I, the Female Lead, Ruined the Original

“

… let’s not do this,” the gentleman, attacked on the knee, managed to grasp Selleana’s hand to stop her.

As expected, there was no way to surprise the quick-witted angel. Sighing deeply, he removed his glasses and put them in his front pocket. The man’s previously ambiguous face, which Selleana had fallen for several times, took on a sculpted look.

“Good, black hair and blue eyes…”

“Pardon?”

“Nothing.” Swallowing her newfound admiration for the cold-looking man with black hair, Selleana smiled. “How did you end up here, huh?”

Judging by his attire… he was dressed impeccably in a suit with a cravat tied neatly just below his collar. It seemed he had a resolute will, reflected in one of the gifts Selleana had secretly sent him.

“That…” After hesitating for a moment, Rakrensius turned around, clasping Selleana’s hand with both of his and looking at her intently. “To protect Lady… I thought I should keep you in my sight.”

“Protect me, you say….”

Was she quite surprised by Rakrensius’s serious demeanor? As she rolled his words around in her mouth, uncontrollable happiness and excitement seemed to rise within her. Unable to express that overwhelming feeling, her next words came out playfully.

“Isn’t that something you say when you’re planning to confine me somewhere safe? Like your house or something?”

“Confine…?”

“You can’t go anywhere but by my side, something like that.”

“…There’s definitely nothing like that in Wilshe’s novels… What kind of novels have you been reading?”

Rakrensius’s face turned pale as if he had heard something he shouldn’t have.

* * *

It was in the parlor of Rose Palace, where the empress resided.

“So, this is….”

Selleana’s face froze as she confirmed the identity of the item the empress had placed on the parlor table. It was Selleana’s application for the selection contest. Previously received by Pavellian from Duke Elard, it bore the duke’s seal. With the head’s seal and Pavellian’s seal as the receiver, the document was already valid.

But it had been almost two months since she ended her runaway!

Watching Selleana’s face harden with dismay, Arshilla’s lips curved into a deep arc.

“We are planning to hold the selection contest soon. Lady knows, right? That the host of the selection contest is the empress.”

“…Yes.”

The selection contest was a place to welcome a new family member to the imperial family. Naturally, the highest authority in the imperial household, the empress, presided over it. Although it was an obvious statement, it sounded strangely significant. Perhaps because she knew that her opponent was the one who restrained Rakrensius or manipulated her friends’ will….

Selleana tried not to show her hostility toward the Empress and smiled sincerely. “But, Your Majesty.”

“You are asking to be exempt from participating because you found your true love…. Is that correct?”

The empress’s attitude, as if she had anticipated her request, made Selleana suppress her displeasure and respond politely.

“Your Majesty clearly said I just needed to come up with a reason.”

“I was quite curious about who Lady would bring.”

Empress Arshilla looked at Selleana with her jet-black eyes shining. Her gaze, darker than the night, made Selleana feel as if she was seeing through her soul. However,

There was no corner to feel guilty about.

Selleana straightened her back and smiled gracefully. “So, Your Majesty is saying you never promised to exempt me from the contest just because I bring my true love?”

It might sound rather bold, but there was no other choice. She never expected to be caught in such a wordplay concerning the marriage between the imperial family and Elard.

No, on the other hand, it might have been Selleana’s own mistake. In her excitement over the possibility of a solution, she might have interpreted the empress’s words the way she wanted. Perhaps the empress had let her misunderstand all along….

It didn’t matter how Arshilla knew that. Considering she might have really intervened in her friends’ eccentricities and that she was a saintess… it was somehow possible.

So, why is the empress against the Tower Master…?

“I only have one request.” Arshilla placed her teacup down as if putting a period to her sentence. “Don’t disturb the world any further.”

“Disturb the world, you say…”

“Lady should know best what is meant by the natural order…”

So, when she spoke of the ‘proper place of destiny’…

Because of this incident, the only eccentricity her friends committed was following their original story.

Arshilla, who had been watching Selleana all along, smiled as she noticed her thoughts reaching a conclusion. “What if I said this is my last consideration for Elard…?”

“…”

“Shouldn’t you think about what’s truly important to you, Lady?”

* * *

It was after Selleana left.  Arshilla watched the back of the departing Lady Elard through the window. With another attendant in place of her usual companion, she seemed to have found her footing.

How unfortunate.

“Really, she used to listen so well when she was young…”

Arshilla cherished Pavellian as someone who would someday inherit the throne from her. She wanted to have as many reins as possible, so she tried to cherish Lady Elard in her own way.

But who would have thought that one of the leaks caused by her conceiving Eonel would be Lady Elard? Moreover, her fate was simply to ‘become the crown princess and live a happy newlywed life.’ Lady Elard easily abandoned her fate.

“This is why managing the ones with uncertain destinies is so tricky…” Arshilla clicked her tongue briefly.

“The lady will reveal her true nature soon, right?” Eonel, who had been hiding the gaps of time and space, observing the situation, appeared.

“Of course. Because I took away what is most important to her.”

“Why didn’t you just force her to follow the average?”

“She is very difficult to handle. Her fate is too trivial to force, and I can’t give Duke Elard any reason to oppose. Also, since her fate is tied with the crown prince, so I can’t handle her recklessly.”

Arshilla, smiling, hugged her son tightly. “If I put power on her… won’t my son have a hard time?”

“Losing a few lives doesn’t matter. Mother is doing all this for me.”

“No.”

Arshilla moved slightly to look into her son’s clear face. Two pairs of black eyes met in the air.

“It’s for me, who is tired of traveling back and forth between the human and divine worlds.”

The love in Arshilla’s eyes was, in truth, directed at herself.

* * *

“Did the meeting go well…?”

Having escorted Selleana to the Rose Palace and waited for her there, Rakrensius seemed extremely anxious. As soon as he got into the carriage and closed the door, he asked.

Selleana chuckled and removed his disguise glasses. Seeing his now clear face, she couldn’t help but smile brightly. “Are you that worried about me?”

“Of course.”

“Everything went fine, too fine actually. I was feeling a bit upset, but seeing your handsome face made me forget everything.”

“Your words…” By now, he was used to her calling him handsome, but Rakrensius couldn’t let it go this time. “Seriously, nothing happened?”

“Yes. I still don’t want to participate in the selection contest, and I’d rather be removed from the noble registry and work as the sales manager at the Magic Tower than marry Pavellian. I might become the top employee, right?”

“…”

The idea of being the sales manager at the Magic Tower sounded a bit odd, but at least it seemed like Selleana hadn’t gone through the same ordeal as her friends, which was a relief.

Seeing the man’s face relax with relief, Selleana smiled bitterly. “Honestly, this is too unfair.”

“What… do you mean?”

“Master of Tower.”

Feeling sorry for the constant worry on his face, Selleana squeezed his upper thigh firmly.

“Would you accompany me instead of Michi again today?”

“Where to… this time?”

“If you perform perfectly, I’ll tell you my secret.” Sliding her hand subtly deeper, the mischievous angel winked.