Chapter 2
“Oh dear. I still didn’t get your answer.”
Before he could even blink, the girl had disappeared.
Hic…
She was gone.
He had already guessed she was a mage, but she clearly wasn’t an ordinary one.
“Using teleportation magic right in front of me… That means she’s at least a high-ranking mage.”
Ivan clearly remembered her face.
Although she had cast a confusion spell on herself, such a cheap trick couldn’t fool his eyes.
Her transparent reddish-pink eyes desperately searched for a way to escape, and beneath them, her pink lips trembled with fear.
She had quite an interesting appearance.
But he had never seen her before.
As Crown Prince, Ivan met countless nobles, so he easily remembered the faces of most young noblewomen.
Yet that girl was a complete stranger.
“That unusual hair color… I feel like I’ve seen it somewhere before.”
Her peach-colored hair was streaked with deep purple.
Such a strange color was extremely rare.
“…There was someone in the Imperial Palace with similar hair.”
Rion Astell.
The eldest son of Count Astell, one of the Empire’s greatest mage families.
A genius since childhood, he graduated first in his class from the Magic Academy and became both a senior mage of the Magic Tower and an Imperial Court Mage at the same time, making him famous throughout the Empire.
“Did that family have a daughter…?”
Normally, witnesses deserved to die.
But if the witness happened to be one of the Empire’s few high-ranking mages…
That changed things.
Besides…
“I’m curious how she managed to find me.”
Even a high-ranking mage shouldn’t have been able to locate Ivan while he was “working.”
Not even the royal shadows assigned to guard the Crown Prince could follow him during those times.
“Perhaps I’ll postpone killing her.”
After thinking for a moment, Ivan calmly snapped his fingers.
It looked like it would be a long night.
It was time to return to the Imperial Palace.
***
“P-Please… spare me!”
“Gasp!”
After desperately crying out in my sleep, I suddenly opened my eyes.
The familiar ceiling slowly came into focus.
Ah…
My room.
“This is driving me crazy. I’ve been having the same nightmare every night since that day.”
Ever since I barely escaped from Ivan, I had suffered from the same nightmare every single night.
A monster with green eyes chased me endlessly.
And every time, I woke up just as it caught me.
“At least today I woke up before he grabbed me…”
…No.
Not at all!
My heart was still pounding.
“Still, I should be safe. There’s no way Ivan knows the name of some extra living out in the countryside.”
Besides, I had even cast a confusion spell over my face.
Unless Ivan was an exceptionally powerful mage, there was no way he could break a high-ranking mage’s spell and recognize me.
“In the original novel, Ivan wasn’t a mage. Since the story is still ongoing, I can’t be completely certain, but the chances of him being a stronger mage than me are low.”
Besides, despite attending many parties just to see him, I had never once spoken to him.
I had only admired him from afar as a fan.
“Hardly anyone even knows who I am. There’s no way Ivan can find me.”
After being reincarnated into this world, I quickly understood my situation.
As an extra, I chose to live quietly.
Of course, as the second daughter of the famous Astell mage family, it wasn’t easy to disappear completely.
Fortunately, I had my genius older brother.
Rion Astell.
“Ever since childhood, Rion’s incredible talent completely overshadowed me.”
Using my weak health as an excuse, I rarely attended social events.
Most people believed the Astell family only had Rion.
Whenever someone discovered I existed, they usually reacted with surprise.
“Wait… that family has a daughter?”
And honestly…
I loved being practically invisible.
“Because it let me do whatever I wanted without anyone paying attention.”
The best part was that I wasn’t registered with the Magic Association.
That was all thanks to Rion, who had connections as a high-ranking member of the Magic Tower.
As a child of the Astell family, I had naturally been registered at birth.
But thanks to my talent for being completely forgettable, Rion secretly removed my name from the records, and nobody ever noticed.
Normally, every registered mage had to report all magical activities to the Association.
The problem was…
I was researching an ancient dimensional teleportation spell that had been banned long ago.
If I reported that…
I’d be thrown into prison immediately.
“I have no choice. I need this research if I ever want to return to Korea.”
I was about to get out of bed and head to my laboratory when—
Bang!
The door flew open without even a knock.
“Miss!”
“Eek! You scared me!”
My personal maid, Hannah, burst into the room with an unusually excited expression.
“A marriage proposal has arrived for you!”
“What?”
I stared at her in disbelief.
But I quickly calmed down.
“Oh… They must have delivered it to the wrong person again.”
This had happened before.
My name was Rine, but letters meant for Rina sometimes ended up in my hands.
“It’s from the Imperial Palace.”
“…What?”
I immediately jumped out of bed and took the letter she handed me.
[The Erzette Imperial Family]
At the bottom of the golden envelope was the dark red imperial seal.
The golden lion, symbol of the Erzette royal family, proudly marked its origin.
“Impossible… Did Ivan actually find me?”
I wasn’t just guessing that he didn’t know me.
I was certain.
We had never met before.
“I even used a confusion spell on my face. How did he…”
I had barely escaped, and he had already caught up to me.
It felt exactly like the nightmares I’d been having.
A chill ran down my spine.
“Miss, ever since you returned from that party, you’ve been acting strangely…”
Hannah grabbed both my hands, looking deeply moved.
“So… that was the day you and His Highness promised your love to each other, wasn’t it?”
“W-What?”
“Otherwise, why would he suddenly send you a marriage proposal? Ahhh!”
She happily bounced up and down.
“The Crown Prince must have fallen in love with you at first sight!”
“I… did meet him…”
Just…
Not the way you think.
“Miss, you’re going to reply, right?”
Hannah’s brown eyes sparkled with excitement.
If I nodded, she looked ready to bring every piece of writing paper in the mansion.
“…What happens if I don’t?”
“Well… in high society, silence is usually considered a rejection.”
“I see.”
Riiip.
“Then let’s pretend I never received it.”
“Miss!”
The golden paper tore into pieces and fluttered through the air.
It almost looked like the golden lion on the imperial seal had scattered into the wind.
“I’ve worked so hard to protect my peaceful life. I’m not letting Ivan ruin it.”
If I became engaged to him, my name would spread throughout the Empire.
People would finally notice me.
Absolutely not.
Besides…
I’d already lost my favorite character.
Why would I want to stay in this world anymore?
I only wanted to finish my dimensional teleportation spell and return home.
“But Miss… I think you should still send a reply.”
“Why?”
“Because…”
“It’s already in the newspapers.”
“…What?”
Hannah handed me something else.
A newspaper.
“The article came out this morning. It’s a public proposal. His Highness must really be serious about you.”
The headline covered almost the entire front page.
“Crown Prince Erzette Publicly Proposes to Rine Astell, Second Daughter of the Prestigious Astell Mage Family!”
“The two are said to have confirmed their feelings for each other during the recent gathering at Count Anasia’s estate…”
“The once unnoticed Rine Astell secretly captured the heart of the Empire’s brightest star. Everyone wants to know how she did it…”
Wow.
They’re really going all out.
“Tearing up the proposal isn’t going to solve this…”
“So much for my quiet life…”
I silently tore up the newspaper.
Hannah only smiled awkwardly.
“Tearing that one won’t help, Miss.”
“My lord already bought one hundred copies.”
“…What?!”
“Because it’s your first scandal!”
“And your partner is the Empire’s greatest star!”
She gave me a cheerful thumbs-up.
“This definitely deserves to be preserved!”
“No…”
Ignoring my desperate cry…
More marriage proposals arrived.
The next day.
And the day after that.
And the day after that.
This was insane.
“Sending proposal after proposal without saying a single word… He’s completely crazy.”
It was the behavior of someone who knew I couldn’t keep refusing forever.
“People have already started calling me the rude woman who dares ignore the Crown Prince’s proposal.”
Which meant…
This wasn’t really a marriage proposal.
It was a warning.
Ivan had found me.
Now that my name had spread across the Empire…
There was nowhere left for me to run.
In other words…
“Show yourself while I’m still asking nicely.”
“I haven’t even managed to escape properly yet. I can’t let him catch me.”
I couldn’t keep living like this.
It was finally time to make a decision.
“Hannah.”
“I’m running away from home.”
On the morning I tore up the fourth proposal, I announced my decision while Hannah carefully gathered the shredded pieces.
“What? Suddenly? When?”
“Three…”
“Oh! Three months from now?”
If Ivan came looking for me and I wasn’t home…
Problem solved.
“Two…”
“One…”
“Right now.”
