Chapter 37

The rattling sound of wheels rolling along the ground made me suddenly open my eyes.

Oops. I’d fallen asleep for a little while.

I had my lady-in-waiting check that my makeup hadn’t come undone before standing up.

“…All right.”

I made a small fist and clenched it tightly.

As I passed near the entrance, I caught sight of myself in the full-length mirror on the right.

Spring came, summer arrived, autumn passed by, and winter came and went. I had studied desperately, worked hard on my education to become a Princess Consort, and now I was fourteen years old.

The Prince was fifteen.

Did you understand what that meant?

Yes.

It was the age to enter the academy.

Because this was important, let me say it one more time.

The Prince was entering the academy.

What did that mean?

The phrase “the gears of fate have begun to turn” might have been the most fitting way to describe it.

It had been about five years since I realized that this world closely resembled an otome game. I was still the fiancée of Prince Dylan Vermelio, Second Prince, and I had continued receiving all the lessons necessary for that role.

While building a friendly relationship with the Prince, I had searched for a safe place for myself.

Honestly, I hadn’t done anything particularly unusual.

If anything, I had interacted with Ciel a little more and become closer to Schwarz and Will.

To be blunt, I thought fate would change on its own even if I did nothing. For one thing, the villainess—me—was already different.

There was no way everything could play out exactly like the game.

After all, we were actually living our lives like this. The future was uncertain, and we weren’t living according to some irresistible force imposed by the world.

The one thing I knew for certain was that I wasn’t as obsessed with the Prince as the game’s Bertia had been.

I was even prepared to accept being fine with having my engagement broken off.

I believed that small deviations could bring about major changes.

The girl reflected in the mirror was fourteen years old and looked a little more mature.

The villainess, Bertia, that I’d seen in the game seemed much more alluring.

I wanted to believe it was just my imagination that I looked plainer than her…

While I was lost in thought, I heard the door click open.

I quickly snapped back to reality and hurriedly bowed.

“Welcome to our home.”

I immediately raised my head and looked at the fifteen-year-old Prince.

If my best friend could see him, she’d probably have a nosebleed.

His shining blond hair seemed to glow with the light itself, while his blue eyes narrowed gently.

He was tall and slender, with legs that were almost ridiculously long.

Could you even call that a good figure?

He had practically achieved the golden ratio.

His features had become more mature, upgrading him from a beautiful boy into a handsome young man.

Wasn’t this guy practically invincible?

I thought I was fairly pretty myself, but I didn’t want to stand beside him. The little bit of radiance I possessed would be completely swallowed up.

“Congratulations on entering the academy, Prince.”

“Thank you, Bell. I’ve told you before, but you can call me Dylan, you know?”

The Prince smiled brightly, looking exactly like the illustration my best friend had shown me.

Seeing him in person, though, his radiance and aura were on another level.

Was this what it felt like to meet a celebrity?

And yet I was still calling my own fiancé, the Prince, by his formal title.

I thought it was probably about time I called him Lord Dylan.

But it was embarrassing to start now.

Why did being told to call someone by their name make it even harder to do?

“Once I enter the academy, I won’t be able to visit your home anymore, Bell.”

The Prince lowered his gaze to the floor sadly.

He looked genuinely miserable.

Honestly, I’d feel worse if he forced himself to come here anyway, so I didn’t mind…

Seeing the Prince smile sadly, I secretly clenched my fist.

In one year, my fate would be decided.

The Prince would definitely fall in love with the heroine.

For some reason, I had absolute confidence in that.

Once that happened, I’d have served my purpose as his fiancée.

If there was a heroine, I’d only be in the way.

When the day came for me to be told goodbye, I would accept it and agree.

That was the way to resolve everything peacefully.

If he continued getting along with me afterward, that would be more than enough.

The story of the heroine and the Prince.

A tale about a Prince carrying a dark shadow within him and the heroine who saved him would surely become a masterpiece, one that couldn’t be told without tears.

I would watch it all from the sidelines and spend my youth with Lord Ashwad.

I’d drop a handkerchief or something at the entrance ceremony, Lord Ashwad would pick it up, and that would be how our meeting began.

The next day, we’d coincidentally sit beside each other, hit it off during conversation, and gradually become irreplaceable to each other after starting out as friends…

Perfect!

What a wonderful life!

Now that I’d decided on this, I needed to lay the groundwork early.

Failure was not an option.

After showing the Prince into the guest room and chatting with him for a while, I finally gathered my courage and brought it up.

“Um, Prince.”

“I told you, you can call me Dylan.”

The Prince puffed out his cheeks slightly.

He really was beautiful.

Lately, his masculine charm had doubled, making him even more handsome.

“Have you ever wanted to fall in love, Prince?”

“Fall in love?”

He tilted his head curiously.

His golden hair swayed softly.

It was so dazzling that I narrowed my eyes slightly.

“Yes. You’ve become even more handsome over these past five years. I’m sure that once you enter the academy, you’ll meet someone much more suitable for you than me.”

“…What do you mean?”

“Why don’t you forget about your fiancée—me—just for now and enjoy your youth? I think it’s important to experience all kinds of things.”

I wasn’t going to interfere with the Prince’s love life at all.

I was telling him that he could forget about his fiancée—his burden—and that I was on his side.

The Prince had always treated me very well.

Even so, ours was ultimately a political marriage.

Compared to true love, our relationship was probably fragile enough to be blown away by a single breath.

I’d chosen my words very carefully.

I’d spent three whole days and nights thinking about what to say.

But apparently, I’d failed.

“Are you making fun of me?”

A faint gasp escaped my throat.

The Prince was smiling as usual, but his eyes were cold and fixed.

His blue eyes clearly told me he was displeased.

Scary.

This was way too scary.

What should I do?

I felt like I’d stepped on a landmine.

No.

I’d stepped on it.

I’d blasted straight through it.

I hadn’t intended to say anything offensive.

I wasn’t even aware that I’d said anything that would upset him.

What was I supposed to do?

“N-No way!”

“Then are you testing me?”

“Of course not…”

“Have you fallen for someone?”

“No…”

It frustrated me that I couldn’t say that with absolute certainty.

I was plotting to spend my youth with Lord Ashwad, after all.

But that shouldn’t be a bad thing.

The Prince would be happy with the heroine, and once I became his poor, single ex-fiancée, surely it would be my business who I found happiness with, wouldn’t it?

Still, I was in trouble.

I had absolutely no idea what part of what I’d said had triggered him.

I couldn’t even smooth things over or pretend everything was fine.

All the while, the Prince continued smiling.

His serious expression was terrifying enough, but his smile somehow had an intimidating force of its own.

Was he waiting for me to explain myself?

The person who finally broke the awkward atmosphere was Schwarz.

He had always been so good at blending into the background that it was unusual for him to say anything.

Actually, this was the first time.

“Lord Dylan, it’s time.”

“Already? Then I’ll see you later, Bell.”

“Y-Yes… Take care…”

I stared blankly as the Prince was urged out of the room by his attendant.

After the Prince left, I stood up to see him off as well, but Schwarz suddenly spoke to me.

“Lady Bertia, please don’t anger Lord Dylan too much.”

“Huh? Um, what did I do wrong?”

“…Lord Dylan is also a little too careless for not saying it outright, but I think you’re far too slow on the uptake. If you still want to live freely, you should at least use your head.”

Am I going to lose the freedom to live as I please…?

Am I really headed straight toward destruction?

I remembered how I’d been warned several years ago to take good care of my Achilles tendons.

Come to think of it, I felt like he’d just thrown one rude remark after another at me.

Seeing my face go pale and my body begin visibly trembling, Schwarz sighed.

“This is the second time you’ve genuinely angered Lord Dylan, Lady Bertia.”

My shoulders jolted.

The first time… could it have been when I’d met the Crown Prince?

The second time was now.

Which meant the Prince had been angry enough over what I’d just said to reach the level of a sibling quarrel.

“The first time was not your fault, Lady Bertia.”

His red eyes glanced over and caught mine.

“But what you just said was a complete blunder.”

Schwarz looked at me regretfully.

I wanted him to tell me.

What exactly had been the blunder?

What had I done wrong?

“Then please tell me what I did wrong.”

“What you did wrong…? If you don’t understand that yourself, then knowing the answer won’t help you.”

An invisible blue vein throbbed on my forehead.

Just say it clearly.

If you don’t tell me, it’s the same as not telling me at all!

“I don’t understand.”

Perhaps my irritation had shown, because Schwarz smiled awkwardly.

Schwarz smiled.

That alone surprised me enough to make me freeze.

“I believed those words in that letter weren’t a lie.”

“…Huh?”

I couldn’t make out the words Schwarz muttered under his breath.

Instead, his red eyes remained fixed on me.

“Don’t think you’ll be able to run away.”

A chill ran down my spine.

“…What does that mean?”

“Who knows?”

Schwarz shrugged with an ominous smile.

“I’m nothing more than Lord Dylan’s dog, after all.”

I knew that.

That wasn’t what I wanted to ask about.

Schwarz kept throwing out cryptic remarks, leaving me increasingly anxious.

What?

What was happening?

Was I going to die?

Was I really going to die?

“Well then, I’ll be going. Excuse me.”

“Wait, just—”

Schwarz gave me a neat bow and left without listening to my protest.

Even when I saw him off at the entrance, my eyes never once met the Prince’s.

The number of times the Prince visited our home dropped dramatically.