Kill the Author, Then to Hell - Chapter 15.2
Right after the debutante ball, which was maddeningly spectacular, I wasn’t worried about my married life with the Crown Prince.
Strangely, that didn’t concern me.
‘Isn’t there a saying about regret for a reason?’
I’ve never read a romance novel where the male lead falls for the female lead at first sight.
It’s a given that they start off on the wrong foot and then become deeply entangled.
Considering that, my first encounter with the Crown Prince was quite textbook.
The problem was…
‘I’m furious.’
Just because he’s the Crown Prince?
I was still uncomfortable with the way he had looked me up and down. And to choose me as if selecting an item saying, ‘Yeah, I’ll take this one’. Ugh.
I wonder if I could ever love someone like that, regardless of how much he might change his mind about me and become utterly devoted.
And to be more honest…
It was mortifying.
It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that the Empress’s birthday ball was attended by the major figures of the entire Claremont Empire’s high society.
I was sold off in front of so many people—like a spectacle for everyone to enjoy.
Plus, how thrilling could the love triangle with Delia be for others? To me, it seemed clear that the Crown Prince had some unresolved feelings for Delia, whether they may be positive or negative.
‘If I was an outsider, I’d be exploding with dopamine too.’
Right now, they’re probably grinding their gossip mill to the fullest. Hardly anyone would believe our marriage was out of love, but wasn’t this just too much?
“Miss, the rumors are rampant.”
As expected, Ethel already heard lots of things. She’s here to impart her findings first thing the next morning as she came to collect the laundry.
“I don’t want to hear it.”
I sighed and turned away.
“Oh, why! I came early just to tell you about it!”
Ethel, who had become quite close, would whine like a little sister at times. But today, I really wasn’t in the mood.
“Do I really need to hear how I’ve been humiliated nationwide? Go on, rub salt in my wounds.”
However, Ethel’s reaction was unexpected.
“Humiliated? What humiliation?”
“What, you said you heard the rumors.”
“Yes, I heard. That His Highness the Crown Prince was so struck by you at first sight that he announced your engagement right there and then?”
“What?! Who said that?”
Shocked and incredulous, I got up from the bed. No matter how many times I asked around, the empire-wide rumor was indeed as Ethel had described.
<Oh, have you heard? Despite being busy with training, His Highness took time off to celebrate Her Majesty the Empress’s birthday! Upon seeing Lady Edith, he was so taken by her beauty that he stopped dead in his tracks in the middle of the dancefloor…>
Taken by my beauty?
Hah!
Anger bubbled up inside me.
<I heard that His Highness said he didn’t need to look at any other women. He does prefer to be efficient, you know?>
Uh… Yeah, no, I don’t think that’s what his intentions are.
<Oh, but Lady Delia, that wicked girl! Like a vixen! So slyly clinging to the Crown Prince! Don’t worry. We’re all on your side.>
Even the rumors about Delia were strangely twisted.
‘I mean, I kind of guessed that she’s the villainess of this story, but…’
I felt sorry for Delia, who hadn’t done anything to me yet. All she had done was believe in the Crown Prince’s promise.
‘It seems like I’m the one who’s rolled into this situation, doesn’t it?’
Now that it’s come to this, it’s definitely impossible to ever bring up the topic of my mother to Delia, leaving me with nothing but bitterness.
Regardless, it seemed like everyone had some sort of rose-colored filter over their eyes.
Or maybe there’s a secret service here manipulating public opinion on behalf of the crown prince.
Or perhaps some hidden protagonist’s buff?
Anyway, I no longer needed to worry about rumors.
Soon, the emperor issued an edict announcing our wedding ceremony six months from now.
And the crown prince sent a carriage full of engagement gifts, including a ring.
“Wow, Miss! Look at this! There’s no end to it.”
Ethel gleamed as she unpacked one gift after another.
Light as a feather lace and silk that slid through the fingers,
Tea leaves from the East and spices given by the Magnamata colony.
It seemed like all the world’s treasures had been gathered.
And of course, the pièce de résistance…
“Wow… it’s so, so beautiful.”
An engagement ring densely inlaid with mana stones like the Milky Way in the night sky.
Even though I had worn various accessories made of mana stones during the past year as the lady of a marquis household…
This ring was so intricate and beautiful I couldn’t take my eyes off it.
“His Highness the Crown Prince has expressed his regret over not being able to put this on your finger himself, given his hectic schedule of official duties. He asks Your Ladyship to wait just a bit longer.”
The butler, acting as a bridge between the imperial family and us, bowed his head.
Remembering his behavior at the ball, I wondered if he was sincere, but there was no reason to refuse such a beautiful ring.
I eagerly slid the ring onto my left ring finger.
“It’s fine. I will gratefully await the day we unite as husband and wife,” I relayed to him.
A week passed.
Today was no different from any other.
“Miss, please repeat what I said.”
“…Imperial etiquette differs from that of the nobility.”
“Then, you know this already, yet you are still making such a mistake? I told you not to use the fourth spoon from the inside.”
In other words, I was being nagged by Jane as usual.
As soon as my engagement to the crown prince was made official, Jane burst into tears, then was immediately filled with determination.
“Miss, I won’t let anyone find fault with you. Just trust me.”
Since then, as if all previous lessons had been just for fun, we were now in the midst of a Spartan-like etiquette training.
The butler, Samuel, was busy with arranging matters related to the wedding ceremony, while Johan was also difficult to see.
And late at night, when all the staff had finished their work and left, only Jane and I were left in the house.
“Hmm?”
Struggling with boredom, I caught some kind of droning noise.
Like the heavy white noise of a gigantic refrigerator motor running.
“Wait, Jane, haven’t you been hearing a strange noise?”
“What noise? Miss, are you trying to waste time because you don’t want to study?”
“No, I really heard something.”
Though I was partly trying to buy some time, I felt a bit embarrassed.
“Stop with the nonsense and focus on this…”
But Jane couldn’t continue her sentence.
Swoosh—
A magical sword, appearing out of nowhere, sliced Jane’s body in half.
