Even if she manages to survive by twisting the original story.

Even if Orbis doesn’t go mad like in the original and kill her, Litania will only live for a short time like other humans anyway.

What about after that?

Wouldn’t an intelligent dragon have thought about what comes after?

“Litania, have you ever looked at the fireworks in the night sky and found them beautiful?”

His blue eyes turned towards her. The stars of the now darkened sky were reflected in those eyes.

“To me, your lifespan is like fireworks. Burning brightly for a moment, then disappearing.”

So he knows. Litania nodded.

Does that mean he’s throwing his whole being into a fleeting emotion like a passing firework? Is a dragon such a reckless being?

“How can we see the vanished fireworks again?”

“Pardon?”

“We have no choice but to light the fireworks once more, don’t we?”

What does he mean? Surely he doesn’t mean there was another woman before, and because she died, he came to Litania looking for a new love?

Litania was a bit confused.

‘There wasn’t another woman for Orbis in the original story, was there? Or was it just not described?’

Litania tried hard to piece together the fragments of memories that came to mind. But the pieces that didn’t fit together only stabbed at each other like broken glass.

The more she thought about it, the more she felt like she was falling into a labyrinth. It wasn’t simply that things didn’t connect; it felt strangely like trying to join contradictory things together.

“You are like fireworks to me, Litania.”

“…I think fireworks are beautiful, but that doesn’t mean I want to become fireworks.”

Litania frowned slightly.

“Fireworks are beautiful when viewed from afar, but if you get too close, you’ll get burned.”

“That’s accurate.”

Blinking in surprise at the unexpected answer, she saw a white-gloved finger approach and gently rub the corner of her eye.

“I think I’ve already been burned.”

A dragon probably doesn’t properly understand what marriage means to humans when proposing.

If so, it means it’s pointless for her to try so hard to understand him.

At first, Litania was scared of Orbis, then she was curious. And now, somehow, she felt pity for him.

It was a strange mixture of emotions that she couldn’t quite grasp.

‘Why?’

He was different from any being she knew. Too different.

In the original story, perhaps in the near future, he might be a threatening existence that could kill her. Nevertheless, Litania felt a deep loneliness in his eyes.

No, perhaps it was more like yearning.

‘He looks empty.’

Before she possessed her, the ‘real Litania’ said she was an empty being like a doll.

Perhaps Orbis fell for Litania at first sight because of the remnants of emptiness that remained in her.

Did he feel a sense of kinship and think that Litania was someone who could fill the emptiness in his heart?

‘Well, the real Litania was also a mistreated princess who didn’t belong anywhere.’

One more noble than the Emperor. While it might sound like high praise, to the person in question, it might sound like they don’t belong anywhere.

We can’t know why a dragon would come out to play in the human world, but if Orbis came to the human world to fill his emptiness. He might have felt lonely, sensing a flow that set him apart even there.

He is feared and respected by everyone, but never truly accepted or understood. It was the same for Litania.

If the original Litania was the one who saved Orbis from his boredom and loneliness, and if she disappeared like fireworks, it might somewhat explain why Orbis became so cruel and violent.

“I’m sorry, Orbis. Marriage to you is really too much for me.”

She doesn’t have the confidence to handle this terrifyingly beautiful man.

“But I think we could be friends.”

“Friends, is it.”

“We can share our hearts and comfort each other’s loneliness even as friends, can’t we?”

It ended up sounding like she was saying ‘Let’s just be good friends’ to a man who had confessed, but so what? Litania judged this to be the best action she could take right now.

If Orbis needs Litania, and if Litania is the one who can tame him.

If there’s a way to save them both without falling into dangerous love, wouldn’t it be friendship rather than love?

“Alright, Litania.”

As Orbis nodded, Litania inwardly cheered. Because she saw hope of deviating from the original story.

‘Yes, a friendship ending is better than a dead ending!’

Litania and Orbis looked at each other and smiled contentedly. Above their heads, a star that had been twinkling fell, drawing a long tail.

“Snow, I’m back!”

“Welcome back, Lady Litania. Did you enjoy your date?”

She had worried they might be alarmed and search for her when she suddenly disappeared from the imperial garden, but fortunately or unfortunately, it seemed everyone knew Orbis had taken Litania away.

It bothered her a bit that they so naturally accepted it as a date, though.

“Yes, it was enjoyable.”

And I made a friend too.

“That’s good to hear. From now on, more enjoyable and happy things will happen.”

“I hope so.”

Litania closed her eyes as she leisurely sat in the chair, letting Snow brush her hair.

If she had entered the friendship route instead of the romance route, she would have to revise her life plan.

The option of escaping the palace through marriage was scrapped from the start.

The option of becoming family with the imperial family and living happily together wasn’t scrapped, but indefinitely postponed.

‘It feels reassuring to think of Orbis as a friend?’

A princess under the protection of the divine dragon. It would be easy to be misunderstood as aiming for the throne, so it would be better to leave the palace first.

It wouldn’t be difficult to get the Emperor’s permission now.

‘It would be perfect to receive a remote provincial territory far from the capital, run a dress business there with Snow, and occasionally hang out with Orbis as friends.’

It was said that wishing for something too big would bring disaster.

She doesn’t even wish for big things like becoming an empress, an empress consort, or a duchess. She was a modest person who would be satisfied with just enough wealth for a comfortable life and friends.

“Snow, will you stay with me even if I leave the castle?”

“Of course. I am Lady Litania’s attendant. I will continue to serve you even if you get married.”

But I’m not going to get married.

Litania thought about correcting Snow’s words, but decided to let it pass, thinking it would be unkind to point out every little thing on such a good day.

‘My life is now on the right track!’

Tomorrow, surely the pigeon that she thought had died roasted will resurrect like a phoenix and bring news of peace.

Believing so, Litania lay down on the bed with a lightened heart and closed her eyes.

She had a dream.

The carriage wheels turned, making a noisy sound. Litania trembled slightly, curled up in the large carriage, unable to stretch out fully or lean back against the comfortable cushions.

Litania Verivervium.

It was only two days ago that she, the Emperor’s illegitimate child, had gained the status of an imperial princess.

Litania, who had been living quietly without revealing her identity, was summoned by the Emperor, and her heart fluttered at the thought of meeting her father for the first time.

However, even when she stepped into the Emperor’s audience chamber, she couldn’t meet her father.

At the end of the line of ministers dressed in solemn official robes, a red curtain decorated with gold was draped, hiding the Emperor from view.

The Emperor didn’t ask her anything. He didn’t say anything either.

The ministers in black official robes announced on his behalf.

The Empire originally does not recognize the legitimacy of illegitimate children, but due to a very special situation involving the fate of the nation, they would make an exception only for Litania.

The announcement that she had become an imperial princess overnight from a commoner was just sudden. There was no time to enjoy the joy of being recognized as the daughter of a father whose face she had never even seen.

Without giving Litania time to be surprised, the ministers’ cruel words continued.

There was only one reason she could become this unprecedented exception.

Because they decided to offer an imperial princess as a sacrifice to appease the divine dragon’s anger.

〈We can’t offer a real imperial princess, can we?〉

The circumstances that led to this statement were as follows.

Orbis, the divine dragon. The symbol of the Empire. It was good that no enemy dared to invade because of the fierce and cruel dragon that had made its nest in the north of the Empire, but the Emperor always felt like he was living with a thundercloud hanging over his head.

The Emperor secretly gathered his ministers and officials to devise ways to prepare for the ferocious divine dragon.

Why would the dragon bother to come down to the human world and make its nest?

Would that dragon perhaps try to invade the Empire? Would it not trample the capital and turn it into a pit of fire?

We need to prepare countermeasures as we don’t know when the dragon might go mad and rampage.

For that, they needed someone to enter the dragon’s lair and understand the dragon’s thoughts and actions. The ministers eagerly voiced their opinions.

〈We must send a brave cavalry that can face even fearsome beasts!〉

〈No, that won’t do. What if it gets angry thinking we’re trying to attack? We should first send a scholar who can resolve this peacefully.〉

〈Nonsense. The divine dragon has the ability to see through human lies, so if scholars try to persuade it with petty wordplay, it will become furiously angry!〉

Then who should we send?

While opinions were struggling to converge, the Crown Prince’s suggestion was adopted.

〈I’ve heard that although it’s a dragon, it usually takes the form of a human male. So why don’t we send a woman?〉