IRON MAN: BROTHER DON'T CAUSE TROUBLE

The tension in the room was palpable as the bearded general entered, followed by a young demi-human woman with fox ears and a bushy tail. She knelt before the king.

"I will ask you directly," the king said. "Did you come here to commit murder?"

"Absolutely not! I would never poison His Majesty!" Olga protested.

"I believe you," the king assured her.

"But the wine you presented was poisoned. What do you say to that?" the general added.

Olga's face paled, her head hung low. She had no way to prove her innocence.

"May I say something?" John spoke up.

The king allowed him to investigate the dining hall. There, John activated his magic, just as Touya did in the novel.

"Search: Poison."

His spell confirmed the poison wasn't in the wine but on the king's glass.

Later, everyone gathered in the hall. Earl Balsa's uneasy smile didn't go unnoticed.

John put on a show, pouring wine into a glass and offering it to General Leon. The general drank confidently.

"Excellent wine!" he declared.

Then, John poured wine into the king's glass and handed it to Earl Balsa. The Earl's face drained of color.

"Go on," John encouraged.

"I... I can't..." the Earl stammered.

"Let me help you," John insisted, forcing the glass to his lips.

The Earl thrashed dramatically. "Poison! I'm dying!"

"Cut it out," John said flatly. "It was just cheap wine. But tell me, Earl... why did you assume it was poisoned?"

The room fell silent.

Moments later, the Earl bolted for the door.

"Slip."

The Earl hit the floor hard. Olga, still furious, delivered a powerful kick to his gut, leaving him groaning in pain.

As things settled, Princess Yumina kept glancing at John with a soft smile. Even the king and queen exchanged surprised glances at her lingering gaze.

---

The Duke sat comfortably in his chair, sipping tea with a pleased smile. Nearby, John remained silent, his fingers tapping lightly on the armrest. His thoughts wandered.

So that's how it ends... The attempted poisoning of the king and Sue's kidnapping had been traced back to Earl Balsa. The Earl's confession confirmed everything.

"What happened to the Earl?" John asked.

"Execution," the Duke replied smugly. "His house will be dissolved, and his assets confiscated."

John's fingers paused. Execution... harsh, but expected.

"And his family?"

"Exiled. None of them were innocent, especially with their views on demi-humans." The Duke chuckled. "With this, my brother's opponents have been conveniently removed."

John frowned. The Duke's satisfaction unsettled him. Was this justice or just politics?

The king turned to John. "You played a great role in saving our lives. Is there anything you wish for?"

John shook his head. "I only did what anyone would have done."

The Duke chuckled. "Always so selfless, aren't you?"

John didn't respond. He wasn't looking for praise. I just wanted to finish quickly and leave.

Later, when John demonstrated his "Modeling" magic by transforming a plain glass into a sculpture of the king, the room filled with gasps of amazement.

Looking at everyone, John felt relaxed. Everything is going according to script. That's good. Now I can leave.

The mood shifted when Princess Yumina stood suddenly.

"Father, Mother... I've decided," she said firmly.

John barely sipped his tea before her next words hit like a hammer.

"I wish to marry John!"

John coughed violently, nearly choking. His stunned gaze met Yumina's determined expression.

Wait... what?!

The room fell into stunned silence. This just got complicated...

---

John always wondered why Touya felt so helpless in front of the king. He thought Touya could have just rejected the proposal outright and been done with it. But now, John understood how it felt to be helpless when faced with an unexpected situation.

John never thought that by keeping the timeline safe, he would end up tangled in it himself.

John stood at the front door of the Silver Moon Inn, feeling speechless for a while. Because he wasn't alone. Beside him stood Yumina, who had tagged along so she could win John's heart.

'Tch, if only it were that easy...' John thought silently.

Despite all his efforts, he hadn't succeeded in making Yumina lose interest in him. He had even told her and her parents about his true age — 27 — yet nothing changed. And here he was, still wondering to himself...

'Why did I come to this world? Isn't it to get lots of runes? Then what's going on with all the girls in this world? Marvel is still the safer world.'

'What would Alsie think of me now? Maybe she'd give up... right?'

As John was lost in thought, Yumina nudged him to enter the inn. But what John didn't expect was that all his friends were gathered together in some kind of discussion.

When they heard the door open, everyone turned to look at John and Yumina.

"Who is this?" Lindsey spoke, breaking the silence.

"Cough... This is Yumina..." John began, but Yumina cut him off mid-sentence.

"Hello, my name is Yumina Ellana Belfast. It's nice to finally meet everyone," Yumina introduced herself with a warm smile. "And I am John's fiancée."

Silence. Total silence. Not a single sound followed for a while.

Touya, who stood at the side, was speechless and thought to himself, 'Thank God I didn't go...'

Lindsey, on the other hand, stood there like a statue. She knew how hard her sister had tried to get close to John, but he had always been stubborn. And now, after just one day, he returned with a girl — not just any girl, but a princess.

Yae didn't think much of it. In her view, this was normal. She simply felt amazed and in awe.

As for Alsie, she just stood there silently for a while before quietly leaving without a word. She felt something had broken inside her heart — a painful ache that lingered.

John noticed everyone's expressions, especially Alsie's. He wanted to explain himself but then thought, What should I even explain? So he stayed silent as well.

Yumina, though she looked young, had a mind far more mature than anyone in the room. She had already noticed that something had happened between John and the girl who had just left. Yet, the smile remained on her face.

( From the next chapter, John would act alone for the rest of his stay in this world. Hope you would like it.)