MFCPCR Chapter 1.3 - The Man in the Terrace

 Translator: Silvia

Editor: Sarcasm

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In a large room with only a few pieces of furniture, there were two men in the room. One was a young man in a white cloak while the other was an older man dressed neatly in a suit.

The younger man was a tall, slim, and handsome man. He had bright silver hair which contrasted with his black eyes. But if you looked closely, his eyes were actually dark brown, though only a few people could get close to him.

He was wearing white clothes even with a white cloak, which made his whole body seem to glow quite brightly. On top of the white clothes were jewels embedded in gold buttons. The clothes were outrageously flashy. However, the man had a strange atmosphere to the extent that such clothes didn’t seem to be excessive.

“Master.”

“What?”

The empty space in which the two men stood was oddly enough an office. The office was placed in a strange corner inside the mansion of Count Solandry. It was strange to see that there were only three servants in such a large mansion.

There were a total of five people living in this house, including Ewoldan the butler. Three servants, Ewoldan the butler, and the owner, Count Solandry.

Count Solandry was only a count in name, as he barely did anything as a head of a household. His estate was managed by a caretaker, and he stayed in the capital without any particular position.

That didn’t mean he was an unemployed man who did nothing and only played around. He was a genius wizard, who was not only known in this small kingdom but also throughout the continent.

That man was Nicklaus, a handsome and ill-tempered man. The person, that for so long, we have been waiting for.

Ewoldan spoke to his master who was sitting in a careless manner.

“I think we need to discuss the gift for the prince.”

Nicklaus’ snort echoed throughout the office.

The owner of the dreary mansion sat arrogantly in an elevated chair, as if he were a king. He was the owner, so he was kind of like a king. Of course, that didn’t correspond to his actual status.

Nicklaus, who sat with his legs crossed in the elevated chair, wore a crooked smile. The butler seemed to be used to this since he had a calm face.

“Even if I give him dog poop he will love it, what’s there to discuss?”

“But you should still save your face.”

Nicklaus once gave a branch with bird droppings to a young lady that was pining for his love. It wasn’t actually a gift.

But she loved it so much she even slept with it, once her brother found out the truth, he asked to duel with Nicklaus.

Of course, he ignored it. He could silence and finish him off as easily as scratching his nose, but he didn’t.

He would definitely like it. He would start simpering as if he forgot he had been angry.

He hated the sight of someone being happy. As someone rejoiced for no reason, he would suffer a little earlier.

So, he didn’t want to give anything. Not only did he hate giving things to others, he felt disgusted just by seeing someone smile as well.

It was clear that he wasn’t in his right mind. But what can he do? He didn’t want to die even in such a cheap and annoying life.

So he had to meet the fated woman as soon as possible. Although he had no clue, even the sign of her coming couldn’t be seen.

Thinking about it made him lose his mind again. What kind of curse is that? Destiny? Lifetime luck? A life that could be easily swayed by irrational things. It was terrible.

However, even though it was difficult to accept, what was given to him was a ‘cold’ reality. The witch has had numerous records of mysterious curses before, and their will has always been fulfilled. Moreover, he had already experienced the curse personally. So many people were disgustedly ecstatic in front of him. As long as that was happening, he had no choice but to believe that the rest of the curse’s mystery would come true.

Of course, that didn’t mean he succumbed easily to the curse. Who’s this body’s owner? He was. He was the owner of the tower, the man of fire, Nicklaus Solandry.

Obviously, he had been researching the curse on his own ever since he was a child, and after reaching a high position, he even created a department in charge of digging up information on the curse. Nevertheless, he didn’t get any results.

“You take care of it.”

Nicklaus barely hides his displeased expression. He jutted out his chin as if to tell him to go out and search for a gift.

It was better not to meet people. If you spent time with someone, they always expected something more from you. He wasn’t talking about gifts to convey one’s heart. Of course, Nicklaus didn’t do that. Apart from the curse, he was not the type to do that kind of thing.

But he didn’t know if it would be different with the fated woman.

Anyway, even the act of serving him became really uncomfortable. For example, when Ewoldan accidentally picked up his clothes, the butler  would smile and burst into laughter due to the curse affecting him. No matter how hard Nicklaus tries not to be attended to, sometimes he forgets.

It was fortunate that Ewoldan didn’t happily run around about it. The butler was used to this situation more than anyone else, so no matter how excited he felt, he didn’t show any reactions.

Nicklaus shook his arm enthusiastically toward his butler. It meant to go out quickly. But instead of going straight out, Ewoldan added.

“You don’t have to worry about giving the gift by your hand.”

“Of course. But still, you decide yourself. I don’t know what a child would like.”

“Yes. Also master,”

Nicklaus blinked as if asking was there something else. At first glance, he had an arrogant face, but it was known that he had always looked like that since he was a young master. Ewoldan spoke bluntly with a smile on his face.

“All of the famous members of the royal family will gather at the banquet.”

“So?”

“You should find that person before it’s too late.”

“I’ll take care of it.”

“You seem to be getting more worried as you get older. I’ll take my leave now.”

Nicklaus had a grim face without even looking at him. He was 25 years old this year. Even if Ewoldan didn’t mention it, that problem always occupied a corner in his head.

When eating, sleeping, doing research, and even in a dream, a woman with her face covered in fog always appeared.

Perhaps it was a man.

No!

Nicklaus frowned and shook his head. It was as if he was trying to steer away from the notion.

Anyway, after he became an adult, he desperately looked for that fated woman. That’s why he gave a branch with bird droppings to the young lady, even though he wasn’t interested. Because he had to check.

People usually thought he was playing with magic tricks that others didn't know because he was an excellent wizard, but that wasn’t the case.

He lost everything because of the witch. His parents, as well as all of his family, were gone, except Ewoldan. He lost the warm care in his childhood, his relationship with other human beings, and perhaps his warm personality.

No, that personality might not have existed at all.

Anyhow, he had never had any intimate physical contact with women until he was 25.

He occasionally attended social gatherings in crowded places, though he never even danced once. He wasn’t very sociable so he hated being in those crowded places, and among them, he thought it was the worst to sway his body in a place with a lot of eyes.

However, he wasn’t sure if he would get better even if he met the fated woman.

How does it feel to fall in love at first sight? No, if he met her, would he be able to recognize her at a glance?

Nicklaus was lost in thought with a sullen face.

She used to meet him in his dreams, but she was always covered in mist and he couldn’t see her face. She didn’t even let him hear the sweet sound of her voice. Only letters would appear above the fog surrounding her.

Nevertheless, he felt like he was going to fall in love. However, Nicklaus broke his own imagination.

“It’s ridiculous. This is all delusional.”

But, if the witch wasn’t trying to play with his life, wasn’t the fated woman supposed to show up at this point? There would be no point if she showed up when they were old.

No, it might be meaningful if he could survive until then.

Anyway, even knowing how old she was, what she was doing, and when she was going to appear in front of him, seemed to eliminate his ten-year-old burden.

He sat absentmindedly and continued his delusion, but he soon got up from his seat. There was something he used to look into whenever he was feeling frustrated.

He approached a chest of drawers on one side of the office. When he opened one of the drawers, a small box could be seen. It was a jewelry box. It was made of velvet and was very soft to the touch.

He slowly opened the box. Inside of it were two diamond rings that sparkled under the light.

It was prepared right around his coming of age. Nicklaus didn’t know the circumference of her fingers, so he made two rings to match her ring finger.

It was because he was thinking that if the ring was too small and didn’t fit her, it would surely hurt her feelings.

“Even though I don’t know who you are, I’m sure you are very considerate.”

Of course, he shouldn’t rule out the possibility that her fingers are thicker than that. If such a situation occurred, he would put it on the little finger. They could get a properly fitted ring later.

The preparation had to be thorough because he didn’t intend to let her go. Never, never, not even in his dreams!

For a moment, a soft smile lingered on his face, which always had a stiff expression. But it didn’t last long.

With a crumpled face, he put the box back in the drawer.

“I’m becoming more delusional each day. At this rate, I won’t last longer than a couple of years.”

He already had an unhealthy mental state. Excessive delusions were forbidden.

The jewelry box, which was placed in such a sensitive drawer, would come back to the light in a few days.

It was the birthday of the prince. This was a day that Nicklaus had secretly awaited, even though he pretended to hate it.

Just as you have to look up at the sky to see the stars, shouldn’t you go to a crowded place to find a lover?

Nicklaus left the mansion with the jewelry box in his arms like a talisman.

━━༻❀༺━━

“Count Hilt and Count Hilt’s daughter, Alaina Hilt.”

The Count and Alaina walked together when the usher called out their names.

The outdoor garden of the palace was already crowded with many people. Demian who came earlier was probably hanging out with today’s main character, the Prince.

They headed to the banquet hall in the garden.

When the father-daughter pair appeared, dozens of eyes stared as if they had been waiting expectantly. It seemed their attention would continue until other greater nobles or the royal family came out.

Before they even headed to the center of the crowd, someone came up to greet them.

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