CSMOF 13

Chapter 13

It was one of those languid, weary afternoons, and I sat with my back turned to a group of Llewellyn’s most distinguished ladies.

“Don’t you think today’s ball is a bit special?”
“Indeed. There seem to be so many new couples lately.”

The noblewomen huddled together in small groups of three or five, chattering as if it had been ages since they last caught up.

Unlike the ball from a month ago, this one was practically overflowing with couples—some of them even on the verge of marriage. Naturally, the main topic of conversation was how those couples came to be.

“I heard that Princess Giselle even has a waiting list now?”

I couldn’t help but chuckle.

Their information network had 5G-level transmission speeds, honestly.

Wow, your intel is terrifyingly efficient.

Okay, maybe that was a bit of an exaggeration. But still—by now, the rumors practically walked around on their own two feet.

“So, are all those soon-to-be-married couples the princess’s doing?”

Well… I could safely say about seventy percent of them were.

Not that I ever wanted to do it.

Honestly, the whole process was tedious, stressful, and emotionally draining.

“Did you hear that Princess Giselle even prophesied the remarriage of Widow Charlotte?”
“What? How ridiculous. Isn’t Charlotte already over sixty? What kind of remarriage is that at her age—”
“Exactly. The princess must still be suffering from that terrible head injury.”

Tsk.

I folded my fan with a snap.

I didn’t like that tone, but fine—what could I do? I had just said whatever came to mind that day.

How was I supposed to know that lovely Lady Charlotte was already in her sixties?

In a world without fillers or facelifts, how did she manage to look so young?!

These days, thanks to the priests’ regular purification rituals, I’d become far less scatterbrained than before. But when I made prophecies back then, it was true—I had no control over what came out of my mouth.

“Princess!”

Someone called my name, and I looked up. Two familiar faces were approaching.

“Princess, how did you know that Sir Tristan and I would meet? Are you really not the apprentice of the wizard Mulvin?”

Young Lady Sophie, kneeling to greet me, immediately began chatting away. Beside her stood Sir Tristan—Adrian’s junior and Lucas’s senior knight—looking at her with starry eyes.

I scratched my ear.

“I’d like to meet Mulvin myself. Maybe he can make me disappear so no one bothers me anymore.”
“Haha, Princess, you’re so good at joking.”
“I’m not joking…”

Tristan bowed deeply.

“Thank you, Princess. If I hadn’t gone to the parade that day, I never would’ve met Sophie.”

I waved my hand awkwardly.

“Oh, come on. You two would’ve met eventually. I just… sped up the timing a bit.”

“Can I tell you about it?”

Sophie sat down beside me, motioning for her lover to join her.

I opened my mouth to refuse.

“It’s fine—”
“Listen! I went to the parade with Maria, and I was so dazzled by the spectacle that I forgot all about your words, Princess. Then I realized my bag was gone, and I was panicking—”

She took a dramatic breath before continuing.

“And then, oh heavens, Sir Tristan and his friends caught the thief! Just like you said—he was wearing blue!”

“Ah. I see.”

My lukewarm reaction probably didn’t match their enthusiasm, but they carried on eagerly, recounting every detail of how they met and fell in love.

Finally, Sophie clasped her hands together, eyes sparkling.

“Just as you predicted, Princess—I met my destiny!”

At that moment, I felt a strange weight of attention. When I turned, I saw the same gossiping ladies from before, now gathered close, listening to Sophie’s story as if hypnotized.

“My goodness, Princess, how did you know?”
“Do you really see the future so clearly?”
“Princess, my daughter is ten years old—could you look after her fate, too?”

Ha. Would you look at that.

Didn’t I just say I was tired?

I stood abruptly and smiled at Sophie and Tristan.

“Congratulations on your relationship.”

Then I turned to one of the gossiping ladies who’d earlier mocked me.

“Madam, weren’t you worried a moment ago that I had a serious head injury? And now you want me to divine your daughter’s future? What if I say something wrong with my injured head?”

The lady’s mouth fell open, but no words came out.

I bowed politely to the crowd of pleading faces and made my escape.

“Princess! Princess!”

They called after me, but I didn’t look back.

Honestly, a princess running away while grumbling internally was not the most elegant sight.

Ugh. That’s it. I’m quitting my side job for a while!

At this rate, I’d become world-famous as a matchmaker.

I’d have to start ignoring letters from those rumor-hungry nobles—because I had a pretty good idea who started the gossip in the first place.

“Where are you going?”

The voice echoed through the empty corridor, deep and resonant like in a cavern.

I squinted toward the light and saw a figure walking toward me, haloed by the glow behind him.

Adrian.

He was dressed in a fine tailcoat, golden hair gleaming faintly, his blue eyes soft at the corners—and a faint smile on his lips.

Wait, am I hallucinating?

I rubbed my eyes. Nope, still there.

Adrian, who supposedly avoided balls like the plague, was walking straight toward me.

“I’m going back to my room. It’s boring—and everyone’s annoying.”
“I was on my way to see you. Leaving already?”
“Me? Why?”
“I wanted to talk to you.”

Internally, I sighed.

Given all the gossip swirling inside the ballroom, this would only fuel the flames.

‘Oh, Princess Giselle is chasing after Sir Adrian again! Guess she’s not over him.’
That’s what they’d say.

Adrian’s expression faltered, and I realized I’d touched a nerve.

The air grew awkward, so I cleared my throat.

“Ahem. You should go dance with someone else, my lord. We can’t keep being the court’s favorite rumor mill.”

I turned to leave, but Adrian caught my wrist.

“Giselle… I’m sorry.”

His blue eyes locked onto mine.

…Huh? What’s that look?

I blinked, confused.

Was that pity?

Rosa once told me he’d been very kind to me after Mother passed away.

He’d taught me to ride, comforted me when I was lonely, treated me like a real older brother—more gently than Lucas ever did.

But after I hit puberty and started liking him too much, Adrian grew uncomfortable and began to avoid me.

It hurt so badly that I cried in Rosa’s arms and begged her to let me see him again. Eventually, I called him to a ball and said,

“Ask me to marry you.”

He refused.

So I begged my father, and the king himself intervened—forcing an engagement between us. Adrian promised to return from the war and marry me afterward.

But when he did return, he broke it off immediately.

By then, I had changed—my body, my mind, everything. So I agreed.
And Adrian said that I wasn’t the same person anymore.

Through Rosa, I heard his side of the story—and I understood, at least a little.

No one wants a marriage forced upon them.

And no matter how tightly I clung to him, he would never be mine.

I gently pulled my wrist free.

“You already apologized last time. Let’s stop.”

To be honest, it felt like it was my past self who should’ve been the one apologizing.

But since that wasn’t really me… whatever.

Still, this awkwardness between us couldn’t go on forever.

Adrian hesitated.

“Can I ask you something? You used to be so pushy—so why did you suddenly change?”

Why are you bringing that up again?

I frowned, staring at the floor.

“I told you, I fell off a horse.”
“How long are you going to use that excuse?”
“Excuse? You saw me fall! I hurt my leg and head, and then I fell again in your office. Ugh, seriously—why do I even have to explain this?”

I turned and marched off toward the ballroom—then realized I was going the wrong way and quickly spun around.

Before I could take another step, Adrian suddenly closed the distance between us—and thud! I collided right into his chest.

He seemed startled too, quickly stepping back but keeping his hands on my arms.

“Giselle, just tell me the truth. Do you… still like me?”

…Excuse me, what?

“Oh my, what a bold move! Why would you say something like that to a cold-hearted woman like me? Do you want another confession?”

Adrian turned his gaze aside for a moment.

“No… it’s just that I don’t understand. Then why did you send Prince Lucas to me?”

“I told you before—it’s called human decency. I’m a human princess, not a petty one. Even if you didn’t want to marry me, I didn’t want to treat you like a burden. It’s just… I knew you’d be hurt, so I couldn’t ignore you.”

He stared at me for a long moment, then abruptly released my arms, looking startled—as if he’d realized something he couldn’t put into words.

What’s with that expression?

You look like you just solved an existential riddle.

“Hey, you gloomy man, are you that exhausted?”

I snapped open my fan and began fanning vigorously.

“Sir Adrian, I didn’t think you were this foolish—but it’s too late now. The train has already left the station!”

I muttered that under my breath and started walking away.

When I turned back once more, Adrian was still standing there—his face half-hidden in shadow, looking uncharacteristically… lost.