I barely managed to cool my burning face as I called out to him.
“Sir Knight.”
“Yes.”
“You’re not sick, are you?”
Adriel’s thick eyebrows twitched.
“I’m more lucid than when I drank poison.”
I opened and closed my mouth as I continued.
“No… no, this is strange. How could you suddenly like me otherwise?”
“It’s not sudden.”
“Not sudden?”
I blinked blankly.
Then, since when?
I was about to ask without thinking, but hurriedly closed my mouth.
No, don’t ask.
Fine, whatever. Adriel might like me.
It’s an impossible story, but anyway, let’s say that’s possible.
But so what? What changes?
I couldn’t accept Adriel’s feelings anyway.
Though it’s unfortunate for him, I had no desire to get involved with a character from a novel.
A character from a novel was like a time bomb that could explode at any moment for me.
Even if I change the flow of the novel, I won’t be able to escape the anxiety that being with them might eventually return things to the original novel’s course.
And who would be the worst character for me to get involved with?
The man confessing to me right now. The Holy Knight from the original novel, who brutally killed Rosemary, Adriel.
“If you want proof….”
“No, no. That’s enough.”
I quickly waved my hand to indicate I didn’t want to hear it.
“Let’s pretend I didn’t hear what you just said.”
Adriel opened his mouth slightly, looking confused.
Seeing his expression made me feel bad, but I gathered my resolve and continued.
“I like things as they are now. I’ve never thought about anything beyond this relationship.”
“May I ask why?”
Why…?
I was momentarily speechless.
Well, it’s obvious, isn’t it?
What could I possibly answer?
Sorry, I don’t like you because you’re a character in a novel? Or I don’t like you because I think you’ll k*ll me later?
No matter what reason I gave, he would either think I was making ridiculous excuses or that I had finally gone mad.
But… I don’t really need to be honest, do I?
“I-I’m not interested in dating anyone right now.”
I should just give a plausible excuse.
“I’m busy. I’ve become the head of the family, so I need to manage the household, and with more family members, I need to earn more money… Oh, and I also need to play with Wit.”
Even to me, it sounded more like excuses as I went on, but I brazenly listed my reasons.
After silently listening to me, Adriel responded after a brief silence.
“I understand what you’re saying.”
…Huh?
Adriel continued in his usual blunt voice.
“I don’t want to force my feelings on you.”
“……”
Why is he accepting this so quickly?
His attitude suggested he had no lingering attachments, which almost made me want to ask why he wasn’t being more persistent.
“T-that’s good then.”
I turned my head away and started walking.
What is this?
I’m the one who rejected him, so why do I feel like I’m the one who got rejected?
My feelings were complicated.
“Your face is red. Do you have a fever…?”
“Ah, it’s because it’s hot. Just hot.”
I walked quickly, not wanting Adriel to notice my confused emotions.

***

A few days after receiving that absurd confession.
A splendid banquet was held to celebrate the Emperor’s birthday.
Having just inherited my title, I received attention from various nobles at the banquet.
It was probably because the process of inheriting the title had been quite tumultuous.
Somehow, my image had become that of a protagonist in a coming-of-age novel, someone who overcame parental *buse and harsh circumstances to claim a title.
For some reason, the looks people gave me seemed to contain a mixture of admiration and sympathy.
“The banquet is quite long.”
It was when I had moved to a corner seat for a brief rest after being pushed around by people.
“They say the Third Prince’s momentum is quite concerning these days?”
My feet were stopped by a noble’s voice.
The Third Prince… that’s Deus?
I stared in confusion at the nobles whispering among themselves.
Why is the male protagonist’s name coming up here?
Despite being the male protagonist of the novel, Deus had been a character with the presence of a speck of dust until the original story began.
Born to a powerless Empress, his position was precarious, and apart from his appearance, there was nothing particularly special about him.
So why are they talking about Deus now, before the original story has even begun? Curious, I perked up my ears.
“I heard the Third Prince wiped out hidden rebels.”
“Is that all? A week ago, he also won a duel against the Captain of the Imperial Knights.”
“The atmosphere these days is quite unusual. He’s been remarkably prominent for the past month, so even His Majesty the Emperor is paying close attention.”
“Could this endanger the Crown Prince’s position? Recently, there have been widespread rumors that his relationship with His Majesty has soured.”
“I wonder how the world is turning. How could that incompetent, invisible Third Prince suddenly….”
Secretly listening to their conversation, I privately swallowed a scream.
Eliminating rebels, winning a duel against the Captain of the Imperial Knights.
These were all events from the middle part of the original novel.
This means….
The original story has been accelerated.
Without my knowledge, the original plot was rapidly beginning.
So did Deus finally succeed in making a contract with that demon called Leon?
I now knew that what I had thought in the original story was Deus becoming stronger through the power of love for Violet was actually power gained through a contract with a demon.
And I also knew that to contract with the demon of power, he needed to sacrifice people.
Just how many people has he killed so far?
While I was seriously biting my lip.
“We meet again here, Lady Ferial.”
When I looked up, sure enough, I saw Violet’s face. Gone was her lovely smile, replaced by coldly hardened eyes.
“Ah, excuse me. I should call you Count now, shouldn’t I? After all, you finally drove out your father and seized the title.”
What’s this? Why is she picking a fight?
I just quietly stared at Violet, who was sneering with a thoroughly crooked smile.
When I didn’t react, Violet got heated on her own and rebuked me.
“I will never forgive you.”
She began to curse me with a voice full of hostility and resentment.
“How dare you slander my brother and then go around flirting with that Holy Knight in public?”
I had intended to ignore Violet and walk past, but I stopped and opened my mouth.
“You reap what you sow.”
“What did you say?”
“You harvest what you plant.”
“W-what?”
I shrugged my shoulders.
“I just reported the facts about what the Marquis had done, so what slander are you talking about?”
Violet opened her mouth with a dumbfounded expression.
“You… what do you know to speak so carelessly?”
Soon, with eyes brimming with tears but looking vicious, she shouted.
“There are reasons for everything my brother did! Even if they were bad things, there were reasons for all of them!”
I looked pathetically at Violet, who was shouting regardless of the glances from other nobles.
What reasons could there be for bad deeds? Do you think your brother is some kind of dark hero?
Finding no value in continuing the conversation, I turned my back on Violet.
“I won’t forgive you.”
With each step I took, a gloomy voice filled with resentment came faintly from behind me.
“You and that Holy Knight, I will never forgive either of you.”
I rubbed my goosebump-covered arms and quickly left the place.