-4-

While in the carriage, we sat facing each other. I kept staring at Roan, while he averted his gaze and looked diagonally into the air.

His face, bathed in sunlight from the side, was dazzling. Just looking at him felt purifying.

That indifferent expression looked so lovable. I was definitely falling hard for him, and I had no intention of getting out. Hehe.

Thus continued the strange situation where one of us stared while the other avoided.

As I admired Roan, I suddenly remembered something I had forgotten: the war he would soon be leaving for.

How should I bring it up? Should I just act crazy and tell him? He’d really think I was crazy then.

Anyway, for him to take it seriously, he’d at least have to believe what I said. I wanted to tear at my carefully styled hair, but I refrained since Roan was right there and fell into silent contemplation.

A breeze blew gently through the slightly open carriage window, rustling my blonde hair and Roan’s black hair. My thoughts seemed to drift away with the wind.

“Roan, have you attended many banquets?”

“Roan! The breeze feels so nice.”

“Roan, this carriage is really comfortable.”

I kept talking to Roan. He responded with short answers like “Yes” or “I see,” but even that made me happy.

That’s the heart of a fan. Thinking back, I remembered a friend from my past life who was a hardcore fan of a member from a then-rising idol group. One day, we were watching TV together, and when that singer briefly appeared on the screen, she screamed,

“Oh, my-“

and lost her mind.

At the time, I couldn’t understand what was so exciting, but now I felt like I totally got it. Anyone would be thrilled to have their favorite in front of them, whether they spoke for one second or ten seconds.

We arrived at the palace. As we got out of the carriage, the grand sight of the palace came into view.

Wow, it’s huge. While Delis must be used to this scene, having seen it countless times, I, who had only imagined it from the novel, felt like a country girl visiting Seoul for the first time, looking around in awe.

“Duke Roan von Bannister and Duchess Delis Bannister are entering!”

As we entered the banquet hall, I felt eyes turn toward us. A middle-aged man with green hair was the first to approach us.

“Greetings, Your Grace and Duchess.”

“Marquis Forrest. It’s been a while.”

Marquis Forrest! His name matches his hair color so well.

He was a noble who, like Roan and Delis, belonged to the emperor’s faction.

He always seemed like a kind neighbor uncle in the novel, and he looked the same in real life.

“Hello, Marquis.”

Just greeting him made him look at me in surprise.

Delis, did you not even greet people properly?

“Ahem.”

He composed himself after a moment of surprise.

When will the male and female leads appear? I was burning with anticipation. None of the royal family had shown up yet.

The emperor had two wives. The empress and the first concubine. I mentioned being here because the empress had already passed away. The empress’s children were Cameron and the first princess, and the first concubine also had a daughter and a son, the second prince and second princess.

The current empress used to be the first concubine. So, the crown prince, Cameron, and the first princess didn’t have her as their biological mother. From what I read in the novel, their relationship with the current empress wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t great either.

The empress naturally cared more for her own children. Nevertheless, the male lead became the crown prince. The empress had hoped her own son, the second prince, would become crown prince before the official declaration, but Cameron was chosen instead, due to the emperor’s strong stance.

The emperor didn’t necessarily favor Cameron out of love, but because he wanted to avoid internal strife over the throne and held the somewhat old-fashioned belief that the heir should come from the legitimate empress. Cameron was the empress’s child when he was born, but the second prince wasn’t.

Once declared, it’s hard to reverse the crown prince’s status unless he makes a grave mistake, so now it’s almost impossible for him to be replaced. The empress had no choice but to give up, hence her sad story.

Just then, familiar names reached my ears.

“His Highness Crown Prince Cameron Duvan Astrid and Her Highness Princess Sophia Lelier Astrid are entering!”

Oh, the grand entrance of the male lead! I turned around with a pounding heart.

“Ah….”

An involuntary gasp escaped my lips.

The crown prince’s appearance screamed, “I’m the male lead.” His ruby-like red eyes and shining golden hair were incredibly beautiful. Truly, a male lead’s look.

The princess also had red eyes and golden hair, and I wondered if the crown prince would be just as beautiful if he were a woman. The siblings had stunningly attractive faces.

The first princess was close to the crown prince, almost like a brother complex.

In the original story, she didn’t like the female lead being close with her brother.

But while she disliked the female lead, she detested Delis, who aimed for the empress’s position, even more.

Did she instinctively recognize someone trying to take her brother away? Despite her sharp tongue, I found her cute in the novel.

She reminded me of a feisty kitten, tiny but with her tail puffed up, trying to look fierce.

Even now, the shouts of the young ladies in the banquet hall, saying that the Crown Prince was so handsome they might go blind, were echoing.

Well, he was still unmarried. The fantasies of the young ladies must have been quite vivid.

In both my past life and this one, I had never seen anyone as handsome as Roan, and objectively speaking, the Crown Prince was as handsome as Roan.

But to my eyes, which were already biased, Roan seemed more handsome. Of course, our Roan is better. I was smiling contentedly with that thought as I looked at the Crown Prince.

I felt a gaze. It was Roan. For the first time since entering the banquet hall, he was looking at me before I saw him.

Roan! He was staring at me so intently. My heart! Unable to contain my joy, I asked,

“Hehe, Roan, why?”

He was silent for a moment before speaking in a stern tone.

“…Do you like it that much?”

His expression showed that he couldn’t accept his own question.

But what did he mean by “like”? Him?

“Yes, I like it.”

I replied with a giggle. His expression hardened even more. Did he dislike me liking him that much? Sigh. Such is the life of villainess.

With a sad expression, I looked back at where the Crown Prince had been. The Crown Prince and the Princess were no longer there. Where did they go?

Hmm?

They were now approaching us.

“Greetings to the little suns of the empire.”

I followed Roan’s words.

“Duke, it’s been a while.”

“It has been a while.”

The Crown Prince greeted Roan warmly, completely ignoring my greeting.

Oh, right. They were always like friends.

Indeed, it would be strange if Roan, the leader of the emperor’s faction, had no connection with the Crown Prince.

It was later when they would clash over Grace that the trouble would start.

In the original story, Roan wished for Grace and the Crown Prince’s happiness and left the capital’s political scene for his duchy in the north. Wishing for their happiness? Love is something to be won!

Originally, the emperor’s faction was stronger, but with Roan’s departure, their power noticeably weakened. Then in the novel, a bloody conflict erupted between the noble faction and the emperor’s faction.

In the end, the emperor’s faction won, but many nobles on both sides were killed or harmed. They say there are no winners in war; it was a pyrrhic victory.

“Your Highness the Princess, happy birthday.”

“Happy birthday.”

We offered our birthday greetings to the Princess.

“Thank you. Oh, Duchess, I’ve heard you’re still wasting your energy on pointless things these days. It must be tough for you to come all the way here.”

Sophia spoke with a haughty, cold tone.

What on earth had she heard? I heard that Delis and Sophia had only met once at a tea party. Did she hint from their first meeting that she wanted to be the empress?

“What do you mean?”

“Huh!”

She scoffed as if asking how I could not know.

It seemed Sophia was already aware that Delis had ambitions to become the empress.

“Oh, do you mean that? I’m trying to invest my time in more meaningful things now.”

I’m not interested in your brother anymore. I’m going to live a sweet life with Roan until we grow old and die.

“Is that so? Then that’s a great relief.”

Really? You’re not lying, are you?

I chuckled. Her wary demeanor reminded me of a little kitten.

“Yeah, sure. They say time is gold, don’t they, and you should invest it in something meaningful.”

I really don’t care! Just believe me.

I met her red eyes, hoping my thoughts would be conveyed.

She seemed unsure, debating whether to believe me or not. Tilting her head, she looked incredibly cute.

“…Cute.”

I unconsciously muttered my thoughts aloud. There was a moment of silence. Roan, the Crown Prince, and even the Princess who heard it were momentarily silent.

“W-what did you say?”

The Princess quickly asked, flustered.