Chapter 22
The trip was even more enjoyable than I had imagined.
It was so much fun that I almost felt sad about returning home, and it cleared my head of every stray thought.
Originally, I had planned to return within two months, but after sending a letter to Father, I ended up spending six months at the resort, happily relaxing.
Now I fully understood why people said being single was the best kind of happiness.
It was such a blissful trip that it made me understand—deeply—why I had no desire to get married.
Before returning to the imperial capital, I planned to stop by the capital city to buy some new clothes and jewelry.
I entered a jewelry boutique said to be the hottest spot in the capital these days.
And right then, before my eyes, appeared a man with hair that shimmered like sunlight and the face of a perfect gentleman.
“Your Highness the Princess?”
“…Oh? Lord Blair?”
What a coincidence! To think I’d run into the male lead here—it felt like the last piece of my healing vacation was falling into place.
Like my brother, the male lead had gentle eyes and a warm, handsome face.
Of course, my brother was still more handsome.
But since I was reincarnated as the beloved younger sister of my favorite character, I couldn’t really complain.
I couldn’t have my favorite character as a romantic partner, but being the one he loved most as family was thrilling in its own way.
Still, seeing the original male lead was something else entirely. My favorite character was my favorite, the male lead was the male lead, and the villain was the villain—each had their own category.
“I heard you went on a trip. Are you on your way back?”
“Yes, I was gone far too long. But what about you, Lord Blair? What brings you here?”
Running into him was one thing, but his being here—in this shop—was puzzling.
This boutique was clearly targeted toward women’s tastes, so it didn’t make sense for him to be here.
“There’s someone I want to give a gift to,” he said.
“…Who?”
Could it be? The heroine?
Had he already met Cecile—at that birthday party where that terrible incident with the villain happened?
The thought of that destined encounter made me feel a little envious. No—very envious.
I could ask Cecile directly later, of course—assuming that the person he wanted to give a gift to really was her.
“By any chance… is the person you want to give a gift to Lady Cecile Chloe, the Marquis’s daughter?”
“Well…” He smiled faintly.
Was that a yes or no?
His gentle smile made it impossible to tell.
“Then is it someone else? Who is it?”
“Let’s just say… it’s a secret for now.”
“Does she know?”
“Hmm… no, I don’t think she does. It’s just a one-sided crush.”
So it wasn’t the heroine? Then who on earth had captured the male lead’s heart?
I was dying to know. But if that was the case, didn’t that mean the story’s plotline had changed completely?
I wanted to ask more, but decided to hold back.
To me, the male lead was someone I felt an odd sort of closeness to, but from his perspective, I was nothing more than the princess he’d met only a few times.
I couldn’t exactly interrogate someone I wasn’t close to.
“If it’s not too rude, Your Highness, could I ask you to help me choose the gift?”
“Yes! Of course!”
“I don’t really have an eye for these things…”
“But normally you’d have an attendant handle that, wouldn’t you?”
At that, he laughed awkwardly.
Was this the same smile he’d shown the heroine in the original story? No wonder she’d fallen for him.
If I were the heroine, I would’ve fallen for that face and that demeanor, too.
If only the villain had shown even a hint of this kind of pure-heartedness…
No, wait—what was I thinking?!
Thankfully, the male lead’s voice snapped me out of my thoughts.
“Since it’s someone I care for, I wanted to choose it myself, with my own eyes.”
“Wow!”
As expected of the male lead! How could someone be so kind and sincere?
It was impossible not to compare him to a certain black-haired man.
No wonder he was the male lead—he deserved that title.
To think I’d get to witness his gentleness in person!
“With that kind of sincerity, I’m sure she’ll recognize your true feelings, Lord Blair.”
“…You think so?”
“Well, if she’s already married, that might be tough—but if she’s only engaged, I bet you could win her over!”
Honestly, the only one who could beat the male lead was my brother. But since my brother had no plans to marry yet—and there wasn’t even a confirmed crown princess—Lord Blair had nothing to worry about.
He might not have inherited the full ducal title yet, but he was still a viscount heir.
Unless the crown prince himself—or a married man—was his rival, he had nothing to fear.
Hmm… and he even beat the villain. In the novel, after all, the male lead ended up marrying the heroine while the villain lost everything.
“Is she very pretty?”
“Yes, she’s truly beautiful.”
“What do you like about her?”
“…That’s hard to say.”
Wait, doesn’t wanting to give someone a gift mean you like them? Then there must’ve been something that made him fall for her.
I was curious—maybe even a little envious.
Whoever she was, she was lucky to receive the male lead’s affection.
I wanted to know—partly out of curiosity, partly out of hope.
If the story’s flow had really changed, maybe… just maybe… that meant I could live.
“You won’t even tell me that much? After I’m helping you choose the gift?”
“…”
“You can’t even tell me her hair or eye color? That would really help me pick something fitting.”
“I’m afraid that would be difficult.”
It seemed he didn’t want to reveal anything about her.
Whoever she was, I couldn’t help feeling jealous—she was loved, while I’d spent all this time living in fear of the villain.
I’d suffered nightmares, terrified that the tragedy from the original story—watching my family die before my eyes—might still come true.
“Well, if it’s difficult, then I can’t force you.”
“I’m sorry.”
“There’s nothing to apologize for! If you don’t want to say, that’s your right.”
“Thank you.”
He smiled faintly again.
Even a soft smile from a man that handsome was enough to make anyone’s heart flutter.
With that smile, I doubted there was a woman alive who wouldn’t fall for him.
“Anyway… whoever she is,” I said, “since you’re such a good person, once she realizes your feelings, she’s bound to like you too.”
“…How can you be so sure I’m a good person?”
Because… I’d read it.
Because I already knew—from the novel—that he was a good person.
In the original story, the male lead was described as warm and gentle, like sunlight itself.
The villain, on the other hand, had only shown kindness to the heroine—and even that had turned into obsession.
“You can just tell, you know? When someone’s good or not.”
“It makes me happy to hear that from Your Highness.”
If his earlier smile was faint, this one was radiant.
He looked genuinely happy—and the sight completely stole my breath away.
My heart thudded in my chest.
But no, I couldn’t fall for him. The male lead’s partner wasn’t me.
Even knowing that, my heart still trembled. Maybe that was the power of a true protagonist.
“Oh! Did you come here knowing that Chester returns today?”
“…What?”
For a second, I thought I’d misheard. Why was his name coming up now?
“I heard he’s expected to arrive today.”
What… what?!
Sure, summer hadn’t arrived yet, but this soon?
Was he really keeping his promise to return before summer came?
But “before summer” was supposed to mean next summer, wasn’t it?!
Did he really end the war in just six months?
I trembled slightly as I spoke, daring to hope—just maybe—the reason he came back early was because he’d lost.
“…Then that doesn’t mean he lost, right?”
Damn it! I’d been so caught up in my peaceful vacation that I hadn’t paid any attention to outside news.
Please—just this once—let the male lead say that the villain’s army had lost.
“When Chester is commander-in-chief, there has never been a single defeat,” Blair said. “This time was no different.”
“…I see.”
For a moment, I’d let myself hope.
I’d prayed that, just this once, the original story would stay broken—but of course, the world never went my way.
No, the fact that the villain joined the war at all was already a huge deviation from the novel.
Maybe it was foolish of me to hope otherwise—but not completely foolish.
In the original story, that war had been a losing one—until the villain intervened, turning the tide.
I’d wished that he’d die there, but no such thing happened.
What I wanted was his defeat—or death.
But no matter how desperately I prayed, heaven never granted my wish.
The villain was a man who didn’t understand love—or any real emotion—and yet I’d once believed his lies as if they were truth.
How stupid of me.
“Yulia.”
Someone called my name from behind. A voice so familiar it made my blood run cold.
Only a few people were allowed to call me by name—Father, my brother… and one other person who was not family.
“…I heard you went on a trip,” the voice said softly, chillingly. “Was that not true?”
That low, familiar voice reached me from behind, cold as ice.
He was angry. Or maybe just deeply displeased.
My heart raced anxiously—I was too afraid to even turn around.
I couldn’t predict what kind of expression he’d be wearing.
