Chapter 44: Vigdis’s Choice

I wanted to cheer for Vigdis’s newfound confidence and gladly accept her request.

But unfortunately, I couldn’t guarantee that she would continue attending the Academy.

If Count Shalbrady got wind of the fact that we were planning to break off the engagement, he would immediately order Vigdis to quit the Academy.

‘How can an fiancée prevent her guardian from submitting a withdrawal form?’

Knowing Vigdis’s situation, if such a thing actually happened, I would at least try to help her stay enrolled at the Academy.

But effort doesn’t always guarantee good results, does it?

That’s why I couldn’t include any clause about Vigdis’s continued attendance in the contract.

“That’s impossible. It’s beyond my ability.”

“Is it really… impossible?”

“As long as Count Shalbrady doesn’t find out that we’re breaking off the engagement, it shouldn’t be a problem, right?”

“How could he not find out? You’ve completely lost interest in me…”

“So? You want me to act like last semester again?”

“W-Well, I don’t want that…”

Vigdis muttered, her confident attitude suddenly vanishing.

Even if I put aside this matter, I couldn’t understand why there was a conflicted look on her face.

‘Was she struggling with whether or not to say she would endure the obsession?’

“I hate it too. I think even spending time talking to you right now is a waste. So why should I keep paying attention to you and wasting my precious time? I don’t expect anything from you anymore.”

“Of…”

The emotion reflected on Vigdis’s face was clearly despair.

Even her hand clutching the contract was weak.

I couldn’t understand her emotions, but I could guess the cause of her actions.

She realized that even if she didn’t sign the contract, I wouldn’t obsess over her like the old Karbaldr.

That meant there was no reason for her to desperately cling to the contract.

“Now that I think about it… clauses three and four of the contract weren’t written to consider me at all… Karbaldr intends to completely sever ties with me.”

“Don’t call me by pet names anymore.”

“…!”

Vigdis shut her mouth tightly, her expression twitching at my blunt response.

She was holding back the urge to argue how I couldn’t hide the fact that I wanted to break off the engagement while forbidding her from calling me pet names.

She glared resentfully at me before bowing her head deeply and finally spoke.

But.

“Can’t we just… not break off the engagement?”

“What…?”

I was caught off guard by the unexpected words.

I had assumed she wouldn’t hastily sign the contract because she didn’t trust Karbaldr.

But I never expected her to suggest canceling the contract entirely.

‘Well, it makes sense since Vigdis doesn’t have a single ounce of feeling for Karbaldr. She even said with her own mouth that she dreams of breaking off the engagement… And she’s supposed to love Reysir so much she’d be willing to die in his place later. Why would a character like that…?’

Reysir didn’t fall away easily, and now Vigdis was acting like this too.

‘Could it be because she had only endured Karbaldr’s harassment and obsession for one semester… just four months?’

I pressed my temples as a headache crept in.

“The only reason I wanted to break off the engagement with Karbaldr was because of your obsession. Now that obsession’s gone, there’s no particular reason to break it off… Maybe marrying like this isn’t so bad after all…”

“I told you not to call me by pet names, didn’t I? And what if this attitude is just a whim? What if I start obsessing over you again?”

“B-But…”

“This is a chance you’ll never get again. Think carefully.”

“I’m doing this so I don’t miss that chance.”

No matter how much I tried to intimidate her, it was no use.

Vigdis just shrugged briefly and didn’t change her stance.

She even placed the contract she’d been holding onto on the table.

‘Even if Vigdis doesn’t sign that contract, I intend to follow what’s written in it… The real problem is that she doesn’t seem willing to quietly stay out of my sight. I even warned her that if we got married, she might end up confined, but she just brushed it off.’

If this were a web novel, that part would’ve been published last chapter, but I only said it a few minutes ago.

‘And yet she still wants to marry me? Could it be that Vigdis will try to change my mind and obsess over me like Karbaldr did last semester?’

A wave of unease crept up inside me.

I had to admit I’d been too careless.

‘Where did I go wrong? Did I misread the character?’

I reviewed Vigdis’s behavior in the original story and recalled the information about her from the Book of Names received from the family.

Then I realized what I had missed.

“Vigdis. Come to think of it, how old are you now…?”

“I had my birthday last month, so I’m now twenty.”

“You’re an adult.”

“An adult, right…?”

I furrowed my brows saying ‘adult,’ and Vigdis responded as if surprised I was bringing it up now.

Well, like in Korea, the world of Nas-e considers nineteen the age of adulthood.

It was only natural that I was thinking, ‘Only now?’

“Before I proposed, were there any marriage proposals you received? Of course, there must have been many. Vigdis is quite beautiful…”

“Y-Yes?!”

“So, which one did your father decide to marry you off to?”

“T-That would be Ilsquem Count…”

Only those closely related to Karbaldr or affiliated with the Academy who were essential figures were listed in the Book of Names.

So Ilsquem Count wasn’t included in the Book, but I didn’t need to ask who he was.

Basic knowledge I memorized included noble registers.

“Ilsquem Count is over seventy years old, isn’t he? And he lost three wives to unknown causes. He has five children. Is your father out of his mind, trying to marry off his daughter to a man like that?”

“…”

“What kind of incredible conditions did Ilsquem Count offer?”

“I’m not really sure…”

I couldn’t help but let out a bitter laugh.

Not only was my newly adult daughter being married off to an old man, but no one even explained what benefits my father expected to gain from this marriage?

There was no detailed information about Count Shalbrady in the original story, so I just assumed he was an old-fashioned man.

But thinking about the world of Nas-e, such a person could easily exist—he was truly a mess.

Even knowing it was just a fictional character, seeing him move and live before my eyes was infuriating.

I brushed the troublesome strands of hair from my face and asked another question.

“You said your birthday was last month? Since I didn’t contact you at all during vacation or even remember your birthday, Count Shalbrady must have been on your case. How were your actions such that your fiancée was already fed up with you? Did he threaten you that if you got broken off, he’d marry you off to Ilsquem Count?”

“Y-Yes…!”

“Hah… No wonder.”

Yeah. It was better to marry a possessive younger man and endure a confined life than to marry an old man and die young.

Even though I found the answer, I felt suffocated rather than relieved.

“Are you angry with me now for your sake…?”

“Don’t get all sentimental on me. Anyone with common sense would be angry about this.”

I snapped at her and then sighed.

Until now, I thought it didn’t matter if people knew we were breaking off the engagement.

Even if I tried to help her keep attending the Academy, it didn’t seem to work.

Eventually, when Count Shalbrady’s pressure forced Vigdis to suggest breaking off the engagement, I accepted it as inevitable.

‘Anyway, Reysir is the protagonist, so he won’t die. Even if he takes the boss mob’s attack in his place and dies, it’s a total waste. So it’s better to quit the Academy and marry someone decent quickly. She can learn swordsmanship as a hobby after marriage. Surely Count Shalbrady won’t interfere with his married daughter’s hobbies.’

That was my private thought.

But to think he tried to marry her off to someone like Ilsquem Count… Count Shalbrady really was a terrible man.

He was even less qualified to be a parent than Hard, my vessel’s father.

‘If I acted like I wanted to break off the engagement despite knowing this, I’d be an even bigger piece of trash than Karbaldr.’

Just as I thought this, a memory flashed through my mind like lightning.

“I was planning to maintain the engagement only until you could build a foundation to become independent from your family… Ah! I already leaked this to my senior research students…”

“Wha—?!”

I saw Vigdis’s face instantly pale.

A surge of guilt and conscience pricked me.

“I-I think it’ll be fine. They’re not the type to gossip recklessly… I love you so much, but it seems like you’re overwhelmed by my feelings and mistakenly think I’m letting you go with tears in my eyes…”

“How did that even happen…?”

“I don’t know.”

If I had known, I wouldn’t have caused such a misunderstanding in the first place.

But now, thinking about it, I was truly fortunate.

“Anyway, since it’s come to this… I have no choice but to do it.”

“Huh?”

“I’ll tell the seniors that you forgave me and, on the condition that I won’t obsess excessively again, we’re maintaining the engagement. I’ll make it look like you’re the one in control of the relationship. So when you cut me off as soon as you’re independent from your family, no one will find it strange.”

“Then it’ll look like I used you…”

“Pretend it’s not true. But isn’t that exactly what it is? Not marrying Ilsquem Count, continuing to attend the Academy, and learning swordsmanship.”

“…!!”

Vigdis’s eyes darted anxiously from side to side.

‘Was she surprised by the fact that she tried to use someone? Or shocked that I was willing to be used?’

Either way, her reaction clearly showed she understood what I meant.

“Use what you can use. I’m living the same way.”

“…”

“In any case, I won’t approach you unless absolutely necessary, as stated in the contract. So you… um… treat me like a fish in a fishbowl you feed occasionally. And spread the rumor that I love you so much I agreed not to contact you first while keeping the engagement. That way, your father won’t be suspicious.”

“Do we really have to go that far? There must be a way to show normal friendship… Like, say, just hanging out as friends?”

I almost asked, ‘Are you hoping to be friends too?’

Reysir was like that, and now Vigdis was acting like she couldn’t make friends either.