~Chapter 88~
I was angry that they schemed behind my back, but more than anything, I was anxious.
“I never imagined they’d be THAT desperate to find my ex-husband!”
If you keep digging long enough, eventually you step on someone’s tail.
If those three continued investigating, one day they might reach the truth—
That I have no husband,
and that even the child doesn’t exist here.
The best decision I could make was to distance myself from them entirely.
“I just want to stay quietly at the mansion for a while…”
I was mentally exhausted.
The reverse formula to send Shiz back to her original time hadn’t progressed at all since last time. No cracks were appearing, so there were no journals to retrieve and no traces of magic formulas to repair.
I was staring blankly at the ceiling when a thought suddenly hit me. I turned to Shiz.
“Right, Shiz.”
“Hm?”
“You said last time that you lost your drawing. But Aska had it.”
“EHH? Ash had it?!”
Shiz gasped loudly, covering her cheeks with both hands.
“What exactly did you draw? It doesn’t mean anything, right? Just random scribbles?”
I asked casually, but Shiz didn’t answer. She looked startled, hands tightly clasped together. After opening and closing her mouth several times, she finally whispered:
“Unni… you don’t remember anything?”
“Remember what?”
“N-No, nothing. Good. That’s good…”
Shiz quickly shook her head, then stiffly walked to the table and sat down. Then she opened her dictation homework, which she hadn’t touched in days.
“O-Okay! Time to study magic again! It’s been a while!”
That tone… way too dramatic.
There’s no way she suddenly wanted to study.
The way she acted looked exactly like someone trying to hide something from me.
“Shiz, you—”
Tap, tap. I stopped at the sound and turned toward the window. Raindrops were falling.
“It’s raining.”
“Yeah.”
Like a melancholy intro to a gloomy song, dark clouds rolled in from the distance.
Summer was slowly coming to an end.
* * *
As the cultural exchange event neared its closing, I received a letter.
It was from someone I did not expect.
“…Dallen?”
Princess Dallen Rom Edelheim—the princess of this country—had requested a private meeting with me.
I arrived at the palace at the appointed time, sat down, and suddenly thought:
“Why does it feel like I come to the palace more now than when I was actually busy?”
It felt like I was getting more and more entangled with the royal family.
Not a good sign. Especially because I’d barely interacted with Princess Dallen before.
At most, we’d exchanged a few words on the cruise—and she’d given me that strange warning.
“Ugh…”
Ugh! I don’t want to get dragged into royal power struggles!
I didn’t understand why this was happening.
I was already on Reyester’s side, so what did the princess want with me?
“Or… did she resent me for protecting Reyester that time?”
If so, maybe she hated my existence.
“Ugh, what am I supposed to say when I meet her?”
No matter how much I squeezed my brain, I couldn’t come up with a plan.
Either way, I was about to meet Princess Dallen.
“This way, please.”
“Oh—yes!”
A calm, Philippa-like maid guided me.
If the outer palace had gardens, the inner palace had a massive glass greenhouse.
Filled with lush tropical plants, brightly colored flowers, and vivid butterflies, the royal greenhouse was one of Edelheim’s prides—a privilege reserved for important guests.
Although I had visited the inner palace several times for the project presentations, I had never been inside the greenhouse. I would have liked to look around, but I wasn’t in the mood.
In the center, at a wide tea table, Princess Dallen sat like a doll. Behind her stood a knight as large as Felix.
“I greet the princess.”
“No need for greetings. Sit.”
The resemblance to Reyester was uncanny—especially that controlled smile that hid her real thoughts.
“This is the first time since the cruise incident…”
Remembering it sent a chill up my spine.
This angelic-looking princess might have been behind that terrifying plan.
Since I had sided with Reyester, I wasn’t safe from her either.
I watched her cautiously as she smiled gently at me.
“Have some?”
“A-Ah, yes…”
I lifted the teacup. The aroma was wonderful, but I didn’t taste any of it—too scared it might be poisoned. I only pretended to drink.
“I watched the opening ceremony. You were amazing.”
“Thank you.”
“I’m not just being polite. I wish I could use magic too. Maybe the royal bloodline has some kind of curse?”
“P-Please don’t say things like that…”
“Fufu, just joking.”
To my surprise, our conversation felt more like casual small talk.
Eventually, my body relaxed, and I could finally taste the tea.
Then Dallen leaned forward slightly.
“By the way, I heard something interesting. You and my brother are close now?”
“Ah…”
How… was I supposed to explain that?
Should I interpret it using Reyester’s famous “problematic speech style”?
As I hesitated, Dallen spoke again:
“Are you dating?”
I almost flipped the entire table.
“No, no, no—absolutely not! How could you say something like that?!”
What a horrifying thought!
I was trembling from shock when Dallen handed me something.
“But the rumors are everywhere.”
“AHH—Princess, how did you get this?!”
It was a stack of gossip magazines linking me and Reyester.
Why am I seeing this HERE?!
“Sometimes I tell the maids to bring them. They’re fun to read when I’m bored. These spicy romance stories.”
Her eyes sparkled with excitement.
“Look at this. Investigator Guffero and the Master of the Dawn Tower are also listed as your potential lovers. Ah—are you involved with either of them?”
“NO! I am not! You shouldn’t read this trash!”
I crumpled the gossip paper on the spot. Too bad there wasn’t a fireplace nearby to burn it.
“Hm, I see. A pity.”
What is pity, exactly…?
My mental image of Princess Dallen shifted. She wasn’t a calm princess—she was a scandal enthusiast.
While I was trying to calm down, Dallen launched her second attack:
“Is it difficult, being by my brother’s side?”
She stirred her tea slowly.
“I told you to be careful before, remember? I wanted to know if you had any trouble. If you want, you can still choose a different path.”
Ah. There it is. The trap.
She was trying to pull me to her side.
I chose my words carefully.
“I haven’t had any difficulties. His Highness… treats me well.”
“Really?”
Dallen traced the rim of her teacup with a slender finger.
“If you’re doing well, then that’s good.”
“I’m really sor—huh?”
“I’ve been worried. It felt like Reyester was tormenting you too much.”
There was a faint warmth in her eyes.
And suddenly—an unexpected possibility popped into my mind.
“No way… is she genuinely worried about me?”
Was she offering me protection because she cared about my safety?
Without any hidden agenda?
Impossible. I refused to believe it.
Why would a princess care about someone she barely knew?
“You look like you want to know the reason.”
Dallen read the confusion on my face.
“To be honest, I’m not sure either. I guess… I just felt a similarity?”
“A similarity…”
Maybe she saw herself in me—someone suffering under Reyester’s behavior.
That made some sense, but I still didn’t trust it fully.
Maybe she said it to make me lower my guard.
“Well, these days it seems like my brother doesn’t bother you as much as before. Maybe I worried for nothing.”
She was right.
Since the cruise incident, Reyester had been noticeably gentler.
Maybe because of Shiz. He never pressured me anymore.
If anything, he was getting too close.
Probably feeling guilty about Shiz—but honestly, he needed to tone it down.
“He tries to get close for no reason, and that’s why those ridiculous scandals keep popping up.”
Like the rumor that the notorious playboy crown prince suddenly stopped dating anyone… because of me.
