CHAPTER 51…………………………………………………
Yurenia flinched slightly at the child’s question. He was so cute that she almost burst out laughing.
‘I can’t laugh.’
She held back her laughter to protect Kylus’s pride, forcing a serious expression as she spoke.
“It means you’re the same age. It seems the Crown Heir is also seven, just like Kylus. So you two are friends.”
“Hmph, friends…”
Kylus pouted at the answer, then strode toward Jace and boldly crossed his arms in front of his chest.
“So what? What if we’re the same age?”
“Let’s be friends,” Jace said, offering his hand to Kylus for a handshake.
Caught off guard by his peer’s enthusiastic gesture, Kylus glanced at Yurenia.
She smiled softly and nodded at him. Hesitantly, Kylus took Jace’s hand.
“But Teacher is my teacher. Remember that.”
“Are you going to be friends with me, Kylus?”
“…You can call me Kylus.”
“Okay, Kylus!”
Jace grinned brightly and shook their joined hands up and down.
Watching the two boys shake hands made Yurenia’s chest tighten.
‘Kylus and Jace are becoming friends…’
She felt the distance growing between the original story and reality.
In the novel, the two were bitter rivals, to the point of trying to kill each other.
They competed over the heroine, Emilia, while also clashing politically.
As the Crown’s successor, Jace tried to suppress the corrupted Valerio family, and the head of the Valerio household, Kylus, resisted the Crown’s moves.
But that was only in the story Yurenia had read in her previous life.
In reality, the two had become childhood friends.
Unlike the novel, where they met only as adults, they now shared early bonds.
Moreover, Lillian—the catalyst for the Valerio family’s corruption—had survived and regained her health. So there was no reason for the Dukes to oppose the Crown.
‘Come to think of it… Lillian and Jace meeting like this never happened in the original story either, right?’
Yurenia noticed the bouquet Jace had brought and covered her mouth in surprise.
‘That’s… cosmos flowers?’
Not just any flowers, but cosmos.
In the novel, Jace confessed his love to Emilia in a field full of cosmos, making them a symbol of his pure, unwavering love.
And now he was bringing cosmos to Lillian?
Yurenia observed the children carefully.
Even while talking with Kylus, Jace couldn’t take his eyes off Lillian.
It was obvious the boy had fallen in love.
‘Could it be… the love line has changed?’
Looking back, when Jace first briefly met Emilia in the rose garden, he showed no particular interest in her.
If anything, he seemed more intrigued by Yurenia and Kylus.
Kylus had feelings for Emilia, yet this was entirely different.
‘Has the original story completely diverged?’
For a moment, Yurenia’s heart sank.
She had tried to twist the original story.
No one in the story had been able to find true happiness.
She had worked to teach young Kylus about love, to prevent his family from facing tragedy.
She thought she had altered the story somewhat.
But now, the narrative had completely veered off its original course, forming an entirely new pattern.
From this point on, events would unfold regardless of what she knew from the original story.
And she would face a life where the future was uncertain, just like ordinary people.
Not as a reader observing from a distance, but as someone living in reality.
‘It feels strange…’
Yurenia moved her hand from covering her mouth to her chest and looked at each person carefully.
Maeve, Kylus, Lillian, Jace, and William.
All of them were alive.
Not characters from a story.
People living in reality, just like Yurenia herself.
“May we have a moment to talk?”
Yurenia’s gaze returned to the bouquet of cosmos flowers.
William approached quietly and asked in a gentle tone,
“Do you mean with me?”
“I have Maeve’s permission,” Yurenia replied, still flustered.
William responded immediately, and Maeve, smiling warmly, confirmed his words.
“The children are playing nicely, so go ahead.”
With Maeve’s blessing, William winked. Having grown accustomed to his gestures after only two meetings, Yurenia followed him out of the room.
William led Yurenia to a tea table in the garden.
The table was already set with a tea set, though she couldn’t tell when it had been prepared.
“I brought special tea leaves from the Imperial Court. Please try it.”
After dismissing the servants, William sat at the table, and Yurenia followed suit.
The Crown Prince appeared relaxed, but Yurenia was unbearably awkward. As she lifted her teacup, William’s eyes sparkled.
“How is it? The aroma’s good, isn’t it?”
“Yes. But, may I ask why you’ve summoned me, Your Highness…?”
A private meeting with the Crown Prince.
Previously, at least Chester had been nearby. Now, alone, her chest tightened.
She couldn’t even focus on the aroma of the tea—if it were bitter coffee, she would have claimed the scent was lovely.
“Ah, are we getting straight to the point?”
William shrugged at her question, leaning slightly in his chair, and stared at her intently.
“The truth is… I wanted to speak with you alone.”
His lips curved softly, and Yurenia’s heart raced faster as she faced him.
“Alone?”
Her voice trembled slightly. She had no clue what the Crown Prince’s intentions were.
All she knew about him: he was the next emperor of the Empire, Jace’s uncle, and close to House Valerio.
She had no way of knowing his personality or what his current smile meant.
“Don’t be so nervous. It’s nothing sinister.”
William raised both hands, sensing her unease.
“Actually, it’s about… Chet. Duke Chester.”
He began speaking in a calm tone.
Hearing Chester’s name, Yurenia’s guard relaxed slightly.
“You two seem very close.”
“He’s my only friend. I don’t know about Chet, but I think so,” William chuckled, taking a sip of his tea before continuing.
“As you know, Chet is usually so indifferent. I’ve never seen him show interest in anyone else. But at some point, he started talking a lot about you. And that made me curious about you too. That’s all there is to it.”
“Duke Chester… talked about me?”
Yurenia blinked in surprise.
If it had been Maeve speaking often about her, she could have understood. After all, she was the children’s tutor.
But Chester? Did he even discuss such things with friends?
“At first, I thought it was because he was in charge of Kylus. But listening closely, he actually talks more about you than Kylus.”
“What…?”
“Curious, aren’t you?”
Before Yurenia could ask, William smiled and fixed his gaze on her.
