Fifty million Shillings.
That was half the money in my personal vault.
I'd wondered what I'd do if another tempting item came up, but luckily—or perhaps fortunately—there hadn't been anything else worth bidding on before the auction ended.
-That concludes the auction! Thank you all for attending!
I got to my feet amid the commotion in the hall.
"Brother."
Celine, who had come up beside me in the meantime, tugged at my sleeve. Her eyes had widened with confusion.
"Why did you do that? That's a lot of money, even for you."
"I can always earn more. Don't worry about it."
Celine looked like she wanted to ask more, but her lips only moved soundlessly.
I didn't regret it at all.
I'd blown half my fortune, but there were plenty of ways to make money. I didn't need to ask the Kardenos family for help.
There were profitable businesses I could run on my own. I planned to get started as soon as the Founding Day Festival was over.
I could find the capital somewhere else, one way or another.
The gazes still being aimed at me stung, though.
But I welcomed them. They no longer looked at me as a lunatic who'd beaten a Young Lady, but as someone odd.
"Young Master Astin."
A gruff voice suddenly called out to me. Behind it stood a line of old knights with snow-white hair.
They were General Vermang's old comrades—the real knights who had woven the forgotten Solar Ring.
They lined up in front of me and bowed in unison.
"Thank you. Truly, thank you."
Their voices trembled.
My gaze moved from their bodies to their palms.
Blood, sweat, scars. I could see what had sunk deeper into their skin than their fingerprints.
"You restored the general's honor in our stead, Young Master. We will never forget this kindness. The general must have been able to close his eyes in peace."
They were heroes who had devoted themselves to their country, covered in blood and filth on the front lines.
I couldn't bring myself to accept that they had to bow their heads before me.
"Please, raise your heads."
The old knights slowly straightened up.
"I only paid a fair price for what it was worth. I didn't save the general's honor. He proved his honor himself."
"Ah..."
A soft gasp escaped from among them.
Nobles walking on red carpets could never know the depth of a road stained red with blood.
I knew. And because I knew, I couldn't help but respect them.
Saving the world from the Outer Gods and the Black Ones. Protecting our homeland from demons and magical beasts.
Both were immense responsibilities. Great undertakings worthy of the deepest respect.
I was only trying to follow the path they had walked.
"I, too, wish to walk the hard path you all have traveled."
I placed a hand over my Heart Core.
—!
After a brief surge of exhilaration, two rings began to turn within my Core.
The old knights' expressions changed by the moment.
"H-How can you weave a Ring!?"
Some rubbed their eyes in astonishment, while others trembled, unable even to close their mouths. One stood there staring blankly at the rings.
Moisture slowly gathered in their eyes.
I'd shown them, as living proof, that the youth they'd spent shedding blood and sweat hadn't been in vain.
I calmed the surging Solar Ring. If I kept it up, they might start showing their feelings in an embarrassing way.
"Just think of it as a young junior showing off."
"Good heavens, what are you saying?"
"Showing off? You're far too modest, Young Master."
The old knights wiped at the corners of their eyes and stood tall.
They were knights who'd willingly borne the weight of honor and responsibility.
They also carried the weight of the years, which should have been enough to bend their backs. But they stood straight. They had nothing to be ashamed of.
"Young Master Astin. I will never forget what you did today."
The old knights bowed to show their respect. I bowed even deeper than they did.
Even after they turned and walked away, they continued to nod to me. It felt strange, seeing retired soldiers who deserved far better treatment act this way.
I watched them disappear into the distance, lost in a strange reverie.
"I'm proudest of you, Brother."
I looked down beside me and saw Celine smiling brightly.
She looked so adorable that I patted her little head.
***
The atmosphere in the ballroom didn't suit me at all.
The nobles' perfume made my head spin, and the Young Ladies' "Oh, ho, ho, ho!" laughter assaulted my eardrums.
For someone who hated crowded places to begin with, there was no torture worse than this.
I almost admired Celine for managing to mingle with the Young Ladies.
I waited for a good moment, then escaped to the outdoor terrace in a corner of the ballroom.
"Finally, I can breathe."
The fresh air cleared my lungs. It felt like the blood in my clogged veins was finally flowing again.
I leaned against the terrace railing and looked up at the sky.
The sun was sinking, and the sky was awash in red.
The beautiful view only made me feel more bitter. I was the only one who knew this peace would be brief.
The end of the world was coming. A future only I knew was certain.
Sometimes, I wanted to throw off this heavy burden of responsibility.
Everyone had come back to life because of my regression, but I still felt alone in the middle of a vast ocean.
When they'd all died, at least I hadn't been alone. There had been two of us.
-You're different from me. So you have to save the world. Please, Astin.
"......."
I couldn't give up just because it was hard. If not me, then who?
The protagonist of that damned Romance Fantasy believed in me, after all. I had no choice.
Those were Lucia's last words to me: when I returned, I should try to win her over.
Let's say charming women was beyond my abilities. Put another way, saving the world seemed easier.
Step—step—
The sound of someone approaching interrupted my thoughts.
The moment I spotted the figure coming toward me, my expression twisted.
"Young Master Astin."
A man with half his face wrapped tightly in bandages. It was Julian.
Had he still not come to his senses and come back for revenge?
I watched his every move with narrowed eyes. I clenched my fists, ready to beat him up if he tried anything.
"I'm only now apologizing for what I did back then."
"......?"
I was left speechless.
What had he just said?
"And thank you."
"What are you talking about all of a sudden?"
"Thanks to you, I came to my senses. If it weren't for you, I'd have stayed blinded by love, just like you said."
At first, I wondered if he was trying to catch me off guard so he could ambush me.
But one look into Julian's eyes changed my mind. Like a clear forest lake, they showed me everything, right down to the roots of his emotions.
"I'm truly grateful that you humbled my arrogance and brought me to my senses. I wanted to make sure I told you that."
"Julian, you little punk?"
He wasn't acting. I was sure of it.
Our precious Julian had turned over a new leaf!
"You've really changed!"
Julian rubbed the back of his neck, looking embarrassed.
"I'm also sorry for damaging your reputation with my misconduct."
"My reputation? Is a reputation going to put food on the table? Forget about it."
I wasn't just saying that for Julian's sake. I meant it.
Who cared if people called me a lunatic or a piece of shit?
"Ah, I'm sorry about that, too."
I pointed at Julian's utterly wrecked face. He let out a quiet, wry laugh.
"I know you held back."
"Good. You could've ended up dead."
"Haha..."
He smiled awkwardly, then lowered his gaze to the ground.
"To be honest, I've thought a lot about how I should apologize. I also felt that an apology alone wasn't enough. I caused you a lot of trouble, starting with your broken engagement to Young Lady Azelin."
"You don't need to apologize for the broken engagement. I was going to end it anyway. I'm actually grateful you gave me an excuse."
He deserved to be punished for making a move on a woman who was already engaged.
But I hadn't smashed his face out of petty revenge.
I punished him because what he'd done was worse than anything an animal would do. That was all.
"I ended things with Young Lady Azelin, one way or another. It wasn't a happy ending, though."
If he meant he'd cut ties with her, that was a pretty positive change.
In the original story, Julian stayed blinded by Azelin until the very end, even giving up his life for her. This was a remarkable improvement.
"I feel guilty not only toward the Kardenos family but also toward Rosenthal. My reckless actions caused trouble between our two families..."
"It wasn't all your fault. Azelin was at fault, too."
She was engaged and still let herself be seduced. That was the problem.
Julian didn't bother denying it. He only pressed his lips together and gave a slight nod.
It seemed he was finally trying to understand what had happened objectively.
"I'd like your honest advice, Young Master. What should I do to make things right?"
"How do you put spilled water back in the cup? I don't know either."
"Then what should I do from now on? What would be best?"
"The difference between 'Tell me, tell me' and 'Do it for me, do it for me' is a hair's breadth."
"...Pardon?"
I guess my meaning hadn't gotten through.
I deeply understood the desire to make amends for every sin and mistake.
Hurting the people around me, treating women terribly, abandoning my family and my household, killing my family with my own hands.......
In the past, I'd been a bigger lunatic and a worse piece of human trash than Julian.
In the end, what I'd done to earn forgiveness and atone for my sins came down to one thing.
Saving the world.
I believed that if I devoted myself to saving humanity, all my past sins would be forgiven.
I couldn't tell Julian how I truly felt.
"Come find me as soon as the Founding Day Festival is over. We'll go to Kardenos together."
"To Kardenos?"
"Come train with me. You don't have anywhere else to go anyway. What would you do wandering around alone? Train your Swordsmanship, and that's it."
I'd somehow managed to tell him to sacrifice himself for humanity by talking around it.
"But there are two conditions. First, you have to drop out of the Academy. All you do there is chase after women. It's completely useless."
Julian didn't object. He seemed to agree to some extent.
"Second, abandon that Luna cliff path and weave a Solar Ring—wait."
I stared intently at Julian's chest. I felt my pupils slowly widen.
"You little punk, you've already closed your Mana Circuit?"
"Yes. I intend to weave a ring just like you."
"You're better than I thought. Good. That's really good."
Smack! Smack!
I patted Julian's arm with my palm to show him he'd done well.
But Julian flinched whenever I reached out. It couldn't be just because of how I'd beaten him up back then.
"Now that there's no backing out, you really have to go to Kardenos."
"The decision is yours, Young Master."
A faint smile formed at the corner of his bandaged mouth. I grinned back at him.
"Go on, then. Come find me again later."
"It was brief, but meaningful. I'll come see you properly as soon as the Founding Day Festival is over."
"All right. Take care."
With that, Julian left the terrace. His easygoing retreating figure looked pretty good.
They said you couldn't change a person, but honestly, I'd never imagined he'd turn out this well.
Julian coming to his senses was a pretty big stroke of luck.
It gave me hope that I might be able to fix the other fools who were crazy about women.
How had I fixed Julian? I'd beaten the sense into him.
They might be idiots, but they had real talent. If I could fix them by beating them like Julian, then that was what I had to do.
Of course, there was no guarantee every male lead would turn out like Julian. Maybe I was still hoping for too much.
Tap-tap-tap!
"!"
A person-sized silhouette suddenly shot past me.
Then, in an instant, she slipped under the round table in front of me.
"......What?"
I stared blankly down at the space under the table.
The first thing I saw was a gorgeous red dress. A woman was crouched there, half-hidden by the tablecloth.
It was none other than Lucia.
I was about to ask what on earth was going on, but Lucia pressed her index finger to her lips.
"Shh! Quiet!"
"Uh, yes?"
"They keep chasing me."
I didn't ask who she meant. It was obvious, and so was how many of them there were.
Her hair was a mess. Beads of cold sweat dotted her forehead. Her eyes darted around like a small animal's.
She was nothing like the haughty woman praised as the star of high society. Fugitive of high society suited her better.
Maybe living as the protagonist of a Romance Fantasy was exhausting as hell.
Then again, the Romance Fantasy was titled The Men Keep Bothering Me, So I Keep Running Away.
I just stared at Lucia, crouched under the table.
She'd looked at me like I was a bug and turned away coldly before, but now she'd hidden under the table in front of me like a rabbit.
I wanted to ask what was going on, but I might get caught up in a love triangle.
If there was one person I had to avoid, it was the Crown Prince.
I tried to casually move away from Lucia. But even that wasn't up to me.
Lucia was gripping my sleeve tightly.
"Don't go. Stay here."
"......."