“Will you marry?”

Izola asked bluntly as soon as she entered the room.

‘How did the rumor spread even to the delegation?’

At this rate, I think the palace needs to crack down on the loose lips of the court people.

“No. It’s a false rumor.”

“Right? I thought so.”

When I flatly denied it, Izola nodded as if she had expected it.

“I’ve seen that Viscount Gavis Palong once. He didn’t give a good impression. He has that dirty feeling like he’ll be on trial for sex scandals later.”

Izola frowned and grimaced as if she didn’t even want to recall his face. I was impressed by her accurately pinpointing Gavis Palong’s future, even though I hadn’t read the original work. The saying that she was good at reading people was indeed true.

“I’m glad it’s not true.”

Izola leaned back on the sofa as if relieved.

“I felt like I couldn’t leave if I thought you were marrying that man with the dirty look in his eyes. I guess I’ve grown fond of you.”

“Are you going back to Etra?”

“The royal wedding is over, so I have to go back. If I stay any longer, I feel like the King of Hilic will order a marriage tomorrow.”

Izola shook her head in disgust. It’s understandable, as the king has been bringing up marriage to the First Prince whenever he had the chance these past few days. If I’m this annoyed just being nearby, I wonder how Izola must feel.

‘But Izola, you’re destined to marry the First Prince after all. You’ll soon return to the Kingdom of Hilic. That’s your predetermined fate.’

I looked sympathetically at her, who would eventually marry the First Prince she so despised. Unaware of her impending fate, Izola had a very cheerful face.

“By the way, would you like to come to Etra with me?”

“What? Why should I……”

“As I’m about to leave, I keep thinking of the face leering at the Second Princess Consort.”

……Sometimes I think she’s not quite normal either. I looked incredulously at Izola, who was shaking her head with her hands on her cheeks. Though she detests him, she might make a good match with the First Prince.

“Wouldn’t it be better for you to come with me than pretending to be loyal to the Second Princess Consort here?”

It would certainly be much better to go to Etra as she said. But Izola would soon marry the First Prince, so to distance myself from the original story, it was better not to get entangled with her either.

‘Besides, I can’t go even if I want to.’

How could I go when my heart is here? As long as my heart was in Floria’s hands, she held my leash.

“It would be much better even if you don’t work at the castle.”

Izola’s eyes truly showed that she wanted me to come along. Just as I was about to reluctantly refuse, a maid announced the First Prince’s visit.

“Hah…… Why is he here again.”

Izola, who had been leaning subtly towards me, exclaimed in disgust. Well, I could fully understand her feelings.

“We are graced again! by the presence of His Highness the First Prince, the shining sword and guardian of the kingdom.”

Izola’s courteous manner was impeccably polite. But the accent on ‘again’ clearly revealed her rebuke of why that detestable face was showing up once more.

Despite the blatant cold reception, the First Prince seemed completely unfazed as he strode across the room without any response. For someone said to draw his sword at mere eye contact, he appeared quite refined.

‘The First Prince definitely intends to marry Izola.’

That’s why he keeps visiting despite Izola’s obvious dislike. Well, they must have married since at least one side pushed for it.

I stepped back from the First Prince and Izola sitting across the table. I wanted to leave altogether, but Izola had given me a desperate look not to leave her alone.

“So, what brings you here today?”

The First Prince didn’t answer Izola’s question.

“……It seems you won’t say a word today either.”

I could see Izola’s lips quivering even from afar. As she said, the First Prince leaned deeply into the sofa with his arms crossed, seemingly intent on not speaking. For an unwelcome guest, he looked annoyingly relaxed.

“If you’re going to be like this, why do you keep coming?”

Izola asked bluntly, unable to hold back any longer.

‘My thoughts exactly.’

I nodded inwardly in agreement with her.

In fact, for someone as frank as her, she had endured a lot.

During this time, the First Prince often visited Izola but never said a single word each time. For Izola, who likes to talk, it must be torture to sit face to face with someone who doesn’t even open their mouth.

Moreover, the First Prince not only didn’t speak but also never removed his mask, so neither Izola nor I had seen his face yet.

He clearly must intend to marry since he keeps visiting, but his behavior was nothing short of counterproductive.

‘No wonder she’s disgusted.’

Izola looked like even the sight of the First Prince lifting a teacup he wouldn’t drink from irked her. If he planned to push through with marrying her, I felt like advising him to at least take off that mask.

As I was inwardly sighing watching Izola grind her teeth, I suddenly felt a gaze. When I turned my head, the First Prince was carelessly tilting his teacup back and forth.

‘Again?’

It had happened several times already – feeling a gaze and looking up to find the First Prince at the end of it. But as always, he showed no particular reaction.

At first, I thought he might have recognized and taken interest in me, but he didn’t show any noteworthy behavior. That made me more uneasy. I worried I might suddenly be summoned one day.

‘This is why I said I was leaving earlier. Damn it.’

I inwardly blamed Izola for holding me back and pretended not to see her expression that seemed to say ‘look at this annoying person’.

After witnessing the unexpected false rumor and the suffocating tea time between the First Prince and Izola, I was mentally and physically exhausted. To refresh my mood, I hummed a song while cleaning the annex.

“Reneola lost her parents young, they say. She was mistreated by Cinderella and the maids. Shaba shaba hi shaba, how much she must have cried. Shaba shaba hi shaba, when will she meet the prince?”

“Do you want to meet a prince?”

I was vigorously scrubbing the stairs while lamenting my miserable fate when I suddenly screamed “Eek!” at the voice that chimed in.

“Why are you so surprised? Do you have something to hide?”

Cal had been leaning his elbow on the stair railing, looking down at me, for who knows how long.

‘Seriously, why does this man always pop up out of nowhere?’

“Why are you here?”

“I dropped by on my way.”

Cal casually replied, stretching the corners of his mouth.

“I never get to see a welcoming face.”

“Because I’m not happy to see you.”

“Unnecessarily honest, aren’t you?”

“It’s one of my many merits.”

I shot back briefly and resumed scrubbing the stairs.

“Then please continue on your way. You’re interfering with my cleaning.”

“Aren’t you scared to be alone here? There are rumors of ghosts, and it’s getting late.”

“Not at all.”

−I said that, but honestly, I was a bit scared. I didn’t notice when I was usually with Silvia, but being alone made it feel so empty. For once, I was almost glad to see Cal.

“Want me to tell you how the ghost rumors started here?”

Cal looked around the annex, which was much neater than before, as he continued.

“Originally, this Second Prince’s Palace was used by the queen of Oran, the kingdom’s founder. She especially loved this annex.”

“Then why did it become such a mess?”

“The current queen tried to demolish and rebuild it. But every time, strange things would happen like sudden lightning strikes or objects moving on their own, so rumors spread that it was the ghost’s doing. Well, some say they’ve actually seen it.”

If the ghost really is the first queen, there’s no need to be afraid. The queen who founded the Kingdom of Hilic in the original story was said to be a very noble and gentle fairy.

‘They say she loved people, so she probably wasn’t a fairy like Shana.’

Wait. Could there be a connection between the first queen being a fairy and Shana entering this castle?

I let out a small exclamation at the hunch that flashed through my mind.

‘That’s it!’

My n years of experience in romance fantasy novels tells me. Whatever Floria and Shana were looking for, and what I was looking for, is related to the first queen.

‘I’ll have to search this place thoroughly once Cal leaves.’

I made a mental note while deliberately keeping my body busy. It was meant to signal him to leave since I was busy, but Cal insistently followed me to the backyard.

“But it seems Her Highness mistreats you a lot. To the point of making up songs about it.”

“What? Oh……”

Damn, he heard it all.

I immediately denied it.

“I just made it up randomly. Both my parents are alive and well, you know.”

Though my parents from my past life have both passed away.

“Hmm.”

Cal dragged out the end of his word. Is he going to get angry again for casually mentioning Floria? I watched his reaction carefully.

Thinking I should probably shower Floria with praise, I grabbed a sheet hanging on the clothesline. That’s when he spoke.

“Then was your desire to meet a prince also just said randomly?”