Chapter 3

When Agnes first entered the drawing room, Kesenor let out an almost imperceptible chuckle.

So this woman is supposed to be the World Tree’s Partner?

Her light brown hair resembled caramel, and her pale green eyes made her look timid and fragile.

She was fairly attractive, but her unusually small, round face, thin frame, and pale complexion gave her a somewhat gloomy appearance.

She hardly looked worthy of such a grand title.

Still…

If she truly was his destined Partner, he didn’t have the luxury of being picky.

If I tell her I’ll take her to her sister… perhaps she’ll come willingly.

Suppressing the darker thoughts rising within him, Kesenor quietly watched the bewildered Agnes.

If I prevent her from ever meeting the other Seeds… eventually she’ll have no choice but to choose me…

But then—

“You have to treat her well this time. You can’t hurt her. You can’t make her sad.”

Amy’s words lingered in his mind.

“This time”…

Does that mean… I failed to do that in the future?

Unaware that the man before her was desperately suppressing the greed threatening to consume him, Agnes’s tiny face gradually flushed crimson.

Despite hearing incredible stories about ancient prophecies and dragons, her thoughts remained fixed on only one thing.

Her sister.

“I just don’t understand…”

“Why didn’t she come back?”

“She must have suffered all this time…”

She murmured to herself before suddenly lifting her head and looking at Kesenor with desperate hope.

“Do you have any idea where Amy went?”

I wish I knew.

Carefully concealing his own impatience, Kesenor leaned lazily against the sofa and shook his head.

“There is only one thing I know.”

“Miss Amy has gone to search for another of your prospective husbands.”

He smiled slightly as he observed Agnes’s reaction.

“Whether that is what you want…”

“…or not.”

* * *

House Celesta’s Territory, Northern Continent

Mana Crystal Mine

The mine was famous throughout the continent for its rich deposits of mana crystals.

Agnes quietly sorted stones into baskets.

She looked even thinner and more exhausted than Amy remembered.

Her hands, which separated the ore, were so slender that her knuckles stood out sharply.

Her face was stained with dirt and dust.

Even her beautiful caramel-colored hair was hidden beneath a headscarf, tightly tied back to keep it from falling into her face.

Watching Agnes labor with such a weary expression, Amy realized—

This was one of her dreams.

Big Sis…

It was a scene she never wanted to see.

She was working so hard to prevent this future.

Why did she have to dream about it?

Just then, a group of people approached from the distance.

Judging by the commotion among the supervisors, they were clearly important figures.

“Leave them.”

“Don’t interrupt the workers.”

A tall man with a lean build and long black hair flowing past his waist strode forward.

Kesenor.

Amy had already met him.

She had even told him where to find her sister.

The reason was simple.

Among all the male leads, she believed he would be the most useful during the early stages.

He’s a marquis.

He’s powerful.

And he’s an incredible magician.

If anything happened, surely he’d be able to protect my sister.

Even so…

Amy couldn’t bring herself to like him.

Because despite possessing overwhelming power…

He had never once truly helped Agnes.

To him, Agnes had always been nothing more than a disposable tool to exploit before discarding.

She was just a means to conquer the world.

As Kesenor walked by, he suddenly stopped in front of Agnes.

Startled, Agnes fumbled clumsily and knocked over the basket filled with mana crystals.

“You!”

The supervisor’s face turned pale as he shouted at her.

Panicking, Agnes immediately knelt down and hurriedly began picking up the scattered stones.

“I-I’m so sorry!”

“I’ll clean them up right away…”

“That’s enough.”

“No need.”

The instant Kesenor spoke—

The scattered stones floated into the air.

One by one, they quietly returned to the basket on their own.

It all happened in the blink of an eye.

“Wow…”

“That’s the Lord’s magic!”

It was the first time Agnes had ever seen magic.

She stared blankly, forgetting even to lower her gaze.

“You.”

Agnes jumped in surprise and quickly bowed her head.

But Kesenor wasn’t looking at her.

His attention was on the mana crystals.

The crystals in Agnes’s basket were noticeably higher quality than everyone else’s.

“You’ve got a good eye.”

“Y-Yes.”

“She may have made a mistake, but she’s the most skilled worker in this mine.”

“No one is better at identifying high-quality mana crystals.”

“She looks rather young.”

“She hasn’t been here very long.”

“And her identity?”

“Apparently she’s a relative of an old woman from the nearby village.”

That was all.

Kesenor simply walked past Agnes.

Agnes’s eyes lingered on his departing figure for only a brief moment before returning to her work.

Idiot.

You complete fool.

Amy cursed furiously at Kesenor’s indifferent back.

You should’ve paid more attention!

What ordinary person can identify mana crystals that accurately?

Even though she existed here as nothing more than a consciousness inside a dream, frustration made her tremble.

Do you have any idea how much my sister suffered after this?

But…

There was nothing she could do.

The novel Amy had been reincarnated into was a dark reverse-harem romance—

One so relentlessly cruel to its heroine that readers had even left comments asking if the author simply wanted to torture the female lead.

Of all the novels… why did it have to be this one?

Though maybe… that’s exactly why I was reborn here.

After being swallowed by the Rift…

Amy realized this world was the very novel she had read in her previous life.

However…

In the original story, the heroine Agnes had never had a youngest sister named Amy.

Which meant…

Because Amy had been reborn as the late-born daughter of House Laberose, the story itself had changed.

Agnes lost her mother much earlier than in the original.

House Laberose also fell into ruin long before it was supposed to.

That’s why I have to work even harder.

When Amy was born, Agnes had been only fifteen years old.

Even so…

Pitying the baby who had lost her mother, Agnes slept beside her every night.

Fed her.

Raised her.

Taught her.

“Big Sis, do you like Amy?”

“Of course.”

“I like you very, very much.”

“Why?”

“Because Amy is adorable.”

“Because you’re lovable.”

“And because you’re my little sister.”

“Amy loves Big Sis too!”

Only after regaining the memories of her previous life did Amy realize just how difficult that must have been.

From now on…

I’ll make Big Sis happy.

All she had to do was erase every hardship…

And prevent every terrible future.

Perhaps because it would have been too much for the mind of a six-year-old…

Or perhaps because the world itself—or some mysterious system—had censored certain knowledge…

Amy couldn’t remember every detail of the novel.

But what she did remember was enough.

Kesenor…

I’m not putting all my faith in you.

There are plenty of other male leads!

Now…

The real story was about to begin.

Just wait.

When you see how deeply the other male leads love my sister…

Even that arrogant face of yours will finally crack.

This time…

I’ll make every one of you regret your choices.

* * *

Chuckling to herself, Amy suddenly woke up.

The moment she opened her eyes, a familiar voice greeted her.

“Good morning, Miss.”

“Rupert.”

Amy slowly sat up.

Looking into the mirror across from the bed, she saw the reflection of a cute little girl with sparkling golden hair and fair skin.

She quickly straightened her messy hair before stretching with all her might.

“Did you have a pleasant dream?”

“Why?”

“You kept smiling in your sleep.”

Turning her head, she found Rupert kneeling beside the bed so they could meet at eye level.

Despite his tall stature, he had folded himself almost in half to lower his height.

He had handsome features.

His dark brown hair fell neatly across his forehead.

His deep blue eyes resembled a tranquil lake hidden within a dense forest.

So she had been smiling in her sleep…

And Rupert had witnessed it.

She must have wanted to get back at Kesenor more than she realized.

Feeling slightly embarrassed, Amy smiled sheepishly.

“I don’t know.”

“I don’t really remember.”

“It was only a dream.”

Rupert smiled warmly.

“Good morning, Miss.”

His gentle greeting was delivered in a pleasant, low voice.

Amy couldn’t help letting out a long sigh.

“What a waste.”

“Did you want to stay in dreamland a little longer?”

“No.”

“It’s Rupert that’s a waste!”

If only Rupert had been one of the male leads…

Rupert simply laughed, completely confused by her strange remark, and brought over a basin of water for her to wash.

Watching him, Amy sighed once again.

Tall.

Handsome.

Originally he had been thin and frail.

But whatever had happened inside the Rift had transformed him.

His body was now lean and muscular.

His personality was as kind as ever.

And yet…

He was only the butler’s son.

More importantly, in the original novel he had barely existed at all.

No matter how you looked at it…

The male leads were supposed to be crown princes…

Northern grand dukes…

Or powerful southern counts.

Compared to them…

The butler’s son seemed far too insignificant.

At best…

He would have been nothing more than an extra who quietly cheered for the heroine from afar.

“You’re capable too!”

Rupert smiled.

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“Thank you, Miss.”

After washing her face, drying it with a towel, and brushing her teeth, Amy climbed out of bed.

Today was going to be another busy day.

“Time to go find another male lead!”

“Yes.”

“We’re almost there.”

“Naupa Forest is just ahead.”

After parting ways with Kesenor, Amy and Rupert had traveled all the way to the eastern edge of the continent.

The human settlements ended here.

Standing by the carriage window, Amy gazed outside.

Far in the distance—

Gigantic trees stretched into the heavens, their towering canopies covering the horizon.

Naupa Forest.

The homeland of the elves in the eastern continent.

It was Amy’s next destination.