“…Sigh.” I know that transmigration novels are the new fever, but isn’t it a bit too much to find myself inside a novel that I checked out of sheer boredom - A novel, might I add, that was completely unrelated to my tastes and was just checked out of pure curiosity? And to top it off, I entered a female-oriented novel - A romantic fantasy! It didn’t stop there; I just happened to be the character fated to be left in shambles in this romantic fantasy. Isn’t this too cruel a punishment? Well, I guess I could consider myself lucky that I didn’t end up gender-bent as the female lead. Anyway… “…Fuck. I need to run away from this shit.” I surveyed my surroundings. The room I was in was filled with vintage furniture, clearly a room selected for the four candidates. This meant that, by tomorrow, the four candidates would start living together with the Third Northern Duchess; thus, the romantic fantasy and its struggle would begin. I didn’t have much time. If we started living together, it would be much harder to simply escape, so I needed to do something right now. I looked at my reflection in the mirror. Glossy black hair and a sturdy yet lean build, much like one of a swimmer, coupled with sharp crimson eyes. Elden Raphelion. A good-for-nothing who wasted his time getting drunk and chasing after skirts. A known troublemaker, as well as a cunning strategist who didn’t balk even at the sight of blood or pain - A goddamn battle junkie. In other words, he was a character with a brilliant mind, but one who couldn’t control his impulses. Fortunately, since he was the sole heir of a declining County and his parents had already passed away, there wouldn’t be a single person who would reprimand me for running away. There shouldn’t be many repercussions for breaking the courtship with the Third Northern Duchess and going home - Yep. Not a single bit of harm would come to me if I did that. Then, since there was no more need for me to think about this…… “I’ll simply forfeit.” This novel’s plot was centered on the female lead, the youngest daughter of the Northern Duke as well as the heroine. In essence, this world was built for her. Nothing good would come from getting entangled with a woman like that. Besides, I didn’t want to compete in a marriage race for a woman I had never met, nor did I wish to become the Duke’s son-in-law; I would end up having to take care of the Duchy, buried in troublesome matters till the day I die. One might ask, ‘Why doesn’t he just abuse the perks of being a transmigrator? Is he stupid? Why is he running away instead?’ Well, about that, I have just one thing to say. The heroine and I, along with the other three male leads, were destined for a terrible and bitter fate. For me, running away from this stupid romantic fantasy wasn’t a choice, but rather, a necessity for my continued survival. Click. As such, I immediately left my room. By referencing this body’s memories, I was able to find the office of the person responsible for managing the courtship contest of the female lead. The person in question was buried in his documents, and upon noticing my approach, he wore a polite yet tired smile on his face. Unfortunately, however, he was about 30 seconds away from having that smile wiped off his face. “What brings you here, Lord Elden? Surely you are not here to make a special request regarding the cohabitation that will start tomorrow, yes? Hahaha, haha.” I’m sorry, but I refuse to drown in tears of regret, exhaustion, and obsession for mistakes I had not even made. And I further refuse to be entangled with the stupid trio who were destined for eternal regret as they chased after the heroine. To me, a modern-day Korean man transmigrated into a medieval era out of the blue, the suffering of those shackled under this aristocratic decorum was far less appealing than my freedom. "I, Elden Raphelion, hereby declare my withdrawal from the competition for the betrothal of the Third Northern Duchess." And just like that, I announced my escape from the final candidacy.