Chapter 9

“Because a person’s heart always changes.”

Just as always now, seeing Skyler showing favor toward her, she remembered the versions of him that had brushed past in the past. There had never been any change in the way he had liked her from the first moment they met and had been restless because there was always something he wanted to do for her. She must not be deceived by this side of him. He was merely kind. Someday he would abandon her and, as always, leave in search of his true love.

Even knowing that, intoxicated by his kindness, Viviana had always been deceived, and deceived again.

“My heart… does not change.”

That was the answer he finally gave, looking at Viviana with trembling, wandering eyes. At those words, Viviana let out a short laugh. Does not change, he said. How could he even put such words into his mouth? The words carried a childish bravado, and when she laughed aloud, Skyler’s face hardened and he said, full of indignation, that he truly meant it.

As his neat face twisted, Viviana felt a little more pleased, and smiled sweetly.

“Really… then, shall we make a bet?”

“A bet?”

“Yes. I will bet that it changes, and you, Your Highness, no, Sir Skyler, will bet that it does not.”

“‘Skyler’ is enough.”

Though the name he had longed to hear came from her lips, Skyler’s mouth felt bitter. She answered him only vaguely and continued speaking.

“The time limit is… until before the wedding. If your heart does not change, then you win.”

As had always happened until now, he would be charmed by a love that appeared before the wedding and cast her aside of his own will, so she set the deadline as before the wedding. The reward for the bet was that the loser would grant the winner one wish.

“I will win.”

At those firm words from Skyler, Viviana smiled faintly. It would be better to be the winner if possible, but even being the loser would be fine. The outcome would be the same either way.

‘If I win….’

Whether it was a woman or a man who appeared later, she would not allow that person to be raised to the position of Empress. At most, she would allow them to be made an Imperial Consort, or a concubine, and leave the position of lawful wife empty, making him treat his own lover like a mistress. As Viviana made that vow, anger boiled in her eyes.

It would be the same even if she lost. Because once she took the place of Empress, she would ensure that his lover could not stand at his side.

She had not actually wanted to go this far, but his words that he would not change had made her angry, and so she had caused this. The die had already been cast, so she did not regret it.

With Skyler, who brought over two sheets of paper, she drew up a contract about the bet. No one yet knew who would be the victor between the unwavering heart and the changing heart.

After pressing their thumbprints onto each copy, they divided them and each hid one in their own clothing.

“Please take good care of me from now on.”

She smiled and held out her hand. Skyler, who had been about to take the back of her hand and kiss it as he would for an ordinary young lady, looked at the hand held out upright and instead clasped it and shook it.

“Please take good care of me as well.”

Seeing confidence shining in Skyler’s clear eyes, certain that he would win, Viviana’s smile deepened.

To Viviana, who had experienced several collapses because of his betrayal, that confidence seemed truly ridiculous.

‘I really am awful.’

He had done nothing wrong. Of course, what had happened in past lives was a fault, if one chose to call it that, but the Skyler of this life had done nothing wrong to the Viviana of this life. He did not remember his past lives, and he was still young. She felt a little bitter, as though she were pointlessly tormenting a child who knew nothing, but she smoothed her expression into calmness and disguised it.

After that, the exchange of personal questions continued. When was her birthday, what siblings did she have, and after many such topics, she learned that Skyler had been born in summer.

“So Viviana, you were born in autumn.”

Skyler thought it suited her terribly well. Even sitting here together, she felt lonely and solitary. She was like autumn itself.

“…Then shall we go back now?”

In truth, he wanted to stay with Viviana longer.

But today’s banquet was held to celebrate his birthday.

The main figure could not be absent for too long, so seeing the attendant in the back blinking tearfully and gesturing frantically, Skyler rose with no real choice.

Unlike him, who was reluctant to part, Viviana stood up at once as though it meant nothing to her.

That felt terribly cruel, and Skyler grew gloomy.

“Via.”

When Viviana returned to the banquet hall, she met Marquis Orhan, who had been waiting for her with an anxious face.

After greeting Skyler, who was escorting her, the Marquis quickly snatched Viviana away from his hand, and without sparing even a glance for the disappointed Skyler, led Viviana away.

“Did anything happen?”

“Nothing at all.”

The Marquis, who had been worried that something might happen because Viviana so deeply disliked the Crown Prince, was finally relieved at her words that nothing had happened. As he led her to one side of the banquet hall, she saw Celia with a worried expression, and Dennis stuffing dessert into his mouth with not a care or worry in the world.

Dennis had been cramming dessert into his mouth until his cheeks looked ready to burst, when his eyes met Marquis Orhan’s exactly.

Gasping as he sucked in a breath and shifted his eyes around, Dennis shouted at the Marquis,

“M-Mother said she did not want it!”

In other words, he meant that he himself had not wanted to eat it, but Celia, had left food behind, and since it would be a waste to leave it, he had been eating it in her place. Only at Dennis’s commotion did Celia realize that Viviana had returned.

“Via!”

She ran over and hugged her, looking her over all around to see whether she was hurt anywhere, and Viviana smiled and hugged her back.

“Nothing happened.”

When she whispered those words into her ear, only then did Celia relax and embrace Viviana in return.

While the Marquis looked warmly at the mother and daughter, he let out a sigh at the sight of his son, still stuffing dessert into his mouth while furtively gauging the mood.

“Very well, just grow up healthy.”

Marquis Orhan decided to think of it simply. At those words, Dennis did not know what he meant, but because his father was smiling, he grinned along with him. The whole family looked at Dennis and smiled as though he was impossible to deal with. In any case, nothing had happened to Viviana, and everyone was relieved.

After she remained with her family for a while, children came over holding their parents’ hands and greeted Viviana and Dennis.

Viviana had no intention of becoming close to anyone and replied only vaguely, but sociable Dennis exchanged a few words and then, at the words of a peer who said he would introduce him to other friends, grew excited and ran off in a crowd.

Once Dennis, who had been the one chattering away, left, those who remained shut their mouths like clams and kept silent.

“Um… I think I will be going….”

One of the girls could not bear the silence, then tearfully ran away.

That became the signal, and everyone scattered, leaving only Viviana in that place.

‘I want to go home.’

She wanted to go home, bury herself in bed, and fall asleep.

If she had time left, she wanted to shut herself in the library and read, and stroll through the garden.

Having gone through a meeting that made her so uneasy, her nerves had grown even sharper.

Then, sensing a gaze, she turned and saw that Skyler was looking at her.

When their eyes met, he smiled sweetly and waved, but at the sound of someone calling him, he erased that smiling face and pretended to act solemn.

Having lost interest, Viviana turned her head this time toward her parents. Her parents were busy chatting away with cheerful laughter.

‘How stifling.’

Feeling stifled and bored, she looked around and spotted the entrance leading out to the garden.

Thinking she should get a little air, Viviana stepped outside, and unlike the noisy interior, a quiet garden came into view.

“Flowers….”

Though the only flower name she knew was rose, her eyes were stolen by the flowerbeds of splendid colors that suited the Imperial Palace. She walked slowly while admiring the flowerbeds, marveling at the brightly colored flowers planted together in beautiful patterns.

‘There are mint-colored flowers too.’

It seemed they were naturally mint-colored, not dyed that way. She stood there staring in fascination, and then from somewhere came the sound of someone sniffling and crying.

‘Ah, this feels like something troublesome is about to happen.’

Sensing that if she got involved with this crying, something annoying would happen, Viviana narrowed her eyes and looked around for somewhere to escape to. As she moved, planning to quietly return to the banquet hall, the beads attached to her clothes struck together and made a soft rustling sound.

“Wh-who is it!”

A sharp shout came from the bushes. Tsk, clicking her tongue, Viviana tried to pretend she had not heard and keep walking, but it seemed that whoever it was had no intention of letting her go so easily. The bushes rustled, and from the middle of them, pop! a head of brilliant blond hair rose up, covered in leaves.

“Y-you!”

The child who sprang up opened her eyes wide and pointed at Viviana. Seeing that rude gesture, Viviana frowned, and the child shouted shrilly.

“You, you came to insult me too, did you not?!”

The child was on the verge of tears. She was the same child who had shoved Viviana earlier.

The child, Melissa, was the cherished jewel of the Kesha Viscount household.

The Kesha Viscount household did not hold a high title, but it was wealthy, and so among the lower nobles it was practically a leader.

On top of that, her face was rather pretty, and she also had a lovely mass of blond hair.

All the princesses in fairy tales were blond as well, so her hair was her pride.

Melissa, who admired pretty dresses, unicorns, and princesses and princes living in splendid castles just like the other children, had one day heard that she would be going to the Crown Prince’s birthday banquet, and her eyes had lit up. She did not know exactly what a Crown Prince was, but according to her parents, he was even greater than a prince.

‘The prince is looking for me!’

In fairy tales, on the prince’s birthday, a princess would appear, and the two would fall in love and marry. Thinking the Crown Prince was searching for her in just that way, Melissa fell into that delusion.

“Mother, Mother! I am the prettiest, am I not?”

“That is right, our Mel, you are the prettiest!”

Her mother pressed a kiss to her face. Laughing brightly, Melissa waited for the birthday to come. And when the day arrived, seeing the splendid Imperial Palace for the first time in her life, she burst into laughter while imagining herself living there in the future. As she went around looking at the children in the banquet hall one by one and comparing them to herself, the conclusion was that she was the prettiest one there.

‘That girl’s hair is such a dull color, and that one’s nose is too flat! …As I thought, I am the prettiest!’

As expected, she was the princess. When her parents brought her to where the other children were, she looked over every one of them and silently judged them.

They were all wearing pretty clothes, but even so, Melissa was the prettiest among them.

As always, Melissa planted herself at the center of the group and showed off as much as she pleased, and though everyone who heard her felt hurt, outwardly they all pretended to agree and admire Melissa.

“Surely the prince will fall for you the moment he sees you, Lady Melissa.”

“That is right!”

At that encouragement, Melissa lifted her nose proudly. And so she waited for the prince to come find her, and then the trumpets sounded and the doors opened.

“Ah….”

Melissa’s face turned dreamy. A prince even more handsome than the prince of her dreams was walking in holding the hand of a handsome king. Melissa wanted to wave her hand and let him know she was here, but instead she arranged her face into a proud and haughty expression and glanced sidelong at Skyler.

Then, just as laughter spread lightly with the king’s greeting and the atmosphere turned warm, the king, the Emperor, opened his mouth again.

“There is one more matter to celebrate.”