It was good to sleep in one’s own bed. Very good, actually.

  That was, of course, if one ignored the countless maids, butlers, and guards who immediately averted their eyes the moment I looked their way.

  And this other issue I was about to face.

  The very obvious issue waiting for me at breakfast.

  Elowen was still here.

  That… was a problem.

  “Lord Valen,” she greeted, curtsying gracefully beside her Angel as I entered the dining hall. “Good morning.”

  “Good morning,” I replied with a slight nod, taking my seat at the head of the table. Myrsky hung lazily around my neck as I searched for a polite way to phrase the question sitting on the tip of my tongue.

  Failing that, I went with honesty.

  “Lady Elowen… should I prepare a carriage for your return to the Royal Capital?”

  “The Royal Capital?” she frowned. “Weren’t you leaving tomorrow for Margrave Thosen’s territory to meet one of your… many other fiancées?”

  I coughed, unsure whether the emphasis had been necessary.

  “I am,” I cleared my throat. “But I was asking about you.”

  She blinked once, clearly surprised.

  “I am coming as well.”

  “You are?”

  “I am,” she said, lips tugging upward in a satisfied little smile, as if she’d just stepped squarely on one of my carefully laid plans. “After all, my Lord, am I not to become your first wife? Who else has the right to meet the others? To ensure there are no… conflicts between wives?”

  Damn you, pretty woman with a sly tongue.

  Myrsky remarked lazily inside my head.

  I cursed her out telepathically, this time.

  she replied, utterly unbothered. Her voice softened with every word.

  I replied quietly.

  Her tail flicked happily against my collarbone. Singing joyfully in my head. She was pleased.

  Unfortunately, she wasn’t the main problem.

  The real issue stood across the table from me, smiling like she was victorious in this subtle argument of ours.

  And maybe she was.

  But I always went down swinging.

  “The thing is,” I said, returning Elowen’s smile, “You’re correct. However, this visit is merely an introduction. A private meeting. It wouldn’t be fitting to bring additional parties to such an… important moment, would it?”

  “Quite fair,” she nodded thoughtfully. “Though I find it distasteful when people refuse to say what they truly mean, my Lord.”

  “And what would that be?”

  “You want me to leave you alone,” she said, tilting her head. “Don’t you?”

  Yes. Affirmative. And a certain approval.

  I needed Elowen to fall in love with me, but preferably on my terms, with preparation, strategy, and a clear mental escape route. If she remained constantly at my side, I'd only multiply my chances of ruining everything.

  Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

  Especially with this bastard’s body occasionally rebelling against me.

  Valen’s instincts were… dangerous.

  He had rules. Expectations. An invisible order of things he believed everyone should obey, despite never voicing it to anyone.

  That level of narcissism was something I fought daily.

  And I could not afford to lose that battle around her.

  But being rude, even as a joke, would be just as disastrous, so I shook my head.

  “I never said that,” I replied coldly, meeting her yellow eyes without flinching. “All I meant to say, My Lady, is that your presence there could create… unforeseeable complications. And you know exactly what I mean.”

  A glorious comeback, if I do say so myself.

  Judging by Elowen’s expression, perhaps even a brilliant one.

  After all, she understood politics just as well as, if not better than, Valen ever had. She knew precisely what her presence would imply. Multiple meanings layered atop one another, each more offensive than the last, especially to Margrave Thosen.

  Did that stop her?

  Haha. Nope.

  “Regardless,” she shrugged lightly, utterly unbothered. “I doubt your reputation could be further tarnished by bringing me along. I am coming.”

  So much for brilliance.

  My masterstroke had turned into a blunder. A big one. Queen lost, mate in fourteen moves, and the audience was already laughing.

  “Very well,” I sighed, pushing myself up from the table. “Be ready for tomorrow morning.”

  Despite her smile, she raised her fork and pointed it at me. “What about your food? You haven’t touched a thing.”

  “I lost my appetite,” I replied, already walking toward the exit.

  One thing the novel, and that damn author, had completely failed to mention was just how much paperwork nobles were buried under.

  Approving shop licenses. Wrestling with the bureaucratic nightmare that was tax collection. Auditing reports for fraud. Letters from other noble houses. Disputes between local communities. Bandits. Crimes. Petty grievances. Major disasters.

  All that jazz.

  It could easily swallow an entire day.

  And by the Gods or Goddesses above, it never stopped coming.

  Determined to finish everything before departure, I ended up eating dinner alone in my quarters, documents spread across the desk like a battlefield.

  At least there was good news.

  Three dragon hearts were available for purchase, which meant I could finally silence Myrsky’s relentless complaints for a while.

  And the one blessing of dining in private was not having to see Elowen, or her floating eyeball, even though I had no doubt she was still keeping an eye on my every move in one way or another.

  Once the last document was signed and sealed, I handed the stack off to a butler and collapsed into bed.

  I dreaded the coming day the same way a child dreads vegetables.

  After all, I was about to face not one, but two fiancées.

  And I knew for a fact they were both looking forward to watching me screw this up.

  “Reginald, how are the men?” I asked my retainer as I walked toward him in the early hours of the morning, watching him talk with two other soldiers.

  “My Count,” he saluted, sending the two soldiers away. “They are ready and roaring to go aid the Margrave.”

  “Good,” I nodded, my voice sharp and confident, “Have them ready to depart in twenty minutes.”

  “Sir,” he bowed before walking away, armor clanking.

  I, however, stood by and watched the man walk off, uncomfortable with the fancy clothing I had to wear.

  With Myrsky resting around my neck like a necklace, I was dressed in immaculate white trousers and a tailored white doublet woven with golden threads, topped by a rich red houppelande that completed the look.

  I looked like a noble in all meaning of the word, while at the same time cringing at the thought of wearing something as fancy and intricate as this back on Earth. But I couldn’t deny it.

  I looked glorious.

  As for my weapons, in case I needed them, all of them were in a chest placed at the back of the carriage before me.

  A carriage whose door opened just as I was drawing near it, almost bumping into me.

  “Oh, sorry,” Elowen muttered, taken aback by the sight of me.

  Although I’m sure she did on purpose, I paid it no mind, walking out of her way to climb down.

  When she did, she and her Angel moved a few feet away from the carriage before stopping, turning to me.

  “How is your shoulder?” she asked curiously.

  “I had a healer fix it after arriving at the mansion that night,” I casually replied, turning my head toward her. “Why? Do you want to stab me again?”

  “I wish,” she sighed, shaking her head as she walked off back toward the entrance of the mansion.

  Which made me confused, seeing that she had her chests already inside the carriage.

  “Where are you going?” I yelled. “Did you forget something?”

  “Yes, the pin to stab you with,” she replied, waving her hand as she kept on walking.

  For some reason, that reply of hers made me chuckle lightly, “Be quick, we are leaving in twenty minutes.”

  And with that, still amused, I entered the carriage, waiting for the departure.

  But I realised something while I waited.

  For better or worse, this new life of mine, as stressful as it was, at the very least, was fun. Thinking about surviving my fiancées, finding dragon hearts for the Wyrm coiled around my neck while napping, trying to fix Valen’s bad reputation, and living was, at the very least, more entertaining than my job back on Earth was.

  So yes, it will be stressful, it will be a headache, and at many times along the way, I was sure I would wish for my previous life.

  But, as the door of the carriage opened and Elowen and her creepy Angel made their way inside, as the soldiers were finally ready, and as we departed to Margrave Thosen’s territory, where I would meet my second fiancée, despite praying to whatever God listened, I was content. I was happy to be alive.

  And I was ready to survive as this villain, regardless of whatever my fiancées and the world planned to throw at me.

  …I hope.

  A man can only hope.