CHAPTER 08
I froze for a moment.
It was an unexpected situation, so I was simply caught off guard.
Come to think of it.
Why had I thought Kallian would let me in…?
‘Oh, my head.’
I clutched my throbbing forehead.
“Then at least deliver this to him.”
I took the former empress’s letter out of my bag and handed it to the attendant.
“When he sees this, he’ll allow me inside.”
The attendant looked at me suspiciously.
Then he cautiously accepted the letter and examined it.
It looked as though he was checking whether there was any poison on it.
No, if I wanted to poison him, I wouldn’t do it this blatantly…
‘This is ridiculous.’
I clicked my tongue and grumbled under my breath.
But it was fine.
The moment Kallian saw that letter, he would call for me.
After all, it contained the kind of heartfelt, tear-jerking contents that would make anyone emotional.
So when the attendant told me to wait for a moment, I obediently nodded.
But then…
“Why is he taking so long?”
A considerable amount of time had passed since the attendant went inside.
It felt like about an hour, but he showed no sign of coming back out.
Ugh, my legs.
I tapped the heels of my high shoes against the floor and pounded my calves with my fists.
That was when—
“I apologize for the delay.”
The attendant finally appeared.
After a whole hour!
I happily straightened my dress, preparing to enter the Crown Prince’s Palace.
“Could you escort me to the reception room?”
But—
“I’m sorry to say this, but you are not permitted to enter.”
“What?”
I stared at the attendant in shock. He looked rather troubled as he bowed his head.
“Why? Did you deliver the letter to His Highness?”
“Yes, I did.”
“And His Highness read it?”
“Yes. His Highness read the letter.”
Then this really was strange.
How could he refuse to let me in even after reading that letter?
I was completely dumbfounded.
“I will repeat His Highness’s exact words.”
The attendant bowed slightly toward me as he spoke. I narrowed my eyes.
“Go ahead. Tell me.”
The attendant took a deep breath.
Then he said just one word.
“Get lost.”
I trudged toward the carriage.
Apparently, Kallian really did hate me.
Even after I had delivered the former empress’s letter, he had rejected me like this.
“What does he mean, ‘Get lost’? And he actually made the attendant say it to me. The guy who ordered him to say it is bad enough, but the guy who actually said it is also a problem.”
I grumbled as I ran a hand through my hair.
“No, even if he hates me, how can he just take the letter and kick me out?”
What a jerk.
“This is a problem…”
I pressed a hand to my forehead.
I had tried to use the letter to improve my relationship with the Crown Prince a little. But I had failed.
Since I hadn’t prepared any other plan, I was completely at a loss.
“Should I build an orphanage first and show him that I’ve changed?”
But would Kallian acknowledge me just because I did that?
Ugh, I had no idea.
“Kallian, you jerk.”
I cursed Kallian under my breath as I quickened my pace.
That was when I saw a woman not far away.
The moment she noticed me, she quickly greeted me.
Who was she?
I narrowed my eyes and approached her.
‘Oh my goodness.’
Up close, the woman was truly beautiful.
Her golden hair was elegantly braided and pinned up, sparkling as though someone had sprinkled gold dust over it. Her pinkish eyes were unbelievably lovely.
Her round eyes, framed by dark double eyelids, were beautiful, while her perfectly shaped nose and delicate lips were equally attractive.
And her skin was so flawlessly white that it almost seemed translucent. The pink blush on her cheeks made her look even more charming.
There was only one woman in this world with a face this impossibly beautiful.
Fleur William.
“…The female lead.”
I muttered with my mouth half open.
“Pardon?”
Fleur tilted her head to one side and opened her eyes wide.
Even that little gesture was ridiculously pretty.
I couldn’t help but frown slightly.
She was dazzling.
“D-Did I do something wrong, Duchess?”
Fleur hurriedly clasped her hands together. She looked utterly frightened.
I quickly shook my head.
“No. My eyes hurt because of the sunlight.”
I answered while deliberately shielding my eyes with my hand.
Only then did some of the tension leave Fleur’s face.
Seeing her, I quietly let out a long breath.
I had been nervous too.
In the past, Ophelia had tormented Fleur countless times.
That was why Kallian had hated her, ultimately leading to her execution.
‘That can’t happen.’
I absolutely did not want that future.
I wanted to survive.
Therefore, I couldn’t afford to make an enemy of Fleur, the female lead.
‘I have to make a good impression.’
Besides, hadn’t I been ordered not to approach Fleur?
Under normal circumstances, I shouldn’t even have greeted her. But since Fleur had spoken to me first, I figured it would be fine.
So I welcomed her with the kindest smile I could manage.
“It has been a long time. Have you been well?”
“Yes. Thanks to you, I’ve been doing well. Have you been well, Duchess?”
“I’ve been well too, thanks to you.”
“I’m glad to hear that. You really are always so kind, Duchess.”
Despite everything I had done to torment her, she still spoke so sweetly.
Was there anything you lacked?
As expected of the heroine, the kindest person in the entire story.
“By the way, where are you coming from?”
Fleur asked cautiously.
I answered casually.
“I went to request an audience with His Highness the Crown Prince, but he refused to see me, so I’m on my way home.”
“Oh.”
I saw the corners of her lips rise slightly.
Was it my imagination, or did she look like she was laughing at me?
‘No. Surely not.’
Wasn’t Fleur supposed to be the kindest person in this world?
Even when Ophelia committed one terrible deed after another, Fleur was always the one who tried to forgive her in the end.
There was no way she would mock me.
I felt sorry for having suspected Fleur even for a moment and lowered the corners of my eyebrows.
Fleur looked at me and opened her mouth.
“I’m on my way to see His Highness right now.”
Then she continued.
“When I see His Highness, I’ll be sure to tell him that I saw you.”
Fleur smiled sweetly as she said it.
What was this strange unpleasant feeling…?
On the way home in the carriage, I couldn’t shake off the strange feeling.
“I’m on my way to see His Highness right now.”
Hadn’t I just told her that I had gone to see Kallian and been rejected?
If she knew how much Ophelia loved Kallian, she should have realized that saying something like that was rude.
So why had she said it?
And then—
“When I see His Highness, I’ll be sure to tell him that I saw you.”
She obviously knew that Kallian and I had a terrible relationship.
So why deliberately say something like that?
“It’s strange.”
I crossed my arms and muttered.
“She really seems like she has absolutely no sense of the situation.”
In Korean slang, neon-ssineun is short for something like, “Do you seriously have no sense of what’s going on?”
That was exactly how it felt.
Unless she was deliberately trying to rub it in my face.
“Surely not.”
Even so, Fleur was the female lead. She didn’t seem like the type to do something mean.
Was I just being overly suspicious?
“That could be it.”
Maybe Fleur really had just said it without thinking.
You know, there are people who say things without any malicious intent.
Perhaps Fleur was simply that kind of person.
The reason I thought that was because, in the novel, Fleur had been an almost frustratingly kind heroine.
She was always saying things like, “It’s okay. Nothing happened to me. Please forgive me.”
While reading, I’d cursed her dozens of times for being such a pushover.
So I couldn’t really doubt Fleur’s character.
Besides, I really was being overly suspicious.
“I’ll know better once I meet her again.”
I muttered as I looked out the window.
The castle of House Rizen was already visible.
We had arrived.
I had left word with Sylvester that I was going to see Kallian.
“I’m going to melt His Highness the Crown Prince’s heart.”
“You’d better be nervous.”
“Have the money ready.”
Why had I written something like that?
If I had known I’d be turned away without even getting to see him and would only hear “Get lost,” I never would have left such a message.
I had been far too confident.
My face burned with embarrassment.
What was I supposed to tell Sylvester?
I was still thinking about what to say when I stepped through the open carriage door.
Maybe I could just say I wasn’t feeling well and lock myself in my room…
That was what I was thinking when—
“Huh?”
Something strange happened.
Sylvester was standing outside.
Today, he was wearing a pure white coat.
The snowfall had already stopped, but looking at him made it seem as though a snowstorm had begun again.
He looked that cold and forbidding.
Which made me even more nervous.
Could it be that he’d seen my message and had been waiting for me?
Thump, thump.
Huff, huff.
I forced my face to remain calm as I approached Sylvester.
“Why are you out he—”
“Why are you so late?”
Huh?
I tilted my head.
“What on earth have you been doing all day?”
