IBYSDW 10

Chapter 10

“Looks like you really like Prince Hernan’s face!”

Father shouted as if he had reached a firm conclusion.

“C-cough! H-how did you know that, Father?”

I was startled and embarrassed, but it wasn’t wrong, so I had no excuse to deny it.

“Didn’t you tell me before, when you met that handsome knight? That you like handsome men. Hahaha!”

“……”

…Rinzel. Just how far did you spread your honest preferences?

“Hahaha. Did I really say that?”

In the end, I laughed along with Father.

It was a smile of agreement.

Now that my and the real Rinzel’s shared taste had been exposed, I didn’t feel like denying it.

Whatever happens, happens.

Then Father drove the point home.

“Well, Prince Hernan really is handsome. Enough to make even this old man’s heart flutter.”

“Even you, Father?”

“Of course. Whose daughter do you think you are? Hahaha!”

I had no choice but to laugh along with him. Damn it.

It took a full three hours just to get dressed up.

With my already weak body, I nearly fainted.

The only reason I didn’t was thanks to Mini.

Every time I repeatedly asked, “Is it almost done now?” she would always answer, “Yes! Almost done!”

For three whole hours, she kept saying it was almost done. Honestly.

What was funny was how effective those words were.

I endured everything just by believing it was almost over.

Mini was a talented trainer.

Before getting into the carriage heading to the imperial palace, I prepared gifts.

It didn’t feel right to go empty-handed to an invitation.

The gift was a fragrant oil from the western regions, infused with aromatic ingredients—limited edition, and extremely expensive.

As the daughter of a ducal family, I could easily obtain such things.

If simply applying it could improve one’s skin, how much more handsome would Hernan become if he used it?

I couldn’t even imagine.

I asked Mini to prepare five bottles.

One each for the Emperor and Empress, and three princes.

I wrapped them myself.

Placing the elegant glass bottles into square boxes, I tied them with red ribbons.

Of course, I finished them with bows.

By the time I boarded the carriage to the palace with the oils, dusk had already begun to settle.

Why was I already feeling tired?

I let out a long yawn.

The one who saw me off was Rike.

“Rinzel! Have a safe trip. I’ll be waiting!”

I stuck my head out the carriage window, which had already begun moving.

Then I waved at her.

A lovely blush tinted her pale cheeks.

Rike stood there until the carriage left the ducal estate.

For some reason, she looked lonely.

Soon, the carriage began speeding down the main road.

The moment Rike disappeared from view, my heart ached faintly.

We usually had dinner together…

I worried about her eating alone.

I already missed her.

She couldn’t be the only one feeling lonely.

On the way to the palace, I thought about Hernan from the original story.

Though he had an imposing presence, there was something gentle about him that didn’t suit a villain.

But in the novel, his position was clearly that of a “villain.”

Since the story was told from Rike’s perspective, Hernan’s thoughts weren’t described in detail.

In other words, he was a “villain” as seen through Rike’s eyes.

Then why was the innocent Hernan perceived as a villain by her?

There was a reason.

“…Because some idiot kept egging him on.”

Even though it was a political marriage without love, Hernan still wanted to live happily with his bride, Rike.

He didn’t love her madly, but he did feel some affection for her.

However, he was at a loss.

He knew nothing about dating, love, or women.

Just like how he ruined romantic moments when he was with me.

There was someone who pushed him.

That person was his aide, Gakt.

Gakt fed Hernan completely wrong ideas.

For example, things like gouging out the eyes of anyone who looked at Rike, or that expressing love physically was better than using words.

Hernan trusted Gakt completely, having been by his side for so long.

At least when it came to romance.

So many knights had their eyes gouged out for looking at Rike that a literal mound of eyeballs formed behind the palace.

Eventually, almost everyone avoided looking at her…

Isolated, Rike fell into deep loneliness.

The one who comforted her was Ishar.

As the First Prince, Ishar didn’t have to fear losing his eyes, so he could approach her.

His kindness and warmth melted her frozen heart.

The two of them… it was inevitable they would fall in love.

On top of that, Rike and Hernan barely communicated.

That lack of communication piled up misunderstandings, and from her perspective, Hernan could only be seen as a villain.

It was tragic.

Even more unfortunate was that Rike never knew this truth.

Only in occasional snippets from Hernan’s perspective was his story briefly revealed.

As for me, since I knew everything, I understood from the start that Hernan wasn’t a bad person.

My thoughts were cut short.

The carriage, which had been running nonstop, came to a halt.

I straightened my body from where I had been lazily leaning against the seat.

Then I looked out the window.

“Oh.”

The scenery had changed.

The lively city view had been replaced by a magnificent building.

I looked up at it.

A grand ivory-colored structure with tall spires.

It seemed to be one of the palace buildings.

At that moment, Mini, who was sitting across from me, opened the carriage door and offered to help me down.

“My lady! I’ll help you get down!”

“Okay, thank you.”

“Watch your step!”

As I stepped down the carriage stairs, I spoke in a trembling voice.

“If I fall… and hit my head… and happen to pass away… please bury me here…”

Mini played along perfectly, her voice filled with mock tears.

“My lady… please don’t say such things. I can’t bury you here!”

As I stepped off the last stair, my body swayed heavily.

This time, it wasn’t acting—my legs had genuinely weakened.

“My lady!”

“Mini!”

Mini quickly caught me, preventing me from falling.

Although she was holding me, I was much taller, so it ended up looking like I was holding her.

I affectionately squeezed her soft back.

“Mini… thanks to you, I didn’t fall. I won’t be buried here after all…”

“My lady! Even if you wanted to act something out, you really scared me! I thought you were actually going to fall!”

“There, there, my dear. Were you scared?”

As praise, I lightly patted her bottom.

She made a shy yet pleased sound.

“Oh, honestly…”

Resting my chin on her shoulder, I looked around.

We had gotten off in the garden before the ivory tower.

There was no one else around.

That was strange.

Since I had been invited to the palace, there should have been someone to receive me.

Hmm… why?

Even after Mini unloaded the five gift boxes from the carriage, no one appeared.

The coachman left, saying he would park the carriage.

That left only me, Mini, and the five gift boxes.

“Mini, why is no one here?”

Night had fully fallen.

The empty garden felt eerie—almost desolate.

Had the coachman brought us to the wrong place?

Or had we arrived too early?

“My lady, please wait here. I’ll go inside and call someone.”

Mini seemed unaffected by the unease I felt, still cheerful.

I patted her again.

“Go on, my dear. Hurry back.”

“Yes! I’ll be right back!”

Her figure quickly disappeared.

Left alone, the silence felt even more ominous.

Though it wasn’t a cold season, goosebumps rose on my arms.

The wind brushing past my back carried a strange chill.

It felt like something not human might appear at any moment.

“…Am I scared?”

I hugged my arms.

I just hoped Mini would return quickly.

Time passed painfully slowly.

In reality, not even five minutes had passed, but it felt like five hours.

Then, suddenly, an unfamiliar bird’s chirping echoed.

The sporadic sound startled me.

“Eek—!”

I flinched as if I had seen a ghost.

My shaking leg bumped into the stacked gift boxes.

True to my weak constitution, I immediately collapsed onto the ground.

Thankfully, the grass was soft… otherwise, my knees might have shattered.

Of course, that didn’t mean it didn’t hurt.

“Ow…”

My knees, calves—even my thighs throbbed.

I lay there for a while, unable to get up.

At least I hadn’t hit my head.

If I had, my earlier joke might have become reality.

Rinzel Valencia—died after falling in the imperial garden. Amen.

That might’ve been written on my gravestone.

At that thought, heat rose to my eyes.

Tears suddenly welled up.

It wasn’t without reason.

Not because the imagined epitaph was sad.

But because my legs hurt so much.

Pain and tears were deeply connected.

I didn’t bother holding them back.

With a body that bruised at the slightest touch… I couldn’t even imagine how bad my legs looked now.

Here I was, invited to the palace with gifts, yet lying on the ground crying alone.

It was ridiculous.

I even let out a small laugh.

Which made my face look strange—crying eyes and a smiling mouth.

Apparently, I wasn’t the only one who thought so.

“…Wow. That’s a really weird face.”

A man’s voice pierced my ears.

For a moment, I thought it might be Hernan.

But it wasn’t his voice.