An Interesting Engagement

The struggles of Quinn, namely, choking, went unseen by the count as he finally choked down the piece of sausage that had lodged itself in his windpipe. The countess had noticed this however, and with a worried look waved over the nearby butler. It was for naught, however, as Quinn soon recovered. During this time, Count D'Lanis had still been talking.

"Yes," the stoic man placed his fist on the table, a righteous look on his face. "Many nobles get engaged early, you know this!"

As Quinn watched the count attempt to justify himself his thoughts went elsewhere. It wasn't that he had forgotten about the engagement, it was a large part of the novel after all, the engagement had simply slipped from his mind as he was preoccupied with other important, but altogether untimely, matters.

This engagement was between Quinn D'Lanis and the fair maiden Elaine Trust, a young girl from a more powerful Count family. Most marriages among nobles involved a daughter marrying up the ranks, not the other way around, which could be said to be the reason the Quinn in the novel was so averse to the situation. That may have been the starting point for all the problems later in the novel.

Novel Quinn's twisted and hurt pride had propelled him into the atrocities he had committed. Of course, not everything can be blamed on a little hurt pride. Quinn's mind had been broken and reshaped to be full of hate and cunning. But in order to be filled with hate and cunning, it had to have existed somewhere, deep down, in the first place. It was a safe bet to say that even without the incident that will occur in four years, perhaps Quinn D'Lanis would have still turned towards a path seldom accepted by society.

Quinn berated himself in his head; the Quinn D'Lanis from The Heroes In Us was fake, the world Quinn lived in now was real. It was no use attempting to psychoanalyze a novel character. All he could use to stay one step ahead of the characters in the future is what was explicitly stated in the book. For example, Elaine was described as a fair, innocent and pure maiden. Quinn theorized that this passage locked the real Elaine into that state. 'Unless I mess things up though, I suppose.' Quinn thought depressingly. Faintly aware that the count was still rambling on, Quinn turned his attention back to his words.

"-why you can't say no to this too hastily. It would really help our family's position. And in a way, we're helping them more than they're helping us." The count paused after saying that, reconsidering his choice of words, it seemed. Once he decided, he shook his hands lightly.

"Not that this is charity of course. Please excuse my lack of tact." As Countess D'Lanis heard this, she subtly rolled her eyes, the corners of her lips being slightly pulled up. It wasn't truly necessary for her son's father to have apologized like that as it was a meal among close family. The countess naturally knew why her husband had corrected himself as such. In order to promote good habits, habits befitting a noble, they had to train their son from a young age. He would likely inherit the manor, as well as its surrounding lands, once he grew up. No noble would last for long in this world without proper manners.

"You see, son, Count Trust's territory has run into some troubles. It seems they have run into some sort of drought, their plants are dying quite quickly. Unfortunately, whatever this is, drought or disease, happens to be spreading quickly." His father paused a moment to allow him to process this information. 'How kind, yet I know all of this already,' Quinn thought in appreciation.

"You know it's a nobles duty to increase the strength of both their territory and their family. This is just one of the many difficult decisions you will have to make when you inherit my title." The count truly was trying to push for this marriage. Quinn saw no problem with agreeing; the Elaine in the novel was described to be very beautiful, ethereal almost. Besides, Quinn had always liked women with black hair.

That wasn't the only reason he would not turn down this marriage. Quinn knew most of the important events that occurred in the novel. If he did not go along with this marriage now then the future would change, and he would lose his starting advantage. His fiance was the impetus for him to meet the protagonist of the novel, as well as the reason he often accompanied the protagonist's troup. If any of that changed, then he would be lost in this world, it was necessary to gain his bearings before beginning to change things.

"Don't worry... Father... I'll do this if you believe it will help our family." Quinn responded uncomfortably, hoping to put a stop to the count's continuous explanation.

"Our family and the territory, son. You must never forget, the people who live here rely on us." The count corrected.

"Of course dear, Quinn knows that." Countess D'Lanis chimed in with agreement, and turned to Quinn. "You mustn't think we're forcing you Quinn, dear. How about you meet the girl first, then you decide? I think her name was Ella?" She continued.

"It was Elaine, dear. And that is a fine idea. How about in a month? We can take a small vacation to the Trust territory then." The count then added, "I hear their territory has the most exquisite wines."

At that moment, Quinn realized; he didn't even know the names of the count and countess. He would have to find out what their names were discreetly. After all, he couldn't just ask what their names were, that would be far too suspicious. 'Damn that book! Why couldn't it have focused on Quinn's life more?' So Quinn thought, dejectedly. It was a shame that the book never mentioned Quinn's early years beyond meeting his fiance and the painful death of the original Quinn's parents. He had no hint as to what to expect in the next four years. That made it especially difficult to plan how to save the two people.

Quinn faintly remembered that he was sent off somewhere for two years or so, but such small details were far too miniscule for him to remember. Perhaps he was sent away to some academy, to learn how to be a noble. Such a thing happened often in fantasy books, although it never happened to the main character of The Heroes In Us. That was most likely because the main character of The Heroes In Us was not a noble, but a commoner.

'Dirty commoners,' Quinn quipped in his head, a small smirk forming on his face. He had always been a normal guy, perhaps every person wants to say something like that at some point in their lives. Not that Quinn was serious, of course. He didn't grow up in a country with a class system like that. There were the rich and the poor, him being of the latter, but no king ruled over him. He shivered at the thought, now that he was in a feudal world, perhaps he would be ordered by the king to do something he didn't want to do. 'Alas, clearly my world is far better,' he thought with a small sigh.

As the young Quinn conversed with the count and countess, his 'parents', the troubles of his future faded into the background. This momentary respite was priceless for his fatigued mind. As the good food and banter clouded his depressing thoughts, storm clouds rumbled far in the distance, and lightning struck a mighty tower looming far into the sky. Inside was a man, he looked old, but had seemingly endless energy. At the top of the tower, he looked at the storm clouds with his hands clasped behind his back, behind him was a room separated from him by glass. Through the glass could be seen the horrific figure of a man, his hands at his throat, his face frozen in pain. It seemed, however, that the man had not yet left the world of the living, as his chest moved up and down ever so slowly.

"Soon, Duke… You will receive your just due. Just like the rest of us." A dark and gravely voice echoed at the top of the tower. The old man turned around as his last words were accompanied by a clash of thunder. "God has no remorse for sinners, Duke. What could you possibly do to stop me now?"