Chapter 06
All ceremonies only gain their true value at the banquet that follows. Most attendees are really aiming for that part.
A gathering like today’s—where the king and countless famous figures were present—was especially popular.
Of course, some people attended purely as relatives of the knights, greeting their families and acquaintances. But they were a minority.
From the gentry and bourgeois classes to those hungry for power, people scurried in every direction, trying to catch the eye of the prince or the king, or to secure “useful connections.”
Terry hated it.
Not just disliked it—she absolutely despised it.
In the original novel, the heroine, Terry Romance, was born a commoner, so every time she attended social events, she was guaranteed to be met with both attention and gossip. How could she possibly like places like this?
So, as soon as the appointment ceremony ended, she left a brief congratulatory message for Liam and headed out of the hall.
That was when someone followed after her.
“…Countess.”
Terry turned her head.
“…Sir.”
“Just call me Terry.”
“…”
“If you can’t do that, then call me what you used to.”
“…”
Liam Hawthorne followed her, stopped her, and now stood there hesitating, unable to say anything. Somehow, he looked like a baby bird chasing after its mother, and Terry found her heart softening a little.
“You’re not upset that I’m leaving early, right?”
“…No.”
“Then that’s good. His Majesty seemed very pleased, saying you’ll probably reach Sword Master soon. Congratulations. You’ve really lived well and worked hard.”
“…”
“Good job.”
With a pleased smile, Terry reached out and patted Liam’s head.
Normally, when expressionless, he had such a heavy presence that he was hard to approach. But with just that one touch, he instantly became meek.
“I thought… it was only natural that we wouldn’t see each other much.”
Liam spoke quietly.
“You’re busy. And you’re important.”
Busy and important.
Terry thought about those words and soon accepted them.
She was busy, and she was important.
But that didn’t mean it was natural not to see each other.
‘Looks like he didn’t do as well as I thought after I stepped out of his life.’
“But I miss you.”
Terry blinked in confusion.
“I’m right here, looking at you.”
“I want to see you more.”
“Ah… right. Now that you’re the captain of the knights, there’ll be more chances for us to be assigned to the same missions. Until now, I mostly moved around privately, but from now on, I’ll be working with the knight order more often—”
“No. Not that.”
“Not that?”
Suddenly, Liam knelt on one knee in front of Terry.
Carefully taking her fingertips, he lightly pressed his lips to the back of her hand. A knight’s kiss.
“I know you’re high up,”
he murmured as he looked up at her from below.
“But I’ll climb up there too.”
“Keep looking at me.”
He added softly.
“…Terry.”
Staring silently at him, Terry suddenly had a thought.
Wait.
This lighting. This atmosphere. The temperature. The humidity. The dialogue…
‘Is this… romance?’
It was a major realization.
So this is what happens when you don’t put up iron walls.
She had learned a painfully obvious fact after fourteen years—because for fourteen years, she had armored herself with absurdly high barriers. She had lived without even glimpsing the letter “R” of romance.
Standing before the serious Liam, Terry found herself speechless.
Only one sentence floated through her mind.
Are you the male lead?
By the time she reached the back gate of the garden behind the banquet hall, Terry was deep in serious thought.
Just how were you supposed to determine the conditions of a male protagonist?
How were you supposed to recognize solid storytelling and great chemistry?
With such vague clues, what was she even supposed to do?
The public had chosen Dante Garvan as the most “romance-novel-like” male lead.
Meanwhile, Liam Hawthorne had suddenly appeared in front of her and shown her the first truly “This is romance!” attitude.
That alone was enough to give her a headache.
On top of that, she had to “get involved” with whoever was suspected to be the male lead.
‘At this rate, I’ll end up looking like someone who’s playing with people’s feelings…’
“Hey!!”
Just as her worries were reaching their peak, a sharp shout flew toward her from afar.
Terry turned toward the sound with dead eyes—then suddenly broke into a wide smile.
A young woman with messy red hair and heavy makeup stood there, fuming.
“Lily. Lily like a lily.”
“Shut up!!”
Lily Mereshi.
One of the very few nobles whose name Terry Romance remembered and genuinely welcomed meeting.
“You’re still loud. I told you to go into music, didn’t I?”
“Are you starting that again?! You only ever tease me when you see me!”
“You’re fun to tease. Try reacting less, then.”
“Y-you…! No, never mind.”
Panting, Lily suddenly held something up in front of Terry.
It was a newspaper. Today’s morning edition, no less.
<Countess Terry Romance Declares a Fated Romance Marriage — Blind Date with His Highness the Prince?!>
The same paper that had published that trashy article Liam had brought before.
“I should sue this newspaper.”
Terry muttered flatly.
“Th-this…”
Lily, on the other hand, asked in a trembling voice.
“Is… is this real?”
She looked like she was about to cry.
“Are you really dating His Highness? Is the prince… the fated partner you’ve been looking for?!”
That was Lily Mereshi.
The second daughter of a marquis family, and someone who had loved Dante for a long time.
In the original story, she appeared exactly like this. Back at the academy, whenever Dante showed interest in Terry, Lily would explode in frustration.
But the way she did it was quite cute.
For example, if Dante asked Terry to have tea with him, Lily would cry in the corner of the garden.
Then she would chase after Terry and complain like a drunk person, asking why Terry—who already had everything—was trying to take His Highness too.
And that was it.
Terry had never wanted Dante in the slightest, but she enjoyed watching Lily’s reactions, so she never bothered to comfort her.
When Dante finally gave up because of Terry’s cold indifference, Lily shyly came to apologize for her past behavior. That, too, was adorable.
She had been so well-behaved lately that life had grown dull.
So—
“We’re getting to know each other.”
Lily’s face twisted immediately.
More precisely, it crumpled pitifully.
“What do you mean, fate?!”
She collapsed to the ground.
“Why does it have to be His Highness?! You know everything! You know I’ve only ever loved him!”
“Lily, I know you’ve worked hard since graduating from the academy to stand by his side. Your efforts are admirable. But it can’t be helped. That and the fact that Prince Dante Garvan ranked first in the ‘Most Likely to Be a Romance Novel Male Lead’ survey are two different things.”
“It’s obvious he’d win that!! But what does that have to do with your fate?!”
Tears finally welled up in Lily’s eyes.
“If you’re that upset, pray that His Highness isn’t my fated partner.”
“I-if he is… if he’s your fate!”
“Then,”
Terry said seriously,
“I’ll save the world and reset it.”
“Reset what? Save what?”
“The prince, back to his rightful place. And the world, like I said.”
“Saving your soulmate means saving the world?”
Lily wiped her tears and stared at her in disbelief.
“Aren’t you way too self-centered?”
“Oh, you can even counterattack now. You’ve grown pretty cute, Lily Mereshi.”
“You’re so annoying!!”
At Lily’s shout, Terry laughed briefly, then immediately returned to a blank expression and pressed her fingers against her temples.
“You’re too loud, Lily. I already have a headache. Could you not add to it?”
“There are lots of handsome black-haired guys! Look, Sir Liam, the new knight commander—he’s handsome and has black hair too!”
“That’s the problem.”
“How is that a problem?!”
“There are too many handsome black-haired guys.”
Lily stared at Terry, completely unable to understand what she was talking about.
