Chapter 4 

 I’m the Only One Who Knows the Male Lead Is the Mastermind

“I packed the holy water, and I also wrote letters in case something happens to me….”

On the day I was due to enter the Imperial Palace, I managed to finish getting ready right on time thanks to having received the carriage’s arrival time in advance. I had prepared various contingencies to deal with different situations, so I figured I had done enough to prevent any major problems.

Knock, knock.

“Are you there? The carriage to escort the honored guest has arrived.”

“Yes, I’m coming!”

Just then, I heard the coachman knocking. After grabbing a few simple belongings, I immediately opened the door, only to find—

“Huh…?”

…What on earth was this?

My thoughts completely froze when an enormous golden carriage covered in dazzling jewels filled my entire field of vision. Having temporarily lost the ability to speak, I simply stared at the carriage with my mouth hanging open.

Someone leisurely stepped forward in front of me. His long silver hair sparkled like sunlight dancing on water as rays of sunshine filtered intermittently between the buildings.

“It is a pleasure to meet you, Lady Astell. I am Vanel Paste, His Highness’s aide. I have come to escort you at His Highness’s command.”

Vanel greeted me with flawless etiquette, without a single unnecessary movement. He was a face I knew well—so well that seeing him was actually quite pleasant.

After all, whenever I had followed Ivan’s official schedule in hopes of seeing my favorite character, Vanel had always been by Ivan’s side.

“Sir Paste… What… is this?”

“This is the carriage His Highness personally selected to escort you. It is the latest FW model from Imperial Year 377. It is a masterpiece featuring an elegantly designed spider lily motif symbolizing His Highness the Crown Prince, while the golden mane of the Imperial family’s golden lion has been rendered in pure gold and topaz.”

The moment I asked about the carriage, Vanel launched into an impassioned speech filled with affection, as though he were immensely proud of his master’s taste. What would I have done if I hadn’t asked?

‘Latest model or not, it’s so ridiculously flashy that everyone is staring over here…!’

As if the little commotion Ivan and I had caused over the door a few days ago hadn’t already attracted enough attention, now this dazzling carriage had to show up.

What was the difference between this and putting up a giant sign in the middle of a commoner neighborhood saying, ‘A noble lives here’?

Sure enough, every pair of eyes on the street was focused on us. Haha. There goes my quiet life again.

“I definitely can’t keep living in this house. I’ll have to return to the main estate….”

I muttered quietly, still looking stunned, but Vanel somehow heard me and smiled brightly as he nodded.

“That is a wise decision. His Highness was quite concerned, as a matter of fact.”

“His Highness was?”

“Yes. He was worried that it was too dangerous for a noble lady to live alone on the outskirts of the capital.”

Vanel’s words suddenly reminded me of something Ivan had said a few days ago.

‘By the way, are you planning to keep living here?’

The expression on his face when he had asked that question had suggested that he wasn’t particularly pleased about something. At the time, I had assumed I was simply misinterpreting him and hadn’t given it much thought….

‘So he deliberately sent this carriage to make me return home? Because he doesn’t like me living here?’

Wherever people live, rumors are bound to exist.

If word got out that a noble lived here—and, more importantly, that the woman who had received a marriage proposal from the Crown Prince lived here—then naturally, I would be in danger.

‘Aren’t masterminds usually destined to fail spectacularly because they’re strong but stupid? So why is Ivan…?’

Once again, things had turned out exactly the way Ivan wanted. Ever since our unfortunate encounter in the forest, it felt as though everything had been proceeding according to his wishes, and it left me feeling strangely uneasy.

I was the one who had possessed this body, so why did it feel like I was being dragged around by Ivan…? This was just like—

“It feels like I’ve been bewitched by a demon.”

“Cough! K-Kheh!”

The moment I finished muttering to myself, Vanel suddenly began coughing violently. His face had turned deathly pale, as though he had been utterly caught off guard by something.

“Sir Paste! Are you all right?”

“Ah, my apologies. Something went down the wrong way.”

Vanel hurriedly straightened his clothes before quickly wiping the cold sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief. Why had he suddenly reacted like that?

“Please, get in.”

When the coachman opened the door, Vanel extended a hand to escort me. Even the steps leading into the carriage were decorated with pure gold and topaz.

Ah, I just want to run all the way to the Imperial Palace…….

“Could I perhaps go separately?”

At my feeble question, Vanel gave me a gentle smile.

“Of course not.”

Tsk.

As soon as I got into the carriage, I pulled down all the curtains covering the wide-open windows. I didn’t want anyone to know that I was inside.

‘It’s only a matter of time before everyone finds out anyway once I enter the Imperial Palace.’

Even though I had already accepted that fact, I couldn’t help getting a headache over it. If my existence became known to the Mage Association again, I would have no choice but to stop all my research.

‘Even Leon wouldn’t be able to protect me if the Mage Association itself got involved. So I have to do something somehow, but…….’

Resting a hand against my forehead in despair, I glanced at Vanel sitting across from me. He had pristine silver hair, long and beautiful enough to make even the most dedicated fangirl swoon, and even his eyes were an extraordinary blue with a silvery sheen.

‘Ivan overshadows him, but when you really look at Vanel, he has a pretty absurdly handsome face too.’

Vanel Paste. He was the eldest son of the Marquess Paste family and had reportedly been extremely frail as a child, having come close to death several times. Yet at some point, he regained his health, dropped out of the Magic Academy he had been attending, and immediately joined the Imperial Knights.

Right after joining, he swept through all kinds of competitions and dueling matches, proving his abilities and rising at incredible speed until he became Ivan’s aide. He was so capable that people said listing all of his brilliant accomplishments would take an entire night.

‘Even though I’m a transmigrator, I don’t know every character in the story… but Vanel was Ivan’s closest aide, so I remember him to some extent.’

That meant I needed to be even more cautious around him. Just as Ivan had the face of an angel despite being the final mastermind, Vanel might also have helped Ivan with his schemes despite his gentle appearance.

But before that, I still had to do what was proper. I had been so shocked by the carriage that I hadn’t even properly introduced myself.

“I was so flustered earlier that I neglected to introduce myself. I’m Rine Astell. You may not have heard of me before, but….”

“No, I know who you are.”

“What? You know me?”

My eyes naturally widened at Vanel’s statement that he knew me. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the only people who knew me were my childhood friend Dayard and members of my family.

When I looked at him with eyes full of questions, Vanel gave me a warm smile and said something unexpected.

“Of course. You’re Leon’s younger sister, aren’t you?”

“…My brother talked about me?”

I had repeatedly warned Leon for years never to talk about me outside the family.

Fortunately—or unfortunately—Leon seemed to have a bit of a sister complex himself, so he tended to keep quiet about his family because he was worried that other people might take an interest in me.

“We were classmates at the Magic Academy. I sometimes heard him muttering that he missed his little sister… and although it was only once, I remember him showing me a picture of his sister that he kept inside a locket.”

“Oh, so you were classmates with my brother. I never knew he had friends. With that personality of his, I honestly didn’t think he would.”

Hearing my thoroughly factual statement, Vanel covered his mouth and let out a cough that seemed suspiciously close to a laugh. Judging by how carefully he avoided commenting, it seemed his opinion of Leon was fairly similar to mine.

Leon had no friends. Of course, neither did I, but that man genuinely had none.

And for good reason. Leon was rigid, narrow-minded, and completely incapable of taking other people’s circumstances into consideration. If anything, it would have been strange for him to have friends.

“I left halfway through and joined the Knights, so we didn’t graduate together, but we do occasionally exchange news.”

As I listened to Vanel talk about Leon, we had somehow already arrived at the Imperial Palace. When the carriage stopped, he got out first and extended his hand to me.

“His Highness is in the garden of Ruby Palace. I’ll escort you there.”

I took Vanel’s hand and stepped out of the carriage, only to find several maids immediately following behind me. There were also several knights stationed on either side as guards. The security was even tighter than I had expected.

Soon, we arrived at the garden, where I saw Ivan sitting on a white chair in the pavilion surrounded by spider lilies in full bloom.

‘When I meet him, I was planning to pretend to make a mistake and splash him with holy water first, but with this many people watching, that’s going to be difficult.’

Now that I knew the identity of the mastermind, I had no intention of simply standing by and watching.

‘If the empire falls, I’ll die too. I can’t let that happen. At the very least, the empire has to remain intact until I finish my dimensional magic.’

Reluctantly lowering the tiny bottle of holy water hidden inside my sleeve, I took a deep breath and slowly approached Ivan.

First of all, I needed to be careful not to get distracted by my (former) favorite’s handsome, beautiful, sparkling, dazzling, pretty, and mesmerizing appearance. My favorite character with the cheating filter of midday sunlight applied was extremely dangerous.

“Your Highness, Lady Astell has arrived.”

At Vanel’s announcement, Ivan turned his head from where he was sitting. Perhaps because of the warm sunlight, his perfectly arranged, radiant features seemed even more intensely beautiful than usual, overwhelming my vision.

His green eyes glowed with a fresh light like newly sprouted buds, while his slender eyelashes, stretching delicately like ash-tree blossoms, cast elegant shadows. His lips, warmed by the heat of noon, held a languid vitality.

He was insanely beautiful.

‘…I’m losing my mind. Maybe I’m the one who needs the holy water.’

I barely managed to pull myself back from my dazed state, then lightly lifted my dress and bowed my head.

“I greet His Highness the Crown Prince, the Star of the Empire.”

“Lady Astell, welcome. I’ve been waiting for you.”

After exchanging the expected formal greetings, Ivan looked at me as I took a seat across from him. He gestured toward the table, which was piled high with plates of desserts, telling me to eat as much as I wanted.

“Have as much as you like. There’s plenty.”

“Ah, thank you.”

Once a maid poured fragrant tea into my cup and withdrew, Ivan began speaking in a gentle voice.

“There’s something you need to know before we begin our conversation.”

“Yes, please tell me.”

From this point on, no matter what Ivan said, I had to keep my head clear and answer carefully. If he thought he could distract me with that sweet face of his… no, with these desserts, he was sorely mistaken.

“I’m actually a demon.”

“Yes, that seems about right.”

‘What an amusing joke.’

…Ah.

I wonder how many people will come to my funeral.