Of course, the rumor spread that “Karvald is so desperate to cling to his fiancée that he’s grateful even when she occasionally talks to him,” which did me no favors.
All I gained was ridicule, and all I lost was face.
That said, it’s not like I didn’t know I could just keep things at a comfortable distance.
I knew all along, yet I volunteered to be managed like a fishing net.
“That way, I won’t earn Vigdis’s resentment, and by minimizing my conversations with her, I can also avoid getting too close.”
If Vigdis graduates from the Academy safely, she’ll surely choose the path of becoming an Einheri.
Because that’s the easiest and fastest way to break free from her family.
In the original story, she was bound to Karvald by engagement and inevitably belonged to his team.
But since she’s talented, if we were to break off our engagement, offers to recruit her would pour in.
“Even if her future changes like that, Vigdis’s preferences won’t. She’d become entangled with Reysir as an Einheri, fall in love with him, and there’s always the chance she’d meet the same death as in the original story, isn’t there?”
But that’s not all.
In the original, Vigdis couldn’t get close to anyone during her Academy days, so she never had any contact with Reysir.
Reysir himself kept his distance not only from new friends but even from childhood friends, fearing they’d be caught up in Karvald’s harassment.
But now, the situation has changed.
Unlike Karvald, I no longer intend to infringe on their freedom.
Maybe, this semester, Reysir and Vigdis could even become friends.
“Better to avoid main characters from the original story.”
Listening to Professor Skati’s lectures is useful since it increases survival odds.
But becoming close with Vigdis brings me no advantage.
On the contrary…
“It’s a waste of time.”
“You’re saying that spending time with me like friends is a waste of time…?”
“Yes.”
“But you get along well with the heir of the Skapti family…?”
Just to clarify in case anyone’s forgotten, “Skapti” is Tridric’s family name.
In other words, Vigdis just basically said, “So you’re saying I’m someone you dislike even more than Tridric…?”
Apparently, even Vigdis thought Tridric was quite the trash.
“Tridric, Riolikin—neither of them are people I keep close by choice. They just hang around on their own accord… No, never mind. That’s irrelevant to the topic.”
It was contradictory to call it a waste of time and then go on about personal matters.
So, to keep things consistent, I cut the topic off, which made a faint trace of dissatisfaction flicker across Vigdis’s face.
But that was it.
She didn’t press to ask what I wanted to say.
Vigdis wasn’t the kind of persistent character who’d cling like a protagonist from someone else’s story.
However, she also wasn’t sharp enough to be comfortable with a contract that benefited only one side.
“How about learning the basics of swordsmanship from me once a week? I’ve just barely moved beyond beginner level myself, so I can’t teach you anything spectacular, but the professor has praised me a lot for having solid fundamentals.”
“Why?”
“Well… You said you signed up for the Swordsmanship Introductory Lecture to learn how to understand swordsmen’s movements and fight them, right? Ah! Then maybe observing me practicing swordsmanship would be more helpful than you learning directly from me?”
She’d thought it through quite well.
It was indeed a condition that could benefit me.
So this time, I couldn’t just dismiss it as a waste of time.
Besides, since we’d be meeting regularly, no one would suspect we were about to break off our engagement.
“The fact that you just said ‘why’ wasn’t to ask why I should learn swordsmanship from you, but why you’re so willing to help me.”
“Then why do you want to help me? Even though your fiancée constantly meddled, obsessed, and manipulated you, and you risked dishonor by being at her mercy and clinging to her…”
“I told you. It’s compensation.”
“You’re the kind of person who doesn’t need to care about compensation.”
Vigdis was right—Karvald could get away with it.
He could crush others with his family’s power.
Though any decent person wouldn’t do such things, expecting that from Karvald was pointless.
‘But I’m not the real Karvald, am I?’
And I want to avoid the original story’s main characters harboring ill will toward me as much as possible.
“Although last semester was painful because of you, I was able to learn swordsmanship at the Academy thanks to you. So, you could say I’ve already been compensated. The suffering lasted only four months, but there are still four years left until graduation, excluding this semester. Isn’t it really a waste of time to offer compensation for a four-month obsession over four years?”
‘When did it happen?’
‘The fear in Vigdis’s eyes faded, and her stiff posture relaxed naturally.]
‘Was it when I said I’d let myself be used? Or when I sighed, unable to hide my frustration after hearing her story?’
“I don’t want to look like a bad person who uses their fiancée. I’m afraid of criticism, and every time I hear those words, my conscience hurts so much. But through today’s conversation, I realized you’re not entirely a bad person…”
Vigdis said this softly, gently lifting the corners of her mouth.
At that moment, I could guess what she was thinking.
“Karvald has never truly been loved, nor loved properly. He’s immature and naive. So his obsession with me was just clumsy. I understand it as that. And now, as an older person, I want to care for him properly and make him more human!”
There was no guarantee my guess was 100% correct, but I didn’t want to question her to confirm it.
If I asked directly, it’d look like a thief caught in the act trying to deny it.
“My actual age is older than Vigdis’s…? If she’s going to make that kind of resolution, the real Karvald should have done it last semester while he was still here. Or at least in the original story!”
It was maddening.
It was so ridiculous I almost laughed, but I didn’t know how she’d interpret that laugh.
So I forced my expression to harden, which made my face twitch.
Trying not to show my agitation, I casually took a sip of coffee but found the cup empty.
I’d unconsciously sipped little by little while talking with Vigdis and drank it all.
Setting down the empty cup quietly, I watched her expression.
Her lips twitched oddly, as if she’d noticed my foolishness.
No, it was more than that. Her expression was definitely one of someone surprised by hearing I wasn’t a bad person.
“You seem to have misunderstood something…”
“What misunderstanding?”
“…”
I reflexively opened my mouth to deny it but only strengthened her conviction.
They say staying silent is sometimes the best middle ground.
But this time, even staying silent wouldn’t have cleared up the misunderstanding, so I didn’t blame myself for misspeaking.
‘It’s not like I can’t fix what I said… It’s just that if I bring this up, I’ll have no choice but to accept your swordsmanship lessons. So this time, I should think carefully before I speak. It’s something I need to consider anyway. What should I do? Learn swordsmanship from Vigdis or not?”
I toyed with the coffee cup’s handle, conflicted.
To be honest, I was pretty tempted.
My top priority is survival, after all.
Though the main weapon of this possession body isn’t a sword, but a whip.
If need be, I could ask for sparring sessions instead of lessons to hone my combat sense…
“Wait. If we spar in something like real combat, I’d have to whip a person? That’s awkward in more ways than one.”
…That wasn’t the pressing issue right now, so I buried the thought of whip sparring deep in my mind.
Anyway, getting Vigdis’s help throughout my Academy days would be a tremendous advantage.
I could surely improve quickly.
On the other hand, I want to keep my distance from Vigdis because she’s likely to die young, entangled with the protagonist.
“Can’t I just prevent Vigdis from getting close to Reysir? But I wrote in the contract that I won’t interfere in Vigdis’s personal relationships… Could I really make exceptions like this? What if I unknowingly get swept up in the original story’s flow…!”
If I kept worrying like this, I’d go around in endless circles and never make a decision.
So I cleared my mind of all complicated thoughts and took a deep, calm breath.
Not thinking as the possessed protagonist who wants to live a smooth life far from the original story’s path.
But analyzing the situation from the perspective of a web novel author doing their job.
Then…
“The moment you possess a character from a novel, you basically decide to get deeply involved with the original protagonist and plot, right? If not, why would you possess a world where the original story already exists?”
Analyzing it with an author’s brain wasn’t a good idea.
At least, that’s how I felt.
“Um, Karv…? Are you embarrassed right now…?”
“I was just debating whether or not I should tell you about a secret the family is hiding.”
Survival comes first, and to survive, I have to get stronger.
So accepting Vigdis’s offer is the right choice.
Meeting once a week to train doesn’t necessarily mean we’ll become close.
“Are you trying to change the subject right now…?”
“As soon as I got home for vacation, I nearly died. Someone poisoned me. That’s why I couldn’t contact you during the break. I didn’t even have time to celebrate your birthday.”
“…!!”
I put on a very serious expression and cut her off twice in a row.
Because of the gravity of the story, Vigdis couldn’t just write off my behavior as embarrassment anymore.
Her smiling face immediately turned to shock.
“W-Who was the culprit…?”
“I didn’t find out. Or rather, I didn’t want to. My father didn’t want to make a big deal out of it.”
In truth, my poisoning was just an act staged by the original Karvald, and since that fact had been revealed, the culprit was basically known.
Still, I didn’t hesitate to make Hard look like a ruthless father.
He was already merciless and cold enough.
“Do you remember in the first Swordsmanship Introductory Lecture when I said I wouldn’t just die quietly and was preparing in various ways? My trying to compensate you is part of that. Simply put, I’m clearing my karmic debt right now.”
“…”
“So if you think I’m helping you because I’m a good person, that’s a misconception. And it’s also a misconception to think I’m in a position where I don’t have to make amends for my mistakes.”
“…”
“Understand?”
“How about increasing the lessons I give you to twice a week… no, three times?”
I knew bringing this up would seal the deal for swordsmanship training with Vigdis.
Or rather, since I was getting help anyway, I wanted to make the most of it.
If she thought I was really under threat of being killed, Vigdis would surely become even more enthusiastic in teaching me swordsmanship.
“The moment you possess a character from a novel, you basically decide to get deeply involved with the original protagonist and plot, right? If not, why would you possess a world where the original story already exists..”
Finally! He reached the conclusion faster than most romance MCs.
Also he should remember this story wasn’t finished. Reysir might just lose his plot armor and die or catastrophic events might happen that risk killing him anyway. What’s the point of keeping a story on the tracks when there’s a cliff at the end?