Chapter 2: I took away Yeoju's first love.
At that moment, I first thought this world was strange.
Even though I met an unknown novelist's man hoping for a normal relationship, it ended up like this.
Is Tatiana really a bewitching woman?
Could she have approached my lovers with some intention?
If that were true, I thought it was too much.
But my doubts soon faded.
Because his true identity as a member of the Hanmi family was revealed.
Andrew LeBrun Gloucester.
The half-brother of the current emperor and the only royal who went missing during the Prince's Rebellion.
And the hidden male lead in this game.
According to the original story, he would regain his position as Duke with Tatiana's help.
After learning his true identity, a sense of futility washed over me.
I felt that no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't escape the original story.
Not long after breaking up with him, I heard about Tatiana's marriage.
That's how the original story ended.
"I thought it would be fine this time."
It had been three years since the original story ended, and I thought there would be no more entanglements since Tatiana had married.
But to be blindsided like this.
I drank the champagne in my glass in one gulp, as if to soothe my bitter heart.
I could sense curiosity in the glances of the ladies far away.
'Probably they heard the news somewhere.'
The news that the only daughter of the 'Pioneers' family had broken off her engagement again.
Since I poured tea over Wilhelm's head in front of other guests, it was inevitable that rumors would spread.
Among those who were just watching, someone finally couldn't contain their curiosity and approached.
"It's been a while, Lady."
"It's been a while. Lady Tieri. How have you been?"
With her, people started to gather one by one.
And I spent quite a while in idle conversation. In the middle of various topics, Lady Tieri threw a direct question.
"Lady Pioneers, you are truly remarkable. If I were in your situation, I would be too embarrassed to face my family. To have the courage to attend such an event..."
Though she praised me, the slight upward curve of one side of her mouth mocked me.
I smiled and replied to Lady Tieri.
"In our family, we are taught from a young age that with the wealth and power we enjoy, we must also take responsibility for society. Since this is an event I'm attending in place of my busy father, I must set aside my personal issues."
"Besides, I was the one who initiated the breakup, so there's no reason to avoid it."
Since this wasn't the first time, it wasn't difficult to handle.
Realizing there was nothing new to learn about my broken engagement, the topic quickly died down.
I nodded along with their condolences and then slipped away from the group.
Honestly, I didn't want to be here.
This banquet was an annual event where the emperor invited influential nobles.
My father was abroad, so I attended in his place.
I could feel Wilhelm watching me from a distance.
Moreover, it wasn't just Wilhelm.
My ex-fiancés, Daniel and Raymond, were also somewhere in the room.
'I want to go home quickly.'
As soon as I finished my audience with the emperor, I would escape from the banquet.
I moistened my mouth with champagne again.
I made a face, hoping no one would talk to me.
But, as always, my wish was cruelly shattered.
"Karina! It's been a while. How have you been?"
A bright woman approached, laughing merrily. Her presence made the surroundings feel brighter.
As if the protagonist had stepped onto the stage.
"It's been a while, Your Highness, Duchess of Gloucester."
"Oh, come on. We don't need to be so formal with each other."
Her cheerful smile made my stomach churn.
"By the way, I heard you got engaged to Sir Wilhelm recently! You've been dating for quite a while, why didn't you tell me?"
Tatiana's words made me feel uneasy.
Since all three of my failed relationships were due to her, it was natural that I didn't want to tell her.
Moreover, Tatiana knew this fact.
"Did you worry that I might take him away this time too?"
"Oh, I'm a married woman now. Don't worry too much, okay?"
It always went like this.
The day after Andrew and I broke up, Tatiana approached me as if nothing had happened.
I was the one who was hurt and struggling, but she acted as if my feelings didn't exist.
"Have you secretly met Wilhelm?"
Tatiana feigned surprise at my question. My voice had become sharp without me realizing it.
"Hmm, just? Because you won't see each other often after you get married?"
"Wilhelm thinks differently."
"Oh, a mistress is just a joke, you know."
I didn't expect that word to come out of her mouth.
I pretended not to know and asked Tatiana.
"What do you mean by that?"
Tatiana told me the story they had shared, with an innocent face.
They talked about wanting to see each other often and made a promise not to drift apart after marriage.
She said Wilhelm joked that he might become her lover.
"Sir Wilhelm said he didn't care if he became known as your lover. He was so serious, it was cute!"
"Yeah, Karina. I'm so envious."
Seeing her smiling face, I felt my rationality snap.
If Wilhelm hadn't proposed to be my lover first, how would it have turned out?
I would have heard about their meetings and jokes from Tatiana.
There was nothing more infuriating than that.
My cooled anger flared up again.
But my mind was unusually cold.
"Tatiana, you really lack perception."
Though my tone was gentle, the content was icy.
"Huh? Because of the mistress talk? It was just a joke."
Her innocent smile was absurd.
"Do you have to tell me this story? And why did you secretly meet my fiancé and talk about such things?"
"Well, we're friends, aren't we...?"
"If that's the case, would you mind if I met the Duke alone?"
Her cheerful face turned cold at my words.
It was a new face, filled with intense anger.
Now everything was clear.
She wasn't as simple as to not know that such actions were wrong.
Tatiana must have deliberately approached my lovers.
Her enmity towards me was so clear that I wondered how I hadn't realized it sooner.
"Karina, how could you say such things to me? I was just worried about you as a friend."
She wiped the anger from her face and spoke as if I was the one who had done something wrong.
I hadn't done anything wrong.
"Worried? You, who only meet the men around me. Who should I be most worried about?"
"Karina, I told you it's a misunderstanding."
Tatiana started to notice the gazes of those around us. Everyone was watching us with interest.
Those things had long vanished from my mind.
"A misunderstanding... Yeah. You've broken up with four of my ex-boyfriends who confessed to you. At this point, we have a terrible karmic connection."
I could hear the whispers around me.
It must be amusing to hear from the parties involved what they had only heard as rumors.
At the same time, a mix of curiosity and disdain was directed at us.
Tatiana was pale to the point of being shocking.
Just by looking at her face, it seemed as if the one who had lost her lover was Tatiana, not me.
Watching the restless Tatiana was quite enjoyable.
"Karina, I didn't mean to... "
"Please enter, the representative of the Pioneers family."
At that moment, the butler called my name like a savior.
"I'll talk to you later."
I left Tatiana behind and followed the butler out of the banquet hall.
I walked through the white marble corridor and stopped in front of the door adorned with gold and amethyst.
Now I remembered the real purpose of my visit, and I started to feel nervous.
"Your Majesty, the representative of the Pioneers family, Lady Karina Pioneers, has arrived."
As the permission was given, the door finally opened.
"Welcome, Lady. This is our first meeting, I presume?"
This was my first time having a private audience with the emperor.
The young emperor was very different from what I had imagined.
He looked to be in his mid-twenties, younger than I expected, and more overwhelming.
Even just looking down at me, I felt a chill down my spine from the intense pressure.
I approached and sat opposite the emperor. His appearance, which had been blurry, became vividly clear.
His luxurious blonde hair, the purple eyes symbolizing the royal family, his straight nose, and his charming smile. The emperor, with one hand on his chin, looked at me with a relaxed expression.
Words like "handsome" or "good-looking" were insufficient.
After possessing the body, I had met many attractive male leads, but the charm he exuded was different.
'Come to think of it, he was Tatiana's first love.'
Before the original story began, he had rejected Tatiana's bold proposal outright.
The memory of seeing him occasionally in illustrations in Tatiana's memories resurfaced.
"Daydreaming in front of someone... Were you thinking about the pain of a broken heart?"
It seemed my reputation had reached his ears.
I smiled slightly and replied.
"No, Your Majesty. I was just surprised by Your Majesty's beauty, which exceeded my imagination."
What was he relieved about?
There were many questions I wanted to ask, but the emperor quickly moved on to the main topic.
We had a brief conversation about various current issues.
Surprisingly, our views on many matters were similar, making it easy to reach a conclusion.
We wrapped up the meeting by summarizing a few issues that needed adjustment.
"Thank you for listening to me today, Your Majesty."
Looking out the window, I realized a lot of time had passed.
"Is there anything else you want to say?"
"No, nothing, Your Majesty."
At my answer, the emperor smiled mischievously and said,
"I heard you broke off your engagement. If your fiancé's position is vacant, I'd like to take it."