Chapter 08 –
Rosebel hadn’t felt this mentally tangled in a long time.
“An ice mage……”
She came to a clear conclusion: her meeting with Aren had not been a coincidence.
Despite her messy thoughts, her hand moved calmly as she wrote.
「1. Ask about Aren’s true identity and learn mana control.
2. There seems to be some kind of secret in the ducal family(?)」
After writing just those two points, her stomach churned.
“I think my blood sugar dropped! I should grab something to eat and then talk to Aren.”
Maria prepared tea and dessert. Unlike before, when she drank tea mechanically, this time the habit had settled naturally, and it actually felt comfortable.
“Isn’t there something sweet instead of bitter tea?”
“If you want something sweet, I can add honey—”
“No. Not honey… I mean something like fruit syrup.”
“Fruit… syrup?”
For a moment, Rosebel wondered if she had said something strange again. But the thought quickly passed.
Nobles were used to enjoying black tea. And since fruit could be obtained fresh in season, there was no real need to make syrups to preserve them.
“No, never mind. I was just saying it. What’s Aren doing?”
“He should be at the training grounds.”
“The training grounds?”
“He received direct permission from the Duke, saying that helping you was lowering his stamina.”
“Then why don’t I remember that?”
At Rosebel’s question, Maria sighed. It seemed she had forgotten despite being there at the time.
“You were there. With him.”
“Oh… really? I don’t remember.”
“In my opinion, miss, you tend to forget things that aren’t important to you.”
Rosebel couldn’t argue with that. Because it was true.
She protected the orchard only because it caused her direct harm if she didn’t.
If she could afford to be lazy, she wouldn’t have worked this hard.
“I can’t really deny that.”
“Then call me if you need anything.”
“Okay.”
“And also……”
“What is it?”
Maria looked at her closely.
“That outfit……”
“This is comfortable.”
Seeing Maria still staring at her, Rosebel sighed.
“Fine! I’ll change after I finish this. Happy now?”
Only then did Maria smile, looking satisfied.
With something sweet in her system, her mind started working again.
She had brought Aren in as if guided by something and kept him by her side without a single doubt.
Why hadn’t she questioned it at all?
“Is the story just moving along as the author intended, regardless of possession? But that doesn’t make sense—Aren wasn’t even a character at the beginning…….”
Until now, she thought that since she wasn’t the protagonist, she only needed to find a way to survive.
But if her actions caused unexpected changes, didn’t that mean the original story was already meaningless?
She wanted to figure out where things went wrong, but she didn’t know enough.
One thing was certain: the protagonists were fixed.
Other than the times he visited the orchard, she had no reason to get involved with the Crown Prince.
The engagement contract was just a setting needed for the plot, so as long as she didn’t obsess over it, it would be fine.
“As long as I don’t get involved, it should be okay. And as long as the family doesn’t fall, I can live comfortably.”
Spilled water couldn’t be gathered again.
She decided that if problems came up, she would deal with them then.
“In possession novels, people always seem to do everything perfectly on their own. Why am I so clumsy? Should I be grateful that I didn’t possess a villain and die? No… even non-villains die too. Ugh, whatever.”
Rosebel recalled the moss moving inside the clear water she had seen earlier.
“Fluffy… round… brown… bubble tea…….”
Her stream of consciousness drifted to a ridiculous place. She suddenly jumped up from her chair, pressed her heavy chest, and took a deep breath in and out.
Smack!
Rosebel slapped her cheeks with both hands to pull herself together.
What mattered now was talking to Aren.
Once the real farming season began, she wouldn’t have this kind of free time.
“I need to thin the flowers… prepare paper to wrap the fruit once it sets… There’s so much to do. I just hope the Crown Prince doesn’t suddenly show up for an inspection.”
Since the accident, the Crown Prince hadn’t visited.
She wished they’d never meet again, but that was impossible.
Since it involved his own life and death, he wouldn’t neglect it.
Before, when she didn’t know anything, she thought they were just apples.
But now, she knew better.
Apples with strange patterns.
And after the appearance of spirits, it was hard to say he was just someone with a unique constitution.
The best option was to confirm what the Crown Prince actually knew—or whether it was just a setting.
Still, she had to avoid getting involved with him from her side.
“I’ve heard of apple allergies, but a disease where you can only eat apples? Is the author into sickly male leads?”
Muttering, “Well, tastes should be respected,” Rosebel trudged along.
Arkanjelos fell into deep thought as he recalled what had happened recently.
After the accident, he should have visited the Efrian ducal estate immediately.
But doing something he didn’t feel like doing made him reluctant.
“It’s strange. With her personality, that young lady should have contacted me first…….”
What irritated him wasn’t something big.
It was the silence of the person who should have come looking for him the moment she woke up.
“It’s quiet on my end… but the rumors are loud.”
Rumors that the Efrian Duke’s daughter had changed reached even the imperial palace.
And the regular reports all said she was doing exceedingly well.
An accident had happened while she was with him, yet the Duke said nothing.
“It’s been too long now. It’d be awkward to suddenly visit and ask how she’s doing…….”
From Arkanjelos’s position, he couldn’t afford to turn his back on the Duke of Efrian.
He also needed to confirm whether the Duke clearly understood why he visited the duchy.
Not being able to read each other’s true intentions irritated him.
He had lived a life where everything he wanted had been placed in his hands from birth.
So it was only natural that he felt obsessed with obtaining whatever he desired.
Rosebel had no idea that her thought of “Let’s eat a little more!” would lead to this situation.
She really did plan to change clothes, just as she had told Maria.
But her instinct to eat snacks first had won.
Ordering Maria to do it would only bring nagging, so moving on her own had been a mistake.
The voice of the person she had hoped wouldn’t visit pierced her ears.
“Lady Efrian?”
“Ah… I greet His Highness Crown Prince Arkanjelos, the Empire’s Little Sun.”
Seeing the strange look on his face, Rosebel tilted her head.
She stared straight at him, unaware that her clothes were the problem.
“Lady… that outfit of yours, what exactly is—”
“Huh? Oh, I was working, so I wore something comfortable.”
She awkwardly showed proper etiquette, trying to recall whether she’d been informed of his visit.
She didn’t expect spilled water to appear this fast.
The timing couldn’t have been worse.
“I came late because I was worried about your injury… but why are you working at all?”
“Pardon?”
Arkanjelos seemed just as flustered.
“I asked why you are working.”
“Because I want to.”
The words slipped out without a filter, and Rosebel instantly regretted it.
She should’ve spoken more like someone from this world.
But she couldn’t help it.
Though her body was that of a teenage girl, her soul was a worn-down Korean office worker.
The tone she used unconsciously toward an annoying boss slipped out.
Not knowing how to fix it, Rosebel looked troubled.
“You work because you want to?”
“Well… you could say I’m learning various things to carry on the family. Protecting the orchard is the duty of the Efrian family.”
She forced her stiff facial muscles to move and switched into social mode.
“Are you saying you intend to become the heir of House Efrian?”
“Yes.”
“Is that really necessary?”
Rosebel was stunned by his words.
To question the necessity of someone protecting their own family—it was absurd.
His habit of speaking rude things as casually as breathing annoyed her.
“House Efrian supplies apples to the imperial palace. I believe it’s only right that I inherit the family business.”
Arkanjelos was taken aback by the change in the young lady, just as the rumors had said.
On top of that, her speech and behavior felt oddly mature, twisting his insides.
She was someone who had always been within his grasp—even if he had never consciously controlled her.
This change had never been part of his plans.
Someone who should have stayed in his palm had stepped outside the frame.
It seemed his plans were facing a serious disruption.
