Let’s Block the Ruined Route in Advance

“Felix…?” 

Two weeks later. When Felix arrived at the ducal residence, Eileen was surprised. Only four months since the Feast of Regia.

 

The child she saw again was as quiet as a doll turned off. His blank expression, as if all life had been drained from his body, sent a shiver down Eileen’s spine.

 “Felix, do you remember me? I didn’t tell you my name then, did I? I’m Eileen.” 

As she introduced herself, the child turned his head to look at her. He didn’t say anything else or change his expression, but it was good to know that he was responding.

 “Master…” 

Ayla, the child’s nanny, blinked back tears. The healers examined Felix’s body and fortunately there were no major wounds. He was weak from refusing to eat, but fortunately nothing irreparable had happened.

 “He must have been so traumatized that he became aphasic.” 

Everyone who examined him said in unison. Eileen felt a strange pang of guilt as she listened.

 

‘If only we had acted sooner. What if he’s already irreparably damaged and his life is a repeat of the original?’

 

As an overthinker, it’s easy to fall into the worry trap.

 

Seeing Eileen’s face darken with fatigue and worry, Cordelia spoke sharply.

 “Eileen. I know you’re a great person, but you don’t have to solve everything.” “What’s wrong with you?” 

The same question came back to her as it had the night before. She didn’t have a good answer. Cordelia looked at her sharply and said,

“I’m on my way to a duel with Lucian, if you want you can come with me.” 

Cordelia tugged at Eileen’s wrist and left for the training grounds without waiting for an answer.

 

Eileen, who had practiced most of her training with Orgen in private, looked around nervously at the familiarity of the training grounds.

 

Sweaty knights were scattered around the room, training in dueling positions. Cordelia was dressed for the occasion, in a thin, cool shirt, comfortable pants and boots.

 “Eileen’s here!” 

Lucian, who had been talking to the knights with a scowl on his face, spotted Eileen and smiled. The knight he had be

en talking to was puzzled by Lucian’s strange expression and poked him in the side.

 “Did you come to see me?” “She came to see me.” 

Lucian barely suppressed a natural pause. Hypnotized, he picked up his wooden training sword.

 “I’m surprised you want to show Eileen how to lose.” “I’m surprised you still have a mouth after what you did to me last time.” 

Sparks flew between them. Leaving Eileen watching them with bored eyes, they made their way to the center of the arena.

 

The knights, who had been scattered and training separately, stopped and gathered around them.

 “Lady Eileen, please sit here.” 

Among the assembled knights was Lucian and Cordelia’s sword instructor, Valter, a former Templar. He had brought the cleanest folding chair he could find and offered it to Eileen.

 “Thank you.” “It’s been a while since you’ve dueled, hasn’t it?” “Yeah. I’m always in the greenhouse or garden, so it’s kind of weird being here.” “Hahaha, but sometimes a simple, busy place like this is good for a change. Look how far you’ve both come. It’s not what you’ve seen before.” 

Walter was about ten years younger than Orgen, a typical cheerful old man with a bubbly personality.

 

He was also one of Eileen’s personal favorites because talking to him was like clearing your head.

 

Eileen, who hadn’t seen a duel in a long time, was a little surprised to see the two kids seriously aiming their swords at each other.

 

‘In the original story, it was a one-sided, violent relationship.’

 

Instead of a horizontal exchange of emotions, it was extremely vicious and one-sided. At the point where this destructive relationship was nipped in the bud, the two of them stood upright and engaged in a duel.

 

At the signal, they both closed the gap at the same time. With a quick leap, their swords met, and even though they were wooden swords, sparks flew.

 

How powerful and fast their swordsmanship was.

 “I can’t see anything!” 

Eileen’s eyes, isolated from the physical arts, could not read a single movement.

 “Tsk tsk. Awesome, right?” “Yeah. It’s amazing…” “I can’t see anything.” “You look like you’re having fun, don’t you?” 

With that, Walter smiled softly. The old man with the scar over his eye seemed to be in a different mood as he smiled softly. Eileen nodded.

 

She couldn’t see most of their movements, but the expression on their faces as their swords clashed once more was so bright.

 

A simple emotion of sympathy. Eileen’s eyes twinkled as she watched, and the old man, catching the look, turned to her and spoke.

 “Young lady, I’ve seen in my life that sometimes thoughts can be poisonous.” 

Eileen’s shoulders slumped as if she’d been stabbed.

 “Regret, fear, anxiety, those kinds of thoughts, they get heavier the longer you hold on to them. A swordsman doesn’t regret the sword he just swung while he’s swinging, because he can’t do anything if he’s dwelling on regret when the next move is at stake. You can only reach the next level if you focus on the sword in front of you, not the one you missed.” 

Walter’s words were meant to comfort and encourage a child who had lost a mother figure, but somehow Eileen felt as if her mind had been cleared.

 “The sword must be wielded in the present to protect what is before you.” 

Walter tore his eyes from the arena and smiled at Eileen. She thanked him.

 “Thank you.” “For what, I mean.” 

Walter held out the training clothes he’d had for who knows how long.

 “Let’s go for a run!” “What?” 

‘Are you kidding?’

 

Seriously.

 

The comedic mood passed for a moment, and Eileen, sirens blaring in her head, jumped to her feet.

 “Okay, that’s nice of you to say, but I think I have something I need to do, so I’d better get going!” 

Without waiting for Walter’s reply, Eileen rushed out of the barracks.

 “Guys, I’m sorry. I’ll see you both later!” 

She heard Walter chuckle behind her. Eileen couldn’t help but laugh out loud at the situation as she ran out of the barracks.

 

When Cordelia and Lucian found her after a while, she had already gone back to the mansion.

 “What the hell, Eileen, where did you go?!” “I was going to please you with my sword skills!” 

Walter snorted and stood up.

 “Aaaaah!!!” “Whoever comes in later, add 10 laps.” “Hey, we’re supposed to start at the same time!” 

Lucian yelped as Cordelia stormed off, leaving the lieutenant to shake his head in disbelief as he watched Walter hold his stomach and laugh.

  

* * *

  

It was teatime

. One day, Felix, smiling broadly in front of a gloomy-looking Cordelia, offered her a dessert.

 “Try this. The grapefruit tart here is really good. Master loved it.” “You have to keep your promise. If I hang out with you today, you won’t show up in front of me again during the semester.” 

Cordelia pushed her fork away, letting out a cold breath, and Felix’s outstretched hand stiffened. She opened her mouth, her face slowly draining of emotion like a lake freezing over.

 “If that’s the rule, I’ll honor it.” 

His violet eyes glowed, and a chill blew in from all directions. It was only a matter of moments before the shop was frosted over and the windows were frozen.

 

Thank goodness there were no other customers, Cordelia thought with relief, running a cold, white-knuckled hand across her chest. Felix gently took her cold hand in his own.

 “I need you to stay with me tonight.” 

He slowly pulled Cordelia’s hand toward him.

 “Let’s go shopping, go boating on the lake, have a nice dinner.” 

He leaned in to touch his hand to her cheek.

 “You keep your promises, and I’ll keep mine. That’s the rule. Oh, don’t worry. I’m not going to hurt anyone, you don’t like that, do you?” 

Felix placed his hand over hers, as if to melt it, and smiled\

, the same invisible, infinite expression he’d displayed a few days earlier, when he’d assassinated a nobleman who’d insulted Cordelia’s status.

 

His cheek and hand were so cold that Cordelia had to squeeze her eyes shut.

  

* * *

  “I’m not going to let you become a lunatic, ever.” 

Eileen, whose morale had been boosted by her conversation with Walter, took a deep breath in anticipation of Felix’s visit.

 

In the original, he’d always been there for Cordelia. The problem was that his methods had been so destructive and twisted that they hadn’t reflected her wishes at all.

 

Even when she forgave them, he didn’t, and at the slightest hint of trouble, he’d wipe her out with the utmost retribution. For Cordelia, who was already unable to have a real relationship because of Lucian’s control, he was another shackle.

 “I can do it. I can still change him.” 

There is no tree that doesn’t fall ten times. This was the beginning of the long Operation Felix Speaks.

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