I subtly avoided Princess Isolde’s intense gaze.

“I don’t understand what you’re implying.”

Her sparkling eyes seemed to be based on more than just rumors. There was a sense of certainty in her expression.

“Indeed, I was once distant with Lady Floria, but…”

“No, I’m talking about the dinner the other night.”

Isolde grinned.

“You were putting on a loyal facade.”

She was forthright with Floria and now seemed to be insinuating something to me, but there was only curiosity in her expression, no other emotion. I looked at her suspiciously, and she shrugged nonchalantly.

“Oh, don’t get me wrong. I’m just too curious for my own good. Naturally, I have no intention of telling the princess.”

She grabbed a bunch of grapes from the table and sank back into the sofa.

“Rumors that are overly biased towards one party always make me suspicious. And the princess, as I suspected, wasn’t the saint the rumors made her out to be. The scrutinizing looks she gave me at dinner kept me up at night. So, I went to see her the next day to vent a bit… How did she take it?”

Isolde laughed heartily. She was definitely not ordinary.

While I found it amusing when Floria couldn’t say a word in front of the princess, I couldn’t openly agree. I managed my expression to look indifferent.

“I don’t know why you’re telling me this.”

“We can talk freely when it’s just us.”

‘Just us,’ after only three meetings? But for some reason, Isolde seemed to really like me.

“I find the princess distasteful. She’s exactly the type I dislike, with a facade different from her true self. It’s common to bond over a common enemy, right? Let’s get along.”

Isolde extended her hand for a handshake. I couldn’t bring myself to shake it, and she retracted her hand as if it didn’t bother her.

“I like you. You seem to be… hiding something? You spark my curiosity.”

…She was indeed perceptive.

I tried to conceal my discomfort.

“Anyway, I thought this place would be boring, but it seems more interesting than I thought. Do tell me the real story behind the rumors sometime. I can’t stand not knowing things I’m curious about.”

Isolde winked.

After that day, Princess Isolde often called for me, claiming she was bored.

We usually had tea together, played chess, or occasionally dined. Initially suspicious of her intentions, I soon realized she truly was just bored.

“I have no intention of marrying.”

Isolde stated this while laying down a card.

“Especially not the First Prince.”

She said this after the king had just visited and mentioned their marriage.

“How can he keep wearing that mask in front of me? It’s just rude. I don’t like his attitude to begin with, and at dinner, he was so indifferent, just waiting for it to end. I can’t stand such a rude man.”

Isolde was scathing in her criticism of the First Prince. Unusually for royalty, she was blunt and didn’t beat around the bush.

“They say he’s obsessed with war. Just tell him to rot on the battlefield for all his life.”
Isolde snorted. Despite her aversion in the original story, she seemed utterly repelled by the idea of marrying the First Prince. I, having listened to her incessant complaints about him for days, finally asked her,

“So, Your Highness, what kind of man do you find appealing?”

“Hmm, let’s see. He should be genuine, inside and out. Innocent, pure, untainted, almost boyish. And if he prefers peace over the sword, that would be perfect.”

I knew someone like that: Matthias Linton. He seemed exactly the type Isolde would be drawn to.

I sighed, recalling the recent message from a renowned magician that Matthias had shared with me. I had hoped for some breakthrough, but it was fruitless. According to the magician, only the fairy who cast the spell or the Fairy King could undo it. Even if the fairy died, the spell would persist.

Shanna wouldn’t lift my curse, and meeting the Fairy King wasn’t easy. Matthias was searching through 7,000 volumes for another way, but I wasn’t hopeful.

‘Looks like finding Floria’s gem is my best option.’

If I couldn’t break the spell, I at least needed to recover the enchanted gem. Fortunately, I wouldn’t be accompanying Floria on her honeymoon, giving me the perfect chance to thoroughly search the Second Prince’s palace.

After about twenty rounds of card games with Isolde, I reported back to Floria as usual. She seemed annoyed that I hadn’t brought back anything useful about Isolde, contrary to my confident claims. However, she was too preoccupied with her upcoming wedding to dwell on it.

Yawning, I was heading to my room when a loud commotion drew my attention. A few maids had surrounded Ginger, expressing their frustration.

“You should take responsibility for your own work!”

“You’re making us suffer because of your negligence!”

It seemed Ginger’s habitual avoidance of her duties had finally sparked the maids’ anger, especially during this busy period with the national marriage and delegations.

“I never neglected my duties! I was going to do it later!”

“When later? We’ve seen you avoid responsibility too many times!”

Outnumbered, Ginger struggled to defend herself. When our eyes met, she scowled, apparently embarrassed to be seen in such a state by me.

I smirked at her and walked away. While I might have stepped in for Silvia, helping Ginger, who harbored animosity towards me, was out of the question.

Feeling wickedly satisfied, I was about to sleep when Ginger burst into my room. Her seething presence was palpable, but I wasn’t in the mood for a goodnight chat, so I turned away and fell asleep.

Finally, Floria’s wedding day arrived. The Second Prince’s palace was a flurry of activity from dawn.

Floria, dressed in her wedding gown, looked stunningly beautiful even to someone who knew her true nature.

“I sincerely congratulate you on your marriage, Lady Floria.”

She nodded in response to my greeting.

“Thank you, sister. I could marry safely thanks to your care. I’ll do my best to help at your wedding.”

Her hint at a future marriage with Gabius Pallong made me hide my discomfort.
The official ceremony took place in the inner palace’s garden. Floria and Prince Eric, walking amidst magically bloomed flowers, looked like a scene straight out of a painting.

I watched their procession amidst the crowd, feeling a complex mix of emotions.

Suddenly, Isolde, who should have been with the royalty, approached me and commented,

“In the Eastern Continent, they’d call this a case of ‘pearls around a pig’s neck.’ No, maybe that’s not quite right. It’s all just for show. Well, that’s not quite it either…”

“Why are you here? You should be at your seat.”

Pointing with her chin to where she was supposed to sit, I noticed Prince Eric, still wearing his mask even on such an occasion, seated next to her designated spot.

“If I sit there, I might as well end up on the prince’s arm by tomorrow.”

“There are many watching. It would be better for you to return.”

“Just try sitting next to someone who doesn’t speak a word. It’s suffocating, you have no idea.”

Isolde shuddered dramatically, a behavior unbecoming of a princess, but somehow not distasteful coming from her.

“I pity whoever ends up with that man.”

She still hadn’t accepted that she herself was likely to be that ‘someone,’ speaking as if it were someone else’s problem, which I found endearing.

At that moment, fireworks to celebrate Floria and Eric’s union burst into the sky. I watched them kiss, sealing their vows as a married couple.

It was the moment when the original story truly began.