I, the Female Lead, Ruined the Original

“Look. This room is quite decent, right?”

“…”

“I had nothing else to do, so I was just lying here. Master of Tower, come lie down here too.”

Selleana moved to one side of the bed and patted the spot next to her. The sound alone revealed the mattress was quite shabby, causing Rakrensius to barely suppress a sigh.

“Can Mr. Sword communicate with Master of Tower once you get close enough?”

[Since I’m familiar with the interior of Magic Tower, so it doesn’t matter if he is… But in unfamiliar places like the imperial palace, it’s hard to detect if the search range is wide.]

“We can’t just keep calling each other while wandering around.”

“

, so that’s why Master of Tower said you’d follow when the empress called for me.”

“I can’t follow you inside because the saintess would notice, but I can hear Di’s words from outside.”

“I’ll be safe, so don’t worry.” Selleana playfully said as she pulled his arm, making him lie down beside her. The bed wasn’t narrow, but naturally, their limbs intertwined, and they ended up hugging each other tightly.

It was after feeling each other’s warmth, missing even a brief separation.

“Master of Tower. Mr. Sword said I have excellent acting skills.”

[I said it was improving.]

“So even when meeting the empress, I’ll be able to ask various things skillfully.”

“Lady…”

With one arm under her head as a pillow, Rakrensius swept her hair away from her forehead. Her make up was light, revealing her natural skin on her forehead and cheeks, which were cradled in his hands. His blue eyes, looking down at her, were filled with worry.

“Don’t say sorry. And don’t say you’re worried.”

“…”

“Master of Tower explained the situation to my parents so well that even my father wasn’t too worried.”

“…The duke isn’t worried?”

“Yes, he already sent a message using that note.”

[Do all fathers’ nagging letters go on that long? I thought I was going to run out of breath reading it.]

“You talk as if you’re a living being.”

[…]

“So, what did the duke say?”

“He said he’d have the shadows following me keep watch outside the imperial palace, so if I need anything, I should signal them…

, right. My pouch.”

“Here it is.”

Rakrensius pulled out a leather pouch containing scrolls from his chest. The pouch, designed to look like a flat envelope, could be worn just below the chest without showing its silhouette. She always carried it but had asked Rakrensius to hold it temporarily to avoid it being confiscated during a search.

“I also included the light magic scroll you used before. It’s best if you don’t need to use it, but…”

“If a situation arises, it’s good to use it effectively.”

Selleana pressed down on Rakrensius’s furrowed brow repeatedly. Even so, the wrinkles on his forehead didn’t disappear.

“I don’t know what the saintess is planning, but there are many carriages from the empress faction and the temple gathered outside the imperial palace.”

[…They must have had a hard time summoning everyone overnight.]

There was no confirmation of any letters leaving the imperial palace last night, so Di muttered discontentedly.

“Considering Lady was endangered during the hunting competition, and now the saintess has moved the temple and those families overnight, she might have used her abilities.”

“Indeed… If she managed to brainwash my friends so strongly with just one encounter, she might have already secured her own allies.”

Selleana’s forehead furrowed naturally. Dip in thought, she pursed her lips and wrinkled her nose, clearly immersed in her concerns. Seeing this, Rakrensius gently caressed her face, slowly voicing his long-held worry.

“If possible… try to request an audience with the emperor.”

“With His Majesty?”

“Yes. The saintess gathering some noble and temple forces might be…. to use them as a private army.”

[Indeed. Unless there’s a significant reason, like issuing a house arrest order on Elard, the imperial knights can’t be mobilized solely by the saintess’s will.]

“…True. Since nobles and temple members aren’t technically soldiers, bringing them into the imperial palace doesn’t violate the imperial law.”

Selleana nodded, recalling what she had learned as the crown princess.

“Now that I think about it, those people who tried to drown me… they always acted absurdly. To pick unreasonable fights in situations where they’d clearly be humiliated.”

“It seems like some kind of suggestion was used.”

[Suggestion. Suggestion….]

Di seemed lost in its own world, its voice no longer echoing in their minds.

Selleana, thinking she was getting the hang of it, hugged Rakrensius’s waist and buried her face in his chest. “But what if the saintess has also influenced His Majesty…”

“It’s hard to be certain, but…” A bitter smile spread across Rakrensius’s face, filled with deep regret. “He once expressed a desire to act as a father to me. Since he mentioned it, there’s a possibility he’s not under the influence, right?”

“Did you speak with His Majesty?”

“During the hunting competition. He invited me… No, it’s nothing.” Rakrensius smiled briefly, recalling his self-deception at the time. With a simple kiss on Selleana’s forehead, he confessed. “I told him I would attend the hunting competition to check the imperial family’s stance because I was worried about you.”

“

.”

Selleana looked up at Rakrensius from his embrace. His blue eyes, filled with worry, looked down at her. Even back then and now, this man’s face is constantly concerned for her.

“So, at that time, I spoke candidly about a few things.”

Rakrensius’s mind flashed back to their conversation a month ago during the hunting competition. Despite his worry for Selleana, he stayed to gauge the emperor’s intentions.

He had subtly probed, but it seemed the emperor knew nothing about the situation between him and the saintess. It was only natural. When Rakrensius was threatened by the saintess after taking Di out, it felt as if only the two of them existed in the world. Di, unaffected by her power, also remembered that time.

Publicly, Rakrensius was a late-born illegitimate child stuck in the cold palace to avoid threatening the first prince’s position. The emperor’s view wasn’t much different.

Was it because the term ‘Your Majesty Father’ sounded pleasing, or was it for another reason? Emperor Tashur III was smiling quite favorably while listening to Rarkrensius’s request.

Although it was uncertain if the emperor, possibly influenced by the saintess as Selleana thought, could help… At that moment, Rakrensius had a strange intuition that Tashur III would support him. Oddly enough.

Rakrensius thought the emperor brought him in to manage his lineage, but sometimes, the emperor looked at him with such warmth…

It was a ridiculous thought, considering he had never heard about his father from his mother, who had tried to avoid any ties with the imperial family until her last moment.

If Tashur III could help Selleana, that would be fortunate.

Of course, in case he couldn’t move freely…

“If the emperor can’t help directly, look for the scroll I gave him as a birthday present.”

“

, that one…!”

Selleana remembered when Rakrensius appeared unexpectedly at the emperor’s birthday celebration, gifting a teleportation scroll and completing the spell on the spot.

“That scroll… will always bring him to my side.”

“Really? Is that even possible?”

“Yes, well, it’s a bit of a trick, but…”

But why the emperor had set the scroll’s destination that way, they both wondered.

“…

” Sensing someone approaching, Rakrensius put his finger to his lips and hid himself.

Footsteps approached from beyond the door.

The sound of unlocking came, and the door opened. It was the imperial knights who had brought Selleana.

“Please get up.”

Already sitting on the bed, Selleana rose at their command. Just before they blindfolded her, she nodded slightly toward where Rakrensius had been. Don’t worry too much, her gesture seemed to say. Though he couldn’t help but worry, he would follow her, and that was enough.