Chapter 7
Come with him?
All of a sudden?
“If I escort you, my lady, no one will dare make a mockery of the fact that you don’t have an attribute.”
Oh.
He meant escort.
For a second, I almost misunderstood.
Well… he wasn’t wrong.
There was the Empire’s one and only darkness-attribute user.
“But even if I attend with you as my partner, it won’t change how people see me. And I plan to slowly let people learn about the power I have. I’ll need it later… for my sister. I mean—Lady Perioze.”
“You were already entangled with the duchess before. Is this also related to your prophetic dream?”
Theor tilted his head.
“…Yeah, kind of.”
“At this point, I’m curious about what exactly you’ve seen.”
“You wouldn’t gain anything from knowing.”
His gaze shifted slightly as he looked at me.
Curiosity.
That was definitely curiosity.
“Do you know my future as well?”
“…Yes. But it’s not something you’d want to hear. You lose to His Highness the Crown Prince.”
“I lose to him? In what way?”
“…In love?”
“……”
Theor fell silent for a moment, thinking.
Then he asked if he and Lloyd had been romantic rivals in the original story.
I nodded and told him they competed over the hero.
“And that person is…?”
“Uh… I’m not sure if I should say.”
It was a bit risky.
Theor hadn’t even fallen for Caroline yet.
If I told him now and he made a move before the Crown Prince, things could get messy.
Then suddenly—
A thought flashed through my mind.
Wait… wouldn’t that actually help Pere?
Right.
Wasn’t I planning to sacrifice myself anyway to make sure Pere and the Crown Prince ended up together?
If Theor fell for Caroline first, then the Crown Prince would be left behind.
With that decided, I shouted without hesitation—
“Caroline Triaze!”
Theor’s eyes widened.
“…The light-attribute user?”
I nodded vigorously.
“The Crown Prince has a secret. And it’s closely tied to Caroline. Anyway, that’s not important right now—but he’s been watching her with great interest for a long time. Even now.”
“……”
“And you also come to care about Caroline because of a certain incident—”
“That must not be a prophetic dream, then.”
They cut me off firmly.
“…Why?”
I asked, confused.
He answered without hesitation—
“She’s not my type.”
…What?
In Caroline’s Lover, if Caroline isn’t your type, then who is?
I stared at Theor.
He still had that in-between air of boyishness and maturity, not yet fully grown.
Maybe he hadn’t reached the point of falling for Caroline yet.
In the original story, he only became involved after coming of age.
Still—
If not Caroline, then what kind of woman does he like?
And naturally, one face came to mind.
My villainess sister.
My eyes widened slightly as I asked,
“…Don’t tell me your type is my sister—Lady Perioze?”
If that were true, I would gladly throw myself into the flames to bring them together!
I hadn’t even met the Crown Prince yet, but no matter how handsome or kind he was—
The man in front of me was far too good to remain just a second male lead.
They say a woman is happiest with someone who loves her.
If I polished him up and made him win Pere’s heart—
“No.”
They shut that down immediately.
“Absolutely not.”
And he looked completely serious about it.
Hey, what’s wrong with my sister?!
“Then what is your type?”
I asked, genuinely curious.
Theor answered just as seriously.
“I’ve never thought about it. But…”
“But?”
“If I had to say… I think someone like you, my lady, would be closest.”
My face instantly froze.
…What?
* * *
I don’t really remember how I got home.
Theor kept smiling, saying my dark magic was even more impressive than light magic—
and my heart completely lost control.
All I could think about was escaping that situation as quickly as possible.
This is bad for my heart. Seriously bad.
He was the second male lead, after all.
Of course he’d have the ability to charm women effortlessly.
But that didn’t mean I should fall for it.
I let out a long sigh and looked out the window.
…Too late.
It seemed I had already fallen for him a little.
How could I not?
His smile was ridiculously beautiful.
If someone that good-looking smiles like that so freely, how is any normal person supposed to resist?
No. No, absolutely not.
I shook my head, trying to suppress the feelings stirring inside me.
I was already struggling to survive after possessing this body.
If I ended up falling for the second male lead too, I’d be completely doomed.
Theor said Caroline wasn’t his type—
But tastes can change.
And in the original story, he didn’t fall for her because of her looks but because of her angelic personality.
Of course, I planned to subtly redirect that “falling-in-love moment” toward Pere so that he’d fall for her instead.
But whether that would actually work…
Only time would tell.
Either way, Theor would eventually fall for someone—
either Caroline or Pere.
There was no space for me in that story.
None at all.
All I had to do—
was supporting Pere’s happiness with everything I had.
Just as I was thinking that, my communication orb suddenly rang.
The only person who would contact me was—
I rushed over and grabbed it.
“Sister!”
[What are you doing?]
“I was just thinking about you! What about you?”
[Nothing much. If you’re free, want to meet?
“Me?! You want to meet me right now?!”
[Calm down. I was thinking of going to that café we visited before.
“Ah!”
Her favorite café!
“Wait a moment! I’ll reserve the entire second floor—oh, but that might be hard on such short notice…”
[That’s not necessary. Do you know what kind of rumors started last time you rented the whole place?
“What does it matter? It’s true I’m a nouveau riche’s daughter. And I do have money.”
[Anyway, forget it. We’re not even discussing anything important. Just coming for coffee.]
“Yes, sister! I’ll get ready right away! I’ll at least reserve a window seat!”
[Alright.]
As soon as the call ended, I cheered internally.
She thought of me the moment she wanted coffee.
That meant she was opening up to me more.
I just needed to try harder—
and become her perfect, devoted follower.
* * *
I paid double the usual price to reserve a window seat on the second floor.
Then I met Pere and went up with him.
But of course—
Fate had to mess with me.
“…!”
Right behind our reserved seat—
sat Crown Prince Lloyd and Caroline, calmly having tea.
The moment I saw them, Pere’s expression hardened.
For a few seconds, I debated—
Should I take her out? Or calm her down and stay?
But leaving would make her look small.
And I would never let that happen to my sister.
So I confidently held onto her arm and walked us to our seat.
“I’ll take this, this, and this… Oh! Almost forgot this one. And that, and that too!”
Trying to keep Pere from exploding, I quickly ordered all her favorite things.
Since the Crown Prince was sitting right behind her, she wouldn’t be able to order freely.
So I took charge.
“All of… these?”
The server looked startled.
I smiled brightly.
“Yes! My sister needs to heal with something sweet, so we’ll take all of it. Sister, please eat everything I ordered. I’m counting on you.”
I made sure to say that—just in case she tried to hold back for appearances.
Pere didn’t reply.
But she lifted the corner of her lips slightly and took a sip of water.
That was enough.
Her mood seemed a little better.
Thankfully.
But then—
“The duchess and her companion seem to lack manners.”
The Crown Prince, who had been sitting behind Pere with Caroline, turned slightly and spoke.
