I couldn’t remember much of the conversation that followed. When I came to my senses, the Empress had left, and only the Crown Prince and I remained.

The Crown Prince extended his hand to me as I sat there in a daze.

“Get up. I’ll escort you back to the ducal estate.”

As we walked side by side, I kept glancing at the Crown Prince. I couldn’t fathom what he was thinking when he said those things.

“Why do you keep looking at me? Do you have something to say?”

“What are you thinking?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean the marriage. You haven’t said anything about it until now.”

“Is that a problem? As Mother said, we’ve been engaged for over ten years, and we’re of age this year. It wouldn’t have been strange if we had married a few years ago.”

He responded as if he couldn’t understand my reaction.

“I don’t understand what you’re saying. Why are you reacting like this? You were the one who kept begging to become the Crown Princess as soon as possible.”

Hearing those words, something welled up inside me.

I let go of the Crown Prince’s hand and stopped walking.

What I wanted was not to become the Crown Princess but to be the wife of the man I loved.

For ten years, I had been anxious to stand by Pinion’s side, and it was only after regaining my past life’s memories that I realized it wasn’t my place. And now, being forced to fill Lina’s absence, I couldn’t marry the Crown Prince for the sake of everyone.

No, that’s just an excuse.

I simply didn’t want to.

“Your Highness.”

It wasn’t because he could easily discard me for another woman. It wasn’t because of Gined or the guy Iscallion, whom I haven’t seen yet, either.

‘I’ didn’t have the confidence to maintain a formal marriage with someone I didn’t love for a lifetime.

My honest feelings, which I had been suppressing, slipped out without me realizing it.

“What if I say I don’t want to get married now, Your Highness…?”

As ‘Lou,’ it was a justified statement, but as ‘Dronay,’ it was irresponsible.

I couldn’t bear to look at the Crown Prince, so I hung my head low.

I felt like he would coldly get angry and declare that he would hold my family accountable.

“Why?”

“I’m sorry, but I don’t love you anymore, Your Highness.”

“……”

The Crown Prince said nothing.

I kept staring at my toes, unable to see what expression he was making or how cold his eyes were.

“Hah.”

I heard a low sigh.

The Crown Prince cupped my face in his hands and made me look at him. Surprisingly, he was smiling. But his eyes were as cold as I had expected.

“No need to apologize. Whether you love me or not, or what you do with other men, I don’t care. I’m not idle enough to be jealous of my wife’s lover.”

“……”

“So stop with the love songs, Lou. The important thing is that I am the future ruler of the Empire, and you are the only woman suitable to be my consort. Unfortunately, it’s too late to take it back now.”

His cold lips briefly touched my forehead and then withdrew.

The kiss felt as chilling as being kissed by a snake, making me shrink back in fear.

Thinking I was scared, the Crown Prince softened his tone to comfort me.

“Don’t make such a dreadful face. It won’t be as bad as you think. I’ll give you everything you want, except for the foolish notion of love.”

His voice was sweet, almost like a whisper.

He brushed the hair that had fallen over my forehead and took my hand again.

Only then did I realize I had been clenching my fists tightly. A sharp pain and blood seeping through my thin indoor gloves made it clear.

Noticing the dampness, the Crown Prince looked down.

Seeing my blood-stained gloves, his face hardened.

“Look, you’re bleeding.”

Without giving me a chance to protest, he removed my gloves, revealing the scattered scabs on my hand.

“It’s nothing. The previous wound hasn’t fully healed, so it’s just… huh?”

At that moment, something strange caught my eye.

I widened my eyes and stared at the Crown Prince’s long, elegant hand.

His hand was smooth, without a single scar.

We had both injured our hands on the same day.

But only the Crown Prince’s wound had completely healed?

“When did this happen?”

“The day Your Highness came to see me, I pricked myself with my accessories.”

The Crown Prince’s face also showed confusion. He was undoubtedly thinking the same thing as me.

The unease I had forgotten began to creep back in.

Just then, we heard a commotion not far away. A knight, staggering, was running towards us. His armor was dented in various places and blackened as if it had been scorched.

Seeing his unusual appearance, the Crown Prince and I stopped our conversation and looked in his direction.

“I greet Your Highness the Crown Prince. I apologize for not observing proper etiquette due to the urgency of the matter.”

“It’s fine. Speak.”

The knight glanced at me with a troubled expression.

Understanding his meaning, I stepped back.

Only then did the knight lower his voice and whisper to the Crown Prince.

After the knight finished speaking, the Crown Prince was silent for a moment.

“…Is that true?”

“Yes. I confirmed it with my own eyes.”

The Crown Prince quickly turned to look at me. His beautiful face was clearly filled with confusion. Seeing the Crown Prince, who rarely showed surprise, made me uneasy.

“Don’t return to the ducal estate tonight. Stay in the palace. I’ll inform the Duke.”

“Has something bad happened?”

“It’s nothing serious. I’ll explain later. We’ll continue our conversation then.”

It seemed urgent, as the Crown Prince left with the knight without looking back.

Wondering if something significant had happened, I tried to recall any events from the original story around this time, but nothing came to mind.

A servant approached me as I stood there.

“I’ll show you to your room, Miss.”

I looked in the direction where the Crown Prince had disappeared and slowly nodded.

‘Well, he’s the male lead, so nothing serious will happen.’

Despite the peaceful times limiting his opportunities to showcase his skills, Pinion was one of the strongest swordsmen on the continent.

Moreover, he wasn’t entirely human.

The first Emperor of the Kebrenia Empire was said to be the child of the Sun God and a human. The imperial family’s unique platinum hair, resembling the brilliance of the sun, was proof that they were descendants of the Sun.

Over generations, the divine blood had diluted, and its powers weakened, but Pinion, the male lead, possessed abilities almost equal to those of the first Emperor.

In short, he wasn’t someone a substitute female lead like me needed to worry about.

Entering the bedroom, I flopped down on the bed.

The guest bedroom attached to the Empress’s palace was luxurious yet comfortable.

But there was no way I could sleep.

“That wretched bastard!”

I pounded the pillow, imagining it was the Crown Prince.

“What? Stop with the love songs?”

I couldn’t contain my anger after my heartfelt confession was dismissed so coldly. At the same time, I was horrified by his ruthlessness.

Even though he hated me so much, he was determined to go through with the marriage.

Unless a better woman appeared, he clearly had no intention of letting me go. In a way, I had to respect his resolve.

‘Since I already told him the truth, maybe I should confess everything.’

What if I told him that he originally had an irreplaceable lover, and that she, tired of his intense love, turned back time and left for another world with a dragon? And that I had to take her place and save the world with the power of love…?

“Even a passing dog wouldn’t believe that.”

But I couldn’t let the marriage proceed as it was.

Pinion, who hadn’t budged for ten years, was not going to change his mind in just over a year, and the proud Gined or Iscallion wouldn’t even glance at a married woman.

‘I need to delay it somehow!’

While I racked my brain, dawn broke.

I wanted to discuss the marriage further with the Crown Prince, but by then, he still hadn’t returned.

In the end, I had to return home without any progress.

“Lou, you’re back?”

My parents were both awake, even at this early hour, as if they had been waiting for me.

“We received a message. What happened?”

Mother asked.

“I don’t know. His Highness the Crown Prince just told me to stay in the palace. It seemed like something unusual happened…”

“We’ll find out when we enter the palace today. Let’s have breakfast together.”

I wasn’t hungry, but I nodded. I had something to discuss.

As we ate breakfast, I cautiously conveyed the Empress’s intentions to my parents.

“Um, Her Majesty the Empress asked if it would be alright to hold the wedding within this year.”

“Is that true?”

“Finally?”

My parents’ faces lit up at my words.

No matter what the public thought, to them, I was their precious only daughter.

No parent would be pleased to see their daughter pining for a man who wouldn’t marry her.

“Yes, it’s about time you got married. It’s absurd that the marriage has been delayed for ten years!”

Father’s pent-up anger resurfaced, and he raised his voice.

Seeing that, I couldn’t bring myself to speak.

I hung my head and spoke with difficulty.

“Um, but…”

Both of my parents’ gazes turned to me simultaneously.

“What’s the matter?”

Even then, I hesitated for a long time.

It wasn’t that I was afraid my parents would be angry. If that were the case, it might have been easier.

My parents were extremely attached to me, their only child. It was the same in the original story. Even when Lou committed evil deeds, they were the only ones who stood by her.

The reason it was so hard to speak was that I knew they would do anything to support my wishes, no matter the cost.

“What’s wrong? Tell us anything.”

“I… don’t think I’m ready to get married yet.”

Father and Mother’s eyes widened in surprise.