“Ron, I’m really fine. So you can go now, okay?”

“You collapsed right in front of me. And you’re already weak as it is.”

Peiron’s voice was full of concern as he gently stroked Rose’s forehead as she lay down.

“It was just… I was startled. I’m fine now.”

Rose’s eyelashes trembled and her eyes grew moist.

Peiron felt apologetic and carefully kissed her, looking into her eyes that were as fresh as green grass.

“I’m sorry, Rose.”

“I, I really am fine. As long as you’re here, as long as Ron is by my side…!”

Peiron hugged Rose tightly as she lay there, her body trembling pitifully.

“I’m sorry for loving you, Rose. I’m sorry for daring to desire you.”

“Hic.”

Rose weakly hugged Peiron back and sobbed.

Rose’s eyes, which were tearfully sobbing, were ice cold like frost-covered grass, unlike her voice.

‘Stupid man.’

Rose inwardly cursed the indecisive Peiron while quickly putting on a pitiful expression.

“Tomorrow is Founding Day, so you have a lot to do. I’ll rest here, so go on, okay? I’m just worried about you.”

Rose carefully freed herself from his embrace and gently pushed his shoulders, facing Peiron with eyes that were once again moist as if nothing had happened.

Rose carefully held Peiron’s cheeks with her trembling hands.

“I’ll rest well, so go on.”

Peiron’s heart ached at Rose’s face, which smiled with a sorrowful droop to her eyes.

“I’ll be back.”

“I love you, Ron.”

Peiron carefully laid Rose down, expressing his concerns repeatedly before leaving the room.

As the door closed and Peiron left, confirming that no one was in the room, Rose abruptly got up from the bed.

“Ha, damn it.”

Rose irritably brushed back her falling hair and bit her lip.

Nothing had gone right since entering the mansion.

She was so filled with annoyance that she almost let out a curse in front of Peiron, where she had to show the image of a lovely woman.

Rose’s eyes, which Peiron always said were as beautiful as a deer’s, were now sharply upturned, making her gentle face look vicious.

Rose approached the beige dressing table that Peiron had newly placed in the bedroom.

As she looked at her reflection in the mirror, Rose tried to make her crumpled face pretty while arranging her disheveled hair.

“Why, why can’t I remember?”

An ominous voice, unbecoming of a woman with a gentle face and wistful smile, flowed from between her bitten lips.

Rose struggled to grasp the contents that kept scattering in her mind.

‘Rose, you and Peiron Iolce are in love… fate… him… The two of you are in love… Just like fate.’

‘The protagonist of the world is Rose, you.’

‘Erina… interferes with you… She’s a villainess. So you should appear pure and in love… Iolce mansion…’

‘Remember. Erina will… ruin you.’

Rose’s mind was filled with a soft voice, as if reading a fairy tale, that kept echoing in broken fragments.

On the day Rose’s mother Alisa realized she didn’t have much time left, she told young Rose a truth that couldn’t be shared with others.

Alisa said that as the heir of the Risky family, descendants of fairies, she could predict the future of the Risky family members.

To Rose, who couldn’t believe such an outlandish story, Alisa continuously told her about Rose’s future.

She repeatedly told young Rose about the things that would happen after Alisa’s death, to the point where Rose could recite them by heart.

By the time Rose could memorize and recite the important contents, Alisa passed away with a peaceful expression.

The future Alisa had told matched perfectly.

Surprised by how accurately the first sentence came true, Rose recited all the prophecies every day so as not to forget them.

She was sure she remembered everything.

But from the moment she first met Peiron, her memories started to become vague and scattered, as if someone had cut them with scissors.

However, the very first words Alisa always started her story with remained clear.

‘If you don’t move according to the prophecy, everything will be ruined. Remember that, Rose.’

So Rose tried hard to piece together the fragmented memories and act accordingly.

She was the protagonist of the world, and Peiron was destined to be her love.

Erina was undoubtedly a one-of-a-kind villainess who would try to ruin her.

She deduced that everything would proceed if she stayed at the Iolce mansion, appearing pure and in love.

But when Rose met Peiron, she felt that something was strange.

Although it was clear that Peiron and she were destined to be in love, and he fell in love with her at first sight as if it were fate…

Rose didn’t feel a destined love for Peiron.

But remembering Alisa’s words to move according to the prophecy, Rose pretended to be in love with him, acted as if she could throw everything away for love.

She came to the Iolce mansion with him, but strangely, her position kept narrowing, and unpleasant things kept happening.

Rose opened the drawer of the dressing table and took out a box hidden deep inside.

It was a necklace, the last heirloom left by Alisa.

The pendant at the end of the necklace was a dark red jewel in the shape of a rose, surrounded by black leaves.

The heirloom, which seemed to shine with a golden light inside the jewel when it caught the light, was a necklace that Alisa had earnestly asked her never to lose.

As Rose clutched the necklace tightly, she suddenly became angry as she recalled Erina’s image, which seemed to look down on her arrogantly.

Rose felt infinitely pitiful for herself, suffering humiliation because she didn’t know the future perfectly.

She wanted to scream out loud in anger, but she remembered Peiron’s knights who would be guarding outside.

“This damn necklace…!”

Rose threw the heirloom onto the bed.

But as the beautifully decorated jewel grazed her hand, it left a shallow wound.

“Ugh.”

Rose glared at the necklace, but remembering Alisa’s words that were like brainwashing, she picked up the necklace that had fallen on the bed without even wiping the blood that had formed on the wound.

And at that moment, as a drop of blood that had formed on her finger seeped into the jewel, it sparkled.

Startled, Rose dropped the necklace, and one of Alisa’s vague prophecies became clear in her mind.

‘Unable to attend the Founding Day due to Erina’s evil deeds, you will find a stone mountain behind a nameless village. That stone mountain is a magic stone mine containing the power of god. Rose, you will become the perfect [Rose Iolce] by becoming the owner of the magic stone mine.’

At the same time, the location of the stone mountain came to mind.

Rose was surprised by the clarified part of Alisa’s prophecy for a moment, but soon an immense pain struck her, making it difficult to even stand.

“Huk!”

Rose sat down, grabbing both arms and shaking her entire body.

Even in the midst of this, Rose’s green eyes momentarily swirled with a golden light before subsiding as she kept repeating Alisa’s prophecy so as not to forget it.

It was a somewhat eerie and viscous golden light.

On the day of the Founding Day, the Iolce family mansion was bustling from the morning.

Several maids were busy adorning Mirea with all sorts of luxuries she had indulged in buying.

Despite nearly ten maids working hard to dress her as she wanted, all she returned was criticism.

“How come there’s not a single one that satisfies me!”

Although she looked ridiculous with all sorts of jewels hanging all over her body, reminiscent of a gaudy peacock, no one dared to say anything.

When Mirea finished preparing and boarded the carriage, Peiron was sitting there with a deeply furrowed brow.

Peiron looked at his mother and asked.

“What about Erina?”

“How should I know about that?”

Mirea rolled her eyes while stroking her new ruby ring with large stones.

“By the way, did Rose return to the Asilla Count’s house? It would be a bit awkward to enter together on Founding Day, I suppose.”

“No. She’s not feeling well, so it seems difficult for her to attend.”

Peiron sighed, his head throbbing.

Rose had looked unwell since morning, barely able to get up.

When Rose said she couldn’t go to the Founding Day celebration due to feeling unwell and told him to go, Peiron, feeling sorry, said he would stay at the mansion with her.

But Rose told him to go with Erina, even worrying about the reputation of the Iolce family.

After taking care of Rose and coming out, he went to find Erina with the intention of talking to her again, but all that greeted him was a room that had already grown cold.

For the first time, Peiron took a close look at Erina’s room.

He hadn’t deliberately visited it since getting married, but since she always wanted to come to his room somehow, he had no reason to go to her room.

Compared to the room Mirea used when she was a countess, it was excessively bleak.

Mirea’s room was always colorful, with furniture changed every year to match the latest trends.

But that place, now Erina’s room, had only a cherry brown dressing table as noticeable furniture.

The dressing table that caught his eye was, as far as Peiron remembered, the first and last gift he had given to Erina after getting married.

Peiron felt somewhat strange.

“Let’s go.”

As the carriage slowly started to move, Mirea fiddled with the jewels on her dress while glancing at Peiron.

It was fortunate that he didn’t press further about yesterday’s incident, but having to be cautious was just the same.

As if sensing Mirea’s gaze, Peiron called out to his mother.

“Mother.”

“Y-Yes?”

Startled, Mirea answered, and Peiron stared at her as she tried to avoid his eyes.

“This is until the end of this month. Don’t touch the money Erina should use anymore.”

Although Mirea had expected Peiron to say something, she couldn’t help feeling upset at her son’s words that seemed to nail it down.

Feeling spiteful, she deliberately didn’t answer, causing Peiron to threaten her.

“Mother, you need to answer.”

“Hmph! I have no intention of touching that measly money!”

Mirea’s insides were boiling with anger, but she held it in.

She thought that as long as Rose became the daughter-in-law of the Iolce family, Mirea would be able to use that money without worry in the future.

“You just take good care of Rose. How weak must the new bride be to collapse like that. That Erina girl…”

“Mother.”

“I get it!”

Seeing signs that he was about to start nagging, Mirea abruptly cut off her words and turned her body to the side.

Peiron didn’t say more at this silent protest.

After that, the two didn’t speak to each other until they arrived at the Imperial Palace.

Mirea kept her mouth shut, feeling that anything she said would turn into nagging, and Peiron couldn’t speak due to a headache caused by Erina constantly occupying his thoughts.

As they passed by the sight of commoners gathered at the entrance of the Imperial Palace shouting “Long live the Emperor!”, they saw carriages lined up entering.

The Lafilen Palace, which was given to the Emperor’s favorite concubine 100 years ago, had now become a place used for gatherings of all nobles.

The Founding Day was a banquet where all nobles of the Asilium Empire gathered, and the doors of the beautiful Lafilen Palace were wide open.

In front of the palace, carriages passed by one by one, and nobles disembarked.

The nobles who got off the carriages met with their partners or acquaintances waiting at the entrance and headed to the banquet hall.

When the Iolce family’s carriage stopped in front of the palace, the carriage door opened and Peiron and Mirea got out.

The nobles standing at the entrance were busy whispering to each other as they saw Peiron without a partner.

They found it strange that the Iolce Count couple, who had been married for only a year, were entering separately.

Peiron, seemingly unaware of people’s gazes, started looking for someone as soon as he got off the carriage.

Then, seeing Erina’s figure in the distance, he quickly approached her.

“Erina!”

At Peiron’s quiet call, not only Erina’s gaze but also the gazes of many nobles turned towards him.