“… … .”

“… … .”

The sharp eyes of the man looking down at her, the nose that seemed like it would cut her, all seemed like a dream. Lara tightly closed her eyes at the hot emotions boiling inside her like lava. Ha, one more time!

But the same luck couldn’t come twice. He got up without saying a word. When Lara opened her eyes, he had already disappeared a long time ago.

“Young-ae! What on earth is going on?”

Elina4, who had woken up belatedly from a loud noise, approached Lara, who was lying among a pile of books. Only then was Lara able to return to reality when she grabbed her hand and helped her up.

“Are you hurt anywhere? How can so many books fall over at once?” Elina4 quietly muttered that she should hold the librarian responsible for the poor management. Then, when the outer garment covering her shoulders slipped down and fell to her feet, she opened her eyes wide, as if she had only just realized the existence of the outer garment.

Elina4 knew who the owner of this outer garment was. She had seen him wearing it just two hours ago. “Your Majesty… … .”

As Elina4’s mumbling dissipated in the air, Lara shyly placed her hand on her chest.

‘Ah, that person’s name is Pea^[1]your majesty sounds like – pyeha – pea – in korean, so she misunderstood.’

Pea, it was a name that somehow felt familiar. Lara engraved his name in her heart. The next time they met, she planned to tell him that he was responsible for taking away the purity of the Lady’s lips.

“Oh, by the way, the roses.”

Lara remembered something she had forgotten. When she fell, she couldn’t see the white roses she had received from the handsome man.

“If it’s a rose, it’s here.”

Elina4, who was looking around to find it together, picked up a red rose that had fallen between the books. Lara shook her head. She didn’t know why a red rose had fallen here, but it wasn’t the rose she was looking for.

“No, the rose I lost was a white rose.” “Is this it?”

“Oh… … . It’s crushed.”

She found it, but it was half-crushed under the book. Lara slumped her shoulders and lifted the book.

“Should I ask the gardener to pick a new one?” “No, no. It’s okay… … .”

If it wasn’t this rose, it would be meaningless. Lara held the tattered white rose in her hand, half of its petals falling off. It would be nice if she could save it. She was only sorry.

Lara stared blankly at the stem of the white rose half-submerged in a pretty glass filled with water and left the room. Today, she had to return the clothes she had borrowed from Mikhail^[2]Michael- this is miss spelled at many places, so bear with it. “Lara.”

As we left the mansion, a carriage was waiting. Elina2, who was inside, waved happily and gestured for us to get in.

That’s right. The excuse of returning the clothes was just an excuse, and the real purpose was to establish a cliché, to make Elina2 the first female guest who came to Mikhail.

The first woman that Mikhail could confide in had to be the female protagonist, and since Elina2 was the most sociable, she would be the perfect person to approach him while dealing with Mikhail’s prickly personality.

Lara fixed her cross-dressing wig once more so that it wouldn’t get crooked. Elina2 cast an interested look at Lara, who was wearing her knight’s uniform even on a holiday. “You said you had someone you could introduce me to, but judging by your outfit, it looks like there’s something going on? Am I the bait? Or an undercover investigator?”

“Elina3 might not know, but I’m not good enough to take on that kind of job yet.” After smiling once as if to tell her not to worry, Lara lowered her voice and urged her. “Everyone I’m going to meet from now on will know me as a man. So it’s a secret that I’m a woman, okay?”

“I don’t know why you’re doing such a bothersome thing, but it’s fun! … Oh, you don’t have to nag me like that. Silphid! You can protect me if you want. Oh, I get it. You just have to have a sense of crisis. You really do nag me a lot.”

The Spirit King seemed to be riding somewhere in the carriage. It probably wasn’t next to me. Lara looked at the empty seat and then turned her gaze out the window, wondering if she had made eye contact.

After running for a while, the carriage passed the entrance to the main temple and stopped near a quiet annex. Lara got off with Elina2 and searched her memory to find the entrance to the garden. Elina2 had a lot to talk to the Spirit King about, as she kept talking to the air while walking.

Fortunately, her memory was quite useful. Elina2 was surprised to find a building hidden deep in the garden. Lara knocked on the door first and went inside, and Elina2 followed her.

‘He’s not here?’

Lara, who was looking around the room she had been to once, discovered light blond hair beyond the sofa. Lying on the sofa and taking a leisurely nap, it was a really fun Pope.

“I’m here. Look here.” “… Look here, aren’t you calling me properly?”

Mikhail raised his arm covering his eyes and furrowed his brow. Belatedly realizing that there was someone else besides Lara, Mikhail raised his upper body.

“What are you?”

His alertness seemed to be sky-high. Unlike Lara, who was already sweating profusely, Elina2 smiled naturally.

“Don’t be so cautious, woah. I’m Elina 2! I’m Lara’s friend.”

“Friend… …?”

“Yes. By the way, I’m a princess at the Duke’s house!” “Huh, what’s that?”

As expected, it was Elina 2. To let down Mikhail’s guard all at once, was this what they call a female protagonist buff?

I thought it would only be a nuisance if I stood between the two, so I thought I should go back now. They’re the female and male leads, so they’ll do well. The moment Lara turned around to leave, a hand grabbed her wrist.

“Do you have to take care of everything for me? What are you doing there, alone?” “Huh? Oh, I’m busy. I just came to return these clothes today.”

“There’s a limit to being irresponsible. If you brought a guest, shouldn’t you introduce them or something?”

“Uh… I’m sorry.”

After hearing that, Lara was dragged back to them. The three of them were about to stand facing each other and talk. The door opened wide and the sound of shoes clanking filled the room again.

<That girl… …!>

The peacock feathers and the rich hem of her dress, the heavy makeup, and the jewels hanging from her neck and fingers showed off her presence. The woman with her long, wavy red hair raised her chin proudly and looked around the room.

She immediately targeted Elina2, who was standing close to Mikhail, and quickly approached her.

<That’s the wicked Rosalie. She’s a stubborn woman who always interferes with the relationship between the female and male leads with her obsession to destroy anything she can’t get her hands on, and she’s always being mean to her subordinates. In the end, she tried to slander the female protagonist, but everything ended in failure, and she was executed because she went against the emperor’s wishes.>

‘No, but she’s already out?!’

Even Lara, who had read quite a few romance novels in her youth, knew that the appearance of a rival woman was an essential cliche. But this was too early.

“Michael, what’s with this woman? What on earth is the relationship between the two of you!” “What on earth are you?”

‘Don’t you know?!!’

Judging from Michael’s guarded attitude, it seemed clear that he didn’t know. The villainess Rosalie didn’t seem too flustered and unfolded her fan.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Rosalie Berbel, your fiancee. Although it’s a political marriage, and I’ve only just met you today, and we don’t have feelings for each other, I have to somehow take the seat next to you, the Pope, for the sake of my family.”

“Huh? Mr. Michael, are you the Pope?”

Elina2 turned to Michael with a start. Rosalie’s eyes then moved to Elina2. The eyes that were clearly torn open looked like they were going to explode.

“You cheapskate! How dare you touch a man who has a fiancée?”

As expected, Rosalie raised her left hand high. She seemed like she was going to slap her without any consideration, but her hand that was going down like a roller coaster suddenly stopped at Elina2’s continued words.

“What is our relationship?… We just met today, hmm. It’s still awkward to call us friends, right? We haven’t even talked yet.”

Elina2, who closed her eyes and was deep in thought, seemed to be having a hard time defining this relationship. Rosalie trembled at the sound of her sighing, and finally put her left hand down obediently.

“… You two are really not related?” “Yes.”

“… There’s no way, if you were lying in front of me, I wouldn’t let it go!”

“Don’t leave me alone, I’m really not in a relationship, what should I do? Oh, it’s frustrating.

Lara, say something.”

Elina2 opened her eyes wide and looked back at Lara. Lara flinched and shook her shoulders. Rosalie, who had immediately changed her target, walked toward Lara. She raised her left hand high into the air and was about to descend with a swoosh, cutting through the wind.

“That guy.”

It was Mikhail. Rosalie flinched and withdrew her hand, unable to control her anger, she just trembled. Her bewildered gaze continued to wander around. She wanted to be a guide for her who couldn’t figure out where to go.

In the end, Rosalie, who had changed back to her original target, stood in front of Elina2. Her hand rose high toward the ceiling again.

“I’ll ask you again… … . You’re not in a relationship?” “Yes. Should we go to court?”

“What, the court?”

“Yes, go to the court and have an official trial. Mikhail and I are really not related. I’ve said it several times, but today is the first time I’ve seen him.” “Fine… … . There’s no need to go that far… … .”

“No, but from the perspective of a rival woman, it’s a bit much. Your fiancé is with another woman, and I feel a bit bad about it, so since it’s come to this, shouldn’t we both go to court?”

“That’s too much trouble. If rumors spread, my image… … .”