Chapter 31

“Heavy…”

Once again, my body creaked heavily. With each passing day, my body grew heavier, stiffer, and I could feel my organs shifting out of place.

Thanks to the training from my Master, who fed me poison and medicine daily, I could now drink most poisons like water. However, dragon poison was an exception.

Even that monster of a Master would recommend euthanasia and suicide if poisoned by dragon venom.

Until now, I barely managed with medicine and painkillers, but these symptoms would only worsen.

“Lord Raul, I’ve brought your breakfast today!”

My kind maid, Betty, presented a breakfast of cream pasta that looked rather burdensome.

“I drank with Camilla last night, though.”

Unfortunately, the only entertainment in this rural village was alcohol, so I had no choice but to join her drinking sessions.

“So I thought you’d be very hungry and made a lot!”

“…You eat it.”

Once again, I handed my breakfast to the maid and left the Lord’s Mansion, heading towards the Adventurer Guild where Cecilia was.

It was a nice day with warm sunlight and a cool breeze, but… it felt too cold for me.

So, I tightened my thick coat and quickened my pace.

As I opened the door to the Adventurer Guild, the atmosphere inside instantly froze.

“O-oh, Lord Raul…!”

“I never asked for such stiff attitudes.”

“R-really…?”

“I just came to see Cecilia as usual. You all aren’t my purpose, so there’s no need to be so tense.”

They had started fearing me after I subdued the soldiers of that noble, Neil.

Even though it was just a basic grappling move anyone could learn with a bit of practice, they looked at me as if I were a monster.

I ran away because I didn’t want to face such gazes.

“Welcome!”

Cecilia, who appeared upon hearing of my visit, looked quite pleased.

“I didn’t expect you to come personally. What brings you here today? If it’s for a request…”

“Do you have any men you’re seeing?”

“Huh…?!”

I merely asked a question, but she was so startled she almost fell backward.

“W-wait, what do you mean by ‘seeing men’…?”

“I’m not good with words, so to clarify, I don’t mean regular interactions. I mean a special relationship or connection for physical pleasure or future marriage…”

“That’s not why I’m reacting like this!”

She suddenly started getting angry.

I couldn’t understand why she was angry, so I blamed my poor communication skills.

“Anyway, may I ask why you’re asking that?”

“I want to talk about my engagement.”

“A-aren’t you being a bit hasty? I mean, nothing’s happened yet…! And before that, such a relationship…!”

Perhaps the adventurers in this village generally have a habit of stuttering.

“I want to write an important letter to my fiancée, but unfortunately, I’ve lived a life far removed from romance.”

“Y-you have a fiancée…?!”

“Well, that’s the relationship.”

Of course, she would hate me more than anyone else. She was the woman who hated me more than anyone, and I hated her more than anyone.

And she was the woman who had the right to kill me.

“If you’re asking for help writing a love letter, I’ll refuse.”

“I’ll pay five silver coins. And unfortunately, it’s not a love letter. Well, it might fall into that category.”

“Huh…?”

I felt uncomfortable under the gazes of those around us.

It seemed like this wasn’t a conversation to have in front of so many people, so I wanted to move.

“…This is a bit uncomfortable.”

“Then, would you like to come to my house?”

“If it’s not a bother, please.”

Cecilia’s house was unexpectedly tidy. Most adventurers I knew lived messily, so I might have had some preconceptions.

“Would you like some tea?”

“Please.”

I was fasting, so I wanted to fill my empty stomach with at least some tea.

When I trained under my Master, I could fight for four days without eating or drinking, but now my body was too weak for that.

Dragon poison aside, we all suffered significant injuries in the battle against the Demon King.

“Here you go.”

After savoring the fragrant tea and simple snacks she prepared, I explained my business.

“What I want to send her isn’t some lukewarm love letter. It’s quite the opposite.”

“Meaning…?”

“I plan to ask her to break off the engagement.”

If I do that, I’ll be the one breaking the contract, so she won’t have to pay any penalties.

And even if I die in the future, it won’t affect her at all.

“But she mostly ignores my letters, so I wanted to ask for your help. I’m not good with words.”

“Well, if Lord Raul’s communication skills are that bad… I guess I should help.”

She brought out paper, a quill, and ink and began to seriously co-write the letter.

Seeing her so serious for the first time, I was a bit surprised.

“But why do you want to break off the engagement? Do you not like her? Her face or something?”

That wasn’t it.

There were many reasons, but for me, appearance wasn’t a reason to break off a relationship.

Even if the other person were the ugliest, I could love them if they could guide me.

Though it’s laughable for someone with so little time left to love anyone.

“…Would you like to see a portrait?”

I took out a carefully preserved portrait of her from my wallet.

“It’s just a rough sketch, though.”

“…She’s beautiful.”

“Well, blood is blood.”

She was the sister of the woman who shone more beautifully than anyone in the world, so of course, she would be beautiful.

“But why do you want to break off the engagement? Most men would have gladly accepted her.”

“…Even if we married, I doubt we’d be happy. Neither her nor me.”

To her, I was just the enemy who killed her sister, and to me, she was just her sister.

Love was clearly out of the question.

Even if a child were born between us, that child would surely live a miserable life.

“Did you have a big fight over some affair? I saw you were close with that blue-haired woman.”

“…That’s not it.”

She wasn’t the type to get angry over such things.

“She just hates me. She doesn’t reply to my letters, ignores my requests to meet and clear misunderstandings, and occasionally sabotages my work to the point of causing overwork.”

She once sabotaged my family’s business, and I spent five days and nights fixing it.

Thanks to that, the damage was recoverable, and now I can talk about it casually, but at the time, I vomited blood from overwork.

“Oh, and she sent assassins too. Though she couldn’t afford to send anyone who could actually kill me.”

“What kind of life did you lead to be hated so much by your fiancée?”

“I lived an extremely ordinary life. And I’ve never been hurt by her actions.”

She had the right to kill me, so I could justify any of her actions.

“…Ah. But I was a bit hurt once. When she sent me a corpse on my birthday, I was a bit down.”

When she sent me thirty boxes of dead raccoons on my birthday, I was a bit hurt.

I had a hard time stopping His Majesty and Camilla from tearing her limbs off.

“…What a woman.”

Cecilia started getting angry.

“Why on earth did you get engaged to such a woman? You’re not lacking in looks or abilities… so why?”

“…It’s complicated.”

“Sigh… I’ll write a draft for you. Take it home, write it yourself, and then let me check it.”

She said that and filled two sheets of paper with dense writing.

Most adventurers I knew were far from intellectual, so this was a bit surprising.

“Here, would you like to see the draft?”

Reading the draft, I was amazed.

For a frontier adventurer, her writing skills surpassed those of many nobles.

In terms of writing ability, she might even be more competent than Rizel.

“…Thank you.”

I placed five silver coins on the table and stood up.

“If things go well, I’ll thank you properly next time.”

Now, with a proper letter of annulment, I could finally end this hollow engagement.

My fiancée had grown enough, and I had fulfilled my duties.

If I could sever all these bindings, I could finally breathe freely.

“This should do it.”

And I was the worst fiancé.

The one I loved wasn’t my fiancée but her sister.

Her sister was my other half, the woman who could envelop my soul.

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