Chapter 68

Chapter 68

“Misa Laria!”

Lisa was startled and grabbed my shoulder.

“Se-Serena… Cough! Serena, quick—! Cough, Cough!”

“Which of you two is the fastest running!”

Lisa exclaimed sharply.

“Hurry up, bring Miss Serena! Hurry! That doctor is always with you, so why in a time like this–!”

“Yes!”

One of the remaining escorts ran quickly and disappeared. I sat down, coughing continuously. Now, all the people remaining around me were a poor escort and a maid with no fighting skills.

Right now was the perfect time for a surprise attack! As expected, three men in black robes jumped out of a tree in the distance and rushed at me. No, to be precise, they almost ran into me.

However…

“Princess! Are you okay?”

The unidentified men couldn’t even come close to me when suddenly caught by the Imperial Elite Army who appeared from the bushes.

“How dare these toughs to try to harm the Princess!”

I stopped coughing and slowly got up.

In an instant, the quiet lakeside became noisy. The girl who was leisurely fishing alone sighed and pulled her robes back. Her dark blue hair was waving, and her bright gold eyes were sparkling. From her gorgeous facial features to her strong expression…

‘It can’t be, the female…’

It was Princess Elanie. The female lead was the same age as me and would eventually become the ruler of this Empire.

The same halo fleshed behind her as when I saw Seymour.

This woman, who had an incredible presence even when she was just still, was the person who later would marry Evan.

‘I expected it, but her presence is no joke.’

It was completely different from me, whose hair color was fuzzy, and the color of my eyes was dull, and although I was cute, I had an ambiguous impression.

“Reveal your identity now!”

The imperial elite army, who was secretly guarding Elanie, the successor of the next Empire, was truly elite among the elite. No matter how great the Duke of Orlando was, there was no way he could be an opponent to them.

I was held by Lisa and watched the masked men pulling their masks off.

‘Gray hair and bright yellow eyes…’

He was Medor, the henchman of Duke Orlando.

He was a cruel and vicious man by nature. He was so talented that he could kidnap and would kill a kid like me very easily.

There was no way the Duke of Orlando would have sent Medor to Princess Elanie, and of course, it was a surprise attack against me. He was a character who used Medor to eliminate opponents, even if it was someone who annoyed him a bit so I immediately anticipated the danger.

‘He must have tried to find out who I was by kidnapping or confining me. I could have been killed in the process.’

However, ​​the Imperial Knights were unaware of this fact. They were in charge of Elanie’s protection, but following her will, not wanting to be noticed, they were hiding quietly in the bushes.

In the meantime, all of a sudden, the monsters jumped up.

Of course, they would have thought those men were aiming for the Imperial Princess rather than some young lady without a background.

“It’s a top secret that I’m on vacation here.”

Astonishment flashed in the eyes of the monsters who were aiming for me. This was because they would not have imagined that the shadow-like girl who was quietly crouching fishing, would be Elanie.

No matter how skilled Medor was, he could not deal with such a large number of elite knights.

Elanie stared down at them helplessly and said slowly, “Where did the security hole come from?”

There was no hole in security. It was a simple intrusion of a possessor…

“I thought that there would be no people who were targeting me, the future of the Empire, but it seemed that I was being complacent.”

…It wasn’t like that at all. It was because the kid who just possessed someone’s body didn’t have any hesitation in using the original plot—

“Take him and find out the whole story.”

Seeing Medor showing a genuinely perplexed expression made me very happy. Obviously, he followed my movement and sought opportunities, so he must have rushed for the most appropriate time.

He wouldn’t have even thought of this situation!

“Th-that’s not true! We really had no intention of harming the Princess!”

“Do you want me to believe that now?”

It was true, but Elanie snorted and sarcastically replied.

“I didn’t even know the Princess was here in the first place! We… just, just…!”

“Just, just what? Were you practicing jumping high with a sword?”

Elanie’s disbelief stared into his eyes and Medor bit his lower lip. It cannot be said ‘the goal was not the Princess, but the young Lady.’

For those who didn’t know the story, I was too trivial to be attacked. Even if they told her the truth, there was a high probability that it would be regarded as an excuse made up randomly.

Anyway, it was a fact that ‘a masked assailant flew up in front of the Imperial Princess who was fishing quietly alone.’

I felt like I wanted to tease him while running around, but I held it in. Instead, I greeted Elanie with a surprised look.

“I see the bright future for the Empire. Princess, I am Laria Rose Icard.”

Then, I added a shameless inner and polite outer appearance.

“I’m sorry to greet you in such an unexpected situation.”

“You must have been very surprised—no need for formal greetings. This is Elanie Illyana Kaiar.”

Elanie sighed and answered.

“I’ve heard that you’re recovering because you’re weak. What are you doing in this place?

“Yes, I stopped by while on my way to the capital city because my husband’s birthday and founding festival are around the corner. I heard that the lake is beautiful.”

“I am sorry that you got caught up in such a sudden situation because of me on your peaceful trip.”

…In fact, she was caught up in a sudden situation because of me, to be honest, I was sorry.

“As an apology and condolences, I want to show you a small but small gesture of sincerity.”

But, of course, I had no intention of not accepting what I had to give just because I was sorry.

“I’m sorry, however…”

“Just take it. I felt very bad when I saw you coughing earlier. I don’t know if you’re feeling worse because you’re surprised by this.”

Saying so, Elanie rummaged through her arms and held something out to me.

However, when I saw it placed in her palm, my eyes widened.

‘No, wait. This isn’t right.’

What she brought out was a ruby ​​necklace. In the eyes of anyone, it could be said that to the Princess, it was a trivial accessory. In fact, this necklace wasn’t really a big deal since she bought it impulsively in Abonitar.

But, my position was different. This was actually what Seymour should have received. I suddenly lifted my head and looked across the lake. Seymour, who suddenly appeared, looked at us in surprise.

“By the way, I’m heading to Abonitar tomorrow. There’s a ruby ​​auction on the thirteenth of this month, so I’m going to arrive at that time.”

“I see. That place has the largest amount of ruby mining right now, right?”

How would he have known that Elanie was here at this time? This place where Seymour headed to sweep rubies, Abonitar, was the first place where male and female protagonists met. So, I went out to the lake to confirm Seymour’s presence and that particular time of the original.

I deliberately sent the escorts away to create an optimal ‘surprise attack’ environment. Naturally, this was because this moment was an important part of the original work.

Seymour came to Abonitar for a ruby ​​auction, and in the afternoon, he had time to walk along the lakeshore.

Like fate, they make their first meeting here.

Elanie, who was hiding her identity under the robe, was on the verge of being dragged into the lake by a huge fish while fishing. Then, Seymour, who happened to pass by the shore of the lake, helps her, so that she can catch the huge fish safely.

Seymour asked for a price like a fool without even imagining Elanie’s identity, so she offered the ruby ​​necklace she purchased.

This ruby ​​necklace was later returned to her by Seymour.

In doing so, he used the opportunity to say a cheesy line that love was more precious than money.

‘But, I’m getting this necklace now? This is not an intrusion on the original, it’s more like the destruction of it.’

I planned it when I learned that Princess Elanie was fishing alone around here, but I didn’t know it would go wrong like this. In short, the timing was a little off. Of course, I wasn’t altruistic enough to act according to the romance timing of the main characters.

“Take it. It’s my apology.”

‘Hang on, if I don’t accept it, can it go back to Seymour?’

“But, Princess…”

“If you don’t, I’ll throw you into the lake now.”

Just like Elanie, who had a hot personality, coercion, no, more like a threat, followed. Like this, Seymour and Elanie’s first token of love was about to fall into the hands of the wrong person because of the possessor, who only values her well-being.

“Ha…”

So, I couldn’t be in the mood to receive it.

“Princess. Thank you.”

Nevertheless, people couldn’t just act according to their feelings.

Especially, in front of such a thick and clear ruby, one could completely ignore feelings…

The guilt that the original was messed up was as light as my conscience, and the ruby ​​in front of me was as heavy as my greed.

“I will cherish it.”

Naturally, the fate of being entangled in all kinds of trials and tribulations at the same time was inevitably presented to the male and female leads. Seymour and Elanie would often meet, if not now.

Therefore, even if the first meeting did not take place, they would be able to continue their relationship again next time. That was how I rationalized the situation, which was my specialty.

Among the supporting characters, the fact that I, the most side character of all, was worried about the male and female leads was like a mouse thinking of a cat.

“The couple that will come true will come true somehow.”

That was then. The fishing rod that Elanie had left on the floor began to wriggle.

“Princess…!”

I shouted bitterly.

“You must have caught something! The fishing rod!”

“Really?”

Elanie jumped and caught the fishing rod being dragged to the shore.

“No, it’s too powerful! What are you doing! Help me now!”

Some of the Imperial Guards stuck to the fishing rod. I stared blankly as I watched a fish the size of her body coming along the fishing rod.

Even Seymour’s role in helping Elanie accidentally disappeared like this…

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