Chapter 33

When they reached their destination, the carriage stopped.

Lexion got off at once and entered the mansion.

All of the Duke’s employees were stupefied at the appearance of their full-grown young master.

But there was no time to care about them.

Lexion immediately ran up the stairs and headed for Elena’s room.

His steps were brimming with anticipation.

“Sister.”

But the room was empty.

The desk, which was always full of books, was spotless.

There was only an empty bed, a wardrobe, and a drawer.

There were no traces of the previous occupant as if no one had ever lived there.

Lexion’s eyes fluttered, then calmed down.

He was kinda expecting it.

Since they were young, Elena has long wanted to leave.

But when he saw the empty room, he felt strange.

“Oh my, Master Lexion!”

As he found himself getting confused, he heard a familiar voice.

It was Rossi, Elena’s exclusive maid.

“… Rossi. Where is sister Elena?”

Rossi’s body trembled at the glacial gaze.

He felt like a different person than the cute little master she remembered.

It was as if she was confronted by a slayer, evoking such fear.

Rossi’s voice stuttered.

“Ah– the young lady left the Duke’s estate not long after the young master entered the war.”

At her words, Lexion’s eyes flickered again.

***

“So… What about this Hayes?”

“That– that….”

Jane’s face turned red at Elena’s question. She appeared very shy, covering her face with her hand.

“He– he said I’m the most beautiful in the world.”

Jane, who spoke in a trembling voice, could not bear the shame and went into the blanket.

“Haha! Why are you so shy?”

Jane’s cute behavior made her laugh out loud.

Currently, Elena was in Jane’s bedroom, who decided to stay one night with the Oswalds.

The two ate, played, and chatted a lot and lay down on the same bed.

Even after having conversed for a prolonged period, their chat continued.

And now, Jane and Elena were talking about the original male lead, Hayes.

With Killian no longer in a relationship with Jane, Hayes appeared earlier than in the original.

‘I was very surprised when I first heard the name from Jane’s mouth.’

It was quite enjoyable to hear the story of the two who have now become lovers in public.

‘Heh. I thought he was a bit old-fashioned in the original, but he’s more upfront than I thought.’

Hayes showed off his wealth by coming to Jane’s jewelry store and buying all the jewelry she had designed herself. He also candidly displayed his affection by expressing his intentions to Jane.

Jane seemed to like him a lot more than expected.

“Sleep well, Elena.”

“Jane too.”

After talking for a while, the two of them went to bed at dawn.

Shortly thereafter, she heard Jane’s steady breathing.

Contrariwise, Elena couldn’t sleep at all.

It was because the newspaper article she saw during the day did not leave her mind.

‘I thought Lexion will come back a year sooner…’

It seemed that the original was altered after Elena remembered her previous life.

As a result, the time when Lexion went to war advanced, so naturally, he would come back sooner.

And so was Jane. As Killian disappeared from her side, the male protagonist abruptly appeared.

‘Did I change the original too much?’

But Killian was a good-for-nothing, so Elena didn’t really regret it.

She was just a little anxious.

The future she knew was slowly disappearing since she changed too much of the original.

Knowing the impending events, Elena was able to figure out how to deal with it to some extent, so it was okay. But now, except for a few, everything else seemed to have disappeared, so she was anxious and troubled.

“Haah.”

Elena deeply breathed out, so quiet that Jane couldn’t hear it.

Then the anxiety gradually disappeared.

‘Still, remember a few important facts, so you’ll be fine.’

With that in mind, she closed her eyes to go to sleep.

‘… I can’t sleep.’

Elena closed her eyes again and relaxed her whole body, but she still couldn’t sleep.

It wasn’t because she was anxious and nervous.

‘Lexion….’

Her cute little kid.

A peculiar feeling arose when she recalled the child who held her and cried and brought her flowers.

The small child became a war hero and returned as an accomplished adult.

‘You must have grown up well.’

Elena wanted to see him once.

After Lexion went out and her leaving the Duke’s manor, the two of them naturally cut off contact.

When Lexion attended the academy, they were busy exchanging letters.

But that has changed over time.

After Lexion left.

Elena still sent a lot of letters to Lexion before leaving the Duke’s house and after arriving at the tower.

After she came to the Magic Tower, she would send them to the Halos residence, where they could promptly find his location and deliver them to Lexion.

However, there was no reply from him.

Three months passed, and from the moment Lexion began to wander across the continent, she did not even think of sending a letter again.

There was no response anyway, and the base camp changed every few days.

So she didn’t send any more letters.

It has been like that for seven years.

To be honest, she hated Lexion for not replying at first.

But over time Elena understood.

Because the place where the child stayed was on a battlefield where one never knew when, where, or what could happen.

Thinking about it that way, she felt sorry for Lexion.

He must have gone through all sorts of hardships at such a young age, but she grumbled over not receiving a single letter.

‘By the way, time goes by so fast.’

It has been seven years already. She couldn’t believe it.

With Lexion’s anticipated return, he would inherit the Duke position.

The Emperor and all the people of the Empire would praise him and love him.

There would be more nobles approaching him, and in the future, he would have a good relationship and live well.

‘Come to think of it, there was no such thing as Lexion’s love story in the original. I wonder how it will go?’

First of all, Lexion’s appearance was exceptional.

Although scarcely described in the original novel, he has a beautiful face that captivated men and women alike, coveted muscles trained on the battlefield, and a height that far exceeded the average size.

In addition, the modifier of being the most handsome man in the Empire was added.

In the meantime, Elena thought he was a model of a typical male protagonist who was blunt and only did his job.

Of course, Lexion was just an extra, though.

‘Why don’t you choose a man with such specs as the male protagonist?’

If Elena was the author, she would unconditionally make him a male protagonist.

Besides, Lexion was now 20 years old.

The young war hero would receive a bunch of proposals from unmarried ladies of the Empire.

Thinking about it made her a bit sad.

‘… Still, I want to meet you at least once.’

Even though she no longer has contact with him, he was once her younger brother whom she loved very much.

Even after seven years have passed, Lexion was still a small child to Elena.

Elena wanted to meet him at least once because he was someone whom she shared her childhood with.

Seven years was too long, so it was obvious that it would be awkward if they met.

Lexion’s completely changed appearance would definitely make her nervous.

‘But Lexion… I wonder what will you think of me?’

She suddenly had a thought.

‘A family member who once took care of you? Or just like a kind older sister?’

She wished it was closer to the latter.

‘Well, I doubt I can meet you in the future.’

But a few days later.

Her wish to meet Lexion happened.

And it was even in an unexpected place.

****

Duke Halos, or Swain Halos, who has now stepped down from his position, was especially glad.

However, over the past few days – having passed down everything to his son – his face sometimes appeared mournful.

It was because he had to hand down what he had accomplished, which he had devoted the first half of his life, leaving him to enjoy the rest of his life.

Although the Halos family was still the number one priority in his life, he believed his son would do well, so he could entrust it to him.

Thus, he handed over the title and immediately packed up.

It was time to reward himself for the decades of dedication he had given to the family.

The world was vast, and Swain Halos didn’t have much time left.

He knew that fact well, so he wanted to spend more time for himself. Even at the end of his life.

With all his belongings, he sat inside the far-end, empty bedroom.

In his hand was a portrait of a beautiful woman.

“Wife….”

‘We could have toured the world together if you hadn’t left first.’

Swain’s eyes were overflowing with loneliness and regret.

The woman – the love of his life – dreamed of traveling the world.

And her dream soon became his dream.

However, because of work, he could not make her dream come true.

So Swain decisively planned to travel the world with her now.

Knock—

When the knock sounded, Swain’s thoughts cleared.

He got up after cherishing the portrait of his wife in his arms.

The door opened without his permission.

It was his son who came in.

It was rude, but he didn’t point it out because it was outdated.

It was a good thing he was in a good mood today.

However, his son didn’t seem to be in the same state as him.

“What’s going on?”

At Swain’s question, Lexion’s gaze silently fell.