《The Good End for the Villainess》 Rose #1 ¡°I DON¡¯T WANT TO MARRY HIM!¡± ¡°What do you mean you don¡¯t want to marry him? He¡¯s a Prince, the Crown Prince!¡± ¡°If I marry him, I¡¯ll be forced to be the Crown Princess and later the Queen. I don¡¯t want to be a Queen!¡± ¡°Who doesn¡¯t want to be Queen?!¡± ¡°ME!¡± A blond man with sharp blue eyes rubbed his temple, ¡°Camilla I worked hard to get this engagement between our families¡­¡± ¡°Yeah, between families. You never once asked me! If you¡¯d asked before going to all this trouble, you wouldn¡¯t have to turn around and cancel now!¡± ¡°I¡¯m not calling it off!¡± ¡°I won¡¯t marry him!¡± ¡°You WILL marry him!¡± ¡°Oh yeah? MAKE ME!¡± ¡°If I have to lock you in your room until you¡¯re old enough to marry, I¡¯ll do it.¡± A blond girl of about 10 years old, with tightly curled hair and sharp blue eyes, just like the man, stood there red faced and furious. She took several deep breaths before calming down. ¡°Daddy¡­ you¡¯ve always given me what I wanted in the past. You said you¡¯d give me the world because you love me. Why is it in this one thing you didn¡¯t even ask what I wanted?¡± ¡°I thought you¡¯d be happy.¡± She shook her head slowly, her eyes fierce, ¡°You didn¡¯t think about me at all, did you?¡± There was silence between the two, finally the man couldn¡¯t take it anymore. ¡°Fine! I didn¡¯t think about you being happy! I was thinking about what¡¯s good for the entire family!¡± He gave her an equally fierce glare. ¡°And how is that wrong? What¡¯s good for the family is good for you too!¡± Camilla gave an angry laugh, ¡°Oh, is it? When I become Queen, you¡¯ll have to obey me, not the other way around! You think I¡¯ll have forgotten you forced me into it? You think I¡¯ll let things be easy for you?¡± ¡°Cammy, how could you say that to your father!¡± She sneered, ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re my father? Because right now you¡¯re not acting like one.¡± That was too much for him and he straight away slapped her on the face. ¡°Girl, I¡¯ve given you everything you wanted. You said it yourself. After raising you this well, making you everything BUT a princess, and now even given you that, you¡¯ve got the gall to threaten me?! You ungrateful¡ª¡± ¡°I DIDN¡¯T CHOOSE TO BE YOUR DAUGHTER!¡± She screamed, holding her aching face, eyes watering. ¡°I didn¡¯t choose to be in this family. Could I have turned down any of the things you gave me? Could I? No! I had to accept everything! If I never had a choice to begin with, why should I be grateful? A forced gift is no gift, it¡¯s a burden!¡± He stood there speechless for a moment. ¡°You¡­ you never said you didn¡¯t want what I gave you!¡± She rolled her eyes, ¡°How often did you ever listen to me? Even if I tried to turn it down, you insisted you were doing it because you love me. If I turned it down, it was the same thing as turning away your love.¡± She laughed bitterly, ¡°But it turns out it was never done out of love. It was so I¡¯d owe you later.¡± A stab of guilt pierced the man¡¯s heart, but he shook it off. Calming himself down, he said stiffly, ¡°Whatever you say, it won¡¯t change the fact your engagement is set. If I dared to try and break it now, you think the King would let me off? Ah right, you don¡¯t care about me, let me rephrase¡­ You think he¡¯ll let you off?¡± She grimaced. It was true the current king was a bit of a tyrant. He was only flexible in very specific areas, otherwise it was his way or the highway. His son, who he had high expectations for, was not an area he was flexible on. ¡°Fine.¡± She finally agreed, her heart hollow as she stared at him. ¡°But since you treated me like a tool and not a daughter, I will treat you like a master and not a father.¡± ¡°What? What does that mean?¡± She straightened herself and curtsied, pulling her dress out to the side at a perfect angle. ¡°May I be dismissed now, Duke Florentine?¡± His heart trembled slightly at her coldness but then he thought: She was just angry right now and throwing a tantrum. One she settled down, she¡¯d forget all this nonsense of him being a master not a father. With that rationalization to sooth his heart, he found himself inexplicably tired.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. ¡°Fine, fine. Go do whatever.¡± He frowned, adding, ¡°You¡¯ll be traveling to the capital to meet the Crown Prince tomorrow, keep that in mind.¡± She bobbed her head, ¡°Thank you, your grace.¡± He watched her leave, his heart feeling a little stuffy. But he thought again how it was just a tantrum and regained his mental equilibrium. Years later he would look back on this time and feel like a fool. * Albert looked at his fiance and knew something wasn¡¯t right. There were only two people in his life who ever showed displeasure towards him: his father and his swordmaster. Otherwise, everyone loved and coddled him to no end. Girls his age always fell all over themselves trying to make him happy. But this girl, Camilla Florentine, was behaving in a polite but disinterested way. He¡¯d been carrying the conversation, with her only responding where necessary. Occasionally they¡¯d fall into lulls of awkward silence but she made no effort to fill in the gaps. He couldn¡¯t figure out why she was like this. They¡¯d met several times and it was the same every time. It was frustrating and finally he decided to ask his swordmaster. He would get an honest answer from that man and, unlike his father, there was no chance of anyone getting hurt. When the swordmaster heard his complaints, he looked surprised. ¡°Hm? Doesn¡¯t that mean she doesn¡¯t like you? Who knew there was a girl who didn¡¯t like the Crown Prince...¡± This revelation stunned him so severely he made several mistakes during the training session that followed. He wasn¡¯t liked? Him? Albert Silvador, Crown Prince of Ailandale? The next visit he observed her closely. Instead of trying to carry the visit by doing all the talking, he kept as quiet as possible. To his shock, she actually appeared¡­. Pleased. It seemed she really didn¡¯t like him! In fact, she disliked him so much she preferred him to not say anything when he was around her! That stunned him into silence for the rest of the visit. It was only now, the following visit, that he thought to ask an important question: Why was he disliked? But this kind of question couldn¡¯t be asked around adults and servants. He was 11 now and had his pride as a man! He suggested walking around the garden by themselves and, naturally, his request was accepted. The problem was once they started walking around, he found the question lodged in his throat. He¡¯d been trying to ask for over 30 minutes and hadn¡¯t been able to. For the first time, he experienced the fear of being rejected. In a rare twist, Camilla noted his behavior and initiated conversation: ¡°Pardon me, Prince Albert, but how much longer are we to go on walking?¡± He stared at her blankly and then realized this was a valid question. They¡¯d been walking around all this time without saying a word for each other. Gnawing on his inner cheek, he hesitated and finally asked, ¡°Did I do something to you?¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Well, I was wondering if you were mad at me.¡± ¡°Why should I be mad at you?¡± Her brow furrowed, ¡°I barely know you.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that because you won¡¯t talk to me?¡± She tilted her head and raised her eyebrows. ¡°Oh yes, I suppose so.¡± ¡°Then, if you were to bother having a real conversation with me, you are sure to like me.¡± ¡°And why should I do that?¡± ¡°...why?¡± ¡°Yes, why.¡± ¡°B..because¡­ we¡¯re engaged?¡± She smiled brilliantly, ¡°Let me ask you, if someone is engaged but is refusing to get along with their fiance, what do you think that means?¡± Albert went silent. If he knew the answer to that, would he be having this kind of trouble?! ¡°Lets reframe the question,¡± She said after seeing he didn¡¯t understand. ¡°Let¡¯s say there are two boys who don¡¯t know each other. Without anyone asking them, their parents decided they ought to be friends. So they keep meeting up and putting the boys together to have them play. Now one of the boys looks bored during these meetings, talks very little, and is eager to go home. The other boy does all the talking and suggests all the games, basically doing all the work. Every meeting is the same. Why do you think the first boy is behaving the way he does?¡± Albert knew exactly the reason and answered, ¡°Isn¡¯t that because he never wanted to be friends to begin with and his parents forced him into it?¡± She nodded, ¡°And what do you think about the other boy in this story?¡± He frowned, ¡°Isn¡¯t he dumb to keep trying to be friends with a boy who doesn¡¯t want to be friends with¡ª ah.¡± Albert suddenly made the connection, ¡°You mean you never wanted to be my fiance and were forced into it?!¡± ¡°Mmmm hm.¡± ¡°But why?¡± Realizing he¡¯d been treated as a burden this whole time poked his heart uncomfortably. ¡°I¡¯m the Crown Prince, I¡¯ll be King in the future! Being my fiance means you¡¯ll be Queen!¡± She rolled her eyes at him and raised an eyebrow. ¡°In your mind, does every girl want to be queen?¡± He opened his mouth to say yes and then paused. If he said ¡°yes¡± in the face of a girl who obviously didn¡¯t want to be queen, wouldn¡¯t that just make him an idiot? ¡°...I¡­ don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Well, now you know.¡± She snorted. ¡°Besides, if all you¡¯ve got to offer a girl is the position of queen, isn¡¯t that really pitiful? That means there¡¯s nothing interesting about you outside of your status.¡± ¡°What do you mean? It¡¯s not like the Crown Prince and I are any different, we¡¯re the same person. I, Albert, am interesting so naturally I, the Crown Prince, am interesting.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not how people view you. They don¡¯t think of you as Albert, the 11 year old boy, they think of you as the Crown Prince, future ruler of the world and current favorite of the King. You, Albert, are only important as long as you¡¯re competent. Beyond that, your likes and dislikes, people only care about those things to win you over because you¡¯re the Crown Prince. ¡± She paused, ¡°Pardon me, I¡¯m being roundabout¡­ what I mean to say, they aren¡¯t interested in you as a person, just your title. No one really likes you, Albert. They only like you, the Crown Prince.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡ª that¡¯s not true!¡± His face flushed in anger and he tried to refute, ¡°My Father, Mother and Nanny like me!¡± ¡°...if they¡¯re the only three, isn¡¯t that just sad?¡± She sighed. ¡°Right now, all you have is your status and title. In the future, will you be able to make any real friends? Won¡¯t they all just be after the power you can give them? You can¡¯t trust people like that you know. Imagine your whole life never making a real friend and only being surrounded by people who want to use you. I¡¯d be depressed.¡± His heart chilled. Even without her saying it, he knew there was some truth to her words. He could already tell when someone was approaching him to get to his parents. It offended him, not only that people wanted to use him, but that they thought he was a weakness that could be used to manipulate his parents. But as to the other people who treated him nicely¡­. This was the first time he wondered if they were treating him nicely because they liked him or because he was the Crown Prince. If he was just an ordinary person, would they be anywhere near as affable? Suddenly he didn¡¯t want to be around his fiance anymore. This was the first time they¡¯d had a serious conversation and nothing good had come from it. He unconsciously took a step away from her. Hands gripped into fists, he tried to level out his voice as he said, ¡°I¡­ I think it¡¯s about time I go home now.¡± Her face lit up and he felt like he¡¯d gotten punched in the gut. Even though he was 11 and shouldn¡¯t cry like a baby anymore, his eyes watered slightly at her obvious joy at him leaving. ¡°Do you need me to see you out?¡± She asked in a light voice. He only managed to choke out a ¡°no thank you¡± before almost fleeing from her. Rose #2 ¡°What did you do to the Crown Prince?¡± Duke Florentine asked a few weeks later. Camilla was eating lunch when her father, who should have been working, barged in to question her. ¡°Pardon?¡± ¡°He¡¯s been rejecting any suggestion of visiting again after coming over three weeks ago.¡± She raised her eyebrows, ¡°Did he say why?¡± ¡°He says he¡¯s busy.¡± ¡°There you go then, why blame me for him being busy?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it obvious he¡¯s just making up an excuse to avoid coming here?!¡± Camilla put her fork down and turned her body to fully face Duke Florentine. ¡°I barely know him, even if he¡¯s making an excuse how would I know the reason behind it? And he¡¯s the Crown Prince, he can come or not come as he likes. That he was nice enough to give an excuse when you asked is already something.¡± Duke Florentine''s face flushed with anger. Even though she was technically correct, it was clear she was using ¡®the truth¡¯ as a way to cover up her own bad behavior. ¡°I know you did something.¡± She looked at him innocently, ¡°I have no idea what you¡¯re talking about.¡± ¡°Whatever it is you did, apologize!¡± ¡°I¡¯m not going to apologize for no good reason!¡± ¡°You¡ª¡± His hand raised instinctively, causing her to give a high pitched laugh. ¡°Go ahead, hit me! Then it¡¯ll be YOU giving excuses for why I can¡¯t see the Crown Prince!¡± Duke Florentine¡¯s hand dropped immediately, so angry he felt like he¡¯d explode. Hands clenched and veins popping, he turned around and left without any further word. From behind he heard a mocking, ¡°Farewell, Duke Florentine.¡± His pace quickened, though this time as if he were fleeing. *** ¡°I¡¯ve thought about what you said.¡± Albert looked across the small table, covered in tea and sweets, at his fiance. ¡°After watching the people around me, it does seem they don¡¯t really see me, just my title as Crown Prince.¡± It was currently just the two of them, sitting outside with a big umbrella over head to keep the sun off. The servants were at a distance and had been told not to come close. She gave him a rather nasty ¡°I told you so¡± smile. ¡°But there is one thing I don¡¯t understand.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± ¡°In the example you gave, of two boys being forced together by their parents, wouldn¡¯t the boy who didn¡¯t want to be there be better off trying to get along? I mean, since the parents are insisting, why not make the best of it? Why be miserable when he can play along and get¡­ if not a friend¡­ at least an ally?¡± She popped a tiny cookie in her mouth and looked thoughtful, ¡°Would I get an ally if I played along with our parents?¡± ¡°O-of course!¡±Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Then, when the time comes, would you publicly denounce me and call off the engagement?¡± ¡°Eh? What? How did you come to that conclusion?¡± ¡°The way I see it, we¡¯re too young and can¡¯t do anything about our parents decisions. But when we¡¯re older, if we set things up just so, we can force their hand.¡± ¡°How would you force them though¡­?¡± ¡°Like I said, break the engagement.¡± ¡°But how exactly?¡± ¡°Hmmm.¡± She leaned back in a rather unladylike manner, gulping down her tea. She then leaned back forward and slammed the tea cup down and laughed heartily, ¡°I got it! We¡¯ll both be going to the royal academy when we¡¯re 12, right?¡± He nodded. ¡°In our last year they hold a big ball, don¡¯t they?¡± He nodded, slower this time. ¡°If we can find a good enough excuse, during that ball, you can publicly break off our engagement before the entire student body and all the teachers. I heard that sometimes parents attend too, as chaperones. So that¡¯s even more witnesses! They won¡¯t be able to repair the damage if we both agree to break up.¡± ¡°But¡ª but what kind of excuse could we give?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­. You can find a girl you truly love at school and say I bullied her.¡± Albert furrowed his brow, ¡°Would that even work¡­?¡± ¡°Sure, sure, as long as the girl is really good quality and I¡¯m particularly malicious. Bullying a citizen really isn¡¯t befitting a future queen, you can use my lack of moral character as a good reason to break things off. Then you can show your father the other girl, who should be a good enough replacement, and walla! We¡¯re done!¡± He thought over what she suggested and a deep frown appeared on his face. ¡°But won¡¯t people think you¡¯re a really bad person if we do it that way?¡± She shrugged, ¡°Eh, who cares what anyone here thinks? I plan on moving after I graduated anyway.¡± ¡°Moving? To where?¡± ¡°Republic of Rynar.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t they hate nobles?!¡± ¡°Sure do, so I won¡¯t be one.¡± ¡°..won¡¯t..won¡¯t be one..?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, I¡¯m gonna work like a commoner and live how I like!¡± His mouth fell open. ¡°Are you crazy?!¡± ¡°With my education at the royal academy, finding a job over there won¡¯t be too hard.¡± ¡°But you¡¯ll be leaving your whole family behind!¡± She laughed bitterly, ¡°I won¡¯t. There¡¯s only Duke Florentine and he¡¯s not often home. He won¡¯t miss me.¡± Albert felt anxious at her tone for some reason. ¡°That¡¯s not true¡­ I¡¯m sure your father will miss you.¡± ¡°He won¡¯t. In fact, I¡¯m sure he¡¯s looking to adopt a son even now.¡± ¡°Huh? Why?¡± ¡°What do you mean, why? I¡¯m marrying into your family and I¡¯m an only child. If he doesn¡¯t find someone to take over the fief, when he dies it will go to whoever is our nearest relative that¡¯s of-age. You think he¡¯ll let that happen?¡± She snorted. ¡°Never. So he¡¯s going to find someone to pass the title to, a boy from who-knows-where. He won¡¯t need me once he¡¯s found that person.¡± ¡°He could name one of his gran-gran-grandchildren as his heir.¡± Albert blushed at the mention of grandchildren and glanced at her shyly. Camilla was completely unaffected. ¡°Not if I don¡¯t have any or I¡¯m so far away that even if I have some, he¡¯ll never find out.¡± Albert¡¯s shoulders slumped by her cold-hearted reaction. He wasn¡¯t interested in the sweets or tea now. ¡°You really don¡¯t want to marry me that much?¡± His eyes watered slightly despite himself, ¡°To the point you¡¯d rather flee to a country that beheads nobles?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t try and make me feel guilty for something that¡¯s not my fault.¡± She glared at him in annoyance. ¡°I never agreed to this engagement from the beginning. It was Duke Florentine who assumed I¡¯d be fine with it. You want to make someone feel guilty? Go find the Duke and make him drown in guilt!¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t tr-trying to make you feel guilty¡­¡± ¡°Then stop crying!¡± ¡°I¡¯m not crying!¡± He sniffled loudly and then, glancing at her nervously, he tried suggesting, ¡°Even if you don¡¯t agree to the engagement now, maybe you will later¡ª?¡± She slammed her fist on the table, causing the dishware to jangle and Albert to jump. ¡°I will not marry you. I will not become queen.¡± Her fierce eyes pierced through him, ¡°If you try and push for that, I¡¯ll make you so miserable you¡¯ll wish you¡¯d never seen my face. So. Don¡¯t. Do. It. Understand?¡± His whole body shook under her intimidating glare. Her ability to press someone with a look was very similar to his father¡¯s, the king, ability to scare a person at a glance. Because it was so similar to his father¡¯s stare, he felt his spirit quake in fear and immediately submitted. ¡°Okay, okay, we¡¯ll do it your way.¡± Her fisted hand loosened at his words and she smiled happily, picking up a cookie and throwing it into her mouth. As she was munching away, she said amicably, ¡°As long as you agree to break the engagement later, we can be allies¡­ nay, comrades with a common goal!¡± Her earlier aura of fury had disappeared and Albert felt like he could breathe again. ¡°What about¡­ er¡­ what about friends?¡± She paused her munching, eyes squinting thoughtfully. He trembled slightly, wondering if he¡¯d asked for too much just then. ¡°Oh alright, I guess friends are fine too.¡± She giggled, this time like the innocent 10 year old she supposedly was, ¡°Friends then!¡± She raised her tea cup, as if toasting. He quickly followed suit. ¡°To friendship!¡± He hurriedly confirmed. Rose #3 ¡°Have you found one?¡± ¡°Back off Cammy, I¡¯m trying!¡± Camilla was 12 and Albert was 13. They were now both in the Royal Academy, but only met before and after school hours, plus occasionally during lunch when the times overlapped. They were standing in a corner of the campus that wasn¡¯t used often. ¡°You got here an entire year earlier than me, what¡¯s taking so long?¡± She poked his side continuously. He laughed against his will and jerked to the side, glaring at her for touching his ticklish spot. ¡°This isn¡¯t like picking out a horse, you know. If I¡¯m going to break things off with you, I¡¯ve got to find a better girl to replace you.¡± He huffed. ¡°Do you know how hard that is?¡± She rolled her eyes, ¡°How hard can it be? I¡¯m not that special!¡± ¡°You¡¯re the daughter of Duke Florentine, one of four dukes in the entire country! Of course you¡¯re special.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t just look at a girl¡¯s parents to determine her worth,¡± She tut-tutted at him like he was dumb. ¡°This is the girl you¡¯ll spend your whole life with. You need to find someone you like PERSONALLY and then go from there.¡± ¡°That¡¯s easy for you to say¡­ who¡¯s got to convince my father to allow for the switch¡­¡± He grumbled, the shadow on his heart seeming to intensify. Two years had passed and he still could not convince Camilla that he was worth marrying. He didn¡¯t dare SAY he was trying to impress her, because even hinting at such a thing meant the following weeks between them would be miserable. He could only express it through his actions. Whether it was hunting, sword, academics, or manners, he worked desperately to excel at everything. If he was better than every other man in her life, he was sure she would acknowledge him. After all, what kind of girl would pick the lesser option? So he must always be the better pick. Though he¡¯d been dedicated to becoming a good Crown Prince before meeting her, his zeal to excel in every area of life had unintentionally impressed everyone else. There were already rumors about how amazing he was and some people started calling him ¡°the Perfect Prince¡± behind his back. Alas, the one person he wanted to impress, was not impressed. Or more precisely, she wasn¡¯t impressed to the point of falling in love with him. As a friend, she was always very encouraging and complimented his hard work. But that¡¯s as far as it went. ¡°Well, I suppose it¡¯s true that your father would be difficult to impress¡­¡± She pressed her lips together thoughtfully. ¡°Still, it won¡¯t do any good if you don¡¯t like the girl you¡¯re going to marry. So pick the one you like first and then we¡¯ll put our heads together about getting your father to accept her.¡± Albert glanced at her morously but didn¡¯t refute her. He really wished he hadn¡¯t fallen in love with her.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. **** ¡°She looks pretty good. I give you full marks for your taste in women.¡± Bethany, the daughter of a Viscount, stood in a corner of the campus with the Crown Prince and the notorious Camilla Florentine looking very confused. While Camilla was known for her fiery temper, bright tightly curled blond hair and blue eyes that could freeze her enemies, Bethany was known for her gentleness and intelligence, she had fluffy brown hair and dark green eyes. Camilla was tall and salaciously curved while Bethany was short and petite. They were visual opposites. Bethany and Camilla were in different classes. They didn¡¯t know each other well, only crossing paths in the hallway or at lunch. Prince Albert was a year older than them and his classes were on a different floor of the building. She knew him even less. Yet he¡¯d called her out and, under everyone¡¯s eyes, started walking her to the dorms every day at the end of school. As a Viscount¡¯s daughter who only got in because of her brains, catching the attention of the Crown Prince had almost given her palpitations. He asked her all kinds of questions as he walked her to her dorms. It was very strange, because it was like he wanted to get to know about her but was also keeping a distance between them. Her brain wasn¡¯t for show. It was very clear to her that the Crown Prince wasn¡¯t giving her attention because he¡¯d suddenly fallen in love with her. It was just that she couldn¡¯t figure out what he wanted otherwise. Being seen with her was definitely not to his advantage and might actually get them both in trouble. Camilla Florentine and Prince Albert had been engaged since they were 10 and 11 respectively, and now they were 15 and 16. They were often seen talking on campus and got along well, sometimes helping each other out with projects forced on them by the school administrators. No one dared interfere with their relationship. This naturally included Bethany. If Miss Camilla misunderstood because of the rumors floating around between her and the Prince¡­ Bethany didn¡¯t want to think what would happen. She¡¯d seen first hand the kind of temper Camilla had and she didn¡¯t want to ever be its target¡­ Her hands shook slightly at how uncomfortable she felt but she managed to greet Camilla properly. ¡°Good evening Miss Camilla.¡± She glanced between the girl and boy and took a guess, ¡°Did you two want to have a word with me?¡± Camilla put her hands on her hips and grinned broadly. ¡°Indeed we do! How would you like to be the next queen?¡± ***** ¡°Did you hear about the Viscount¡¯s daughter?¡± ¡°Uh.. the one who got in via scholarship?¡± ¡°That¡¯s the one!¡± ¡°Ah, what¡¯s to hear then? She gets top marks every quarter. All I hear from mum and dad now is why I¡¯m not at least as good as her. What are they expecting from me, huh? I heard she¡¯s the genius of the century¡ª¡± ¡°Did studying make your brain stupid? I¡¯m talking about her and the prince!¡± ¡°Oh that¡­.¡± ¡°What do you ¡°Oh that¡±!? Some riffraff Viscount¡¯s daughter is making the moves on the Crown Prince!¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it rude to call the smartest person in the school riffraff? It¡¯s not like her dad being a Viscount is bad or anything¡­¡± ¡°Fine, whatever! She¡¯s not a riffraff! But she¡¯s definitely going after another girl¡¯s man!¡± ¡°Are you sure the Prince isn¡¯t making the moves on her?¡± ¡°THE CROWN PRINCE WOULD NEVER!¡± ¡°Gah, don¡¯t scream in my ear!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t say something stupid then!¡± ¡°But it¡¯s not stupid! You aren¡¯t in her class like I am. I¡¯ve seen how they interact and it¡¯s always the Prince looking for her not the other way around¡ª¡± ¡°Shows what you know! I¡¯m in Camilla Florentine¡¯s class! I heard directly from Lady Camilla that the Prince is being taken from her and she¡¯s heartbroken over it!¡± ¡°...are you sure you heard that right..?¡± ¡°I said DIRECTLY FROM HER.¡± ¡°Weird. He¡¯s been a skirt-chaser all this time and she never cared¡­¡± ¡°I TOLD YOU THE PRINCE ISN¡¯T LIKE THAT!¡± ¡°You¡¯re just saying that because he¡¯s chased your skirt too. I bet you¡¯re just jealous of Bethany!¡± ¡°Why you¡ª¡± SLAP. PUSH. ¡°ARG!¡± ¡°GAH!¡± ¡°Holy cra¡ª¡± ¡°Did she just slap that¡ª¡± ¡°Fight, fight, fight!¡± ¡°The girls are fighting, woah!¡± ¡°Kick her in the balls!¡± ¡°Girls don¡¯t have balls stupid!¡± ¡°Oh right then.. er... Go for the boobs!¡± ¡°God I¡¯m surrounded by idiots¡ªCan someone PLEASE get a teacher!¡± Rose #4 ¡°Was it REALLY necessary to stir up your lackeys to the point they start fist fights in school?¡± Camilla rubbed the bridge of her nose, embarrassed, ¡°I didn¡¯t think they¡¯d take things that far...¡± ¡°If they¡¯re that crazy, they might really hurt Bethany. Could you live with yourself if something really happened to her?¡± ¡°...no¡­¡± ¡°I thought so.¡± Albert sighed. ¡°I wish she hadn¡¯t agreed to this stupid plan. She might really get hurt because of it.¡± Camilla propped her hand under her chin and grinned, ¡°So protective!¡± ¡°Shove off!¡± He glared at her, but his ears had turned red despite himself. ¡°Don¡¯t be like that.¡± She said while adding more sugar to her already overly sweetened coffee. They were in a recently opened cafe that was away from the Academy, and thus away from the nosy students. Albert shuttered at the sight, ¡°How can you drink that sugar-sludge?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to hear that from a cookie fanatic.¡± While Camilla was turning her coffee white with all the sugar, there was a pile of cookies in front of Albert. For every sip of coffee, which he drank black, he ate a cookie. He had few indulgences, cookies were one of them. ¡°Anyway, when are you going to start with the ¡°real¡± bullying?¡± ¡°Soon.¡± She sipped her coffee and smacked her lips, ignoring noble etiquette completely. ¡°I told you before, this has to go down in front of the whole school and the Winter Ball is the best time for that.¡± ¡°That¡¯s in 6 months isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Yep. In another week or two I¡¯ll get together with Bethany and we¡¯ll start planning the ¡°real¡± bullying.¡± She looked thoughtful, ¡°But we won¡¯t start until about 3 months before the ball.¡± ¡°Is that a good idea?¡± Albert brow wrinkled, ¡°Ever since you turned 16, the Dean¡¯s been forcing you to help with the prep for that. You know he¡¯ll volun-force you again this year.¡± She made an annoyed face, ¡°It¡¯ll be a tight squeeze but I¡¯ve been planning this a long time so it should be fine.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true¡­¡± Albert muttered, his eyes unfocusing as he sipped his bitter coffee and immediately put a cookie in his mouth. They both drank and ate silently for several minutes. It was a peaceful kind of quiet, without any sense of anticipation or nervousness. It was exactly like two friends enjoying each other¡¯s company. ¡°You know¡­¡± ¡°Hm?¡± Albert cleared his throat, ¡°Bethany is¡­ is actually a really good girl.¡± ¡°That so?¡± ¡°She¡¯s a lot smarter than I am.¡± This caused Camilla to raise her eyebrows in surprise. Albert worked like a dog to be the best, getting his acknowledgement was really something. ¡°At first I just thought¡­ well, she¡¯s cute enough and seems kind, plus she¡¯s intelligent so I can hold conversations with her¡­¡± He fiddled with the handle of his coffee cup, ¡°..but after spending time with her, I realized she¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°Amazing?¡± Camilla supplied with a wide grin. Albert, who usually kept an passively friendly expression on his face, suddenly looked very soft, his eyes practically gushing with affection. ¡°...yeah.¡± ¡°Then she¡¯s perfect for you.¡± Camilla lips curved up in amusement. ¡°Two amazing people getting together. Like God planned it himself.¡±This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. Albert pursed his lips, his earlier soft expression gone. ¡°You¡¯re amazing too.¡± ¡°Eh, I¡¯m alright. Compared to you two¡­¡± She shrugged. ¡°I can¡¯t compete in test scores or horseback riding or dancing¡ª¡± ¡°That¡¯s because you hate dancing and don¡¯t even try!¡± ¡°Heh!¡± She didn¡¯t bother denying it. ¡°Your scores aren¡¯t bad though, you¡¯re always in the top 10.¡± ¡°I say, don¡¯t coddle me. I¡¯m EXACTLY at 10, every time.¡± She snorted and then laughed, ¡°Well, my point is I¡¯m not amazing. At best I might be called excellent. And if you¡¯re talking about personality, I¡¯m definitely no good.¡± Albert¡¯s face cramped and he didn¡¯t deny it. She was bossy and domineering, doing things how she liked and often not considering the feelings of those around her. But everyone had flaws and she had her good points. What really made her ¡°no good¡± to him was how she¡¯d caused his feelings of love for her to wither into nothing. He had worked hard for years to get her approval and only this year, at 18, that he figured out he¡¯d never get it. She¡¯d never accept him as her real fiance. It would only be a friend. He¡¯d silently cried in his bed all night when the reality finally sunk in. At first he felt like he¡¯d wasted his life and resented Camilla for her callous indifference. But as the night wore on, he realized all he¡¯d gained from liking her was a stellar reputation and the admiration of adults and peers alike. As for the heartbreak¡­ she¡¯d told him from the beginning she¡¯d never be his, it was his own fault for hoping. The next day he straightened himself up, made sure none of his sorrow showed on his face, and went about his day just like always. No one seemed to notice anything was off. He felt relieved and irritated that people he thought he was close to, couldn¡¯t tell he¡¯d been crying all night. But at the same time he didn¡¯t want to be questioned so it was also good they didn¡¯t notice. Over all, he was an emotional mess. Then he met Bethany, just like always, after classes ended. He¡¯d been taking her home regularly for two years. This was the final action of the day. Afterward, he could finally go to his room and continue staring at the ceiling for hours in solitary misery. When they got near her dorm building she stopped and asked him if he was alright. Despite the time they¡¯d been together, he hadn¡¯t felt particularly close to her. He always made sure to keep his ¡°perfect Prince¡± facade on while she was around. It was a surprise that she¡¯d noticed. The person he hadn¡¯t expected to see, had seen. His heart was touched. From that point on, he began paying real attention to Bethany. He always thought she was a good person, but when he looked at her properly, he discovered she was sweet, kind, generous, funny, smart¡­ and the list went on. The heart that had been thoroughly broken, mended again. And what had originally been unwilling participation became something real. He really did like Bethany. ¡°Well, enough about me. When are you going to tell Bethany you love her?¡± He froze. ¡°W-w-w-w-what?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t w-w-w-what me. She agreed to help us cancel our engagement, but as for being queen¡­. She never actually agreed to that.¡± ¡°No, but didn¡¯t she? When we first explained it to her, she very clearly said yes.¡± Camilla raised an index finger and shook it. ¡°No, no. Think back carefully. What she agreed to was helping us break out engagement and then pretending to be your new lover afterward. That is not the same as her agreeing to marry you.¡± Albert thought back and realized she was right. His whole face paled noticeably. If his relationship with Bethany ended up like Camilla, he might just go to the mountains and become a monk! ¡°Why did she agree if it wasn¡¯t to be queen!?¡± ¡°You silly man, isn¡¯t it because she felt bad for us?¡± ¡°But that¡¯s¡ª¡± Camilla rubbed her chin, ¡°It¡¯s her one flaw you know. She¡¯s got too much compassion. When you nab her, you¡¯ll have to compensate by being ruthless. Do you think you can do it?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t talk like it¡¯s a definite thing she¡¯ll say yes!¡± She blinked in surprise at his lack of confidence. ¡°Isn¡¯t it a definite thing?¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t¡ª¡± He blurted out and wanted to smack himself. Covering his face, he didn¡¯t dare look at the young lady across from him. Though they didn¡¯t say it, they both understood he¡¯d tried winning her over all these years. That it had failed left him embarrassed to this day. He heard her sigh and he peeked through his fingers. ¡°Oh stop that.¡± She grabbed his hands and pinned them down onto the table. ¡°I¡¯m not angry about it.¡± He squinted at her, unbelieving. Previously if he even breathed that he was trying to win her over, she¡¯d turn into a demon incarnate. ¡°I¡¯m really not.¡± She rubbed the back of her neck, looking uncomfortable. ¡°In fact, I¡¯m sorry if I left a scar by constantly rejecting you.¡± ¡°You¡­ you¡¯re sorry? I didn¡¯t know you felt regret...¡± ¡°...do you want me to punch you?¡± ¡°I mean, thank you for apologizing.¡± ¡°That¡¯s better.¡± She smirked and then looked a little sad. ¡°I only got angry because I wanted to make it clear we couldn¡¯t be together. If I was gentle or tried to play it down, you might get your hopes up.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± ¡°Anyway, just because I¡¯m an impossible catch,¡± He rolled his eyes at her phrasing, ¡°doesn¡¯t mean other women will be the same. In fact, I think Bethany would be fairly easy to win over. She already likes you as a person, it¡¯ll just take a little push in the right direction to get things going. Maybe some kind of misundersta¡ª oh yes, like the one we¡¯re making right now.¡± ¡°What?¡± Albert looked at her in confusion. ¡°I just saw Bethany peeking at us through the window. I rather suspect she thinks we¡¯re on a date. She looked awwwwwful upset for someone who doesn¡¯t have any interest in you.¡± ¡°But she knows we¡¯re just friends!¡± Camilla raised an eyebrow, ¡°Does she though?¡± He stood up immediately, grabbed his suitcase and said as he was leaving, ¡°I¡¯ll talk to you later!¡± Camilla watched as he ran past the window and chuckled. ¡°Your welcome, Miss Heroine.¡± Rose #5 ¡°Camilla Florentine, I rescind our engagement!¡± ¡°But why?!¡± ¡°What do you mean why? Everyone knows you¡¯ve become a ruthless woman, viciously bullying other students!¡± ¡°I never!¡± ¡°You did!¡± ¡°What proof do you have?¡± ¡°Bethany Alfort is my proof!¡± An immaculately dressed Albert raised his hand and an equally beautifully dressed Bethany took it. Albert put his arm over her shoulder protectively, ¡°Destroying her school bag, ripping apart her textbooks, defacing her desk¡ª¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have proof I did those things!¡± ¡°Tacks in her shoes, needles in her gym clothes¡ª¡± ¡°Even if I did them, you can¡¯t break our engagement just for that!¡± ¡°Last week you pushed her down the stairs and nearly killed her!¡± ¡°Who says!¡± Albert looked around at the packed ballroom, ¡°Witnesses of Camilla Florentine bullying Miss Bethany as I described, speak up!¡± In the crowd, three students and a teacher stepped forward. The adorable student said, ¡°I saw her scribbling all over Miss Bethany¡¯s desk! Cutting up her stuff!¡± Then eyed Camilla angrily, ¡°You vicious woman!¡± The muscular student added gruffly, ¡°I saw her put tacks in Miss Bethany¡¯s shoes!¡± The tall, towering student with glasses said gravely, ¡°I saw her put the needle sewed gym clothes back in her locker.¡± ¡°And I,¡± The teacher looked heartbroken, ¡°Saw her push Miss Bethany down the stairs.¡± Camilla heard the witnesses, all of which had stellar reputations¡ª one even being a popular teacher, and suddenly collapsed on the ground, face pale with fear. ¡°I¡ª I¡ª I¡ª¡± She grabbed her hair and shouted madly, ¡°She was flirting with my fiance! She¡¯s a filthy hussy stealing people¡¯s men! Why can¡¯t I hate her?!¡± ¡°Camilla what you did was attempted murder!¡± Eyes bloodshot, she pointed at Bethany and screeched, ¡°SHE DESERVES TO DIE!¡± Everyone gasped in shock. Because they were focused on Camilla¡¯s fast fall into insanity they didn¡¯t notice Albert tremble slightly and his lips twitch. Bethany pressed her face onto his chest, shaking as if afraid, while she whispered in repressed humor, ¡°She should have joined the drama club with acting that good.¡± Albert lowered his head, gently smoothing her hair as if to comfort her and whispered in reply, ¡°Stop that, I¡¯m already dying from trying not to laugh.¡± He looked back up and forced his face into a severe expression, ¡°Murderous tendencies, a small petty heart and a mind filled with vicious schemes... If you become the example that good ladies should follow, will there be any good ladies left in our country?! Camilla Florentine, you¡¯ve proven you¡¯re unfit to be queen of this great nation. I say again, I strip you from your position as my fiance!¡± ¡°No, no, no, Crown Prince, Albert, please¡ª!¡± Camilla practically crawled forward and grabbed his pants, face ugly from crying. ¡°I¡¯ve studied and worked so hard to be queen! If you take this away from me, what will I have left?!¡± Albert ignored her and looked towards the crowd, ¡°Who witnesses this engagement annulment?¡± The four witnesses from earlier walked over to the Crown Prince and knelt. They were: Daren Wallsby, son of the wealthiest merchant in the country, Carter Tillbond, knight-in-training, Edgar Bellz, son of Duke Bellz and lastly, Zack Porter, philosophy and natural studies teacher. Together they called out, ¡°We witnessed the annulment!¡± ¡°Very good, when someone comes later to ask, you must honestly recount what you¡¯ve seen and heard today.¡± Albert gave them a knowing look. ¡°Don¡¯t leave anything out, do you understand?¡± ¡°Yes, your highness!¡± The crowds, which were unofficial witnesses, began whispering amongst themselves. ¡°Now, as to her attempted murder of a fellow student. I think expelling her from school and exiling her is a small punish¡ª¡± ¡°Wait!¡± Bethany cried out. She looked down on the still sobbing Camilla at Albert¡¯s feet with sympathy. She knelt down and took Camilla¡¯s hands into her own. Though she was looking at Camilla, Bethany spoke to Albert, ¡°Please don¡¯t expel or exile her.¡± Albert frowned, ¡°But my love¡­¡± ¡°Albert, even though she did all that to me, she is still a lady. How will she survive if she can¡¯t even graduate? Please have mercy.¡± Bethany looked at Albert with shining doelike eyes. ¡°Albert, darling, please?¡±Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Even though she was acting, Bethany¡¯s stare was like cupid¡¯s arrow and almost brought him to his knees. His heart cried out: She called me darling! If she were any more beautiful, I think I might die! Arg, when will this nonsense be over so I can take her into my arms and¡ª ¡°Oy you two, stop flirting.¡± They both heard a furious whisper from the supposedly insane and distraught Camilla, sobbing on the ground. Albert snapped out of his stupor and glared down at Camilla. ¡°Even though you don¡¯t deserve it, for my love¡¯s sake, I will do as she asks.¡± Camilla suddenly sat up and viciously slapped Bethany, who was hit so hard she flew sideways. ¡°I DON¡¯T NEED THIS HUSSY¡¯S SYMPATHY!¡± She screeched madly and began attacking Bethany in a frenzy. ¡°Bethany!¡± Albert cried out, immediately going to his lady love and trying to separate the two. He turned to the crowd and demanded, ¡°Is everyone stupid? Help me separate them!¡± Mr Porter, the teacher, and the sturdy knight-in-training Carter Tillbond rushed forward to pull Camilla away. She was dragged out of the ballroom, ranting and raving about how she wished Bethany would die, and then die again. It was only after the ball doors had closed and they¡¯d come to an empty hallway that Camilla stopped her ranting. She went silent and slumped between the two men, exhausted. Mr Porter wrapped her arm around his shoulders and brought her to a small room used by the school facility they¡¯d chosen in advance. After she sat down and the door was closed, Carter spoke up excitedly. ¡°Miss Camilla, that was amazing! You should join the opera!¡± ¡°Uuuuugh. My throat hurts¡­.¡± Came Camilla¡¯s response and coughed, her throat raw from the screeching. ¡°Here, drink this water.¡± Mr Porter handed her a simple cup, rubbing her back sympathetically. ¡°I still think you should have worked this out with your parents.¡± ¡°If I could have changed Duke Florentine¡¯s mind,¡± Camilla croaked, ¡°I would have done it years ago Mr Porter.¡± Mr Porter sighed, his expression worried. They¡¯d argued about this point several times already but it was because she was right that he¡¯d gone along with the plan. As an equalist, he despised forced marriages. Carter was all questions at this point and, being the forthright kind of person, immediately started asking. ¡°Did you really slap Miss Bethany?¡± ¡°Of course I didn¡¯t slap her.¡± ¡°Then how did you..?¡± ¡°It¡¯s all about angles.¡± Camilla cleared her throat and took another big swig of water. ¡°I didn¡¯t get close to her face, you know. It just looked like it to everyone else.¡± ¡°Did you think that up?¡± ¡°I did.¡± ¡°Amazing! I didn¡¯t know that could be done¡­ you should teach me sometime...¡± ¡°How about you focus on your actual studies instead?¡± Mr Porter scolded the young man and looked at Camilla in exasperation, ¡°Why is it weird things like this that you¡¯re good at and never anything that matters?¡± ¡°Heh, it¡¯s not just me that¡¯s good at it. Bethany really perfected the I¡¯m-getting-slapped reaction.¡± Camilla nodded seriously, ¡°No matter how good I made the slapping motion, how the person pretending to take the hit reacts is a big part of making it believable. And, Mr Porter, who says it doesn¡¯t matter? It came in useful today.¡± There was a knock on the door and they all went silent. Carter went over and opened the door to see who it was and immediately sighed in relief. Daren Wallsby, the merchant¡¯s son, came in carrying a plate of finger foods, obviously taken from the ballroom. He was a cutie-patootie, short like a girl, and had an adorable baby face. Every girl in school loved him but at the same time none would date him. They all viewed him like a little brother. He gave Camilla a charming smile, raised the platter, and bowed like a fancy waiter. ¡°I come bearing food!¡± ¡°Ah, thank you, I¡¯m starving.¡± Camilla didn¡¯t stand on ceremony and immediately took the plate and began devouring the food. She¡¯d eaten a small lunch and no dinner because of nerves. ¡°How¡¯s everything out there?¡± Daren raised two thumbs, ¡°We got the conversation flowing in the right direction. Everyone feels that you were right to be angry at the Crown Prince for cheating but that how you handled your anger really wasn¡¯t befitting a queen. That you get to stay in school is showing just the right kind of mercy, making the Prince¡¯s dubious behavior a little more tolerable. Since the Crown Prince denounced you and you acted crazy at the end, people will likely keep their distance too. As far as everyone is concerned the engagement is officially annulled.¡± He raised an eyebrow. ¡°You won¡¯t have many friends starting tomorrow.¡± ¡°If they can¡¯t tell I was putting on a show today, they weren¡¯t my real friends.¡± ¡°I guess that¡¯s true¡­¡± Daren turned to Carter. ¡°Prince Albert said you should head back to the ball¡­¡± ¡°Tsk!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be like that! If you¡¯re gone people will think it¡¯s weird.¡± ¡°But Mr Porter is staying¡­ lucky dog¡­¡± ¡°Of course HE¡¯S staying. No one would expect him to come back right after Miss Camilla¡¯s fantastic performance.¡± ¡°...but I don¡¯t like dancing¡­¡± ¡°Ugh, if it bothers you that much, just find a wallflower and keep her entertained.¡± ¡°...but girls and I are never on the same page¡­¡± ¡°You talk to Miss Bethany just fine!¡± ¡°She¡¯s different! She¡¯s an angel!¡± ¡°If you don¡¯t go back to that ball, I¡¯ll tell Prince Albert you¡¯re making eyes at his girl!¡± Carter¡¯s large frame shook slightly, ¡°I¡¯m not! I meant that neutrally, brotherly, not in any other way!¡± ¡°Yeah but he won¡¯t know that~¡± Daren grinned wickedly. Carter started to sweat. Daren could talk circles around him, there¡¯s no way he could win in a fight of words. The big teenager decided retreat was the better part of valor and hot footed it out of the room. But not before throwing out a rather whiny, ¡°You¡¯re a villain, did you know that?!¡± Camilla watched them in amusement. With bread and cheese in her mouth, she commented, ¡°Huh, I don¡¯t understand why you guys are afraid of Albert.¡± Daren rolled his eyes, ¡°That¡¯s because there¡¯s only three people Albert is afraid of: his father, his swordmaster, and you! Around you three he acts meek but the rest of us? Hah! That guy¡¯s definitely born to be king. Even I can¡¯t talk him out of something once he¡¯s decided.¡± Camilla looked shocked, ¡°How is it his mother isn¡¯t on that list? She¡¯s way scarier than I am!¡± ¡°She¡¯s fourth place.¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t that mean I took the Queen¡¯s place as number three?!¡± ¡°Is that really the thing to be stuck on?!¡± He sighed at her seeming carelessness. ¡°Really, why don¡¯t you ever worry about the right things.¡± ¡°The right things you say? And what would the right things be in this case?¡± ¡°Oh, I don¡¯t know, the fact that your reputation is in shambles, the only friends you¡¯ve got have to pretend to hate you, and you¡¯ll basically never get married now.¡± ¡°Aw, you¡¯re worried!¡± ¡°If I don¡¯t worry, who will?!¡± ¡°I¡¯m always worrying,¡± Mr Porter interjected. Daren gave him a huge eye roll. ¡°You''re a teacher, it¡¯s your job to worry about students. If you don¡¯t, what are our parents paying you for?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t make it sound like all I care about is the money.¡± ¡°Then what do you care for? Because you like us?!¡± ¡°...well, I certainly don¡¯t like you, you mouthy pipsqueak.¡± Daren sneered, ¡°If you think insulting my height is going to get me angry, have I got news for you.¡± ¡°Oh yeah?¡± Mr Porter glanced at Camilla and grinned viciously, ¡°How about the fact that I know who you¡¯ve got a crush on¡ª¡± ¡°YA BASTARD FIGHT ME!¡± Daren leapt forward in alarm, as if he was really going to start a fist fight with a teacher. Camilla picked up her plate of snacks and water in alarm and moved out of the way. Watching the tiny teenager have a go at the tall teacher was immensely entertaining. All Mr Porter had to do was stretch out a hand and push Daren away, while Daren flailed his arms about. She chuckled as she watched and then wondered¡­ Who did Daren have a crush on? Rose #6 ¡°Duke Florentine really isn¡¯t coming for your graduation?¡± Bethany and Camilla were currently hiding behind some bushes under an old tree, enjoying the leisurely pace of the last day of school. They only hung out in places students didn¡¯t frequent. If they happened to see each other in the hall, they had to pretend like they didn¡¯t exist in each other¡¯s eyes. Camilla gave a sly grin, ¡°That adopted brother of mine is scheduled to get deathly ill, preventing the Duke from attending.¡± ¡°...what do you mean scheduled?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want the Duke here.¡± She sniffed disdainfully, ¡°So I asked my little bro to pretend to be ill to keep him from leaving home.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not engaged to Albert anymore, why are you still holding a grudge?¡± Camilla cackled, ¡°Because that guy tried to sell me off to the royal family for his own gain! And never once did he attempt to correct his mistake! He even yelled at me after the engagement was annulled for humiliating him in front of the King. You think I¡¯d want anything to do with him after that?¡± ¡°But he¡¯s your dad, Cammy, your only one¡­¡± ¡°Is he though?¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Nevermind.¡± Camilla shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t really care if he comes or not.¡± Bethany stared at her sadly, her big doe eyes doing quite a bit of damage to Camilla¡¯s heart. ¡°Really, I don¡¯t care.¡± ¡°...if you say so¡­¡± Bethany had known Camilla for 3 years and understood her fairly well at this point, except for in this one area. When it came to the Duke Florentine, Camilla was cold as ice. If Bethany hadn¡¯t seen Duke Florentine once in person, she¡¯d have thought they might not be related with the way Camilla talked about her father. But seeing the Duke and Camilla together, it was obvious they were related by blood. Though Camilla said that her father had done something unforgivable, Bethany felt that was only an excuse. It seemed like Camilla didn¡¯t want to view the Duke as her father and was actively fighting against the notion, using what he¡¯d done with Albert as a shield to stop it from happening. Bethany had talked to Albert about this strange behavior, but he also didn¡¯t know what to do. There were times Camilla acted very out of step with everyone else. Trying to change this aspect of her was like trying to store the ocean in a cup, it was impossible. ¡°Are you really going to the Republic after this?¡± ¡°Yep, Daren talked with his dad, who¡¯s got connections over there. I¡¯ve been squirreling money away for years now, so I should have enough to buy a house and then I can work for a living for anything else. In the Republic I¡¯m considered an adult with full autonomy. The Duke can¡¯t order me back nor can he send people to forcefully take me back, as that would count as kidnapping. I¡¯ll be free to live life exactly as I want¡­ finally.¡± Bethany nodded, but couldn¡¯t help feeling glum about her friend leaving the country. Even if they could never be friends in public, in private Camilla had always been fun to be around. Her unique view the world gave life a distinct zest that was absent from everyone else. Camilla saw Bethany looking down, like a dejected puppy and felt her heart take a few more hits. It¡¯s no wonder Albert liked her so much. With this kind of adorable aura and lovable behavior, it made everyone around her want to treat her well. She reached out and awkwardly gave her frie-nemie¡¯s back a pat. ¡°Anyway, congratulations on convincing the King to approve your engagement with Albert.¡± ¡°Oh¡­¡± Bethany was momentarily distracted and managed a small smile, ¡°I don¡¯t know why you and Albert were so sure he¡¯d be difficult to convince. He was kind to me from the beginning.¡± ¡°That¡¯s because of your halo...¡± ¡°My what?¡± ¡°I mean, it¡¯s only because it was you. If it had been just Albert...¡± Camilla gave a wry chuckle, ¡°Do you realize when the King called you to the castle, it was originally to chuck his royal scepter at your head?¡± Bethany¡¯s eyes widened in surprise, ¡°What? No way! He¡¯s such a cutie¡ª¡± Camilla rolled her eyes, ¡°You¡¯re the only one who would describe him that way. I¡¯m pretty sure even the Queen wouldn¡¯t call him a ¡°cutie¡±.¡± ¡°Aw, don¡¯t say that! The Queen really loves the King!¡± ¡°I¡¯m not saying they don¡¯t love each other, but just imagining anyone but you calling that guy a ¡°cutie¡±...¡± Camilla shuddered slightly and then paused. ¡°Wait, have you ever told Albert you think of his Dad that way?!¡±This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Bethany shook her head, ¡°No, I thought Albert might think I was calling him cute, since I always say him and his Dad are so much alike. He really hates being called cute, I wonder why?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a guy thing. They all want to be handsome in the eyes for their girl.¡± ¡°Ooooooh.¡± Camilla cleared her throat, ¡°Well, any time you think the King is cute, keep that to yourself. Definitely don¡¯t tell Albert.¡± ¡°Would it really be that offensive?¡± ¡°Rather than offensive¡­¡± Camilla thought of the King, with his imposing aura and eyes that felt like they could kill you with a glance. ¡°...I think Albert might suffer a mental shock he¡¯ll never be able to recover from if you say his father is cute.¡± Bethany''s forehead wrinkled in confusion. ¡°Really? Really¡­ huh¡­ I don¡¯t understand why but¡­ if Cammy says so¡­.¡± Camilla really felt that Bethany¡¯s softness was both a blessing and a curse. Her ability to see the good in people, to think the best of their intentions, often caused those same people to unintentionally live up to her view of them. But the downside was that she sometimes didn¡¯t understand the real character of a person and would give them labels that others would consider downright weird, disrespectful, or even degrading. It was a good thing Albert had inherited his father¡¯s sharp intuition and had a solid, realistic view of the world around him. He could even be brutal when the circumstances called for it. His "feet firmly on the ground" mentality complimented Bethany''s gentle view of people. Together, they could be both just and merciful. ¡°Anyway,¡± Camilla decided to change the topic, ¡°once you guys have a solid date for the wedding, send me an invitation immediately, otherwise I may not be able to request time off from my new job¡ª¡± Upon hearing her mention the wedding, Bethany¡¯s expression dropped. ¡°Gah, what¡¯s with that face? I thought you WANTED to get married?!¡± ¡°I do but¡ª but¡ª¡± Her eyes watered slightly, ¡°It means you¡¯ll be gone!¡± Camilla gave a light laugh, trying to downplay her departure, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I promise I¡¯ll write to you once I¡¯m properly settled. We¡¯ll be the best of penpals¡ª¡± ¡°No, write to me the moment you arrive!¡± Bethany¡¯s lower lip quivered, ¡°And write Albert too! We¡¯ll both be worried sick if you don¡¯t!¡± ¡°Okay, okay, I promise I¡¯ll write to you both the moment I arrive.¡± ¡°Write along the way too!¡± ¡°Along the way? How many letters do you want from me exactly¡­¡± Bethany couldn¡¯t hold in her sadness over saying goodbye anymore and, embracing Camilla tightly, started sobbing. ¡°All of them, silly! I want all your letters! If you don¡¯t contact me, I¡¯ll have Albert send an army after you!¡± Camilla blinked, her eyes tearing up despite herself. ¡°Do you want to start a war over a letter?¡± ¡°What letter? It¡¯ll be because you¡¯re beautiful and they kidnapped you. They say beautiful women cause wars all the time!¡± This was too much for Camilla and she burst out laughing. *** ¡°Daren Wallsby? What are you doing here?¡± Camilla opened the door to her modestly sized house, puzzled at the unexpected guest. Daren was a year Camilla¡¯s junior. He¡¯d always had a baby face and was short, looking distinctly more cute than handsome. Of course his brain was anything but cute, filled with endless ways he wanted to strike it rich. When she¡¯d graduated, he¡¯d still been a shortie. Who knew in his last year of highschool he¡¯d hit a growth spurt? Who gets a growth spurt at 17?! Everyone said it was a miracle, including Camilla! Talk about a late bloomer! Of course his growth spurt didn¡¯t mean he¡¯d grown as tall as, say, Edgar Bellz¡ªthe heir to a duchy and the tallest boy in school when she was attending. What it meant was that he was now taller than Camilla by a solid inch, and Camilla was tall for a girl. All this to say Daren was still on the short side for a man, but could now at least claim that he ¡°looked down on the tallest girl (Camilla) he knew¡±. For the perennial shortie, that was enough to make him happy. ¡°Long time no see, Camilla!¡± He walked into her house without being invited, like he owned the place. ¡°It¡¯s almost two years, right? This house looks pretty nice, Albert and Bethany will be relieved when I send word back.¡± ¡°Er, did they send you to check up on me or something?¡± ¡°What?¡± He looked at her in surprise. ¡°No, no, but they asked me to thoroughly check out your living situation while I¡¯m here.¡± ¡°And why are you here exactly?¡± She asked again, watching him directly enter her living room and snoop without any shame. He sat down on her sofa, once again without getting permission, and raised his chin arrogantly, ¡°I¡¯m personally taking charge of the entire branch of WallGoods in the Republic!¡± ¡°Really? I thought your father was only letting you take over a single store¡­¡± Daren tapped the side of his nose, ¡°He did that already.¡± ¡°And¡­ he decided you were good enough to run a whole branch?¡± ¡°That¡¯s~ right~¡± Camilla put her hand on her forehead, ¡°Wow, that¡¯s¡­ you¡¯re really amazing.¡± ¡°Heh.¡± He grinned triumphantly. ¡°But why,¡± She lowered her hand and raised an eyebrow, ¡°Did you decide to just show up at my house?¡± ¡°Ah that¡­¡± He coughed and tried to look pitiful, ¡°I don¡¯t have a place to stay.¡± ¡°...what?¡± ¡°I decided to come a week early to give everyone a surprise inspection, but who knew there¡¯s some big holiday during this time? Inns and hotels are packed!¡± ¡°That¡¯s because it¡¯s the Republic¡¯s Independence Day. The biggest holiday of the year¡­¡± ¡°Ah¡­ that explains all the firecrackers¡­¡± ¡°How could you take over WallGoods in the Republic and not even know their major holidays?!¡± ¡°Heh, oops!¡± Camilla snorted, ¡°Just so you know, that cute look doesn¡¯t work anymore. You¡¯re too much like a man now.¡± Daren¡¯s face froze for a moment. His eyebrows rose slightly and then suddenly lowered, ¡°Hey, are you saying I¡¯m NOT a full man?!¡± She rubbed her chin, a skeptical look on her face. He opened his mouth as if he was going to argue and then seemed to think better of it. ¡°Never mind, never mind.¡± He took a deep breath, lips pursed. ¡°I won¡¯t argue with a person I¡¯m trying to ask a favor from.¡± ¡°Favor?¡± ¡°I told you, I have no place to stay¡­¡± ¡°...you can¡¯t possibly be thinking of staying here???¡± He gave her a pleading look. ¡°Doesn''t WallGoods have employees!? Go bother them for a room!¡± ¡°I already asked! They all have family over too! The entire city is packed!¡± He gave her sad eyes, ¡°You¡¯re the only person I know who would likely have a room available.¡± ¡°Ugh, you¡­¡± She rubbed her temple, not realizing she was the spitting image of her father in that moment. ¡°Fine! You can stay!¡± ¡°Thank you Camilla~¡± ¡°Don¡¯t thank me yet! I only have one bed and don¡¯t think I¡¯m giving that up to a squatter!¡± ¡°Hey, at least consider me your good ol¡¯ highschool pal!¡± She rolled her eyes, ¡°Just be glad I¡¯ve got a sofa and some spare sheets you can use¡­. I¡¯ll get those right now, so I don¡¯t have to do it later.¡± Camilla turned around and went to the hall with the linen closet, leaving Daren behind. He crossed his legs, one foot bouncing slightly. He looked immensely pleased with himself. Rose #7 Camilla sat across her tiny kitchen table and wondered where she went wrong. It had been a month but Daren was STILL in her house. After the third day he¡¯d arrived, he started working. Unexpectedly, he was gone almost the entire day and would come back late into the evening. Because he was coming back so late, she¡¯d given him a spare key to her house. This way she wouldn¡¯t be woken up by him trying to get in. But this simple act of self-courtesy had backfired. She never saw him when she was properly awake. And so she never got a chance to properly kick him out. It was to the point she couldn¡¯t even get her spare key back! From what she read in the newspaper, the WallGoods branch in the Republic wasn¡¯t doing very well. It seemed that Daren had been sent to knock sense into upper management and clean house where needed. The business section of the newspaper was filled with ¡°Today Daren Wallsby¡­¡± because of his bold and sometimes ruthless methods. Camilla didn¡¯t know anything about business, but she did wonder how merchants lived if they had such long work days. Won¡¯t working this much put them in an early grave? Even though she wanted him gone, at the same time she was worried about him working himself to death! As she was wondering if Darren had time to eat, she heard the door unlock. This was earlier than usual, so she went over to greet him. And hopefully kick him out. But then she saw his face. He looked absolutely exhausted. Like a dead man walking. Whatever she had meant to say got lodged in her throat. Instead she walked forward and helped him take his jacket off. He was so out of it, he jumped in surprise. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s you.¡± ¡°Who else would it be?¡± She asked in exasperation, hanging his jacket up. ¡°Do you want to sit in the kitchen? I just started seeping some tea¡­¡± He brightened slightly, ¡°Would you really? That¡¯d be lovely¡­¡± Without further prodding he plodded to the kitchen and sat down with a thump on the chair. She busied herself getting another tea cup and, since the tea had already been seeping a few minutes, she immediately began pouring it into the cup she¡¯d put down for him. He must have been really thirsty as he gulped down the tea instantly, likely not tasting anything at all. She poured him another cup, and then another. Once he got to the third one he finally slowed down. He let out a contented sigh and gave her a tired smile. ¡°I just wanted you to know, starting tomorrow, I¡¯ve got my own place.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± He took out the key and placed it on the table. He then reached back into his pocket and pulled out a thick stack of Republic dollars, pushing it towards her. She blanched at the amount. ¡°What are you doing? I didn¡¯t let you stay expecting to get paid!¡± She pushed it back towards him. ¡°Even if you weren¡¯t expecting it, I used your home and your household goods. It¡¯s only fair to compensate.¡± He pushed the money towards her again. ¡°I don¡¯t need this!¡± She pushed it back. ¡°I didn¡¯t say you needed it,¡± He pushed it towards her again, ¡°I just want to give it to you.¡± She grabbed the money halfway and stopped him. Grinding her teeth, she glared at him, ¡°Daren, we¡¯re friends. Friends don¡¯t need to pay each other.¡± ¡°We¡¯re not friends.¡± ¡°What?¡± This comment had surprised her so much she¡¯d loosened her grip on the money and it found its way in front of her again. ¡°What do you mean we¡¯re not friends? Then what are we?¡± He narrowed his eyes at her, a glint shining through the exhaustion. ¡°Well, I believe people in the Republic do a thing called dating, so we¡¯ll start there.¡± ¡°What?!¡± ¡°Mm, but not today. If I live in my¡­ what¡¯s it called here?... girlfriend, right, a girlfriend. If I live in my girlfriend¡¯s house, all kinds of nasty rumors will spring up.¡± ¡°I never said I¡¯d date you though!¡± He blinked, ¡°You¡¯re going to turn me down without even thinking about it?¡± Her mouth fell open. ¡°At least think about it.¡± He gave a cheeky grin. ¡°It¡¯s not like we have to date seriously. I hear dating in the Republic is often done just for fun. You have to admit dating a rich man would be all kinds of entertaining.¡± ¡°But you work all the time, when would we even date!¡± ¡°Ah, that¡¯s true, I¡¯d have to make time.¡± He raised an eyebrow, ¡°So that¡¯s a yes?¡± ¡°No!¡± ¡°Well, like I said, give it some thought before turning me down.¡± He gave a huge yawn. ¡°Anyway, I¡¯m exhausted. We¡¯ll talk more later.¡± He then promptly stood up and went to his ¡°sleep sofa¡± and passed out. Camilla didn¡¯t have any time to argue, he fell asleep so fast. She stood next to the sofa in a daze, wondering what just happened. Daren wanted to date her? Since when?! She fumbled towards her room and, as always, closed and locked it. Daren opened his eyes for a moment, his brow furrowed slightly while biting his lower lip. Then, he pulled up the blanket and really went to sleep. *** ¡°You punk, I don¡¯t care if your office is on fire, if you dare cancel on our anniversary, I swear to God I¡¯m going to beat you to an inch of your life. But you better be alive first, otherwise how can I keep my promise to God to throttle you?¡± Camilla sat alone in the cafe¡­ again. The over-sweetened tea had been left untouched after being drunk halfway. She was currently wavering between being furious and extremely anxious. There were various twists and turns but, sure enough, Camilla ended up dating Daren. They¡¯d been going out for over two years. Technically 3 years in two days, but they were celebrating a little early. Dating a businessman had turned out much more stressful than she¡¯d anticipated. At first, she hadn¡¯t minded that he worked all the time. Why would she mind? She¡¯d only dated him out of curiosity, not because she¡¯d fallen deeply in love with him. She also had her own life and worked full time. Basically, she wasn¡¯t that committed and liked having her own time without him. But as time passed, she found she¡¯d grown attached to him. She didn¡¯t know when exactly it went from like to love, but once the switch was made, she couldn¡¯t turn back. A lot of women liked Daren for his wealth and good looks. For her, it wasn¡¯t about his wealth or his appearance, though she did like how he looked. She¡¯d grown up a noble, engaged to a handsome prince, and now had a steady income thanks to her job. Daren brought nothing she hadn¡¯t experienced before, and frankly in better ways. If she went by what women typically wanted, she should have stayed a noble and married her prince. But she didn¡¯t, so what attracted her to Daren was none of the typical things. What she liked about Daren was the man himself, not the things he could give her with money. The first thing she liked about Daren was how he made her laugh. He often tried to act cute, though he¡¯d lost most of what made him cute to begin with. The gap between his actions and his appearance were both highly amusing and adorable. Sometimes he knew his actions weren¡¯t matching his looks, but sometimes he did it without realizing, which tickled her endlessly. He was good at planning but also good at rolling with the punches. No matter where they went or what they did, he always seemed to have a plan. And if he didn¡¯t have one for a particularly hairy situation, he would think of something on the fly. This gave her a strong sense of stability without ever feeling stifled or bored.The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. Though he liked her, his life doesn''t revolve around her. This was both good and bad. She appreciated his independent thinking and goals he had for his life, which had nothing to do with her. This was a breath of fresh air compared to Albert, who ONLY did well to impress her or his father. She felt a person who didn¡¯t have their own ambitions wasn¡¯t really living life. On the downside, his self motivation and strong work ethic meant she sometimes got set aside. Their dating was basically planned around his work. Regular dates would frequently get cancelled or moved to another time at the last minute. Sometimes she¡¯d find out several minutes BEFORE the date in question. Cancelling and rescheduling was so common that one of the ways he showed he cared was by making sure certain days of the year he would get off, come hell or high water. Anniversaries or birthdays or big holidays, he always made sure to be with her for those. That was why she was anxious, because he really wouldn¡¯t cancel a date on a day like today without a really good reason. He deeply cared about their relationship and fiercely protected it. To keep her out of the limelight, which she definitely didn¡¯t want to be in, he never told anyone WHO he was dating, only that he WAS dating. However, despite his adamant declarations of being in a relationship, newspapers would occasionally print groundless gossip about him being seen with this or that popular lady of the day. Any time these gossips got printed, he¡¯d find the newspaper and demand a retraction get printed the following day. He would then make sure Camilla understood in no uncertain terms he wasn¡¯t fooling around. At first he¡¯d shown sincerity by simply showering her with declarations of his love, but later it was being showered with kisses and then later¡­ That was the other thing she discovered she liked about him. To put it as mildly as possible: he was a very good kisser¡­. Cough. It¡¯s not like she¡¯d thought about this particular aspect all the time, but she had to admit it was important. How he loved her body reflected how he loved her. He was passionate but also accommodating, never doing anything that made her feel insecure or uncomfortable in those moments of intimate vulnerability. He made her feel beautiful and treasured. And he did so as if it was as natural as breathing. If she didn¡¯t fall, and fall hard, for a guy like that, she¡¯d have to be blind. But with her fall into love came an unpleasant realization: his constant absences because of work, which she¡¯d initially liked, had started to feel like an agonizing burden. She wanted him to spend more time with her, but she felt guilty asking him to make her a priority. Who was it that told him prioritizing his work wasn¡¯t a problem when they first started going out? To suddenly change the ¡°rules of the game¡± because she decided she liked him more¡­ exactly how could she explain it without admitting she¡¯d been ambivalent at the beginning? And wouldn¡¯t he be annoyed if she decided only now to get clingy and demand things? Plus, they were only dating. It wasn¡¯t like her native country, where there was only courtship-to-marry. Even though they¡¯d treated each other well, here dating was only slightly above a purely physical relationship between a man and a woman. To demand he change his life for her, that would be like asking to transition into a more serious relationship. Would he want that? He¡¯d never said he did. But then, she never talked about their future together either. In the past, she had been too embarrassed to mention a future together. What could she give him? She lost her title and her job was something his family connections got her. She was decent to look at but her personality was bad. Even if she wanted to shed her ¡°domineering villainess¡± attitude, it was too late. Being arrogant was second nature now. And he was so serious about his work. He wanted the Republic¡¯s branch to succeed and poured everything into making it happen. Hundreds of employees'' livelihood depended on him making it happen. If she selfishly demanded he put that aside just to relieve her ever increasing loneliness¡­ Honestly, her emotions were a mess all around but one thing was clear: they couldn¡¯t keep on like this. Her intention was to have a serious talk today about what their future held¡ª if anything. They¡¯d been together long enough that once she sorted out her own mind on an issue, she wouldn¡¯t hold it in. She wanted something more from him. Yes, she was nervous and scared and filled with doubt, but it was better to get that all out rationally than wait for it to explode and turn into an argument. After all, if their goals didn¡¯t match, then it was better to cut things off between them. That way, she could move on. It¡¯s not like she meant to go out with someone like Daren anyway. If things didn¡¯t work out between them, it wouldn¡¯t be all that shocking. It¡¯s just she really REALLY didn¡¯t want to break up with him... She¡¯d mentally prepared herself for a week to have this conversation, yet the man in question never showed up. ¡°What was I expecting? I¡¯m just the rebound for Bethany to a capture target anyway...¡± She muttered, her anxiety and anger combining into a depression. She picked up the tea she¡¯d been ignoring and took a gulp. And spit it back out. With tea dribbling out of her mouth, she lamented at her own stupidity: she¡¯d completely forgotten her sugar packed tea was stone cold! While she was wiping tea from her mouth a figure flashed by the large cafe window, red petals trailing behind them. Someone was running past the cafe. She¡¯d only just registered that¡¯s what happened when the cafe door flew open, almost violently, and Daren rushed over. ¡°What on earth¡­¡± She watched in shock as he walked up to her and leaned on her table, wheezing loudly, and slapped what must have originally been a bouquet of a dozen red roses on the table. There were currently only 7 roses left and even those were a mess. Daren was covered in sweat, to the point his hair was soaked, as if water had been poured on it. He held up a hand, as if to say something, only to keep wheezing loudly. ¡°G-goodness, sit down! Take deep breaths!¡± Camilla instructed, grabbing his moist arm and forcing him into the chair. A waitress had jogged over at his arrival, Camilla turned to her and said, ¡°You serve cold drinks, right? Give me the largest cold drink you have! Plus a separate water cup! No, a pitcher of water!¡± ¡°Yes ma¡¯am!¡± The waitress responded quickly and went to get the order. The water was brought first, which Daren almost inhaled. It was only after several minutes had passed that he was finally able to speak. ¡°Ah, Cammy, I¡¯m sorry I¡¯m late!¡± Where his first words once he¡¯d finally caught his breath. Apologizing without any excuses, despite obviously having some, instantly made her angry, anxious heart soften. ¡°What happened?¡± He rubbed his eyes and slumped in the chair, ¡°It was like the universe didn¡¯t want me to come. First an emergency came up at work. An angry employee set one of the stores on fire! Then on the way here, the carriage wheel broke. I had to get another one. When I finally got into the city, there¡¯d been some huge accident downtown¡ª¡± ¡°What were you doing downtown?¡± This cafe was on the outskirts of the city. ¡°¡ªI¡¯ll get to that in a bit. Anyway, by the time I got where I needed, I was running late. When I left, I realized it was faster to walk out of there because the traffic was so horrendous. I thought I could find a cab on the way out but apparently everyone else had the same idea! And most of the cabs were stuck downtown, so I couldn¡¯t find the few left on the outskirts!¡± ¡°Do you mean to say you WALKED all the way here from downtown?¡± ¡°Walk?¡± He waved at himself, ¡°Did I look like I walked?¡± She could only look at him aghast, ¡°You crazy man, why did you run!?¡± ¡°Tsk, what kind of question is that?¡± He rummaged in his damp pocket and slid a small box on the table between them, next to the pitiful looking roses. ¡°Isn¡¯t it because you¡¯re just that important?¡± ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± She asked while picking up the glossy black box. ¡°The reason I was going downtown.¡± Camilla tilted her head and opened the box, then immediately froze. Inside were two gold etched rings or, more precisely, paired rings. Paired rings were like a single ring cut in half, from top to bottom. With hands shaking, she lifted up each ring and saw her and Daren¡¯s name engraved on the bottom inner, flat side of the ring loop. At the top, on the inner side of the shoulder, the words were clearly engraved: Together Forever She looked up at Daren with wide eyes. Rubbing his nose in embarrassment, he gave a wry chuckle, ¡°Sorry it ended up like this. I had a much better proposal planned. But I was running late and even the roses got ruined¡ª¡± ¡°Engagement rings?¡± She held up two pair rings. ¡°Er, y-yes.¡± He stuttered slightly, proving he wasn¡¯t as sure of himself as he was acting. ¡°As I was saying, I had planned on proposing in a more proper¡ª¡± ¡°You¡­ want¡­ to marry me?¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Me?¡± He gave her a puzzled stare, ¡°...who else would I want to marry?¡± Camilla stared at the rings blankly. Her mouth opened and closed several times, like a fish stranded on land. ¡°Do you¡­ uh¡­ do you not want to?¡± Came his nervous query at her silence. When she didn¡¯t respond, his nervousness skyrocketed into an incoherent babble, ¡°I had thought you¡­ but if you don¡¯t want¡­ Aaron did say I ought to test the waters¡­ but I was so sure¡­ the surprise would be¡­ oh, but since you don¡¯t want¡­ ah¡­ I guess I really am arrogant to just assume¡­ now I made things awkward¡­ oh no...¡± ¡°You can¡¯t work so much.¡± She interrupted him suddenly. ¡°-er?¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine to work all day when we were just dating, but I won¡¯t tolerate it when we¡¯re married.¡± He blinked, sat up straight, and then brightened, his face shining like the sun from joy. ¡°Naturally! Naturally I would spend it with you¡ª¡± She cut him off again, ¡°I know work is important, but a father who works all the time might as well be dead to his children.¡± ¡°...you¡¯re already talking about our children¡­¡± He muttered, acting shy and pleased at the same time. ¡°As to the wedding, if we hold it here, there¡¯s no way Albert and Bethany can come. Though it means the Duke attending, we¡¯ll need to hold it in Ailandale.¡± Daren stiffened slightly. ¡°Bethany is fine but who cares about Prince Albert?¡± She raised an eyebrow, ¡°Why shouldn¡¯t I care about him?¡± ¡°Because you¡¯ve got me now!¡± ¡°What¡¯s that got to do with anything?¡± ¡°Arg, isn¡¯t it obvious I¡¯m jealous of your former fiance!? That damnable ¡°Perfect Prince¡± had you all those years! Do you realize how hard it is to compete with that?!¡± He took a deep breath and then pouted in an attempt to be cute, ¡°How could you make me say it outloud? You wretched woman¡­¡± Her lips twitched in amusement. ¡°I never viewed him as my fiance though.¡± ¡°But he viewed you like one!¡± ¡°He¡¯s married to Bethany now.¡± ¡°You were his first love!¡± ¡°So? You¡¯re my first love! Isn¡¯t that more important?!¡± ¡°Your first love has nothing to do wi¡ª oh!¡± His whole face blushed red. ¡°A-am I really?¡± ¡°Haven¡¯t I said before?¡± ¡°No!¡± ¡°Goodness!¡± She smacked the table, causing more petals to fall from the rose bouquet and startling the waitress who¡¯d walked over to refill everyone¡¯s drinks. Camilla had the grace to look a little embarrassed at her behavior. After the waitress finished, Camilla cleared her throat, ¡°It¡¯s true. I never loved anyone before you. Even if Albert liked me, it¡¯s in the past. He has Bethany and I have you. We are both happy with our beloveds.¡± ¡°Darling!¡± Daren stood up on shaking legs and almost fell over trying to reach out and hug and kiss her. The poor roses were thoroughly crushed under his body. ¡°Guh! Stay away you stinky man!¡± ¡°This musk shows I worked hard for you!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want this type of hard work!¡± ¡°But I want you!¡± ¡°Stay away!¡± ¡°Mwah!¡± ¡°Stop it, even if you¡¯re a target, stinky is still stinky!¡± ¡°Target? What¡ªmwah!¡ªdoes that¡ªmwah!¡ªeven mean? Mwah! Mwah mwah!¡± And so Camilla was kissed all over her mouth and face by her sweaty smelly fiance for the now clapping and congratulating cafe employees and customers to see. Though she was pushing him and crying out at the injustice of his actions, there was a smile on her face and laughter in her voice. She was very very happy. CAPTURE TARGET "DAREN WALLSBY" HIDDEN ROUTE: UNLOCKED Can I Be Your Capture Target? (Extra #1) [Redacted] is an unwitting Capture Target in a world that looks suspiciously like an otome game. Cursed to be short, adorable, and money grubbing, the [Heroine] was his hope for redemption... or damnation. If she chose him, he''d turn into a compassionate businessman who used his money to help the world. If she didn''t choose him, he would continue being a conniving, greedy little man who only cared about making more money. Worse, if she caught his affection but she chose someone else, he''d get charged with kidnapping and illegal imprisonment of the [Heroine]. Unfortunately he was competing with: the all-around perfect [Crown Prince], the serious and studious [Duke''s Son], the kind but strong [Knight-in-Training], and the suave adult Natural Studies [Teacher]. No matter how a player looked at it, [Redacted] would always be the last choice. Luckily, the life of a Capture Target is filled with Hidden Routes. Someone unexpected crossed his path and unlocked his... ~Synopsis of Extra Chapters~ Daren Wallsby was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. His great-great-grandfather had been one of the first western merchants to begin buying from the traders on what would later be called ¡°the Silk Road¡±. Rare goods from the exotic eastern nations were sold as luxury goods and soon became THE items to own and wear among the nobility. Not content to be the biggest importer of these exotic goods, Great-Great-Grandfather Wallsby actually married the daughter of the richest foreign trader he regularly did business with, all to make sure he had a permanent connection to the east. This worked very well, and the two families maintained a tight connection several generations later. Thus Daren¡¯s family inherited ¡°rare¡± straight black hair of the east, youthful round faces, and¡­. ...shortness. There was no way around it. Great-Great-Grandfather Wallsby had already been on the short side among his peers, marrying someone who also came from a line of short people only worsened the height for the next generation. Great-Grandfather Wallsby and Grandfather Wallsby were proud men and both refused to marry anyone taller than them. By the time Father Wallsby was born, any chance of gaining a few inches seemed lost for good. But then Father Wallsby married a short woman who came from a tall family and a glimmer of hope could be seen for the first time in three generations. Every time Daren Wallsby visited his maternal side of the family and saw his towering relatives, he clung to the hope that he could be like that one day too. Every day, he had a big breakfast, drank milk, studied hard, and went to bed on time without any fuss. All things he was told would make him tall. And found to be a lie. At 12, his growth spurt seemed to end. When he didn¡¯t gain an inch for an entire year, he felt betrayed. At first he was extremely bitter and in an act of pure rebellion, skipped breakfast, wouldn¡¯t drink anything but water, ignored his homework, and contrarily stayed up until late into the night. This lasted for about a week. His father was vexed with his angsty moping and forced him to work. This was the first time Daren had worked at one of his father¡¯s stores¡ªcalled WallGoods¡ªand he couldn¡¯t help being a little curious. Poorer families usually had their children learn basic reading and math and then sent them off to apprentice somewhere at around 10. Daren, coming from one of the wealthiest families in the region, was educated more like a noble. He had private tutors from the age of 4 up until his current age of 13, and next year he¡¯d be enrolled in the Royal Academy. Basically, he¡¯d never worked a real day in his life. And no one in the family expected him to do so until he had graduated from the Royal Academy. It showed just how annoyed Father Wallsby was with his son¡¯s behavior that he threw Daren into one of his stores. The employees of WallGoods didn¡¯t dare put the son of their boss to real work. After talking amongst themselves, they gave him the easiest job they could find: manning the register. They even gave him a chair to sit on, rather than making him stand like they usually required. WallGoods stores came in many varieties for many different customers, but the store Daren was forced to work at was for high-end clientele. The first group to come in that day was a gang of middle-aged noblewomen. Usually they were arrogant and demeaning, terrorizing the WallGoods employees until their spirit¡¯s were broken. However, these overbearing women took one look at Daren, who at 13 looked 10: with his round face, bright hazel eyes and straight black hair, and felt like they¡¯d suffered several blows to their hearts. He was a cherub, adorable from every angle one could imagine. Even his voice was like sweet honey to their ears. Their maternal instincts went haywire. Daren quickly realized anything he told these women to buy, they¡¯d buy. The next group of women that came in, young married noblewomen, responded the same way. Even more surprising, the closer the girls were to his age, the more outlandish their behavior. It was then Daren realized that his shortness had an unexpected benefit: he was so cute women found it almost impossible to turn him down. He could get any woman who walked through the door to buy almost anything with a smile and a tinkling laugh. He was on a high most of the day, until male customers finally trickled in. Then it was a splash of cold water on his head; they were not so easily fooled. If he tried to be cute with them, they¡¯d be repulsed. After several failed attempts, he realized that the way to these male customer¡¯s hearts was by acting very serious about his job. The more serious he treated them, the more they let their guard down. With their guard down, they too fell prey to his adorableness. They found themselves leaving with things they hadn¡¯t wanted and didn¡¯t know why they bought. After three days of Daren being in the store, the sales had doubled. The Wallsby¡¯s blood was strong, Daren found he loved selling things to people. This was partly because he loved the sound money made when it jangled together, but also because he genuinely enjoyed finding just the right item a person needed. There was something wonderful about completing a transaction where both he and the customer benefited. His original depression over his height vanished and was replaced with a new appreciation. It seemed three generations of Wallsby had produced the perfect selling machine in Daren. When he turned 14, Daren became the first Wallsby to enter the Royal Academy. Previous generations hadn¡¯t been allowed to because, like the name indicates, it¡¯d originally only allowed nobles and royals in. But shortly after Daren¡¯s birth they¡¯d opened up enrollment to anyone who could pay. Not many commoners could afford the tuition, so even though it¡¯d been years since they¡¯d allowed anyone in, Daren was one of only two students in his year who came from a commoner family. No one was surprised that the Wallsby¡¯s could afford to send their son. They were richer than some kings! The Wallsby family viewed this as a business opportunity. Noble children were closely guarded by the parents and were difficult to sell things to, because the salesman often didn¡¯t know if the young noble actually wanted the item or if their parents were forcing it on them. But in the Royal Academy, there weren¡¯t any parents to get in the way. With a little effort, Daren could easily find what his peer group was really interested in and pass that information on to his father. And since Daren found he liked business, he was more than willing to do what had been asked of him. The day before school officially started, Daren walked around the commercial district near the Academy. The Wallsby family had never managed to open a store in this area, because the business owners all looked out for each other and refused to sell any land or stores outside their group. Basically, they had a monopoly on the area. Worse, they could smell a WallGoods spy from a mile away, and would always chase them out like they were thieves. Well, they were a sort of thief. The Wallsby family was trying to figure out what they sold and how much they sold, in the hopes of creating a store targeted specifically at young nobles. Since Daren had a uniform, no matter how suspicious they were of him, they didn¡¯t chase him out. He could freely walk in and snoop all the stores, so he did. While he was in one store he saw something really amusing: A tall blond girl with sharp blue eyes wearing the Royal Academy uniform was arguing with the cashier. Over what? Spare change! She was arguing over the fact she¡¯d been given the wrong change and been shorted! Among mid-to-lower class commoners this kind of complaint was perfectly reasonable, but among the nobility they didn¡¯t argue over their change. It would be the same as declaring they were poor, which would be extremely embarrassing. Because of this, merchants often skimmed money from nobles, not too much but just enough, and the nobles turned a blind eye. It was one of those things everyone implicitly understood. Had this girl not gotten the memo? Even supposing she was a commoner, her family had to be loaded to attend this school. Rich commoners were always imitating nobles, so she shouldn¡¯t have cared. Maybe she was a poor noble, but then why bother coming to stores to buy anything? She ought to be avoiding places that would bring attention to her ¡°destitution¡±. Having to argue over change was shameful for a noble after all... He guffawed at her for being insensible but didn¡¯t think anything more about it. Until the next day. When he discovered the penny-pinching blond was, in fact, the daughter of Duke Florentine. There were only four ducal houses in the kingdom and they were all filthy rich! Discovering the Duke¡¯s daughter was thrifty with her money shattered his understanding of nobles completely. That night he took out his journal and began rethinking his assumptions. If the Duke¡¯s daughter could be such an oddball, who¡¯s to say other high ranking noble children won¡¯t be too? If he went into his research with a biased perspective, it would affect the accuracy of the data he was collecting. Many years later he would look at this moment and feel immensely pleased with himself. This habit of questioning assumptions saved him from a lot of pitfalls within business and allowed him to expand WallGoods to unprecedented levels. After that, Daren always kept an eye out for the strange Duke¡¯s daughter. Indeed she was strange. Besides being a penny-pincher, she showed very little noble arrogance. It¡¯s not to say she wasn¡¯t arrogant, but it wasn¡¯t in the right way. For instance, within the school nobles tended to look down on students who were commoners. They valued status and prestige and treated people according to those metrics. But Miss Florentine never did that. When it came to comparing herself with others, it was always from a merit-based perspective. That is, she boasted with great zeal about being the 1oth smartest student in school, excelling at archery, and dominating the cooking class. As to her abysmal performance with horseback-riding and dancing, she stealthy avoided talking about them. To the point of point blank pretending to be deaf if the topic was brought up.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. The first time Daren heard, with his own two ears, her publicly proclaiming her pies, puddings, and hard candies could rival a bakery and that she should start charging everyone for taste-testing, he laughed so hard he almost suffocated. She¡¯d sounded so insufferable and proud, but it was all over pies and pudding! Who could take that kind of boast seriously? Then he got a chance to taste one of her hard candies and stopped laughing. It turned out she didn¡¯t brag without reason; they were really good. He didn¡¯t usually like sugary foods, but even he couldn¡¯t deny her abilities. In fact, he really wanted the recipe she was using so he could sell it¡­ Miss Florentine also had a very sharp tongue. Usually nobles were slippery with their words, filled with false praise and back-handed compliments. But Miss Florentine was never like that. If she liked a person, she liked them. If she didn¡¯t, she said so without any filter. A lot of people were offended because she¡¯d say exactly what she was thinking of them, but some¡ªsuch as Daren¡ªfound this honesty a relief. When dealing with Miss Florentine, a person always knew where they stood, and that was refreshing in it¡¯s own way. So while her mouth put off a lot of people, it also attracted a very specific sort of person at the same time. One of those ¡°sorts¡± was Daren. As the weeks passed, Daren found Miss Florentine more and more interesting. Without realizing it, he would often find himself following her around campus from a distance to see what she¡¯d do next. Since he was an underclassmen, he could only follow her during certain times of the day and never get too close when he did. After all, she had no idea who he was, she¡¯d be quite alarmed if she found out some strange kid was keeping tabs on her. Everything was going fine until he got caught by Crown Prince Albert and was accused of stalking. That kind of accusation¡ªespecially coming from the Crown Prince¡ªcould get him kicked out of the Academy. Unlike most people, the Prince wasn¡¯t affected by his adorable appearance and actually seemed disgusted by it. Daren panicked and promised Prince Albert he wouldn¡¯t do it anymore and in return for not reporting him, he¡¯d do anything the Prince wanted. This had been a serious miscalculation on his part. He¡¯d always been in the position of examining and manipulating other people. It didn¡¯t occur to him someone might be able to do the same to him. Prince Albert used Daren Wallsby very well over the next few years. Because Daren was researching for his family, he¡¯d been using his cuteness to network like crazy. Every girl in the Academy knew about Daren, and loved him¡ªlike a little brother, of course. They told him all kinds of things they¡¯d never tell anyone else. This extensive network was what the Prince was actually after when he accused Daren of being a stalker. Well, the Prince also didn¡¯t like anyone hanging on to his fiance either. Something Daren didn¡¯t need explained to him. Even if Prince Albert was diabolical and had a good grasp of people¡¯s weakness for blackmailing them, he wasn¡¯t exactly bad. Daren found that the Prince, much like Miss Florentine, didn¡¯t judge a person by their background. Prince Albert gave people a chance to succeed or fail on their merits. This was something Daren really admired about the future King of his country. It was just unfortunate those ¡°merits¡± had to do with following the Prince¡¯s orders. Follow the Prince¡¯s orders well, be rewarded. Do a bad job, suffer for it. Fortunately Daren was highly motivated, smart, and the Prince didn¡¯t have unrealistic expectations for him. There was one thing that puzzled Daren though. He couldn¡¯t understand the relationship between Prince Albert and Miss Florentine. It was clear that the Prince genuinely liked Miss Florentine, but it wasn¡¯t at all clear what she thought of him. She treated him well enough, but not¡­ in a romantic kind of way. It was a little pitiful to watch, because the Prince tried so hard and his efforts always fell on a blind man¡­ or woman, in this case. Daren wouldn¡¯t usually care about the romantic lives of nobles, unless he was selling something they needed to woo a girl or scare a guy away, but he had a personal investment in their relationship. He wanted Miss Florentine to be happy. If she wasn¡¯t happy, he felt like he couldn¡¯t be happy. Therefore, he wanted her to have a good marriage. But he also felt a little, unmistakable irritation in his heart whenever the Prince and Miss Florentine were actually happy together. It took him a long time to understand the contradiction in his heart. Somewhere in the weeks and months since he¡¯d started watching her, he¡¯d developed a massive crush on her. Other than the initial false accusation of stalking, Daren thought he hid his crush on Miss Florentine very well. Otherwise, why would the Prince still let him be around her? In fact, the Prince was a major player in making Daren¡¯s crush worse. By working for the Prince, Daren came in contact with Miss Florentine. The more time he spent time with her, the more he liked her. Whereas before they had no kind of relationship, through Prince Albert he was at least known to his crush and was able to have real conversations with her regularly. During one of these conversations, she told him to start calling her Camilla. Any ¡°friend¡± of Prince Albert she considered her friend too. With Prince Albert glaring daggers at him, he didn¡¯t dare call her strictly by her first name and had settled on Miss Camilla. Constantly being around Miss Camilla because of Prince Albert was agony. After all, she was engaged to a ¡°Perfect Prince¡±. No guy on campus was even close to Prince Albert in looks and abilities. Why would she give him a second glance? Even if she wasn¡¯t with the perfect man¡­ she was the tallest girl in school and he was the shortest boy. His inferiority complex about his height skyrocketed when he dared entertain any thought of being with her. Next to Prince Albert, she looked like a glamorous, when he stood next to her¡­. They looked like a big sister and little brother¡­ It was so humiliating... His heart was a disaster! Even though he¡¯d managed to get into a close relationship with the most powerful teenager in the country, he wasn¡¯t happy. He was miserable. To make matters worse, Prince Albert started flirting with some little chipmunk of a girl named Bethany. Daren was mad enough to eat copper! How could Prince Albert make eyes at some other girl when he had Miss Camilla by his side! He had the perfect girl but he dared find another one! If he had the strength for it, he¡¯d have strangled the Prince when he first heard the rumors. To add insult to injury, Bethany¡¯s cuteness rivalled his own. She could make men do just about anything she wanted by just blinking her eyes cutely. He felt like she was competing with him, further annoying him. Sometimes he¡¯d see her and just glare daggers. But truthfully she was also a victim. She never looked for the Prince, it was the Prince who found her. She got a lot of flack, being called a slut and a hussy, even though the real problem was the Prince for always pushing himself on her. But she never blamed the Prince for any of her mistreatment nor did she resent the people who thought and said the worst about her. It really irked him to no end! How dare she be that smart and have that level of adorableness AND have the personality of a Holy Mother! That was making him feel bad in multiple ways! She could at least act a little more selfish so he had legitimate reasons to be angry at her! Then the last Winter Ball the Prince could attend before graduation loomed over the proverbial horizon and his understanding of the situation was promptly turned on its head. He, along with two others boys, and later a teacher, were told the whole story: Miss Camilla was in a forced marriage, and had been from the beginning. Prince Albert and Miss Bethany were actually helping her to eventually annul the engagement in a public space so their parents would be forced to agree. When Daren heard he was so ecstatic he almost missed anything else that was said afterward. Miss Camilla had never liked Prince Albert! She had no intention of marrying him at all! Her unhappiness and jealousy towards Miss Bethany had all been an act! He wanted to roll around the floor and laugh with glee. And then he heard the actual plan and his heart dropped. To get out of this unwanted marriage, Miss Camilla was going to ruin herself. Not only would what she planned to do destroy her reputation as a noble, it almost guaranteed a permanent shunning from high society. This would severely limit her choices going forward. Rather than deal with that, she¡¯d elected to forego her noble title completely and live as a commoner in another country. Not just him, none of the others involved thought this was a good idea. The teacher in particular kept insisting she should work things out with her father, Duke Florentine. Even if she couldn¡¯t work things out, there must be some other way than fleeing the country¡­ But no matter what they said, Miss Camilla remained firm in her resolution. She didn¡¯t want to marry the Prince and she didn¡¯t want to be a noble. Her freedom to make her own choices was more important than her ability to live comfortably. The itch in Daren¡¯s heart, that he¡¯d been suppressing since he realized she was engaged, came back with a vengeance. If Miss Camilla became a commoner that meant he had a chance¡­ right? The thought he might actually be able to win her, overpowered his inferiority about their height difference. His heart screamed: If he could be with her, then he¡¯d just put up with looking like a little brother! Thinking so, he strongly supported her resolve to leave the aristocracy. Not only that, he contacted his father to help her find a job in the Republic. That way she¡¯d have an immediate source of income upon graduation and local connections to keep her from getting swindled. He did it all out of love, while saying it was because the Prince had asked him to help. After all, Miss Camilla had never shown any romantic interest in him. If he suddenly proclaimed his undying love, she¡¯d definitely turn him down. And she was too honest to be nice about it, which would be a double blow for him. Rather than deal with rejection, he decided to wait. Everything went very well. Though he had been her strongest supporter, watching how easily people could be manipulated into turning against her broke his heart. She didn¡¯t deserve to be looked down on like that. Worse, he couldn¡¯t do anything in public to show his support. As one of ¡°the Prince¡¯s aids¡± it wouldn¡¯t make any sense for him to show her pity. Every time he said something that painted her as the scum of the earth, he felt like throwing up. Once the Prince graduated, he finally found some relief because he could just choose to ignore Miss Camilla by acting angry at anyone mentioning her. Miss Camilla graduated 10th in the test score charts but at the bottom in popularity. On graduation day, not even her father or adopted brother showed up to support her, she was completely alone. Other students actively kept their distance from her, creating the illusion she was surrounded by a large invisible bubble. Seeing this put him in a terrible mood for the rest of the day. He promised himself that if he ever got to be with her, he¡¯d never miss the important days in her life. Even if it killed him, he¡¯d make sure to always be there. Life after Miss Camilla left was a little dull. She was nice enough to send him, as well as several others who were in on the secret, letters occasionally. He cherished these, going so far as to tuck them away in a fancy gold-gilded box with a lock and key. And then, without any warning at all, he hit a growth spurt. His body was in agony. Everything fiercely ached. His body and brain seemed to forget how to communicate. He constantly walked into things, smacked elbows and knees on sharp surfaces, and even tripped at random. None of his clothes fit, and buying new clothes was almost pointless because of how fast he grew out of them. No matter how much he ate, it never felt like enough. For two months, he felt like his own body was an alien. Until finally, blessedly, it stopped. He slept like a deadman for a week, as if recovering from an illness. For the first time in Wallsby history, a direct descendant Great-Great-Grandpa Wallsby was a normal height. That¡¯s right, he didn¡¯t grow tall like a certain Duke¡¯s son, but he was at least taller than most women! He was, in fact, a whole inch taller than Miss Camilla! Finally, he no longer looked like a little brother! He could stand with his head raised high next to Miss Camilla! He was giddy with relief and ecstatic for the future. The future¡­ The wheels in his mind turned. He had to graduate, and graduate well. With the Prince gone and Genius Bethany already graduated, he finally competed for the top spot on the scoreboards and won! His last year at school he was (relatively) tall, handsome, and smart! After he graduated with honors, making his whole family immensely proud, he got to work as an apprentice under his father. The first thing he was given was a mediocre WallGoods store within driving distance of the Wallsby manor. Within a year, he had its profits doubled. Impressed, his father gave him a more challenging store the following year: a failing store in the extremely hot southern part of the kingdom. The culture down there was different from where they lived and several managers had already been sent and failed at bringing it around. Taking from his experience many years prior, Daren took over the store and first started questioning the assumptions about it. He discovered through his research that the major problem with the store was it sold items that were novel but useless for the area and the customer service was viewed as too formal and cold. What was considered proper in the north was considered downright rude in the south. Once again, Daren worked for a year and got the store turning a profit. Of course, the change wasn¡¯t as amazing as the first store. But the problems, like finding products that would sell and improving their reputation in the area, took longer. Even though the store was only doing ¡°well¡±, the fact that it was no longer failing was considered a remarkable feat. Whatever Father Wallsby had planned for his son next, got sideswiped by the son in question. Having proved himself twice, he asked for something big the third time: Let him take over the Republic branch. It was borderline failing, with many stores barely meeting their quota. Putting him in charge couldn¡¯t make things any worse than they already were and, if he succeeded, it would only be good for the Wallsby family. This was a big risk for Father Wallsby to make and it took a lot of clever arguing¡ªand some pleading¡ªbefore he finally, somewhat reluctantly, agreed. It was fortunate that Father Wallsby had no idea his son¡¯s real intention was to woo a girl and he was just using the family business as an excuse. If he¡¯d found out, he¡¯d have throttled his son for taking such a huge risk for such a stupid reason. Daren arrived in the Republic early on purpose. He knew there was a big holiday, he knew no one was prepared for him and there were no vacancies in the inns or hotels. What''s more, WallGoods stores were required by law to close for at least three days of the holiday, so he couldn¡¯t even do any work. When he approached her house without any warning, he took a single deep breath before knocking. He wouldn''t be like Prince Albert who was timid and got his heart trodden over. After all, he was the greatest salesman of his era. There was nothing he couldn''t sell and convince someone to buy. Including himself. Father-in-Law of the Capture Target (Extra #2) Daren stood before the aged Duke Florentine and was having some mixed feelings about his soon to be father-in-law. As one of the most powerful people in his homeland he couldn¡¯t give him the cold shoulder, and as a businessman it was advantageous of him to have a good relationship, but his wife-to-be still carried a chip on her shoulder concerning this man. Though the original source of the fight had long since been resolved, she still hadn¡¯t forgiven him. Even to this day, she never called him Father or Dad, but the Duke. As for Duke Florentine¡­ He was glaring at Daren furiously. Any other person might be afraid, but Daren was familiar with this glare. His fiance used it on him all the time and he¡¯d thus become immune to it completely. ¡°You must convince her to stay here, at her home!¡± ¡°It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t understand, but she already sent a letter to the Crown Princess¡­¡± Duke Florentine slammed his hand on the arm of his chair, ¡°Who cares about that bi¡ª woman! It¡¯s tradition for the bride to stay at her parent¡¯s house before the wedding! What will people say if she stays at her ex-fiance¡¯s house instead!¡± Daren raises his eyebrows slightly. It seemed the rumor that the Duke was actively antagonistic towards the Crown Princess¡ª and by proxy the Crown Prince, were true. The usually politically savvy Duke Florentine angering the royal heir and his wife didn¡¯t make sense. But it made perfect sense if he held a grudge against the Crown Princess for ¡°causing¡± the engagement of the Prince and his daughter. ¡°I think they¡¯d say that the ex-fiance and current wife of the Crown Prince getting along is a good thing?¡± Daren responded mildly. The Duke almost choked. ¡°How can it be a good thing?! That woman stole my daughter¡¯s position! She was publicly shamed in front of¡ª¡± ¡°Cammy never wanted that position. And you¡¯ll excuse me for saying so, but it¡¯s a good thing she had it ¡°stolen¡± from her, otherwise where would I be?¡± Daren rebuffed stiffly, just barely keeping his expression polite. If this guy thought he¡¯d just sit there and act like his fiance was better off with someone else, he had another thing coming. Duke Florentine seemed to realize he¡¯d stepped on the proverbial feet of the person in front of him. ¡°I¡­ I just meant to say¡­ er¡­¡± The older man seemed confused for a moment, as if at a bit of loss. Finally, looking extremely uncomfortable, ¡°Even if she told the Crown Princess she¡¯d be staying in the castle, as her father, I can easily have the request overturned.¡± ¡°Sir¡ª¡± ¡°Father.¡± ¡°Uh¡­¡± ¡°We are going to be family, call me Father.¡± ¡°R..right¡­¡± Daren stuttered a bit in surprise. He was more than aware the Duke did not look favorably on a commoner marrying his daughter. Getting suddenly accepted in the middle of bad news really surprised him¡­ ¡°The whole reason I am here is to iron out these details before Cammy arrives. She was very explicit about not staying in this place.¡± ¡°Home! This place is her home!¡± Daren sighed, ¡°She hasn¡¯t lived here a very long time, Si¡­ Father.¡± Duke Florentine flattened his lips, eyebrows furrowing, his hands gripping the chair arms tightly. ¡°And¡­ ah¡­ about¡­ about giving her away¡­¡± ¡°What about it?¡± The Duke looked at the younger man in alarm. Daren shifted uncomfortably in his seat. He disliked being the bearer of this kind of news. ¡°She doesn¡¯t want you to¡ª¡± ¡°NO!¡± The Duke shot up out of his seat, grabbed Daren by the front of his suit jacket and began shaking him, ¡°She wants to marry a commoner, fine! If¡ªif she won¡¯t stay here, alright! But to not even let me walk her down the aisle¡ª how can she? Is she really going to pretend like I¡¯m not her father? Isn¡¯t it enough I lost my wife, now I¡¯ve lost my daughter too? Not even a single letter all these years! Just up and leaves the country without a word to me¡ª! H-how can she be like this, h-how can she be so cruel¡ª!¡± The Duke stopped shaking Daren somewhere in the middle of his speaking and began to openly cry. This was not a light cry, but giant tears and snot dribbling down to his chin. His face seemed to age another ten years from his bitter remorse, stunning Daren into momentary speechlessness. Perhaps because he¡¯d always been biased towards Cammy, he¡¯d never given two tiny coins what the Duke¡¯s side of the story was all these years. He wasn¡¯t blind, he knew Cammy¡¯s attitude wasn¡¯t helping anything, but he didn¡¯t care. It wasn¡¯t the Duke he¡¯d be sleeping with every night, it was Cammy. So between who to believe and whose side to take, it was always going to be Cammy... Unfortunately something that¡¯d seemed straightforward back in the Republic was not so in Ailandale. Shortly after Cammy and Prince Albert¡¯s engagement was annulled, the Duke had come to school and got into a huge fight with his daughter. Daren hadn¡¯t been there for that, but he did hear that afterward the Duke publicly disowned her. The relationship had always been strained but after that the two became estranged and they stopped talking to each other. Except just saying ¡°I disown you!¡± isn¡¯t enough to disown a person, there¡¯s paperwork involved. The Duke never even gathered any of the paperwork. Though they were emotionally estranged, legally they were still family and that meant the Duke was still the head of the house, with all the obligations that came with it. All the angry things the Duke had said because of the annulment had been just that: things said in the heat of the moment. He hadn¡¯t meant any of it. This was why financial support had remained even when the Duke and his daughter were no longer communicating. Some part of the Duke still cared and still felt responsible for his ¡°wayward¡± daughter. Daren did think it a little odd the Duke disowned his daughter but still paid for her school¡­ Of course, at the time, he didn¡¯t have much contact with Cammy and wasn¡¯t close enough to ask her about it¡­You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. He¡¯d just assumed it was because of Prince Albert. If the Prince wanted, he could easily keep Camilla in school and have her tuition paid for even without the Duke¡¯s support. Unlike the Republic, in Ailandale children weren¡¯t considered legally autonomous even once they were adults. Particularly noble children, there were lots of restrictions until they took over the title from their parents or directly married out. But marrying itself had a lot of rules, so a child of a noble wasn¡¯t ¡°free¡± from the home that raised them until they were sitting in the house of their new family. Cammy knew about them but, thinking herself truly disowned, hadn¡¯t given them any thought. Daren, coming from a commoner family, was only vaguely aware that noble marriages were complicated but otherwise was ignorant. He too thought that Cammy had gotten disowned, so knowing wasn¡¯t a priority. This was why Daren had to come to the Florentine Estate. When they¡¯d first started discussing the wedding details through letters, Princess Bethany had been more than willing to host her friend at the castle. Until Duke Florentine found out about it. He¡¯d thrown a tantrum at the King¡¯s feet¡ªper Prince Albert¡¯s own exasperated words¡ªat the Crown Princess agreeing to something like that without consulting him. The King had said the wedding wasn¡¯t happening until father and daughter sorted things out. After receiving the news they couldn¡¯t hold any wedding unless the Duke was involved, Blake¡ªCammy¡¯s adopted brother¡ªsent them a letter PLEADING Cammy to come and talk to the Duke. But Cammy¡¯s heart wasn¡¯t going to be moved after all these years. Her view was, if it came down to it, she¡¯d just get married in the Republic! Unfortunately that couldn¡¯t work for the Wallsby side of things. Even if Daren was willing to butt heads with Duke Florentine, the rest of his family¡ªwho lived in Ailendale¡ªdefinitely weren¡¯t willing. He got inundated with letters from his own family demanding he do something. Daren had to beg Cammy to compromise. In the end, she¡¯d said he could go argue with the Duke on her behalf. Her ultimatum was: if he wanted to see his daughter get married, the Duke better keep his nose out of it. As to the details, she trusted Daren enough to know what she¡¯d tolerate. If the Duke and Cammy couldn¡¯t work things out, they wouldn¡¯t be able to get married in Ailandale. This was the worst case scenario and the one Daren was trying to avoid. Daren gave a bone weary sigh. ¡°Sir¡­ Father¡­ I know this is hard but you must also see it from Cammy¡¯s perspective.¡± Daren spoke in a firm but gentle manner. ¡°All this time, you have put your career above even her most basic happiness. And when she finally escaped something she¡¯d been against from the beginning, you publicly humiliated her. If you think she is cruel, then you are just as cruel.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not the same!¡± The Duke argued hoarsely, ¡°If I don¡¯t fight for the family, for our honor, who will fight for it? If we aren¡¯t strong, we¡¯ll be crushed by those who are! I¡¯m responsible for more than just her life, I can¡¯t be selfish and neither can she! Why can¡¯t she understand that everything I did was for her, for us!¡± Daren frowned, feeling irritated, ¡°And how did that work for you?¡± The Duke stared at him blankly. ¡°The price for keeping your honor, power, and land was losing your daughter. Was the cost worth it? Are you satisfied?¡± ¡°I¡­¡± ¡°Honestly,¡± Daren took a step back and looked at the Duke coolly, ¡°I¡¯m not a noble. I don¡¯t understand the noble¡¯s struggles. But maybe that¡¯s good, yes? Cammy chose me because she understood the struggle and rejected it. And so, no matter what you say, I won¡¯t sympathize with you. Because the reason I¡¯m with her is because I¡¯m not like you.¡± Duke Florentine¡¯s whole body froze, even the tears on his face seemed to freeze. ¡°The wedding can happen here, where you can at least attend, or it can happen in the Republic, where you will be kept out.¡± Daren tilted his head, ¡°Choose what¡¯s more important. Your daughter being happy or you looking good in front of your peers.¡± With that, he turned on his heel and left the room. He didn¡¯t even glance behind him. Standing outside the door, looking very anxious, was Blake. Like the rest of the Florentine family, Blake had platinum blond hair and pale skin, but the resemblance ended there. His eyes were a dark brown and his face didn¡¯t have the vicious edge found in the main branch of the family. Not surprising, he¡¯s the ¡°illegitimate¡± child of a cousin within the family. How Duke Florentine found him is a mystery, but from what Cammy said, he was a smart person who would do well as the next Heir. He was 3 years Cammy¡¯s junior and had been brought into the house when she¡¯d left for the Academy. She at least got along moderately well with him, despite only seeing him during vacations and holidays when she was younger. This alone was enough for Daren to think well of him. Blake followed him quietly for several minutes as Daren stomped around in frustration, trying to cool off. ¡°I take it things didn¡¯t go well?¡± Blake finally asked. ¡°That guy only cares about his image.¡± Blake¡¯s shoulders dropped slightly, ¡°Did he give you that whole ¡®It¡¯s for the family¡¯s honor!¡¯ argument?¡± ¡°He did.¡± The younger man ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. ¡°I know I¡¯m talking to the wrong person, but I swear it¡¯s just a bluff.¡± ¡°A bluff?¡± ¡°Yes, in fact he wants to reconcile. Ever since things fell through with the Prince and he lost his temper it¡¯s clear he¡¯s felt guilty. He¡¯s wanted to reconcile for years now but he¡¯s just¡­¡± Blake waved his hand vaguely in the air. ¡°...as you saw.¡± ¡°If he feels that bad, he should just apologize.¡± ¡°He should.¡± Blake looked helpless. ¡°But he won¡¯t. Anymore than Sis will.¡± ¡°...ah.¡± ¡°You see the problem? They both are really proud and stubborn. If one side would just concede, even a little, it would be enough to allow them to reconcile. But neither is willing so¡­¡± Daren was silent, his expression thoughtful. ¡°I¡¯ve been trying for years to talk sense into both of them, but it¡¯s like banging my head on a brick wall.¡± Blake gave a sad smile. ¡°Maybe you can have better luck than I did.¡± ¡°...I¡¯ll see what I can do.¡± *** ¡°Don¡¯t wanna.¡± ¡°Darling, it¡¯s not like I¡¯m saying you have to be close with him, but things can¡¯t stay like this.¡± After a week, Daren had returned home and was now trying to talk some "sense" into his soon-to-be wife. She folded her arms across her chest and scowled. ¡°If that guy won¡¯t apologize, why should I have anything to do with him?¡± ¡°So because your family is having an argument, my family needs to have one too?¡± Camilla''s scowl loosened and a slight hint of guilt formed. ¡°Cammy, you know my parents aren¡¯t willing to offend Duke Florentine. If you refuse to resolve things with him, we can¡¯t marry in Ailendale. Marrying in the Republic, where he won¡¯t be able to attend at all, will definitely offend him.¡± Daren paused, ¡°I don¡¯t mind offending him. I don¡¯t mind offending my own family. I don¡¯t even mind the fallout from offending my family, which would be losing my position within WallGoods and having to start from scratch. But Cammy¡­ are you really going to cause me to split with my family because of your argument with the Duke?¡± Cammy looked completely guilty now, brow furrowed and head drooped. ¡°I¡­ of course I don¡¯t want that¡­¡± ¡°You blame the Duke for putting pride and the family honor above your happiness.¡± Daren was quiet for a moment. ¡°Are you any better if you ruin my relationship with my whole family because of your grudge against him?¡± Her body dropped further in her chair, until he couldn¡¯t see her face anymore. ¡°I will love you no matter what you decide.¡± He pat her head, got up and sighed, ¡°Just think about it ok?¡± *** A week later, Duke Florentine received this letter: ¡°Father, If you don¡¯t behave and let me marry as I like in Ailendale, I swear to God Almighty I will throttle you with my own two hands. Truly, Camilla¡± It was said that Duke Florentine sobbed so hard that he had to stay home from work the next day because his eyes were swollen shut. *** The marriage of Daren Wallsby and Camilla Florentine was only a little less spectacular than the marriage of the Crown Prince and Princess. Camilla stayed in the castle instead of her home estate before and after the wedding. This caused some mean gossip to spread among the aristocracy about how the Duke had rejected his daughter for marrying a commoner, on top of the dishonor of a cancelled engagement with the Crown Prince. But at the wedding Duke Florentine walked his daughter down the aisle and gave her away with a face so bright it was blinding. At the after-party, the Duke got prodigiously drunk and wept all over Mister Wallsby and said that if his son mistreated his daughter Camilla, he¡¯d remove their heads from their necks. Later, the Duke petitioned the King to give Daren Wallsby the ¡°small title¡± of a Count to bring him ¡°somewhat up to the standards of my daughter¡±. The King didn¡¯t like handing out titles for no reason but conceded after being relentlessly harassed about it for 3 months. Whatever people thought initially about the relationship, it was universally decided was untrue. The Duke and his daughter got along just fine. Now if only he¡¯d just shut up about her! Player, Tell Me Your Story (Extra #3) There was a knock on the door. When Daren opened it, he found a mail delivery boy on the other side. After signing for the item, giving a small tip, he took a large package covered in water-proof paper into the house. Daren was currently suffering from a head cold and had been forced to stay at home. Head colds were exhausting, and of course made a person feel miserable, but they weren¡¯t ¡°at death¡¯s door¡± kind of illnesses. Unless Daren was so sick he couldn¡¯t function, he got very easily restless. If it had been up to him, once his fever broke he¡¯d definitely gone back to work. But Cammy had yelled at him ferociously for suggesting the idea. Because he really wasn¡¯t fully recovered, he didn¡¯t have the energy to fight back and had quietly submitted. But now it was well in the afternoon, he was alone in a big house, and bored out of his mind. When the mail arrived he¡¯d been going stir crazy from the lack of busy work. All of this to explain why he happily ripped open a package clearly labelled to his wife. The paper had been wrapped over a thin wood box that contained several journals. The note on the top of them read, ¡°We found these while remodeling the library. - Blake¡± All kinds of curious, Daren opened the top journal. It was immediately obvious this journal was both old and written by a little girl. The first few pages were the girl either talking about this new thing she bought, how marvelous she was, or complaining about people she didn¡¯t like. Daren¡¯s eyebrows furrowed. The brattiness of this little girl very easily showed through her writing. He imagined she was insufferable to be around just from the little he read. To his relief, she seemed to get bored of writing and there were only blank pages. He was just about to close the journal and grab another, when his fingers fumbled and the pages flipped to the back. There was more writing, but the style of the writing changed. It was so drastic he wondered if someone had nabbed this child¡¯s journal and secretly used it for their own. The first paragraph went like this: ¡°Did God curse me because I illegally acquired that game? Or was I cursed by the game¡¯s creators for all the heckling I did while playing it? Come on! The reviews were way more vicious! This isn¡¯t fair!¡± Daren stopped reading for a moment. He then reread the lines before stopping once more. He gazed at the far wall, his mind dazed. What did he just read? He understood each word individually, but put together he was left clueless. However he couldn¡¯t deny this was a lot more interesting than the spoilt child¡¯s thoughts and so he kept reading. ¡°I¡¯ve been trying to go back home for, like, two weeks now. But no matter what I do I can¡¯t go back. First I tried running away. Maybe this is all fake? But even after I hid in a cart, no matter how far that cart went, everything was¡­ well, like this. So then I thought, maybe I¡¯m asleep or in a coma? How do I get out of it? Pain? Scare myself? I tried cutting myself with a knife but you can imagine how that went over. It hurt plenty but I¡¯m still here and now I¡¯ve got a scar. Then I decided jumping from the third floor balcony might work for a scare-pain thing¡ª¡± Daren¡¯s eyebrows shot up. ¡°¡ªbut that failed too. Stupid maid caught me by the ankle!¡± He nodded, thinking ¡°Good for you maid!¡± and paused. How could a maid catch an adult by the ankle? ¡°Even though it failed, falling was pretty scary. Getting yelled at by everyone wasn¡¯t fun either. And I¡¯m still here. I don¡¯t think a simple scare will work. The only thing I can think of next is to try killing myself¡ª¡± ¡°Good Lord!¡± Daren muttered, astonished at how extreme this strange person was being. ¡°¡ªbut I don¡¯t know if I can do it. This place seems so real. The food, the smells, the texture, the sounds. It¡¯s all so real. How can this be in a game? Especially such a stupid, cheesy game like the one I played? So similar but not the same. What if it¡¯s not the same? What if I kill myself and I just¡­ die?¡± This person thought they were in a game? Daren clucked his tongue. It seemed he¡¯d stumbled on the journal of a mad person. Definitely entertaining! ¡°I dunno what I should do. Just accept it? Just accept I¡¯m stuck here? In this backward little country where I could die at any time?! NO.¡± The word ¡°no¡± was written in huge letters, circled and underlined several times. ¡°I¡¯m not staying here. I¡¯m definitely leaving! I¡¯ve got a family, friends, people who¡¯ll wonder what happened to me! I can¡¯t stay here! I can¡¯t!¡± He flipped the page and almost laughed at was written: ¡°I give up! It¡¯s been months but I¡¯m still here! I¡¯m really still here! God, creators, whoever it is that did this to me, YOU WIN. I¡¯ve accepted my lot in life. I am now Camilla Florentine, happy?¡± Daren¡¯s smile froze. ¡°I don¡¯t know why you put me in the body of this stupid, spoiled rotten little brat but since I¡¯m here¡­ I guess I¡¯m making the best of it.¡± His hands shook slightly. ¡°But don¡¯t think because I¡¯ve accepted this stupid, spoiled brat¡¯s body I¡¯m also accepting her future. I¡¯m definitely not gonna end up destitute, married to a grandpa, a prostitute, OR dead. Hell. No. I¡¯ll find a way to change my future. Just you wait.¡± Daren took a deep breath. No, no, this person couldn¡¯t actually be his Cammy. This was just the rantings of a crazy person. He turned the page. ¡°GODDAMMIT! That motherfucking bastard actually got me engaged to the Prince behind my back! I¡¯ll never forgive him! GO TO HELL DUKE FLORENTINE!¡± Daren dropped the journal on the floor and felt like he couldn¡¯t breath. There was no other way to say it: he could feel this was Cammy¡¯s writing. After several seconds of internal chaos he picked the journal up again and placed it in the box. He took the box to the living room and sat down on the couch. He didn¡¯t move for a long time. Finally, he opened the journal and found the spot where he¡¯d left off. ¡°Selfish bastard! Even after I said I didn¡¯t want to, he slapped me! SLAPPED. HIS. DAUGHTER. IN. THE. FACE. Yeah, he¡¯s never getting called father again. It¡¯s not like he was ever my real Dad to begin with, I was just playing nice since I¡¯m stuck in his daughter¡¯s body. But any man who beats his kids for not getting his way? He doesn¡¯t deserve to be called a Dad! I¡¯m so mad!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Arg, now what am I supposed to do?! I worked so hard to change everything, improve my chances, but I¡¯m still stuck! I don¡¯t care if Prince Albert is THE Prince Charming, I¡¯m not marrying him! Too many things can go wrong! I don¡¯t wanna! No, no no noooooooooo! Okay, okay¡­ let¡¯s calm down. Think, me. THINK! So the Duke is useless. I¡¯ll just treat him like air unless I don¡¯t have a choice.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Maybe the Prince will be more useful. He¡¯s not like the Duke, an adult and set in his ways. All I¡¯ve got to do is convince him to get me out of this engagement and everything should be fine. Ah, it¡¯s so satisfying to write in this journal. No one to talk to here, frustrating. I wish I had a¡­ oh, it seems that word doesn¡¯t exist here so I can¡¯t write it down. Well, since I don¡¯t have that square thing that I can put words into, I can at least vent my frustrations here. Need to hide this though. Good God, what if someone finds it? They¡¯ll think I¡¯m crazy!¡± Daren read the last words and himself wondered: Can a crazy person realize they¡¯re crazy? If they know they are, can that really be called insanity? He turned the page. ¡°I feel stupid. For some reason I thought the Prince would dislike me for simply being Camilla Florentine, the Duke¡¯s daughter. But upon further consideration, it¡¯s not that he hated the ¡°duke¡¯s daughter¡±, it¡¯s that he hated Camilla¡¯s personality. Spoiled. Mean. Arrogant. Suuuuuper clingy. Would any boy have a good impression of that kind of person? Naturally his first impression was awful and then she just got worse as she aged, so he disliked her even more. It was only because his Father was pushing for the marriage and he didn¡¯t have anyone else in mind that he accepted her. But here¡¯s the key thing: I¡¯m not Camilla. I mean¡­. I¡¯m not gonna claim I¡¯m an angel or anything, but I¡¯m definitely not as bad as the original. If I had been as bad as she was I think I could have scared him off but I didn¡¯t and was just mean. And by mean, I just told him the truth without being nice about it. I thought it would work but the boy came back and argued that we could at least be friends. Well. I mean, how could I turn down such a cutie?¡± Daren gave a deep frown. When he was that age, he was 10, no 100 times cuter than the Crown Prince! ¡°Anyway, so now I¡¯m friends/engaged with a kid. This is my life now. Sigh. At least there¡¯s hope for breaking things off in the future. He¡¯s hesitant but easy to bully, so I think if I keep pushing for it he¡¯ll eventually give in. But let¡¯s remember the important point: the game¡¯s storyline can be used as a general guide but that¡¯s all. Because the ¡°new and improved¡± Camilla is calling the shots, key points are changing along the way. So rather than fight the storyline, let¡¯s use it. 0: Get an education (?), get a job (??). Depending on the Duke means we¡¯re indebted to the Duke. 1: Get the engagement annulled. No matter how nice the Prince, the point is not to become Queen. 2: Get disowned. Who wants the Duke as a father anyway? Bastard. 3: Leave the country, find a new country (?). There¡¯s got to be a better place. You know, someplace where girl¡¯s aren¡¯t controlled by their fathers or at least where nobles are NICER. Oh yeah, future reference: It¡¯s very important not to be queen. Being queen doesn¡¯t mean you¡¯re the boss, it just means you¡¯re the target of assassinations, getting taken out by coups from competing factions, or the humiliating option of ¡°if you piss off your husband, you could lose your head¡±. At least commoners can¡¯t do that to their wives, they can only kick them out. It is preferable to live a financially strapped life WITH all limbs firmly attached, m¡¯kay?¡± Even if a lot of this didn¡¯t make sense, on this point Daren could agree. Noble life looked glamorous on the outside but was full of hidden traps and sharp knives for the back. The pressure only increased the farther up the status ladder a person climbed. Being a wealthy businessman was far more preferable. It might not be as pretty and it did require a lot of work, but the benefits were on par with a noble (look great, eat great, live in a great house). There was less risk of assasination and beheadings too. The next few pages were her talking about how much she hated the Duke or how frustrating it was being in a child¡¯s body. And then: ¡°It¡¯s been almost a year now. Yesterday I was thinking about my Mom, my real Mom, and I realized I was forgetting her face. I can¡¯t go back, but do I have to forget? I guess¡­ even in my original world, if I¡¯m not around people enough I¡¯ll forget a lot eventually¡­ I don¡¯t want to forget. So I¡¯ll write down everything I can remember. All of it. My family, my friends, the places I lived and visited. I¡¯ll even write down the histories and inventions too.¡± And that¡¯s exactly what she did. The rest of the journal was filled with highly detailed information about people, places and things that didn¡¯t exist. When he was finished, he took out the next journal to find it was the same. And the next and the next.. And so on. If he had started at a different journal, he¡¯d have thought the person involved had an amazing imagination. They had thought up whole histories for nations that didn¡¯t exist, even down to wars that spanned continents. They described, almost excruciatingly so, strange machines that did amazing things: small boxes that allowed people to talk to each other across the world, machines that washed laundry, ovens that lit from a simple twist of the wrist, boats that propel people across the ocean without sails or oars, carriages that didn¡¯t need horses and some that didn¡¯t need drivers, carriages with wings that flew¡­ some flew right up to the moon¡­ It was all so fantastical, how could it be real? But after he read so much, he went back and re-read the original journal entries. He found that there was a certain kind of sense to them that had been missing before: context. Now he knew the world that she came from better, he could also understand her original confusion. In fact he¡ª The door jangled and Daren realized he¡¯d lost track of time and his wife must be home from work. He stood up as if to hide the evidence of his crime and then stopped. He sat back down again and, as if to remind he was actually sick, had a fit of coughing. Cammy hurriedly walked into the living room, a slightly worried expression on her face. ¡°How are you? Feeling any better? I rushed over to¡ª¡± Her eyes fell on the box and the journals in the box. Her whole face drained of color from shock. ¡°Did you read...?¡± The question was left incomplete as she realized he was already holding one open. She licked her lips and began slowly, ¡°I¡­ I can¡­ explain¡­ I had a really active imagination when I was a child...¡± Seeing her reaction, Daren instantly knew that not only had she written everything he¡¯d been reading, she believed all of it too. Daren tilted his head, ¡°Who are you?¡± A look of panic rose up in her eyes and her body trembled. ¡°I¡¯m¡­ I¡¯m¡­ Camilla¡­ obviously!¡± He raised the book in his hand, ¡°Not if these books have anything to say about it.¡± The panic in her eyes vanished into a look of surprise. ¡°You¡­ believe them?¡± He glanced at the box. ¡°I suppose it could be a case of overactive imagination." He looked at her with a serious expression, "Is it?¡± She examined his face and saw that he wasn¡¯t disgusted or angry or alarmed. Rather, his expression was very tranquil with just a hint of curiosity. Clasping her hands together she hesitantly ventured, ¡°If I said that everything in there was real, what¡­ um¡­ what would¡­ you¡­ do?¡± ¡°Do?¡± He raised an eyebrow, ¡°What exactly could I do?¡± She blinked. ¡°Let¡¯s just say they¡¯re true. Could I prove it to anyone? At worst people would say you¡¯re delusional and I''m an idiot for believing you.¡± ¡°They could say I¡¯m¡­ I¡¯m some kind of¡­ I dunno, wicked body-stealing spirit?¡± He burst out in a disbelieving laugh, ¡°Are you?¡± ¡°N-no.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no one who knows you that would say you¡¯re some kind of evil spirit and those that don¡¯t know you will think you were either delusional as a child or, as you said, had an overactive imagination.¡± ¡°But then¡­¡± ¡°Cammy.¡± He gave a slight smile. ¡°If it¡¯s real, then aren¡¯t you a victim?¡± ¡°Ah?¡± ¡°You are like a person who was kidnapped and then abandoned in the middle of a foreign country. Without understanding much, you muddled your way through as best as you knew how, and you did so alone.¡± Camilla¡¯s eyes watered and her chest started to heave. ¡°My darling, my darling¡­¡± He stood up and hugged her, ¡°It must have been hard for you.¡± She burst into tears, sobs racking her body and embracing him so fiercely it almost hurt. Her crying was so intense she couldn''t speak, only gulping in great bursts of air to keep herself breathing. They remained like that for a long time. At some point he guided them to the couch and, despite his best efforts, he coughed and sneezed at the same time, almost choking himself to death. Camilla finally let him go, both laughing and concerned at remembering he was, in fact, a sick man. After blowing his nose, he asked, ¡°I asked this before, but once again, who are you?¡± She looked at him puzzled. ¡°This was the one thing you never mentioned. You wrote about everyone and everything else, but as to yourself¡­ to that person before coming here¡­ you never even said your name.¡± Her eyes watered again and her lip quivered. ¡°I thought it didn¡¯t matter anymore.¡± ¡°Of course it matters. That is also you.¡± He thought for a moment and added gently, ¡°And the person I want to know is all of you, not just the one that is easy for me to understand.¡± *** An old man was sitting on a bench, waiting for a trolly to pull up. Another man joined him. The old man turned to the man who''d just taken a seat and asked: ¡°I say, have you read that new novel released by J. Lawrence?¡± ¡°Oh yes! That one about sending a man to the moon, right?¡± ¡°I really can¡¯t get that quote out of my mind, from that one character, er, Ar.. Arm.." "Armstrong?" "Yes, yes, that''s the one. He said, ¡®That''s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.¡¯¡± ¡°Hm¡­ Sometimes I read Mr. Lawrence¡¯s works and think we really could do all the fantastical things he writes about¡­¡± ¡°I heard someone actually replicated the flying machine from his fourth novel.¡± ¡°What?!¡± ¡°It flew for 5 minutes!¡± ¡°How on earth did I miss that kind of news!¡± ¡°It¡¯s not been reported yet by the papers. I read about it exclusively because I¡¯m part of the Fantastical Lawrence Newsletter. It¡¯s like a newspaper, but shorter and only about things related to J. Lawrence''s books.¡± ¡°...there is such a thing?¡± ¡°Mm hm, but you can only sign up at the WallGoods store.¡± ¡°Ah, weren¡¯t they the ones who sold Mr. Lawrence''s first novel?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. And, before you think this is just some silly piece of scrap, it¡¯s endorsed by the Duke of Florentine.¡± ¡°Duke of¡­ wait, from Ailendale?!¡± ¡°The very one.¡± ¡°Then I must get a membership!¡± ¡°There¡¯s a WallGoods just down the street, if you¡¯ve the time to stop by right now. You can apply for membership in less than 5 minutes as long as there''s no line.¡± ¡°You know¡­ I think I shall do that! Thanks for the tip.¡± The man stood up and scurried away. A short while later a little girl with black hair and shockingly blue eyes ran up to the man sitting on the bench. ¡°Grandpa, what are you doing? Mom and Grandma have been looking all over for you!¡± The old man smiled at the little girl, ¡°Hello to you too Joanna.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t give me that,¡± Joanna grabbed her grandfather''s hand and started pulling, ¡°Grandma is going to scold you to death again for wandering away without telling anyone!¡± The grandfather chuckled as he was pulled out of his seat and back home, ¡°Ah, not to worry, I¡¯ve the power of infinite resurrection when it comes to dying by scolding.¡± The little girl squinted at him, ¡°This is why Mom says you¡¯re weasley.¡± ¡°How did I raise a daughter like that, I wonder¡­¡± He pouted and looked forlorn, as if suffering a major grievance. Joanna wasn¡¯t moved at all and rolled her eyes, ¡°Grandpa, that¡¯s even MORE weasley!¡± This time the old man didn¡¯t deny it, instead laughed heartily. ¡°Anyway, what were you doing out here by yourself?¡± ¡°Oh, just talking to whoever would listen.¡± ¡°Uh hu.¡± She grinned, ¡°I bet you were selling something.¡± ¡°Ho oh, such an astute child!¡± ¡°Of course!¡± Joanna swung their clasping hands widely and giggled, ¡°I¡¯m a Wallsby daughter after all!¡±

THE END

[Teaser] Rewrite: Chapter 1 There are a few things you should know about me: One: I go by Cammy, not Camilla Florentine. Two: I don¡¯t belong in this world. Three: I¡¯m destined to die. Originally I was in my final year of college. Life was good. I had returned home for the last vacation before graduation. A hobby of mine was playing really terrible games. It¡¯s like how some people love B-movies. It¡¯s the fact that they¡¯re awful and cringy that keeps you coming back for more. That¡¯s how I am with games. As long as there¡¯s no game-breaking bugs, I¡¯ll play it. I acquired an otome game¡ªthrough less legitimate means¡ªthat was released in the early 2000s called ¡°Life is But a Rose¡±. Otome games, in layman''s terms, are a kind of dating simulation targeted at women that¡¯s played in a similar fashion as a choose-your-own-adventure book. But instead of adventures, you¡¯re picking romantic partners. This game was bad. From the characters to the game mechanics, the entire process was torture. I loved it! Of course I heckled it the entire way through playing it. It took less than a day, as it wasn¡¯t a very well designed game, and by the wee-hours of the morning I¡¯d conquered the ¡°targets¡±: that is, those characters that could be romanced. I fell asleep thinking whoever wrote the story part of this game was a moron. It was like someone took every cliche they could think of and packed it into the game. It was difficult to see the value in romancing any of the men because they all had painfully cookie-cutter personalities. I could have written better characters¡ª and I¡¯m no writer. And then I woke up the next morning to discover I was in the body of a non-playable character called Camilla Florentine. In the game, which started when she was a teenager, Camilla Florentine was a spoiled, arrogant girl who would actively harass the player. In three of the four routes, she bullied the player out of envy. If it was just scripted bullying, no one would care, but it was randomized. What this meant was that sometimes a player would be trying to get to an event, only to get ¡°caught¡± by Camilla and miss it. Missing a crucial event or missing a series of events, would mean the player couldn¡¯t romance a certain capture target. If that wasn¡¯t annoying enough, on the Crown Prince¡¯s route she became murderously jealous. Mercifully her attacks weren¡¯t randomized but choice based. However, without using a guide, it was impossible to know which choice would cause her appearance. Sometimes choosing something innocent like eating outside instead of inside was enough to trigger a Death Flag. There were so many ways for a player to die in the Crown Prince¡¯s route specifically because of Camilla Florentine. And there was no mental preparation for dying. In the other routes no one dies and the worst that can happen is the character you play graduates on friendly terms with the target they failed to romance. To suddenly die and get a Game Over screen without any warning is enough to test the most patient person. To the surprise of no one, Camilla Florentine is the most hated character in the game. And this was for a game that was disliked by everyone who played it. How did I end up in a game character¡¯s body? And not just that, how did I get sucked into the game? Was I dreaming or was this real? It certainly felt real but how was that possible? How do I get back home? At first I thought I was going through a dream world, similar to the Wizard of Oz. There must be a key, some red slippers maybe, that will get me back. I just needed to find my ¡°yellow brick road¡±. Searching the area around Camilla¡¯s house¡ªI suppose more accurately called a manor¡ªlived in was easy. The servants catered to my every whim and honestly seemed relieved that I was wandering outside of my own volition. However, the body of a 5 year old is limited. I walked every which way only to discover that I¡¯d never left the manor¡¯s backyard! When I asked how far out the yard went, I was informed the estate went as far as the eye could see in all four directions. If a person went to the top floor and looked out the window, they wouldn¡¯t see the end of it. I didn¡¯t expect to be in a place that large and quickly realized I¡¯d need help leaving. I¡¯d gotten everything I asked for already, so I didn¡¯t bother to hide that I wanted to go beyond the estate¡¯s property. The servants, who¡¯d been fairly laid back about my behavior until then, became excited about my request. It wasn¡¯t until later that I realized leaving the estate was a big deal. It involved a big, glittering carriage, servants, and even guards! The trip was disappointing. It turned out that, despite all the slack I¡¯d been given, when it came to leaving home there were rules that the servants wouldn¡¯t budge on. I didn¡¯t get to choose where we went, not just in terms of the city, but also in terms of the places within the city. With the limitations I was under, how could I possibly find my ¡°yellow brick road¡±? I tried sneaking away, but the entourage of people around me made it impossible. It was only then that I realized that the supposed freedom I was given at home wasn¡¯t freedom at all. It was more like Camilla was put into a cage. Everything in the cage was safe, allowing Camilla to do whatever she wanted. But outside the cage? It was clear there were rules that Camilla had to follow. This wouldn¡¯t do at all. If I couldn¡¯t freely search the city, I¡¯d never know for sure if I¡¯d missed something. With that in mind I went home and carefully watched the servants. A big estate like this had to have stuff brought in from the outside. If I ¡°hitched a ride¡± on someone here on business, I should be able to leave. The first time I was successful in getting out. No one expected me to leave, or in their words ¡°run away¡±. However, they noticed my absence fairly quickly and sent out a search party. I was found in the delivery carriage before an hour had ended. The proceeding attempts at escaping went about as well as you can expect. They were alerted to my attempt at escaping, and kept a hawk eye on all exits from then on. Eventually I gave up. Their vigilance would make it difficult for an adult to sneak out, much less a 5 year old with short legs. This series of events, which happened over several weeks, should have been enough to convince me I wasn¡¯t in a dream. But it still hadn¡¯t sunk in yet. I still felt this world couldn¡¯t be real. Escaping to find my ¡°yellow brick road¡± wasn¡¯t working. I decided that I should try something else. People always pinched themselves to check if they were sleeping in stories. But pinching myself didn¡¯t work, nor did slapping myself. Maybe I needed something more extreme... If I scared myself, could I be shocked awake? Desperation really makes people do stupid things¡­ My escape attempts could be brushed off as youthful rebellion by the servants, but what I did next really alarmed them¡­ During meal times I¡¯d try to jab or cut myself with a fork or knife. When I was given spoons at meals, I snuck into the kitchen to find something sharp. When the kitchen was sealed off, I¡¯d find anything stick shaped and hit myself with it. Slowly, the entire manor was turned upside with servants desperately trying to remove anything ¡°hazardous¡± I might get my hands on. And then I did something that broke them: I tried to jump out the window of the manor¡¯s top floor. This was too much for the servants. They blew up in a panic and called for a doctor while at the same time sending an urgent message requesting Duke Florentine return. Duke Florentine is Camilla¡¯s father. I¡¯d heard about him, I even saw a painting of him and his wife, Camilla¡¯s deceased mother, when they were younger. The manor had a gallery with all the family paintings in it. If not for that, I would have no idea what Camilla¡¯s parents looked like. Duke Florentine had platinum blond hair, sharp icy blue eyes, and a diamond shaped face with a strong jaw and thin lips, which seemed quirked in a sneer. Then narrowness and set of his eyes made him look like he was glaring at the viewer. He¡¯d have looked handsome if he didn¡¯t look a little evil. The Duchess looked much softer, even her colors were dim: brown hair and eyes, a heart shaped face, full lips, and large expressive eyes. Actually, she was a little bit plain when compared to the Duke. But at least her resting expression looked content and peaceful. Camilla had her father¡¯s coloring but her mother¡¯s face shape, except that her eyes were tilted exactly like the Duke¡¯s. This one unfortunate change made it seem that Camilla was chronically wide eyed and glaring. Camilla, like her father, would have looked adorable if she didn¡¯t look a little bit evil. Despite having been stuck in this world for over a month at that point, Duke Florentine never came home. No one seemed to feel the complete absence of any parental figures in Camilla¡¯s life was unusual either. Unbelievably, Camilla Florentine was basically raised like a latchkey kid. I was startled by this discovery. The game only showed Camilla as a spoiled and arrogant rich-girl from a Duke¡¯s family. There was never any mention of her being neglected. It suddenly made a lot of sense that Game Camilla turned into a love-mad person later in her life. She never formed the connections needed to be emotionally healthy. It¡¯s unlikely she knew how to love or be loved without self-destructing. I felt a little sorry for her, but only a little. No matter how pitiful, that¡¯s not an excuse to go on a murderous rampage from jealousy. Anyway. My first impression of Duke Florentine was that he had a mean face and domineering personality. He arrived at the Duchy like a hurricane, demanding answers and acting as though heads would roll for his daughter being ¡°in such a state¡±. All the servants trembled at his hostile, overbearing attitude. As for me? I didn¡¯t even get a hello from him! It was the strangest thing. He talked all concerned about his daughter but didn¡¯t seem particularly interested in talking to her. It almost felt like he was avoiding her, that is me, but before I could decide whether I was imagining it or not, the Doctor arrived. The Doctor. He was an old man with a fluffy beard and kind eyes. When he saw that I was nervous because of Duke Florentine, he shooed everyone out of the room. His gentle attitude and consideration made me lower my guard. In a moment of weakness I told him the truth. Who I really was, where I came from, and how I was desperately trying to leave this place. He listened to everything I said, asked me some questions to which I replied eagerly, and then pat me on the head. I was surprised and relieved to have someone finally listen to my story.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. And then came the diagnosis. The Doctor said I¡¯d suffered some kind of mental shock and had withdrawn from reality. I had invented a whole different world with a different family in an attempt to deal with whatever trauma I¡¯d received. He prescribed calming medication, to settle my mind and emotions. He advised the Duke to closely interrogate the manor staff to see what had happened to me and then have me strictly monitored to prevent further self harm. I¡¯d never felt so betrayed as I did at that moment. Camilla¡¯s father believed the Doctor¡¯s diagnosis completely and was furious to discover his daughter had suffered so severely in his absence that she¡¯d lost her mind. He interrogated every servant in the manor like some kind of demon, scaring people into tears. The lucky ones got dismissed. Then there were the ones, like my Nanny, who were directly held responsible for what had happened to me. They were whipped 30 times before being sent away to live out a 10 year prison sentence. I could hear the servants wailing and pleading for mercy from my bedroom. I couldn¡¯t do anything for them. The world felt horrifically real in that moment and I finally understood that I was truly a helpless child here. Telling the truth had caused innocent, hard working people to suffer. I never forgot the guilt I felt over my powerlessness. It stuck with me long after I¡¯d left the Florentine manor. After that, I decided I would never ever tell the truth about my real identity. People would only get hurt if I did and it¡¯s not like anyone would believe me. Duke Florentine fired most of the servants and had them replaced. The new servants were strict, rigid, and followed the Duke¡¯s instructions precisely. They were the poster-children for professionalism. There was no dotting, no spoiling, no turning a blind eye to my eccentric behavior from this group. As for a new nanny, it was determined I was old enough to have a personal maid instead, named Miss Tollis. She was the worst out of all of them. She never said more than necessary, never gave her opinion, and always followed orders perfectly. Specifically the Duke¡¯s orders, not my orders. I was forced to take calming medication every day thanks to that maid. I have to give the Doctor credit, whatever was in that medication definitely kept me ¡°calm¡±. But it did so at the expense of my ability to think. It was difficult to respond to simple yes or no questions, as I lacked the ability to concentrate and felt sleepy all the time. Weeks passed by in a blur, and to this day I can¡¯t remember anything while on the full dose of that drug. Eventually the Doctor came back and, seeing me being obedient, began to reduce the strength of the medication. As this happened, I was gradually able to concentrate and string coherent thoughts together. After my head cleared, I decided that I¡¯d been foolish. What if I¡¯d accidentally maimed myself? Pain was a real thing in this world and like any sensible person I wanted to avoid it. I could have also died. Death might be the ¡°red slippers¡± I needed to get back home or¡­. I might just stay dead. I had no way of knowing, and the risk wasn¡¯t worth it. With that in mind, I began to prioritize being well behaved. Whatever the adults wanted to hear, I told them. It didn¡¯t matter what was true or not to me anymore, just as long as I could convince them to stop shoving that questionable medicine down my throat and regain some measure of freedom. It took an entire year before I convinced them to stop giving me anymore ¡°medicine¡±. But because they feared I might still be suicidal, I remained under strict house arrest for another year. The year of being under house arrest was particularly awful. I had all the energy of a 5 year old but was limited to my bedroom, the library, the bathroom, and a short walk outside in the morning. I was monitored 24/7, even while sleeping! It. Was. So. Boring! My only entertainment at first was the library. Thankfully Camilla could read and even more thankfully that skill was passed on to me. I don¡¯t know what the adults would have done to me if they thought I¡¯d suddenly become illiterate. The Florentine family had a magnificent library. They had books of every kind imaginable and lots of comfy places to sit and read them. I was given an hour to read a day and, later, I was allowed to take the book with me to my room. At first I picked books at random. I didn¡¯t know anything about the world and now that I¡¯d accepted I was stuck here, it occurred to me I should learn something more than what the game had taught me. Which wasn¡¯t much when I thought about it. Outside of the country I was living in, called Ailandale, the game didn¡¯t give much information. I knew Ailandale was a bit like Europe based on how they dressed and that there were knights, but that was it. Ancient history? Neighboring nations? Regional politics? It was never touched on. But to be fair, this was an Otome game that focused on teenage romances. And it wasn¡¯t a good otome game either. Expecting it to do anything interesting like give some historical context to the characters would be asking too much of it. One day I grabbed a book called ¡°The Scandalous History of the Republic of Rynar¡±. I wasn¡¯t sure how a country could have a scandalous history but with nothing else to do, I was willing to find out. The Republic of Rynar was considered ¡°scandalous¡± because they rebelled against their nobles. Not only did they rebel, they chopped them into pieces. To push home how horrific the rebellion was, the author included some eye-catching wood-stamped pictures of the executions. These pictures were enough to shock me, despite having grown up watching all kinds of violent movies. Really, this was not the sort of book a child should be reading! Good thing none of the servants seemed to be aware of the content in this book! Hehe. The author thought the rebellion was bad, but funnily it was not the worst thing. The worst thing Rynar did was create an ¡°unnatural¡± system of government. They didn¡¯t have a King or nobles to rule them, but instead they voted people into power. And depending on the position, they were forced to retire after so many years and a new person would be voted in. Though there were some obvious differences, this country reminded me a lot of the one I had come from. I was shocked to discover a country similar to mine existed in this world. It made me feel homesick but also hopeful. Could I go there someday, after I grew up? I wanted to know more about this country that was similar to the one I¡¯d grown up in. I went back to the library and was surprised to discover that there was an entire section devoted just to the Republic of Rynar. It was organized in a different manner than the rest of the library, hinting that this had been someone''s personal collection. Did someone in the Florentine family have an obsession with this country? Maybe it had been Camilla¡¯s mother, the deceased Duchess? Well, it¡¯s not like I had anyone to ask. Duke Florentine still spent most of his time away from home and the servants that might have known were all gone now. I began working through the books in this section, reading up on this curious country. The more I read, the more I liked it. Everything about it was so different from Ailandale. They didn¡¯t like nobles, they rejected the idea of ¡°Divine authority¡± and insisted that power came from the people. Their culture was more modern too. It wasn¡¯t uncommon for women to work, even while raising children. Dating was common and marriages were decided by individuals instead of families. What a great place! Why did the stupid game focus on Ailandale when next door had country that allowed dating? I wish I could beat the developers for their poor choices! Though I enjoyed reading, I was limited to how long I could read. This was not of my own choosing, but one imposed on me by my Miss Tollis. My entire day was regimented by Miss Tollis and it was enough to make me want to cry. Not being able to read all day long like I wanted forced me to hunt around my room for alternatives. I discovered the child-sized desk I¡¯d been ignoring all this time was filled with papers, empty journals, dried ink bottles and fountain pens. Hand-writing, particularly cursive, was the way people wrote in this world. However, just like in my world, there was also a hobbyist version that turned writing into an artform. Apparently, at some point, Camilla had taken a brief interest in practicing the artform of calligraphy. Based on the papers used and the barely filled out journal, this was a very very brief interest. But at least this hobby was appropriate for a nobleman¡¯s daughter and it was something Camilla had been interested in before her unfortunate bout of ¡°hysterics.¡± Therefore, when I took an interest in it, Miss Tollis was relieved and eagerly encouraged my interest, to the point that she opened up my schedule to allow me to practice more. When word made it back to Camilla¡¯s father that she was finally taking interest in something normal and healthy, he was greatly relieved. Or I assume he was, because this ¡°never-home¡± father ordered¡ªfrom afar of course¡ª for an adjacent room from mine to be turned into an art studio and then filled it with every art supply imaginable. How he¡¯d made the jump from calligraphy to art I¡¯ll never quite understand. But as this gave me another room I could visit, I wasn¡¯t going to complain. In addition to reading and calligraphy, plus some subpar dabbling in painting, I also got in the habit of keeping a secret journal. They had finally stopped monitoring me while I slept, which meant that there was a time in the early hours of the morning where I had the sun to give me light for writing without servants present to peep over my shoulder. The reason I needed the sunlight was because I had no way to light the lamps in my room. And even if I could do that, they¡¯d be able to tell if I¡¯d used them and start asking questions. I didn¡¯t want them nosing too much. My secret journal was my life-line and kept me from totally losing myself. On those soft paper pages I could write my real feelings and thoughts, talk how I wanted to talk and rant about every little thing that bothered me. When I filled up a journal, I would stick it in a book I¡¯d borrowed and then take it back to the library, hiding it in whatever space I could find. This worked surprisingly well as no one but Duke Florentine or myself was allowed to read the books there. As the years passed, my real family became blurry in my mind. It made me anxious, I felt like I was losing the most important parts of myself. Instead of ranting in my journals, I began recording every scrap of information I could remember about my ¡°true home¡±. I even scribbled drawings, though poorly, to make sure I had a rough idea of what things looked like. No matter how small and inane the detail, I put it down. It was better to write about nonsense than to forget. I never did figure out how to get back to my real home. Maybe you¡¯ll think me weak, but after everything I went through I gave up on the idea of returning. I thought if I got lucky maybe I¡¯d stumble onto an answer, but otherwise surviving in this world became my priority. I didn¡¯t think of this world as a ¡°game world¡± per say. It was more like this world was very similar to the game. Where the game mentioned something explicitly and with detail, this world followed along in the same manner, but where the game said nothing or was vague, this world was colorful and diverse. There were all sorts of things never mentioned in the game, giving me numerous alternative paths to follow. As for the game storyline, I had already changed it by being mistaken for disturbed child and accidentally ruining the manor servant¡¯s lives. Though Game Camilla¡¯s early years weren¡¯t mentioned, if she¡¯d gone crazy as a child I¡¯m positive that would have come up at some point, especially in the Prince¡¯s route. But I was still concerned. The fact that Duke Florentine and Camilla existed suggested that, if I hadn¡¯t popped up, the storyline events of the game would have happened. It was now just a matter of how much my existence causes this world to deviate from the game. Had I changed it enough to drastically alter things later? I had a reason to be nitpicky about this distinction. Game Camilla had a very bad¡­. fate, if you will. She died in various ways. All of which I¡¯d like to avoid. If this world generally went along the lines of the game story by default, it was important I try to change my situation now to avoid anything nasty in the future. How do I make sure I don¡¯t die like the game character? I was lucky to even know that Camilla died multiple ways, as she wasn¡¯t a main character. The only reason her ¡°endings¡± came up at all was because the game always told the player what happened to the men who were left unromanced at the end of the game. And, as Camilla was the Prince¡¯s fiance, she would get mentioned too. It was usually just a single line though. The detail was sorely lacking. Without understanding the why and how of Camilla¡¯s death routes, how could I avoid the trigger, the ¡°flag¡±, that caused me to go down them? With so many unknowns, wasn¡¯t it possible I could be ignorantly walking straight to my own doom? I thought long and hard about this problem. After looking at every angle I concluded the Crown Prince was the first major death flag. If I could avoid meeting him, perhaps also stay out of national politics, I should be able to live comfortably. Game Camilla had been engaged to the Prince since childhood, a fact she trumpeted at every opportunity, so I knew that the best way to avoid the Prince was simply not to get engaged to him. As mentioned before, Duke Florentine was rarely home. However, the few times I¡¯d interacted with him proved to me he wasn¡¯t exceptionally good at listening. For instance, his generous gift of the art studio was done without ever asking me what I wanted. That wouldn¡¯t be the first or last time he did something like that. You wouldn¡¯t think this attitude would be worth complaining about, but it¡¯s actually really irritating to be continually given gifts you don¡¯t want and never asked for. When I ventured to correct this behavior, I was asked if I was ¡°feeling alright¡±. Perhaps it was said out of genuine concern, but all I heard was: ¡°Do you want to take more calming medication?¡± That kept me quiet but it didn¡¯t stop me from being annoyed. The only loophole I could find was by requesting things specifically. He would always give me what I wanted. But what could a child who had everything ask for in the end? And I, an adult coming from a place with game systems and the internet, was even more stumped on what to request. All the things I wanted he couldn¡¯t give me. I ran out of things to ask for almost immediately! He filled the void by sending me gifts he must have thought little girls would like. Sometimes it was clear he was thinking the gift was a ¡°proper gift for a Duke¡¯s daughter¡±. Wave after wave of these kinds of gifts... It was annoying, but I tolerated it. What could I do but tolerate? I¡¯d get threatened if I didn¡¯t accept what he was giving me. I clamped down on my frustration and pretended to be happy. It was important I be happy and not just begrudging. I needed to be on good terms with him. He needed to think I was sane and obedient, so he would listen to me where it mattered. Every time I met Camilla¡¯s father, which wasn¡¯t often, I brought up how much I loved the Floren Duchy. I didn¡¯t want to leave it. If marrying meant being away from Papa, I¡¯d rather never get married, etc, etc. Every childish excuse I could think to use to press home the point of having someone marrying into the Florentine family rather than me marrying out of it, I used. Not only did this please him, it was emphasising how he didn¡¯t need to marry me off to the Crown Prince. I thought I was doing well. Duke Florentine always agreed with me with a jolly expression on his face. The unwanted gifts increased too, proving he liked what I was saying. Everything was fine until I turned 10 years old. [Teaser] Rewrite: Chapter 2 I was told the horrific news in the middle of breakfast. ¡°W-what did you say?¡± My hand loosened, causing the spoon in my hand to drop into the bowl of wheat and fruit pottage with a gentle thump. ¡°I said, the engagement between Crown Prince Albert and yourself has been confirmed.¡± Duke Florentine smiled happily at me, as if he¡¯d done something praise worthy. He¡¯d returned late last night and begun looking over manor paperwork. Because there was no Duchess, it fell on him to periodically look over the ledgers and do a walk through of the estate to make sure things were being run properly. This meant that even when he should be at home resting, he was working. How this guy didn¡¯t die from an stress ulcer from overwork was a mystery to me. Seeing my stupefied expression, he completely misunderstood and continued, ¡°I didn¡¯t want to say anything until the agreement was finalized.¡± My initial stunned silence was replaced by raw fury. I¡¯d been dropped into this stupid world, drugged for a year to break my spirit, and then forced to act as this negligent man¡¯s daughter for 5 years. In exchange for my suffering, all I asked of the universe was that I be allowed to deviate from the game¡¯s storyline. All I needed was for this one thing to change and I¡¯d live my life as Camilla Florentine, the good daughter of the Duke of Floren. I¡¯d even resigned myself to marry whoever the Duke picked for me, as long as it wasn¡¯t the Prince. But this guy¡ª this guy¡ª!!!!! ¡°I REFUSE!¡± I roared, jumping out of my seat with my hands in fists. ¡°GO BACK AND TELL THEM I WON¡¯T MARRY HIM!¡± Not to mention Duke Florentine, the nearby servants were shocked by my sudden outburst. ¡°Camilla, baby, calm down¡ª¡± Whatever adult dignity I had left in me was lost in my anger as I stomped my feet in a full blown tantrum. ¡°I won¡¯t calm down! I won¡¯t! How could you arrange a marriage without asking me! You could have at least asked!¡± After living in this world for so many years, I had an idea how marriages worked. Though the adults arranged the marriages, the children were also allowed to say no. But the time frame for turning the other side down was early in the process, not after the engagement was finalized. ¡°Why would I have to ask?¡± Duke Florentine frowned, perplexed and upset at his daughter''s sudden temper. ¡°There isn¡¯t a girl in the Kingdom who doesn¡¯t want to be a Princess!¡± ¡°There is one!¡± ¡°Who?¡± ¡°Me!¡± He sighed, rubbing his temples as if a headache was setting. ¡°Camilla, I don¡¯t understand what is so upsetting about this arrangement. You will be loved and adored by everyone as a Princess¡ª¡± ¡°Hah!¡± ¡°¡ªand when you grow up, you¡¯ll be Queen of the whole nation. There won¡¯t be a single person who will disrespect you.¡± ¡°Ha¡­ hahahaha!¡± I started laughing uproariously at his declaration. If the Duke was annoyed before, he was alarmed at my fit of laughter. ¡°Why are you laughing?¡± ¡°Because it¡¯s funny!¡± ¡°What¡¯s funny?¡± ¡°Everything Papa just said is a joke!¡± ¡°How could I possibly be joking?¡± I stopped laughing abruptly, startling him further. ¡°Then you mean to lie to me.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not¡ª¡± ¡°Just because I¡¯m young doesn¡¯t make me stupid.¡± I cut him off. ¡°Being a Princess doesn¡¯t guarantee love, any more than being a Queen means everyone will respect me. I¡¯ve read history books, Papa, I know it¡¯s not true. And if I¡¯ve read them, so have you. So don¡¯t lie to me and act like this engagement was done for my sake.¡± His expression stiffened, apparently not expecting that kind of reasoning from his 10 year old daughter. Seeing his expression, my temper cooled and I felt stupid. Why had I expected anything from this man? He never listened before, why would he listen now? ¡°Papa, do you love me at all?¡± ¡°Of course I love you! How could you ask me that?¡± ¡°If you loved me, why didn¡¯t you even ask what I wanted?¡± ¡°I thought¡ª I thought you¡¯d be happy being a Princess.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Other little girls¡ª¡± ¡°Other daddies ask their daughters who they want to marry!¡± I tossed back and raised my chin, my expression stubborn and defiant. ¡°I guess we¡¯re both going to be disappointed. I won¡¯t marry him.¡± He frowned, his expression hardening. ¡°Camilla Florentine, you will marry the Crown Prince.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t.¡± ¡°You will.¡± I tossed my hair and sneered brazenly. ¡°Make me.¡± Being drugged was preferable to death. I was willing to risk defiance for my long term well being. ¡°Are you really going to be this way?¡± ¡°Since you¡¯re forcing me.¡± ¡°Camilla, I can¡¯t take this engagement back, do you understand? It will ruin this family in the eyes of the King.¡± ¡°Then let it be ruined.¡± I don¡¯t know why that particular statement set him off, but it did. In a flash, he stood up from his chair, grabbed my arm and slapped me across the face. Because he had a grip on my arm, I simply stumbled instead of falling from the force. ¡°How dare you treat the Florentine family as if it were nothing!¡± He roared at me, pale face flushed and blue eyes blazing, ¡°You owe your existence to this family! Everything you have and will have, comes from the Florentine name! Without it, you¡¯d be nothing!¡± My eyes watered with a mixture of pain, anger, and sorrow. The parents I had before this would never have treated me this way. Even if I¡¯d lived in a society where parents did matchmaking, they¡¯d have at least asked my opinion first. And certainly, they¡¯d never had slapped me across the face at 10 years old, much less 20. At that moment, I hated Duke Florentine from the bottom of my heart. Any pretense of parent-child relationship was destroyed. He would never be a father to me again, not in private and not in public. Through the pain I mumbled, ¡°Since you don¡¯t seem interested in being my father, I¡¯ll treat you as my boss.¡± He shook my arm, which was still in a vice grip and demanded nastily, ¡°What was that?¡± I looked up at him, my expression tranquil except for the tears stains that still remained. ¡°Since Duke Florentine wants me to marry the Crown Prince, I¡¯ll marry the Crown Prince.¡± A mixture of relief at my capitulation and uneasiness flickered across his face. It seemed to take him a moment to figure out why he felt something in my wording wasn¡¯t right. ¡°Call me Papa.¡± I glanced down at his hand, still gripping my arm like a vice, and then looked back at him with a raised eyebrow. He realized what my eyes were saying and let go. My arm free, I rubbed it and stated calmly, ¡°If you want to be called Papa, just cancel this engagement.¡± ¡°I already told you I can¡¯t do that!¡± I shrugged, ¡°Then you¡¯re Duke Florentine from now on.¡± ¡°You¡ª!¡± He raised his hand again and I sensibly scooted out of reach. Far enough away he couldn¡¯t easily reach me, I taunted angrily, ¡°Beat the fiance of the Crown Prince if you dare! I¡¯d like to see you explain why I can¡¯t be seen in public to the King!¡± He hesitated and finally lowered his hands. I was really a fool to trust this guy. In the end, all he cared about was honor and prestige. His daughter¡¯s happiness was simply an afterthought, if it was considered at all. Seeing he wasn¡¯t actively going to abuse me anymore, I couldn¡¯t be bothered with him. I turned around and left in a huff He didn¡¯t chase after me nor did he apologize for what he did. From that moment on, a cold war between us started. ?????????????? I had to re-evaluate my original theory about this world. I¡¯d been functioning as if my choices would cause a butterfly effect: I would make small changes that would ripple out into big changes. Theoretically it should work that way, I thought. Unfortunately, Duke Florentine proved that some things were going to happen despite my best efforts. My butterfly wings just weren¡¯t strong enough to stop the inevitable. In retrospect, whether it was this world or the one I came from, that was true. Hurricanes and tsunamis can¡¯t be stopped just by being more virtuous. Perhaps certain events in this world were just going to happen, regardless of my actions. This realization depressed me at first. I refused to leave my bed for two days because of it. But then I started thinking¡­ Just because I had no influence, didn¡¯t mean I was completely powerless. I knew the general direction the script was going, key characters involved, and that different scenarios could play out depending on how certain people behaved. This meant there was hope for my future! After all, the point of an Otome Game is CHOICE. There may be a script everyone follows, but within the script there is a lot of leeway for how a person gets to certain events and endings. With that in mind, I just needed to figure out how to make the script work for me instead of constantly fighting it. What did I know about the game¡¯s script? Out of the 5 romance routes available, Camilla married the Prince in 4 and in 1 had her engagement annulled. Every time Camilla married the Prince, she died. When her engagement ended, she lived. The one time she lived was ironically in the Prince¡¯s route. What did this tell me? Marrying the Prince was a 100% guarantee I¡¯d die. If I didn¡¯t marry him, I had a 100% chance of living. Though it was clear the script favored Camilla marrying the Prince and dying, there was at least the possibility of getting the engagement annulled and surviving. What were the circumstances that allowed for the annulment? The Prince disliked Camilla¡¯s attitude long before the player met him. He tolerated her because she never took things too far. But when the player got involved with him, Camilla¡¯s fragile mental health broke down rapidly. She went from envious, to jealous, to murderous. Between his initial dislike of Camilla and her sudden move to Crazy Town, he gave up on her completely. He got evidence of her crimes, of which she¡¯s accumulated quite a few, and announced their break up in front of the entire school body¡ªwith parents watching too¡ªduring the graduation ball held in the last year of school. This forced the King to side with his son and break off the engagement. Thinking about it, that dance was an important point in the game. Every route featured it. It was how the player knew whether they¡¯d successfully romanced their target. If they did, they would be able to dance with them and if they didn¡¯t they¡¯d dance with some random no-name character. If the Prince could use this party to break things off with Camilla, couldn¡¯t the opposite be true? Didn¡¯t that mean I could use it to break up with him? Of course, doing it this way meant completely destroying my reputation and, by proxy, taking the Florentine family with me. But this was a small price to pay considering the Duke had proven he wasn¡¯t worth the consideration. If he¡¯d cared about me even a little, maybe I¡¯d care about him too. But since he decided to do whatever he wanted without caring about me, I didn¡¯t feel obligated to care about him in return. He wasn¡¯t my real father anyway. If that was the case, the most sensible thing was to pick the route in the game I knew for a fact didn¡¯t end with me dying: the Crown Prince¡¯s Route. Of course the main issue with going this way was convincing the player¡ªwho I had mentally dubbed the ¡°Heroine¡± because she had no default name in the game¡ªto pick the Crown Prince. In the game, besides dealing with the extremely annoying school credit system, the only real difficulty with the Prince¡¯s route was Camilla constantly trying to kill the Heroine.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. But how do I do that? Do I play matchmaker? Wasn¡¯t there a possibility she¡¯ll choose someone else? There were two routes I was sure she wouldn¡¯t take because they were insanely difficult, but what about the routes left? How do I block those? Was it possible to block them? I worried about that for a while before I realized even if I could figure that out it was years into the future. I had a more immediate problem: I needed Albert to be on bad terms with Camilla. This wasn¡¯t simply because ¡°it was like that in the game¡± but also because¡­ well, think about it. Exactly why would the Prince leave his childhood fiance if he liked her? He would flat out reject the idea of an annulment if he had any sincere affection for Camilla. I absolutely can¡¯t have him liking me enough to want to marry me! This put me in an awkward spot though. How do I get hated? I have to act like the original Camilla, right? That was going to be difficult. I don¡¯t know how she acted at 10 to be disliked by the Prince. She was 5 when I took over and other than being an obnoxious brat, she wasn¡¯t that horrible. Being bratty can¡¯t have been all, there must have been something else. But nothing specific was mentioned! Exactly how awful do I need to behave around the Crown Prince to get him to hate me? There¡¯s also the problem that I fundamentally don¡¯t think like everyone else here. Camilla could act cruel and arrogant as a teenager because her worldview allowed for it. As for me, I can¡¯t be mean and cruel to people just for being a ¡°lower status¡± than I am. I don¡¯t think of people in tiers to begin with, they¡¯re all humans and deserving of some basic respect! As for being arrogant and proud, I can only pull that off in areas I do well. It''s easy to fake arrogance if I have some underlying confidence in a particular area, but if I don¡¯t? If I mess up? If I¡¯m obviously bad at something? I don¡¯t think I can fake confidence through that¡­. Lastly, I¡¯ve been well-behaved for 5 years now. That doesn¡¯t mean the servants or my personal maid have forgotten my ¡°hysterics¡± all those years ago. They still keep an eye on me. If I show erratic behavior, there¡¯s a strong possibility of that ¡°calming medication¡± being brought out. I can¡¯t live like that again! What can I do then? I¡¯ve gotta be mean enough to get the Prince¡¯s dislike but not so mean that it causes the adults to think I broke again. I quietly wondered, ¡®Can I really do this?¡¯ ?????????????? ¡®I don¡¯t think I can do this!¡¯ I was standing outside waiting for Albert Silvador, Crown Prince of Ailandale, with Duke Florentine. The entire Florentine manor had been cleaned to shining perfection over the last week. I¡¯d been forced into who knows how many outfits by Miss Tollis until she found the ¡°perfect one¡±. The result of ¡°perfection¡± was feeling stuffy and over-frilled. After being repeatedly reminded to smile and look friendly by Duke Florentine, I thought my smiling face was going to fall off from aching. I hadn¡¯t realized it until then, but I¡¯d gotten out of the habit of smiling and my face muscles were stiff as a result. The Prince had come in a fancy white carriage with guards riding horseback in front and behind. I watched it approach anxiously. All I could think about was how to destroy his first impression of me without causing Duke Florentine to flip out. I¡¯d been so busy worrying about my own problems that I completely forgot something critical: the Crown Prince had been really handsome. As a child, exactly what would he look like? It turned out his handsomeness translated into a very charming little boy. I took a critical hit when he took his first step out of his carriage. Glittering gold blond hair and large green eyes set in a youthful round face. His cheeks were flushed a little pink and there was an excited smile on his face. Adorable! 100% Cuteness! I knew it was going to be awkward to be mean to a child, but it felt like the difficulty had skyrocketed. He hopped down from the carriage and gave a formal bow at the waist while smiling. ¡°Duke Florentine, it¡¯s my honor to be here.¡± I felt like I¡¯d taken another critical hit. Not only did he have cuteness that could be weaponized to kill, even his voice was sweet and lilting. He could have been a child singer, I was sure! ¡°No, no, the honor is all mine.¡± Duke Florentine bowed and then turned to me, ¡°This is my daughter, who you heard so much about¡­.¡± I was stunned into silence because of a cuteness overload and for a moment forgot what I should be doing. Duke Florentine frowned slightly and cleared his throat. He put a hand on my back and forced me forward, his eyes saying: Why aren¡¯t you greeting him?!!?!? Getting touched by the Duke caused a shiver to run down my spine, splashing cold water all over the moment of pure adorableness. Right, I needed to be mean! With this in mind, I sighed heavily. It was an annoyed sigh that was loud enough that everyone could hear, including the Prince. I could feel Duke Florentine stiffen through the hand pressing against my back. The little Prince, however, just looked surprised. I wept inside as I prepared to trample all over his innocence. Performing the perfect curtsy, I spoke in a machine-like, fake ¡°polite¡± voice, ¡°May God bless his Highness, Prince Silvador. I am Camilla Florentine, daughter of Duke Florentine, servant of the King. You favor the Florentine Manor with your presence and ensure Floren Duchy a 100 year good harvest with your visit.¡± I stood there woodenly, a disinterested expression on my face while internally patting myself on the back. Nailed it! I did everything technically right, while managing to come off as rude as possible. It would be hard for the Duke to criticize me outright without looking foolish himself. The little Prince brows furrowed, his surprise sinking into confusion. He seemed to realize my behavior wasn¡¯t right. Duke Florentine looked like he might bust a blood vessel from suppressing his anger. The little Prince didn¡¯t know, but he knew what I was trying to do. Seeing his upset expression, I smiled in my heart. I still hadn¡¯t forgiven him for slapping me and secretly took joy in his suffering. Controlling himself, Duke Florentine squeezed out a strained smile and chuckled lightly, ¡°Camilla, what are you doing? I know you¡¯re nervous but didn¡¯t I say there was no reason to be stiff with His Highness?¡± Unfortunately this explanation had the desired effect on the little Prince. The boy immediately looked relieved, his earlier smile returning to him. I couldn¡¯t help narrowing my eyes in the Duke¡¯s direction. Touch¨¦, sir. Touch¨¦... Taking a few steps forward, the little Prince bowed again, this time only slightly. He took my hand and kissed the back of it, causing me to blush in surprise. With a heart wrenching earnestness, he told me ¡°Don¡¯t be nervous. You can call me Albert. Let¡¯s get along well, alright?¡± The world seemed to freeze for a moment as he looked up at me. His expression was pure and unguarded, like a puppy running up to someone excitedly, not knowing they were about to get kicked. I couldn¡¯t be close like he wanted, but it wasn¡¯t appropriate to turn him down outright. With more force than necessary, I pulled my hand out of his and put it behind my back. Face expressionless and voice as stiff as I could make it, I responded, ¡°Prince Albert... you must be tired from your trip. We have tea and snacks inside.¡± I couldn¡¯t bear to see his expression at my obvious coldness. Turning around I made a hasty retreat towards the front door. Behind me I could hear Duke Florentine salvaging the situation, ¡°She¡¯s just shy, your Highness. Give her time...¡± ?????????????? From that point on the Duke continued to set up meetings, or what I liked to think of as ¡°playdates¡±, with the little Prince. Every week the little Prince would come over to the Florentine manor to talk with me. Usually we¡¯d either eat some snacks or walk around the enormous manor gardens, or both. I don¡¯t know why the Duke didn¡¯t take me to the King¡¯s castle. Maybe he didn¡¯t trust me to behave after that fight we got into. The overly polite, apathetic attitude I¡¯d been using in front of the little Prince seemed to be working. His expression had gotten more strained and, being young, he hadn¡¯t mastered hiding his feelings. It was obvious he was confused by what was happening between us. In the game his character had been a bit flashy and friendly, but in a shallow way. Though he got along with everyone, it seemed like he wasn¡¯t friends with anyone. Later, after the Heroine has ¡°caught¡± him, the player finds out that the Prince didn¡¯t trust people. When he was younger, he¡¯d gotten used by people he¡¯d counted as friends, and ever since then he¡¯d been extremely cautious of being truly open and honest with those around him. Naturally the Heroine was the person to ¡°open his heart with love¡±. I still think that line of thinking is stupid. So he finds one person he can trust, how will that help him with everyone else? Frankly, it¡¯d be better if he learned to discern people¡¯s character independently of the Heroine. Especially since he¡¯s the Crown Prince. Being able to figure out who to trust and by how much to trust them, is critical to running a country well. Not that whether he did a good or bad job mattered to me. Lately I¡¯d been thinking what I should do if I could successfully annul this stupid engagement. Usually that would mean I¡¯d end up back in the Florentine manor, dealing with the Duke. No thank you! Instead of that, why not leave the country? Once I¡¯m out, the game and I won¡¯t have anything to do with each other. After all, it was hyper focused on the people here and ignored everything else. If I leave Ailandale, I should get ignored too. Splendid! It was easy to decide where I should go: Republic of Rynar. They¡¯ll take anyone in as long as they¡¯re willing to work hard. Most importantly nobles have no influence in that country. I could flee to that country and the Duke couldn¡¯t do anything about it. Hehehehe. Ahem! I got distracted thinking about freedom! Back to the little Prince¡­. Unlike his game counterpart, he hadn¡¯t developed a deep distrust of people. If anything, I¡¯d say he was too open about his every feeling and expectation. Any adult with malicious intentions could ¡°read¡± what he was feeling and use it to manipulate him. It worried me a little. But only a little. Between his vulnerability and my future with all my limbs attached, I would always choose myself. One day he came over and we walked around the garden for an unusually long time. For once, he hadn¡¯t said a word and I, who never initiated, didn¡¯t say anything either. I was starting to sweat under the sun and felt uncomfortable at the silence. Though it had been my policy never to speak first, lest it seem like I was interested in him, I finally broke down and asked, ¡°Pardon me, Prince Albert, but how much longer are we to go on walking?¡± He stopped walking, his expression dazed. He blinked several times, as if recollecting himself, glanced at me and then hastily looked at the ground. He fiddled with his fingers nervously. It seemed like he wanted to say something but I suppressed my curiosity and didn¡¯t ask. ¡°Did I do something to you?¡± His words came out as a low mutter, I couldn¡¯t quite catch what he said. I screwed my eyebrows together, ¡°What?¡± This time he looked up at me, his wide green eyes anxious but sharp. ¡°Well, I was wondering if you were mad at me.¡± Finally! It might sound heartless, but I had wondered how long it would take him to catch on. Being mean like this didn¡¯t come naturally to me. If he remained unaffected, I¡¯d have to get meaner. I wasn¡¯t confident I could get any meaner than I already was. ¡°Why would I be mad at you?¡± I asked indifferently, ¡°I barely know you.¡± His lips pursed at my calloused response and looked back at the ground. ¡°Isn¡¯t that because you won¡¯t talk to me?¡± I tilted my head, as if thinking. ¡°Oh yes, I suppose so.¡± ¡°Then,¡± His hands clamped into tiny fists and announced boldly, ¡°if you were to bother having a real conversation with me, you are sure to like me.¡± My indifferent mask almost dropped. I hadn¡¯t expected him to do some self promotion there. His obvious apprehension paired with his firm declaration of being likable was a funny juxtaposition. I wanted to laugh and say ¡®You¡¯re adorable!¡¯ but of course I wasn¡¯t able to. In an effort to conceal what I was feeling, my eyebrows lowered and my posture became more aggressive than I had intended. ¡°And why should I do that?¡± ¡°...w..why?¡± ¡°Yes, why.¡± He glanced up at me and stiffened at what he saw. His feet shuffled a bit before he squeaked out: ¡°B..because¡­ we¡¯re en..engaged?¡± I tried to smile brilliantly but, perhaps because I was suppressing my real feelings, it came off as an evil grin. ¡°Let me ask you, if someone is engaged but is refusing to get along with their fiance, what do you think that means?¡± There was a long pause before he shook his head, indicating he didn¡¯t know how to answer. ¡°Lets reframe the question,¡± This was my opportunity to thoroughly break his little Prince heart and I was taking it! ¡°Let¡¯s say there are two boys who don¡¯t know each other. Without anyone asking them, their parents decided they ought to be friends. So they keep meeting up and putting the boys together to have them play. Now one of the boys looks bored during these meetings, talks very little, and is eager to go home. The other boy does all the talking and suggests all the games, basically doing all the work. Every meeting is the same. Why do you think the first boy is behaving the way he does?¡± The little Prince hesitated for a moment before answering, ¡°Isn¡¯t... that because he never wanted to be friends to begin with and his parents forced him into it?¡± I nodded. ¡°And what do you think about the other boy in this story?¡± He frowned, ¡°Isn¡¯t he dumb to keep trying to be friends with a boy who doesn¡¯t want to be friends with¡ª ah.¡± He suddenly made the connection and finally looked up at me, his golden colored eyes widened with shock, ¡°You mean you never wanted to be my fiance and were forced into it?!¡± ¡°Mmmm hm.¡± ¡°But why?¡± His entire body showed his discomfort over this new revelation. ¡°I¡¯m the Crown Prince, I¡¯ll be King in the future! Being my fiance means you¡¯ll be Queen!¡± I couldn¡¯t help rolling my eyes at him. This was the exact same reasoning as Duke Florentine, coming from an 11 year olds mouth! ¡°In your mind, does every girl want to be queen?¡± He opened his mouth, like he was going to argue with me, and I raised my eyebrows. Seeing this he paused and seemed to rethink what he was going to say. ¡°...I¡­ don¡¯t know.¡± Good. It seemed the 11 year old was a bit smarter than the Duke and wouldn¡¯t continue on believing something when the evidence against it was right in front of him. ¡°Well, now you know.¡± I almost left it there, but I hesitated. The way the Duke thought, which was apparently the common way of thinking based on what the little Prince just said, irritated me to no end. I couldn¡¯t change the way the Duke thought, but maybe I could change the way the little Prince thought? If I successfully persuaded him AND made him dislike me, wouldn¡¯t that be killing two birds with one stone? This entire thought process zipped through my mind in a split second. Upon coming to a positive conclusion, I pounced. Continuing my act, I sniffed disdainfully at him, treating him like an idiot, and continued snidely, ¡°Besides, if all you¡¯ve got to offer a girl is the position of queen, isn¡¯t that really pitiful? That means there¡¯s nothing interesting about you outside of your status.¡± This line of thinking was naturally foreign to him. He couldn¡¯t help looking puzzled. ¡°What do you mean? It¡¯s not like the Crown Prince and I are any different, we¡¯re the same person. I, Albert, am interesting so naturally I, the Crown Prince, am interesting.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not how people view you. They don¡¯t think of you as Albert, the 11 year old boy, they think of you as the Crown Prince, future ruler of the world and current favorite of the King. You, Albert, are only important as long as you¡¯re competent. Beyond that, your likes and dislikes, people only care about those things to win you over so they can gain power. ¡± I paused, lip curled in a sneer, ¡°Pardon me, I¡¯m being roundabout¡­ what I mean to say is, they aren¡¯t interested in you as a person, just your title. No one really likes you, Prince Albert. They only like you, the Crown Prince.¡± His face paled momentarily and then flushed, his green eyes flashing with anger. ¡°That¡¯s¡ª that¡¯s not true!¡± He refuted loudly, ¡°My Father, Mother, Swordmaster, and Nanny like me for me! Don¡¯t you dare say otherwise!¡± My face twitched in an effort not to laugh at this childish rebuttable. One would hope his parents liked him! As for the other two, who knew? But I wasn¡¯t going to quibble over the details. Anyway, my goal of being unlikable seemed to be working. I¡¯d managed to make him angry! ¡°...if they¡¯re the only four out of all the people you know, isn¡¯t that just sad?¡± I sighed dramatically, shaking my head as if to say ¡®it¡¯s a pity¡¯ and continued pressing my point. ¡°Right now, all you have is your status and title, how would you know when someone was being genuine? In the future, will you be able to make any real friends? Won¡¯t everyone use you without you knowing it? Imagine your whole life never making a real friend and only being surrounded by people who want your power. I¡¯d be depressed.¡± His mouth opened and closed several times, the frustration on his face making it obvious he wanted to argue. But instead of arguing, he just stood there speechless. I was briefly puzzled as to why he didn¡¯t say anything. Then I thought... Could it be that he was already vaguely aware of what I was talking about? Perhaps he hadn¡¯t been hurt to the point of closing himself off, but only because he was ignoring the warning signs? I¡¯d assumed the events that lead to him closing his heart off to others hadn¡¯t happened yet, but maybe it wasn¡¯t one thing that had caused it. Maybe many small things all accumulated over time, causing him to lose faith in people. His hands were still gripped into fists, it was obvious he was still upset. I wanted to comfort him but it was my fault his feelings had been hurt. And that had been my goal from the beginning. If I backed out now, what had all this work been for? Thinking so, I forced a cheery smile on my face. At the same time, he stood straight. His angry expression instantly snuffed out at seeing my calloused response to him. His eyes watered slightly and his lips trembled. My smile froze, guilt crashing in my heart all at once. He turned around and said in a wobbly voice, ¡°I¡­ I think it¡¯s about time I go home now.¡± Then he picked up his legs and began to make a hasty retreat. I didn¡¯t expect him to leave without any warning and was momentarily stunned. After recollecting myself, I called after him, ¡°Do you need me to see you out?¡± The manor gardens were ridiculously large and it was easy to get lost. I didn¡¯t really think he¡¯d respond, but he stopped, turned around and bowed stiffly from a distance. ¡°No thank you!¡± Immediately after turning me down, he ran away as if he was fleeing. That he¡¯d responded politely despite being upset amused me, but only temporarily. I watched him disappear into the distance and sighed heavily. ¡®This should be enough, right?¡¯ I thought, feeling relieved that I¡¯d succeeded but awful for having hurt an innocent kid.