I, the Female Lead, Ruined the Original

You mean she shouldn’t go home?

Rakrensius was startled by Di’s sudden voice, and he instinctively looked in Di’s direction. Fortunately, Selleana was too busy crying to notice his odd behavior.

[The imperial palace… is preparing to send a messenger to Elard.]

* * *

At that time, Duke Elard was sitting in his office, deep in thought.

The dinner banquet held at Enet summer palace was truly bizarre. Was it really a setup to pair the third prince of Laten with Lady Branto, as Theonis had said?

The empress, who was also a saintess, personally offered a blessing prayer to lift Lady Branto’s spirits. Even after the children left, the Duke and Duchess of Elard and the Prince of Laten were not allowed to become close.

Was there some kind of leverage they had, or were they trying to pressure Elard through Laten?

Additionally, there was a report from Andrea that Lady Branto had been called out by the prince multiple times since that day.

As the duke who had demoted Pavellian from son-in-law to son-in-law candidate, he was constantly annoyed by Pavellian’s behavior.

Despite her appearance, Lea loved food so much. But she couldn’t even finish half of her steak because he took her away while she was eating. And then he got irritated outside, saying he was attacked by a crow, ruining the mood. Come to think of it, it was also annoying that the application for the selection contest, which had been prepared earlier, hadn’t yet been discarded under various excuses.

Once the head of the prestigious family had his eyes opened about the crown prince, his judgment was unrestrained.

It seemed better for the 5th prince, whom Lea adored, to be kind-hearted and dedicated to her.

He rationalized his fondness for Rakrensius, which he had already felt when he saved Selleana.

It seemed the imperial family was trying to pressure Elard through the selection contest amidst the subtle tension between the imperial family and Elard. Above all, the way they invited her was suspicious. Normally, they would send an invitation through a messenger, but this time, a maid delivered the message when he visited the palace. Why the need for such secrecy?

Duke Elard thought like that as he pressed his throbbing temples.

“…What’s going on?”

Suddenly, Andrea appeared, further deepening the duke’s displeasure. Her sudden appearance meant something had happened to Selleana.

“The imperial family… plans to issue a confinement order on Elard.”

“What? How do you know this?”

“…The Master of Tower informed me.”

“The fifth prince?”

“He said he knew from the holy relic he possesses.”

Duke Elard’s golden eyes widened.

Not just any imperial family, but specifically the fifth prince who is wary of the empress. And the holy relic he possesses, something no ruler has ever obtained before. It was likely connected to the church as if that holy relic revealed the current situation…

“Lea, was there anything troubling her at the imperial palace?”

“She had tea for about an hour at the Rose Palace and left. I couldn’t hear their conversation, but there was nothing unusual.”

“Then, where is she now?”

“After visiting her friends, she is resting at the Magic Tower. So…”

“Tell Lea to stay there.”

Andrea’s eyebrows slightly raised at the duke’s quick command. In fact, she was just about to relay that tower master had said the same thing.

Andrea, recalling the man’s apologetic face while making this request, nodded without additional comment.

Having watched the two up close, Andrea was also rooting for Rakrensius.

* * *

Selleana came to her senses after crying herself to exhaustion on Rakrensius’s bed. There were no maids to change the sheets, and she felt embarrassed for dirtying someone else’s bed in her outdoor clothes, but only for a moment.

“Master of Tower.”

Having organized her thoughts, Selleana sat up and called out to Rakrensius. He was sitting a little away on a sofa, staring blankly at the same page of a book.

“

I’ll give you the payment that I promised today.”

“Pardon?”

“My secret. I promised to tell you.”

. The shock Selleana must have felt was so great, and seeing her cry endlessly had pained him so much that he had forgotten today’s task was to escort her well, and then Selleana would reveal her secret. But for Rakrensius, there was something more important.

“Lady, first… let’s eat something.”

“…”

“I was worried it might bring back bad thoughts, but I didn’t know what you liked…”

He awkwardly presented a covered dish. Inside was a pudding from Rollina, Selleana’s favorite. The only things that came to Rakrensius’s mind were the drinks and street foods they had enjoyed together. So, he had Nick bring it from the capital.

Seeing it, Selleana’s eyes welled up with tears again. This was a disaster. Rakrensius panicked and fumbled. “

, that… I guess this reminds you of Lady Branto… I’m sorry, I just…”

“No.” Selleana smiled at Rakrensius, her eyes glistening with tears. “Master of Tower, these are tears of gratitude.”

“

…”

“Really, I don’t know what I’d do without Master of Tower right now…” She grimaced and smiled, a mix of emotions.

Rakrensius, who thought the current situation was his fault, couldn’t fully appreciate her words.

Selleana took a big spoonful of the pudding, swallowed it, and smiled again. Seeing it, Rakrensius tried to calm his wildly beating heart, wondering if it was okay to find someone who had just cried so much cute.

“Delicious things can be eaten after all the unpleasant talk is over…” Selleana set the spoon down and covered the dish, pushing it aside. Then, she grabbed Rakrensius’s hesitant hand from his lap and pulled it toward her. “Master of Tower.”

“…”

“Actually, I remember my past life.”

Rakrensius’s eyes widened at the sudden revelation.

“And so do my friends. We all lived in another world in our past lives, not here. In the same country. We didn’t know each other back then, but…”

Her face filled with bitterness as she continued. They had become closer than family because of their shared past lives.

“And we all knew what our destined lives were. For example, I was supposed to become the crown princess… But as Master of Tower knows, I chose not to follow that path, and my friends did the same. It wasn’t the life we decided on.”

The man’s face remained serious as he listened. Despite how absurd it might sound, Selleana felt a small sense of relief seeing that he didn’t dismiss her words.

“But… didn’t you Master of Tower say they have been acting strange since meeting the empress?”

“Yes.”

“What they’re doing now is exactly the life they tried to escape from. Nesia will have an unhappy marriage with Margrave Gotenfrid, Doli will marry and abandon her business and then live happily ever after with her childhood friend, Rosalli will be exiled from her family and leave for Laten, and Michi… will go to Laten.”

It was hard not to believe the words of the angel, but Rakrensius had a solid reason to trust her. At the very least, he knew how hard Lady Branto had tried to avoid Prince Erenst.

“None of us wanted to live those lives. That’s why Nesia joined the temple, and Doli… valued self-realization. Rosalli knew she would be abandoned, so she never got attached in the first place, and Michi, well, you know.”

“Lady, that…”

Rakrensius cautiously began. If Selleana knew her destiny, then perhaps…

After hesitating for a moment, he suddenly stood up and brought up the sword that was hanging on the wall.

“Would you like to hold this sword?”

“This? Isn’t this Master of Tower’s holy relic…?”

Caught off guard, Selleana took the sword’s handle as Rakrensius handed it to her.