episode_0021

I thought I was going crazy, running around like a madman trying to come to terms with the sight that was too difficult to accept.

How could this be happening?

Those who curse the original fans for not being able to avoid the fate of the original novel’s heroines will only truly understand when they experience it themselves. The likelihood of heroines becoming original fans is overflowing with possibilities, and they come to reasonable conclusions after reevaluating and reexamining various possibilities.

Yes, that’s me right now.

The original heroine who used gaslighting like X to manipulate Rahilt. And Rahilt, who became the blind follower of that original heroine. Honestly, the idea of inserting myself between these two didn’t sit well with me. Without the crude hypnosis app and the god-like cheat keys in my hands, I couldn’t dare.

I couldn’t dare…

As the mere villainess, there was no room for me to intervene between the original heroine, Lashera Lua’te Hujak, and the discarded child, Rahilt.

The two of them, by some mysterious coincidence, met in this vast institution and were conversing without any reservations. Truly, it was a meeting that could be acknowledged as fate without exaggeration.

And as if being a beneficiary of such a miracle wasn’t enough, this bastard had the audacity to say,

“Is that possible? Will you be my partner tonight?”

With that, my heart raced too fast, and my blood boiled, imprinting specific keywords in my mind.

Night, and partner.

What are they doing at night?

And what kind of partner are they talking about?

Is this vulgar woman subtly reaching out to someone?

I clenched my fist so tightly that my nails dug into my flesh. They must have been injured. The tips of my nails might have turned as red as manicured nails.

The blood of the Northern Duke urged me on. If I took a single step now, I could cleanly eliminate future risks. The time to crush the spine of a snake-like gossip monger in the social circle was fleeting.

‘Endure, I must endure.’

Rahilt was in sight. Even if I harbored resentment, there was a high possibility of being thwarted by Rahilt. Not to mention the irreparable disappointment it could bring.

‘What face is Rahilt making? Damn it, I can’t see because of the mask.’

There was never a time I wanted to tear off Rahilt’s mask more than now. On the other hand, I discovered myself relieved that Rahilt was wearing a mask. If they were treating me with an expression hidden beneath that mask, I would have collapsed.

Furthermore, the connection between past and present hearts, and the effort accumulated over 19 years in the present, could have been reduced to nothing in an instant…

Suddenly, I felt my eyes welling up. The tangled and complex emotions didn’t take more than 10 seconds to reach this moment.

Is this the end?

Is there absolutely no room for me to intervene?

While desperately trying to endure the sensation of my heart dropping…

A young girl ran up, revealing a cute appearance.

The girl asked, “Who are you, unnie?”

She was an adorable child that one could never forget at first sight. Because of this, my heart, which was pounding as if it would burst, gradually found stability. I was able to look Rahilt straight in the eye and observe the original heroine, Lashera, with newfound leisure.

And so, I was able to observe.

Lashera’s subtle rotten face and her desperate attempts to hide it.

The world that was colored in monochrome suddenly found its light.

Only then did I realize.

The crack buried in their similar prejudices, and the confusion in Lian’s blue eyes.

Therefore, I bent my knees to the child’s eye level and said,

“Serin.”

Not Seriniel, but Serin. I taught him my name that he called so familiarly.

“What is our young lady’s name?”

“Esthielie. Esthielienotte.”

“What a beautiful name.”

“Unni too!”

Esthielie raised her bright smile. She was a child who wanted to be held in arms and enjoyed a walk.

‘Ah… This child…’

Esthiel Elennote, the young lady of the Count. I already knew the information. Not from the original work, but from managing the affairs of the empire as a princess.

The only family among the fallen factions that did not suffer the loss of their title.

Therefore, a prospective Countess with no land or wealth left.

As a special note, the Windmill Mercenary Corps paid off her debts. She is currently under the protection of the corps.

That was all I knew about Esthiel Elennote.

‘A fateful encounter… perhaps.’

Rahilt has no regrets about the royal family, but I am not so sure about Esthiel. It was perplexing to want to look as good as possible to those around him, but fate was truly bewildering.

Whether she knew my feelings or not, Esthiel approached me with a dignified manner and firmly grasped my hand like a fern.

“Rihart oppa. I want to go with Serin unni.”

“Serin will be busy. You will have a chance to meet her soon.”

“No?! She’s not busy at all? She’s the most free person in the world?”

“Shouldn’t Serin be busy…?”

Yes.

I am aware of it too.

Rahilt’s words are right a hundred times.

As the eldest daughter at her mother’s memorial ceremony, if I am not busy, there is something wrong.

However.

‘Does she know?’

Growing up as a fire attribute heiress, I feel sorry… but this is a matter that must be forgiven. My stepmother is in danger of being NTR, and I have no time for it. If she were my father’s wife who returned and scolded me, she would surely understand.

Ah, it must be so.

So, I responded with a smile that brushed away my worries.

“There’s nothing to worry about with a little bit of leftover work. Above all, when such a cute lady asks, don’t we have to turn back the evaporated time?”

“If Serin is okay, I’m glad…”

Rahilt hesitated to express his discomfort. I diverted his attention before his suspicions grew.

“But I have something to ask. Are you close with her?”

“Her, her? What kind of manners does a princess…!”

“I don’t know. That’s not my business. Rian, honestly answer.”

At my straightforward question, Rahilt immediately responded.

“She’s a woman I met for the first time today. It’s too much to say we’re close.”

“But she accepted your partnership request?”

“I mentioned going to the palace together, but… I think she misunderstood.”

Then, Rahilt’s polite apology followed.

“It’s my fault for making confusing remarks, so I humbly ask for forgiveness.”

“… I accept your apology.”

With their short conversation, I could deduce the situation at once.

‘Ah, so that’s how it happened.’

If they just enter the palace together, becoming partners is a piece of cake. Since they came together, unless there is a grand reason to refuse, who would reject being a partner? Especially since Rahilt has no partner, there is even less reason to refuse.

‘La Chera’s original partner was my husband, so it should be easy to get her understanding.’

That was the background setting of La Chera, the character I saw. Even in the original work, it was mentioned that she always considered my husband as her partner until she seduced Rahilt.

“By the way, Laheelt’s social skills are quite impressive.”

Even though there was no real wrongdoing, an excessive apology was offered. In other words, a woman who refuses to accept it graciously becomes the most detestable woman in the world.

Apologizing more humbly than the level the other person expects was indeed effective.

Therefore, I was convinced of a hopeful truth.

“In other words, there is no such thing as the coercive power of the original work in this world.”

Darn it.

The situation of being deceived by the cliché of clichés in the web novel, [I thought it was coercive power, but it was actually a misunderstanding], had me fooled.

How many slanders have the transmigrated female leads endured so far?

I gazed at Esutiel, who seemed to have something to say, with her soft hand firmly grasped in mine. A girl with a mouth full of words trapped behind her tempting cheeks.

“Shall we go, Esutiel?”

“Where to?”

“The palace. Don’t you want to go there first?”

“I want to see the king!”

“Alright, if you want to see him, then let’s go. What about Lian?”

As I turned to ask for her opinion, Laheelt provided the perfect answer.

“I will follow Esutiel’s will. After all, this outing was for Esutiel.”

“Sounds good.”

It felt like my heavy weight was melting away in the pouring rain. I delivered the final blow to Lashera, who stood like a statue, occupying Laheelt’s seat.

“What are you doing? Aren’t you going to the palace?”

“Lord Riheart and I will be entering together…”

“Sorry, but it seems like a word from Esutiel carries more weight than such a casual promise.”

“Then I will go to the palace as well.”

“Is the palace a place where you can come and go like a neighborhood pub? I, the princess, didn’t know that! Everyone needs my invitation to barely cross the threshold, so you must have misunderstood.”

“Ugh…”

“Unfortunately, it is open ‘equally’ to those who received invitations from early evening, so please visit slowly. Of course, our cute lady is an exception, right?”

When I smiled at Esutiel, she also showed a innocent smile.

It was a simple intuition, but Esutiel also seemed uncomfortable with Lashera.

‘But if she’s just a woman like Lashera, there’s no reason for a mercenary captain to be stubborn… Why did she approach Laheelt, who hasn’t been revealed as a princess?’

I can’t find out here.

Anyway, it is clear that the woman involved has no good intentions. It was a very biased way of thinking, but it wouldn’t hurt to be careful. At least that way, I can prevent an NTR development in advance.

“Sigh…”

Lashera let out a deep sigh. It seemed like she couldn’t find a way to break through the impasse. As she was about to leave, I grabbed her by words.

“Luate, Viscountess.”

“… Yes, Your Highness.”

“You should do what you have to do before you go, right?”

She remained silent in response to my command.

Is it because she is inexperienced and can’t catch on?

I can’t help it. I have to teach her myself.

“Greetings.”

“Yes?”

“You should maintain the emphasized etiquette and dignity.”

“…”

A shudder.

Even though it wasn’t a place where the sound of sharpening could be heard, a chilling friction seemed to linger in my ears.

She straightened her crooked lips and bowed her head to me.

“I will… take my leave.”

I shook her hand with a sense of relief.

“Goodbye, Viscountess Luate. I’ll see you soon.”

Just know that if you cross the line, I’ll kill you.

In fact, the hatred towards Lashera was not only derived from the elements of the original work intertwined with Laheelt.

She was the polar opposite of me, being a princess and a member of the remnants of the fallen faction. It meant that she was someone who would eventually need to be completely eliminated politically. After all, Lua Te Hoojak was her older brother, or rather, the one she would succeed.

“It’s not like she was just a heroine and a villain for no reason.”

Already being a part of the fallen faction, holding the title of a princess must have made her feel a sense of crisis.

It was worth getting rid of all sorts of villainy.

Although she was close to invincible like La Shera, the strongest in the world, who was favored by Rahilt.

“Phew!”

I cleared the dirty original content from my mind and matched my pace with Esutiel, who was walking briskly.

As a result, Rahilt followed us from a considerable distance behind.

Eventually, Esutiel, who judged that she had enough distance from him, naturally opened her mouth.

“Unnie. Is this okay? Thank you so much.”

“To me? Why?”

“Earlier, the ajumma. She felt weird.”

“Ajum…! Ugh.”

I had to suppress the menstrual phenomenon of the collapsing palace due to the truly refreshing title.

“If you get close to Rihart oppa, it’s not good. He’s really bad.”

“Am I okay?”

“You’re fine. I felt something weird, so you have to get close to Rihart oppa.”

“I see…”

I withdraw my support for Esutiel from today.

She and I are no different, and any insult aimed at Esutiel will be considered an insult to me and will be dealt with accordingly.

“Our Tiel, do you know how to read people?”

“Tiel?”

“Can’t I call you by a nickname?”

“I’m fine with that.”

“I like it too.”

How can a beggar be so cute from appearance to name?

Just marry Rahilt. I’ll just incorporate the fertile noble into the Earl of Elenot and give it to you.

“What’s Tiel’s favorite food?”

“I eat everything well.”

“Wow, you’re incredibly kind, aren’t you?”

“Hehe.”

I should start polishing the patisserie as soon as I arrive. I should order the most perfect dessert in the world. This innocent smile goes well with sweet cream.

The palace was getting closer as I made plans like that.

I glanced at Rahilt, who was clearly showing his discomfort at intruding into women’s conversation.

Likewise, Rahilt also followed us, sneaking glances at us. The distance was vague, but…

That awkward distance somehow felt endearing.