106. Surely, That Nonsense…
Wasn’t a Love Confession, Right?
At that very moment—
The carriage carrying Cayenne and Seraphine was on its way to the hospital.
Seraphine fidgeted nervously with her fingertips.
Everything was incomprehensible.
After she had taken down the beasts all on her own, the people around her treated her like some kind of hero…
But she herself was utterly dazed by the whole situation.
She couldn’t possibly have such overwhelming power.
It wasn’t her strength—it had to be something about the sword Roselia had given her. That was the only vague guess she had.
She had so many things she wanted to ask Roselia.
But sitting right beside her was a man she didn’t even want to exchange a single word with.
“Have we met before?”
Cayenne, his breath still ragged, asked Seraphine.
He had refused the knights’ help and insisted on riding the carriage with Seraphine alone.
She jumped when the man, who had been half-unconscious until now, suddenly spoke.
“Huh? Of course! We literally saw each other yesterday.”
“Ah, did we? Sorry. As you can see, I’m a bit out of it. I hope you’ll understand, miss.”
He laughed weakly, like air leaking from a punctured balloon.
“…?”
His suddenly mild demeanor startled Seraphine.
Up until now, she had always thought Cayenne was someone she could never reason with.
But the man before her was nothing like the one she knew.
It’s like he’s a completely different person.
Unlike that stubborn mule from before, this one… was smoother, more practiced.
When his daytime personality had spoken rudely to her, she had snapped back in anger without even realizing it.
But even though this one spoke to her just as bluntly, there was an odd weight behind his words, an invisible pressure.
“I want to ask you something. How did you hide that kind of magical power all this time?”
“…What?”
“Power like that can’t just be concealed at will. I almost fell for it myself.”
“I-I wasn’t hiding anything! I never have!”
Her voice grew smaller.
“Don’t try to play dumb with me.”
“I’m telling the truth…”
“Then how do you explain singlehandedly defeating all those beasts? A normal person couldn’t even scratch them.”
Her eyes went wide.
“That’s… because the sword Lady Roselia gave me was special.”
“Is that so? Then why don’t you hand it over, let me see it?”
Hesitantly, she passed him the blade.
It was a beautifully crafted jungle knife, its sheath intricately decorated.
Cayenne turned it over in his hands, frowning.
“This is just a regular sword.”
“What? No way! The moment I held it, an unknown power surged up inside me!”
“No. It’s really just an ordinary blade.”
He examined it carefully but found nothing out of the ordinary.
Handing it back to her, he said:
“Why don’t you admit it already? To me, your skills don’t seem ordinary at all.”
“Me?”
“Yes. I can’t feel any magic from you right now, but the very fact that you can suppress it proves you’re a master.”
“But I’m really not!”
“…”
Cayenne studied her intently.
Detecting lies was one of his specialties, yet Seraphine’s bewilderment seemed completely genuine.
Had he been barking up the wrong tree? Or was she just that good at acting? Or maybe, just maybe…
While he tried to read her true intentions, Seraphine muttered with a pout:
“You’re the strange one here.”
“Me?”
“How can a person change overnight? Even if you’re sick, how can you forget how viciously you fought with me?”
“…I fought with you?”
His interest sparked immediately.
He knew that other personality picked fights with people left and right, but to think he even fought with this monster of a young lady…
“So who won?”
“…You really don’t remember?”
“I must’ve hit my head. I think I’ve got a case of short-term memory loss.”
“That’s ridiculous…”
“So, what exactly did we fight about?”
“You honestly don’t remember? We argued over Lady Roselia. I only went to the kitchen to grab a snack, but you picked a fight with me!”
“Ah, just an argument.”
His interest died just as quickly.
If they had fought with magic for real, the ducal estate would’ve been rubble by now.
“Cut me some slack, miss. When it comes to my lady, I lose my head.”
“Well, I’m not one to lose in affection either, you know?”
Seraphine shot back tartly.
“Today too… I was terrified, honestly. But I swung my sword only because I had to protect Lady Roselia.”
The beasts’ roars still echoed in her ears.
The chilling sensation of her blade cutting into their hides.
The resonance of magic, pounding in her skull and shaking her body.
All those unfamiliar sensations clawed at her deepest fears.
Cayenne, silent until now, finally spoke.
“Could it be that your power—”
His sudden words made Seraphine frown.
As if a dam were about to burst, something clamped down on her consciousness.
“I… I don’t know. About anything.”
A queasy, unsettling feeling surged up from her gut, a swirl of fear and disgust.
The carriage rattling through the night streets came to a halt, and Seraphine quickly got to her feet.
“Looks like we’ve arrived. I should get off.”
“Stop being unreasonable, Your Highness. I have no idea why you’re acting like this.”
To suddenly demand I hand over the ring—
I shut Perwyn’s request down flat.
This is the crown prince?
The empire’s sole legitimate heir, the future emperor, behaving like a child throwing a tantrum.
“What’s the matter? You said it was nothing. Judging by your face, it must be quite the item.”
“…”
“There’s a limit to treating me like a fool. How much longer do you expect me to endure it?”
Endure? Endure what, exactly?
If only the thing on my finger were brass knuckles instead of a ring.
【Unknown: (ﾟДﾟ);;;;;】
【Unknown: Calm down! He’s the male lead!】
If I endure any more of this, forget bad endings—I’ll just keel over from stress.
“What is it that you actually want?”
“What?”
“Until recently, you despised me, didn’t you? You wanted me out of your sight. So why now are you interfering in my life?”
And in the worst way possible.
“Have you ever thought about what it’s like for me to put up with your one-sided whims?”
“…”
Perwyn was struck speechless.
If you’ve got something to say, spit it out.
But after all that brooding, what came out of his mouth was something I would’ve been better off not hearing.
“You were mine to begin with.”
His voice heavy with a sigh.
His eyes weighed down by sorrow.
The man who had always bristled with arrogance suddenly let slip words dripping with regret.
“Why are you trying so hard to leave me?”
His blue eyes shone with disarming clarity.
【Unknown: Oh my.】
【Unknown: Oh my, oh my, oh my.】
【Unknown: (This is getting good) (popcorn equipped)】
Wait. Was that… a confession?
My head spun.
If that was supposed to be a love confession, I’d rather throw myself out of this moving carriage.
Unable to stand it, I pulled open the Luck Point Store.
[▷▶ Luck Point Usage ◀◁]
【Affection Magnifying Glass】
[Description: Reveals a target’s affection level and whether their route is unlocked.]
[Costs 180 Luck Points per use.]
I immediately hit “Use.”
Jingle—
With a crisp sound, a graph popped up above Perwyn’s head.
[♥ Thump-Thump, Real-Time Affection Gauge ♥]
66% Achieved! ■■■■■■■□□□
At the same time, a message box appeared before me.
【You can now enter Perwyn’s route in Episode 2!】
[Tip! Not too close, not too distant ♥ Push-and-pull is the ultimate romance strategy!]
“…Ah.”
A sigh escaped me.
So basically, all my cold shoulders and indifference got mistaken for “push-and-pull” flirting?
Regret crashed over me.
I should never have used <Overflowing Charm> the first time we met.
Or I should have avoided him at all costs at the birthday banquet.
Or I should’ve ignored his letters entirely…
At the end of my self-reproach was only indignation.
Seriously, what did I even do?
Is it my fault for trying to survive, or his fault for falling for me on his own?
I did try, though.
I even pushed for him to end up with the original heroine, Seraphine.
I worked desperately to break off our engagement.
But everything backfired.
【Unknown: What can you do? That’s the fate of a transmigrator.】
【Unknown: Rough life, being popular…】
【Unknown: Huh. That was supposed to be funny, but nobody’s laughing.】
【Unknown: ( ´ ᐞ ` )>】
“…”
【Unknown: (;´・`)】
【Unknown: Hey, I’m not trying to defend Perwyn, but—】
【Unknown: Some characters are just born with their “personality traits,” you know?】
“?”
【Unknown: He was basically born cursed with zero tact.】
【Unknown: Even if he wants to express himself sincerely, the words come out all wrong.】
【Unknown: Maybe he’s not actually that bad…】
Just then, Perwyn finally continued:
“Don’t ever think of leaving me again.”
“But, Your Highness—”
“I don’t care what you want. This engagement isn’t just about us, but about the fate of our two houses. Don’t forget that.”
【Unknown: …Sorry. Even I can’t defend him anymore.】
Guy doesn’t know or want to admit what it is he wants