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Chapter : 06
This time, I’ll change the male lead
I headed straight for the garden where I first met the Crown Prince.
Even though it was a place I wasn’t familiar with, I could find it easily by following my memories.
“How unusual.”
But seeing it in the bright daylight made the landscaping seem somewhat eerie. And besides, there were no signs of people passing through, let alone Leon.
“Phew…”
I sat on a bench and took off my suffocating gloves first. Maybe it was just my imagination, but the silver ring I was wearing felt particularly uncomfortable.
“Never take it off.”
Still, since I had been strictly warned, the thought of removing it never crossed my mind.
That person’s temperament wasn’t something to mess with.
“Is living quietly really this difficult?”
After everything that happened today, Ignis would probably be noisy for a while.
I had tried so hard not to stand out, but everything went up in smoke overnight.
If only I hadn’t gotten involved with Karl…
I wanted to kick him in the shin, but now that I knew he was Aaron Anteras, the male lead, I couldn’t act recklessly.
His counterpart was Phoebe, the Saintess — the head of the temple, loved by everyone as the daughter of the gods.
The Pieta High Temple.
The only light that could stand shoulder to shoulder with the sun, Ignis’ moon.
A power that ruled the darkest corners of the empire.
Exposing a scandal between the commander of the holy knights and the Saintess would only tarnish the honor of the temple and the high office.
It wasn’t just me; it could endanger my family as well, so I couldn’t act rashly.
“In the original story, Kaela…”
No matter how much I tried, I couldn’t recall exactly how or why Kaela died.
All I remembered was that after her death, the male lead’s life started going smoothly.
Hopefully, she wasn’t assassinated for trying to expose the scandal between the Saintess and Karl.
“What a sly guy.”
Thinking of Karl made harsh words slip out naturally. I had to avoid getting involved with the temple, especially the current high office, but I couldn’t just let this go…
“Messis.”
I recalled a character who had a significant role in the original story — a slave who would later become Karl’s right hand, known as the Reaper’s Blade.
He was even a Ratan who could use magic.
Come to think of it… wasn’t he found in an illegal slave market around this time?
At that moment, the rustling of leaves broke my train of thought.
“What… what is that!”
A sharp pain on my cheek made me turn my head, and a scream escaped.
“Grrr…”
Between the shadows of the bushes, red eyes glinted. A black panther stared at me intently, advancing slowly.
A wild beast in an empty garden in broad daylight? Why? How?
Wait… where had I seen those red eyes before? Something flashed through my dazed mind.
“Could it be the Crown Prince’s familiar?”
Only then did I realize why Leon had called me here.
He had sent his familiar to roughly kill me! That guy!
“Grrr.”
As if aware I insulted its master, the beast’s roar became even sharper.
Seeing those unwavering eyes as if it had finally found its long-awaited prey sent a chill down my spine.
“Stay calm… stay calm… no, what do I do!”
The gap had already closed too much for me to escape.
“Raaah!”
“Ahh!”
I squeezed my eyes shut as sharp claws flew toward me.
“Ugh… huh?”
Something strange happened. Why didn’t it hurt at all?
“Kiiiing.”
Instead, the warmth of its touch was surprisingly soft.
“D-do you… want me to pet you?”
The panther, which had lunged at me as if to tear me apart, was now nudging its head into my hand.
“Kiiiing.”
When I stroked it with a trembling hand, it shrank its neck, looking drowsy and relaxed, leaving me dumbfounded.
“This can’t be happening.”
I was flustered because I knew how fierce it had been in the original story.
Contrary to rumors that meeting it could leave someone bedridden for a month, it looked more like a big, handsome cat…?
“Do you want me to pet you more?”
Gaining a little courage, I removed my hand slightly, and the red eyes followed it. As a being born of Leon’s magic, it certainly resembled him in the eyes.
“…Huh?”
Suddenly sensing another presence, I looked up and met someone’s gaze.
“….”
I recognized him instantly.
A tall, sturdy body marked by scars of battle, hair like blazing sunlight, red eyes tinged with blood…
The sun of Ignis, the third Sol, Hyperion Sol Lucius.
“Interesting. Babylon actually follows someone.”
“Grrr.”
Seeing the faint smile on his face, I couldn’t help but acknowledge the words that he was the embodiment of the sun.
A person shouldn’t look like that — it’s unfair.
“Glory to the Sun of the Empire.”
Babylon, who had been playing around with my hand and didn’t even notice his master, seemed to intrigue him, and his eyes flickered with curiosity.
“How strange.”
“…!”
As his long eyes slowly closed and opened again, time seemed to stop, and the space flipped.
What…? Magic?
Before I knew it, the blue garden vanished, replaced by a barren, oppressive atmosphere.
“You must have heard of a barrier, so you should understand.”
The man’s voice echoed in the dark office where no light penetrated.
“This is a place no one can enter.”
Looking around in confusion, I felt no warmth at all.
Walls lined with swords and gun barrels, the dry scent of ink and paper. Silent, lonely, secretive…
“Sent by the Empress, perhaps.”
Leon ran his fingers across the desk and picked up a musket.
The click of it being loaded was eerily clear.
“Or maybe the Temple?”
“….”
I couldn’t believe it, but the barrel was pointed directly at me.
Yet the man’s gaze through the trigger remained calm, as if he wasn’t killing but hunting for fun.
“Why don’t you beg for your life?”
He asked again as I just stared silently.
“I don’t know what I did wrong to have to beg.”
“….”
My lips moved on their own.
I couldn’t understand why I had to die, or why I had to beg.
Maybe my mind was paralyzed by fear.
“I haven’t committed any crimes.”
“Then explain.”
A firm voice cut me off.
“How did a mere noblewoman cross a barrier and even control a familiar?”
“…That is.”
I wanted to retort, “How would I know?” But with only one life at stake, I spoke slowly.
“You already know I am innocent, Your Highness.”
“Why?”
For a moment, his gaze seemed different.
It was the first trace of emotion I had seen on his otherwise expressionless face.
“Surely… if you really intended to kill me right here, you wouldn’t have given me time to explain.”
I knew Hyperion Lucius. He wasn’t a merciful ruler who listened to last words or excuses.
If there had been a reason to kill me, my neck would already be pierced.
So he was just testing me, not planning to kill me.
“Indeed…”
Finally, Leon’s lips, which had been tightly pressed, curved slightly.
“Interesting.”
He tossed the musket onto his desk and picked up a bell. His hands were so straight and beautiful that it was hard to believe he had just aimed a gun at me.
“Shall we have some tea?”
“No, I’m fine.”
I shook my head and went straight to the point.
“More importantly, I want to hear what you have to say to me.”
“Ah…”
Leon perched on the edge of his desk after a brief pause.
“Do you remember what you said that day?”
So it has come.
I bit my lip out of habit.
It wasn’t a dream. It wasn’t an illusion! Everything I did really happened.
Crying out Hyperion’s name, proposing marriage… all of it! What a mess!
“I believe I apologized repeatedly. If you want me to ask for forgiveness again—”
“No.”
He looked at me as if he had never cared about my apologies.
“I’m asking if you remember what you said to me.”
“Uh… I… I think so?”
I lifted my chin and feigned innocence.
“You said you wanted to date me.”
“No, I didn’t.”
“You said marriage was fine too.”
“You’d never hear me say that to Your Highness.”
“Princess.”
Hyperion leaned back in his chair across from me, speaking.
“If you talk nonsense later…”
I couldn’t avoid the sudden chill in his gaze.
“I said it would be boring.”
“….”
“Do you really not remember that too?”
“Your Highness, what is it you wish to tell me?”
Damn it. My hands, folded on my skirt, clenched on their own.
“First, let’s start with the engagement.”
