Previously
Rebecca visits Cecilia to give her a protective lace necklace before departing for a dangerous purification mission at the Sea of No Return. Cecilia realizes her feelings for her sisters have shifted from viewing them as fictional characters to her real family, causing her to weep.
The green in Leoport’s pupils grew faint, as though he couldn’t comprehend what I was saying.
‘Ah, spoken like the true male lead destined for the greatest love story of the century.’
I shuddered inwardly.
With deadpan eyes, I gazed at this future romantic child, who would fall in love with Emily at first sight to the sound of ringing bells and resolve to spend his life with her.
“Love alone might not be enough. Love always faces obstacles, you see? And when that happens, how useful do you think your pedigree will be? You can help the one you love with wealth, or with power.”
“Huh…?”
Leoport’s eyes widened in rare astonishment. This topic seemed a bit difficult for the little young lord who treated everyone with kindness regardless of their status.
“If someone loves me… they’ll love me for who I am….”
“Listen, Leo. When you grow up, someone you truly love will appear. Someone who makes you feel as though bells are ringing the moment you lay eyes on her.”
I spoke quickly, leaving him no room to ponder.
And as usual, I slipped in another dose of the ‘ringing bell indoctrination’ today.
“Yet that person might face a trial that only the heir of House Ornbach can help her overcome. No one else could, not even an heir of another family. You’ll fall in love at first sight and cherish her deeply, but if your capabilities fall short, you might not be able to help her… and you could lose her.”
Recalling the character premise of Emily—who would come to the capital due to family affairs and suffer all sorts of tribulations—I spoke with utter sincerity.
After all, so much of Emily’s suffering could have been avoided if only Leoport had paid a little more attention.
Yet, as if I were speaking with the spirit of an old matchmaker, Leoport just kept staring at me without understanding a word.
‘You might not understand now, but when you grow up and meet Emily, all of this will help you.’
…Perhaps from the very moment I met my favorite male lead in a miniature three-dimensional form, I had begun treating him differently from everyone else.
Even more, his gentle nature made me feel an emotional debt toward him, so it was only natural.
I had loved him because of his deep, agonizing love in the novel, but now I merely wished for his romance to unfold smoothly.
Indeed, to the point where I wished for mere ‘smoothness,’ the minefield of suffering in The Violet of the Duchy had truly been a magnificent sight.
The plot had been relentlessly pushed forward under the guise of deepening the two leads’ feelings, piling up misunderstandings and confusion one after another along the way.
‘Even though they called it a Cinderella-style story….’
Comments pleading to know when the agonizing arcs would finally end sat for months with nothing but likes in response.
Whenever a brief moment of respite appeared, the comments would always say: ‘Remember, this is The Violet of the Duchy.’
And though Emily, who bravely overcame those trials and matured, earned titles like ‘strong heroine’ and ‘struggling heroine,’ eventually leading their bond toward a complete happy ending….
Once you actually saw the conclusion, you couldn't help but wonder: Was all of that truly necessary?
‘Maybe that was what made it entertaining, but only when it was just a story. For this angelic child to go through all that… is far too heartbreaking.’
As the time I spent as Leoport’s friend eclipsed the time I had spent as a mere reader, his doomed future began to ache within me….
At that moment, a thought struck me.
‘If it’s power… I have that too. Plus, I have something else….’
Something Leoport lacked, but I possessed. Information.
That Emily harbored the very same feelings from the start, that there was no need for misunderstandings, which crises were looming, and what confusions would arise….
I was the only one who knew it all.
‘If I put this information and my authority to good use… couldn't I pave a flowery path for Leo’s love?’
It felt as if a brand-new dream had just been born within me.
Yes, no matter how much I thought about it, there was far too much pointless suffering in The Violet of the Duchy.
Some major events couldn't be altered, but that ridiculous accumulation of misunderstandings had been utterly excessive.
Did the heroine truly need to run away from the male lead under the excuse of status differences when they were both from the nobility?
Did she really have to be dragged through a scandal just to make the male lead look cooler?
Did she really have to suffer every imaginable harm just so the male lead could rescue her more dramatically?
Even without those petty tribulations, they were already a wonderful couple.
I remembered just how charming the dynamic between the gentle yet powerful male lead and the pragmatic heroine had been.
The readers had endured all that suffering purely for those tender, heartwarming moments between them.
‘If only I could clear away that suffering….’
Was it because I had read it more than ten times? Because I had kept rereading it right up until the end of my past life? Or because I had revisited it countless times in my childhood dreams?
The events of the original story remained vividly etched in my mind, even as the memories of my previous life faded away.
Perhaps that message, hailed as salvation at the start of my new life… had actually been revealing my mission all along?
To save the love of the two protagonists.
‘So that’s why the story of The Violet of the Duchy kept replaying in my dreams….’
Right now, we were ten years old, whereas Leoport would be twenty-two when the events of The Violet of the Duchy began.
If I started preparing now to assist him back then, everything would turn out perfectly.
“Leo, you’re definitely going to have a blissful love story.”
“…Huh? Yes….”
Leoport still looked utterly clueless about my words.
The first step was attending an imperial function for the first time at the age of ten: the New Year’s Greeting Ceremony.
‘Finally freed from the ban on going out!’
How lonely it had been, remaining behind in Freesia Palace to study and go to bed early whenever an event took place.
I was so giddy that my excitement buzzed all throughout my preparations for the ceremony.
“Cecil, how does it feel attending the greeting ceremony for the very first time?”
On the day of the ceremony, Theodore came to my room to serve as my escort.
True to his reputation as high society’s handsomest young man of this generation, Theodore was dazzlingly radiant today as well.
Neatly brushed silver hair, blue eyes glittering with gentle warmth, and a navy formal suit that suited him to perfection.
“I feel proud, as if I’ve officially become part of the Imperial Family.”
“…I was hoping you’d act a little more spoiled.”
Theodore spoke with a hint of regret in his voice, yet it brimmed with affection for me.
Having been the youngest child until I was born when he was twelve, he always treated me like a tiny baby.
Yet I was a mature soul dwelling in a small body… Even if I wished to play along, acting like a ten-year-old child felt like pure regression to me.
‘Besides, I don’t even know how a ten-year-old is supposed to talk.’
Even so, I knew he always bragged about me, saying that despite my fairy-like appearance, I possessed a cool edge that made me all the more adorable.
“This is your first formal attire; you look like a proper princess through and through.”
Theodore’s face filled with visible emotion.
Members of the Imperial Family gazing at me with eyes full of love was nothing new, yet I still found myself helplessly embarrassed at times.
Perhaps because I had never grown accustomed to it. And so, I….
“Even Mary and Batty seemed quite emotional today—so much so that they decided to play dress-up doll with me since dawn.”
I spoke as usual, giving away my maids.
Today was the day of my official debut in noble society, and they had fussed over me relentlessly since the crack of dawn.
If this were my previous life, what they put me through since morning would have qualified as child abuse.
“Your Highness, dress-up doll? Whatever do you mean…?”
“While it’s true Your Highness is as lovely as a doll, we didn't do it merely to indulge our own desires.”
“If we had truly set our minds to it, we wouldn’t have stopped at just this….”
Well, I couldn't say I didn't understand their feelings.
Naturally, it was partly because Cecilia was as lovely as a fairy… but I knew the greater reason was how deeply moved they were by preparing my formal debut.
‘I’ve spent my life with them, so it’s only natural for us to feel like family.’
I smiled, looking at Mary and Batisha reflected in the mirror.
‘And then… what Sister Rebecca gave me….’
There was also the crystal choker adorning my neck today.
Batisha, who was skilled at needlework, had crafted a new choker from the same wine-colored velvet fabric as my dress, transferring the crystal infused with Rebecca’s holy power onto it.
Though my nervous tension matched my excitement, I felt as though I was stepping out today armed with the love of my allies.
‘All right, I can do this!’
My goal today was to leave a good impression on noble society.
And alongside that, to successfully carry out my secret mission!
I clenched my fists tight inside.
‘Today’s secret mission: observe the characters! Especially checking out the miniature versions of the villains, Scarlett and Rosivius!’
Attending the New Year’s Greeting Ceremony were… Asu… ra… ma… Ah, I still couldn't get used to the name. At any rate, most of the empire's nobility had gathered.
In a place like this, I could catch sight of the original novel’s cast all in one room.
‘Even if they are their versions from ten years prior, identifying them in advance will help me make plans.’
Except for Emily, who wouldn't set foot in the imperial palace until the original story began, most of the other nobles were expected to attend today.
If my first encounter with Leoport had been a sudden shock to my heart, today’s meetings promised to be a quiet cascade of joy.
The Violet of the Duchy focused primarily on the romance between the two leads, but the friction between the Imperial Faction and the Noble Faction had also formed a crucial pillar.
Because of that, the depiction of inter-family tensions was one of its most compelling draws.
‘Though that was also its own kind of suffering….’
Yet given how peaceful my father’s reign was, there were no political conflicts threatening the Imperial Family.
‘Ah, the more I think about it, the more I feel I made the right choice reincarnating here.’
What if I had been born into a family crushed in the crossfire of political strife?
“His Imperial Highness the Third Prince, Theodore, and Her Imperial Highness the Fourth Princess, Cecilia, are entering!”
When Theodore and I arrived before the reception hall doors, the attendant announced our entrance.
Soon, the heavy doors swung open… and I felt the gazes of every noble in the hall converge upon me.
‘Ah, so much attention…!’
It was the first time I had ever faced this many pairs of eyes since being born as Cecil, and a wave of bewilderment washed over me for a moment.
I tightened my grip on the hand Theodore held out, and when I looked up, he was smiling softly down at me.
‘No need to be nervous. You are our beloved little one.’
It wasn't hard to grasp what he was saying in his heart, even though he couldn't actually speak with everyone’s eyes locked onto us.
‘Yes, there’s nothing to fear! How long have I waited to turn ten!’
All so I could roam freely through the palace and see the nobles whenever I pleased.
In other words, to meet the characters of The Violet of the Duchy and interact with them.
‘Even if an actor gets stage fright, a member of the audience doesn't!’
Forgetting that I was the one standing under the spotlight now, I took my very first step onto the carpet stretching across the center of the hall.