Chapter 05
Maylily
The soft rustle of turning pages brushed past my ears and faded away.
Scratch, scratch. Soon followed the faint sound of a quill gliding across paper, the quiet friction of fabric brushing against a chair as someone shifted in their seat.
Then came footsteps—measured, deliberate—someone pacing before the bookshelves, hesitating, and finally pulling out a heavy volume with a smooth shff.
It was the kind of white noise that could soothe anyone. Peaceful, even.
But to me, it was nothing but a muddled jumble of sounds, too restless to be comforting.
I sighed, tucking back the strands of hair that had fallen over my shoulders.
I couldn’t focus. I kept seeing him—standing alone amid a crowd, drenched in blood.
This was no time to be distracted. The quarterly examinations at the Imperial Academy were already hard enough for me. I had to take on extra language studies that no one else bothered with.
A professional text that others could finish in an hour took me three.
Setting my quill back into the inkwell, I massaged my aching wrist.
I should ask my foster father to buy me a fountain pen.
“Hey, did you hear? There was a huge commotion during the Royal Guard entrance exam.”
I was drinking some water in the lounge when I overheard two men whispering by the window.
It was a topic I had tried hard to forget.
A week had already passed since then, but word had spread fast.
Rumor had it the public sentiment toward Chodoreun wasn’t exactly favorable.
Why?
I glanced at the two gossiping men.
The lounge was spacious, and plenty of others were chatting too.
Maybe that’s why they weren’t even trying to keep their voices down.
And honestly, no one else seemed to care—except me.
“Don’t you think His Highness Reynold’s a bit pitiful? I mean, he’s the Crown Prince, and he stood as one of the judges for the guard selection? No matter how skilled he is with a sword, that’s beneath his station.”
“What’s pitiful about that? The man kills people like it’s nothing.”
“Well… yeah, true. Those poor knights though, dying like that.”
Poor knights?
I frowned slightly while pretending to sip my water.
Sure, Chodoreun had hurt those knights—but it had been self-defense.
I wasn’t trying to defend him, but twisting the story like this was off.
If anything, wasn’t it more suspicious that the knights had attacked him with the intent to kill—right there in a training ground?
And Chodoreun wasn’t just anyone. He was royalty.
The Crown Prince, with a rightful claim to the throne.
It felt like the story had been edited—someone deliberately cutting out crucial parts before spreading it around.
“If someone like His Highness Reynold becomes Emperor, he’ll be a tyrant, not a wise ruler.”
I grimaced. Sure, people badmouth kings when they’re not around—but this was absurd.
And suddenly, a thought hit me.
Maybe this was how Chodoreun the Mad Crown Prince of the Alpine Empire got his infamous title.
Someone wanted that image to spread.
Because his and the Empress’s power was too weak to fight back.
I was lost in thought when a tall shadow fell over me.
Someone had walked up behind me.
Startled, I turned—and that smooth, low voice I knew so well reached my ears.
“Whether he’ll be a tyrant or a wise ruler… shouldn’t we wait and see? You’re being awfully harsh in your judgment.”
A man with silver hair, dressed in elegant light-green court attire, gazed lazily at the two men by the window.
He loosened his cravat with a languid twist of his hand, smiling faintly at their terrified faces—like a satiated predator showing mercy to its prey.
“W-we’re sorry, Your Highness!”
“Please spare us, we beg you!”
The two men paled instantly and bowed low, trembling.
A suffocating silence fell over the lounge.
I watched as everyone—including people who had been about to enter—scrambled to flee the room.
I sighed.
Yes, PD Cha Do-hyuk—or Prince Chodoreun—was intimidating.
But still, this reaction was over the top. He didn’t deserve this kind of fear.
At least not the man I’d known and worked with for four years.
“Enough. Let’s go, Bangul.”
Chodoreun dropped the matter easily and took my hand.
And that’s when I saw it—people exhaling in relief, only to gape in horror at our joined hands.
Given how out of control the rumors had been since that charity event for the flood victims, I could already see the next wave of headlines coming.
That one still made me laugh. What was it again?
“What Bewitches the Mad Crown Prince? The Mysterious Allure of the Foreign Lady!”
And right after that ridiculous headline came an “exclusive interview” with Lady Serinne, who studied with me at the Imperial Academy—written by none other than Eleanor, the reporter who seemed to live for slandering Prince Reynold.
Under the title “Everything You Need to Know About Lady Rubyche, From Her Classmate’s Mouth!” was a pile of nonsense.
Basically, a publicized backstab—claiming one small fish had muddied the entire pond.
In hindsight, it wasn’t just Serinne who looked down on me.
Plenty of nobles did.
Honestly, my situation wasn’t so different from Chodoreun’s.
I sighed quietly and followed him out of the library.
We walked through the Academy gardens. It was exam season, so the grounds were blissfully empty.
I didn’t ask about what had happened at the Guard selection.
He didn’t ask about the lounge incident either.
He simply led me to a polished wooden bench and gestured for me to sit.
“What brings you here, Your Highness?”
I looked up at him, dazed, as he hesitated—then spoke softly.
“I wanted to see you.”
The words slipped out so naturally, so sincerely, that my heart stuttered.
He seemed just as shocked by what he’d said, covering his mouth for a moment.
“Is that really the reason?”
Chodoreun tugged his cravat loose, sighing, then brushed his silver hair back, looking at me with a strange, quiet yearning.
“Is that wrong? Every time I see you, I need to confirm you’re really here.
That this world, and you, are real. It still feels unreal to me.”
He touched his throat with slow fingers.
Even that small motion carried a raw, untamed edge.
He didn’t have to try to be intimidating—he simply was.
Standing before him felt like standing before a great beast.
Then he fell silent again, eyes searching mine.
Emotions flickered and tangled within those golden irises—so many that I couldn’t begin to read them.
“You really do seem like a different person,” I said quietly. “If we didn’t talk about Korea now and then, I’d never believe you were once a producer from my world.”
A shadow crossed his expression, and the breeze ruffled his hair.
Disheveled hair, a weary face—he looked completely undone.
And maybe that was exactly how he felt inside.
“That’s why this is so confusing for me,” I murmured.
“I understand,” he replied.
Maybe he thought he did. But just as I couldn’t fully understand him, he couldn’t fully understand me either.
Meeting a fellow Korean abroad is one thing—meeting one in another world is something else entirely.
Of course, it was more than that.
He wasn’t just any Korean; he was someone I knew.
I did feel a connection—something deeper, something hard to define.
But I had to be careful.
After all, I didn’t fully know Cha Do-hyuk, much less Prince Reynold.
“When I’m with you, I feel at peace,” he said softly.
I couldn’t reply. There wasn’t anything I could say to that.
Truth be told… I kind of felt the same.
Just not with the same intensity he did.
“I want to stay by your side.
If you’d let me.”
His golden eyes pierced straight through me.
He meant it.
Then again, had he ever not meant what he said?
He could joke around, yes—but he never said things he didn’t mean.
Avoiding his gaze, I scratched my cheek.
“Uh… that might be a bit difficult.”
“May I ask why?”
“Well, I do have my own schedule, you know…”
“Then follow it. I won’t interfere.”
He rubbed his face tiredly, sneaking glances at me like a scolded puppy.
I couldn’t help but laugh.
“Looking at me like that won’t help. The answer’s still no.”
He frowned, thinking hard.
“Then what about this? Let me help you adjust to this world.
You’re preparing for the Alpine University entrance exam, right?”
That made me pause.
Prince Reynold—the so-called “Mad Crown Prince”—was famous for his swordsmanship, yes, but also for his brilliance.
He’d been called a genius even as a child.
And considering that Cha Do-hyuk had been one in Korea too, this wasn’t such a bad offer.
After a moment’s thought, I nodded.
“Well… that’s not a bad deal. Sure. I’ll take you up on it.”
His face lit up, and he laughed—genuinely delighted by my “deal.”
After that day, Chodoreun started coming to the Rubyche estate every single day.
After about a month, he even moved into one of the guest suites.
He followed me everywhere—around the house, even on outings.
One day, his aide came storming in just to drag him back to the palace.
He even insisted on attending ladies-only tea parties with me.
And honestly, he didn’t have to do anything to cause chaos—his mere presence was enough to send noblewomen into a nervous frenzy.
Because this was Chodoreun, the “Mad Crown Prince” himself.
I couldn’t tie him up or lock him away, and he was too royal to scold outright.
It was driving me insane.
“So this is what you meant by wanting to stay by my side?
You’re being a total distraction.”
I groaned, clutching my head.
He just sat there, perfectly calm, one leg crossed, and shrugged.
“All I’ve done is sit next to you.
How is that a distraction?”
I had no comeback.
He was right.
The real problem was the panic-stricken noblewomen fainting left and right at the sight of him.
I sighed deeply.
Yeah, give and take—same rule applies here as in any world.
Oblivious to my inner turmoil, Chodoreun leaned against the carriage window frame, watching the scenery roll by.
So picturesque, I thought, propping my chin on my hand as I admired him.
The view inside this carriage was better than the one outside.
