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Chapter 12
‘Oops. Was that too close?’
In her effort to convey her sincerity, she had apparently gotten a little too close.
Realizing that, Chloe naturally withdrew her hand and flashed a bright smile.
“Your Highness, what have you been doing all this time?”
“I was studying.”
At that answer, Chloe tilted her head.
‘Studying? Instead of studying in the Crown Prince’s Palace, he stayed in the reception room to study?’
She had assumed he still had business with the Empress, but apparently that wasn’t the case.
Perhaps noticing her confusion, the prince averted his gaze and answered calmly.
“Because I knew you would come back to the reception room. You were summoned here because of me in the first place, so I thought I should help you until the very end.”
As he explained that he had stayed there because he was worried something else might happen, Shuel’s face looked remarkably composed.
Chloe smiled at him and was just about to respond when—
“Her Majesty the Empress has arrived!”
Along with the attendant’s announcement, the Empress entered the audience chamber.
Startled, Chloe hurriedly greeted her.
“Greetings, Your Majesty.”
Although simplified, Chloe’s greeting was flawless.
Watching her, the Empress spoke in a somewhat irritated tone.
“Count Blair told me an interesting story. I hear you received a remarkable gift from a merchant lord of the Kingdom of Konfa?”
Apparently, the count had reported their transaction to the Empress as though the merchant lord had simply given Chloe a gift.
The Empress thought for a moment before adding,
“I already knew you were quite capable. As for the prince’s judgment… well, perhaps it isn’t entirely bad.”
At those words, Chloe’s face brightened.
But before she could say anything, the Empress continued.
“I have business to discuss with the prince now. You will go to the garden.”
“Huh?”
Caught off guard by the sudden order, Chloe instinctively asked back, but the Empress remained firm.
“I will assign someone to guide you through the garden, so you will not be bored.”
Though bewildered by the one-sided command, Chloe lowered her head and responded.
“I obey Your Majesty’s command.”
It was already time for her to go home, and suddenly she was being sent to the garden.
The situation was absurd, but sadly, she had no power to refuse.
Following the Empress’s order, Chloe headed toward the garden, still unable to make sense of it.
‘Seriously, why the garden all of a sudden?’
She could have understood if the Empress had simply told her to return home.
The Empress’s unpredictable behavior left her feeling uneasy.
Then she noticed someone standing near the entrance to the garden.
Because it was already late evening, she couldn’t see the person’s face clearly.
Tilting her head in confusion, Chloe continued walking.
As she drew closer, she realized it was a young boy.
Glossy black hair, pale skin, and a proudly sculpted nose.
He looked about Chloe’s age, yet his appearance was already astonishingly complete and handsome.
‘Wow. The imperial family really has a ridiculous number of handsome men, starting with Shuel.’
She admired him absentmindedly before suddenly realizing something.
‘Wait. Black hair?’
The traits of the boy before her perfectly matched those of the villainous secondary male lead from the original story—Grand Duke Cloud.
Just as Chloe looked more closely to confirm it, their eyes met.
“What is this? Why does this brat look so obnoxious?”
The very first thing he did upon meeting her was insult her.
Caught completely off guard, Chloe stared blankly, unable to hide her bewilderment.
But the boy had no intention of waiting for her to recover.
“What are you doing? You recognized me, didn’t you? Are you planning to just stand there staring instead of greeting me?”
He reprimanded her as though it were only natural for her to know who he was.
Every word he spoke was sharp and prickly.
Among all the people she could encounter in the imperial palace, only Cloud could possibly be this rude.
“It is an honor to meet you, Your Grace, Grand Duke Cloud.”
Since Cloud, the Empress’s son, had never been officially recognized as a prince, he had long been granted a largely ceremonial title and was known as a grand duke.
Without adding any unnecessary comments, Chloe greeted him properly.
“Hmph.”
Shrugging, he slowly looked her up and down before speaking.
“Her Majesty instructed me to guide you around the garden.”
At those ridiculous words, Chloe nearly gaped in disbelief.
‘The guide she mentioned was the secondary male lead?!’
No, seriously—why would anyone pair the villainess with the villainous secondary lead?
Was the idea that if things were going to be a disaster anyway, they might as well double down on it?
Chloe squeezed her eyes shut.
‘I’d rather become friends with Shuel.’
That was her completely unfiltered, honest thought.
Feeling faint, Chloe somehow managed to keep her expression under control.
Apparently, the boy noticed it immediately.
He strode right up to her and sneered irritably.
“How dare you ignore me?”
Only then did Chloe realize he had interpreted her reaction as disrespect.
She hurriedly explained.
“I wasn’t ignoring you. My apologies. I was simply thinking about Her Majesty for a moment—”
“Oh. You were just with the prince, so now you think a grand duke isn’t worth your attention?”
Chloe lifted her head to deny it.
But what greeted her was Cloud’s icy gaze.
“That’s not—”
Before she could finish, he coldly cut her off.
“Stop getting on my nerves.”
His annoyed, abrasive tone left Chloe inwardly stunned.
Even if she ranked below the imperial family, she was still the only daughter of a duke.
Yet Cloud showed outright hostility toward her without the slightest regard for status.
‘What kind of idiotic behavior is this? The foolish villain in the original story was me, not Cloud.’
The Cloud Chloe remembered—the secondary male lead and the character closest to becoming the final boss—had been much more cunning and far more ruthless.
His face had always been cold, but he was hardly lacking in social skills.
He knew how to act pleasantly toward his political enemies.
And with that smiling face, he never hesitated to cut them down.
Then Chloe suddenly realized something.
This was eight years before the original story even began.
‘Was he originally this sensitive and irritable, only becoming cunning and manipulative as he grew older?’
After a brief silence, Chloe finally spoke.
“I never ignored Your Grace in the first place.”
“Ah, sure. Let’s just say that’s true.”
Cloud shrugged lazily and replied carelessly.
“The point is, I simply don’t like you. Is there really any reason to analyze it that deeply?”
So that was it.
Cloud was acting hostile simply because he disliked her.
For a moment, Chloe considered whether she should quietly let it slide or push back.
“I can tell who you take after. That weak-willed duchess of a mother—”
But insulting her family was where she drew the line.
Chloe widened her eyes and cut him off.
“Your Grace is a grand duke, and I am a young lady invited by Her Majesty the Empress.”
“So? What does a mere duke’s daughter—”
“More important than the fact that I’m a duke’s daughter is that I’m Her Majesty’s guest, isn’t it?”
At the same time, Chloe stopped bothering to hide her irritation and confronted him directly.
“If you’re treating me this rudely, then I suppose it’s fair to say that Your Grace is disrespecting Her Majesty herself.”
At that bold—borderline audacious—remark, Cloud blinked a few times.
Then he let out an incredulous snort.
“…Ha!”
And added,
“You. Do you even know who I am?”
The reprimand carried the implication that although he held only the temporary title of grand duke, he was still the son of the Emperor and the Empress.
Chloe answered brightly.
“Of course I do. You’re Grand Duke Cloud, son of His Majesty the Emperor and Her Majesty the Empress.”
As Chloe responded obediently, Cloud’s expression became slightly smug.
But as soon as she continued, it turned cold again.
“However, the reason Your Grace can hold the title of grand duke is also because of Her Majesty. As for a mere duke’s daughter like me, Her Majesty is far more frightening.”
In other words, wasn’t the authority he wielded only possible because he was the child of the Emperor and Empress?
So what kind of disrespect was this toward one of the Empress’s guests?
Surely the Empress would be thrilled to hear that her guest was being treated this way.
It was a sophisticated, indirect jab.
Judging by the way Cloud’s expression instantly froze, her message had been received loud and clear.
With an icy stare, Cloud replied as though he found the situation utterly ridiculous.
“I wonder how long that arrogant attitude of yours will last.”
