Transmigrated Into A Tragic Romance Fantasy – Chapter 46

 Alcohol is Dangerous (1)

Marien was pacing anxiously outside the grand hall.

She had accompanied the third Grand Duchess as her personal maid, thanks to her lady’s noble appearance.

Just before entering the hall, she had given her lady a bright smile and words of encouragement, hoping that Elden would recognize her lady’s hidden sincerity.

Hoping he would realize that her obsession was not just about escaping his past wrongdoings.

Marien had cheered her on with all her heart.

‘She must be doing well, right?’

Please.

She hoped everything was going according to her lady’s wishes.

She hoped her lady had taken her advice to heart and had freed herself from twisted obsessions.

She wanted her lady to return to her former self.

‘By now, they must be starting dinner…’

She would have to wait for at least an hour.

There would be much to discuss, given how long it had taken to get to this point.

But then.

Click.

Suddenly, the door to the grand hall opened from the inside.

‘Huh? What’s going on?’

It had barely been 30 minutes since her lady entered. Who could be leaving?

There should only be candidates and her lady inside the hall.

Could it be…

‘Is it Elden?’

Unfortunately, her guess was correct.

The person who opened the door and exited the hall was Elden.

Eek!

Marien, recalling his warning that she would die if she revealed she had helped him, tried to hide behind a pillar in the hallway, but she was already too late.

“…It seems your ankle has healed well. You’re moving quickly.”

Elden spoke to her brusquely.

Marien was flustered, not expecting to encounter him.

Her lady was supposed to be the last to enter and the first to leave.

Marien stepped out into the hallway and bowed deeply.

“Ah… Yes, thanks to you, it’s completely healed. Thank you, my lord.”

“No need to thank me. It was my fault you got hurt.”

Marien looked up at Elden.

And.

‘…?’

She saw the wound on his right cheek.

It was a wound that hadn’t been there during the first meeting.

Blood was trickling from the end of the wound, indicating it was fresh.

A sense of foreboding rose in her throat.

She wanted to ask about it but couldn’t.

“Then.”

Elden gave a brief farewell and walked away firmly.

His steps were so decisive that it seemed she would never see him again.

It seemed like those steps were his last in the grand hall’s corridor.

If she didn’t ask now, she might never have the chance.

That’s probably why.

Despite the rudeness and overcoming her fear, she called out to him.

“Lord Elden?”

He stopped and turned his head.

Gathering her courage, she asked.

“May I ask where you are going now?”

A question that omitted context.

A question that encapsulated too much.

It was a clumsy question that had popped out without time to think, and she tried to correct it.

But Elden spoke first.

“Your name is Marien, right?”

“Yes? Yes. That’s correct….”

“You broke our promise, didn’t you?”

“…!”

Eek!

Marien flinched again.

Even though his voice was gentle and his gaze mild, Elden Lafellion had a certain charisma that made her legs tremble.

Just as she was about to plead guilty, the mood changed.

“I’d like to ask you a favor as the price for breaking our promise.”

“Yes, yes?”

Marien, her face showing some fear, asked again, and the favor he mentioned made her stand there for a while.

“Take good care of Grand Duchess Rumiang.”

With a faint smile, he gave his answer and walked confidently towards the end of the corridor.

He had responded to her question, full of implications and omitted context, with the same kind of answer.

What could it mean?

What was implied?

What was omitted?

A stunned Marien could only stare at Elden’s back as he opened the grand doors and stepped outside.

She watched him walk towards the brilliant light.

She watched him disappear into the radiant light.

Marien could do nothing but watch until the doors closed.

Thud.

**

Click.

I left the office of the central aide of the Winterfell Ducal family, Gelwood, holding the treaty stamped with the duke’s seal.

I carefully folded it and put it back in my coat.

Although Sir Gelwood showed clear regret, the outcome had been predetermined for a long time.

Stubbornness and obstinacy had merely delayed the conclusion.

The marriage duel, already heading towards chaos and disaster, was essentially meaningless.

In the original story, the heroine would have led all situations and developments, and the authority would not have passed to the central aide.

There would have been no tears from the heroine, no obsession with a withdrawing candidate.

I felt sorry for the heroine, but as someone who had unfairly become a brothel character, I could only hope she would blame the one who had possessed me as Elden.

I hoped.

That, as the marriage duel ended, she would find happiness.

I hoped she would move on from the past and walk her own path while we lived our separate lives.

Well….

That face, filled with despair as she slapped me, collapsing like a tragic heroine, and that voice asking me to understand her wounds—those lingered in my mind….

‘I’ve done all I could.’

Even if it was hard to accept, I had sincerely apologized. Even if it was hard to understand, I had indirectly told her I was a different person now.

She might still be angry, but I had taken a slap for her.

As someone who had become a villain without knowing why, I had fulfilled my duty and responsibility to the best of my ability.

Anything beyond this was impossible.

‘I should stay until the marriage duel ends.’

Sir Gelwood had pleaded.

He had asked me to stay until the marriage duel ended, promising not to ask me to participate in the evaluations.

One candidate had already disappeared, and if another candidate packed up and left during the duel, there would be no way to handle it externally, he said.

Understanding this, I agreed.

It wasn’t difficult.

I planned to enjoy the monster cooking festival and look for a chef after the duel, so I had no reason to refuse.

There was nothing to gain from making enemies of the duke’s family.

Having obtained the treaty stamped with the duke’s seal, I was now free. Once the duel ended, I could move to a new lodging and enjoy the festival.

I could now go out into the city in the evening, no longer restricted, and had escaped the nightmare of experiencing the brothel firsthand during the evaluations.

With these plans, I left the central castle.

The sky was darkening.

Drip.

Drip drip.

Thick raindrops were falling.

The escape from the brothel was officially successful.

The rain seemed to celebrate that.

I recalled a scene from a movie.

It was a scene I had always wanted to replicate if I ever escaped the unjust debt I was buried under.

At this moment, I could indulge in joy.

I wanted to enjoy this rain with my shirt off like the protagonist in the movie, but I didn’t want to tarnish the image that was finally being rebuilt.

I knelt.

I spread my arms wide.

I closed my eyes and lifted my head to the sky.

Happily, I opened my mouth.

I tried to savor each raindrop falling on my face, hands, and into my mouth.

If only the rain hadn’t suddenly stopped.

I opened my eyes in that state.

I saw Randler holding an umbrella.

Randler, looking pleased.

“You’ll catch a cold.”

……Hmph.

I wish I could show you the escape scene from the movie Shawshank, old man.

**

I arrived at the annex with Rachel and Randler.

Though it was late, I didn’t feel like going to sleep.

So I made a suggestion to the two of them.

“How about a small celebration party in the reception room?”

“A party, you say? Haha. You seem to be in a very good mood. Then, shall I summon the maids…?”

“No need. Just the three of us. How about it?”

Drinking alone would be too lonely.

For today, I wanted to drink heartily.

I wanted to drink cold beer until I burst.

Of course, Rachel would refuse, so I proposed to have a toast with Sir Randler instead.

Original Elden had often proposed toasts, but Rachel always refused, citing the duty to guard.

However.

“Then I will have the guards stand by.”

Rachel agreed readily.

Surprised, I asked again.

“Oh? Really? What’s gotten into you, my master?”

“…I will prepare and go to the reception room.”

Rachel cut it short and entered the annex first.

I looked at Randler.

He looked very excited.

…He seemed almost teary.

“Are you really going to share a drink with me?”

“If you don’t want to, forget it.”

“Of course I do! Since I started serving you, it’s my first time sharing a drink with you, and my heart is swelling with joy…! Sob!”

You might die of happiness, old man.

Before you die of happiness in your old age, I should probably make you do some bad things.

“I will prepare the best drink table with all my heart!”

“If you bring the maids, you’ll be in trouble.”

Randler, who was about to run off, paused at my words.

“N-not even one?”

……It seems like the old man wants to have fun.

I’d like to note his cause of death as being overly joyful or of a heart attack, but I didn’t want to disturb the peaceful night of those resting.

When I frowned without saying anything, Randler quickly ran off.

I chuckled at his reaction and started walking towards the entrance.

Alright.

Tonight, let’s have a grand toast.

With that thought, I changed clothes and headed to the reception room, and the next day, I woke up to find myself curled up in a corner of the reception room floor.

There was a soft blanket over me, something that should not have been prepared in the reception room.

“Hm?”

And.

“…….”

Sir Randler was draped halfway over the sofa, looking like drying laundry.

Cold-induced snot was running down his nose.

Rachel was nowhere to be seen.

I remembered drinking quite a bit.

A moment later.

…Achoo!

A sneeze heralded the morning.

Hmm…

What had happened?