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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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As expected, convincing Elena was the biggest hurdle.
He hadn’t expected her to accept it so easily.
After all, he had essentially just sprung it on her.
It was like setting a psychological boundary.
“Elena won’t take it well!”, he had thought.
And hearing everyone say that only made him more tongue-tied.
“Ugh.”
He grimaced.
Could he have handled it better?
Hindsight was always 20/20, but he couldn’t help but think that he could have explained it better, maybe then she wouldn’t have reacted so emotionally.
Or maybe he should have comforted her more.
“…Ah, who am I kidding?”
He shook his head.
Lassiel had left as soon as Elena arrived and Elena, visibly shaken, had left without a word.
With only a couple of months of dating experience under his belt, a meager amount even for a twenty-year-old in his previous life, he had no idea how to deal with this.
If he could sweet-talk his way out of this situation, he would have been a host club superstar.
He lacked the silver tongue of a smooth-talking player.
Unfortunately.
Or was it unfortunate?
He wondered how he had gotten himself into this mess.
He slapped his cheeks lightly, trying to snap out of it.
He could have chosen to ignore everything and run away, but he had made his choice, and he had to deal with the consequences.
“…They’re not bad people, even if they’re a bit… intense.”
The weight of their unconditional love felt heavy at times.
Especially since he knew it stemmed from their feelings for him in the previous timeline, a timeline he barely remembered.
But something had changed recently.
He had been emotionally vulnerable after his master’s death, and during that time…
He had witnessed Sylvia risking her life to protect him.
“She was sincere.”
He muttered to himself in the empty laboratory.
He hadn’t truly grasped it until now.
He had lived for twenty years in this strange world, mistakenly believing it was simply a reincarnation.
Just a few months ago, he had lived a life completely unrelated to all of this.
The concept of regression and timelines had felt distant and abstract.
He had joked about being transported into a story within a story, but he couldn’t truly accept the depth of their feelings.
After all, until recently, they had been strangers to him.
He was human, so he couldn’t help but feel flattered by their affections but that was as far as it went.
There had been an invisible barrier between them, and now… it felt like that barrier had crumbled.
“I don’t know.”
He was confused, but he decided to just go with it.
He shrugged and reached for the doorknob.
If that was how they wanted to play it, he would do his best.
After all, there was give and take in every relationship.
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Whether Elena was shocked or not, the preparations for Rudrick’s appointment ceremony proceeded swiftly.
Voltaire, the current Palace Master, felt relieved after hearing Rudrick’s wishes and quickly initiated the necessary procedures for the ceremony.
“I’m going to break this vicious cycle once and for all.”
The staff were working themselves to the bone, but Voltaire’s words rang true.
After centuries of doing things haphazardly, they were finally creating a formal manual for the appointment ceremony.
If Rudrick had wanted a grand and extravagant ceremony, it would have still been completed quickly.
But since he requested a simple and modest one, things progressed even faster.
The biggest reason was that they didn’t need to request a budget increase from the finance department.
Of course, a simple ceremony didn’t mean it would be shoddy or rushed.
“The decorations are asymmetrical! Straighten them out! Team three! That magic stone is depleted!”
Voltaire’s booming voice echoed throughout the hall, but it was a small price to pay for a well-executed ceremony.
This was a once-in-a-lifetime event, considering Rudrick’s age.
He was only twenty years old, and he was expected to hold the position for at least a century.
Furthermore, Rudrick was known to be close to the Second Princess Elena.
While their relationship was officially platonic, they were so close that it wouldn’t be surprising if they were mistaken for lovers.
Naturally, the staff worked tirelessly, and they managed to complete all the preparations in just two weeks.
It was unprecedented.
“The preparations are already complete?”
“Is the Palace Master going to collapse from overwork? This is too fast.”
Even the nobles were surprised by the speed at which the ceremony was being organized.
Typically, events organized by high-ranking officials took months, sometimes even years, to plan and execute.
The current Emperor’s coronation ceremony had taken over a year to prepare, and it had been postponed for a year after his ascension to the throne.
But this time, thanks to Rudrick’s request for a simple ceremony, the preparations were completed swiftly.
And Eileen, without much thought, had spread rumors about Rudrick’s abilities, thinking it would be beneficial for him to gain recognition.
Those rumors had quickly spread throughout the political circles.
“Didn’t you hear the stories when you were a child? About the dragon that lived in the Nord Mountains, beyond the wall?”
“You mean the legend of the eccentric dragon who loved treasure? I think I heard it from a bard from the Nord Duchy.”
“Yes. And the new Court Mage went beyond the wall and defeated that dragon.”
“What?! You can’t be serious! You’re saying a human mage defeated a dragon?”
“But there were many witnesses. The rumor is that the dragon was behind the unrest beyond the wall, and even the Grand Duchess witnessed it herself.”
Eileen, the Black Lion of the Empire, was a highly respected figure, and her name carried weight.
People were more inclined to believe the rumors since they involved her.
A human who had defeated a legendary blue dragon.
It was a feat worthy of the heroes of myths and legends.
People were skeptical at first, but with Eileen’s name attached to the story, they began to believe it.
Rudrick himself was baffled.
“A simple spell turned into this? I mean, I think I could defeat it in a one-on-one fight if I attacked first and prevented it from transforming…”
But that wasn’t the point.
These stories had a life of their own, regardless of what the person involved thought.
Rudrick’s accomplishment had been exaggerated to omit Sylvia’s involvement.
Eileen had spread rumors about his abilities and the appointment ceremony had been organized at an unprecedented speed.
It was a confluence of various factors that had led to this moment.
On the day of the ceremony, the Imperial Palace was packed with people.
Even during important political meetings, there were always a few nobles who were absent.
But today, it seemed like every noble in the Empire had come to witness Rudrick’s appointment as the Court Mage and of course, his family couldn’t miss this momentous occasion.
“…Ahem, the palace is quite… grand.”
“Dear, are you going to gawk like a country bumpkin?”
Countess Aline Weiss, Rudrick’s mother, was awestruck by the grandeur of the Imperial Palace.
Her husband, Count Weiss, chided her gently.
Their youngest son, who had been scouted by Princess Elena and brought to the capital as a twenty-year-old bachelor, had become the Court Mage in just a few months.
It was a complete turnaround for the Weiss family.
The rumors of his dragon-slaying feat had only added to his fame, and people were clamoring to get a glimpse of him.
The appointment ceremony was taking place in the Hall of the Sun, a grand hall that was several times larger than the training grounds of the Imperial Knights.
The hall was packed with nobles from all corners of the Empire.
Rudrick’s parents were overwhelmed by the sheer number of people who had come to witness their son’s appointment.
An appointment ceremony held with the recognition and blessing of everyone.
And in a waiting room inside the hall, Rudrick was adjusting his clothes.
“…Shit. How did it come to this?”
He couldn’t help but curse under his breath.
He had specifically asked Voltaire for a simple ceremony but judging from the crowd outside, it was anything but simple.
No matter how much he tried to steel his nerves, he couldn’t help but feel nervous.
Arwen, in her cat form, yawned and said nonchalantly,
“You brought this upon yourself. Just deal with it.”
“Could you not say that so casually?”
“But it’s true, isn’t it? It’s not my problem, so I can say whatever I want.”
Rudrick suddenly felt the urge to flick her on the forehead.
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