Wooo!
The train slowly started up, the iron behemoth trembling as it traveled along the endless rails.
The passengers inside the carriage had already taken their seats, and Victor was no exception.
He was sitting in the first-class carriage of the train, leisurely pouring himself a cup of coffee.
The thin wisps of rising steam above the coffee made the entire first-class carriage feel so quiet and elegant.
Victor looked out the window.
On both sides of the track, scenery raced by.
Outside the window, towns had already whooshed past like flying arrows.
Vast dense forests, tall flourishing vegetation, like frames of beautiful flowing paintings.
He looked at the sunlight outside and felt it was a little dazzling.
Kefra sat opposite Victor.
Ever since boarding the train, her gaze had been fixed on the view outside the window.
Looking at the scenes constantly flowing past, Kefra said quietly, "Because of my job, I need to travel often, so I often take the magic train."
"The scenery outside the window always allows me to feel a brief moment of peace."
Victor turned back and looked at Kefra across from him.
Setting her personality aside for the moment, she was undoubtedly a full-fledged beauty.
Her purple hair was noble and elegant like violets.
Only when Gwen wasn't by her side could Victor feel the steadiness and maturity of this elder sister.
Honestly, Victor didn't want to be alone with this demon-hunter elder sister.
He understood Gwen, but he didn't know Kefra.
After all, a character who had already died in the original storyline wasn't worth Victor digging into her deeds.
So he hadn't spoken.
The more you say, the more mistakes you make.
In the brief silence, it was still Kefra who spoke first, "Let me ask you a question."
She looked out the window, speaking like it was a casual remark.
"If, when we get back this time, my father wants to cancel your engagement with Gwen, what will you do?"
"He has no reason." Victor said flatly.
If Angus Delin were a person driven by self-interest, then he would only lock the engagement between Victor and Gwen in place, maybe even get them married immediately.
Because the present Victor was completely different from before.
Now he was like an eagle that had already spread its wings.
From once being an imperial magic prodigy fading from people's memories, to now a name praised throughout the capital and the entire empire, it had only taken a month or two.
Countless nobles were eyeing the spot beside Victor.
And the reason Victor could remain so undisturbed was basically all thanks to this engagement with Gwen.
If word got out that the engagement was canceled, then probably before the next day arrived, countless people would be ready to send their daughters to his side.
Such was the filth of nobles.
They didn't care that they once looked down on Victor, they only knew that Victor was the goose that laid golden eggs.
Once you had ties with him, even if you didn't rise to the heavens to become a phoenix, the benefits would never be few.
But Victor didn't actually understand Angus very well.
Although he was also a boss unit, and Victor had beaten him before in the past…
What stuck with him most about Angus was still…
Gwen in her absolute-justice phase, sacrificing kin for righteousness.
Because Angus's actions sullied the justice a knight should uphold, that righteous Valkyrie personally slew her father.
When this part of the story appeared, some players criticized it, saying Gwen had no sense of family affection.
But if players thought carefully about the context at the time, they would understand.
The Delin family back then practically dominated the North of the Empire; arrogant and overbearing, they didn't even obey the commands of the newly crowned empress.
They united, intending to rebel and overthrow Aurelian's rule.
But by then Victor was already dead, and the new empress no longer needed to focus all her attention on him.
Her mage battalion only needed a bit of reorganizing to completely crush the North again and again.
To this end, Angus Delin even united with the northern barbarians, all for the chance to arm-wrestle with Aurelian.
In the end, that alliance never happened.
A prematurely returned Gwen killed Angus Delin.
She carried her father's severed head back to the capital, preserving the Delin family's name this way.
Victor regained his thoughts.
In the game, Angus Delin was also a villain, a target players were required to defeat.
And at that time…
Victor had beaten this father-in-law over and over and over.
"I see."
Kefra chuckled, but her smile didn't have its usual liveliness.
"His daughters aren't limited to only Gwen."
As she spoke, a glint of strange light passed through her eyes.
The blue outside the window reflected into her gaze, surging like waves, making her heart feel somewhat unsettled.
Under her purple eyes, unknowingly, there was a trace of melancholy.
Victor took a sip of coffee and turned to look out the window.
The roaring waves outside rushed toward him, yet the distant sea was unlike his mood, restlessly turbulent, the constantly rising and falling horizon split sky and earth.
The shining sun reflected on the water, the slanting light gentle.
Kefra's every breath carried faint sorrow, lingering for some unknown reason.
———
Time flew quickly; a full day passed in the blink of an eye.
With the two of them silent, the entire carriage felt even quieter.
Wooo!
A loud roar from the train, and the clacking sounds gradually entered people's ears.
They were arriving at the station.
Victor stood up, but Kefra was even quicker, already heading toward the door.
The moment the door opened, a strong stream of icy wind instantly swept through the entire carriage.
Kefra shivered from the cold blast and quickly pulled her fur coat tighter.
She looked up and glanced at the unmoved Victor, raising her brows slightly.
Outside the carriage was desolate, with only goose-feather snowflakes continuously dancing across the empty and lonely station.
On the thin snow cover, no sign of any living plant could be seen.
A brigade of knights wearing thick cotton cloaks stood on the platform in two lines; when they saw Kefra appear, they bowed in unison.
"Miss Kefra, teacher ordered us to come welcome you."
As a grand knight, Angus didn't like his subordinates addressing him with overly respectful titles like "sir."
He had taken countless students, who in turn became knights of the Delin family.
So he preferred these family knights to call him "teacher."
Kefra stepped out of the carriage, but she didn't move forward.
The knights felt something strange, and suddenly they saw, behind their lady, a tall unfamiliar figure stepping down as well.
The man wore a windcoat, which looked rather thin in this freezing northern climate.
On his shoulder perched a one-eyed crow, and for some reason, it looked ominous.
The heavy snow blew against the man's face, but the moment it touched him, it seemed to turn into faint steam and vanish.
Victor looked coldly at the two rows of knights, an unparalleled sense of terror instantly spread across the wide station platform.
Like a terrifying beast had appeared upon this icy snowfield.
In that moment, an overwhelming pressure covered the knights' heads, their heartbeats involuntarily speeding up.
The leading knight even grew wary, putting his right hand on the hilt of his sword.
Why, why did they feel such frightening oppression from this man?
Who was he?
Kefra smiled and explained to the knights, "He is Victor, the fiancé of the Miss Gwen you all admire so much."
'This… this…'
Many blinked, a sense of absurdity rising.
The North of the Empire was Gwen's hometown.
The knights all knew how powerful Gwen, who served as Grand Knight Commander in the capital, truly was.
Not to mention, she was a woman.
Such an independent and powerful female knight naturally drew the admiration of countless knights.
But among them were quite a few who were hearing for the first time that Miss Gwen had a fiancé.
Immediately, their hearts sank halfway into ice.
The man before them already looked extremely hard to deal with, but at such a moment no one dared speak.
Some, however, felt Victor's name sounded familiar.
"Victor?"
"Holy crap, that youngest fourth-tier mage in the capital?"
"Shhh! Keep your voice down! I heard this guy holds grudges, anyone who crossed him got tossed into the sea to feed the fish!"
The knights grew even more nervous, holding their breath and swallowing hard in perfect unison.
Seeing them like this, Kefra jabbed Victor with her elbow, smiling as she whispered, "Oh my, your reputation is impressive, even my family's knights know you."
Victor kept his cold, icy expression, not even acknowledging her.
He simply stepped forward and cast a glance at the lead knight.
Under that intensely oppressive gaze, the lead knight couldn't help but tremble.
Even the extreme northern cold seemed far less chilling than the cold emanating from this man.
His hand left the sword hilt, curling into a fist, as if trying to bolster his own courage.
Victor merely said coldly, "Lead the way."
"T-to… to where?"
The moment he finished speaking, a burst of white steam suddenly erupted, turning the dry cold air around them into fuel.
Sparks burst out, circling around Victor.
The snow beneath his feet melted entirely; even the surrounding frost seemed to catch fire, glowing with a fierce light, turning the area warm and golden.
The knights felt the scorching heat rush across their bodies from the front.
Victor stared at the knight.
"To where you're supposed to take me."
"Don't make me repeat myself."
"Y-yes! Yes!"
The poor knight would never know how he had angered this mage lord; he could only wave his arms and hurriedly shout for the knights to reform their ranks.
The knights scattered shakily, mounting their horses; even their long-trained orderly formation seemed a little chaotic.
Victor walked to a white stallion and swung himself onto it.
He glanced at Kefra and said calmly, "Don't worry."
"Regarding the engagement..."
"I'll have a proper talk with this uncle-in-law."