Chapter 1
Chapter 1
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 1
Chapter Title: Broken Engagement
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The second daughter of the Vampire Duke Family,
and the road leading to the room of Alensia, my unspoken fiancée.
"Isn't that Elwin-nim over there?"
"Yeah, it's the Frontier Heir."
"Is he heading to Lady Alensia's room?"
"Tsk tsk. He's going to get scolded again. No backbone in that guy."
"Shh. They'll hear you."
The whispers around me made me shrink inwardly.
'Why did she call for me? Could it be...'
Two words floated into my mind, tightening my chest.
Our ancestor, the First Frontier Viscount, had been an 8th Circle Earth Mage.
Perhaps because of that, the Frontier descendants were all born with talent in earth magic.
I thought I had it too.
Everyone else thought so as well.
Even Alensia, my unspoken fiancée.
'But why don't I...'
Step. Step.
Step. Step.
Was the road to Alensia's room always this long?
I'd been walking for ages, but still hadn't arrived.
The longer I walked,
the more negative thoughts filled my head.
You're not suited to be a noble.
You lack a noble's charisma.
You don't know how to handle people.
You can't deceive anyone.
...
You're too passive.
Words I'd heard countless times.
They flooded my heart like a torrent.
The more the thoughts continued,
the clearer those two words became—the ones I might hear today.
"Did you hear? Gibson Frontier-nim learned 1st Circle Earth Magic."
My younger brother, Gibson Frontier.
Unlike me, he had talent in earth magic.
"Really? Then what about Elwin-nim?"
"Obviously..."
"He'll lose his position as heir?"
I'd heard the news yesterday too.
It had already spread to the maids.
That meant everyone in the Vampire Duke Family knew.
'So it's today after all.'
Knock knock.
"It's Elwin."
"Come in."
Alensia was alone in the room.
I stood before her like a criminal.
Whenever I was with her, I always shrank back.
My self-esteem plummeted.
Alensia looked at me with a stern expression.
Cold, without a trace of emotion.
'When did it start? When she stopped smiling.'
I recalled the day four years ago when I first met Alensia.
The adorable young lady of the duke's family.
She smiled a lot back then.
No, she always seemed to be smiling.
But those smiles dwindled over time.
Along with them, her personality grew colder.
"Elwin."
"Yes, Lady Alensia."
"You know what I have to say today, right?"
"..."
I bit my lip hard.
I felt like a puppy about to be abandoned by its owner.
"Let's end our relationship here."
"...Broken engagement?"
I uttered the two words that had been tormenting me first.
I couldn't hold back otherwise.
"Yes. Broken engagement."
"..."
Her firm answer drained the strength from my legs.
My body swayed for a moment.
I barely caught my balance and turned away.
I didn't want her to see my face right now.
I slowly opened the door.
I hoped she'd call me back even now.
I wanted her to say it was just a joke, and smile at me like before.
'That's not going to happen.'
The broken engagement between me and Alensia was inevitable.
Everything had been leading toward it.
As if the whole world wanted us to break it off.
Yet why was I acting like this?
Why couldn't I just open the door and leave?
What exactly was I hoping for?
"Elwin."
From behind me,
Alensia's beautiful voice called out.
I managed to compose my expression and turned around.
"Yes, Lady Alensia."
Please say it was a joke.
Say our relationship is fine.
Tell me you like me even though I'm lacking.
"Leave as soon as possible."
"...Understood."
The next day.
Elwin departed from the Vampire Duke mansion.
Five escort soldiers and one horse.
For the heir of a viscount family, it was an incredibly modest procession.
Alensia, gazing out the window,
had a maid approach her.
It was her personal maid, Marie.
"Lady Alensia, are you feeling uneasy?"
"Me?"
"Didn't you like Elwin-nim at first?"
Alensia shook her head slightly.
She recalled the day she first met Elwin.
Her father had declared that he would pass the dukedom to one of his three daughters.
From that moment, she began seeking forces to support her.
The force she found was the Frontier Viscount Family.
The Vampire Duke Family had four vassal families.
One viscount family. Three baronet families.
She had moved faster than her eldest sister, Benia,
and became engaged to the firstborn son of the Frontier Viscount.
"I didn't like him. I was just a little excited. Because I thought I'd gotten one step closer to the dukedom..."
She realized that choice had been wrong.
Only after four years.
Elwin wasn't someone who could help her.
He lacked the ability to aid in inheriting the dukedom.
"Did I misunderstand?"
"You did."
Alensia turned her gaze from the window.
And sat at her desk.
She couldn't let emotions sweep her away.
She had to look only ahead.
That was the path she must take.
A dense forest.
I traveled along the path cut through it.
'How did things end up like this?'
I was born on Earth.
Elementary, middle, high school.
Like any Korean, I spent my youth just studying.
Then I got into a top-tier university in Seoul for economics.
I finished my military service,
and graduated.
I wanted a job in banking or securities, using my major.
Or even a big corporation would do.
But.
'Sorry for being a liberal arts major' wasn't just an internet meme.
Society really was like that.
There were few good jobs for liberal arts grads.
The rare ones went to top university liberal arts students.
I didn't make the cut.
I wasted a few years, then landed a job at a small company.
It had nothing to do with my major.
Still, I worked hard.
And died young.
"Why did this happen?"
The isekai possession I'd only seen in comics.
When I first arrived here, I was thrilled.
A life in Korea with no future.
This world was better than that.
And I was a noble, no less.
The firstborn son of a viscount family.
It didn't matter that the viscountcy was on Monster Island.
Monsters stronger due to demonic energy? Fine by me.
That meant I could sell monster byproducts for top prices.
90% of the island monster territory? Even better.
I could expand into that 90% monster-held land.
Can't farm because of demonic energy? That one wasn't great.
But we could trade with the mainland, so we scraped by.
After grasping the Frontier Viscount Family
and understanding Monster Island,
I got engaged to Alensia.
I thought that was good too.
Marrying a duke's daughter would give access to more capital.
Combining my modern knowledge with the duke family's power would lead to rapid growth, I figured.
But...
Things didn't go according to plan.
I'd lived over 20 years on Earth.
Yet even young Alensia was too much for me to handle.
There's a term: high schooler rampage.
Meaning a high schooler who goes to another world and wreaks havoc.
If high schoolers could do it, what couldn't I—a college grad with some work experience?
That's what I thought.
"Ha..."
A deep sigh escaped me.
Modern people in this world were like flowers in a greenhouse.
I was clumsier at relationships than they were,
inadequate at scheming and executing.
Not as ruthless as them,
and clueless about manipulating people.
Seeing that side of me, Alensia was disappointed.
Said I wasn't suited to nobility.
Called me passive.
"Maybe she was right."
The people here—at least the nobles—
learn from childhood how to handle people.
They study how to dominate others.
Me? During that time, I was at school and cram schools, studying books.
Korean, math, English.
Such knowledge couldn't counter noble schemes.
At least the intrigues among nobles at the Vampire Duke Family
were not my strong suit.
"Maybe it's for the best?"
Since I escaped that place.
"Speaking of which... Is that one never going to complete?"
I looked at the notification that had been floating since I arrived in this world.
The system ability said to be granted upon arriving in another world.
I had obtained it too.
The problem was... it had been in progress for six years.
I'd tried everything to complete it.
Killed monsters,
built friendships with people,
learned swordsmanship,
even studied magic.
I'd done everything that could be called a quest.
Yet it still said in progress.
"It just messes with your head for no reason."
.
.
The central hub of the Frontier Viscounty.
I arrived at South Castle.
The moment I reached the Frontier mansion,
I saw a large crowd lined up at the entrance.
There were knights and mages.
Administrative officials and vassals too.
And in the center stood my stepmother Brilda with a stern expression.
'This is...'
Someone once said,
there's no paradise in the place you flee to.
This situation fit perfectly.
I'd seen it multiple times in the Vampire Duke territory.
'A show of force.'
Bringing along vassals who follow you
to display to the opponent.
That I'm this strong.
My faction is this large.
Like an animal bristling its fur to look bigger.
Or a bird spreading its wings to appear larger.
That's what Brilda was doing.
To show me.
"Elwin, you've arrived."
I dismounted.
Kneeled on one knee before Brilda.
"I'm back, Stepmother."