I Became the Villain of a Romance Fantasy

27 – Unexpected guests (1)

When the day of the banquet that Joachim had mentioned came, the gates of the Winter Castle were crowded with carriages entering from the morning.

The Edelweiss family was not only the leader of the northern part, but also the owner of the only seven Mage Towers on the continent, so I didn’t think that only vassals under the family would attend this banquet, but no matter how many, they gathered in front of the winter castle to the point that I thought this was too much. There were many of them.

Of course, the question of whether the castle can accommodate them all is not my concern. After all, only a few of them could enter the banquet hall.

What I really have to worry about is how to behave in front of that many people.

It was a short two days, but through practice with Elena, I succeeded in making movements that could be called dances, if not proficient.

I wouldn’t have a chance to dance with anyone other than Elena anyway, so at least I wouldn’t embarrass myself on the spot if I matched it with her to some extent.

“You look very burdened. Master.”

“I don’t feel comfortable.”

Looking at the ring on my right hand, I answered Ken’s words.

The little dragon engraved on the ring had a red jewel in its mouth.

I had no interest in wearing a ring of this taste, but considering the future position, I had to put it on my hand even if I didn’t want to wear it.

This ring, whose maker’s taste is highly questionable, is not just a ring, but one of the items that symbolizes Krause’s owner.

As a rule, it was the only item symbolizing the head of the household that I, who had the title of head of Krause, could not carelessly do, but my father entrusted me with the ring before I left for Merrohim.

I didn’t understand why at the time, but thinking about the banquet today explains why my father entrusted me with the ring.

A ring is a kind of proof.

It is a sign that tells me that I am a person in a position that they cannot be ignored, and it implies that if you are not going to quarrel with Krauss, do not flirt and go away.

Unless the eyes of those attending this banquet are gnarled, no one will fail to recognize this ring.

It would be fun in its own right if a person with such shallow knowledge that he couldn’t even recognize the sacred objects of the most powerful person in the empire was participating in the banquet, but in the first place, Yoheim, the host of the banquet, would have allowed such a person to enter the banquet hall. there was no

Like this, the ring was also an object to inform others of my identity, but if I think about it a little more here, I can see what my father’s true intentions were.

In fact, this ring is too much to use to announce my location.

At the beginning of the banquet, Joachim will introduce me to the public, and there is little difficulty in figuring out who I am just by looking at the family crest engraved on the dress I am wearing.

Even if I don’t wear this ring on my hand, there’s nothing wrong with knowing I’m Krause.

So, my father entrusted this to me as a message to me, not to the public.

While holding this ring, it meant remembering that it was Damian Krauss, not Arthur Krauss, who represented Krauss, and that he would carry the weight of his family and show it how he would behave in front of others.

It means the same thing that is commonly said, ‘those who want to wear the crown, bear its weight.’ I’m sorry to my father, but I was more concerned about the dance with Elena today than the meaning of the ring my father handed me.

“Ken. You can’t not dance, right?”

“So far, you have been practicing hard with the lady, and what kind of sad words. Don’t worry. The young master is doing well enough. So put all your worries aside and enjoy today’s banquet.”

Ken smiled and told me not to worry, but I couldn’t put my worries down even with Ken’s consolation.

Certainly, it can be said that my skills have grown dramatically compared to before due to practicing with Elena, but it is up to the viewer how to evaluate it.

It doesn’t matter what I hear, but I couldn’t help but worry because it didn’t mean that it was okay for Elena to have a bad influence because of me.

However, the beginning of the banquet was just around the corner, and I had no knack for turning back time, so I left the room to greet Elena, recalling the practice I had been doing with her.

This banquet also had the purpose of letting others know about my engagement to Elena, so it was natural for me to escort her as she entered the banquet hall.

It wasn’t that I didn’t know the structure of the winter castle, but I didn’t just practice dancing in the room for two days, so I knew the way to the room where she was.

Sleeping in front of the door to the room where she was, I started to check my clothes once more to see if there was anything crooked, even though I had already checked several times before leaving the room.

When I confirmed that there was nothing different from before, I knocked on the door lightly and called for her.

“Elena. Can I go in now?”

“Yes. You may come in.”

After Elena gave her permission, I carefully opened the door.

And the moment I peered into the room through the crack in the open door, I felt the same déjà vu as before and forgot to enter the room, staring blankly at her. It was the same as when I saw her in Isilia Pavilion in the morning. No, a stronger light than that time shone into my eyes.

There was no sunlight here like then, but she was shining herself like a star, as always.

The pure white dress that contrasted with the black dress of the Krauss family I was wearing was shining in harmony with her hair, and the appearance of her transformed into a star after descending to the ground was enough to catch my attention.

After seeing each other, we stood there without saying anything for several minutes.

“Uh…how is it?”

As soon as I heard Elena’s voice, my head started spinning again. It was only then that I realized what I was doing, and I hurriedly cleared my gaze from her and held out my hand to her.

“It is very beautiful.”

“It’s all good! I thought it was too much, but I’m relieved if Damian says so…”

Saying that, Elena took my extended hand.

When her soft touch touched me, I could feel the strength in my hand inadvertently. Just as I was about to think that maybe she was in pain, Elena, who was holding my hand, also gave strength to her hand as if she would not let go of my hand.

We walked hand in hand like that through the corridors of the winter castle.

The scent of lavender wafted from her close to me.

Feeling her pulse and body odor through my hands, the worries that were still filling my head began to fill with thoughts about her.

Rather than going to the banquet hall, why don’t we keep walking with Elena like this?

With that in mind, I had no choice but to take regretful steps toward the banquet hall.

***

In the mirror in front of me, a pure white girl was standing.

“As expected, it’s Madame Charlotte.”

I always liked the dresses she made.

It wasn’t that she was overconfident about her appearance, but with this dress she made, she was confident that she would be able to capture his heart today.

In addition to that, Haley’s self-decorated appearance for hours was so flawless that she couldn’t think of anything better.

“Elena. Can I go in now?”

As soon as I heard his voice, I hurriedly told him to come in.

Practicing dancing with him for two days before the banquet, and finding out that his appearance worked for him was the biggest harvest in recent years. Unlike before, it meant that the distance between him and himself had decreased.

At that distance, where we could feel each other’s breath right away, whenever our eyes met, he couldn’t help but blush faintly, giving me a sense of accomplishment as well as the conviction that he was falling for me.

So, I had no doubt that this would be a decisive blow.

He was confident that he was perfect even from his own point of view, and that if he had weakened his immunity these days, he would surely be more agitated than ever.

However, if there was one thing I was missing here, it was the fact that I had already fallen for him for a long time.

He opened the door and came in, wearing a black uniform that matched his hair as dark as the night sky.

The coat of arms was embroidered with gold thread, a dragon wrapped around a sword symbolizing Krause. It was the clothes he wore when he first met me before, and it was the clothes he usually wore, so you might think that there was nothing out of the ordinary.

However, with his unique restrained atmosphere, unlike before, his half-exposed forehead and sharp dragon-like eyes made my head blank.

I was smiling confidently and looked at him, stunned by his appearance as he opened the door to the room and came in.

And silence came between us.

We were looking at each other without saying anything, as if we had promised from the beginning.

‘Wake! Elena Edelweiss!!’

“Uh…how is it?”

I was barely able to open my mouth in the stillness, and he blinked a few times for a while, turned his head slightly, and held out his hand to me.

“It is very beautiful.”

“It’s all good! I thought it was too much, but I’m relieved if Damian says so…”

After saying that, I held his hand and leaned on him, but unfortunately he didn’t show the same reaction as the first time because he was already organized.

Like such a stupid woman.

I had felt the trembling he must have felt when he saw me, many times when I saw him. Didn’t think of his appearance that he would have prepared for the banquet. This was my own mistake.

That said, there was no noticeable change in him today.

The only thing that had changed was that he had changed his hairstyle differently, but he thought it was unfair to draw with himself, who had been preparing so hard, but it had already been a long time since defeat like this had become familiar.

Still, seeing him who couldn’t take his eyes off him, when he was about to be satisfied with that, he felt that his hand holding his hand was getting stronger.

It was hard, but it didn’t hurt. Rather, the warmth in his hand made me feel better.

Then why did he suddenly give strength to his hand?

The question about it was answered by the sound of his heart in his ears.

Now that I am holding hands with him, my heart is beating faster than ever, but the trembling I feel in my hands is not coming from me, but from him holding hands.

Leaning on him, I could tell for sure. Of all the times he’s been with me, he’s the most thrilled right now.

I laughed softly at his appearance and squeezed the hand holding my hand tightly.