Previously
Cecilia follows a vision-like intuition into an alley and finds a collapsed boy suffering from intense heat and pain. Despite the shock of his red eyes—a cursed omen in this world—Cecilia realizes he is the boy from her dreams and identifies him as Rosivius Alphinus, the future villain.
It was a scene from the original novel.
Whenever he regained his senses, his gaze would cling to her persistently.
Emily cast a sideways glance at the man watching her today as well.
That gentleman leaning in the furthest corner of the ballroom, his mouth concealed behind a wine glass—Rosivius Alvinus.
A handsome man with an indifferent gaze behind his spectacles, high society's ladies would steal glances at him, whispering about his austere charm.
Black gloves covered his hands to the wrist, and his suit was buttoned up to the very last collar, as if he refused to be touched by anyone.
Yet even though he kept everyone at a distance, the noblewomen looked upon him with admiration, describing him as brilliant or solitary.
Emily, watching him ignore the crowd to merely observe the party, dared to imagine he was just like her.
Lonely as she was, and unable to fit in, just as she could not.
And so, without realizing it, she followed him as though enchanted when he slipped away, looking weary of the charade.
Rustle—
An inadvertent sound escaped her. At that very moment, a chill wrapped around Emily's body.
“It seems the young lady is ever reckless.”
A low voice, devoid of any warmth, as though emerging from a bottomless abyss.
In that instant, Emily remembered the green-eyed prince who had been so kind to her.
If that had been light, then what stood before her was absolute darkness.
“I… I…”
“Pitying me again?”
In a heartbeat, Emily's throat constricted.
It was no mere illusion, but physical reality. She tried to channel her holy power, but to no avail.
“I'm not…”
“Meddling in my affairs time and again.”
Matching his cold demeanor, a suffocating frost enveloped the surrounding air.
It was not just in her head….
“Ah…”
“Disturbing me over and over, crossing my boundaries, so I…”
As he spoke, a faint shadow of pain flitted across his face.
And just as Emily's blue eyes wavered with turmoil—
“That's enough.”
The sound of rustling shrubbery broke through, and a figure emerged from the other side.
That gentle, green-eyed prince.
Cough, cough—
With her airway suddenly cleared, Emily began coughing with immense relief.
“How did you come to be here, my Lord…?”
“……”
Leoport gave no answer, his eyes fixed purely on Rosivius's black gloves.
The Marquisate of Alvinus, tasked with nobility's foulest deeds. The very hand that executed those tasks… and had brought her harm mere moments ago….
Grit—
Leoport ground his teeth.
“How dare you lay hands on an innocent lady?”
“Innocent?”
Rosivius's spectacles glinted beneath the moonlight, and Emily fancied she saw his eyes flashing red.
“Isn't she on your side, Lord Ornbach, the future head of the Imperial Faction?”
His words, entirely stripped of any questioning tone, were spoken as if demanding affirmation.
Emily's small hand rose instinctively.
Slap—
“Emily…?”
“Don't speak of me as if you know me.”
Rosivius remained with his head turned aside, an unmistakable bitterness painted across his face.
Rosivius Alvinus, the second male lead and the hidden villain of the original story. A person who opened his heart to no one and allowed no one near.
Yet he was drawn to Emily, who repeatedly crossed his boundaries in her attempts to show kindness.
Stirred by her courage, he simultaneously harbored a urge to destroy her, becoming obsessively attached and turning violent.
‘If only he had received true love, he wouldn't have become like this.’
That devastating contradiction in his feelings was undoubtedly the product of a wretched past. He possessed every prerequisite that forged a dark character.
He lost his parents at a tender age, suffered abuse in the home of the maternal uncle who adopted him, and failed repeatedly in his attempts to escape.
Blessed with magical talent, he sought refuge at the Magic Tower, only to be turned away. He enrolled in the Noble Academy, only to be relentlessly bullied for being an illegitimate child.
In the end, he mastered magic all on his own, turning into the executor of the dirty work orchestrated by the Noble Faction.
‘Even though he pretended to be loyal to Marquis Alvinus, didn't he yearn every single day to kill him?’
And to his parched heart, Emily's kindness—crowned with soft pink hair—was like rain after an endless drought.
Yet mistaking human warmth for love and spiraling into obsession… had been his undoing.
‘He truly is pitiful.’
During my repeated readings of the novel, I had empathized with him at least once, perhaps because my own past life had been just as harsh and lonely.
‘To think that that very boy was him…’
When I thought about it, everything made sense.
He was born never knowing his father, and his mother died before his very eyes before he even turned one.
‘Perhaps he doesn't even remember that early childhood…’
And then came the abuse in his new environment.
Even when it wasn't physical, the neglect, cold apathy, and cutting words had been exceedingly cruel.
‘Truly, because he never experienced genuine love, he grew into that Rosivius.’
Inside the carriage on our way back from my first secret outing,
I spent a long while brooding over that child from my dreams—Rosivius.
“I apologize for being unable to return the favor.”
When I grabbed his arm, he had looked back at me with eyes swirling with countless emotions.
Most of it had probably been confusion. Even so, his voice had been strangely calm.
So calm, in fact, that it was nearly impossible to discern any emotion in it.
Bowing his head slightly, he had turned, put his spectacles back on, and vanished into the bustling crowd.
‘His face… looked a little resigned.’
A nine-year-old child—and even by the reckoning of my past life, barely eleven—yet he had already learned how to bury his feelings so deep.
I recalled his pale face, curled up by the window, staring at nothing but the trickling moonlight.
How had I failed to recognize him?
‘…Because his eye color is different from what was described in the original story.’
It had never crossed my mind. The eye color of the second male lead in The Violet of the Duchy was completely ordinary brown.
Come to think of it, red eyes had never been mentioned in the original work, not even in passing.
‘Even Scarlett's appearance was different. So the contents of the story… aren't absolute.’
With my travel restrictions lifted and my world expanding, discrepancies between my memories and this reality had begun to surface.
The scale of the Imperial Palace or the daily lives of commoners could be gleaned from books. But the truth about individual people… could only be learned through firsthand experience.
‘The trouble is, locked away in the palace as I am, how am I supposed to learn that?’
I found myself lamenting today's ruined plans once more.
Had I found Cain today, I would have sought to win him over and make him my follower, using him to gather intelligence and assist Emily's allies among the commoners.
‘I could have paid him a handsome wage and secured him a house in the Second District, too.’
I grumbled under my breath like a toddler refusing to leave an amusement park.
“When can I go out again?”
My eyes welled with faint tears. Since I had already taken off my disguise bonnet inside the carriage, Cecil's features ought to work wonders!
I wanted to make Mary feel guilty for not giving me what I had wanted.
“I cannot say. Even Her Highness the Crown Princess only goes out about once a month…”
Understanding her meaning all too well, a prickle of irritation flared inside me.
‘She means someone like me, with neither holy power nor magic, has no right to even dream of it…!’
And even if I went out again, the knights would never escort me to the Third District, nor could I venture out alongside Roselia….
‘Ah, if only someone would find Cain's whereabouts for me.’
I wanted to employ Cain as my errand boy, but I couldn't locate him because I had no one to run my errands.
It felt as though I was trapped in a never-ending circle.
‘I was naive. I never expected my plan to unravel like this…’
I had been so swept up in the excitement of going out that I completely underestimated my status and the Imperial family.
Just then, Mary spoke up cautiously.
“If you took a liking to anything you tasted today, you can leave the errand to me or the knights.”
Lancel and Branden nodded in agreement.
“An errand…?”
“Yes, we can move about the capital freely.”
A scowl must have crossed my face.
An errand… yes.
‘Right, there's no reason for me to seek out Cain in secret.’
If my status was an obstacle, I could simply use it to my advantage instead.
I smiled slyly to myself.
“So, Cecil, how was your outing today?”
To mark my first outing, Father had wished to see for himself that I was well, inviting me to dine with him.
Roselia, who had been sick with worry, joined us as well.
The main dish was a nourishing soup, slow-simmered with bone broth, seasonal vegetables, and short ribs.
It tasted so rich that I hadn't paused my spoon until his question prompted me to look up.
Now was the right moment.
I offered an innocent smile.
“It was wonderful seeing the bustling city life I had only read about with my own eyes. Thank you for permitting it, Father.”
“Good. What matters most is that you returned safe and sound.”
Father said so with a warm smile.
Indeed, my frail health was the root of all this caution.
‘Even today, the moment I returned, an enormous fuss was made…’
The imperial physician arrived, special herbs and teas were brewed, and Rebecca even showered me with blessings from her holy power.
My shoulders gave a slight shudder.
“What did you enjoy the most?”
“I loved sampling all the different treats in the market.”
“Yes, your older siblings used to complain about the palace food after such trips.”
“Cecil is mature, though; she is still eating quite well.”
“Market food is only a novelty on occasion. Nothing truly compares to the palace kitchen.”
“What a thoughtful girl.”
Roselia looked visibly relieved to see me in high spirits.
“Nothing untoward happened? You listened to the knights, didn't you?”
“Of course. The market was crowded, but nothing happened… except…”
I hesitated slightly.
“Seeing other children playing with friends their own age made me a little jealous.”
I hadn't seen anything of the sort, but thankfully, there were no witnesses to contradict me.
“Friends your own age?”
“Yes.”
“Isn't the young Ornbach boy your friend?”
Just as I expected.
“I don't get to see him often… and I would love to have other companions.”
Forgive me, Leo! This is all for you!
I would have been plenty content with just one friend, but there was no way to reach Cain except through Father.
Father looked at me thoughtfully.
“And so?”
“I would like… a guard my own age, Father.”