Chapter 11
Such a rare hair color.
Her pink hair wasn’t something you often saw in the Empire, so my eyes followed it without me even realizing.
When was the last time I saw clothes like that… last year, maybe?
Her hair was tied high with ribbons, and her dress was covered in frills and lace.
That style had already gone out of fashion in the Empire about a year ago, but it was still trendy in neighboring countries. Especially in the Kingdom of Blanche.
So it wasn’t hard to guess who the smiling pink-haired girl beside Etienne was.
I’ve seen her in newspapers… but I never thought we’d meet like this.
Sehera Blanche — the youngest princess of the Blanche Kingdom, adored by both the royal family and the people.
And the woman who hated even being in the same space as the man who was supposed to be my husband.
She had personally come here.
“I never dreamed I’d meet you in a place like this!”
Her clear, bright voice rang out over the murmuring crowd. Her eyes sparkled as she held her hands together like she was praying.
“You live in the Empire, and I live in the Kingdom. Unless I visited personally, we could never meet. Even if we were under the same sky, we would always miss each other!”
Then she began pouring out everything she’d been holding in — like a waterfall of words.
“But not today! My sincere heart must have reached Her!”
“…Her?”
Etienne finally responded, sounding puzzled.
“Before I came here, I went to the Grand Temple. I prayed to Lady Agnes, the goddess who protects the Empire.”
Her voice grew even happier as she spoke.
“I prayed that I could meet you again. And here we are! The goddess must have blessed me!”
While the princess was glowing with joy, Etienne’s expression stiffened. He must have been thinking the goddess had abandoned him.
“So you came all this way just to watch the performance?”
He asked calmly.
“That’s not the only reason. I had another purpose, and fortunately I was allowed to stay longer in the Empire. So I stopped by here as well.”
Even I frowned at that.
A beloved princess, staying long-term in a foreign empire? Her family isn’t the type to allow that… unless she had a strong reason.
Then she explained.
“As you know, my uncle is a noble of the Empire. I came to visit him, and my family let me stay longer since they trust him.”
Right — the Count Swan family.
The count was the younger brother of the Blanche Queen — meaning the queen herself was originally from the Empire.
So the princess used that connection as her excuse.
“Since I can stay here, I’ve been visiting places with an old friend I made when I was young. Today is one of those days.”
Now it made sense why she was standing there so openly.
“We’ve had so many coincidences bringing us together. This must be fate!”
Her voice grew more excited.
“Fate — yes! It has to be fate! When Lady Agnes brought you to me again, I knew it!”
She wrapped coincidence up in pretty paper and called it destiny — refusing to hear anything else.
“Remember? Our birthdays are in the same month. You just laughed back then, but now I see — that too was fate!”
The more she spoke, the darker Etienne’s face became.
“It’s our destiny to fall in love!”
She gazed at him like he was the only one in the world — blind devotion glowing in her eyes.
Good grief…
I silently watched, unable to believe the scene.
Just then, someone approached me.
“My lady.”
It was Selly. I slipped away with her from the crowd.
“I couldn’t find you after the show ended. I searched everywhere.”
That was understandable — I’d wandered off alone.
“And… I guess you were distracted watching those two.”
She gestured toward Etienne and the princess.
“Do you think those two will get married?”
She sounded curious.
Right… I never did tell her about the contract marriage.
“Why do you think that?”
“Because they say if someone keeps trying, eventually hearts change.”
She spoke lightly, as if it were obvious.
I didn’t bother responding seriously.
“Hmm.”
I turned away, feeling Etienne’s gaze on my back.
If a tree is hit ten times, of course it will fall? Then what about the tree’s feelings?
Etienne wasn’t a tree — he was a person with thoughts and emotions.
And I had already chosen him.
With mutual agreement.
***
The Next Morning
I woke from a pleasant dream, had a lovely breakfast of venison…
Everything was perfect.
Until—
“My lady, your older sister is asking for you.”
Sally said she didn’t know the reason — only that my sister wanted to see me immediately.
I didn’t think much of it… until I entered her room.
The air felt heavy. Suffocating.
I sat on the sofa in silence, waiting.
“I called you because I have something to show you.”
Her voice was calm — too calm.
My mind jumped straight to one thought:
…What did I do wrong?
Then she handed me a sheet of paper.
I looked at it carefully.
“…?”
It was a collage of several photos — all of unfamiliar men.
Just as I was wondering what this was…
“Would you like to start dating?”
My sister, Vivian, said something she would normally never say.
