In my previous life, I was an avid reader of , and I really liked Maria, the original female protagonist.

However, that doesn’t mean I wanted to have that kind of relationship with Maria!

Contrary to my true feelings, in the [Scenario Preview] scene, I was holding hands tightly with Maria, giggling and running through a flower garden.

Colorful heart patterns bloomed brilliantly behind us.

And inside the hearts, Maria and I were gazing at each other with deep eyes…

I panicked and closed the scenario preview window at the following scene.

“Th-that’s wrong! Right, Piya?”

I hurriedly grabbed Piya and shook it.

Pyu-it?

―What’s wrong?

Piya tilted its head.

“No, I’m a woman, and Maria is a woman, why am I sharing true love with Maria?”

Pyu-rit? Pii-it!

―That’s right! Saint Maria, a character who shares true love with the player!

Pyu-rurururu! Pyu-riit!

―Finally, a real destiny has appeared for Lulu! Not that crazy Anselot, but true love has appeared!

I despaired as I listened to Piya’s excited chatter.

No, I am the player, but even so…!

Why is the system deciding true love or whatever on its own!

Regardless of gender, I had no intention of falling in love or anything like that!

‘Is this an error that occurred because I took Hezen’s place?’

Cold sweat trickled down my forehead.

‘No. There must be some other way to overcome this. As long as I meet the clear conditions, I can complete the quest somehow.’

I tried to calm myself down by thinking that way.

[SYSTEM] Quest arrived!

[Main Quest: Love and Duel! (1/3)]

The Kingdom of Luenheart, land of love and passion! Your destiny awaits you here.

They say even brushing sleeves can form a connection, so save , the saint of Luenheart, from danger and build affection.

▷Clear condition: Save from danger (3 times)

▶Reward upon success: Experience +25000, Skill points +10, ‘s affection MAX

The reward for success is maxing out ‘s affection…

The whole universe is rooting for love with Maria…

I scanned the quest notification window with cold eyes.

The chapter where Maria, Hezen’s third companion and lover in the original , appeared was also called ‘Love and Duel’.

In the original, Hezen coincidentally saves Maria from danger. As the three coincidences repeat, love gradually blossoms.

‘Do I have to follow even this detail?’

Although it was a failed game, it seems they tried to be somewhat faithful to the original.

‘And the event that made the original Hezen and Maria’s hearts connect was…’

A prince from a small kingdom who coveted Maria tried to take her by force, and Hezen and the prince had a duel.

‘Right, that was definitely the story.’

Thanks to reading the original diligently, I remembered even the name of that prince.

Arno, the first prince of Luenheart.

In other words, he was the nephew of Anselot, the king’s youngest brother.

I thought I should ask Anselot about him when I got the chance, as we might clash.

Just then, the scattered party members returned one by one after finishing their errands.

The frugal Klaus handed me part of the gold coins he received from selling the by-products of the monsters we defeated on the way here.

“I sold the by-products, Your Highness.”

“Thank you, sir.”

Klaus had divided the gold coins from selling the by-products in exact proportions, and thanks to that, the gold coins in my inventory were steadily piling up.

‘This is more profitable than I expected.’

It was a much smaller amount compared to the dignity allowance I received at the imperial palace when I was a princess, but I felt pleased that it was money I earned with my own power.

“Lulu, gift!”

Ilei, who unusually went off on her own and came back, brought a ring with large gemstones.

“Oh my, how pretty. Did you go around alone to buy me a gift, Ilei?”

“Yes! It’s for Lulu!”

Ilei nodded her head diligently as she answered.

Ilei, who had barely spoken until we just left the forest, was gradually expressing more conversation and emotions.

And now she even brings gifts herself.

“Thank you so much.”

I was patting her head with a big smile, impressed by Ilei’s change, when suddenly…

“There you are, you ring thief!”

A large, rough-looking man came running towards us.

“What’s the matter?”

Sensing the ominous atmosphere, Klaus stepped forward to block the man.

“Is that child with you?”

The man pointed at Ilei and asked.

“Yes, but…”

“That little one took a ring from our shop and ran away with it.”

At those words, I turned to Ilei in shock.

“Ilei, did you take it without paying?”

“?”

When I asked carefully, Ilei tilted her head.

Looking in Ilei’s pocket, I saw that the gold coins distributed by Klaus were still there.

Having lived in the forest for so long, she seemed to have taken something she liked without knowing what it meant to pay.

“I’m sorry. The child didn’t know better and made a mistake. I’ll pay for it again.”

“Five times.”

The man said, spreading all five fingers.

“What?”

“You have to compensate for my mental damage too. If you don’t pay five times the price, I’ll report you to the security force.”

The man said that while glancing at my attire.

He seemed to be checking whether I could afford to pay that much or not.

“Five times is too much, isn’t it?”

Klaus raised his voice, bristling.

“If you don’t like it, then don’t.”

The man snorted.

“You look like well-off adventurers. Wouldn’t it be more troublesome for you if you get reported to the security force for no reason?”

“…”

Klaus’s mouth shut tight.

The most important thing for adventurers traveling various countries was credit.

If they were reported to the security force, they could face travel restrictions regardless of the severity of the mistake.

I was thinking we should just pay five times the price and send him away before things got unnecessarily complicated.

“What’s going on?”

Anselot, who appeared just then, asked with his head tilted.

“Ah, Anselot. Well…”

Just as I opened my mouth to explain the situation…

“Anselot…?”

The man’s eyes widened as he examined Anselot’s appearance.

“Silver-white hair and red eyes… Hueok!”

A strange groan burst from the man’s mouth.

“P-Prince… Hup! N-no, I mean, it’s an honor to meet you, Prince Anselot!”

The man bowed at a right angle.

Anselot frowned, making an unpleasant expression.

“Hueeek!”

At that small change in expression, the man’s face turned pale as if he might collapse at any moment.

“I’m sorry! I’m truly sorry! I didn’t know they were Your Highness’s companions!”

The man suddenly apologized, shouting until his face turned bright red.

“Please forget what just happened!”

“Wait, we still need to pay for the ring…”

“Just take it!”

The man ran away as if afraid I might stop him.

It happened so suddenly that I thought I was dreaming with my eyes open.

“Wow…”

A short exclamation escaped between my lips.

I turned to Anselot and sincerely marveled.

“Anselot, you’re quite the celebrity.”

“Yes, I suppose I am a bit.”

Anselot smiled, his eyes curving into crescent moons.

It was a completely harmless impression, unlike when he was frowning fiercely at the man earlier.

“That wasn’t meant as a compliment…”

“Well, it’s all in how you take it.”

As I muttered glumly, Anselot’s eye-smile deepened.

Klaus, who had been watching silently, added a word.

“It’s a positive attitude I’d like to emulate.”

Inwardly agreeing with Klaus’s words, I crouched down towards Ilei.

“Are you okay, Ilei? Were you very surprised?”

“…”

Instead of answering, Ilei glanced at me.

I was worried that Ilei might be feeling self-conscious.

“I’m sorry. I should have explained to you beforehand.”

It was my mistake; I should have thought ahead about Ilei’s ignorance of relationships with people.

I explained to Ilei that when she wants something, she needs to hand over gold coins.

“Gold coins?”

“The gold coins Klaus distributed, remember?”

Then Ilei took out the gold coins from her pocket and showed them.

“Yes, you can buy things you want with these. Oh, you’re so smart.”

As I patted her head and praised her, Ilei’s expression softened a little.

“If everyone’s finished with their business, let’s move now. I’ll go get the horses.”

We were planning to go to the royal palace after everyone finished their errands.

While waiting for Klaus to bring the horses he had tied at the city entrance, I casually brought up a topic with Anselot.

“Hey, Anselot. About Prince Arno…”

“Arno?”

Anselot tilted his head as if hearing the name for the first time.

“Isn’t he your nephew?”

“…Ah.”

Anselot let out an exclamation half a beat late.

“Well, I suppose so. But why him?”

His attitude was as if he had momentarily forgotten about someone with that name and then remembered again.

‘Are they not on good terms?’

I had such a doubt for a moment, but then I realized it would be stranger to see Anselot getting along well with someone.

With that personality, it was already impressive that he consistently addressed me as “Princess.”

“No, just curious about what kind of person he is.”

At my answer, Anselot narrowed his eyes and looked at me.

“Wow. Are you thinking about another man while with me? I’m hurt.”

“What are you saying? If someone hears, they might think you and I…”

Thunk.

As I was slowly backing away to avoid that gaze, I bumped into a passing woman.

Thud thud thud.

The books the woman was holding spilled onto the ground.

“Ah.”

“Oh my.”

The woman and I turned to look at each other at the same time.

She was an incredibly beautiful woman with mysterious dark blue straight hair and fresh green eyes.

‘Gasp!’

I drew in a sharp breath in surprise.

The reason for my surprise wasn’t simply because the woman was extremely pretty.

‘It’s Maria!’

And the moment I realized that.

[SYSTEM] Automatically switching to conquest mode for quest progression.

The system arbitrarily switched to conquest mode.