Chapter – 02
It was a cloudless spring day.
Sinkester, like the Republic of Korea, had distinct four seasons. However, unlike Korea, spring and autumn were long here.
A warm breeze drifted across the terrace. I looked past the tea table in front of me toward Erdan.
‘He’s really handsome, our older brother.’
His sparkling pink hair looked like it carried the scent of freshly bloomed flowers, and his green eyes scanning documents were as beautiful as dancing blades of grass.
“Charlotte?”
Erdan lifted his head, noticing my gaze.
“Yes.”
“Your nineteenth birthday banquet is coming up soon, isn’t it?”
“Yes. It’s in a week.”
“Guests of honor will begin arriving soon, so you should prepare to receive them.”
I kept popping macarons into my mouth while mentally recalling the names of the invited guests.
Then I heard something strange.
“I heard the Blakes’ delegation leader is the Sixth Prince.”
My hand, reaching for another macaron, froze in midair.
“…What did you say?”
“The one attending your birthday banquet is Prince ‘Leonald Blake’.”
Did I even invite him?
My expression frowned for a moment, and Erdan leaned toward me.
“Why? Did he perhaps offend you?”
Erdan was kind by nature, but merciless toward anyone who treated me poorly.
Noticing his face beginning to darken, I lightly tapped the back of his hand.
“No, not at all. I’ve never even met him.”
“Then is it because of rumors? I heard the Sixth Prince has a reputation for being somewhat cruel.”
“That’s not it either.”
“Then?”
“I’m pretty sure I invited the Third Prince, Your Highness Alex.”
“What I meant earlier is that the Sixth Prince is coming instead of the Third.”
“Why?”
“I suppose he wants to establish ties with Sinkester. It seems he aspires to become emperor.”
Now that I thought about it, I vaguely remembered learning this in diplomacy class.
The Blake Empire was known for fierce succession disputes, with the First and Sixth Princes being the strongest rival factions.
Back then, I had been too busy changing the original story to care, but now it felt odd.
‘In the original story, there was no Sixth Prince in the Blake Empire.’
And in the novel, the Third Prince becomes emperor.
The more I thought about it, the more unsettling it felt, and I clenched my fist.
Erdan smiled as he set down his documents.
“Why the sudden interest in the Blake Empire?”
Then he gently brushed my hair.
“Don’t concern yourself with that empire. It’s a very dangerous place. Besides, it’s far away, and we have almost no contact with them.”
Erdan was right.
The Blake Empire was a distant land beyond the Kingdom of Servi, requiring a long journey through another nation in between.
In terms of distance, it was roughly like Korea and the United States.
Moreover, unlike our peaceful Sinkester Kingdom, that place was constantly involved in wars of various scales.
The north was a frozen sea, the south a barren rocky wasteland, the west a rugged mountain range, and the east a dark forest filled with monsters.
Each of those four regions was governed by one of four imperial princes, who constantly competed for power.
“They are fundamentally different from our divine race, Charlotte. Unlike us who possess holy power, they have not even a single drop of it.”
“I heard instead they inherit the blood of dragons. That’s why they have superhuman bodies and immense magical power.”
“However, they also inherited cruelty from that bloodline. They would not suit us.”
Erdan moved closer and kissed my forehead.
“I will never allow you to be sent there.”
“Your Majesty…”
“Don’t call me Your Majesty. I always told you I prefer ‘older brother.’”
“You really…”
Feeling his gentle warmth, I ended up smiling like him.
Right, there’s such a thing as the butterfly effect. Maybe my presence alone could change even a distant country’s situation.
“Older brother, these macarons are really delicious.”
I picked up the macaron I had set aside earlier and popped it back into my mouth. The sweet flavor spread through my mouth and washed away my thoughts.
“Your Highness! Your Highness! Look at this!”
As soon as I returned to the princess’s palace, what awaited me were over ten marriage proposals.
“Are they sending them directly to the princess’s palace now?”
“If they send them to the palace, His Majesty filters them all out.”
“His Majesty really does love Your Highness the Princess too much.”
At nineteen years old.
In Korea, it would be an age spent studying in a library, but here it was different.
It was the age of entering high society, pretending to dance the three-beat waltz, and searching for a spouse.
“Your Highness! Even the famously handsome Marquis Orpheus has sent a letter!”
“Oh my.”
Orpheus was so beautiful it was obvious the author had deliberately designed him that way.
Whenever he appeared at a ball, all the women’s faces turned red.
Of course, I was no exception. I had even drooled once, so I always had to carry a fan.
‘A man like that sending me a proposal—of course being pretty and rich is the best.’
I stroked my chin with a very serious expression.
“I’ll have to choose just one man… this requires careful consideration.”
“That’s right. The birthday banquet will be held soon anyway, so princes and imperial princes from great nations will also attend.”
The maid Abigail, who had brought tea, spoke gracefully.
“It would have been wonderful if His Grace the Duke had proposed.”
“Just wait a little! I’m sure the House of Myers will also send a proposal!”
“No, Dorothy. There’s zero chance of that.”
My connection with Cedric began only when I rescued him from the Velusium slave market right after I possessed this body.
In stories like this, if you want to fall in love with a slave male lead, shouldn’t you at least bathe him, feed him, clothe him, and even give him a name?
But I had quickly handed Cedric over to the House of Myers and focused on securing my own survival.
Moreover, after regaining his mental stability, Cedric immediately entered the Elysium Military Academy.
About three years later, when he returned, he had become the continent’s greatest holy knight, with all emotions and desires strictly controlled.
Of course, in the original story, he later meets Aurora and goes through a regret-filled romance, ultimately finding true love.
But I was absolutely the type of person who could not tolerate being coldly treated by an emotionless man.
“Don’t worry about the Duke. More importantly, aside from Marquis Orpheus… who else is there?”
I flipped through the proposals with a satisfied smile.
Then I saw a certain emblem and frowned.
“…This is.”
“Oh my goodness! That’s the emblem of Blake! And it’s the First Prince’s!”
The emblem was unmistakably that of the First Prince, the Ice Mage.
A deep blue background, a snowflake in the center, snow leopards wearing crowns on both sides, and his middle name written at the top.
“So the Sixth Prince is coming from Blake, but the proposal is from the First Prince?”
“So the faction conflict must be intense.”
Meanwhile, does the Sixth Prince not want to marry me?
Curious, I flipped through the proposals. As expected, there was no letter from the Sixth Prince.
“Hmm, there’s nothing from the other princes?”
“…Your Highness.”
Dorothy narrowed her eyes.
“Don’t even dream of marrying into Blake!”
Dorothy, who had raised her voice, soon trembled as if frightened.
“Going there is basically being sold off. They say at least thirty people die in that imperial family every day!”
“Why are you shouting? When did I ever say I was going there? I’m just curious since there’s a First Prince’s proposal but none from the Sixth.”
“It’s possible he will come in person to propose.”
Abigail calmly inserted herself between us.
“In that case, you can prepare to refuse him.”
“Got it.”
Still… the Sixth Prince.
Even though Erdan told me not to worry about it, the sudden appearance of a prince who didn’t exist before felt too strange.
‘Why has the original story changed even in distant Blake…?’
