Chapter 55
At that moment—
“Darling~!”
A high, cheerful voice rang out across the dusty, noisy training ground. Princess Verieta appeared, waving and smiling like a pageant queen on stage.
Click, click, click, click.
She marched forward with dramatic purpose, her cane tapping hard against the ground as if it might snap.
The generals and officers of the Imperial First Knights quickly bowed in respect. Verieta, of course, waved gracefully in return. Her platinum-blonde hair shimmered as she turned side to side, flashing bright smiles.
Heliot muttered under his breath as he watched her.
“Tch. Damn it…”
Startled, I quickly checked Heliot’s reaction. He was glaring at Verieta as she walked straight toward Tessarion. Then he tossed a whole ice cube into his mouth and crushed it loudly between his teeth.
Uh oh. This is bad…
I stood awkwardly in front of Heliot, my eyes darting around.
Where was I? Oh no, I lost count!
To be fair, I decided to restart from thirty.
“Thirty-one! Thirty-two!”
Hearing my loud count, Verieta paused and turned to me.
Her flushed cheeks, playful smile, and perfect white teeth lit up her whole face—so dazzling that the knights who had been standing at attention started wobbling.
“Good morning, Roy.”
I bowed politely and glanced nervously behind me—yup, there it was.
Heliot shoved past me and walked straight toward Verieta.
“What are you doing here?”
“I came to speak with my darling. And I figured I’d cheer up Roy and the knights while I was at it.”
Before Heliot could stop her, Verieta leaned on her cane, lifted her chin—and whistled softly.
Suddenly, pale green butterflies fluttered around her. Within seconds, they filled the entire training field.
The knights gasped at the beautiful spectacle. The butterflies landed on their shoulders and hands.
One landed on my nose. I gently tapped it away—achoo!—and it vanished in a puff. But somehow, my tense muscles relaxed, and my head cleared.
Ahh… just as I thought. Verieta is a shining spark in my gloomy life.
“What about me?”
Heliot asked with a grumble. Not a single butterfly had landed on him.
“Oh my! The Duke and Your Highness have surpassed human limits. My butterflies probably can’t approach beings that powerful.”
“…”
“Surely someone like you wouldn’t get tired, so you wouldn’t need my magic, would you?”
Verieta smiled sweetly.
Swordmasters were said to have high endurance and fast recovery. Heliot looked visibly disappointed.
“No… I don’t.”
“That’s a relief. I should pass along my message before training gets delayed. Brother, Roy—have a great rest of your day.”
Verieta gave a graceful curtsy and walked right past Heliot.
“…”
Heliot froze, speechless. He dragged his hand down his face and clenched his jaw so hard it creaked. Jealousy burned from him like heat between his fingers.
Tsk tsk.
Come to think of it, Heliot had confessed to the heroine and gotten rejected ten times. Poor guy.
It was a little sad—but also, a huge relief. As long as he stayed the same villain from the original story, everything was fine.
If Heliot also remembered the past timeline…
I stopped myself. No use thinking about it now.
Where was I again? Right—fifty.
I took a deep breath and slapped my cheeks to stay focused.
“Pull yourself together, Kim Roy.”
Then I got back to my push-ups.
“Fifty-one!”
My strong voice got the knights back to training.
❖ ❖ ❖
“Hiyah! Hup!”
Thanks to Verieta’s magic, the knights’ training was more energized than ever.
But honestly, most of them couldn’t stop staring at the two main characters—Verieta and Tessarion—shining like high-res OLED screens in a room full of basic cable.
The spring breeze blew softly, like a romantic serenade. Their hair fluttered under the golden sunlight. It even smelled like flowers.
Verieta looked up at Tessarion with fiery emotion in her eyes. He smiled faintly and asked:
“Darling, what exactly are you trying to do here? We agreed to keep boundaries, even if we go crazy.”
“What do you mean?”
“Ha! You little—!”
Verieta ran her hand through her hair, clearly frustrated, and began explaining what had happened.
Verieta had been busy.
As soon as she recovered from her cold, Madam Moresse—a major figure in the northern social circles—came to visit. She had close ties to the previous Duchess and cared deeply for Tessarion.
Unfortunately, her love for him meant she didn’t care for Verieta.
“The Duke wanted to welcome the Princess and Crown Prince with a grand event, but with such short notice, I’m not sure guests will arrive on time…”
Moresse’s complaints matched what happened in the original story. Verieta smiled gracefully and replied:
“Then we’ll keep it simple. Just the few of us.”
But that only made Moresse more dramatic—insisting that the north must not host a small, unimpressive welcome party.
She promised to send invitations quickly, said it should be the highlight of the social season, and whined about how the trauma of the former Duke’s tragic end made noble ladies faint at the sight of knights. She even claimed the Crown Prince must publicly apologize before the north could conduct an investigation.
It was… exhausting.
And then, this morning—Verieta had to attend a special tea party Moresse organized with elite noblewomen.
In the story, this tea party marked the first unofficial social challenge for Verieta. The three notorious mean-girl noblewomen would appear and start subtle bullying.
The reason Verieta invited Roy to shop earlier was to learn about northern fashion trends, so she could shine at this exact event. It had gone horribly due to assassins and monsters—but still, she had prepared.
She had planned to face her enemies gracefully, show her dignity, and gently put them in their place…
But then—
“Everything was going great… until the delivery arrived.”
“Delivery?”
“Yes! The 10-tier Mont Hauchais cake you ordered yesterday from La Belle Chocolatière!”
“……?”
Tessarion tilted his head in confusion.
Verieta blushed bright red, covered her face, and trembled in embarrassment.
At the tea party, as the noble ladies sipped their tea daintily, a group of four servants struggled to carry in a massive mountain of chocolate cake. They placed it in front of Verieta.
Ahem.
The pastry chef from La Belle Chocolatière, clearly nervous, pulled out a note and began reading:
“To my dearest Verieta. I’m sorry for the harsh words I said yesterday. I hope you’ll forgive me. Like this Mont Hauchais, my outer shell is rough and jagged—but my heart is soft and sweet like chestnut cream inside. May you have a sweet day. Let’s talk tonight. With love, your Rion.”
