"I understand. Unfortunately, Your Highness, I have to say that I'm interested in her as well."
An almost forced smile appeared on Kae's face. Alistair looked slightly surprised, but he didn't seem to mind that sudden and bold confession very much.
"There's no reason to call that unfortunate. After all, I don't believe we're going to break our friendship over something like this."
The same smile appeared on Alistair's face. It was possible to tell that, at that exact moment, the rivalry between the two of them was beginning to take shape. Leon watched the interaction with the urge to put a hand on his head. This simply shouldn't be happening. To try to understand the reason behind such a major change from the original story, he decided to ask a question that might help the prince.
"If you're interested in Daniela, what do you think Valeria will think about that?"
"Exactly, Sir Kae. I also wouldn't want you to break a lady's heart."
The prince's smile widened as he rested one hand on his chin. It was a good thing Leon was completely loyal to him because Alistair was certain that question had been asked to help him.
'Good work, Leon.'
"Valeria and I made an agreement to break off the engagement. Apparently, she found something interesting a few days ago."
"Something interesting?"
Curiosity immediately appeared on Leon's face. What could have led a woman as intelligent as Valeria to want to break off that engagement? Based on his memories of the original story, she had only remained by Alistair's side because it offered her a certain amount of protection. In fact, that had been one of her main reasons for staying with him for so long.
[In the original story, where Elara was the protagonist, the real Valeria ended up dying because she tried to remain by Alistair's side. In the story where Valeria becomes the protagonist, she had to stay with him for a while because that engagement was her only form of temporary protection at the beginning... so why now...]
'Unless she found even better protection...'
"In fact, she's probably talking to the Duskryn family right now about canceling the engagement. And without a doubt, they'll accept, since Leon is helping her."
Leon placed a hand on his forehead for a moment. Kae turned his gaze toward him, while Alistair merely wore a faint smile. At that moment, Leon finally understood why the engagement would be called off. On the night Valeria visited him, the two of them had talked for quite a while. He had promised to do everything he could to help her survive. However, because of Filgiri's death, Valeria never had the chance to reveal the plan she truly had in mind.
[You bastard. You're ruining the story.]
'I only told her she could use my name to help her survive, not break off the engagement.'
Since he had needed to deal with various problems and also help during the funeral, Leon had simply told Valeria that she could use his name if it increased her chances of staying alive, after all, he trusted her. To Valeria, those words carried far more weight than he had imagined. However, Leon had only said them because he needed to act quickly while also earning her trust. Turning his gaze back to Kae, he tried to find some sign of hope that he might have developed feelings for Valeria.
"And what did she promise you in exchange for accepting that agreement? You don't like her at all, even after spending all these days together."
"No. Especially because now she's trying to set me up with Daniela."
"Really? How interesting."
The coldness in the prince's voice seemed to grow with every word. Leon kept his expression perfectly controlled, but deep down, he felt that he could be declared a traitor at any moment. Completely ignoring the strange atmosphere, Kae raised his coffee cup toward Leon in a gesture of thanks.
"Thanks for helping break off the engagement."
'It wasn't because I wanted to... This is hell.'
During the rest of the meal served by the butler, Leon had to act as a mediator, calming the atmosphere and preventing the prince and Kae from turning the conversation into an argument.
'How exhausting.'
Now, as they were returning home in the carriage, Rebecca was sitting beside him with her head resting on his shoulder. She was sleeping peacefully. From what they had told him, she had spent the entire day walking around the city, buying furniture for the future Solfyr family residence and closing business deals.
'Closing business deals...? She's really already acting like the future lady of House Solfyr.'
[You're awfully happy for someone who completely destroyed the story.]
'...If you think about it, the story has been different from the very beginning.'
There was no longer any way to predict what would happen from that point onward. Even Valeria, who had been a much bigger fan of that story than he was, would no longer be able to foresee what was coming next. At most, the two of them still knew who the true villain was—the one who would destroy the world in the future. In the original story, Valeria had even tried to fight him, but she ended up dying just like the other characters, despite being the protagonist and possessing numerous advantages.
She might know the story better, but Leon knew some of the abilities Valeria would acquire in the future, which would allow him to help her master them much earlier than expected. Since everything had changed completely, it was time to abandon everything that was no longer important. Thinking that way, only two events truly mattered now.
'Since Leon is no longer a problem, Elara's death won't happen.'
[That means now we only have to prevent the king's death and the destruction of the world. Sounds so easy.]
'I can hear the sarcasm in your voice.'
The carriage came to a stop for a moment, and Trevon stepped down to open the door. Thanks to his magic, Pure Acceleration, they had reached the city of Senial quickly. This ability increased the speed of everything the user touched, allowing it to move at a pace similar to his own. It was a magic designed exclusively for support.
'It also provides magical protection to withstand that speed.'
"We've arrived, Lord Leon."
"We're here already, Leon?"
Rebecca woke with a soft yawn and turned her gaze toward the enormous mansion before them. Her eyes widened slightly as she realized that the residence was much larger and more luxurious than the mansion where Leon usually lived. Stepping out of the carriage first, Leon extended his hand to help her.
"Welcome to the Everhart family residence."
"Actually, welcome to the house Leon helped build. To my family's home... and his, Lady Rebecca."
Leon and Rebecca looked back at the same time and found Elara, wearing a cold smile directed at the young woman. Rebecca didn't back down and returned an equally cold smile. While the two silently exchanged that unspoken confrontation, Leon simply watched the scene with a completely neutral expression.
'This story really... has changed a lot.'