∼ PROLOGUE ∼
This novel is finally coming to an end.
Because today is the day the male lead is supposed to marry me.
Ah, for your information, I may be the bride, but I’m only playing the role of a supporting character.
“Sigh… What a perfect day to get dumped.”
I’m completely ready for a breakup.
This wedding is going to end in complete disaster.
Right in the middle of the wedding procession, the male lead is supposed to run away, rush toward the heroine sitting among the guests, and suddenly propose to her.
If I remember correctly, he’ll even use the diamond ring that I picked out for him.
The Cinderella who had to part with her prince because of their difference in status will finally become happy again.
And all that’s left for me is to be completely humiliated.
It’s fine.
Love conquers all.
‘I like happy endings.’
I didn’t need the prestigious Count’s family or the Crown Prince fiancé whose appearance wasn’t even my type anyway.
Things that are gained overnight are just as easily lost overnight.
Once the original story ends, I plan to leave this place behind and live freely.
“The groom will now make his entrance.”
“…Huh?”
…The problem was that something had clearly gone wrong.
Even through the veil covering my eyes, I narrowed my gaze and stared at the man walking toward me.
‘…Who is that?’
Why is his hair black?
And what about his eyes?
Lucas’s golden hair had somehow become pitch black, and his blue eyes had turned the color of blood.
And instead of looking like a gentle puppy, he looked more like a fierce wild wolf.
‘Ah.’
Without realizing it, I stopped walking toward him.
Because there was only one person whose face matched that description.
“S-Sir Carlo?!”
Sir Carlo was my coworker.
We even worked in the same department.
The same team.
“Wha…”
I could only stand there with my mouth open.
Seeing how nervous I looked, he moved his lips and spoke.
“I’m sorry for deceiving you all this time. The truth is… every blind date you thought was with Lucas was actually with me.”
“…What?”
“I did it because I liked you, Miss Rosé. I’ve been in love with you for a very long time.”
This was bad.
‘No… you can’t…’
You’re the male lead’s best friend.
And an important character at that!
This was a huge problem.
There was never anything in the original story about the male lead’s childhood friend secretly being in love with me.
I could only blink in shock.
“Uh…”
My mind completely stopped working after hearing such an unexpected confession.
As I struggled to catch my breath, his hand slowly reached into his pocket.
Wait.
What’s that in your hand?
“…!”
Why are you taking out a wedding ring?!
“I don’t want this to end.”
He was the unexpected variable.
The one person who would completely shake the peaceful future I thought I had.
✪ Chapter 1 ✪
It was just before the original story came to an end.
Yes.
Everything began one month before the wedding.
“Rosé, are you working overtime again today?”
“Yeah. The Scroll Department asked for our help, so I’m going to finish preparing some documents before I leave.”
“I heard people from the Security Department only sleep after they die. Look at our bride-to-be. Your skin is getting so dry.”
“You’re in the Security Department too. If you don’t want to work yourself to death before going home, hurry up and finish your work, Miss Elline.”
I calmly gathered the documents and tapped them neatly onto the desk.
Elline looked miserable as she answered that she didn’t want to die.
Well, it was already long past working hours.
It was well after nine o’clock at night.
After staring at nearly identical documents for over twelve hours, it was no surprise we were starting to say ridiculous things.
The Security Department was the central department of the Magic Tower, where mages of water, fire, wind, and earth all worked together.
Magic existed in this world.
Mages protected the human world from the demon realm, where dangerous monsters roamed freely, by using one of the four elemental types of magic they awakened.
‘In simple terms, we’re basically magical police officers.’
Fire and earth were better for offense.
Water and wind were better for defense.
But when designing security magic, all four elements were equally important.
Protecting the border between the demon realm and the human world was the same as protecting the entire world.
That was why the Kingdom of Delphinia was considered one of the continent’s most important places.
Especially this department.
The Security Department where I worked.
“I’ve got a great idea. Why doesn’t our water mage keep everyone’s skin nice and moist?”
“Then I’m hungry, so why don’t you make snacks grow out of the ground with your earth magic?”
“What? That’s impossible, Rosé!”
“Exactly my point, Elline.”
Even so, we were nothing more than exhausted office workers talking nonsense after being buried in work.
Even with my wedding just around the corner, the mountain of work waiting for me was far more urgent.
The reason I willingly stayed late every night was simple.
To protect the peace of the world.
Recently, the durability of water-based security magic had been decreasing.
I was trying to find a way to improve it.
It was also something I absolutely had to solve before leaving this job if I wanted my future to be peaceful.
“I heard monsters appeared near one of the border regions recently. We’re going to review the entire design from the beginning, so stay focused.”
“There is no such thing as perfect magic, Rosé. I’m worried too, but some things just can’t be helped.”
Elline sighed softly and shook her head.
She was also worried that I pushed myself too hard, throwing myself into work day and night whenever even the smallest accident happened.
“We just have to keep maintaining it. That’s why we have earth mages. A bride who’s about to get married should take it easy.”
“There you go again with this ‘bride’ thing.”
Honestly, I was more worried about you pretending not to care about my wedding.
Because the truth was…
Elline liked the man I was supposed to marry.
Watching her force herself to act normal while her face grew paler each day made me worry.
Pretending not to notice, I stood up and picked up my coat.
“…Where are you going?”
“Just outside for a minute.”
I was thinking of buying something to drink.
But then I noticed the anxiety in Elline’s eyes.
She probably thought I was going to meet the Crown Prince, who worked in another department.
So I gave up.
‘Come on… what am I supposed to do?’
I’d told her countless times that this was nothing more than a political marriage without love.
But the tragic heroine simply refused to believe me.
‘Don’t worry, my friend. I have no interest in becoming the heroine. I haven’t even properly seen the Crown Prince’s face yet.’
Besides…
Knowing exactly how kind and precious my best friend was, I could never bring myself to hurt her.
Just as I put my coat back down—
The laboratory door suddenly swung open.
“Oh? Sir, did you just come back?”
“…I thought you might be hungry, so I brought some snacks.”
“Oh my! Snacks?”
As soon as Elline finished speaking, piles of food were placed on the table in the middle of the laboratory.
…That wasn’t just “some.”
I looked back and forth between the man who had entered and the mountain of food he had brought.
The rest of our team had already gone home.
Only Elline, Carlo, and I had stayed behind to work until dawn.
Compared to that, the amount of food looked enough to feed at least five or six people.
‘Well… better too much than too little.’
Among everything he bought were my favorite sandwich and strawberry juice.
I smiled slightly, bowed my head toward him, and picked them up.
“Thank you, Sir Carlo.”
“…You’re welcome. Please enjoy.”
As always, his long bangs and thick black-framed glasses hid most of his eyes.
Even so, he looked strangely satisfied.
‘We’re not especially close, but he’s definitely a good person.’
Although he usually seemed cold and quiet, he was surprisingly thoughtful when it mattered.
Thanks to him, I didn’t have to waste time going outside.
Satisfied, I took a bite of my sandwich and returned to my work.
I was a water mage.
Water magic flowed freely and worked well with every other element.
Simply put, it had an extremely wide range of uses.
Of course, because water mages were so rare, they had become incredibly valuable.
The reason Rosé awakened as a water mage and joined the Magic Tower’s Security Department…
…was entirely because of my own efforts.
In the original story, Count Stein’s daughter, Rosé Stein, was nothing more than the heroine’s friend.
Elline, the future Great Mage, was the true heroine.
In other words…
I wasn’t originally supposed to be a mage at all.
So how did all of this happen…?
