might seem somewhat unexpected.

In truth, I didn't dislike the original protagonist - no, I was closer to liking him.

No matter how dire the circumstances,

he stood unwavering in his belief in humanity’s goodness,

singing a hymn of human virtue like a beacon of light.

Even if he was a bit… no, a lot of a pushover,

I couldn’t help but like him.

But the Dale waiting for me now, standing alone in the desolate clearing at the outskirts—

I felt no such fondness for this Dale.

Why was that?

Was it because, despite knowing full well that Elysia was engaged,

he continued to shower her with affection?

Or was it because even after hearing everything Elysia and I said in her office, he casually walked in, chatting and laughing with her, deliberately feeding me dirt while I was outside?

I couldn't tell.

All I knew now was that we had crossed a point of no return.

It had become a situation where one side would have to push until the other's end.

With these thoughts, I gestured to Loraine before slowly making my way to the empty lot.

In the middle of the lot, overflowing with unfinished buildings and garbage due to poor maintenance,

Dale was waiting, fidgeting with his sword, for whoever had called him.

I approached him and called his name.

"Dale."

"... Ha."

When I called his name, Dale let out a hollow laugh and looked at me.

Whether it was because I was an unexpected figure, or because he was consumed by anger,

I couldn't tell what the right answer was, but one thing was certain - he was gripping his sword handle with trembling hands.

"Damian."

Though his face and hands revealed his fury, veins bulging as if he wanted to draw his sword and attack me right away,

He seemed desperate enough for the cure that he was forcing himself to hold back, merely glaring at me.

While I maintained the most composed expression I could while looking at him,

Dale spoke to me, forcing out a deep breath.

"That letter... was it from you?"

"Yes."

"... What do you want?"

He suppressed his emotions and made his proposal.

If I really had the cure, he knew he'd be finished the moment he attacked, so he seemed to be holding back his emotions.

'And that also means Dale is desperately yearning for the cure.'

To deliberately provoke his emotions further, I threw back a question.

"Shouldn't you first tell me what you can offer?"

"... Heh. You crazy bastard."

He took a deep breath and narrowed his eyes at me, then looked around the area.

After confirming Loraine wasn't around, he smiled sinisterly and spoke to me.

"Fine, whatever. The fact that you came out to negotiate with me proves you have the cure."

Now that was an amusing take.

I couldn’t help but chuckle at his words.

As I laughed, I reaffirmed my earlier thought—this really isn’t like Dale.

Then, before I could say anything else, Dale unsheathed his sword and pointed it at me.

"And if I torture you, getting it out of you won’t be too difficult, will it?"

Hearing that, I decided we had reached the perfect moment.

Without hesitation, I gave the signal.

"Knock him out."

From the shadows, Loraine shot forward, moving faster than the eye could follow—

And slammed Dale over the head.

𓇘

After binding Dale's entire body to prevent escape,

I finished preparing for persuasion (physical) by arranging various torture implements around the area.

Of course, I had no intention of actually using these — I just wanted to create a sufficiently threatening atmosphere,

So I placed the sharpest and most dangerous-looking ones near me.

While I was arranging everything to look as threatening as possible, Loraine, who was beside me, looked at the implements nostalgically and spoke.

"This brings back memories. Back then, during torture training, we used to stab thighs with these things."

".........?"

"Oh, but you shouldn’t do it, Young Master. I tried it—it’s not very effective. Now, if you were the one doing the stabbing, that’d be a different story."

Since I couldn't understand what she meant, I was half-listening when Dale's body twitched.

Just as I was about to speak casually, realizing he'd woken up,

Dale shouted in a strained voice.

"You fucking bastard! You goddamn extra, you fuck!"

It seemed his pent-up fury had finally boiled over, completely consuming what little remained of his rationality.

Seeing that, I realized I needed to calm him down.

So I did.

By bringing my hammer down on his head.

BANG—!

Just enough to feel pain, moderately.

He'd probably be tough enough thanks to his protagonist buff or whatever, so a few hits like this wouldn't kill him.

If things looked dangerous, I could always splash him with a potion, so there wouldn't be any major problems.

Well, ideally, I wouldn’t have to resort to persuasion (physical) at all.

I would have preferred a simple conversation.

With that in mind, I woke the unconscious Hero.

"Y-you f-fucking! How dare you-"

BANG—!

…It seemed he still wasn’t quite ready to talk.

I knocked him out again, tended to his wounds just enough to keep him conscious, and then woke him up once more.

This time—

"........."

Finally, silence.

Looking at Dale, I held up the cure I had prepared and spoke.

"... This is the cure you want so desperately."

I watched him while omitting the fact that its effects only lasted one day.

Dale, clearly coveting the cure, stared intently at it in my hand, ignoring me.

Watching his behavior, I pulled out a contract.

[Slave Soul Binding Contract]

A contract that could bind a slave's soul.

Obtaining it had been difficult—

But in the end, money had solved that problem.

I showed this to Dale and spoke.

"Sign this and it's yours."

Dale scoffed, letting out a breathless laugh.

"Are you out of your damn mind? Now that I know the cure exists, there’s no reason for me to rely on y—"

I didn’t bother listening to the rest.

Instead, I swung my hammer.

A quick moment of silence followed.

The only real downside to this method was that he went too quiet afterward.

After administering another round of healing, I woke him up again.

"You insane piece of shit…! Like I would ever—"

"Loraine."

Thinking my capabilities might be insufficient for proper calming, I asked Loraine.

Loraine struck his head with her fist, knocking him out again.

By this point, I felt a bit sorry, but...

'Considering he tried to kill me earlier in the empty lot.'

If I hadn’t been stronger than him,

I would have either died or been left severely injured.

So, while I might feel a bit guilty—

I had no reason to show mercy.

After repeating this process about thirty times—

"Heh..."

Dale finally broke.

END of CHAPTER

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