I, the Female Lead, Ruined the Original

The ruler’s… virtue?  For a moment, Selleana wondered if she had heard correctly and almost frowned unconsciously.

As these calculations raced through her mind, the boy’s dark eyes never left her face. He seemed to know her thoughts completely.

“No one knows what I will become in the future.”

“…”

“Not even my mother.” The boy paused meaningfully before adding, “Unlike Lady, who is destined to become the crown princess.” Then he silently watched Selleana as if observing her reaction.

They were meeting for the first time, yet the fourth prince’s words were full of riddles. More importantly, his words sounded as if he thought he might become the emperor himself. This confusion prevented Selleana from fully grasping his words directed at her, words that seemed to mock her efforts to escape the fate written in the original story.

After a moment of silence between them, he spoke again. “You can keep the tag.” With that, the boy left abruptly.

The fourth prince, Eonel. Like his mother, the saintess Arshilla, he rarely appeared in public, so little was known about him.

Nothing about his actions or words was ordinary.

… Oh no. This was not the time for such thoughts.

Quickly brushing off her thoughts about the unexpected encounter, Selleana headed in the opposite direction of the fourth prince. The treasure hunt was the priority for now. She also didn’t forget to take the tag.

Meanwhile, she managed to get three identical tags from two rabbits and a duck. Soon, something else caught her eye.

And the black ribbon tied to its luscious tail.

It was fortunate she went in the opposite direction of the fourth prince.

Hiding behind a tree, Selleana tightened her grip on her wooden sword, licking her lower lip in tension.

Someone emerged from the bushes.

“…!”

With a silent scream, Selleana watched as the fox bolted away.

“No…!”

She glared at the silhouette in annoyance.

“Hello, Lady.”

“Vi-Viscount Miniel…?”

Selleana couldn’t believe her eyes at the unexpected visitor.

“Are you participating… in the treasure hunt?”

“Yes, well, it seems that way.”

Many had hastily joined the hunt upon hearing that the fourth prince was participating, and it seemed he hadn’t missed the opportunity.

Selleana scrutinized his appearance without lowering her guard.

Still dressed in the hunting outfit she had seen earlier, Viscount Miniel held a riding crop.

Selleana brought up a topic that would interest him to get rid of him quickly. “The fourth prince is deeper inside.”

“

, is he?”

“He seemed to be heading deeper in search of a difficult prey.”

She refrained from commenting on his hunting skills. It wasn’t beneficial for anyone to know that the fourth prince had killed a deer.

“Probably towards the cypress trees over there.”

As Selleana pointed in the direction opposite to where she had parted with the fourth prince, Viscount Miniel scratched his neck awkwardly. “Actually, I came because I heard Lady was participating in the treasure hunt.”

“…Yes?”

“I want to apologize for the previous incident.”

Selleana’s eyes widened in shock. “It’s fine, Viscount. I’ve already forgotten about it. So, please….”

“I realized too late how much I had wronged you.”

Something felt off.

Would he really come out like this, groveling?

Selleana wanted to end the conversation somehow, but Viscount Miniel seemed intent on continuing.

“You mentioned having a lover.”

“Yes.”

Though they couldn’t act together, he even attended the hunting competition.

“Even without a lover, you wouldn’t be lonely. Making new connections is easy for you.”

“Yes, that’s… true?”

It was strange. Everything he said was true, but it sounded like sarcasm.

Even the ladies from the empress’s faction had made snide remarks.

But none of that mattered now.

With the fox getting further away by the second, Selleana was getting impatient.

“Viscount, I think there’s a misunderstanding….”

“There isn’t.”

“You are mistaken. I’m not holding any grudges from our argument.”

“But I don’t feel at ease.”

“I see. But I’d like you to feel at ease since I’m fine.” Selleana’s voice sped up. She was anxious, thinking about the fox getting further away.

“So, to show my sincerity, I’d like to give you the tags I’ve collected.”

“Thank you, but I have plenty of tags.”

“Yes, I’m sure, but….”

Viscount Miniel’s tone was patronizing, making Selleana feel a surge of anger.

Even though he was a scoundrel, it was unlikely he would do something so underhanded to a lady. But Selleana’s obsession with the tags made her suspicious enough.

“Then, how about I catch that fox for you?”

I could have caught it alone. She thought like that but didn’t say it aloud. Besides….

Although she didn’t want to spend another second with Viscount Miniel, this might be a way to end things with him and sever ties completely. And she’d get another tag.

“…Alright, then.”

Thus began their awkward partnership.

Viscount Miniel lowered himself plausibly and cautiously parted the bushes.

After moving through several bushes, skirting around old trees, and crossing a nearly stagnant stream, they arrived at a landscape that unfolded….

“A lakeside?”

Selleana’s eyes narrowed. The fox could have come to the lakeside to drink water. But there wasn’t a single trace of the fox in the open landscape.

It was at the time she was about to get angry, thinking that she was being deceived by Viscount Miniel.

“There it is.”

“Yes?”

“Over there.”

Viscount Miniel pointed to a dense thicket of waist-high reeds under the overhanging willow trees. The lush greenery hung thick.

The problem was that Selleana couldn’t see anything there. But admitting she was deceived was more difficult than trusting him once more. As she followed Viscount Miniel to the hill covered with willows.

“Oh my, Lardy Elard?”

“You look so disheveled, like a tomboy.”

“There seems to be no end to your eccentricities.”

Standing under the willow trees by the lake were ladies from the empress’s faction. Clean and tidy, indicating they had no significant interest in the treasure hunt.

So, this was… Selleana shot a sharp glare at Viscount Miniel. “Viscount, what is this…?”

“Hearing the curse that the line of Miniel would end, I couldn’t stand still, so I had to do something for my ancestors.” Viscount Miniel smiled, tipping his hunting cap before hurrying away.

Selleana was left with five ladies from the empress’s faction on the hill.

“What is the meaning of this?”

“It seems you need to understand your place.”

“We’ve come to show you how insignificant you are without your backers.”

“What?”

“Reflect on defying the natural order and mocking the imperial family!”

The ladies from the Empress’s faction advanced towards Selleana step by step.

In front of her, the empress’s faction. And behind her, the lake.

They were standing about a meter above the lake’s surface. The water looked much deeper than the typical wading area.

As Selleana had confidently told Rakrensius, now was the time to swing the wooden sword and threaten them. But perhaps because she was conscious of the lake behind her, her body stiffened awkwardly.

“No matter how much you follow the empress, this is unreasonable….”

It was at that moment that Selleana took a step back.

She stepped on something wrong and lost her balance.

“

…?”

She teetered, losing her center of gravity…

At that moment, only one person came to Selleana’s mind. As her view flipped and the clear blue sky filled her eyes, she quickly flicked her fingers, opening the locket on her necklace.

Before she could even register the sting of hitting the water, Selleana’s entire body sank deep into the lake.

“Lady!”

A silhouette seemed to appear beyond the rippling surface.

Struggling to keep her consciousness, Selleana flailed her limbs, desperately trying to get her face above water. But it wasn’t working, and her legs felt heavier, her movements slower.

Just then, the muffled sound of someone diving into the water reached her, and strong arms wrapped around her body.

As her mind blurred, her vision spun several times until she found herself lying on the grassy bank.

“Lady, Lady…!” A firm hand patted her cheek.

Barely able to lift her soaked eyelids, the sunlight pouring into her eyes was blindingly bright.

Her body convulsed with uncontrollable coughing.

“Are you alright?”

A man’s face suddenly appeared in her vision. Perhaps because he was backlit by the pale autumn sun, his face looked dark. Water droplets fell from his long bangs.

Selleana blinked slowly, trying to make out his face clearly. “…

.”

The man who would always fall for her pranks, no matter how many times she called him out.

The man who complained he wouldn’t come again but always returned.

The man who had come for her again.

“…Why are you smiling?”

His face, wet from saving her, his furrowed brows, his pained eyes, and his voice seemed to suffer. The first face she saw upon regaining her breath was a sight of one emotion.

“Look. With a face like that…” Selleana managed to reach out and cradle his strong jaw in her hand. “How can you say you don’t like me?”

Rakrensius’s face crumbled.