/
But it was happening.
I didn’t know about anyone else, but I didn’t intend to alter the original plot.
Right?
Yet, if the original novel had gone on as it was, I would have become bitter enemies with the Empress.
But the Empress has become one of the most precious people I know now.
…then.
I stared at Sienna vacantly and then opened my mouth after briefly coughing.
“Then please call me by my first name, Sienna.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
When I nodded reassuringly, my cheeks turned red.
Sienna cleared her throat and slowly spoke.
“Charlize.”
“Mm-hmm.”
“… whoops. That feels a bit embarrassing for some reason.”
Sienna blushed with a shy smile.
Seeing her like that, I felt terrible again.
‘I have to be way nicer to Sienna from now on.’
Any of the previous reasons such as her being the female lead in the original novel, someone who’ll be with Damian and make him happy, were no longer relevant.
They were friends.
I also wanted to get along well with Sienna from now on.
“Whoops.”
As that realization dawned on me, I smiled happily, feeling free.
Damian abruptly stepped into the room and narrowed his eyes.
“Hey, since when did the two of you start calling each other by your names?”
Sienna immediately shot back at Damian.
“Why, Your Highness. Are you envious?”
“Why would I envy you? I’ve been calling Charlize by her name since forever, remember?”
“Oh? Still if I were you, I wouldn’t bother asking questions about something like this if I wasn’t envious inside.”
“Well, it’s not like that?!”
Seeing the two of them bickering like that, I strangely felt relieved.
Then Damian glanced back at me.
“That aside, Charlize, what’s with that face you’re making?”
“Hmm? You mean my expression?”
“You’re grinning like an idiot.”
Hey, couldn’t you say anything else other than ‘grinning like an idiot’ to your one and only fiancee?!
I fixed my expression while glaring at Damian.
The corners of my lips went up even higher, as much as humanly possible without me realizing it.
…Well, I may look a bit silly.
‘But who cares?’
After Sienna has confirmed her feelings about Damian to me, there’s no need to be bound by the original novel anymore.
‘Now I don’t have to feel guilty when I’m by Damian’s side.’
I was so elated by that fact I couldn’t help but smile happily.
It didn’t matter who was first both Damian and Sienna soon fixed their eyes on me with  unsettled expressions.
“Charlize, is everything all right?”
“Wait, could it be that you haven’t fully recovered from our time in Lebane?”
Damian’s vague and distressing question caused Sienna to pull her head back in a panic-stricken state.
“What?! You mean she’s unwell?! How did she get hurt?!” She yelled at him.
“See! You get it! You should have seen how shocked I was when she collapsed!”
“Oh, my God, are you all right now?”
Oh no. Look, it’s….
I shook my head awkwardly at the stream of concerned words directed at me.
“No, I’m just…”
After a brief pause, I smiled at the two and said.
“Well, I’ll do my best. Thank you.”
I spoke with sincerity.
Damian and Sienna’s eyes shook as if an earthquake had occurred.
Then he opened his mouth, still perturbed.
“Surely….is everything all right?”
“If you have concerns, you can tell us about them.”
As the two of them continued to express their care for me, I felt my eyes water.
“Really, it’s not like that!!”
***
And as time passed, the harvest festival was held.
Looking at the lavishly decorated shrine of Aurelia, I was overwhelmed with emotion.
‘Ha…really, it seems like yesterday when Damian stood as the Emperor’s candidate…’
Damian was now the Crown Prince, who would eventually succeed the Emperor as ruler of the empire.
It was also when the Emperor publicly persecuted Damian, wasn’t it?
Either way, I’ll be attending the festival not as a lady-in-waiting but as the fiancee of the Crown Prince!
On the other hand, the gaze of nobles looking at me was also unusual.
On a side note, the nobles gazed at me in a rather unusual way.
“Raising Lady Charlize to be the Crown Princess…”
“No, she’s still a commoner. It’s too much to have her be considered for the position of Crown Princess.”
“Is her commoner status even of importance? She’s already manifested the power of the divine beast!”
….hey, they know I can still hear them, right?
I squinted my eyes.
But then.
Sienna intervened in the conversation with a serious look on her face.
“If we nobles didn’t get to choose who becomes Crown Prince, what say do we have in determining who gets to become Crown Princess?”
“Oh, Viscountess Antes. It’s…”
“I don’t think there’s anyone more worthy of being the Crown Princess than Lady Charlize.”
Hearing the sharpness in her tone, the nobles around her quietly backed away with embarrassed expressions.
But one person was an exception to that.
That person was the Duke of Rochester.
“Viscountess Antes is intelligent.”
“Ah, the Duke of Rochester.”
“Margrave Antes must be pleased to know that he raised the Viscountess so well.”
The way the Duke openly praised Sienna was tantamount to agreeing with Sienna’s opinion.
While Damian’s expression brightened, the Emperor’s expression was menacing.
“Hmmm.”
However, the Emperor quickly cleaned up his expression.
It was as if he was calculating or plotting something.
“Then let me begin.”
The festival started with the Emperor’s declaration, and members of the imperial family stepped forward.
The method of conducting the ritual was the same as the years prior.
Ornate chests, adorned with gold and packed with grains and fruits, were offered.
“Crown Prince, come forward and offer an offering to divine beast Aurelia.”
The Emperor commanded in a grave voice.
Damian took a step forward and carefully sprinkled holy oil onto the offerings.
Then he threw in the embers.
Whoosh!
The fire set ablaze, roaring like crazy.
Feeling the heat reach my face, I was pleased.
‘Thank God.’
It’s interpreted that the larger and fiercer a fire is, the more satisfied the divine beast Aurelia would be.
I didn’t believe it, but I was still glad it happened.
‘The more successful he is in lighting his fire, the more the nobles will be satisfied with Damian.’
Just then.
The Emperor opened his mouth to me with a glint in his eyes.
“Lady Charlize.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“It’s been quite some time since all the nobles have gathered like this. How about giving them the divine beast’s blessing?”
…aha.
I narrowed my eyes.
‘He was aiming for this, so he remained quiet even when people were chatting earlier.’
A sense of deja vu came over me.
It was all too familiar, for the words said to me were the very exact words given to Damian all those years ago.
But at the time, it was to get Damian into harm’s way.
‘This time, he must be keen on seeing if I inherited the power of the divine beast.’
If the rumors in the South were lies, it’d be all fine and dandy.
Unable to manifest the power of the divine beast, I’d just be a useless commoner.
However, if I could manifest it, that would be a wholly different story.
‘Maybe he’s trying to take me away from Damian one way or another.’
And coincidentally, there was no better place than the harvest festival for the Emperor to verify my power.
That way, he could coax me into using my power nonchalantly without arousing suspicion.
As if to validate my conjecture, the Emperor spoke casually.