RAL 21

Contrary to what she had expected, the past few days had been peaceful for Celestine.

Her daily routine lately went like this.

Just after noon, she would leave the mansion and head to the Crown Princess’s palace to meet Asha.

They would enjoy tea and snacks together and chat for about two or three hours before she returned home.

After coming back, she would keep an eye on Greg, wondering if he might do something unnecessary, occasionally probing him with conversation to figure out what he was up to.

Then she would return to her bedroom and reconstruct, as best as she could remember, the contents of the novel Please Just Kill Me.

Today was no different.

“Hm…”

Lying sprawled across the large sofa in her room, Celestine lightly rubbed her chin as she sank into her own thoughts.

“For now… it seems like things will be fine if I just leave Asha’s side alone, right?”

Although they hadn’t spent that much time together yet, she had already grown quite close with Asha. Asha now smiled often in front of Celestine, and the way she used to shrink back nervously and watch others’ reactions had decreased considerably.

Even when Celestine had been just a reader, she had always felt sorry for Asha, who constantly looked timid and intimidated. Though none of this had been expected, if Asha could regain even a little bit of her smile because of her, that alone would be good enough.

…Besides, if they kept getting along like this, it would also be easier to see whether the novel’s story was progressing properly. After all, Asha was the protagonist of this novel.

“Rio Denheldin and Silence have appeared, but it’s still quiet for now. Looks like things passed smoothly.”

Rio was one thing, but in Silence’s case there was a high chance of encountering him in the imperial palace, so Celestine had been lying low these past few days.

However, she hadn’t run into him again.

Meanwhile, she had also been keeping an eye out to see if the little kitten would appear again—but just like before, it hadn’t shown up, so there seemed to be no need for her to step in.

“But I seriously have no idea what that damned old man is plotting.”

The “damned old man,” of course, referred to Greg.

On the day she had returned after being dragged to prison, she had tried desperately to find out what Bien had been planning to report…

“You just stay quiet and keep Princess Asha company. And don’t forget to make a good impression on Dvaltin whenever you can! That’s all you need to do!”

…But all she got in return was Greg’s nagging.

“I need to know what he’s thinking…”

Just staying still like this felt a bit dangerous, didn’t it?

Celestine fell into deep thought for a moment, then muttered with a determined expression.

“I guess I’ll watch the situation a bit more… then go to Lete. If I threaten Bien, something might come out. Hmm… and…”

She needed to prepare for the next development.

Celestine, who had been lying around like a rotten egg yolk, suddenly sat upright and looked down at the papers scattered across the table.

They were notes summarizing the upcoming plot.

“Asha’s debutante → George’s death → Asha comforts Dvaltin, and Dvaltin gradually realizes his feelings.”

And then…

“Asha attends Rio’s party.”

“…”

“Developments here: Rio begins to fall for Asha. Dvaltin starts to feel subtle jealousy.”

This was how the original story went.

After noticing Asha at the debutante, Rio invited her to a party held at the Denheldin Ducal House.

Overjoyed to receive her first party invitation ever, Asha was thrilled, and Dvaltin eventually helped her attend the party.

But after worrying about it alone the entire time, he ultimately went to the Denheldin residence to pick her up.

And seeing Rio and Asha spending time together in a warm, friendly atmosphere made him feel jealousy for the first time.

“Since this happens not long after George dies… no matter how late it is, Asha should get the invitation by next week.”

Since Celestine saw Asha almost every day except weekends, she would hear the news right away anyway.

“Right. In the original story, Celestine wasn’t even invited to that party. So this time there shouldn’t be any annoying trouble.”

I’ll just quietly stay in the mansion and watch what Asha and Dvaltin do.

…In truth, Celestine still had only one goal.

To live a luxurious, comfortable life safely—unlike in the original story.

If that damned warning window hadn’t appeared saying that Celestine Winsel would disappear if her presence faded, she wouldn’t be going through all this trouble.

Now she had no other choice.

Celestine intended to help the story unfold as closely as possible to the original plot, while only changing her own fate—where she harassed Asha, coveted the Empress’s position, and was eventually killed by Dvaltin.

The reason she insisted on following the original plot was simple.

As long as she knew what was going to happen, she could choose relatively safe paths. But if even that changed, things would become far more troublesome.

In the worst case…

She might die, just like the original Celestine had.

“Right. Anyway, as long as Dvaltin and Asha end up together, that’s enough. I’ll just be a cheerleader on the sidelines, supporting them…”

…was what she had been about to say.

Before Celestine could finish her pointless muttering, Melsi’s voice rang loudly through the bedroom.

“Miss Celestine! An invitation has arrived for you!”

“…Huh?”

In Melsi’s hand was a beautifully decorated invitation card.

Celestine looked at her, pretending she hadn’t heard properly, but…

“It’s from Young Master Rio of the Denheldin family.”

…As expected, bad premonitions never missed their mark.

“You are invited to the party held at the Denheldin residence tomorrow at 6 PM.
It would be nice to continue the conversation we didn’t get to finish last time.
If you have no special plans, I hope you will attend.
—Rio Denheldin.”

‘You’ve got to be kidding me…’

Celestine’s face crumpled like a sheet of paper as she read the invitation Melsi had handed her.

“Um… didn’t the two of you have no interaction at all?”

Unaware of Celestine’s turmoil, Melsi chatted excitedly.

“In fact, you two didn’t get along very well, right? I thought you said that even if the Denheldin family held a party, you’d never attend.”

That was true.

In the original story, Rio absolutely hated Celestine because she bullied Asha.

“It seems the young master has been keeping an eye on our lady after all! I knew it!”

No, Melsi…

Things are just going terribly wrong…

Celestine screamed internally, though her silent despair didn’t reach Melsi.

“Of course you’ll attend, right?”

“Well… that…”

“The party is tomorrow, so we must start preparing now! I’ll go choose a dress for you!”

“W-Wait… ah, damn it.”

Then—

—A party? Finally a proper romance-fantasy event.

—Looks like Rio is interested in Celestine. Didn’t he randomly start talking to her last time too?

It appeared.

That damned comment window.

—Rio is the blond blue-eyed guy, right? I approve.

—But wasn’t he supposed to be arrogant? If she doesn’t go, won’t he drag her there?

—Why wouldn’t she go? The story wouldn’t progress otherwise.

—Wait, wasn’t she described as a social butterfly who goes to every party? If she doesn’t go, that’s out of character.

《Warning! Readers are worried about sudden “out-of-character behavior.”》

“Miss…?”

—If he’s an arrogant duke’s son, taming him could be fun lol. Is he a tsundere type? I’m lining up for the Rio route.

《Additionally, the number of readers expecting the appearance of the sub-male lead “Rio Denheldin” has increased. If their expectations are not met…》

“I’ll go! I said I’ll go!”

Celestine shouted loudly while pressing a hand to her forehead.

Melsi, who had no idea about the situation, simply looked at her as if wondering what was wrong again—but that wasn’t the important part right now.

What if Asha didn’t get an invitation?

Then the story would deviate from the original plot.

No…

At worst, I might end up getting entangled with Rio…

“Melsi!”

“Yes? Y-Yes?”

“Send a message to the Crown Princess’s palace immediately! If she hasn’t received an invitation, ask if she’d like to attend the party together!”

…I can’t just sit back and take this.

If the plot is going to go off the rails, then I’ll just push it my way!

“….”

Unaware that Melsi was staring at her as if she were a madwoman, Celestine glared at the invitation with fiery determination in her eyes.

—Looks like we’ll see Dvaltin’s jealousy explode soon! I support this.

—Wait, but why is Rio interested in Celestine? Did I miss something?

—Nah, he’s just intrigued for now. It’ll probably be revealed later.

—But seriously, when is Silence coming back…?

And ignoring the comment window that kept popping up as if it had been waiting for this moment, Celestine continued to glare at the invitation.