I Was Rejected by the Main Character in a Romantic Fantasy

“What… What did you say…?”

I asked Sylvia in a bewildered voice. My voice was trembling so much that I could feel it myself.

Sylvia, with teary eyes, continued speaking while looking at me.

“You said… you liked me. So, don’t go… Stay with me.”

“No, no, wait… wait a moment.”

“I don’t know what’s going on… but still…”

What on earth is this about?

My mind couldn’t comprehend the situation. I understood Sylvia’s words, but I couldn’t grasp their true meaning.

Is she talking about Felix’s confession to her?

Didn’t I already tell her? That I don’t like Sylvia anymore?

No, more than that.

Why is she bringing this up now? She already rejected Felix’s confession, didn’t she? But why suddenly now… is she talking as if she likes Felix–or rather me?

Seeing my wavering eyes, Sylvia slowly began to understand the situation.

“…It was too sudden, wasn’t it? I’m… I’m sorry.”

“No, there’s nothing to be sorry about…”

I just couldn’t understand Sylvia’s sudden words.

Sylvia, startled, slowly stepped back. I reached out to grab her but had to withdraw my hand.

I thought that grabbing Sylvia now would be a great disrespect to both her and me.

Taking a deep breath and clearing my mind of distractions, I glanced at Helena standing in front of the carriage.

Helena was still looking at me, her expression suggesting that she might burst into tears at any moment.

“Sylvia.”

“Y-yes…”

“I understand what you’re saying.”

No matter how much I hadn’t noticed Sylvia’s feelings until now, I couldn’t fail to ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ see them in this situation.

It seemed that her feelings had changed since she rejected Felix’s confession.

I still didn’t know exactly what part of me had appealed to her, but I couldn’t pretend not to know just because I didn’t know the reason.

“But I don’t think this is the time to talk about this.”

“…You’re right.”

“Let’s talk again when I come back. Okay?”

“Okay…”

Sylvia nodded her head heavily. There was no way to comfort Sylvia, whose face was contorted like a child who realized they could no longer throw a tantrum.

I nodded to Sylvia and slowly turned around.

I began to move quickly, keeping Helena in my sight, who looked like she might burst into tears at any moment.

As I hurriedly moved towards Helena, I couldn’t hear even the slightest footstep behind me.

Only…

“Hic…”

A small, tearful sob could be heard.

***

“…Is uncle okay?”

“I don’t know yet…”

Clop, clop.

The Degreff carriage ran without rest.

After hearing the whole story from Helena, I couldn’t help but bite my lower lip hard.
Helena leaned on my shoulder with a deeply upset expression.

From the moment we got into the carriage—no, from the moment she saw my face up close—Helena had been crying continuously.

It was quite a while after we got into the carriage that I was able to hear the story. After barely managing to calm Helena down, I was finally able to get an explanation of the situation from her.

The national project that the Degreff family was involved in, led by Imperial Princess Ashillya, was a project to build a new road.

It was a project connecting the empire’s northern end with the imperial road. The path to the north is extremely treacherous.

There could be many reasons, but the large mountain separating it was the largest factor. Either they had to go around or take the risk of climbing it.

Either way was equally dangerous, and Ashillya wanted to overcome this by collaborating with the Degreff family and the Northern Grand Duchy to build a new road.

The Degreff family, which led this project, started tunneling through the mountain, and Helena’s father, the head of the Degreff family, was also there.

The problem was that tunneling through the mountain itself was extremely dangerous.

No matter how thoroughly they prepared to prevent the mountain from collapsing, even a tiny variable could easily cause it to crumble.

It was similar to modern-day tunnel construction work. However, it was even more dangerous because the tunnel was long, and the facilities and equipment were far inferior to modern ones.

While checking the road they had tunneled so far, one side began to collapse, and as a result, Helena’s father, the workers, and the vassals were trapped inside.

“…He’ll be alright.”

As I gently embraced Helena’s shoulders and patted her softly to comfort her, she burst into tears even more sorrowfully.

“He’ll definitely be alright.”

Even though a mage who can use earth magic must always accompany during internal inspections, life cannot be guaranteed when a mountain collapses.

Even if they survived immediately after the mountain collapsed, as soon as the mage’s mana ran out, they would inevitably die buried under the collapsed soil.

If multiple mages were outside, quick rescue would be possible, but Degreff didn’t have enough resources to bring that many.

Even if support came from the Northern Grand Duchy, they would have to use the existing routes around the mountain, which would take a considerable amount of time.

Even thinking simply, these were all ways to miss the golden time.

Therefore, all I could say was empty words that everything would be fine.

“Hic…”

Seeing Helena crying in my arms, I bit my lower lip hard again, and suddenly remembering something, I slowly opened my mouth.

“…Are you listening?”

“…”

In the carriage, there were only Helena and me.

Even the coachman driving the carriage was someone from the Degreff family, so it would be correct to say that no one was here except us.

But I couldn’t help but intuitively think of them. And the moment I spoke, I could be certain.

“I know you’re listening. This is an emergency, please help.”

“…”

Still, there was no answer.

Because Helena was so distracted that she couldn’t hear my words, I clenched my fist and continued speaking.

“I will offer myself for compensation.”

“…Understood.”

Finally, I heard an answer. I’m not sure where or how that voice was heard, but they listened to my request.

“Please deliver a message. As quickly as possible.”

“Of course.”

They are faster, more discreet, and stronger than any beings I know.

They will probably move even faster than I think.

Taking a deep breath, I started patting Helena’s shoulder again. Her sobbing had subsided a little.

***

“…We’ve arrived.”

Because it was an emergency, we were able to arrive at the accident site using the teleport gate, which can only be used in urgent situations.

We were extremely fortunate to use the temporarily installed teleport gate because it was such a large construction site.

As we arrived at the scene faster than we expected, what greeted us was the terrible sight of the scene.

“Good heavens…”

The middle part of the tunnel had completely collapsed.

Judging by the state of the flowed-down soil, the accident seemed to have occurred because the ground had weakened when it had rained earlier.

Looking at the large rocks and flowed-down soil, Helena covered her mouth and let out a low scream.

Leaving Helena behind, who looked as if she couldn’t believe that her father was in there, I slowly stepped forward.

While watching the workers moving quickly to rescue those trapped inside, I approached the accident site.

I, too, couldn’t believe the situation. However, I wasn’t stupid enough to be in a daze. What was the reason we came here?

To just sit idly by and watch this situation? No, it was to be of any help.

I had to do whatever I could.

Although I couldn’t use magic, my advantage over the workers here was that I could use mana to strengthen my body.

“I’ll borrow this.”

“Oh, oh. Y-yes, sure.”

After borrowing a shovel from a worker who had been resting for a long time on the rescue operation, I took off my outer clothes and roughly threw them nearby, then headed to the accident site.

Feeling the grip that fits snugly in my hand, I twisted the corners of my mouth upwards.

Ah, this cool sensation… it’s been a while.

Alright then.

Shall we show the power of a fully discharged Republic of Korea Army sergeant?

It was a long time ago, but I was an ace during work, to the extent that I was called a human excavator.