HWGD 07

CHAPTER 07

I suddenly went blank.

It was an unexpected situation, so I was simply flustered.

Come to think of it.

Why had I thought Kallian would let me in…?

“Ah, my head.”

I clutched my throbbing forehead.

“Then at least give him this.”

I took the former Empress’s letter out of my bag and handed it to the attendant.

“If he sees this, he’ll allow me inside.”

The attendant looked at me suspiciously.

Then he carefully accepted the letter and examined it.

It looked as though he was checking whether it had been coated with poison.

No, if I wanted to poison him, I wouldn’t do it so blatantly…

“Honestly, how unfair.”

I grumbled under my breath.

But it was fine.

The moment Kallian saw that letter, he would call for me.

It was a long, heartfelt letter—exactly the sort that would bring tears to one’s eyes.

So I obediently nodded when the attendant told me to wait for a moment.

But then…

“Why is he taking so long?”

A considerable amount of time had passed since the attendant went inside.

It felt like nearly an hour, yet 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 show me to the reception room?”

But—

“I apologize, but you are not permitted to enter.”

“What?”

I stared at the attendant in shock. He looked rather uncomfortable 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 was truly strange.

How could he refuse to let me in even after reading the letter?

I was utterly dumbfounded.

“I shall repeat His Highness’s exact words.”

The attendant bowed his head toward me. I narrowed my eyes.

“Go ahead. Tell me.”

Whew. The attendant drew a deep breath.

Then he said just one word.

“Fuck off.”

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.

“‘Fuck off’? Seriously? And he made the poor attendant say it. The guy who ordered him to say it is bad enough, but the guy who actually said it is a problem too.”

I grumbled as I ran a hand through my hair.

“No matter how much he hates me, how can he just read the letter and then kick me out?”

What a jerk.

“This is a problem…”

I pressed a hand to my forehead.

I had hoped to use the letter to improve my relationship with the Crown Prince, at least a little.

But I had failed.

Since I hadn’t prepared another plan, I was completely at a loss.

“Should I build an orphanage first and show him that I’ve changed?”

But would that really make Kallian acknowledge me?

Ugh, I don’t know.

“Kallian, you jerk.”

I cursed Kallian thoroughly as I quickened my pace.

That was when I spotted a woman not far away.

The moment she saw me, she quickly greeted me.

Who is that?

I narrowed my eyes and approached her.

Good heavens.

Up close, the woman was incredibly beautiful.

Her golden hair was neatly braided and pinned up, glittering as though someone had sprinkled gold dust over it. Her pinkish eyes were impossibly lovely.

Her round eyes, framed by prominent double eyelids, were beautiful, while her perfectly shaped nose and lips had delicate features.

And her skin was so white and translucent that it seemed almost unreal. The pink flush on her cheeks made her look even more adorable.

There was only one woman in this world with a face this outrageously beautiful.

Fleur William.

“…The heroine.”

I muttered with my mouth half open.

“Yes?”

Fleur tilted her head to one side and widened her eyes.

Even that little sequence of movements was unbelievably pretty.

Without realizing it, I frowned.

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 deliberately raised my hand to shade my eyes as I answered.

Only then did the tension in Fleur’s face ease somewhat.

Seeing her, I quietly let out a long breath.

I had been nervous too.

In the past, Ophelia had bullied Fleur countless times.

That was one of the reasons Kallian had come to hate her, ultimately leading to her execution.

I can’t let that happen.

I absolutely did not want that future.

I wanted to survive.

Therefore, I could not become enemies with the heroine, Fleur.

I have to make her like me.

Besides, hadn’t I been explicitly ordered not to approach Fleur?

Normally, I shouldn’t even have greeted her, but since Fleur had spoken to me first, I figured it would be all right.

So I welcomed her with the gentlest smile I could manage.

“It has been a while. Have you been well?”

“Yes, thanks to you, Duchess. Have you been well?”

“I have been well too, thanks to you.”

“I’m glad to hear that. As expected, you are always so kind, Duchess.”

Despite all the harassment she must have endured from me, she still spoke so sweetly.

Is there anything you’re not good at?

She really was worthy of being 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 ask for an audience with His Highness the Crown Prince, but I was refused. I am on my way home.”

“Ah.”

I noticed the corners of her lips lift slightly.

Was that a mocking smile, or was I imagining it?

No. Surely not.

Wasn’t Fleur supposed to be the kindest person in this world?

No matter how many terrible things Ophelia did, Fleur had always tried to forgive her in the end.

There was no way she would mock me.

I felt guilty for suspecting her, even for a moment, and lowered my eyebrows.

Fleur looked at me and opened her mouth.

“I’m actually 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 met you.”

Fleur smiled sweetly as she said this.

What is this strange feeling of irritation…?

On the carriage ride home, I couldn’t shake the strange feeling.

“I’m actually 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 met you.”

She obviously knew that Kallian and I had a terrible relationship too.

So why would she deliberately say that?

“She’s strange.”

I muttered with my arms crossed.

“She’s acting like she has absolutely no sense of the situation.”

That was what the Korean slang neonssinoon meant—someone who was incredibly oblivious to the atmosphere.

It felt oddly like that.

Unless, of course, she was deliberately trying to annoy me.

“Surely not.”

Fleur was the heroine, after all. It didn’t seem likely that she would do something malicious.

Am I just being overly suspicious?

“That could be it.”

Maybe Fleur had simply said it without any bad intentions.

You know, there were people who said things without realizing how they sounded.

Perhaps Fleur was like that.

The reason I thought so was because, in the novel, Fleur had been an almost frustratingly kind protagonist.

“It’s okay. Nothing happened to me. Please forgive me.”

She practically lived by those words.

While reading the novel, I had cursed her dozens of times for being such a pushover.

So I couldn’t bring myself to doubt Fleur’s character.

Besides, it was true that I was being overly suspicious.

“I’ll understand her better after I meet her a few more times.”

I muttered as I gazed out the carriage window.

The castle of House Rigen was already visible.

We had arrived.

I had sent word to Sylvester that I was going to see Kallian.

“I’ll melt His Highness’s heart and come back.

You’d better be nervous.

Have the money ready.”

Why had I written that?

If I had known I wouldn’t even get to meet him and would only hear “Fuck off,” I would never have sent that message.

I had been far too confident.

My face burned with embarrassment.

What am I supposed to tell Sylvester?

I carefully thought about what I would say to him as I stepped through the open carriage door.

Maybe I should pretend I’m sick and lock myself in my room…

“Hmm?”

But something was strange.

Sylvester was outside.

Today, he was wearing a pure white coat.

The snow had stopped falling, but looking at him made it feel as though another blizzard had begun.

He looked that cold and chilling.

Which made me even more nervous.

Could he have seen my message and been waiting for me?

Thump, thump.

Huff, huff.

I approached Sylvester while desperately maintaining a calm expression.

“Why are you out he—”

“Why are you so late?”

“Huh?”

I tilted my head.

“What on earth have you been doing all day?”