☀ Chapter 2 ☀
“Oh dear, I still haven’t heard your answer.”
Before he could even blink—
Hic…
No, the woman had already disappeared.
He had guessed she was a magician, but she clearly wasn’t an ordinary one.
To use teleportation magic right in front of me… she’s at least a high-ranking magician.
Ivan clearly remembered the woman’s face.
Although she had cast an illusion spell over herself, such a cheap trick couldn’t fool his eyes.
Her transparent reddish-pink eyes desperately searched for a way to escape, while her trembling pink lips revealed just how terrified she was.
She had quite an interesting appearance.
But he had never seen her before.
As the Crown Prince, Ivan had met countless nobles throughout his life.
Remembering the faces of noble ladies was nothing difficult for him.
Yet for some reason…
The woman he had just met was a complete stranger.
That unusual hair color… I feel like I’ve seen it somewhere before.
Peach-colored hair with deep purple strands mixed into it.
Such a rare color was impossible to forget.
“…There was someone in the Imperial Palace with similar hair.”
Rion Astel.
The eldest son of Count Astel’s prestigious family of magicians.
A genius since childhood, he had graduated first from the Magic Academy before becoming both a senior magician of the Magic Tower and an Imperial Palace magician.
A once-in-a-generation genius famous throughout the Empire.
“Did that family have a daughter…?”
Normally, witnesses should be killed.
But things changed if that witness happened to be one of the Empire’s few high-ranking magicians.
More importantly—
I’m curious how she found me in the first place.
Even a high-ranking magician shouldn’t have been able to find Ivan while he was working.
Not even the shadow guards who protected the Crown Prince could track him during those times.
Maybe I’ll postpone killing her.
After thinking quietly for a moment, Ivan calmly snapped his fingers.
It looked like tonight would be a long one.
It was about time to return to the Imperial Palace.
* * *
“P-Please spare me!”
“Hah!”
After desperately shouting 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 dream every night since that day…!”
Ever since I barely escaped from Ivan, I had been haunted by the same nightmare.
A monster with green eyes chased me endlessly.
Every single time, I woke up just as it caught me.
At least today I woke up before he caught me…
…No.
Not at all.
My heart was still pounding!
“Still, there’s no way Ivan knows the name of an extra living in the countryside.”
Besides, I had cast an illusion spell over my face to blur my appearance.
Unless Ivan was an exceptionally powerful magician, there was no way he could break a high-ranking illusion spell like mine and recognize me.
In the original story, Ivan wasn’t a magician.
The novel was still ongoing, so I couldn’t be completely certain.
But the chance that he was a magician stronger than me was very low.
Besides, although I had attended many parties just to see Ivan…
I had never once spoken to him.
I had only admired him from afar like a devoted fan.
Hardly anyone even knows who I am.
There’s no way Ivan could ever find me.
After transmigrating into this world and understanding the situation, I had decided to live quietly like a proper extra.
Of course, it wasn’t easy to completely hide since I was the second daughter of Count Astel’s famous family of magicians.
Fortunately…
I had my older brother.
Rion Astel.
Since childhood, everyone had been dazzled by Rion’s genius.
Compared to him, I was practically invisible.
Using my weak health as an excuse, I rarely appeared in public.
Most people believed the Astel family only had Rion.
Whenever someone found out I existed, they would always react the same way.
“The Astel family has a daughter?”
And honestly…
I loved having almost no presence.
Thanks to that, I could do whatever I wanted without anyone paying attention.
The best part was that I wasn’t registered with the strict Magic Association.
That was only possible because Rion, who held an important position in the Magic Tower, had secretly helped me.
Since I was born into the Astel family, my name had automatically been registered when I was born.
But thanks to my natural lack of presence, no one noticed when Rion quietly removed my name from the records.
Normally, every registered magician had to report all magical activities to the Association.
The problem was…
I was researching an ancient dimensional teleportation spell that had been forbidden long ago.
If they found out…
I’d be thrown into prison immediately.
But if I want to return to Korea… I have no choice.
Just as I was about to get out of bed and head toward my laboratory—
The door suddenly burst open without even a knock.
“Miss!”
“Eek! You scared me!”
My personal maid, Hannah, rushed inside with an unusually excited expression.
“Miss! A marriage proposal has arrived for you!”
“What?”
I asked without thinking.
Then I quickly calmed down.
“Oh dear. Someone must have sent it to the wrong person again.”
This had happened before.
My name was Rine, but sometimes letters meant for someone named Rina were mistakenly delivered to me.
“It’s from the Imperial Palace.”
“…What?”
I immediately jumped out of bed and walked over to Hannah.
She handed me a golden letter.
[The Erzet Imperial Family]
At the bottom was the dark red Imperial seal.
The majestic golden lion, symbol of the Erzet Imperial Family, clearly showed where the letter had come from.
No way…
Did Ivan actually find me?
I wasn’t merely guessing that he didn’t know me.
I was certain.
After all, we had never even met properly.
I even covered my face with illusion magic.
How did he…
I had barely escaped.
And now he had already found me.
The thought alone sent chills down my spine.
“Miss, I thought it was strange that you didn’t say anything after attending that party…”
Hannah suddenly grabbed both my hands.
Her face was glowing with excitement.
“You confessed your love to His Highness that day, didn’t you?”
“W-What?”
“Otherwise, why would he suddenly send you a marriage proposal? Eee!”
Hannah happily bounced in place.
She was completely convinced that the Crown Prince had fallen in love with me at first sight.
“W-We did meet…”
Just…
Not in the way you’re imagining.
“Miss, you’re going to reply, right?”
Hannah’s brown eyes sparkled with excitement.
If I nodded right now, she looked ready to bring every sheet of writing paper in the mansion.
“…What happens if I don’t reply?”
“Hmm… In noble society, that’s usually considered a rejection.”
“I see.”
Riiip—
“Then I’ll pretend I never received it.”
“Miss!”
The golden letter tore neatly in half.
The pieces floated gently through the air.
Like the golden lion’s fur scattering in the wind.
Do you know how hard I’ve worked 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.
Then everyone would finally notice my existence.
No.
Absolutely not.
Besides…
I had already lost my favorite character.
So why would I stay in this world any longer?
The only thing on my mind now was finishing my dimensional teleportation spell as soon as possible.
“But Miss… I still think you should reply.”
“Why?”
“Because…”
“It’s already in the newspaper.”
“…What?”
Hannah handed me something else.
A newspaper.
“It’s already become headline news.”
“A public marriage proposal… His Highness must truly be serious about you.”
The front page was covered by an enormous headline.
[Crown Prince of Erzet Publicly Proposes to Rine Astel, Second Daughter of the Prestigious Astel Family of Magicians!]
[The two reportedly confirmed their feelings for each other during the recent gathering at Count Anasia’s estate…]
[Everyone wonders how the previously unnoticed Rine Astel managed to win both the heart and attention of the Star of the Empire…]
Wow.
They’re really going all out.
It seemed tearing up one proposal wasn’t going to solve anything.
My peaceful life is already over…
With lifeless eyes, I ripped the newspaper apart.
Hannah only gave an awkward smile and shrugged.
“That won’t help, Miss.”
“The Count already bought a hundred copies.”
“What?!”
“Of course.”
“It’s your first scandal.”
“And the other person is the Star of the Empire!”
Ta-da!
Hannah happily gave me a thumbs-up.
“This definitely deserves to be preserved forever!”
“No…”
Ignoring my desperate cries—
The marriage proposals continued to arrive.
The next day.
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.
He knew perfectly well that I couldn’t ignore him forever.
People had already started calling me the rude woman who dared to ignore the Crown Prince’s proposal.
Which meant—
This wasn’t really a marriage proposal at all.
It was simply a warning.
Ivan had found me.
Now that my name was known across the Empire…
There was nowhere left for me to run.
In other words—
“Show yourself while I’m still asking nicely.”
That was the true meaning behind it.
I barely escaped once.
There’s no way I’m letting myself get caught now.
I couldn’t let this ridiculous situation continue forever.
It was finally time to make a decision.
“Hannah.”
“I’m running away from home.”
On the morning I tore up the fourth marriage proposal, I announced my decision while Hannah carefully picked up the shredded pieces as if they were precious treasures.
“Huh?”
“All of a sudden?”
“When?”
“Three…”
“Oh! Three months from now?”
If Ivan came looking for me…
Then all I had to do was not be here.
“Two… One… Right now.”
