⟪“Are you alright?”⟫

Sensing something was off, I tried speaking to him, but the man still couldn’t respond. Before I could figure out what was happening, he suddenly collapsed from his chair.

“What’s going on?”

Even Edmund looked bewildered. I quickly rushed to check on the man who had fallen.

The fact that something not in the novel was happening now likely meant it was because of me—who also wasn’t in the original story.

The man was still struggling to breathe, and hives were breaking out all over his body. This looked like what people call anaphylactic shock—something like that.

But we had already confirmed allergies beforehand because of the banquet preparations. So then what could this be…?

I quickly ran through the banquet menu in my head. The steak was definitely safe. This man hadn’t even touched his dessert plate yet. Then the last thing he ate was… the fish.

“Fish? Pantol fish?”

The fish used in the dish—Pantol—was caught in the southern seas of the Empire. It was a very expensive fish, but it also had alkaline toxins in its body.

Since heat didn’t neutralize the toxin, it had to be carefully removed during the preparation process.

“Call a physician, now!”

At Edmund’s shout, someone sprinted off in a panic. Would this man survive before the doctor arrived?

I grabbed a lemon from beside the tea set.

“What are you doing?!”

Edmund shouted, but I ignored him and squeezed the lemon into the man’s mouth.

How many non-fiction passages had I read while solving CSAT problems? Humanities, philosophy, history, economics, law, politics, physics, chemistry. There had definitely been some useful ones among them.

One particular passage about “what to do if you’re stung by a bee” came to mind. It said that if stung by a wasp, since the venom was alkaline, applying an acidic substance could help neutralize it.

This was all I could do right now.

As I prayed that it would have some effect, the physician arrived, quickly assessed the symptoms, and administered an antidote.

“That was excellent first aid.”

The doctor praised me, and the other Arian delegates who had come with him bowed their heads in gratitude.

I couldn’t help but chuckle, remembering my language teacher who always said that reading would pay off one day, whether I needed to understand graphs, know soy meat recipes, or know first aid.

I thought: whether that was reading graphs, knowing soy meat recipes or first aid. Come to think of it, all of this knowledge came from my previous life.

“You did well.”

Once things had settled down, Edmund patted my shoulder and spoke.

“Then… how about going on a date with me?”

“If you say the word ‘date’ one more time, I’ll fire you on the spot.”

Ack! Messing with someone’s livelihood like that is just unfair. I pouted and grumbled under my breath.

“Going on a date is harder than I thought.”

“Do you have to ask two or three times a day?”

“Then I’ll just ask once a day. Is that okay?”

At my words, Edmund seemed to think responding wasn’t worth it, so he said nothing at all. But I wasn’t in a position to be picky right now, so let’s stick to one date request per day from now on.

“Anyway, I did say I’d give you a reward, so tell me something other than a date.”

Something other than a date…

I really wanted to ask, ‘When you were little, did you ever try to give a doll to someone named Angel?’ or ‘Did you ever get shot while running away with a doll in your arms?’ But because of that cursed scam contract, just trying to speak those words made my heart throb in pain—I couldn’t get them out.

“…Chocolate!”

“Chocolate?”

“Yes, the chocolate Your Highness threw away. I don’t usually get to eat expensive stuff like that. And that one was a limited edition!”

At my words, Edmund frowned. He wouldn’t refuse now, would he?

“You did say it was a reward!”

“…Fine. I’ll tell the royal chef to make some chocolate.”

“No! I want that one—the limited-edition one from that store!”

“…Are you saying I should go stand in line for it?”

“I’ll go with you and stand in line, too!”

I answered immediately.

“Then I’ll wait for you in the plaza tomorrow at 9 a.m.!”

It was only after I had run off that Edmund realised I had casually arranged a date. He called after me, but I pretended not to hear and kept running.

***

Edmund had a completely free schedule today. I made sure to put some effort into my appearance. As you’d expect during a festival, the streets were lively and noisy.

I wasn’t sure if Edmund would actually show up. I arrived earlier than our agreed meeting time and looked around. Even at this early time, the smell of grilled meat wafted from the street stalls.

It looked pretty tasty, too.

“Ha, all this just for some chocolate?”

“Wow, you really came?”

Honestly, I thought he might not show up, so seeing him here… it was kind of touching. Sure, Felix was trailing behind him, but still—this was the first time I’d seen Edmund outside the office.

“You told me to.”

Grumbling, Edmund took the lead. But then he turned back.

“So, that chocolate. Where is it?”

“Over here!”

I led the way and started chatting about all sorts of things.

“Since I grew up in the temple, I rarely had a chance to eat desserts.”

“I lost my memory after some trauma during the civil war. I think it was because of a gunshot.”

“That’s when I met a boy who had a gunshot wound on his hand. I want to find him.”

I rambled on and on, but Edmund didn’t react much. He just glanced ahead now and then, clearly only concerned with how much longer the line was.

“Whew, finally got it.”

Edmund brushed back his neatly styled hair and handed me the chocolate. It was a chocolate set twice as expensive as the one I had given him before.

“Thank you!”

“I gave you your reward, alright?”

He looked genuinely worried that I might change the deal on him.

“Of course. I’m satisfied. I’ll eat it slowly, and with care!”

“Well, I’ll be going now, so you should…”

As Edmund began to take his leave, I was just wondering how to stop him when an unpleasant voice cut through the air.

“Let go of me!”

“Oh? The girl speaks Imperial?”

“Well, that makes things easier. Hey, we’ll give you 10 krang—how about hanging out with us today?”

That line…

Where had I heard that line before?

“Felix.”

“Yes.”

Felix moved faster than anyone else at Edmund’s command. As soon as a uniformed man appeared, the thugs shrank back and scurried away instantly. The woman gave a quick bow to express her thanks.

“Th-thank you for helping me. I was in trouble, and your help came just in time!”

As she lowered her head, her dazzling silver hair swayed with the motion. Glossy, sun-kissed skin, eyes a deeper shade of red than Edmund’s—

This woman was from the Puglish people.

Despite her voluptuous figure, she had a cute, youthful face. She approached me with a sweet smile.

“…It’s my first time seeing a Puglish who speaks Imperial this well.”

In response to Edmund’s comment, she held out her hand. Of course, Edmund didn’t take it, but I did.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Ecla.”

Ecla, as in—the heroine of this novel?

“I’m Olivia.”

I replied almost out of reflex. Even as I introduced myself, I couldn’t help regretting asking Edmund to buy chocolate of all things today. I’d tried to prevent the fated encounter between the two of them, and yet they met anyway.

“I came here for the trade negotiations tomorrow, but I didn’t expect something like this to happen.”

She gently brushed her silver hair back. It was a graceful gesture, reminiscent of an elegant swan.

Come to think of it, Lucid once said that Edmund was attracted to glamorous women. It was only natural that he would fall for Ecla.

I looked at her body, then at mine, and sighed. The contrast was obvious and overwhelming.

“Trade negotiations?”

Edmund stepped forward at that, his interest clearly piqued.

“The Puglish representative scheduled to arrive tomorrow is supposed to be an elderly man.”

“Haha, that’s right. He’s my grandfather. I was planning to accompany him as an interpreter.”

So… they were destined to meet one way or another.

“Where did you learn Imperial?”

“I don’t think we Puglish should keep isolating ourselves. If we want to advocate for our rights in the Empire, the first step is communication, right? That’s why I studied hard.”

Ecla’s red eyes curved prettily as she smiled. Her long eyelashes fluttered like butterfly wings every time she blinked.

There was no denying it—the heroine was stunning.

“Your pronunciation is good. Have you considered working in the Empire?”

Edmund was already offering her a job without even knowing her full skill set. Just like in the original story, he’d fallen for her at first sight.

“Of course, if I had the chance, I’d love to. And if the Empire continues to open up to the Puglish people…Maybe one day, that’ll be possible.”

She smiled faintly as if picturing that kind of future, her gaze drifting off into the distance.

Just as a subtle atmosphere began to form between us, someone took my hand.

“There you are.”

It was Lucid.

Yesterday had been the day of the event hosted by Edmund, so today was supposed to be the day of Lucid’s own event. But what was he doing here?

“Second Prince?”

Lucid looked from me to Edmund, and then his gaze landed on Ecla.

In the novel, the three of them were caught up in a love triangle. Was fate truly unavoidable?

Lucid couldn’t take his eyes off Ecla. Edmund, watching the two of them, furrowed his brows.