Her gaze happened to fall on the mirror. Natalie was a bit surprised to see her own reflection. Her eyes were sparkling with small excitement, and her cheeks were flushed.

‘I thought my smiles and tears had dried up long ago.’

She touched the hairpin Bella had placed and smiled bitterly.

“Bella, I have high expectations for you. Please entertain me.”

***

After leaving the princess’s room, Bella headed to the garden instead of returning to her own room.

‘The weather is nice, I should take a walk and organize my thoughts.’

Passing by the fountain where Florian had first appeared at the concert a few days ago, she went further and came across an unfamiliar area. Beyond that, she could see pathways leading to other spaces.

Gardens with different themes in each section stretched endlessly. It was a scale befitting the enormous villa that was called a palace.

‘I didn’t know it was this vast. It’s quite enjoyable to explore.’

In the game, there was limited freedom, so players could only visit a few predetermined places, and even then, they could only choose from among options. There wasn’t even a map.

As a result, the garden was unfamiliar even to Bella, who had played the game multiple times. Come to think of it, even inside the building, movement was determined by choices, so there must be many places she hadn’t seen.

Every part of the garden was beautiful. Bella walked around spellbound, taking in her surroundings, and gradually became lost in thought.

‘How long has it been since I came to the Summer Palace? A little over a week now?’

Originally, the first week was like an exploration phase, closer to a character introduction chapter, so no major events occurred.

For the next week or two, she would meet with the male leads alternately once or twice, gradually deciding which route to take. And depending on who she became close to, the events would start to diverge.

Of course, to make the fifth male lead appear, she needed to maintain a certain distance from all four men.

Judging from Natalie’s reactions so far, she didn’t seem to particularly favor any of the four. If that was the case, there was a high possibility of taking the fifth male lead’s route.

‘As long as it’s not Blake or Everitt, it should be fine.’

Bella chewed her lower lip as she thought about the bastard and the madman. Ironically, whenever she thought of them, she felt a tightening in her lower abdomen, which irritated her even more.

‘I want to drive a wedge between them.’

How nice it would be if she could openly say, “Those guys are no good, Your Highness.” But no matter how she looked at it, she wasn’t in a position to advise Natalie.

‘I can’t even bring those guys up first.’

It would be disastrous if she carelessly made those two men a topic of conversation and caused misunderstandings. Though it might not be a misunderstanding since what happened was real, but still.

Conversely, it felt awkward to openly promote the other male leads. Hadn’t Natalie teased her about liking Florian just because she had listened attentively to his song?

It would be troublesome if Natalie mistakenly thought Bella had feelings for Leon because she praised him too much. Bella didn’t want to be a hindrance or obstacle to Natalie’s romance in any way.

Even now, there were only three suitable fiancé candidates left, and one of them might not even appear. If she got entangled with one of the few male leads…

‘Wait, only I know that there are just those five male leads.’

Bella stopped in her tracks.

‘I know because I’ve played the game, but Natalie wouldn’t know. Strictly speaking, every noble man in the Summer Palace is a candidate.’

Was there a way to use this?

‘What if I dated one of the extras briefly? If a lady-in-waiting with her own lover makes recommendations, it wouldn’t seem self-interested, right? If I openly stick with someone, maybe the bastard and the madman would back off.’

But the problem was that she didn’t feel like doing it at all.

She had purely wanted to secretly watch her digital daughter’s heart-fluttering romance, but now she might have to pretend to date someone she didn’t even like. How could things get so twisted?

As Bella walked with furrowed brows, deep in thought, something caught her eye in the distance.

When she looked up, she saw someone walking toward her from the other side of the garden. It was a beautiful man with a slender silhouette like an elf from a classic fantasy. His silver hair, loosely braided and draped over one shoulder, was dazzling.

‘It’s Florian!’

To meet him by chance like this! Her surprised heart fluttered unnecessarily.

When Florian’s eyes met Bella’s, he hastily knelt on one knee and bowed his head.

“Huh?”

It seemed he intended to remain kneeling until Bella passed by.

Ah. He must have mistaken me for Natalie too.

Bella quickly approached him with brisk steps and spoke.

“Please stand up. You’ve mistaken me for someone else. I’m not the princess.”

At that, Florian raised his head. The moment their eyes met—his beautiful purple irises with hers—Bella thought that nothing else mattered anymore.

How could someone be so beautifully made?

To think of pretending to date some extra when such male leads existed—if that were possible, she wouldn’t be human but a god of acting.

Florian blinked a couple of times upon seeing Bella’s face. Soon, his face took on a faint red hue.

“Ah, you’re the lady who was beside the princess that time.”

Even his normal speaking voice sounded like singing to Bella’s ears. Without realizing it, she clasped her hands together and asked.

“You remember me?”

“You were listening with such a happy expression that it made me enjoy singing even more. I remember you well.”

‘This is criminal. With that face and that voice, it’s complete flirting.’

Surely anyone, not just Bella, would listen with such an expression to his singing. In the original game, there must have been many ladies who swooned at his voice.

“I didn’t realize the princess had a sister of such similar age.”

“Sister? Not at all. I’m the princess’s lady-in-waiting. I have no blood relation to Her Highness.”

She had long abandoned the thought that she didn’t resemble Natalie, but to be called her sister? Surely, they weren’t that similar?

Surprised, Bella quickly waved her hands and changed the subject.

“Where were you headed?”

“Ah.”

Florian smiled thinly, seeming a bit embarrassed.

“To be honest, I’m not sure myself. I came out for a brief walk and ended up getting lost.”

“If you follow the path I came from in the opposite direction, you should be fine.”

It was understandable to get lost in such a vast place. Bella smiled and looked back, only to see her view blocked by a row of trees trimmed into neat, square blocks. When had she come this far?

“Hmm… I can’t see the palace building. But I’m certain it’s that way. I came straight along this path.”

“Thank you, my lady.”

Florian gave a slight bow and then took a step in the direction Bella had pointed.

My lady? Bella suddenly realized she hadn’t even introduced herself. It was a mistake born from knowing too well who the other person was.

In such situations, the other person would typically ask for a name, but he didn’t. He hadn’t even introduced himself.

People who approached him probably already knew who he was, so he likely hadn’t felt the need until now. Typical of a famous minstrel.

Though she was essentially treated as an extra not worth a formal introduction, she didn’t feel particularly bad about it.