“...Ah, you’re here too.”
“.......”
“But what’s with that expression? Is it because of ?”
I finally snapped out of it at the cold voice coming from in front of , after having stood dazedly for a while, staring at the betrothed standing beside Maier.
‘As long as Saintess Hestia is alive, that woman shouldn’t be appearing in the main story. What is going on?’
She’s said to be another “main heroine,” but even in the original, she was suspicious to an extre degree.
And for good reason—her appearance conditions in the ga required the death of Saintess Hestia. So if she beca a companion or main heroine, the player would be inevitably steered toward a bad ending.
On top of that, for one of the two main title heroines, her information was strangely scarce.
Other characters, like redia or the Emperor—well, sure, they had a few redacted details, probably held back for DLC.
But “that woman”? There was no information at all. Literally none—she simply didn’t exist within the ga data.
Even her na had to be chosen by the player upon first eting her. That says everything.
“Excuse , but what’s your na?”
“Oh my?”
“Hah?”
As that fact suddenly returned to my mind, I asked her the question, wanting to confirm sothing.
I couldn’t just keep calling her ‘that woman’—there was one thing I wanted to check.
“How dare you, who do you think—”
“It’s alright, Maier.”
Anyway, I maintained a polite smile. She gently held Maier back and introduced herself with a serene expression.
“My na is Ember. I’m of commoner birth, so I don’t have a family na.”
And just as I expected, the na that ca out of her mouth was the default na.
It was the preset na the system assigned if the player chose not to input anything.
“Rather boring na, isn’t it?”
“...No, not at all.”
“It should be. Fufu.”
Feeling an odd emotion stir inside , I narrowed my eyes at Ember’s whispering laughter and subtly furrowed my brow.
‘...What is this?’
From the mont Maier and Ember entered the shop, a vague unease had been creeping over .
“Ha! Hahaha...”
Still watching the smiling Ember closely, I was snapped out of my thoughts by the sound of the lady’s cold laughter beside .
“What’s so funny?”
“Oh, just... I find it hilarious.”
Continuing to chuckle with clear mockery in her expression, the lady finally opened her mouth again, face turning frosty.
“If anyone knew the kind of crap you usually spew about commoners, they’d all look at you with disgust.”
“.......”
“Did your entire ideology suddenly change? If not—”
As the lady continued to speak, I noticed a growing nace in Maier’s eyes. I was preparing to step in, watching the situation carefully—until—
“Fufu, Lady redia. Maybe Maier was like that in the past.”
“Huh?”
Ember, turning her gaze from , suddenly walked forward and took Maier’s hand. As if in a grand stage play, she declared:
“But... love can overco all such things, don’t you think?”
In that mont, the entire interior of the dessert shop froze over.
Of course, the only people inside were , the lady, and the Maier couple—but with everyone except Ember frozen in place, it was effectively the sa.
“Right, Maier?”
“Ah, yeah. That’s right...”
Even more shocking than the statent itself was Maier’s response.
Was this really the sa man I knew—the one who treated commoners and won like rocks in the street?
Even if “Ember” was one of the two title heroines in the original ga, that was only in the context of the ga.
And she was ant to be the heroine of the player. There was no reason for soone like Maier, who stood as a natural enemy to the player, to be affectionate toward her.
‘Wait, no—this whole situation is strange.’
Now that I think about it, the fact that she’s beco Maier’s fiancée is itself absurd.
One of the main heroines getting engaged to the worst of the villainous trash? If such a storyline ca out in a ga update, the entire community would’ve exploded.
‘...Though it’s not like I care, since I only need Lady redia.’
That thought flickered through my mind, but that wasn’t the issue right now.
I needed to consider how sothing like this ca to be.
‘Could this be the butterfly effect of everything I’ve done so far?’
The thought crossed my mind briefly, but no matter how much I considered it, it didn’t make sense.
Everything I’d changed in this world since reincarnating—poisoning myself and reviving, entering a contract engagent with Lady redia, altering the Saintess’s fate at the ball, becoming the champion of the Prodigy Selection Tournant, threatening the Emperor, and forcing her into retirent...
Hmm. Okay, maybe I’ve done quite a bit.
But still, all those things followed logical cause-and-effect chains resulting from my actions.
Even if the butterfly effect is real, it doesn’t explain Ember—a main heroine alongside Hestia—suddenly appearing as Maier’s fiancée.
‘What the hell is going on?’
In other words, what lay before now was an unknown variable.
Sothing completely outside of my control. Sothing I couldn’t calculate for.
But why does this strange sense of déjà vu keep nagging at ?
‘Feels like I’ve had this sensation before...’
Following that unpleasant intuition back through my mories, one word flashed in my mind—Prodigy Selection Tournant.
‘Right, even then...’
Even before I had recovered my mories from my previous life, the Prodigy Selection Tournant had already been delayed due to cheating.
Which ant that, even without my interference, this world was already deviating from the original plot.
‘Wait a minute, don’t tell —’
That line of thought struck like lightning.
It might seem far-fetched given the current situation, but if it were true, it would explain a lot.
‘Let’s test it out.’
Alright. Nothing to lose, right?
If I’m wrong, no harm done. But if I’m right, I just hooked a major catch. Let’s throw the bait.
***
“Well, that’s all fine and good—but I’d like the two of you to leave now.”
“...What’s that supposed to an, little brother?”
“You didn’t hear ? I’ve rented this entire place out.”
By the ti Whitney had wrapped up his thoughts, redia and Maier, still recovering from the earlier shock, had started bickering again.
“Trying to show off with a few asly coins, huh? How typical of my gaudy little brother.”
“Maier, that’s not sothing you should say.”
“...Ahem. My apologies.”
Then, with another gentle smile from Ember, Maier fell silent after a small cough.
“...Ugh.”
redia, clearly uncomfortable with the scene, grimaced and rubbed her temples.
“This is honestly disgusting...”
Of course, it wasn’t the kind of thing one would expect from soone who'd transford from villainess to tsundere noblewoman because of love—but people are always more lenient with themselves.
“Such lack of manners. I was going to leave as soon as I picked up my dessert anyway.”
“If that’s so... ha, whatever. Just finish your business and get out.”
“Watch your tone.”
Though she clearly saw Maier walking in the opposite direction, redia didn’t want to waste any more emotional energy on this.
Especially not during her first date with Whitney—sothing she had personally arranged.
“Alright, then—”
“No, you’re welco to stay a bit longer.”
“Huh?”
Just as redia was about to wrap things up, Maier turned cold eyes toward her—but then Whitney, who had remained silent, suddenly stood and blocked their path with a suspicious smile.
“I’ve been wanting to have a proper chat with you, Lord Maier. Haha...”
“What... the ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) hell are you on about?”
“Oh, and Miss Ember, was it?”
“Huh? Yes.”
“I find you rather interesting, too.”
As Maier involuntarily stepped back at Whitney’s unsettling grin, Whitney shifted his gaze toward Ember.
“M-?”
“Just recently, to be exact.”
“Excuse ?”
Taking a step forward, Whitney whispered low enough for only her to hear. Ember, like Maier before her, stepped back.
“What the hell are you saying...?”
“Well. To put it simply—how about a little bonding ti between couples?”
“...Are you insane?”
As Whitney kept advancing, Maier finally raised his hand to stop him, looking utterly dumbfounded.
“Ahahaha... insane? I’d be quite hurt if soone said that to ...”
“If you co any closer, I’ll take it as a threat.”
“Oh dear. That’s not my intention at all.”
“...Your face itself is threatening.”
At that, Whitney’s smile vanished, and he stared Maier dead in the eyes.
“That’s a bit rude, wouldn’t you say, Lord Maier?”
“Rude? Do you think you’re a duke or sothing just because you’re cozy with that crazy bitch?”
“Maier...”
“Let give you a piece of advice.”
Despite Ember’s attempt to calm him down, Maier’s anger had clearly flared past the point of reason.
“A dog who barks too loudly just because it has a good master is the first to be abandoned.”
At that, redia started to rise with fury in her eyes—but Whitney extended his hand and stopped her. Then, with a chilling grin, he spoke:
“In that case, it seems Lord Maier isn’t much different either.”
“...What did you say?”
“Oh, right.”
Suddenly leaning in close to Maier’s ear, Whitney whispered in a low voice:
“...The Shadow Witch sends her regards.”
“......!!!”
As Whitney let out a quiet laugh, Maier’s face went pale and he stumbled backward.
“You... you bastard... how do you know about that...?”
“Who knows?”
From her seat, redia stared blankly, finding the scene oddly morable.
‘...I’ve lived too long.’
There was a reason even she, who was Whitney’s age, had such a reaction.
Partly, it was the satisfaction of seeing Maier—the root of so many childhood traumas—fall into panic before Whitney.
But more than that, it was the brief glimpse of Whitney opening one eye.
‘This is only the second ti since then...’
Though not both eyes, Whitney had opened one while whispering into Maier’s ear—and in that brief mont, he seed like an entirely different person.
“Oh, and Miss Ember? A word, if you will.”
“......?”
Perhaps because of that, redia tilted her head as Whitney turned to Ember and whispered sothing into her ear.
‘Is there so reason he needs to threaten her too?’
Once again, Whitney had opened one eye.
***
“I have a simple question.”
“...What is it?”
As redia suspected, the words Whitney whispered into the fiancée’s ear were practically a threat.
“...Are you, by any chance, a Possessed?”
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