RAL 04

Chapter 4

In that moment, her wrist was suddenly grabbed.

The grip was incredibly strong. Was it Devaltin? But she hadn’t done anything wrong. If anything, she had taken his side…

Startled, Selistin reflexively turned around—and at the same time, her expression shifted into slight confusion.

The one holding her wrist wasn’t Devaltin. It was Asha.

“Ah… that hurts…”

What is this now? Not understanding Asha’s sudden action, Selistin narrowed her eyes and let out a small groan.

“S-sorry, my lady.”

Only then did Asha release her wrist and give a brief apology.

What’s with her now…

Was she trying to say thank you? For helping her?

Still, she could have said it later. Even now, Devaltin was staring straight at her, and it made Selistin feel unnecessarily intimidated.

“…Really…”

After a short silence, Asha’s cracked voice finally broke through.

“Do you really think that…?”

“…Pardon?”

“What you said to those ladies earlier.”

Only then did Selistin realize what Asha was asking.

Poor Asha had lived her entire life without ever having someone on her side.

Of course, Devaltin cared for her a lot, but there were emotional gaps that couldn’t be filled by that alone.

“If I was rude, I apologize. But… I thought you might think badly of me…”

For a moment, Selistin flinched, but she quickly composed her expression and spoke.

“Sometimes, there are things you can only confirm by seeing them with your own eyes, aren’t there, Your Highness?”

“…Pardon?”

“I also had shallow thoughts and didn’t recognize your true worth. But now that I’ve met you in person, I’ve realized something. You are a much better person than I expected.”

Asha’s eyes trembled slightly.

“To be honest, I don’t have the luxury to take someone’s side with lies that I don’t even believe. Everything I said was sincere. From beginning to end.”

At Selistin’s words, various emotions appeared on Asha’s face.

If Selistin said she had completely changed her mind about wanting nothing to do with Asha, that would be a lie. But seeing Asha act like this made her feel strangely soft-hearted.

Still, there was no need to say anything more here.

The most burdensome thing for Selistin right now wasn’t Asha’s emotional question or reaction—

It was Devaltin, who was silently staring at her with unreadable eyes.

“Then I’ll be taking my leave now. It was short, but I was truly glad to meet you.”

That was their final exchange.

This time, without giving anyone a chance to stop her, Selistin quickly left the place.

She had no idea that Devaltin’s gaze followed her persistently until she completely left the garden.

Selistin ran.

After leaving the garden, instead of returning to the banquet hall, she immediately got into a carriage and headed straight back to the Winsel residence without looking back.

“If you went all the way to the banquet, you should’ve at least done something! How could you just run away like that?!”

Of course, Greg scolded her harshly.

He seemed very angry that Selistin didn’t act according to his expectations, but scolding only works if the person being scolded feels intimidated.

After meeting Devaltin, there was no way Greg’s nagging would scare her.

But things weren’t as simple as before anymore.

She had already met Asha and Devaltin, and she didn’t know when that damned warning message would appear again.

Just like in the original novel, Greg and Selistin were now on the same boat, whether they liked it or not.

“Father, I’m sorry, but you should give up on your useless dreams.”

So Selistin warned Greg once again.

“Crown Prince Devaltin has not even the slightest interest in me. If you keep talking nonsense about becoming the Empress’s family, what if you anger him and get executed?”

“If people were executed just for having such thoughts, every noble in the Empire would be dead already.”

Well… Greg wasn’t wrong.

Any noble family with a marriageable daughter had the same foolish dream.

“Still, it’s useless… Do you even know who Devaltin has his eyes on?”

“Who? Has another family already made a move?!”

Selistin spent over an hour trying to take back her careless words.

She was worried.

If it became known that Devaltin loved Asha romantically, Asha would be in danger immediately.

And to be precise, Devaltin didn’t even realize his own feelings yet.

That wouldn’t happen until after he became Emperor.

One year until Devaltin’s coronation.

This was still the early part of the novel.

They had grown close since childhood, and as they slowly became adults, they began to realize that their feelings were not just familial.

That confusion lasted exactly one year.

During this time, other characters would begin to appear—Rio Denheldin and Silence.

Rio, the heir of the Denheldin ducal house, noticed Asha at the debutante.

Silence, a great mage belonging to the imperial palace, also started to take interest in her.

Their attention would ignite Devaltin’s jealousy.

And one year later, after becoming Emperor, Devaltin would begin to obsess over Asha.

“So how long do I have to keep getting dragged along like this…?”

Sitting on her bed with a serious expression, Selistin quietly recalled those strange sentences.

—She’s supposed to be a villainess?
—They keep calling her a villainess, but she’s just an extra.
—Then why is she taking up so much screen time? This makes no sense. I’m dropping this.

“…The comment section.”

That’s right. It was definitely a comment section.

The readers were angry that the character “Selistin Winsel” appeared but did nothing.

That’s why they dropped the story.

At least there was one good thing—she had proven that she didn’t have to follow the original story exactly.

If supporting Asha during that argument had caused a problem, the warning message would have appeared again.

“So I just need to draw attention… while making sure I don’t die at Devaltin’s hands like in the original…?”

Sitting blankly, Selistin tried hard to think positively about this ridiculous situation.

“No matter what happens, as long as I survive until the original ending… that should be enough… right?”

Once the story ends, those comment windows should disappear too.

Then she could go back to living comfortably, just like before.

To do that, she needed to clearly remember when her important moments would come.

“…Devaltin. It was Devaltin’s episode.”

Devaltin, the only son of the Empress, had secured his position as Crown Prince since childhood.

On the surface, he seemed to have everything.

But in reality, it was different.

He was constantly targeted by other princes, and the Empress treated him not as a son, but as a tool for revenge.

In the end, both Asha and Devaltin had nowhere in the palace where they truly belonged.

After Asha’s debutante, an incident would occur that even Devaltin—who had seen countless hardships—could not ignore.

On his birthday, a secret that must never be revealed would almost be exposed.

“Selistin!”

“Ahh!”

Startled by the sudden intrusion, Selistin jumped in shock.

Turning her head, she saw Greg smiling brightly for some reason.

That man smiling like that never meant anything good.

Feeling uneasy, Selistin looked at him as Greg continued excitedly.

“I knew you could do it! I don’t know what you did, but that’s not important right now!”

What nonsense is he talking about now…

Selistin rubbed her ears as if she heard wrong.

Ignoring her, Greg waved something in his hand, almost dancing.

“What is that, making such a fuss—”

“We got a message from Devaltin!”

“…What?”

Right now?

Why?

“You know his birthday is coming up, right?”

“….”

“It’s a gathering where only the royal family and a few nobles are invited—and he personally sent an invitation saying he wants you to attend!”

Ah… no.

This is something I absolutely cannot get involved in…

If something goes wrong, I’ll really die…

Selistin looked at Greg with a pale face, but she had no right to refuse.