Chapter 4

The Empire’s most elegant knight.
Deputy commander of the Imperial Knights.
Young heir of the Melinger Dukedom, one of the two pillars supporting the Empire.
The emperor’s nephew, and so on.

There were countless ways to describe Deer Melinger.

It was because the author had given him every possible setting. Though Dear wasn’t the male lead but the second male lead, it seemed as if the author wanted to elevate him to a status almost equal to the main hero.

…Well, that was one of the ways to attract popularity. The so-called “stock market” became even more active because of him.

There were many readers, like her, who suffered from “second-lead syndrome.”

Still, the main male lead had been decided from the start.

So despite all those absurdly high-spec settings, Deer Melinger was destined to come after the male lead—the Crown Prince.

No matter how hard the author tried to elevate him, story-wise, Dear had to remain secondary.

Even so, there was exactly one thing in which he surpassed the Crown Prince until the very end:

“The most beautiful man.”

She didn’t like ranking people by appearance, but she had no choice but to admit it.

A novel was nothing but a series of sentences, so whenever the author went overboard describing his god-tier looks, even Rita would sometimes think, “Come on, it can’t be that extreme,” and move on.

But seeing that outrageous beauty with her own eyes…

This was real.

My god. The flower-deer was truly breathtaking.

Any beauty she had ever seen felt insignificant before him. Perhaps the word “perfect” existed for his sake alone.

Even after thinking it over, she couldn’t understand it—how had she not recognized him? She considered herself a loyal reader of The Flower Bloomed Before the Altar.

It was the novel of her life, and she was its passionate fan.

Dear had been a wreck at the time, sure, but still—her favorite character in her favorite novel, and she hadn’t recognized him?

If she had known he was the flower-deer, she would’ve clung to him like a fanatic, visited him every day, and done everything she could as a devoted fan. But she had lost all those chances.

Was my fangirl power really that weak!?

Author-nim, I’m sorry! My devotion was lacking!

Rita swallowed tears as she stared at Dear. Now that she knew his identity and saw his face clearly, she finally noticed the rest of him.

He wore a simple white linen shirt—nothing special, just something any young man might wear.

But on Dear, it felt different.

The slightly loosened buttons revealed glimpses of his neckline and collarbone…

His smooth shoulders and faintly outlined ribcage…

And his slightly disheveled, beautiful silver hair…

“Holy shi—”

A curse slipped from Rita’s mouth, and Dear raised one eyebrow in confusion.

Ignoring him, Rita quickly grabbed her nose. It suddenly felt hot.

…She wasn’t going to get a nosebleed, was she?

“Hoho, Benny. Let’s step outside for now.”

“Huh? Grandpa…!”

The sharp old doctor dragged away his oblivious grandson, tactfully leaving the room.

Now only Dear and Rita remained inside the morning-lit clinic.

The gentle scent of herbs softly filled the space. Rita stood frozen, holding her nose, while Dear looked as if he were choosing his words.

Sunlight cascaded down his shoulders like liquid gold. Then, he spoke softly:

“I wanted to see you.”

The flower-deer said he wanted to see her. Her favorite character. Wanted to see her.

Rita immediately felt like she’d ascended to fan-heaven. She wanted to break something, faint, scream—anything.

But she didn’t want him to think she was crazy, so she slowly lowered her hand and cleared her throat.

Dear’s long silver lashes trembled like delicate butterfly wings.

With clear, unwavering eyes, he looked at her.

His gaze traveled over her flushed ears and cheeks, her black hair and dark eyes, and the loose dress she was wearing. Then he smiled lightly.

Instantly, the chilly air melted. The statue-like face brightened, glowing with soft light.

“I told you. I would never forget your noble deed.”

He whispered with the sweetest voice in the world. Rita blinked.

“I never go back on my word.”

He climbed off the bed, knelt on one knee, placed his hand over his heart, and bowed to her—performing the formal knight’s salute the male lead often gave the heroine.

He wasn’t in his sharp uniform, and the setting wasn’t grand, so the gesture wasn’t as majestic as in the novel…

But who cared? The one performing it was the flower-deer.

Deer Melinger.

Rita could only stand there awkwardly as he continued:

“Deer Helmeret Melinger offers his respects to his savior.”

It was a sight she would never forget in her lifetime.

Sunlight pouring down. A breeze scented faintly with herbs. The silver hair fluttering in that breeze.

His gentle voice surrounding her.

And a beautiful man, bowing before her.

Rita panicked and yelled:

“D-Do as you wish!”

Of course, she regretted it the instant the words left her mouth.

Dear’s presence here meant she had been transported into the world of The Flower Bloomed Before the Altar.

It felt oddly comforting—maybe because she knew the plot so well.

Or maybe because she knew she wasn’t the protagonist.

The heroine of the novel was Cecilia, a saint born after a hundred years. The national treasure of the Holy Kingdom.

She was the one and only savior of the main male lead and the second male lead—of Dear, who would love her deeply.

Rita could never replace Cecilia.

So the “Rita” she had become must have been an extra… or maybe not even that. Perhaps a character the author never even bothered to include in the final draft.

But why Rita?

“Rita” was the name she had blurted out earlier—and also her online nickname.

But the character she possessed also happened to be named Rita?

Was that really just some cosmic-level coincidence?

Sure, authors named characters, so it wasn’t impossible for there to be a character named Rita.

But possessing a character named Rita without knowing and then introducing herself as Rita? That felt odd.

And there was one more thing.

Rita touched her hair.

A short, shoulder-grazing black bob. Exactly how she had worn it on Earth.

Her eyes were the same too—black. Her entire face hadn’t changed.

No one in this village had black hair or black eyes.

Everyone’s colors were bright and varied—very fantasy-like.

But only she had black hair and black eyes?

Shouldn’t one’s appearance usually change upon transmigration?

If her appearance hadn’t changed, then the original Rita must’ve looked exactly like her. But could hair, eyes, and facial features all coincide like that?

Did I really transmigrate?

Fantasy romance novels had several tropes besides transmigration.

But if it wasn’t transmigration, other explanations also ran into problems.

For example—suppose she dimension-traveled instead.

Then her unchanged appearance would make sense.

But then why did people here already know “Rita”?

“Hey!”

Rita was deep in thought when someone shouted loudly behind her.

Absorbed in her own world, she didn’t hear it and kept walking.

Annoyed at being ignored, the person grabbed her shoulder roughly.

“Rita! Did you just ignore me!?”

“Ah.”

Rita finally snapped out of her thoughts and looked up.

The person was a big, chubby young man, roughly her age.

…A squid.

After seeing Dear just moments earlier, this guy no longer registered as a human being at all.

…No, maybe a jellyfish? No, too chunky.

Realizing this marine creature’s hand was on her shoulder, Rita snapped it off with a disgusted expression.

Her Dear-induced euphoria evaporated instantly.

This creature must be one of the people who knew the original Rita.

Even so—touching her without permission? Even Dear hadn’t touched her. And an extra dared?

“What? Get lost.”

Her words came out far harsher than intended as she glared.

The guy’s face twisted instantly.

“I told you what would happen if you talked to me like that again. Know your place, Rita!”

“My place?”

Who was he to judge her place?

Rita balled her fist and stepped back. Misreading it as fear, the jellyfish smirked smugly.

“That’s right. Know your place. Some war orphan from who-knows-where dares to talk back to me, Caleb?”

…What the hell was this squid saying? She didn’t speak Jellyfish, so she must’ve missed something.

When Rita didn’t respond, he grew even more arrogant.

“Just because your face is kinda cute, I went easy on you, but you’re getting cocky! Becoming the fiancée of the future high noble me is an honor you don’t even deserve!”