Over Before It Even Began

“Father, you were looking for me?”

After a long walk across the vast, manicured courtyard of the ducal estate, Ewan finally arrived at the main gate. There, he saw the imposing figure of Duke Rhun Campbell, and…

“Hm? Mother, you’re here too.”

“My little Ewan! Oh, my poor baby, how are you feeling?”

His dear mother, Noas Campbell, rushed forward the moment she saw him, pulling him into a bone-crushing, worried embrace. “The healing magic didn’t have any nasty side effects, did it? Sigh, I told you not to get too close to that princess. She’s a walking jinx! Look what she’s done to our precious little Ewan!”

“Ngh… Mother, you don’t need to worry. My body is perfectly fine now,” Ewan said with a strained smile, trying to breathe through his mother’s suffocating affection. “But if you don’t let go soon, I think I might actually die from asphyxiation.”

“Hmph. What’s wrong with a mother hugging her darling son?” Noas pouted like a young girl, reluctantly, and with great sadness, letting him go.

“You, my dear, spoil him far too much,” Rhun Campbell chimed in, stepping closer with a mock-serious expression that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “As a man, he needs to endure a little hardship. How else is he supposed to grow?”

“Hardship, hardship! Do you have any idea that your son nearly lost his life because of your so-called ‘hardship’?!” The memory of the incident made Noas’s eyes well up with fresh tears. She clung to Ewan’s arm, her grip surprisingly strong. “My little Ewan, promise me, you’ll stay far, far away from that woman from now on, alright?”

“…I will.” Ewan’s mouth twitched. He certainly wanted to keep his distance from Celicia for a while, not having the slightest clue how to face her after… well, after everything. But weren’t they the ones who had arranged the engagement in the first place? With a formal betrothal tying them together, how far could he possibly run?

“Hmph. It’s all your useless father’s fault,” Noas said, seemingly reading his mind as she shot her husband a withering glare. “He can’t even get a simple engagement annulled.”

“Ahahaha, well, Celicia is His Majesty’s most beloved princess, after all. If I were to bring up something like that, His Majesty would probably offer me a cup of poisoned wine on the spot,” Rhun laughed it off, scratching his head.

“Hehe.” Ewan forced a dry, hollow laugh, then quickly changed the subject. “Speaking of which, Father, was there something you needed to see me about?” He glanced behind his parents and noticed a magnificent carriage waiting, hitched not to ordinary horses, but to a majestic, powerful griffin. “Are you two going somewhere? And with the griffin… are you going on a long journey?”

“Yes,” Rhun sighed, his jovial expression fading. “That’s what I needed to talk to you about. Your mother and I are leaving on a long trip. We may not be back for some time.”

“For some time? How long is ‘some time’?”

Hearing his father’s words, Ewan’s brain buzzed, a high-pitched whine of pure panic starting in his ears. Wait, what? I just based my entire, foolproof, life-saving plan around you! If you leave, what am I supposed to do?!

“Well… I’m not entirely sure. There are too many factors at play. But we won’t be back anytime soon.” Sensing Ewan’s distress, Rhun gave him an apologetic smile. “It all happened so suddenly. There was nothing I could do.”

“What do you mean, ‘suddenly’?”

“The Abyss on the western front,” his father said, his voice grim. “Those damn demons are making a move again.”

“The Abyss…”

Ewan was dumbfounded. The “Abyss” was hellish dimension occupied by the mortal enemy of humanity, the demons—a chaotic space filled with death and unspeakable things. Even with the Demon God sealed away, the demons still used the Abyss as a base to constantly launch attacks on the human continent, hoping to reclaim their territory and free their master.

The Leopold Empire shared the largest border with that Abyss. This was a testament to the empire’s strength and vast territory, but it also meant they bore the brunt of the pressure from the demons. So, whenever the Abyss stirred, the empire had to respond with its full might. If the front line fell, countless imperial citizens would be swept up in the catastrophe. And if the situation was serious enough to warrant the empire’s full attention… it certainly wouldn’t be resolved quickly.

“That’s right. I remember now.” A flash of insight, cold and sharp, shot through Ewan’s mind. “The novel mentioned this. The demon invasion. But it was just a feint, a diversion to lay the groundwork for a much larger plan three years from now.”

“And that point, three years from now, is the official start of the protagonist’s ‘world-saving’ arc.”

“Wait, three years?” The color drained from Ewan’s face.

Does that mean my father will be on the front lines for at least three years?

What about my plan?

My all-powerful teacher?

My impenetrable shield of safety?

My grand, glorious strategy to become a shut-in, level up in secret for years, and then emerge to shock the world with my brilliance?

With his father’s departure… it was all gone? Poof? Dead on arrival? Over before it had even begun?

“B-but… does it have to be you, Father?” Ewan stammered, his voice cracking. “Can’t someone else go?”

“I know you’re worried about me.” Rhun, thinking Ewan was concerned for his safety, patted his shoulder with a proud, fatherly smile. “But this time, I must go.”

“Why?”

“Because of this.” Rhun pointed to the crest emblazoned on his chest. It was the Campbell family crest: a sharp sword slaying a dragon.

The Campbell family, the “Sword of the Empire,” had been the empire’s sharpest blade since its founding. When war began, he, Rhun Campbell, had to be on the front lines. It was his duty. His honor.

“I see…” Ewan knew there was nothing more he could say.

“What about Mother?” He turned his confused gaze to his mother, who was clearly preparing to leave as well. “Are you going to the front lines too?”

“Of course not,” Noas shook her head with a gentle smile. “Your father is just escorting me part of the way.”

“Escorting you? Where are you going?”

“Back to our fief, the Campbell territory.”

“What? Why? Mother, why are you going there alone…?”

“Because…” A shy, bashful look, one Ewan had never seen before, suddenly appeared on Noas’s face. “There’s something we haven’t had the chance to tell you yet, my little Ewan.”

“What is it mother?”

“Actually…” Noas gently placed a hand on her own stomach, her face glowing with a radiant, maternal happiness. “You’re going to have a little brother.”

“Or it could be a little sister,” Rhun added, taking his wife’s hand with a tender smile that transformed his stern, lion-like features. “Well? Aren’t you happy?”

“Wha—?”

Happy? Ewan wasn’t sure. All he knew was that he was completely and utterly, devastatingly shocked.

(⊙_⊙) What?

A little brother or sister?

Were they joking? Wasn’t the Campbell family cursed to only have one heir per generation?

“Sigh. To think that the Campbell family’s curse of a single heir would be broken in my generation.” The usually stoic Duke’s eyes grew misty with emotional tears. “The heavens have truly blessed us. I’m sure our ancestors will be overjoyed.”

“And so,” Noas continued, “to ensure a healthy pregnancy, I will be returning to the countryside in the Campbell territory for a while. After all, you’ll be starting school again soon, my little Ewan, and I would be all alone in the ducal estate. It’s better to go back to the country, away from all those annoying noblewomen, and have some peace and quiet.”