Third-Rate Villain Of Fantasy Novel-Chapter 36: Kraus Family Outing [2]

After his conversation with Elena, he made a conscious effort to spend more time with Alphonse over the next few days.

Surprisingly, it wasn’t all that difficult.

All it really required was trimming down the hours he devoted to studying and training.

If he were being honest with himself, the time he had been pouring into those two things had long since gone beyond what was healthy.

He told himself it was for his own good, yet the truth was that the constant studying and relentless training were driven by anxiety rather than discipline. The more he tried to prepare for the future, the less at ease he felt about it.

This world might have followed a predetermined story, but he was someone who existed outside of "Elena Edelweiss’s story," burdened with the role of a villain named Damian.

Ever since realizing that fact, he had been desperate to break free from the fate that name implied. What truly unsettled him were the stories he didn’t know—the events that existed beyond Elena’s narrative.

Those unknown paths felt like invisible walls slowly closing in on him, leaving him cornered no matter how much effort he put in.

Because of that, he never felt satisfied. No matter how much he studied or how hard he trained, it was never enough.

Before meeting Elena, his life had felt like that of a hamster trapped in a wheel, running endlessly without ever getting anywhere.

He wasn’t moving forward, yet he refused to let go.

Then Elena entered his life.

Their relationship was already different from the original story he remembered, and that difference mattered more than he had expected.

Even the short moments they spent together brought subtle but undeniable changes. His thoughts became less chaotic, his breathing steadier, and his days no longer felt like a continuous blur of obligation and fear.

Strangely enough, whenever she smiled at him, the anxiety he carried about the future faded into the background. It didn’t disappear entirely, but it loosened its grip, as if giving him room to breathe.

Was it because he knew she was the protagonist of this world?

The thought surfaced uninvited, and he erased it immediately.

The reason didn’t matter. Clinging to explanations like that would only trap him in another form of dependence. What mattered was the result.

Elena’s presence grounded him. It reminded him that this world wasn’t made up solely of looming plotlines and unavoidable endings, but also of people, relationships, and choices made in the present.

With his mind no longer consumed by constant unease, he found himself naturally spending more time with his younger brother.

Simple moments—shared meals, quiet conversations, walking side by side—became easier to cherish. Alphonse’s laughter, his questions, and even his occasional complaints pulled him firmly into the present.

For the first time in a long while, Damian realized that he wasn’t just preparing for a future he feared.

He was finally living in the present, and that, more than anything else, made him feel like he had taken his first real step forward.

"Older Sister, the color of this hyacinth. It’s just like the color of your eyes, so I think it goes well with you."

"Oh my, thank you for the compliment, Alphonse."

He said it so earnestly that I couldn’t help but smile. The hyacinth rested in his hands like a small, careful offering, and for a moment the world narrowed to just the two of us—his bright eyes, the soft scent of the flower, and the quiet warmth that always followed him.

Of course, the time created in this way wasn’t entirely mine with Alphonse alone.

Currently, Elena was staying in our castle as a guest.

She came with the status of being the fiancée of the next head of the Kraus family.

Although it was not yet a formal engagement, everyone in the castle treated her as the future mistress of Kraus without hesitation.

Servants adjusted their manners around her, knights bowed a little deeper, and even the halls seemed to quiet when she passed.

Because of that engagement, I spent a great deal of time with Elena.

Meals, walks through the garden, formal conversations meant to strengthen ties between families—one thing led to another, and before I knew it, my days were often filled with her presence. Naturally, that began to affect the time I spent with Alphonse.

After our last shared meal, the relationship between those two seemed to grow noticeably closer.

Alphonse, who used to cling to my side, began following Elena instead. He listened to her stories with open curiosity, asked her endless questions, and laughed easily at her gentle teasing.

As a result, when I went to find him after finishing my work, there were many times when the two of them were already deep in conversation.

I would pause at the doorway, watching them from afar. Alphonse’s laughter rang clear, and Elena would cover her mouth as she smiled, her eyes soft and amused.

Seeing them like that made me smile as well. It was a warm, reassuring sight—proof that Alphonse was comfortable, that he trusted her.

And yet, somewhere in the corner of my heart, a faint ache lingered.

It felt as if my younger brother had been taken away from me, even though I knew that wasn’t truly the case. I told myself that this was natural, that children grow closer to others as their world expands.

Still, the feeling persisted, quiet and stubborn.

Of course, I could tell that the distance between Alphonse and me was actually closer than before in many ways.

He spoke more openly now, shared small thoughts he once kept to himself, and looked at me with the same trust as always. Even so, I couldn’t completely erase the sadness that surfaced when I realized I was no longer the sole center of his attention.

I sighed inwardly, forcing the feeling down with a wry smile.

’It can’t be helped... Let’s think of it as karma for not paying enough attention to my brother before.’

If Elena’s presence allowed Alphonse to laugh more, to feel cherished by more than just one person, then perhaps this small loneliness of mine was a fair price to pay. I reminded myself of that as I stepped forward, joining their conversation, the hyacinth’s color still lingering vividly in my mind.