I Ended My Engagement With The Woman Who Despised Me

༺ 𓆩  Chapter 21 — Gift  𓆪 ༻

「Translator — Creator」

᠃ ⚘᠂ ⚘ ˚ ⚘ ᠂ ⚘ ᠃

Seeing the signs of evolution, I had expected the sun spirit to transform immediately.

Yet, despite my anticipation, nothing happened.

It seemed more time was needed.

No matter how long I waited, the spirit remained the same.

Accepting this, I gently ran a hand over its peacefully sleeping form before lying down on my bed.

‘The situation isn’t completely resolved yet, so I’ll need to stay vigilant…’

But it was nearly over.

For tonight, at least, I could allow myself to rest.

Tomorrow, training would continue as usual.

With that thought, I slowly closed my eyes.

"............"

When I came to my senses, it was morning.

The first thing I did was check on the spirit.

Still asleep.

It had shown clear signs of impending evolution, yet even after a full night’s rest, it remained unchanged.

'You're sleeping longer than I expected.'

In the original story, it was described as 'not long after,' so I thought it would wake up within a few hours at most, but it was somewhat puzzling that it remained asleep even after I'd slept and woken up.

'Perhaps it's because it ate the black orb?'

That's the only explanation I could think of.

Looking at the sun spirit, I considered leaving it to rest comfortably on the bed, but,

'It would probably feel very disappointed if I left it behind.'

Having no choice, I decided to take it with me and held it in my arms.

Looking at the sun spirit snuggling into me while sleeping, I thought it was a good decision as I got up.

𓇘

To train properly, I needed four things —

Lorraine

Potions

Tea

A training ground where Lilia wouldn’t find us.

While three of these were always readily available and easy to prepare,

Selecting a training location was quite tricky, but Loraine happened to find a suitable place, allowing us to proceed without major issues.

"You've definitely become more skilled in combat, probably due to your real battle experience."

As I blocked Loraine’s strike, I gave a small nod.

She was right.

As she said, having experienced life-or-death combat had made it easier to read opponent movements than before. Moreover, I could now act without hesitation where I would have previously wavered.

Satisfied with the progress, we continued sparring—

Until Loraine brought up a suggestion.

"Now that you've reached this level, wouldn’t it be better to focus on real combat instead of sparring?"

"Real combat?"

"Yes. At this point, you’ll grow faster by fighting in actual battles rather than training duels."

It wasn't a bad suggestion... but the problem was where to find such opportunities.

The recent real combat experience was easily accessible because we had the justification of eliminating dark mages.

Usually, such justification was hard to come by, making it quite difficult to engage in actual combat.

When I asked about this, she chuckled and waved her hand.

"That's simple. Just take on missions."

"Missions?"

"Yes. If you take combat-related missions from the Guild, you can engage in as much combat as you want. It's a method I frequently used during my growth period."

Hearing this, I nodded, thinking it was a good idea.

Taking missions would provide 'diverse experiences,' which would give significant experience points to my combat abilities.

Missions would allow me to gain real experience, enhancing my combat skills at an accelerated rate.

It was an undeniable advantage.

With my decision made, I nodded—

And swung my mace at Loraine once more.

𓇘

While walking down the corridor to take a break after training,

I spotted Siren sitting on a park bench in the small garden at the mansion's center, staring blankly at the sky.

She was seated on a bench, gazing blankly at the sky, bathed in the gentle warmth of the sun. Something about her posture — how she soaked in the light as if in silent prayer — gave me a strange feeling.

It was quite a contrast — the one who had been called the worst curse born from swallowed despair in the original story now yearned for and loved the light.

A quiet thought crossed my mind —

I was glad I had saved her.

I approached, and as I drew near, Siren lifted her gaze.

Then, wordlessly, she raised her hand and gave me a small wave.

Expressionless, as always.

But the sight of her waving so mechanically, as if she had learned the gesture by observing others, was almost endearing.

Smiling at that sight, I approached and thanked her for last night, but Siren shook her head and replied.

"No need to thank me. Since you saved me, I've decided to help you for life."

She said helping was natural, so there was no need for thanks.

Hearing those words reminded me of Elysia's past actions.

Those days when she hadn't properly looked after me as promised, despite my bringing warmth to the North.

As those memories surfaced, my expression naturally hardened.

I had forced myself to believe I was fine back then.

That it didn’t hurt.

But in truth—

I hadn’t been fine at all.

As I tried to push away those memories, Siren suddenly took my hand in hers. She squeezed it lightly, pressing her fingers against my skin, almost as if testing something.

Then, she asked—

"Is it warm?"

The painful thoughts faded instantly.

A simple question—

One that somehow chased away everything else.

I exhaled and answered honestly.

"Yes. It's warm."

"That's good then."

Siren nodded somewhat proudly while looking at me, then tilted her head and spoke.

"Come to think of it, where did that dwarf go?"

"Dwarf? Oh, the spirit."

I carefully took out the spirit I had kept in my arms and explained.

"It's sleeping for a while to evolve."

"Ah."

Siren stared at the spirit intently before tilting her head as if remembering something.

"Come to think of it… you never gave it a name, did you?"

"…Now that you mention it."

Why hadn't I really?

I wasn’t sure.

But if I had to guess—

I had been so overwhelmed by everything happening around me that I hadn’t bothered to think about such things.

"You should name it. If I were this idiot, I’d feel hurt."

Considering how much they bickered, I thought she’d dislike the spirit—

But apparently, she cared more than I had assumed.

At those words, I smiled slightly and asked Siren's opinion.

"Do you have any name suggestions?"

At those words, Siren replied as if it were obvious.

"Myungmyungie."

"... Don't you think that Myungmyungie is a bit too..."

Dogs are bow-bow, cats are meow-meow, and spirits are myung-myung...

It was cute, sure—

But it was also painfully uncreative.

I tried to suggest something else, but—

"Myungmyungie."

"........."

She seemed completely set on the name Myungmyungie, continuing to recommend it.

I nodded, saying we'd make the final decision when the spirit woke up.

𓇘

Siren and I continued chatting, exchanging idle conversation…

Until the mansion suddenly became lively.

People rushed down the corridors, their movements swift and coordinated.

'Seems the document I gave to the Patriarch proved to be true.'

Otherwise, so many people wouldn't be moving in such perfect coordination.

As I watched knights and mages bustling about, Damian's brother Aiden approached me.

"Thank you."

He gently patted my back, expressed his gratitude, and passed by.

As I was mentally cheering for my brother's determined figure walking away, Lilia appeared.

"I hear my little one did something impressive?"

Lilia immediately started affectionately rubbing both my cheeks while chuckling, then turned to greet Siren.

"Hello, Siren?"

"Hello."

They seemed to have become close while I was away.

As I was thinking how fortunate this was, Lilia patted my back and said,

"Oh right. Take Siren sightseeing around the city. It made my heart ache seeing her wandering around the garden all day waiting for you when you weren't here."

Those words reminded me that despite bringing Siren to the mansion, I had neglected her; there was no excuse for this, so I nodded apologetically and asked Siren,

"Want to go sightseeing in the city together?"

At my suggestion, she nodded extremely quickly and firmly grasped my hand.

𓇘

The truth was—

I didn’t know much about Siren.

What I did know was limited to two facts…

…that she had swallowed countless moments of despair;

…and that she would one day become an Archmage.

That was it.

Beyond that, I had no way of knowing what emotions and memories had intertwined to form her feelings toward me.

‘Of course, it could be simple. Maybe she’s just grateful I saved her. Or maybe she’s emotionally unstable and clinging to familiarity.’

Thinking there might be a more fundamental reason, I silently watched Siren. Just as I was hoping I'd eventually be able to fully understand Siren's feelings,

Suddenly, Loraine, who had been following us, chuckled and said,

"Since it's obvious neither Young Master nor Miss Siren know how to have fun, I'll show you."

"…Are you sure about that?"

"Of course! Back in my wild days—wait, never mind, that’s irrelevant. Anyway, let’s go! I’ll take you on a proper tour!"

And with that—

We were dragged off into Loraine’s idea of fun.

Eating snacks, watching plays, eating snacks, bird watching, eating snacks, watching street performances, eating snacks, shopping for clothes, eating snacks, eating snacks, eating snacks.

The overwhelming repetition of one particular activity was not a coincidence.

Loraine had insisted that not eating every available snack was a crime against oneself, and thus—

Every time she saw a new snack, she bought it.

At some point, this had stopped being a city tour and turned into a food tour.

But—

Siren seemed to be enjoying herself, happily nibbling on her treats.

Seeing that, I didn’t complain.

Then—

Loraine pointed excitedly toward a spot in the distance.

"And for our final stop—the grand flower field! Apparently, they have flowers that move when you shake your body. It’s a famous attraction, so I’m sure you two will love it!"

I hesitated.

Flowers had always left me with conflicted feelings.

But before I could dwell on it too much—

Siren suddenly tugged on my sleeve.

When I looked down, she was holding out a delicate flower ring.

"A gift."

Since it was the first such cute gift I'd received,

I smiled with satisfaction, and as I carefully accepted it, Siren looked up at me intently and said,

"If you ever want another, just ask."

She probably said this after seeing my expression.

Siren, still unfamiliar with human relationships, had likely offered the flower ring as her way of expressing comfort.

Realizing this, I gently ruffled her hair and murmured,

"... Thank you."

"Mm-hmm."

She nodded, satisfied.

Carefully, I tucked the delicate ring into my coat, making sure it wouldn’t be crushed.

That was when I noticed something in the distance.

A familiar-looking figure.

I narrowed my eyes, focusing on the scene—

And what I saw was… odd.

A woman stood among the flowers—

Tall, with an air of elegance and authority.

Her features were striking, and the cold sharpness in her gaze exuded a presence so commanding that anyone could tell she was a high-ranking figure.

A woman like that should have been difficult to approach—

Exuding an air of aloof detachment.

And yet—

She was currently clapping her hands rapidly while staring at the dancing flowers.

Not gracefully.

Not with dignity.

Just frantic, chaotic clapping.

The contrast was… jarring.

I found myself staring.

And then, it clicked—

'Rianna, the executive of the Information Guild.'

A major character in the original story—

One of the core members of the protagonist’s party, guiding them with critical intelligence.

END of CHAPTER

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