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Chapter 11
“…It’s my fault. You can hate me all you want. Just… please don’t cry, Yulia.”
He pulled me into his arms as I wept.
“Hhkk—”
“I don’t want to see you cry.”
I didn’t want to be in the same space with him anymore.
“Let’s… never see each other again.”
I pushed him away with all my strength and hurried down the stairs—but unlike before, he didn’t try to stop me this time.
As I descended, I clumsily tied the ribbon of my dress.
I never wanted to see him again.
I should’ve known—one should never get entangled with the villain.
I hated the lingering feeling of his lips on mine.
“……”
Why was the sky so clear today, of all days?
I wanted to rinse my mouth out with water.
Yes, this was right.
He was someone I should never have gotten involved with in the first place.
It was better to cut ties like this.
The fault was mostly mine anyway.
As long as I wasn’t shameless enough to face him again, there was nothing to worry about.
“Lady?”
“…Who are you?”
The man standing before me had bright platinum hair that caught the sunlight and blue eyes as clear as the daytime sky.
He radiated warmth—a completely different presence from the dark aura of the villain.
It felt like I was meeting the actual male lead from the original story.
“My name is Idrian Blair.”
It really was the male lead.
First the villain, and now the protagonist himself—what were the odds?
“I thought you might need this, my lady.”
He offered me a pristine white handkerchief.
Did I look that pitiful?
Well, I couldn’t deny I must’ve looked a mess.
“Thank you.”
His personality was the complete opposite of the villain’s.
Maybe that was why he’d won over the heroine’s heart.
And of course, with such a handsome face and such kindness—it made sense.
If I were the heroine, I’d probably fall for a man like him rather than the villain, too.
Just then, I noticed Chester approaching—his expression dark and stormy.
My heart lurched violently.
The look in his eyes felt like a living embodiment of fear itself.
“Lady?”
“……”
I instinctively used the male lead as a shield between us.
Before the heroine entered the story, these two were supposed to be friends.
Surely, he’d block Chester for me.
And if not… I could always run.
“Chester?”
“Move.”
“Do you have business with this lady?”
“That’s none of your concern.”
“Maybe not, but still…”
“Then step aside.”
When I glanced at Chester, our eyes met.
His face was filled with fury, and my body flinched before I could stop it.
My heart pounded faster—terror spreading through me.
I hid again behind Idrian’s shoulder, using him as cover from Chester’s gaze.
“Yulia.”
“…I have nothing more to say.”
Just then, I spotted a carriage bearing the crest of House Chloe.
It must’ve come to pick up Cecil.
Perfect timing.
I could use this chance to escape with her.
Right on cue, Cecil stepped out of the café.
I ran toward her.
“Cecil!”
“Yulia?”
“Please—help me get out of here.”
“…All of a sudden? I don’t know what’s going on, but you look desperate, so fine—I’ll help.”
Thanks to Cecil, I managed to flee that nightmare of a scene.
“Yulia, did something happen?”
“…Haah. Cecil, I think I’m going to go into hiding for a while.”
“Is this because of Duke Zikvert? There are rumors all over the social circles lately.”
“What rumors?”
I rarely paid attention to gossip, so I had no idea what was being said.
“They say the Duke has fallen for you—that he’s been showering you with gifts and courting you publicly.”
Cecil’s eyes sparkled with curiosity.
I found her gaze overwhelming and instinctively looked away.
“Is that true?”
“…Mm.”
To be precise, it wasn’t courting—it was more like intimidation.
And “fallen for me” wasn’t right either—it was closer to obsession with my body.
Of course, I couldn’t tell Cecil the truth.
“No. There won’t be any more entanglements or scandals from now on.”
“…Yulia.”
“I’ve told you before, haven’t I? I’m going to live alone, under the title of princess.”
“Yulia, sometimes I really don’t understand you.”
“I’m happy living a quiet, lazy life, doing nothing.”
“Well, if that’s what makes you happy, then it’s fine.”
“My father and brother will never let me go—not until the day I die. They’ll always listen to me.”
It wasn’t just because they loved me.
My brother saw our mother when he looked at me, and my father acted out of guilt.
If I hadn’t read this novel—if that event in the past had never happened—I might have mistaken their feelings for pure love.
Maybe it would’ve been easier if I’d merely possessed this body,
but I was reborn—
and I remembered my childhood.
That’s why I knew their affection wasn’t entirely innocent.
“And both Father and Brother want me by their side forever. Especially my brother—he’d never let me go.”
“…Yulia, are you not going to attend the upcoming Imperial New Year’s Festival?”
“If I can avoid it, I will. But now that I’m an adult… if Father insists, I’ll have to.”
“I think it’d be nice if you came out to society again, Yulia.”
Honestly, I just found it tiresome.
I was born with everything anyone could want—so why waste effort scheming or playing social games?
No matter what form their love took, my family truly loved me.
So why bother exhausting myself?
“Cecil, you know how shy I am.”
“Yulia…”
“Still, I’ll go. I can’t stay hidden forever.”
After all, I’d already met the villain—
there was no point hiding anymore.
I’d secluded myself in the capital just to avoid him,
but now that was meaningless.
“Yulia, if something’s troubling you, promise you’ll tell me. I might not be able to help, but… at least I can listen.”
The carriage stopped—
we’d arrived.
“Cecil.”
“Yeah?”
“Do you have anything urgent to do at home?”
“No? Not really.”
“Then would you like to come in for some tea?”
The heroine—
loved by the male lead,
desired by the obsessive villain—
the happiest yet most unfortunate woman of all.
“Really?”
“Of course.”
“Yay! But is it okay? I came without notice.”
“Why wouldn’t it be? You’re the princess’s one and only friend. That deserves some special treatment.”
And I meant it.
With Cecil, I’d always been sincere.
I stepped down from the carriage first.
“Uh… Brother?”
To my surprise, my brother was there to greet me.
Wait—why was he here?
“You came back with a friend?”
“Yeah. Why? Is that a problem?”
“No, it’s just… You left saying you were meeting Duke Zikvert, and now you’re arriving in a carriage that’s neither his nor the Imperial one.”
“Don’t worry about it. It’s nothing serious.”
“…All right.”
I was about to walk past him when I remembered Cecil and turned back.
And at that moment, something strange hung in the air.
How should I put it—
the atmosphere suddenly felt… pink?
Bright and fluttery.
“Hm…”
Was I imagining it?
I narrowed my eyes and looked again—
but the faint, awkward tension from before had vanished completely.
“Cecil! Let’s go.”
“Okay!”
Maybe I was just imagining things.
We decided to have tea in the garden, at a table in the center surrounded by flowers.
But ever since getting out of the carriage, Cecil had been acting… odd.
“Cecil.”
“Yes?”
Even as she sipped her tea, her eyes looked vacant, like someone who’d lost her soul.
“…Do you like my brother?”
“Cough! Cough, cough!!”
Cecil choked violently, sputtering tea everywhere.
I saw it—she hadn’t even swallowed before choking.
“Ahem, ahem… Yulia, that’s not it at all.”
“Well… if you say it’s not, then it’s not.”
I didn’t plan to press her.
If she was waving her hands that frantically, I’d trust her—
because I was her best friend!
“Cecil. Then, what do you think love is?”
“Pfft!”
This time, she spat out all her tea.
“Ce… cil.”
“Yulia!”
It wasn’t even that deep of a question.
Was it really that shocking?
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. So… why do you ask what love is?”
“No reason. Just curious.”
“What kind of love are you talking about?”
“Between a man and a woman, I guess?”
Cecil was the only person I could ask such things.
“If it’s romantic love, I think it’s about kindness. Why? Don’t tell me this is about… Duke Zikvert?”
“No!”
“Hmm, really?”
“Really! There’s absolutely nothing between us!”
“Well, maybe not yet—but who knows what might happen later?”
Why did it feel like I was getting dragged into her pace?
“Yulia.”
“Yeah?”
“I don’t know if I should say this, but… from what I’ve seen, Duke Zikvert seems to be serious about you.”
“……”
“So don’t worry that he might not mean it.”
