By now, I reckon some of you might want to object to the subtitle. Serenity was nowhere to be found, and only an ever-growing anxiety remained, as if walking on thin ice.
But do not doubt it.
I don't know if this is a good example, but isn't there an expression, "the calm before the storm"?
Even amid an uneasy undercurrent, a peaceful daily life can still continue nonetheless.
What I'm about to describe could be called a condensed version of that peaceful daily life.
The required theory lecture on Tuesdays, "History and Ethics," and the Friday class, "Martial Arts."
Since my timetable for those two lectures overlapped with Reisir's, I unintentionally made eye contact with him a few times while attending them.
Whenever that happened, Reisir would pass by me, casting a cold glance I'd never seen before.
'For someone like me, who doesn't want to get involved with the original protagonist, couldn't this also be called serenity...?'
Having Reisir treat me as though I didn't exist was something I had wished for ever since possessing this body.
Now all that remained was to quietly lie low for a few months until the original protagonist dropped out of the academy.
And then, complete serenity would arrive.
However, this world inside a novel was not such a safe place.
Therefore, I couldn't afford to neglect honing my own abilities.
Every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, with Professor Radvisin's help, I repeated my training to handle the sky-blue Ether.
As a result, I can now use the sky-blue Ether without reaching exhaustion while maintaining a safe amount of purple Ether.
This feat was achieved in only about a month since I began the training.
In the meantime, I also had two more swordsmanship training sessions with Vigdís, and this time I understood about half of her explanations.
Swish, shwack, fwoosh, craash, p-p-pow, and so on.
It was still a flurry of incomprehensible mimetic words.
Still, since she mentioned specific muscle names and demonstrated the movements, I could roughly guess what she ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) meant.
Since swordsmanship training is physically demanding, breaks were inevitable.
During those times, an awkward silence would hang between Vigdís and me, but once, a conversation like this took place.
"Kar, is it true that you really dislike Reisir...?"
"What are you talking about all of a sudden?"
"It just came to mind."
"......"
I didn't answer Vigdís's question immediately. Instead, I stalled for a moment by pretending to catch my breath while wiping away sweat with a towel.
Swallowing the answer 'I don't hate him' and the question 'Where did I give myself away?' that lingered on my tongue, I prepared a different response.
"That's a foolish question. If I didn't hate him, I wouldn't have bullied him in the first place."
"That's true, isn't it...?"
Seeing her nod as though convinced while the end of her sentence still rose uncertainly, it seemed her doubts hadn't been completely resolved.
It was probably because after Reisir left the public training ground the other day, I failed to completely feign composure and showed my agitation.
I knew what the problem was, but it was too late to fix it.
So I decided to change the subject altogether.
"Are you interested in him and worried because I, your fiancé, am not on good terms with him? Are you afraid he'll avoid you if you try to get close?"
"What...?"
"If so, go to him and explain the situation. Tell him that although you're going along with my wishes for now, you're very anxious and scared because you don't know when I might revert to my mad obsession. But if you were to break the engagement right now, your father would surely sell you off to some old man over seventy, so you have no choice but to maintain the engagement."
"What... are you talking about right now...?"
Her face showed complete and utter incomprehension.
Nevertheless, I continued without hesitation.
"The only reason he endured my bullying was because he was careful not to cause trouble for the family acting as his guardian. He's a capable person in many ways, so if he knows your situation, he'll surely find a way to solve the problem."
"How...?"
"I don't know. He'll figure it out somehow."
"......"
At my words that he would solve the problem, Vigdís showed a brief flicker of interest, then looked dumbfounded upon hearing my answer.
Even though I was being completely serious.
Because Reisir was the original protagonist, and Vigdís was one of the heroine candidates.
'Isn't the protagonist saving a heroine candidate from misfortune not just a cliché, but the natural flow of the story itself?'
No, this wasn't limited to heroine candidates alone.
As long as they were supporting characters with reasonable importance, it was the protagonist's destiny to save them regardless of gender or age.
And those who received such help were bound to become the protagonist's ardent supporters.
I got a little sidetracked, but there was a reason I brought this up to Vigdís.
It wasn't something I blurted out just to change the subject.
I had been planning to bring up this topic at the appropriate time anyway.
'If Vigdís already has feelings for Reisir, I need to distance myself before I get attached.'
After completely pushing Reisir away this time, I realized something.
It seems I'm the type who becomes attached too easily.
Considering how my breath caught when I saw Reisir's cold reaction, despite never lowering my guard around him.
'Is it because I have almost no experience actually giving and receiving affection from others...?'
If I broke my engagement with Vigdís right now, I would no longer be able to learn swordsmanship from her, but I wasn't too disappointed about that.
After all, she was a terrible teacher.
"In a situation where I already have a reliable method in hand, I'm not stupid enough to ruin things over vague expectations. And I have no idea what Kar saw in Reisir to think so highly of his abilities."
"It seems liking someone doesn't necessarily mean having faith in their abilities."
"I've been wondering for a while now... why are you speaking as if it's a given that I like that person?"
I stared at Vigdís's face.
At that, she furrowed her brow and met my gaze with a sullen expression.
There wasn't even the slightest trace of embarrassment from having her one-sided feelings exposed.
"Am I wrong?"
"You are...!"
"Then if you do end up liking Reisir later on, you can tell me about breaking the engagement contract. You wouldn't want the person you like to misunderstand and think you're already promised to someone else, would you?"
"There's no way I would ever come to like him."
"Don't be so certain. You never know what the future holds."
"Aren't you the one acting certain without any grounds right now?"
"I am allowed to."
Because I had read the original work and knew what would happen.
But Vigdís, who didn't know that fact, seemed quite displeased by my remark.
I could clearly read the absurdity and annoyance on her face.
"Are you saying this because I greeted him first? That was only because I heard some things. Since he was talking to you so casually, I wondered what on earth had happened. I was curious. Anyway, that's the only reason I talked to him."
"Alright, I understand. I won't misunderstand anymore. Instead, if you do happen to fall for him, I hope you'll tell me first. We're planning to break the engagement anyway, but as long as we maintain this relationship, we should at least show each other basic courtesy."
So that I can distance myself and detach my feelings.
It bothered me that if she got involved with Reisir, there was a high chance she would die.
But I couldn't play the villain who suppressed Vigdís's free will.
"You said you wouldn't obsess anymore?"
"It's not obsession. It's the opposite. I'm saying you don't have to hide your feelings for someone else just because you're worried about me."
"How can a person have no middle ground?"
Is it because I'm not the real Karvaldr but a completely different person?
I only thought that answer to myself without saying it aloud.
Unless Vigdís secretly had a hidden setting as an incredible actress, it was certain she didn't like Reisir yet.
It might only be a postponement, but for now my worries had eased.
'If this too can be called serenity for me, wouldn't that feel like forcing it to fit the subtitle?'
In any case.
The important thing was that no special event had occurred during the past three weeks.
Thanks to that, both my training and my studies progressed smoothly according to plan.
I woke up early every morning to set my learning goals and write them down in my scheduler.
I focused on my studies until Yor woke up and it was time for breakfast, and after attending all my lectures, I devoted myself to various forms of training.
It was by no means a leisurely life, but thanks to that routine, I was able to shake off stray thoughts, which came as a relief.
'Still, I should finish accumulating all kinds of knowledge within this semester.'
I only needed to study enough so that I wouldn't be considered ignorant wherever I went.
Being greedy for anything beyond that was a waste of time. I couldn't spend too much time on studies unrelated to survival.
I'm tired because I move my body so much during training, and my sleep time is short.
"Nyaoong~!"
"Yor, are you awake?"
"Myang!"
Since Yor was awake, I should probably wrap up my studies and get ready for breakfast.
I quickly tidied up my desk, and before standing up from my seat, I opened my scheduler.
I already knew there were no special appointments.
It was about building the habit in preparation for the future, so that when I did have an important schedule later on, I wouldn't forget it.
'Morning is the martial arts lecture. In the afternoon, physical training and whip skill training at the personal training ground. During my spare time, I'll study... midterms are in two weeks, so maybe something related to History and Ethics...'
After checking the contents like that.
I closed the scheduler and handed it to Yor, and Yor stored it inside her Yeouiju with a pop.
It would be troublesome if someone discovered that I was now studying the basic knowledge expected of a son of the Austri family.
'Since I've also recorded the personal reasons behind schedule changes in detail... I should say there are many things I don't want others to see...?'
For the same reason, I had also entrusted Yor with the notebook where I organized the contents of the original work, along with my diary.
It was unlikely anyone would search my room, but there was no harm in being cautious about everything.
Though I was trying my best to prepare thoroughly for everything, there were still incidents I had to face completely unprepared.
For example...
"Karvaldr—!! Where on earth did you take Helga?!"
...something like the original protagonist bursting through the lecture room door, rushing in, and immediately grabbing me by the collar while demanding the whereabouts of his childhood friend.
There was no way I could have prepared in advance for such a sudden situation.
The same would have applied even if someone else had possessed this body.
'Something like this never happened in the original work...?'
No wonder I felt as though I were walking on thin ice.
My serenity had been as thin as that ice, and it shattered far too easily.
