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Chapter 3
Liriope rested her chin on the table by the window and watched the firebird, Rynix, preening its feathers with its beak.
Rynix was about the size of a fully grown eagle or hawk, and its appearance was dazzlingly beautiful.
It looked almost exactly like the images that appeared whenever someone searched for a phoenix in her original world, except that its entire body was made of living flames. It was truly fascinating.
“Rynix, come here.”
Liriope held out her hand and called the firebird by name.
At her voice, Rynix immediately stopped grooming itself, spread its magnificent wings, and flew over to her.
It landed naturally on her outstretched arm.
Despite its large body, it weighed almost nothing, which only made it seem even more amazing.
As could be seen from the fact that she had created a firebird as her graduation project, the original Liriope whom she had possessed was an exceptionally talented fire mage.
On top of that, she possessed abilities that other fire-element users could not use—eternal flames that never went out and the Flame of Life.
That was why she could even create living firebirds like Rynix.
In this world, where monsters and humans coexisted, most nobles of the Gardeia Empire possessed elemental magic that allowed them to fight monsters.
Naturally, the strength of those abilities varied greatly depending on one’s rank and individual talent.
The Crown Prince and the Grand Duke of the North, both members of the imperial family, were especially exceptional, possessing two or more elemental attributes while everyone else generally had only one.
That made the imperial family the strongest beings in the empire, with Liriope, the only daughter of a duke, ranking just below them.
The heroine of the original novel was unique in that she did not possess elemental magic at all, but instead wielded divine power.
That alone was one of the reasons she could only ever be the heroine.
“Lady Liri! Lady Liri!”
Gemma’s excited voice broke Liriope’s thoughts as she rushed into the room.
Turning toward her maid, Liriope noticed the newspaper clutched tightly in her hands and asked indifferently,
“What is it?”
Holding the newspaper up to her chest, Gemma shouted excitedly,
“There’s an article about you and the Grand Duke of the North!”
“…An article?”
Lifting one eyebrow, Liriope looked at Gemma.
Gemma unfolded the newspaper and pointed eagerly at the large photograph of Theo and Liriope printed on the front page.
“It’s about your engagement! And it’s on the front page!”
“Oh.”
Liriope merely glanced at the newspaper without changing her indifferent expression.
Exclusive Scoop
Lady Liriope Stella, the woman who once loved the Crown Prince, has changed her heart! Her new partner is none other than Grand Duke Theo Artein of the North.
Today, Lady Liriope Stella and Grand Duke Theo Artein officially stamped and signed their engagement contract. According to House Stella, Liriope Stella, who had once been hopelessly devoted to Crown Prince Kadin Gardeia, recently changed her mind and transferred her affections to Grand Duke Theo Artein…
The title was ridiculous enough, but the article itself was just as absurd.
Liriope frowned as she read it before lowering her gaze to the photograph beneath.
Then, noticing how surprisingly well she looked in the picture, her expression relaxed.
Well, Theo—the male lead of the original novel—was handsome no matter what.
As for herself, she occupied the villainess role. Even if she was beautiful, she would never outshine the heroine.
Still, the photo on the front page had turned out surprisingly well.
Standing beside Theo, she didn’t look like an ugly side character at all.
Objectively speaking, the duke’s daughter really did possess the most beautiful face in the empire.
The problem was that her foolish behavior had ruined that beauty.
“You’ve become incredibly popular! Do you have any idea how many tea party invitations are piled up in your study right now?!”
Watching Gemma become excited as if it were her own accomplishment, Liriope let out a long sigh.
Without a doubt, the noble ladies who loved gossip had rushed to send invitations as soon as the news spread.
Whenever a major story broke, noblewomen would spend an entire week talking about it.
These were the same women who had joined the original Liriope in bullying the heroine, only to later exaggerate everything she’d done once the heroine became beloved by both the Crown Prince and the Grand Duke, painting Liriope as an unforgivable villainess.
They would be of no real help to her.
She had no desire to attend their tea parties.
Unfortunately, just like in every romance fantasy empire, tea parties between noble ladies held great importance in Gardeia.
Refusing them outright was far from easy.
Among noblewomen, attending tea gatherings was considered an essential social obligation.
Liriope began opening the mountain of invitations.
She needed to determine which events she had to attend immediately and which ones could be postponed—or ignored entirely.
For someone who only knew this world through the novel, making those judgments was rather difficult.
Ordinarily, etiquette demanded attending every invitation.
But with this many arriving at once, everyone understood that she would have to choose.
As the daughter of one of the highest-ranking dukes—answering to no one except the imperial family—she technically had the authority to decline.
Still, having to do tedious social obligations even after transmigrating into a novel made her feel a little miserable.
Then again…
At least this life wasn’t as exhausting as working as a salaried office employee.
She decided to comfort herself with that thought.
Fortunately, because she had read the original novel countless times, she already knew which noble ladies should become her allies and which ones she ought to avoid.
As a result, sorting through the invitations proved much easier than expected.
She hurried through them, eager to finish so she could throw herself onto her soft bed.
After spending quite some time concentrating on the pile, she looked with satisfaction at how much it had shrunk.
Just another hour or so, and she’d finally be finished.
The thought alone lifted her spirits.
“Lady Liri! His Highness the Crown Prince has arrived!!”
That dreadful announcement burst from Gemma just before she threw open the study door.
“…Who came?”
Liriope’s face instantly hardened.
“Hurry! Hurry! His Highness the Crown Prince is here!”
Since Gemma knew better than anyone how deeply Liriope had once adored the Crown Prince, she looked incredibly excited by his unexpected visit to the ducal estate.
“So why… why is he here?”
Unlike Gemma, Liriope felt not the slightest bit happy.
Just hearing the title “Crown Prince” made irritation well up inside her.
“No, it’s His Highness the Crown Prince! What are you doing? Hurry and change your clothes, put on your makeup—”
“Haaaaa…”
Liriope let out a long sigh filled with exhaustion.
Gemma’s eyes widened.
“Just bring me something to throw over my shoulders.”
Liriope tossed the invitation she had been holding onto the desk with annoyance.
Gemma’s eyes grew even wider.
“W-What?! Lady Liri! It’s His Highness the Crown Prince!”
“So?”
“But… you’re meeting the Crown Prince! You aren’t even putting on makeup, and your hair…!”
“Just bring me something to wear over this.”
Liriope answered firmly.
Blinking rapidly in confusion, Gemma hesitated.
“B-But wouldn’t it be better to change your dress? It wouldn’t be proper etiquette to meet His Highness like this…”
“He came here without giving any notice. If he couldn’t bother showing proper etiquette first, why should I?”
“But… I mean… etiquette aside… he’s the Crown Prince… Ah.”
Gemma, who had been flusteredly arguing, suddenly stopped speaking.
She had finally realized it.
Liriope was now the fiancée of the Grand Duke of the North.
There was no longer any reason to try looking beautiful for the Crown Prince.
Gemma hurried out of the room and soon returned carrying a large shawl.
It was certainly inappropriate attire for receiving the Crown Prince.
But since he had barged into the estate without prior notice, Liriope had no intention of treating him with excessive courtesy.
Besides…
These dresses were ridiculously inconvenient to put on and take off.
Rising from her desk, she wrapped the oversized shawl around herself until it covered nearly her entire body.
Entering the reception room without delay, Liriope stopped walking the moment she saw the handsome platinum-blond man sitting arrogantly in the center of the sofa.
Seeing the Crown Prince in person for the first time, she realized his appearance matched the novel’s descriptions perfectly.
Even without knowing who he was, anyone would have recognized him as royalty at first glance.
Crown Prince Kadin possessed a noble dignity that no ordinary person could imitate.
His dazzling platinum-blond hair, jewel-like blue eyes, and flawless porcelain-white skin blended together so perfectly that he looked almost unreal.
He resembled a masterpiece sculpted by the gods themselves.
Simply standing before him was enough to make one’s eyes feel dazzled.
Now she understood why everyone endlessly praised his appearance.
He was somewhere between an impossibly beautiful flower-like man and a classical beauty.
In any case, he was the complete opposite of Theo, whose rugged masculinity stood out immediately.
Yet despite their differences, the cold arrogance in Kadin’s gaze reminded her strangely of Theo.
Losing herself in the sight of him for a brief moment, Liriope only snapped back to reality after meeting his equally surprised eyes.
“I greet Your Highness the Crown Prince.”
She quickly bowed.
Kadin gave only a slight nod in acknowledgment.
His eyes wandered uncertainly, as though he didn’t quite know where to look, making it obvious that her appearance had caught him completely off guard.
“You know why I came here, don’t you, Lady.”
“…Actually, I don’t.”
Liriope answered without hesitation.
Momentarily taken aback, Kadin soon recovered and held out a document toward her.
“Here. This is the engagement contract with me that you wanted so desperately.”
