Battle Race in the Fantasy World

Battle Race in the Fantasy World – 20

EP.20 The Storm Strikes Twice, The Storm Strikes Twice

“What’s your relationship with that woman?”

As the words escaped Elga’s lips, Kyle sighed inwardly.

What? Why would she say something like that, something so dangerously inappropriate? Especially in front of him?

‘…Isn’t it? It can’t be, right, my Lady?’

Unlike  passive male characters with mental deficiencies and zero sense of tact.

Kyle quickly assessed Elga’s state.

She abandoned the feelings she had been harboring, redirecting her attention elsewhere.

Kyle felt an urgent desire to rush to Leto and throttle him.

How dare he? After all, even with such a stunning beauty, and even though she was the ultimate cheat code of childhood friends, he hadn’t taken any action until her feelings had cooled completely.

Where did things go wrong? How did they become so tangled?

Biting his lip, Kyle desperately wracked his brain.

‘Elga isn’t just a woman who wants love. She definitely wants to be loved, but at the same time, she’s a woman with ambitions to lead the Littorio Duchy. What she needs is someone who understands her, someone who can be decisively supportive when she needs it most.

Perhaps in the novel, Leto will become that person, and their relationship will progress. From a lord he simply follows to someone who holds her hand and moves forward with her.

A character undergoing mental growth! Yes, it sounds pleasant just to hear it.

The big problem here is that this development occurs long after the introduction. And in between, there was no ‘variable’ like Kyle.

In the original flow, there wouldn’t have been anyone shaking Leto’s position. But somehow, Kyle ended up not just shaking it but even stepping into it.

At this rate, Elga will undoubtedly choose Kyle himself instead of Leto.

No, perhaps she has already made her choice.

“Why aren’t you answering, Kyle? Is it such a difficult question to answer?”

Listening to Elga’s words, Kyle tightly shut his eyes. It’s clear that there’s no benefit in answering no matter what.

If he says they have no relationship, Elga will surely aim for that position. If he gives the opposite answer, then it would mean she will approach Tisha next.

Kyle is not worried about Elga and Tisha meeting right now. It’s always Ian, who is always near Tisha, that he is worried about. When he imagines the two colliding… Damn it. There’s no worse nightmare than that.

“I’d like to ask why you’re asking such a question.”

“I saw you following Tisha earlier.”

“How did you…?”

“I happened to see.”

“…..”

That ‘happened to’ is definitely not really a coincidence, My Lady. Seriously, what kind of person watches someone at a party like this?

‘Saying we’re nothing is out of the question. If there’s no barrier, I swear this lady will barge right in. But saying we’re a couple is a bit too much, considering Tisha and Ian’s expressions…’

It’s best to have a good relationship with the main character. There’s no point in being the main character. Even if there’s no gain, at least he won’t suffer any losses. So, the safest answer to get through this situation is….

“She’s a friend.”

“A friend, you say.”

“Yes.”

“Really?”

“…For now, yes.”

He deliberately inserted the phrase ‘for now’. It’s a vague response that can be interpreted more favorably by Tisha, Elga, and even Ian. It feels uncomfortable, like managing a fishpond, but there’s no other choice.

Kyle couldn’t even think properly, let alone to decide which route to take.

It’s a really awkward situation for Kyle, who tried to maintain smooth relationships with all the main characters.

For him, who doesn’t even know the contents of the original work, that relationship is his only hope.

So, for now, giving such a cheeky answer was all he could do.

“That answer is quite annoying for a woman to hear, you know?”

“I am aware.”

“It’s not just me, Tisha could feel the same.”

“…I am aware of that too.”

“Yet, for now, you say you’re just friends.”

Elga stared at Kyle with a strange gaze. Her gaze was so burdensome that he just wanted to run away. Why did things have to get so tangled up with a woman like her?

“I mean, Kyle, I want to be the head of my family.”

“…Yes?”

“I mean, I want to become the Duchess Littorio.”

Is that so? Ah, I see. I understand. Good luck! It’s not something you just brush off. Why would she say such an enormous thing, especially in front of Kyle himself? It must be because of the words he said to Elga before. ‘You must become the head of the duke family! I believe you can do it, Lady Elga!’

‘…Hmm. You dug your own grave, idiot.’ Kyle thought as he tightly shut his eyes.

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At first, she had only intended to provoke Leto’s jealousy.

Despite the crack that had formed in her heart, her feelings for him had not entirely subsided.

If only he would look back at her now, she was ready to reciprocate.

But Leto had ultimately abandoned even Elga’s last hope.

He remained by her side, indifferent, whether she continued to cast glances at the man named Kyle or not.

‘Sigh.’

Yeah. She knew it would come to this. It’s what I expected.

Now, step by step, slowly but surely, move away from him.

Leto will never see her as a woman. It’s irreversible.

She is truly tired of the empty echoes that never return.

Before, it could have been attributed to youth or immaturity. But now, when a definite answer is needed, Leto ultimately refused. And Elga, she has neither the time nor the patience nor the heart to wait anymore.

What she needs now isn’t just a subordinate who nods along. Nor is it a lover who plays with her for a moment’s amusement. She needs a comrade, a companion, someone more.

In that aspect, unfortunately, Leto fell short. She has no intention of living and dying as just one man’s woman. The fire in her heart desires the position of the Duchess Littorio.

Therefore, if he cannot move forward, neither will she. All that’s left is regret, sadness, and burying those feelings.

‘Where is that man going?’

At some point, Elga became aware of Kyle’s movements. Especially when she saw Kyle chasing after Tisha, who had disappeared onto the balcony a moment ago.

Suddenly, a strange fire ignited in her heart from somewhere she couldn’t explain. She never had it to begin with, so why does it feel like it was taken from her?

Reason was futile, trying to restrain Elga. Her heart, already in chaos due to Leto, was beyond control.

“Leto.”

“Yes, Lady… Elga.”

“Go and fetch Kyle, that damn Baron.”

“Baron Kyle? For what reason should I bring him?”

“That’s…”

She couldn’t answer. Elga couldn’t give Leto a response to that question. Because she never intended to summon Kyle for any reason in the first place.

It was just because of this inexplicable turmoil caused by this fire.

“…For now, bring him.”

Elga rarely forces anything without reason. As someone who knows this well, Leto found this behavior very unfamiliar.

‘Could something be going on with Baron Kyle?’

If it were any other man, he might have asked directly. But Leto remained tight-lipped.

“I’ll be back.”

After Leto quickly disappeared with brisk steps.

‘Why am I doing this?’

Elga muttered, clutching her head. Calling out to a foreign man with no connection like this was a first for her.

She worried that it might reflect poorly on the Littorio Family. She was cautious, very cautious.

But why, all of a sudden, did she commit such an absurd act?

It was too late to retract the order.

From above, Leto was already talking to Kyle. Moments later, Kyle was indeed coming up to the second floor.

“I’ve brought him, My Lady.”

“Thank you, Leto. You may go now.”

After Leto vanished, only the two of them remained.

“…..”

“……”

She pretended to be unaffected, but it felt like her insides were burning.

Not knowing what to say after calling him over, she struggled to find a topic.

“I… had a bit of an accident today.”

It was ridiculous.

‘You fool!’

Calling him over was no different from picking a fight.

All the mistakes she had never made before were pouring out today. Because of Leto, and because of Kyle. Even she felt too strange, too out of character.

‘Leto, Leto, that idiot. That stupid idiot!’

Elga’s frustration overflowed at one point. Even Leto admitted uncertainty about herself.

‘In contrast, Kyle, you’re not like that.’

It was the first time someone had given her the answer she so desperately wanted. Not, ‘it’s not your place’, ‘it’s dangerous’, or anything like that. Instead, it was, ‘that place is yours, so fight for it, strive for it.’ It was truly the first time.

Even now, just thinking about that moment made her heart race.

But today, there was another woman by that man’s side.

Tisha.

She was there when she first faced Kyle. Her and Kyle have no relationship whatsoever. It’s laughable to even entertain such thoughts.

Yet, she couldn’t understand what this unquenchable fire was.

Unable to bear the heat any longer, Elga finally asked the question.

“What’s your relationship with that woman?”

To which Kyle, after showing a moment of hesitation, replied.

She’s just a friend. For now, she’s just a friend.

‘…Ha.’

She couldn’t help but sense the hidden meaning behind that answer. It wasn’t an attempt to evade the current situation with some irrelevant response. It was discomforting, yet oddly satisfying.

Regardless, the fact that Kyle is paying attention to her for some reason…

‘Well, forget it. Right now…’

With Kyle standing in front of her like this, she had a desire to hear those words once again.

“I mean, Kyle. I want to become the head of my family. I want to become the Duchess Littorio.”

So please, quickly, give me that confident answer like last time.

That word of encouragement, that fragment of positivity that I can do it, I needed it so much.

I’ll figure out how to seize control of the Family. I’ll contemplate what sacrifices I need to make.

You just need to tell me that I can do it, that I will definitely succeed.

You’ve accomplished what no one by my side could. Kyle, you’ve done it, haven’t you?

“…..”

As Kyle, who had been silent, was about to open his lips…

– Rumbling. –

Suddenly, the banquet hall started to get noisy.