6

This was the first time Nelisa performed proper etiquette since her transmigration. Her breath caught in her throat from nervousness.

“I pay my respects to Your Highness the Crown Prince. I am Nelisa.”

She bowed her body forward at approximately a 45-degree angle, then slightly lowered her gaze to avoid direct eye contact with the other person. Strangely, she was able to perform the proper courtesy toward the imperial family with a very familiar sensation.

Nelisa thanked the original villainess in her heart. Such ingrained habits were also part of the legacy left by the original villainess.

“Thanks to Lady Wiesbaden’s kindness, I have been granted the honor of meeting Your Highness. I shall now take my leave.”

As soon as Nelisa finished her greeting like rapid fire, she bowed again. This time it was a farewell courtesy.

Roberto looked at Nelisa with an incredulous expression.

“Two consecutive greetings, this is certainly a first.”

He merely nodded slightly, as if he had no intention of engaging further.

“Well, fine. You may withdraw.”

Nelisa inwardly rejoiced. Now she could escape this suffocating place!

With the feeling of a rabbit escaping from between a tiger’s claws, Nelisa quickly left the reception room.

After walking almost at a run, Nelisa completely exited the palace. She spotted a bench and collapsed onto it, nearly falling over.

“Wow, that was truly insane.”

Nelisa muttered with an enraptured expression. She seemed to have fallen completely in love during that brief encounter.

Indeed, the beauty of a romance fantasy male lead was incomparable to real men. A feast for the eyes? Such words could hardly express it adequately.

Of course, the original female protagonist Adelaide was also as beautiful as the male lead. However, when Nelisa first met her, she honestly didn’t have time to appreciate her beauty because she was too busy figuring out how to survive right after transmigrating.

Nelisa chuckled softly.

“How lucky Adele is……”

Anyway, now that she had accomplished the purpose of this outing, she just needed to wait until Adelaide came out.

Nelisa belatedly rummaged through her handbag to pass the boring time. However, having left in such a hurry, she hadn’t packed even a single book to read.

“Of course, this always happens at times like this……”

This is exactly why unplanned outings are troublesome for homebodies.

⁕⁕⁕

Roberto stared intently at where Nelisa had exited, then turned his head toward Adelaide.

“What made you bring that woman?”

“We had a big fight recently. I gave Nel the opportunity to meet Your Highness as a gesture of apology.”

Adelaide smiled, gently creasing her eyes.

Roberto gave a derisive laugh. Should he call this the characteristic boldness of the Wiesbaden family? Treating the Crown Prince as a reconciliation gift, yet remaining so composed.

Still, this level of arrogance could be generously overlooked thanks to their long friendship and the weight of the Wiesbaden name.

Roberto continued dryly.

“Yes, I already heard that you two had a major argument. But I think there must be another real reason why Nelisa ran away, don’t you think?”

Adelaide raised her eyebrows.

“My, why do you think so?”

Roberto slightly disliked that tone. Wasn’t it like playing a guessing game?

Compared to Adelaide’s seemingly less than serious attitude, Roberto was quite grave. The fact that the greedy Nelisa was prepared to leave the Wiesbaden household meant she had revealed her true nature to that extent.

Did Adelaide recklessly welcome that villainess back into the family despite knowing her dark intentions? Or was she truly naive enough to believe Nelisa had merely been upset?

Roberto threw out bait to probe Adelaide’s thoughts.

“You are sometimes excessively generous. This is one of those times.”

“That doesn’t sound like praise, Your Highness.”

Adelaide held a slight smile.

Roberto rolled his eyes to the side.

“Do you truly not know, my lady?”

“……”

Adelaide’s smile gradually faded. It seemed she was finally ready to take Roberto’s words seriously.

Roberto smirked.

“I’ve just been observing until now, but at this point, I’m starting to think you’re quite oblivious.”

“What do you mean…?”

In Roberto’s eyes, Adelaide was clearly feigning ignorance until the end.

“There’s no need to deliberately shield Nelisa by saying you merely quarreled. I know what she’s been doing all this time.”

“No, you knew?”

Only then did Adelaide look at Roberto with disbelief.

Roberto raised both hands in an apologetic gesture.

Adelaide immediately demanded an explanation.

“My goodness, you knew all along and pretended not to? You just watched as Nelisa spread malicious rumors about me?”

However, whether she felt betrayed or not, Roberto didn’t particularly care. He sneered with the corner of his lips turned up askew.

“I was curious when you would finally realize.”

“You really have terrible taste.”

Her voice still carried a tone of bewilderment.

“You could have at least given me a hint. Just watching until things got this bad, Your Highness, you’re quite mischievous.”

“Even without my telling you, you eventually figured it out yourself. More importantly, I’m curious about the real reason Nelisa ran away. Did she flee because all her schemes were exposed?”

Roberto skillfully redirected the conversation back to Nelisa’s running away incident.

Adelaide sighed before answering.

“Ha, it’s all resolved now. Nelisa apologized for her past wrongdoings, and I accepted it. I’ll have to keep a close eye on her from now on.”

Roberto shook his head.

“You’re truly too generous. Excessive generosity can appear foolish.”

“Whether Nel’s apology is sincere or not will become clear over time. I’m not blindly believing her either.”

Adelaide’s tone sounded somewhat sulky as she countered Roberto’s criticism. Still, she was the only person who could speak so casually to someone of the Crown Prince’s stature.

Roberto chuckled.

“Well, if that’s what you say, I can’t do anything about it.”

What more could he say if she insisted on creating her own trap? Roberto coldly decided to back off at this point.

“My lady, I have administrative duties remaining, so I’ll take my leave now.”

“Ah, I see. Thank you for your precious time, Your Highness.”

Adelaide, as always, gracefully let Roberto go.

He left the reception room without lingering, leaving Adelaide behind.

⁕⁕⁕

“……?”

As Roberto walked down the corridor after leaving the reception room, he tilted his head at a human shadow visible through a large window. This area was mainly planted with shrubs, so people rarely passed through.

‘An intruder?’

Being an excellent swordsman, he was instantly on guard. However, he soon relaxed. The long golden-brown hair unmistakably belonged to Nelisa.

What was she doing among the shrubs where there wasn’t even a path? Since she had been doing quite a few strange things lately, Roberto became somewhat curious.

He decided to secretly observe for a moment.

“……”

Fortunately, Nelisa didn’t notice Roberto watching her through the window. From what he could see, she appeared to be trying to catch a butterfly hidden among the shrubs.

“Ha……”

Roberto couldn’t help but laugh. To catch his attention with something so trivial—in a way, that was a natural talent.

Roberto shook his head vigorously once, as if to clear away stray thoughts. Then he continued on his way.

“Hah……”

Meanwhile, Adelaide couldn’t easily leave the reception room even after her meeting with Roberto ended.

Time with Roberto always left her with lingering attachments. This feeling wasn’t new, but today it was particularly strong.

Of course, she enjoyed having casual conversations with Roberto. She was well aware that throughout the entire Empire, she alone enjoyed such a privilege.

Nevertheless, she always felt something was missing. Her true desire wasn’t to be Roberto’s ‘friend.’

Adelaide slowly rose to her feet. It was time to leave now.

She walked leisurely down the corridor leading to the exit after leaving the reception room.

At that moment, she saw Roberto walking away in the distance, his back turned to her.

Adelaide found this strange. Roberto had left the reception room quite some time ago, so why was he still walking in the corridor?

However, this question soon found its answer. As she passed through the corridor, she too suddenly noticed a human shadow through the window.

‘Nel!’

Nelisa was bending and stretching among the garden shrubs, seemingly looking for something. The location was one where people rarely passed, which made it all the more eye-catching.

Could it be that Roberto had delayed because he was watching her?

When this thought occurred to Adelaide, she felt a momentary surge of jealousy.

The meeting had already left her with many regrets, so every little thing that captured Roberto’s attention irritated her.

She walked down the corridor with angry steps. The sound of her shoes hitting the hard floor echoed with sharp clicks.

“……”

But such disappointment would soon end. Now that Adelaide had come of age, both families would formally discuss her marriage to Roberto.

She wasn’t happy because she would become the Crown Princess. She was thrilled by the fact that she would become Roberto’s wife.

Adelaide lifted her chin. Then she straightened her back and pushed out her chest.

In the past when she had lost her life due to Nelisa’s schemes, everything had been taken from her by that villainess, but things would be different now.

She had experienced the miracle of traveling back in time and discovered all the dark plots she had been completely unaware of. Although she had decided to postpone her planned revenge for now, she would execute it again if Nelisa didn’t sincerely repent.

She would never allow her possessions to be taken from her again.

Adelaide finally exited the palace. The orange light emitted by the sun tilting to the west dazzled her eyes.

“……”

She slowly reopened her eyes after squinting slightly. Beyond that light, she could see Nelisa’s golden-brown hair. Somehow, her hair color resembled the current sunlight.

“Nel.”

“Oh, Adele!”

Nelisa responded even though Adelaide hadn’t called her very loudly.

Despite many things changing about her after regression, this aspect remained unchanged.

“Let’s go back. The audience is over.”

“Huh? That was quicker than I expected?”

Adelaide shot a sharp glance at Nelisa. Somehow, Nelisa’s seemingly casual remark greatly irritated her.

“So? Do you find my situation amusing?”

Was she looking down on her because she could capture Roberto’s attention just by wandering among the garden shrubs?

Nelisa drooped her shoulders and carefully observed Adelaide’s expression.

“No, why are you saying that again…… I just meant I’m glad you came out quickly…… I was a bit bored.”

Adelaide closed her lips. Perhaps because she hadn’t regressed long ago, her emotions were sensitive in various ways.

The Wiesbaden family carriage arrived and stopped in front of the two women. It was perfectly timed for the end of their meeting with Roberto.

As the carriage moved along, Adelaide warned Nelisa.

“His Highness the Crown Prince already knew everything. Don’t forget that I’m not the only one watching you.”

“Yes, I’ll keep that in mind.”

Nelisa answered docilely, just as she had before regression.

“Hmph……”

Adelaide lowered her gaze.

Honestly, she still couldn’t quite believe that Nelisa had harbored evil intentions. The Nelisa she had actually experienced was always kind to her, a close friend who accommodated everything for her.

Was the future she saw in that light space truly real? Had Nelisa really deceived her so perfectly?

However, the past she wanted to verify had already flowed by. Now she needed to open her eyes wide to the reality before her.

Adelaide steeled her resolve.

The naive and foolish person she was in the past no longer existed. She would not waste the miracle of regression. She would coldly question everything.