I discreetly avoided Princess Isolde’s burdensome gaze.

“I don’t know what you mean.”

Her sparkling eyes didn’t seem to be simply talking based on rumors alone. There was a confident expression on her face.

“It’s true that I was estranged from His Highness in the past, but…”

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

Isolde smiled brightly.

“You were putting on a loyal face then.”

I wondered if she was trying to instigate something, suddenly declaring war on Floria as well, but I couldn’t find any emotion other than amusement on the princess’s face. When I looked at her suspiciously, the princess shrugged.

“Ah, don’t misunderstand. I just can’t help being curious. Of course, I have no intention of telling the crown princess either.”

Isolde, who picked up a bunch of grapes from the table, sank deeply into the sofa.

The way she plucked the grapes one by one was not a dignified action befitting a princess, but perhaps due to her noble birth, even that looked elegant.

“When a rumor is too favorable to one side, it naturally arouses suspicion. And in fact, the crown princess I met was not the saint-like figure from the rumors, as expected. Throughout the meal, her probing gaze was so sharp that I kept thinking about it even when I lay in bed at night. Thanks to that, I had trouble sleeping, so I went to find her the next day to vent a little… How do you say it, getting worked up?”

Isolde laughed heartily. I knew it, but she really was unusual.

In fact, I was pleased when Floria couldn’t say a word in front of the princess. However, I couldn’t agree and say, “You’re right.” I managed my expression, pretending not to know.

“I don’t know why you’re saying such things to me.”

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

It’s only the third time we’ve met, so it’s too soon to use the pronoun ‘we’. But for some reason, the princess seemed to like me very much.

“I find the crown princess off-putting. She’s exactly the type I hate, someone whose outside and inside are different. When there’s a common enemy, people tend to get closer, you know. Let’s be friends.”

Isolde reached out her hand as if to shake hands with me. Unable to bring myself to reciprocate, I just looked at her hand, and she withdrew it with an unbothered expression.

“I like you. How should I put it…?”

The princess narrowed her eyes and looked me up and down with her hand before continuing.

“A feeling that you’re hiding a secret? Somehow, it piques my curiosity.”

…You’re really good at reading people.

I tried hard to hide my bewilderment.

“Anyway, I thought it would be boring here, but it seems like it’ll be more fun than I expected. Later, you must tell me the truth behind the rumors. I really can’t stand not knowing when I’m curious.”

Isolde winked.

From that day on, Princess Isolde called for me whenever she had a chance. The reason was that she was bored.

Most of the time, we drank tea together or played chess, and occasionally we had meals together.

At first, I was suspicious of her intentions, but soon I realized that she was really doing it because she was bored.

“I have no intention of getting married at all.”

Isolde said as she put down her cards.

“Especially not to the First Prince.”

She said this because the king had just come and mentioned the marriage of the two.

“How can he keep wearing that mask in front of me? His attitude towards people is wrong. I don’t like that from the start, and then there’s the dinner. He kept a lukewarm attitude throughout, just counting the time until this boring event would end. I can’t stand such a rude man.”

Isolde sharply criticized the First Prince. Unlike a royal, she had no way of speaking indirectly.

“They say he’s obsessed with war, so tell him to rot on the battlefield for the rest of his life.”

Isolde snorted. Even though they got married in the original story, I didn’t know she would be so disgusted. As I had been doing for the past few days, I quietly listened to Isolde pouring out curses about the First Prince and then asked.

“Then what kind of man do you like, Your Highness?”

“Well, let’s see. First of all, it should be someone who is the same on the inside and outside. Someone innocent, pure, and untainted, like a boy, would be nice. And it would be perfect if he prefers peace over the sword.”

I know one such person. Matthias Linton. He seemed to be exactly the type of man Isolde would like.

Suddenly, I remembered the magician’s message I heard from him just yesterday and sighed involuntarily. I had high expectations because he was a renowned magician, but I didn’t gain much.

According to the magician, the magic cast by a fairy could only be broken by the fairy who cast it or the Fairy King. Even if the fairy dies, the magic doesn’t disappear and continues.

There was no way Shanna would break my magic, and the Fairy King was not someone who could be easily met. Matthias said he would look through the 7,000 books one by one to see if there was another way, but I didn’t have much hope.

‘After all, finding the jewel that Floria has is the best option.’

If I can’t break the magic, I should at least retrieve the jewel that the magic is cast on. Fortunately, I won’t be accompanying Floria on her honeymoon. It was a perfect opportunity to thoroughly search the Second Prince’s palace.

After playing card games with Isolde for a full twenty rounds, I reported to Floria as always.

Unlike what I had confidently promised, she seemed annoyed that I didn’t find out anything useful about Isolde. But with the wedding only a few days away, she didn’t seem to have the mind to care.

Yawning, I was heading to my room when I heard a loud noise and turned my head. Wondering what was going on, I approached and saw a few maids surrounding Ginger.

“You should be responsible for your own work!”

“Can’t you see that we’re the only ones struggling because of you?”

Listening carefully, it seemed that the maids’ frustrations had exploded at Ginger, who had not been doing her assigned work properly.

It was understandable since it was not just a normal time, but a period when they were busy enough to need three hands with the royal wedding and the envoys.

But in the midst of that, Ginger was slacking off, so it was natural for the maids who had to take on her work to explode.

“When did I not do my work? I was going to do it later!”

“Later? When later? Do you think we’ve only seen you do this once or twice and then pretend not to know?”

Ginger fought back without backing down, but she lost momentum as she was outnumbered. Unable to find words and grinding her teeth, she turned her head this way and that and met my eyes.

Ginger frowned deeply, as if she was embarrassed to show me the sight of her being bullied.

I looked at her, chuckled, and left the scene. If it were Silvia, I would have jumped in to help, but I wasn’t kind enough to help Ginger, who was eager to get back at me.

Thinking that I was quite a spiteful villainess for the first time in a while, I was about to go to bed when Ginger entered my room.

I could feel her fuming at the sight of me, but since we weren’t close enough to exchange a friendly goodnight greeting, I didn’t turn around and fell asleep.

Finally, it was the day of Floria’s wedding. The Second Prince’s palace was very busy from early morning.

Floria, dressed in her wedding gown, was so dazzlingly beautiful that even I, who knew her true nature, couldn’t describe her with just the word stunning.

“I sincerely congratulate you on your marriage, Your Highness.”

Floria nodded at my greeting.

“Thank you, unni. Thanks to your care, I was able to get married safely. I will do my best to help you with your wedding.”

Even in the midst of this, I hid my unpleasant expression at her words hinting at my marriage to Gavis Palong.

The main ceremony was held in the rear garden of the inner palace. The sight of Floria and Prince Eric crossing the magically blooming flowers was literally like a picture, so beautiful.

I watched the scene with mixed feelings among the palace people.

At that moment, Isolde, who should have been with the royals, approached me and said.

“In the Eastern Continent, they call that putting a pearl necklace on a pig. No, this is a bit different. Shiny on the outside, I suppose. This is a bit different too…”

“Why are you here? Instead of being in your seat.”

At my question, Isolde pointed to where she should be with her chin. Whether it was the king’s intention, the First Prince was sitting next to her. He was wearing a mask even on a day like today.

“If I sit there, I might end up on the First Prince’s arm as soon as tomorrow.”

“There are many eyes watching. It would be better for you to go back.”

“Try sitting with someone who doesn’t say a word. You don’t know how suffocating it is.”

Isolde shuddered in disgust. It was not a princess-like behavior, but it wasn’t unpleasant when she did it.

“I feel sorry for whoever takes that man.”

It was cute how Isolde still couldn’t accept that the someone was herself and talked about it as if it were someone else’s story.

At that moment, fireworks were set off announcing that the marriage of Floria and Eric had been finalized. I watched Floria and Eric share an eternal vow kiss as husband and wife.

It was the moment when the original story officially began.