"Time passed by, as I lived the life of a shepherd. Although I'm very fond of sheep, I prefer the company of goats," William continued his tale. "Of course, this is due to the fact that I was raised by one, so I'm more biased towards goats compared to the other animals that we cared for. Then it happened…
"When I was ten years old, my Fiance, along with her Mother, and Master visited Lont to see me. My fiance is very cute. She was like a little fairy who had come out of a picture book in order to spread happiness to the world. Sadly, her visit was not a joyous one."
William snorted as he picked up a pebble beside him and threw it at the lake. The surface of the lake rippled as the pebble sank to its bottom. Soon, the lake became still again as if nothing had happened.
Seeing that William was lost in his thoughts, Wendy decided to wait for him to continue his tale. She wanted to know more about William's fiance. She wanted to know who she was. She wanted to know it so badly!
Only two minutes passed, but for Wendy, it felt like eternity. William ended his silence with a sigh and continued his tale.
"The reason for their visit was to see me and also to break the engagement," William said casually. "Personally, I didn't really care about the marriage agreement because I know that these kinds of agreements usually have a bad ending. In fact, I was ready to cancel it anytime if my partner wished to do so.
"However, my Fiance's mother couldn't wait to do it and decided to take matters into her own hands. And that was the day when my Fiance, the so-called genius, who is only seen every two hundred years, appeared in my life. Her name is Rebecca Fae Griffith. The only daughter of the current Duke of Griffith."
"Rebecca?!" Wendy gasped. "Your fiance is Rebecca?!"
"Do you know her?" William asked.
"She's a good friend of mine," Wendy answered with a downcast expression. "Our lands border each other's and our families have a very good relationship."
Wendy felt depressed. Rebecca was her good friend, and the two treated each other like sisters. Knowing that William was her friend's fiance, Wendy felt that her world had lost all its colors. If William had been engaged to a different girl then Wendy wouldn't think much about it.
However, Rebecca was different. Wendy had looked up to her because Rebecca was beautiful and talented. If the two of them were to stand side by side, Rebecca would be like the sun, and Wendy would only be the moon in the background. Forever overshadowed by her friend's radiance and not being able to contest Rebecca's might.
As Wendy was feeling helpless, William continued his tale whether she was listening or not.
"Our meeting should have been a happy one, but like I said, it wasn't a joyous occasion," William stated. "The reason for their visit was to cancel the marriage agreement."
"Huh?!" Wendy raised her head and looked at William in disbelief. "They wanted to cancel the agreement?"
"Yes." William nodded his head. "Apparently, Rebecca's mother, Lady Agatha, and her Master, an elder of the Misty Sect, Lady Eleanor, didn't want Rebecca to marry a poor and dirty shepherd."
William closed his eyes as he remembered the scene that happened many years ago. "In the end, I decided to agree to the cancellation of the marriage. Like I said, I'm not really fond of arranged marriages and my fiance seemed to not have any interest in me as well.
"I even think that it was for the best that both of us parted ways. Although, now, she is only my fiance in name, I don't want her to suffer her whole life just because of a forced marriage."
William then gazed at Wendy with an arrogant look. "Tell me, do I look like someone who will find it hard to find a wife?"
Wendy shook her head. "Someone as amazing as Sir William will definitely not have any problem finding a wife. I even think that it would not be impossible for Sir William to have many wives..."
William smiled and nodded his head. "This is the truth. Someone as handsome and awesome as me will not find it hard to find a wife. Since that is the case, why should I allow myself to be bound by an arranged marriage? Also, I am too good and too handsome to become Rebecca's husband. If I marry her, the one losing out would be me!"
William said it in a very dignified manner that Wendy found it very funny. She wasn't able to stop herself from giggling when she saw William's dignified expression.
"And so our marriage agreement came to an end… or so I thought."
"Eh? It didn't end there?"
"Well, it's a bit complicated," William frowned as he explained. "After the nobles, and the army, repelled the Monster Tide that ravaged the Western Part of the Kingdom, Rebecca's grandfather, Lawrence Fox Griffith, visited Lont dragging his granddaughter, Lady Agatha, Lady Eleanor, and a group of disciples from the Misty Sect along.
"His aim was to 'fix' the misunderstanding that had happened and to convince Rebecca and I to push through with the marriage agreement."
"Oh, no!" Wendy voiced her thoughts out loud. When she realized what she did, she hurriedly covered her mouth with both hands.
William chuckled when he saw the pretty girl act this way and found it very cute. "Right, it was an 'Oh, no!' moment."
Wendy pouted and pounded William's chest to hide her embarrassment.
William only smiled as he caught her hands and shook his head with a smile. He then resumed his tale while feeling light-hearted.
"Although I can't say it for certain, during that time, Rebecca and I unanimously agreed to end the marriage agreement that was made when we were still practically babies. For the two of us, it was an unfair deal. However, we still needed to give both of our grandparents some face, so we decided to be more civil during the meeting.
"In the end, the old fox, I mean, Sir Lawrence decided to compromise and gave us a condition. He said that Rebecca and I were going to have a duel in seven years, and the winner can demand anything from the loser. The battle will take place at the peak of the Misty Sect."
William shook his head helplessly. "Perhaps, the old fox didn't want Rebecca to be used as a political tool by her parents while she was still young, so he decided to use me and the duel to give her time to become strong enough to make her own decisions.
"I, on the other hand, wanted to give my Gramps some face, since he was the one who made the proposal to make Rebecca my fiance. If I remember correctly, the Misty Sect here in the Hellan Kingdom is only a branch sect. The Main Sect is located in the Central Continent. That means that in three more years, I will need to fight Rebecca on her home turf."
Wendy felt conflicted as she looked at William's expression.
"Will you go?"
"I need to go. I must personally end the thing that my Grandfather started."
"You said that the winner can order the loser to do anything, right?" Wendy inquired. "If you win, what kind of order will you give to Rebecca?"
"I haven't really thought that far," William admitted. "Because there are still three years before our fateful battle, I'll just cross that bridge once I get there."
"Do you plan to make her your wife?"
"No."
William answered firmly and resolutely. "What's the point in making her my wife if she is unwilling? Also, I don't want to force anyone to become my wife. This goes against my principles."
A carefree smile appeared on the shepherd's face which proved that he wasn't lying.
"Does this mean I still have a chance?" Wendy asked.
William's smile stiffened. He didn't know that Wendy was this determined to pursue him. This was the first time that someone confessed to him in both his lifetimes and it made him feel complicated.
On one hand, Wendy was a very pretty girl. Although she wasn't as beautiful as Rebecca, she wasn't that far off. Also, her personality was something that William couldn't hate. Straightforward and true to her feelings. William could feel the girl's determination as she gazed straight into his eyes.
"H-How about we start as friends first?" William felt that he wasn't really ready to accept her feelings. He didn't want to be irresponsible and say "Yes" when he still had lingering attachments to Belle. William felt that it would be unfair to Wendy if he went about their relationship halfheartedly.
'I'm sorry,' William said inside his heart. 'I don't want to hurt you due to my indecisiveness.'
He hoped that Wendy would give up on him, but he really had underestimated the girl's resolve.
Wendy smiled and nodded her head. "I think that starting as friends is good, too."
"Will," William said as he stretched out his hand for a handshake. "Just call me Will. If you want me to be your friend, stop calling me Sir William. Or, do you really not want me to be your friend?"
"Please stop teasing me, Sir… I mean, Will."
"Mmm. That's better."
Ironically, both of them giggled at the same time. They felt that what they were doing was quite childish and yet, both of them felt relief. It was as if a stone had dropped down from their hearts and they could finally breathe normally again.
William was about to say something, however, he heard the familiar sound of the system's notification. Immediately he checked his status page and almost spat blood when he read the contents of the message.
-----
< Ding! >
< Congratulations! You have acquired a Special Title! >
< Title Name: Friendzoned >
< Friendzoned >
"I came, I saw, got Friendzoned!"
-- Increase Vitality +5
-- Increase the attack power of your friends by 20%
-- When this title is equipped, there is a high chance that all the girls you interact with will treat you as a "friend".
-- This title has no effect on men.