Raising the Princess to Overcome Death

Chapter 134: Engagement - Footprints

134. Engagement - Footprints

The next day, Lena's father, Dehor, returned. Having come back from hunting, he, as always, held a drinking feast, happy that there were many game animals in the mountains lately.

Once again, Lena secretly took some beer from her mother and offered it to Leo, who did not refuse. He drank more than usual and chatted joyfully.

With plentiful food, a brightly burning lantern, alcohol, and beloved Lena and people who were like family, except for the {war}, this place was rich and happy.

Afterward, Leo sparred with his father. Just like before, he earned recognition with {Swordsmanship.3v: Bart Style}, frequently visiting the blacksmith.

He was preparing to hunt Noguhwa.

He hadn't spent all of his {initial funds}, knowing that he didn't need that many iron skewers.

He knew how to hunt, and he knew Noguhwa's attack patterns.

He also knew why Lena occasionally got into trouble, so while it was still dangerous, he planned to avoid the {war} this time.

As he alternated between the blacksmith and home, Leo suddenly felt guilty. Sitting in the vacant lot behind the house, he rubbed his chin thoughtfully.‘I did benefit from Minseo...’

Wasn't it originally my and Lena's fate to die to Noguhwa?

In the first round, if it weren't for the {hunting} ability obtained from the childhood friend scenario, Lena and I would have descended without any preparation upon discovering Noguhwa's footprints.

And we would have died.

Even if that wasn't the case, we were almost certain to die on the battlefield. Without Minseo, we might not have met Katrina or the Swordmaster, but honestly, that's unknowable, so let's put that aside.

No matter how angry I am, I won't fabricate facts that don't exist.

Leo, whose anger had somewhat subsided after the scenario, could now calmly distinguish right from wrong.

First of all, it was true that Minseo did wrong.

Even if I yield a hundred times, this thought remains unchanged. He treated Lena as a tool to 'clear' and ruined my life. Though it's a past that disappears with a new start, it's still my body, my life.

It's unfair enough that my body was taken by someone I didn't even know, and to make me mistreat the one I love adds to his grave sin.

But Minseo's situation was also pitiable. It wasn't an action he wanted to take.

Driven by the increasing death limits and round limits, he acted out of necessity, and he must have reflected on it, as he didn't try to use the Lenas after that.

The results were always bad, but that couldn't be helped.

‘I should do something too...’

Feeling responsible as he thought he had benefited from Minseo, Leo's discomfort grew as he recalled Prince Leo's thoughts.

Prince Leo's thoughts were very different from his own. He was rather grateful to Minseo, thinking that the situation had improved just by not dying alongside his sibling on the street.

And Rev. That country bumpkin from the childhood friend scenario, who knows what he was thinking.

Because of his taciturn and reticent nature, Rev didn't try to take control from Minseo.

He mostly accepted Minseo's mind, so it was clear he was also favorable to him.

‘Right. I'm the only bad guy here.’

Leo snorted lightly. He thought Rev had a reason for it.

The first and last happy ending.

In the first round, Rev married Lena. Having hidden his feelings for the friend who wanted to become a priest, thanks to Minseo, he had a happy newlywed life and lived happily in Demos Village raising their children.

Because they shared memories, I know how happy Rev was back then.

In a wooden house abandoned on the outskirts of the village, they made their nest. When Rev was fixing the newlywed house on the roof, Lena peeked out from below.

- “Leo! Eat some bread! Aunt Hans gave us a bunch.”

Lena couldn't take her eyes off Rev, as if she didn't know what to do because she liked him so muChapter Rev could hold her hand without hesitation.

And the two got married with the blessings of the whole village.

...I envy him. Even if it was only once, I'm jealous to death of Rev, who experienced such happiness.

On the other hand, I only saw dog-like endings.

The best ending was me losing a thumb and Lena losing an arm before returning home.

Throwing away my one-handed sword, Lena, who burst into tears in my arms, never visited the vacant lot again.

That’s not a happy ending.

Leo bit his lip. Sighing between his gritted teeth, he concluded.

I also want to live properly like Rev. Is it such a big greed to want to live happily with Lena in this Avril Castle? 14/22. The round limit has increased, and Minseo is gone...

“What’s with the sighing?”

Leo jolted in surprise. At some point, Lena had approached and was staring at him intently.

“Nothing. Did you finish training?”

“Hmm~ I’m done for today... but I’ll take a break and start again.”

A brief silence ensued.

Leo, just emerging from his complicated thoughts, was silent, and Lena sat beside him. She looked quietly at Leo.

The northern yellow sunset, which had avoided the snow clouds for the first time in a while, was beautifully descending on the vacant lot.

“Leo.”

“Yes?”

“You know, you seem a bit different these days.”

“......How?”

"Well, should I say you've become more composed or more reliable... Your aura has changed."

[ Quest: Noble Butcher 50/50 - {Nobility} skill Level has increased. ]

[ Quest: Traitor 10/10 - {Royal Blood} skill Level has increased. ]

"Is that a compliment?"

"Of course~ it's a compliment. You're now someone I can proudly say is my fiancé. Hehe."

Lena started to pat Leo's head but hesitated, feeling that it wouldn't be the same as usual.

As she tried to withdraw her hand, Leo grabbed it and guided it to his head. Lena smiled and patted him.

"Lena."

"Yes?"

"Let's skip training today."

Lena's eyes widened.

"What? Wow- seriously. Are you really Leo? I never thought I'd hear you say that. Hmm... Sorry, but no. I'm busy."

"Come on, let's go out. Okay? I don't have much time... I mean, the merchant is here, and it would be a waste not to go. When else will we have fun?"

"That's true, but..."

"You said you finished today's training. Let's just go out for a bit. It's not good to overdo it. They also sell drinks."

"Ugh. Drinks... that's tempting... but..."

"Let's gooo~."

Leo Dexter coaxed her, pulling her calloused hand with his equally rough one.

Lena was taken aback.

‘What's gotten into him? Ever since he cried the other day, Leo's changed a lot. Is he going through puberty? But I don't dislike this new side of always-dignified Leo,’ she thought as she got up.

‘Who knew this bear could be so endearing?’

She smiled, thinking they'd just have a quick outing, but at the market, Leo ordered a lot of drinks and tasty food. He spent money generously, extending their drinking session.

Drunk, Leo asked many questions about old stories, speaking with much more warmth than usual, his tone tinged with a strange sigh.

He seemed somehow pitiable.

As the market was closing, the two embraced each other on their way back.

Leo hugged her first, or maybe she hugged him first; Lena didn't know, but she cupped his face.

Using the darkness and the influence of the alcohol, she whispered, "You know I like you, right?" in a corny manner, and Leo smiled brightly.

"I know. Of course, I do."

It was too dark to see clearly, but Leo seemed to have cried then.

  *

For a while, peaceful days continued.

Leo no longer mentioned skipping training and felt embarrassed about having acted cute.

It seemed the original Leo didn't do such things.

‘I was too hasty.’

The bar had been set very low.

It was frustrating that they couldn't spend their whole lives together. But he was grateful that there wouldn't be an ending for another year or two.

He remembered hearing on the battlefield.

- “My dream is to become a knight and marry you. That's why I delayed a bit. Sorry. Wouldn't it be hard to become a knight if I were already a mother?”

After killing Katrina and obtaining the junior knight title from the prince, Lena had confessed this. They were of age to marry immediately and were engaged, but Lena had been postponing the wedding.

But is it easy to be knighted? Only those with considerable skill can become knights. While Leo, thanks to {Swordsmanship.3v: Bart Style}, was confident he could qualify as a knight anytime, Lena was not.

At the start of the scenario, she couldn't even defeat a single knight. She was barely at the Level of a junior knight, if that.

Fortunately, Lena's skills had improved rapidly. Especially in the scenario where Leo tried to break off their engagement, she grew so fast that it took less than a year to catch up with ‘me.’

She had immense talent.

However, her talent, focused solely on swordsmanship, was also a limitation.

Just as there were time constraints for Lena to become a priest in the childhood friend scenario and for Eric de Yeriel to ascend the throne in the beggar siblings scenario, here, when Lena becomes a knight, the ‘job ending’ would trigger, and the round would end.

Her talent seemed unfair. Even if she were a bit slower, it would be fine, but why is she in such a hurry...

However, this engagement scenario was essentially established because Lena was delaying their wedding.

The resulting one to two years of time.

Although regretful, Leo decided to live happily with Lena during that time. He would stay with her until she achieved her dream of becoming a knight alongside him.

He didn't completely disregard Minseo. Planning to go to the capital someday to become a knight, he intended to gather information then. They had never been to Barnaul, the capital of the Kingdom of Astin.

Later, when they staged a rebellion or whatever, collecting information would help Minseo. Though he didn't know when Minseo would come to his senses...

‘Honestly, if Minseo doesn't come to his senses, that's fine for me. Do I have anything more to lose?’

No. This would be the same for the other ‘Leos’ as well. They knew the direct crises in each scenario and could live comfortably thanks to accumulated achievements if they just decided to.

This had been possible for a while.

However, Minseo kept trying to ‘clear’ the scenario, make Lena a princess, and achieve the ‘true ending’ to escape.

They didn't need to do that. Even Prince Leo, who was favorable to Minseo, was ready to abandon his lineage if it harmed his sibling.

So, if Minseo didn't come to his senses, he would be the only one at a loss. There was no reason for them to jump into the fire for that fool.

Right?

Leo Dexter made up his mind. Without Minseo, he thought it was enough to gather some information this round.

However, that complacent plan didn't last long.

Shortly after, Lena and Leo Dexter, who had come of age, joined Dehor's hunting team and went hunting.

Just like before, Leo climbed the mountain with plenty of iron skewers to catch Noguhwa, teaming up with Lena to check the traps early in the morning...

"Nothing's caught here. Let's go."

"Huh? Wha-wha-what?"

There were no footprints of Noguhwa.