As expected, the nobles were desperate to greet us. Thanks to that, we had to busy ourselves receiving people, just like at the wedding reception.

Even amidst the hectic atmosphere, the feeling was new to me.

Previously, I would stand a step back and watch people flock around Reus, or I would be the center of attention in a different way from Reus, being the target of people’s ridicule.

But everything changed after making the contract with Reus.

Those who would normally sneer at me without hiding it now had gentle smiles on their faces, and each and every one of them was desperate to receive even a single glance from me.

“Your Highness, have you been well?”

This woman with orange hair standing before me now.

She was the woman who always said “Roel Ibellu is a pitiful woman who will obviously be abandoned before marriage” when betting on Casien and me, and she would always bet large sums of money on Casien cheating.

“My, you look beautiful today as well.”

“Will you perhaps participate in the salon that will open soon? If Your Highness attends like before, the salon will be even more enjoyable.”

The woman in the same low-saturation sky blue dress as me had elaborately expounded on the perfection of her fiancé right in front of me, and the woman with green eyes had invited me to the salon every time to enjoy watching me being ignored up close.

And this woman smiling innocently…

“Your Highness. It’s been a while.”

She was Verodica, the very person Casien last cheated with, and the one who severely tormented Iris in the original story.

It wasn’t that I couldn’t forget Casien. It wasn’t that I had lingering feelings. But that didn’t erase the fact that Verodica had deceived me.

‘I knew it from the beginning, but still…’

It was true that I was flustered when she appeared just like before without changing her expression at all.

“Your Highness? Are you feeling unwell somewhere? You don’t look too good…”

Verodica’s hands, filled with concern, grasped my hands.

Just as I was at a loss for how to react, the gently flowing melody gradually increased in volume and before I knew it, it changed into a lively tune.

At the same time, the doors of the Britian Palace opened and a woman was seen walking into the banquet hall. There was probably no one who didn’t know the identity of the woman approaching the banquet hall under the escort of the knights.

The princess who suddenly appeared at the imperial palace. Iris Aren Asilith.

A naive woman whose only asset was the emperor’s favor.

While the nobles may leave such impressions upon seeing Iris’s entrance, it held a different meaning for me.

After all, this was the first time I had seen Iris in person since being born into this world.

The protagonist of this world.

The woman who, despite never having met her since birth, always occupied a corner of my life with that single title of protagonist.

Iris’s golden hair fluttered beautifully in the gentle breeze. I gazed at Iris’s appearance, somewhat entranced.

The dignity of an imperial family member flowed from her flawless posture, integrity rarely seen in a young age shone in her reddish-brown eyes, and an unapproachable aura emanated even from her every step.

Even if someone tried to disparage her, Iris’s very existence already made her the protagonist of this world.

Even the nobles who had knowingly or unknowingly derided Iris couldn’t take their eyes off the new princess at this moment.

However, there was one more person here who had a different impression of Iris than me.

I glanced at Reus’s expression. As expected, Reus didn’t seem to feel any emotion at the appearance of the new princess.

‘He’s really upright in strange places.’

I seriously wondered if there was anything in this world that could capture Reus’s attention besides rebellion.

Iris soon climbed onto the stage on the lake in the center of the banquet hall and took a seat at the head table. Surrounded by the lake in the colors of the evening twilight and the sparkling light, it even gave the illusion of looking noble.

In the moment the orchestra’s music changed, the silence of the entranced nobles was briefly revealed.

Only then did the nobles realize their state and began to speak one by one, clearing their throats.

“If it were me, I would have at least tried to reduce the scale of the banquet as much as possible out of courtesy. I don’t know whether to call it bold or stupid…”

“I know, right? She lived outside the imperial palace all her life, and now they proclaim her as a princess. Who would acknowledge that?”

“Unfortunately, it seems she takes after her mother, not His Majesty, in not knowing her place.”

“Since she grew up outside and lacks knowledge, shouldn’t we generously understand her to this extent?”

The young ladies from powerful families, even among the Empress faction, gathered and laughed. The reactions of the other nobles in the banquet hall were not much different.

Their attitude of rejection was quite blatant, as if wondering when their attention had been stolen.

* * *

Considering the background Iris grew up in, the attitude of the nobles at the banquet was perhaps inevitable.

Iris was a clear member of the imperial family, having inherited the imperial bloodline, but she was also the first child that her mother, the Third Empress Avinoa, gave birth to and held in her arms outside the imperial palace.

The powerless daughter of an empress born outside the imperial palace.

That alone was a big flaw for a princess, but Iris was born and raised outside the imperial palace until she came of age because of her mother.

The reason Avinoa stayed outside the imperial palace could be simply put as seeking refuge. It was a last resort she chose when she felt her life threatened by the Empress’s relentless harassment that had gone too far.

But to the nobles, she was just a weak and useless daughter of a marquis who couldn’t even endure such things, unworthy of the position of empress.

So, one could only imagine how they viewed her daughter.

“Look at her, holding her head high and claiming to be a princess despite not even properly learning the etiquette of the imperial palace.”

“It’s truly absurd. She herself doesn’t seem to realize that she’s just a princess in name only. And she’s even stupid…”

“Why? At least she’s a bit better than her mother, isn’t she?”

Up until now, the development was no different from the original story. From my perspective, I thought there might be some significant changes in the future development as the original story had been greatly twisted…

‘But nothing has changed at all.’

It seemed that my choice, as a mere extra, couldn’t bring about any change to the fate of Iris, the protagonist.

I always wanted to keep the original story intact, but today, that fact was somehow disappointing.

‘If things continue like this, that incident will eventually occur…’

If that incident were to occur as it is today, the lead role wouldn’t be Iris alone.

I hurriedly looked around. Then, my eyes met with a man’s. It was Casien… the person I had been anxiously searching for until a moment ago.

I couldn’t manage my expression and ended up frowning.

‘Since when has he been watching me?’

Casien’s eyes seemed to indicate that he had been solely focusing on me from the moment he entered the banquet hall until now.

I heard that he had stopped visiting the Ibellu Count’s residence since the wedding.

‘But why…’

At that moment, a man’s upper body entered my line of sight, and Casien disappeared. The owner of the luxurious clothing was Reus.

“Roel.”

As I raised my head to look up, Reus cupped my chin with his large hand. Then, he gently rubbed my cheek with his thumb.

I sensed a silent warning in the slow movement of his hand and the slightly increasing force. Reus brought his head close to my ear and slowly recited.

“I hope you haven’t forgotten your duty.”

“……”

“There was no condition about not being distracted… but on a day like today, with many eyes watching, let’s focus on me.”

As I nodded slightly, the warmth that began from Reus’s thumb gradually faded away. Although his touch had long been gone, I felt strangely embarrassed and fiddled with my dress, which had no problem at all.

And at that moment, Reus’s aide, Dwin, hurriedly approached us.

“Your Majesty, just a moment…”

Reus, who had been silently listening to Dwin’s words, slightly frowned. However, as always, the emotion that surfaced on his face quickly disappeared.

Reus turned his head and stared intently at me.

“It seems I’ll have to leave for a bit…”

There was a pause, as if there were words left unsaid. Somehow, his intent gaze directed at me gave the feeling of looking at a child left by the water.

‘Those eyes… do they mean he’s anxious about leaving me here now?’

It seemed to be because of the momentary glance exchanged between Casien and me earlier.

I wanted to explain that there was not a hint of lingering attachment in that glance, but it would require too much additional explanation.

Although I felt somewhat unjustly treated, I had no choice but to quietly keep my mouth shut.

* * *

As if he had correctly read the look in my eyes that I didn’t trust him at all, Reus gave an order to Dwin to never leave my side and then disappeared.

It felt unpleasant, as if I had become a woman who was distracted shortly after getting married… no, as if I was being treated similarly to Casien.

‘It’s not lingering feelings, it’s because of Iris…’

Still, it wasn’t a bad choice in the end.

Perhaps conscious of Dwin, or perhaps conscious of the nobles’ gazes, Casien did not approach me.

‘But why does he keep staring?’

The fact that the female lead and male lead had not yet come together was already concerning enough, but Casien’s persistent gaze refused to leave me.

The gaze was so burdensome that I asked Dwin to move to a place that was not easily noticeable to people.

It was the moment I took a step towards a small resting area prepared behind a tree.

Splash!

Suddenly, a hand holding a glass popped out and dark red wine spilled onto my dress.