Chapter 5
In the eye of this engagement-breaking storm were the heirs of three other
aristocratic families who were also fervently fanning the flames that would
burn away the engagement.
Ding Sheng couldn’t even be bothered to remember their names. Either way, they
were destined to be the pebble that tried to stand in the protagonist’s way
only to be utterly destroyed by him. Their sisters, on the other hand, were
destined to fall for and adore the protagonist as long as they were pretty.
However, all these noble scions in the "Cannon Fodder Alliance" currently had
one common goal, and that was to marry Kris.
Touted as the Crystal Rose of the Empire, not only was Kris first-class in
status and appearance, but she was also a rare ice and wind mage. With a
significant talent for magic, she was personally taught by the High Priest at
a young age and was now studying at Jingde Academy, the top institution in the
Bifa continent where the Olay Empire is located. (lilies: i'm sorry but this
author's naming sense is fking rubbish ahahaha it's like they can't decide if
they want to be a western setting book or what, but then again the excuse for
shitty names is that the book Ding Sheng transmigrated into is a flop so all
is justified orx)
The main character was like those overpowered cheat players who abide by the
principle of an eye for an eye. Part of the reason why she was
eventually sealed at the bottom of an ice lake by the protagonist was because,
during the annulment, she had humiliated him with ice magic, turning Dishang
Huai into an ice sculpture. Dishang Huai was frozen at the gates of his house,
subjected to mockery and ridicule for three whole hours.
Such an outstanding princess was naturally the desired bride for the heirs of
the great families. In their opinion, the loser from that fallen Dishang
family was in no way worthy of Her Highness, the charming, lovely, noble, and
extraordinary princess.
Quickly get the princess to break off her engagement! Better yet, get
engaged to me right away!
In the novel, Princess Kris was an arrogant and straightforward girl. Egged on
and incited by the team of cannon fodders, she made a huge fuss and loudly
proclaimed to everyone that the protagonist was unworthy of her and demanded
to annul the engagement.
Although the annulment hadn't been formalised yet, there were already rumours
spreading around and the Dishang family must have heard of them.
In the original story, it was these rumours that caused the protagonist’s
father to fall ill and when the princess forcefully and officially broke off
the engagement, it directly sent him to the underworld from anger.
Meanwhile Ding Sheng is just an honest and straightforward young man whose
biggest hobby in life[1] is reading webnovels. 1.
Hence, he straightforwardly felt that his next step should be to reassure the
protagonist and tell him that he had no intention of annulling the engagement.
As a loser, the protagonist was not qualified to study in Jingde Academy.
However, as the protagonist of the levelling-up trope, he had to have an
indomitable will to never give in and a heart that desired to improve.
The Dishangs were, after all, once a prominent family so they did still have
some connections. Although it wasn't enough to secure Dishang Huai a place in
the Academy, they could only manage to ask someone to squeeze him into the
school as a librarian.
Ding Sheng believed that this unusual position was a sign of the author's
unusual intentions.
Needless to say, this job subjected the protagonist to much ridicule. But he
ignored it all, focusing solely on using the opportunity to absorb knowledge.
And so, it is at this point that the protagonist’s first cheat appears.
He had a photographic memory and an exceptional understanding.
His years in the Academy not only strengthened his will but also made him an
exceptionally knowledgeable and talented person with a wealth of theoretical
knowledge. Even some of the elderly scholars who have lived for many years
could not compare to him.
**********
Ding Sheng thought the academy library would be a great place to reveal his
true feelings to the protagonist. He must convince the protagonist that he did
not want to annul the engagement.
But he didn’t know how to approach the protagonist.
These days, those hot-blooded and upright protagonists were no longer in
trend. The cold, calculating type of protagonists, who had walls around their
heart, was where it was at, those that weren’t overly saintly and always
returned the favour, both good and bad.
Since the author was always trying to keep up with the trends, Dishang Huai
was naturally written as that kind of person. The author even described
him as "a man who had ulterior motives behind every smile".
In the past, Kris disliked him so much that she treated him as if he didn't
exist, or as a speck of dust on the ground or a bug. The hate metre for her
was basically maxed out. If the difficulty level for others to approach the
protagonist was a hundred, for Kris it would be ten thousand.
Ding Sheng racked his brains over it and decided to adopt the method employed
by the number one female supporting character, Mo'er.
Mo'er was an apprentice alchemist, who was also studying at Jingde Academy,
known for her kind, pure, and determined nature. Her father is the Marshal of
the Huicheng Empire, so she came from a distinguished family background. One
time, she was looking for an ancient remedy in the library but couldn’t find
which book it was in so she decided to try her luck and ask Dishang Huai, who
was on duty, about it. To her surprise, with his photographic memory, Dishang
Huai swiftly handed her the book with the remedy—right down to the exact page
too. This act made Mo’er, who valued inner qualities over appearance, see him
in a new light. She would frequently come to his defence whenever Kris would
send people to humiliate him. And through those interactions, she gradually
comes to admire him and even begins to have feelings for him.
********
Ding Sheng picked a day when Dishang Huai was on duty and slipped into Library
Three which he was in charge of.
All day long, Ding Sheng pretended to be frustrated and unable to find what he
was looking for, haphazardly flipping through dozens of books in the alchemy
section.
Then when it was late, the library was about to close and it was nearly
deserted, he pretended to look reluctant and said in a small voice with his
head lowered, "Hey, can you help me find a recipe?" His violet eyes were
lowered, but he sneaked glances at Dishang Huai from the corner of his eyes.
Dishang Huai had already noticed Kris from the start. But he thought that this
arrogant princess would ignore him as usual; he even hid himself to avoid her,
not wanting to catch her ire. What he didn't expect was for her to approach
him herself.
Hearing Kris' request, he frowned internally, but did not refuse. After all,
this was his job, and it was one he struggled to obtain. These days, he had
been taking advantage of his daily inspections to secretly study the black
magic books in the forbidden book area. He couldn't risk offending this
princess and losing this position, thereby
Therefore, he greeted the princess with a bow more humbly than usual and
respectfully asked, "May I know what recipe you are looking for, Your
Highness?"
Ding Sheng was stunned.
It was just an excuse, and he had forgotten to come up with a specific recipe.
The recipe that Mo'er looked for in the story had a really bizarre name and he
couldn't remember it. As for the other recipes written in "Other World Royal Odyssey"…
"Spring Dew! That's right, I'm looking for the recipe for Spring Dew!" Ding
Sheng blurted out.
Dishang Huai stared at him deeply but did not say anything and turned around
to fetch the book.
Ding Sheng let out a breath of relief. Fortunately, he managed to recall the
name of a potion at such a critical moment. As for what this potion was used
for, who cares?
In less than three minutes, Dishang Huai returned with the book, opened the
page with the recipe, and handed it to him, just as described in the novel.
Kris took it excitedly with a smile, pretending to read while really pondering
what to say next.
Kris seems to be much easier to get along with today. Dishang Huai
thought to himself. Considering that the girl in front of him was, after all,
his fiancé in name, he couldn't help but ask in a small voice with his head
bowed, "What do you need the Spring Dew recipe for?"
Ding Sheng, who had just decided on his lines and was about to deliver his
heartfelt speech, raised his head and stared intently at Dishang Huai. "Rest
assured, I will let everyone know that I will marry no one but you!"
Dishang Huai froze as a faint blush quickly spread across his cheeks.
Finally processing what Dishang Huai just asked him, Ding Sheng hurriedly
looked down to check the effects of Spring Dew.
Only to see that it was recorded as such on the yellowed pages：
"Spring Dew, a second-tier potion, which has the effect of igniting passion
and enhancing pleasure." (lilies: ahahah an aphrodisiac basically (˵ ¬ᴗ¬˵)
Ding Sheng finally recalled.
In the original text, a cannon fodder had used this potion on Supporting
Female Character No. 5, but it ended up benefiting the protagonist.
Most of the other recipes in the novel had names like Wind and Sea Blue Cloud
Cream, Alex Duma Powder, Kingsfold Smith Cream… One couldn't help but wonder
if the author got those names by rolling their face on the keyboard. In
contrast, the name Spring Dew was so simple and unpretentious that it was no
wonder Ding Sheng only remembered this one.
He cursed the author in his heart. Would you die if you stopped using so many
shitty memes? No wonder this novel flopped so badly even its mother wouldn't
be able to recognise it.
Dishang Huai coughed in response to Ding Sheng's declaration and raised his
hand to take the book from the latter with a surprisingly firm attitude. He
then turned around to put the book away and said calmly, "You really don't
need to do this, Your Highness." His voice was icy cold but there was an
unmistakable hint of shyness in his lowered dark eyes.
Ding Sheng cast ice magic at him, spraying Dishang Huai with a face full of
icy water mixture. Then, without saying a word, he lifted his skirt and
hurriedly ran off.
Dishang Huai silently wiped the ice water off his face with his sleeve.
Compared to the previous ridicule and pranks, today’s ice water could be
considered overly gentle. He didn't even have the slightest feeling like he
was enduring any humiliation; in fact, being drenched in ice water actually
felt… refreshing[2].
(lilies: our boi is an M)
Dishang Huai closed his eyes, wondering what was wrong with him.
Today, somehow Kris didn't… seem that detestable anymore.
Regardless what games this princess was playing at, if she could indeed quell
the rumours of annulment for now, that would be for the best. He didn't
believe for a second that the proud little Princess Kris would really be
willing to marry a piece of trash like him. But he would be glad to at least
delay things for a while, so that his father's condition wouldn't be
aggravated and worsen.
1. The phrasing in the raws sounds like he reads webnovels for a living but I
think it's more like when a weeb says, "Anime is life!"↩
If you don't mind, it'd be nice if you can rate this novel on NU if you've
enjoyed it so far!! ( ̧⸝⸝⍢⸝⸝)ෆ
Please feedback to me in the comments below if you find any typos or
terrible grammar, etc that you think I should change. Or maybe you think
my interpretation is completely off lol Help me help you have a better
reading experience ahahah what a tongue twister XD
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Thank yous!! (˶‾᷄ ⁻̫ ‾᷅˵)
I hope you enjoyed this chapter and have a great day!!
You can support me by sending some love in the comments or through the button below
peace lilies~