Chapter 78
77. Engagement – Leo Dexter
“Shall I serve the usual?”
Leo nodded and made his way to his seat, which had almost become his designated spot.
The innkeeper filled a glass to the brim with a strong liquor called ‘Calados’ and handed it to Leo, who hurriedly gulped it down.
It had been two months since he started meeting the Prince every weekend in Lutetia. Despite the cold winter arriving, there were quite a few people in the tavern trying to chase away the chill with drinks, eager to get to work.
Lena and the Prince quickly became close.
Cleo de Frederick welcomed her quirky charm more with every conversation.
Lena seemed to like the Prince as well, frequently chatting without Leo’s help and often asking him for sparring sessions.
Leo… hardly spoke. It felt like his true feelings would spill out if he opened his mouth.
“Ugh—sweet. So sweet.”
He mumbled as he downed the bitter alcohol.
The innkeeper didn’t seem surprised by his words and returned to the counter. This had been the same routine for several weeks.
Today was a weekend, but Leo didn’t go to meet the Prince.
It wasn’t just today—he hadn’t gone yesterday, nor the week before, and certainly not the week before that.
It probably started when the Holy Knight assigned to guard the Prince, Sir Corin, changed to the priest escorting Ophelia during the Childhood Friend scenario event.
He wasn’t leaving to give Lena and the Prince some alone time.
It was painful to watch Lena enjoying conversations with the Prince, talking about sparring like, “How did you do that just now?”
He had started visiting the tavern regularly and had recently been drowning himself in liquor every day.
Lena… now went to meet the Prince by herself. When she made excuses saying, “I have things to do with someone else,” she replied brightly that she understood.
Leo Dexter took another sip of his drink.
Dizzy and lightheaded, he recalled the plan set by ‘some bug.’
Now, he was to announce the annulment of his engagement with Lena and wholeheartedly support her so she could become a princess.
What a marvelous plan.
[ Achievement: ’11th Leo’ – The rate of the player merging with Leo slightly increases. ]
The Leo who laughed at Minseo’s plan was the ‘real’ Leo.
It had been over a year since the Engagement scenario began. The self-loving Leo pushed Minseo out at a rather quick pace compared to other Leo’s in different scenarios and had finally regained his sanity.
Regaining control revealed Leo’s true nature, and he lamented his predicament.
When he came to his senses, his past memories were gone, leaving only the memories of strangers.
Furthermore, he clearly saw how his relationship with Lena was falling apart, as he was stuck like a deer in headlights under Minseo’s control.
That guy ruined ‘my’ life just to save his own.
He didn’t completely fail to understand his actions, as Minseo was also in a desperate situation.
To some extent, he was an accomplice too. As he slowly regained his sanity, he had hardened his heart after the death of a child named Enen.
“Ha… what a shitty life…”
A game?
The word he derived from Minseo’s memories meant something akin to ‘play.’
His body, mind, spirit, and life were merely tools for that play.
Tools with no apparent purpose.
Perhaps God was snickering at my worries, only considering his own entertainment…
Leo banged on the table, signaling the innkeeper for more drinks.
“Oh my, you’re here again today.”
At that moment, a tavern worker approached.
“What kind of person drinks from morning without skipping a day? Shouldn’t you tell me by now?”
“Get lost… Urgh, go away.”
“How cold you are! You must be troubled; talking about it often helps feels less heavy.”
She sat on the edge of the next seat, flaunting her unusually large chest. Then, she sneakily glanced at the pouch of coins tied to the young man’s waist.
A strong and seemingly wealthy young man, who had something on his mind.
Despite his week-long aloofness, he was a prime customer if he ever came around.
“Well, I’ve got some free time too… How about we chat? If there’s something you can’t say in a crowded place, we could go somewhere quiet. What do you say?”
“Not interested… Urgh, go away. Who needs that…”
With the winter approaching, he would need more money to survive. She pressed against the swaying young man, unable to suppress her drunkenness and offered comfort.
“Why, is your head hurting? Did you get dumped? Isn’t that right? Oh my. How could someone as great as you get…”
“Enough with that…!”
“Leo!”
Just as Leo was about to snap back at the flirtatious tavern worker, he was startled to see Lena at the entrance, her face flushed from the cold winds.
“You, you! Who’s that woman next to you?”
It was a situation that would leave any man flustered, but Leo instead chuckled.
‘This is perfect. Just perfect.’
In any case, he could no longer endure it.
He planned to tell Lena to annul the engagement next week anyway, whether it was today or not.
After wrestling with his thoughts, he found no other way out.
His life was held hostage by Minseo.
From now on, he could move as he pleased, but ultimately, he would meet his end.
Then that bastard Minseo would…
Letting the effects of the alcohol take over, Leo wrapped his arms around the tavern worker’s waist and fabricated words he didn’t mean.
“Who else would it be… it’s you… Urgh, what’s it to you.”
“What, what did you say?”
Lena choked on her words, unable to continue.
The tavern worker alternated her gaze between the unexpected woman and the young man, then smiled brightly as if she had just realized something.
“Whoever she is, do you know Leo?”
The quivering woman before her was definitely the one clinging stubbornly to this young man.
‘Is there really a guest so easily tangled up in things?’
This guy wasn’t love-struck or a man crushed by rejection from the woman he fancied.
One lives long enough to see it all. Although he hadn’t lived that long yet.
“And who are you to be with Leo? Get away from him right now!”
“Why should I? We love each other.”
She wrapped her arms around the young man, who had his head buried in her chest, as if to show off.
Her intent was to flaunt it, but the young man turned away to dodge.
‘How embarrassing.’
“You are the one who is… Oh no… Aack!”
Lena drew her sword. Her eyes brimmed with tears as she stared at Leo.
“Leo, is this real? Is this woman who you had to meet?”
“…Yeah.”
“This kind of woman… You, the reason you disliked me… so we…”
Lena stammered as if trying to say something but couldn’t complete even a single sentence.
“So, so then… No. Ha!”
Tears streamed down Lena’s face.
But she didn’t make a sound. Maintaining her rigid stance with the sword raised, she wiped away her flowing tears without averting her gaze from Leo.
He could feel her hesitation. It felt as if her heart might shatter.
Leo gritted his teeth and spoke.
“We… Urgh, annul our engagement.”
The words spat out in the agony of having his heart sliced open were neither dramatic nor grand.
Mixed in were the complications brought on by the drink, making them messy and sordid.
Lena didn’t budge.
She stood there, seemingly frozen in that moment before slowly lowering her sword and turning her body.
Just as she neared the door to leave, she spun around with the swiftness of lightning and lunged with her sword.
“Aaaah!”
The tavern worker’s scream, the gawking customers, and the innkeeper’s fidgeting filled the room.
Lena’s sword was accurately aimed at Leo’s heart, yet it did not pierce through.
Their eyes met.
Leo did not shy away from the resentful stare in her eyes.
‘Remember this gaze.’
Lena looked at him with a shattered expression before retracting her sword. Without another word, she exited, never to return.
Silence fell.
With everyone’s breath held, the only one moving in the tavern was Leo.
He raised his glass and downed the drink.
What kind of signal that was, but the stiff atmosphere broke, and people began to murmur.
“What’s with that? Is she crazy?”
“Who knows. This time, we’ve seen it all. Aren’t we supposed to report this?”
“Come on. I’m sure there’s some backstory.”
The tavern worker, who had been frozen with fear, let out a sigh of relief and spoke up.
“Wow… crazy, Leo. This is your name, right? What the hell was that crazy girl doing? I think I understand why you’d want to break up…”
“Shut your mouth.”
“What, what did you say? What are you saying to me…”
“Just shut your mouth and get lost.”
The tavern worker felt a chill run down her spine as she met Leo’s crazed gaze. Quickly getting up from her seat, she hurled insults at Leo and fled.
“Cough… Hahaha… Hahaha!”
Leo erupted in wild laughter. The curses just flung at him by the tavern worker suited him quite well.
– A crazy fool who would live like a bug even if reborn.
“Cough, cough, cough…”
Yeah. He was indeed a madman.
Is there truly another soul in this world who would struggle to hand over his beloved woman to another man?
After laughing for a while, Leo turned suddenly quiet. Then he muttered softly.
“Is this enough? Is it? Feeling clear now?”
He left a remark whose audience remained unknown, then gulped down more drink.
Where had Lena gone?
Just the thought of her made him feel guilty, yet he couldn’t help but think of her.
Today was a weekend.
How could she have come here, seeking him out? Did she run to the Prince to complain about him, now that they had grown closer?
According to Minseo’s plan, right after declaring the annulment, Lena would have to go to the Prince.
The real Leo’s lips twisted slightly.
‘No way.’
He sensed Minseo’s consciousness growing calm in his mind and rose to his feet.
‘What a fool. No matter how close they get, Lena would never go to the Prince.’
He didn’t need to use the Tracking Skill to know where Lena would head.
Lena would be returning to her hometown.
Leo left the tavern and rode off northwards.
There were still things left to do.
He intended to put an end to Minseo’s foolish plans.
This was the solution that the ‘real Leo’ had painstakingly devised. Ultimately, if Minseo did not change, all of our lives would be ruined.
Using the Tracking Skill confirmed that Lena was indeed not south where the Prince was, but heading north.
Leo caught up to her. Lena was waiting for a boat to cross the ‘Roadran’ River, located at Lutetia’s North Gate.
Known as the river where the first saint Azra defeated evil for the third time, it was revered by the Cross Church, and thus no bridge had ever been built across it.
“Lena.”
Leo called out from behind her, but she didn’t turn around.
“…Just go away.”
“Lena.”
“Didn’t you hear me tell you to go away? Why are you here?”
Only then did Lena whip around.
She spoke fiercely, but her question held a sliver of hope.
“Why didn’t you leave sooner?”
“All you can say is that?”
Lena drew her sword.
“I swear, if you speak nonsense again, I’ll kill you. Get lost now.”
“Lena, tell me. Why didn’t you leave when I treated you badly?”
Lena didn’t answer. She swung her sword even harder against him.
‘It’s Forte.’
“Eh!”
Lena used Forte to push Leo’s sword away and kicked at him.
Knocked down, Leo was surprised as he rolled away, but Lena’s sword fell right where he was trying to dodge, slow yet precise.
‘This is…!’
It was the swordsmanship of Sir Lloyd, who was with the Prince.
A style that preemptively occupies the adversary’s position, further cornering them in a desperate situation.
Fast doesn’t always mean advantageous. The position of the sword indicates the focus of the knight’s power, thus seizing a specific space.
Sir Lloyd preferred to pressure opponents through that ‘space control.’ He would place his sword in positions comfortable for the enemy first, forcing them into a corner and taking advantage.
Lena was employing his swordsmanship.
Leo, down on one knee, used his sword to block the downward strikes against him. He aimed to stamp on Lena’s knee with his heel as she stepped to his left to evade.
It seemed she thought left might be more difficult to defend, but to Leo, who had learned Bart’s swordsmanship, left or right made little difference.
He adjusted his grip, lifting the sword with his left hand and using the ground to spring up with a kick to propel himself.
Simultaneously, he made a motion as if stabbing at Lena.
Shocked by the unexpected counterattack, Lena gave him the chance to rise, but Leo struck hard before he regained his stance.
“I am!”
– Clang!
Leo, not fully upright, knelt to block his sword.
Lena yelled as she struck down repeatedly.
“You!”
– Clang!
“For not being skilled enough!”
– Clang!
“For hating me!”
– Bang!
“I GET IT!!”
With every downward strike, the blade of Noelle Dexter Lena held began to shatter.
Leo’s blade remained unscathed.
Finally, with all her strength, Lena crashed her sword against his.
– Shank!
Colliding near the hilt, Leo lost grip of his sword. His weapon flew away while Lena’s sword shattered into countless pieces.
As Lena tossed aside the remaining hilt and shouted.
“Now… now I’m stronger! But… but you…!”
