I Ended My Engagement With The Woman Who Despised Me

✦  Chapter 2  ✦

「Translator — Creator」

᠃ ⚘᠂ ⚘ ⚘᠂ ⚘ ᠃

It’s somewhat cruel to say, but to help others, one must possess adequate capability.

Attempting to help without ability often becomes nothing more than an inconvenience,

And in many cases even creates problems — thus, even help born of good intentions is better withheld if one lacks the necessary competence.

‘Besides, Elysia never asked for my help.’

My current hovering around Elysia, seeking to help,

Was no different from threatening someone with a sword while demanding ‘Let me help you’ — better to refrain from such meaningless actions.

‘So first, after building enough capability to be genuinely helpful to Elysia…’

The ideal approach would be to continuously demonstrate my abilities while waiting for her to request my help.

…Such was my rational judgment.

But how could I possibly resist visiting when just a few steps would bring me face to face with Elysia, whom I’d longed to meet even just once?

So I rose, finding a suitable compromise somewhere between reason and emotion.

If one lacks ability in one area, one can find another field of competence and use that to provide assistance.

For example, in Damian’s case, there was… ‘money.’

Of course, even in the harsh North, a Grand Duchess wouldn’t lack for funds, making monetary gifts meaningless. However, when it came to material goods, there were many things that money alone couldn’t acquire.

Thus, gift-giving could be a meaningful gesture to earn favor, even from someone wealthy.

‘She certainly looked exhausted.’

The dark circles beneath her eyes, the pallid skin.

Knowing these were the results of excessive fatigue from overwhelming work, I resolved to prepare her a tea good for recovery.

‘Given Elysia’s personality, while she might reject jewels, she’d likely have trouble refusing beverages or food.’

Moreover, if told it was good for fatigue recovery, she would likely drink it despite showing signs of reluctance, so I decided to try making it.

‘…The recipe was to mix equal parts of Sun-Swallowing Petals and Glass Petals, then burn them until they were reduced to ashes, right?’

Though this information hadn’t yet been revealed in the early part of the novel,

A description would appear in the latter half, telling how mixing and boiling these two ingredients could create an almost miraculous fatigue recovery potion.

‘If I think about it from the author’s perspective, this was probably a plot device to accelerate the protagonist’s growth.’

Regardless of the reasoning, the potion’s effectiveness in recovering from fatigue was undeniable, so I decided it was worth brewing.

I rummaged through the piles of supplies and, fortunately, managed to find both ingredients; the moment I discovered them, I couldn’t hide my grin. Gathering them up, I immediately headed outside.

⋆❉⋆

After thoroughly burning the two petals to ash, I used them to brew the tea.

To test its effects, I drank a cup myself. Instantly, I felt the fatigue draining from my body.

‘This is good.’

Then again, even the protagonist—who was notoriously clumsy—had no trouble making this drink, so it wasn’t exactly a high-skill task.

With that thought, I handed a cup to one of the guards knight accompanying me and said,

“Tired, aren’t you? Have some.”

“Pardon?”

The bewildered knight stared at me, clearly unsure how to handle this behavior so different from what I usually displayed.

‘While most would try to act out the original character’s personality…’

This was the Northern castle, not Damian’s family home.

In other words, only the guard knight and personal maid truly knew Damian’s nature.

So even if my personality changed suddenly, it wouldn’t cause any problems.

‘No, change might actually be better.’

The reason early-stage Damian could act arrogant despite his lack of ability was simple – this guard knight was a monster incarnate.

Remembering how this single knight was the reason the protagonist couldn’t kill Damian until much later in the story, I turned my head thoughtfully.

‘So instead of putting on an act…’

I judged it more beneficial to behave according to my natural personality and treat them reasonably well.

After offering the knight the tea as a token of appreciation for his hard work, I took the rest of the tea and headed straight to Elysia.

“…………..”

When I arrived at her office, I found her pointedly ignoring me, completely absorbed in her work. She was probably so annoyed by this morning’s encounter that she didn’t even want to acknowledge my presence.

I approached her desk, carefully pouring tea into a cup as I spoke.

“Drink while you work.”

“Whatever your intention may be, please lea-“

“It’s tea good for fatigue recovery.”

At the mention of fatigue recovery, she couldn’t help but gaze pensively at the tea.

If her exhaustion was noticeable to others, it was likely she was already overwhelmed by it herself — the words ‘fatigue recovery’ seemed to catch her interest.

‘The problem, however…’

Since I was the one offering the tea, conflict seemed to arise within her.

She stared at it for a moment before firmly turning her head away, making it clear she wouldn’t drink it.

‘Disappointing, but perhaps this is enough for now.’

There was plenty of time, after all — I could offer again another time.

Pushing her too hard would only make her more resistant, so I turned and left, letting her decision stand for now.

⋆❉⋆ 

Either way, I felt uplifted having exchanged words with Elysia.

I struggled to contain the smile threatening to bloom across my face as I organized my next tasks.

‘First, I need to request assistance from my family.’

The assistance in question meant asking them to send elixirs.

Since I needed their elixirs to accelerate my growth as much as possible, I sent a letter to the family.

‘After that, two major tasks remain.’

First was improving close combat abilities, crucial for battle.

Second was forming a contract with the ‘Sun Spirit’ slumbering in the Northern lands.

Since both would take considerable time, it made sense to work on them simultaneously, so I decided to focus on these for a while.

‘Since the first one will leave me too exhausted to move after training, it’s better to start with the second.’

Courting the Sun Spirit — that became my first objective.

Resolving to tackle this first, I called over the guard knight, who was still sipping the tea I had brewed.

Apparently thoroughly enchanted by the tea I’d brewed, he was lapping it up like an apocalypse-trapped alcoholic savoring their last drop of liquor. I watched this display with bewilderment before speaking.

“Go to the kitchen and bring me some bread—whatever they’re not using. As much as you can carry.”

“…Huh?”

The guard knight made an odd sound of confusion, staring at me before nodding reluctantly.

It seemed that, regardless of his skepticism, he couldn’t disobey my orders. With a bewildered expression, he walked toward the kitchen.

‘If he drinks the tea like that, it must be quite effective.’

As I wondered if Elysia might drink it too, I began considering taking her some sweets next time.

While I was mulling over the idea, the guard knight returned, effortlessly carrying a large bundle of bread toward me.

“Young Master, I brought every last bit of bread I could find. What do you plan to do with all this?”

I could explain it to him, but the thought of doing so felt tiresome.

Ignoring his question, I simply told him to follow me, adding a single remark as I turned.

“If you do a good job, I’ll brew you another cup of tea.”

“Yes, sir!”

Even without the promise of tea, according to the novel, he would follow my orders unconditionally…

Still, seeing him so delighted, I figured I might as well brew him another cup later as I led the way forward.

⋆❉⋆ 

In the depths of the forest where not a single ray of sunlight penetrated, everything was frozen solid.

Ordinarily, entering such a place would spell a gruesome end. Fortunately for me, I had a guard knight by my side.

Trusting in his presence, I walked endlessly forward, following the risen moon.

‘In the novel, it was said one could meet the Sun Spirit by following the moon.’

The Sun Spirit — the only way to revive the North, said to rival even the ancient dragon known as the strongest.

Remembering the description that to meet such a being, one needed only to exit through the mansion’s back door and follow the moon, I traced its silvery path.

‘In the story, the protagonist had to solve a series of riddles and decipher an ancient tome left by the Archmage…’

But since I already knew the answer, I could skip all of that and head straight to the solution. Sure enough, after following the moon’s path, I came upon a vast pond, and there in its center, the Sun Spirit trapped in a prison of ice.

[There is but one way to free the Sun Spirit from its icy prison…

Show kindness to the creatures that roam these grounds.

That alone is the sole sole means of winning the Spirit to your side.]

Recalling this passage from the original novel, I turned to the knight and asked for the bundle of bread.

Though he still seemed bewildered by my actions, showing confusion in his gaze,

I ignored his look, opened the bundle, and began tossing pieces of bread into the undergrowth.

‘After all, food is the easiest way to win over animals.’

A few days of this, and they would grow close whether they wanted to or not – making it simple to win over the Sun Spirit.

I smiled, thinking how contracting with the Sun Spirit could make the North even greater.

‘If crops could grow in the North, I might see Elysia’s genuine smile.’

Imagining how delighted she would be, I distributed all the hard bread among the animals and strange life forms.

I smiled contentedly, mixing hopes that my efforts would be recognized with wishes for her happiness.

END of CHAPTER