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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: I Thought I Was the Protagonist
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After returning from the tea party, Father let out a sigh with a face that looked ten years older.
“Espin. Why on earth did you do something so reckless?”
Father, whom I was finally facing properly, Benjamin Samuel, didn’t have the sturdy, knight-like image.
Having possessed a romance fantasy novel, I’d half-expected a swordmaster dad, but Espin’s father was utterly ordinary.
If there was anything special, it was that he was a bit handsome.
He gave off the vibe of a young man who’d only ever buried himself in books. It was hard to believe he had an eight-year-old daughter.
“Darling, Mommy was so surprised by what you did today.”
Espin’s mother, Lily Samuel, was also so young and beautiful it was hard to believe she had a child.
Her deep brown eyes with a faint reddish tint and sky-blue hair were soft shades that matched her gentle personality.
And Espin looked exactly like her mother.
In other words, I’d become a beauty in the future, too.
I’d accepted the possession, but these suddenly appeared parents felt so unfamiliar.
‘I have no idea how to react.’
In most romance fantasy possession stories, it was rare for both parents to be alive.
If they both were, they were usually trash parents or the environment was harshly abusive, but Espin’s parents were perfectly normal.
Their relationship was great, and they’d do anything for their beloved daughter.
For a fleeting moment, I even doubted whether I really wasn’t the heroine.
But I decided to trust the laws of romance fantasies.
If not me, the possessor, then who would be the protagonist!
‘It’s just starting in a blessed environment, that’s all.’
“Espin, do you really want to be friends with Crown Prince Luciano?”
Father asked, his face pale.
“Yes. I want to. Is that not okay? Did I do something wrong?”
I didn’t regret standing up to Imperial Consort Isabel.
But seeing how bad their complexions were, I had to ask.
I could play it off as a child not knowing any better, but they were different.
I belatedly realized they could face direct repercussions from Imperial Consort Isabel, unlike me, and started to worry.
Had I been too reckless right after possessing this body?
Even with protagonist buffs ensuring it’d all work out eventually, the immediate hardship was hard to ignore.
As I pouted, Father’s hand touched my head.
His gentle stroking made me look up.
“No, what did you do wrong? It’s just that Crown Prince Luciano’s situation isn’t good.”
I felt relieved he wasn’t blindly blaming me, but a bit disappointed at the last part.
“Does that mean it’s a problem for me to be his friend? Should I not get close just because the other person’s circumstances are poor? Didn’t you think that earlier situation was strange?”
My words came out argumentative without me realizing, and Father’s eyes widened like he’d been struck.
His expression showed he realized this wasn’t some innocent choice from ignorance.
“I’m sorry. I misspoke. That wasn’t my intention.”
“Mommy’s sorry too, darling. We were just worried you’d go through something tough.”
I hadn’t expected them to apologize to me.
And their concern for Espin’s well-being over their own interests felt so foreign.
It left me with a strange feeling.
“That situation earlier was too cruel to just let slide.”
“We know.”
Father and Mother looked devastated, as if regretting their own inaction despite knowing better.
“I can’t just leave Crown Prince Luciano like that alone.”
This wasn’t because I was the protagonist.
It was hard to keep watching a child get bullied right in front of me.
Could they sense my firm resolve?
Father and Mother exchanged glances. After a brief exchange of looks, Father said firmly.
“Our Espin has grown up so well. If that’s what you want, then do as you please.”
“Darling, Mommy supports your choice.”
Far from scolding me, Mother gently cheered me on.
I hadn’t expected them to allow it so readily.
Stunned by their reaction—so different from the other nobles I’d seen there—I just stared.
Seeing me stubborn one moment and flustered the next when they relented, they burst into laughter.
“I’ll help you with whatever you want to do. That’s what a father’s for.”
“Mommy’s always on your side.”
These were people whose faces had gone stark white in front of Imperial Consort Isabel.
Even inwardly fretting over clashing with those in power, they supported me unwaveringly.
So I comforted them not to worry.
“It might be unfair now, but it’ll definitely be okay later.”
Because I’m the protagonist!
Because I’ll get the buffs!
At my words, their eyes widened round, and they laughed even harder.
Then they reached out and hugged me tightly.
“You don’t need to worry about that, little one. Espin, Father loves you.”
“Darling, Mommy does too. Mommy loves you so much.”
Sandwiched between them, I was swept up in an indescribable emotion.
Their parental affection, something I’d never experienced, was so solid it made my nose tingle.
This complete love felt overwhelmingly heavy for me.
Beyond warmth, their fervent love choked me up.
And it made me feel guilty.
They believed I was Espin and loved me like this, but I really wasn’t.
It made me even sorrier that I had to deceive such good people.
All I could do was hug them back tightly and hold in my tears as they expressed their love.
* * *
With my parents’ solid support, too, enough time had passed since the tea party, so I went to visit Crown Prince Luciano.
“Hello, Crown Prince Luciano.”
I greeted him with the brightest smile I could muster.
“You look wonderful today, too.”
The compliment slipped out naturally.
I’d felt it at our first meeting, but he really had such a pretty face.
He was so beautiful he’d be fun even for doll play.
This must be the caliber of a male lead.
‘Come to think of it, what should we play?’
I’d only thought up to becoming friends with Crown Prince Luciano; I had no idea what to do after.
As I pondered briefly, his red eyes stared at me without a flicker.
After a long silence, Crown Prince Luciano’s lips moved.
“Did I say anyone could come?”
His voice was utterly cold.
……I’d forgotten that before meeting the heroine, Crown Prince Luciano distrusted others deeply.
Thinking about it, in [Your Majesty, Don’t Obsess!], his early relationship with the heroine was close to hate.
Even the heroine initially approached him only for her own goals.
And this was when Crown Prince Luciano, growing up, was starting to openly suspect everyone approaching him amid increasingly blatant assassination attempts.
In that situation, their first meeting naturally held no seed of trust.
So they fought intensely until they grew close.
Their mutual loathing felt so genuine that while reading, I’d wondered if they’d really end up together or if Harrison was the real male lead.
Of course, true to romance fantasy form, the two protagonists naturally melted into each other, transforming by the end into absurdly lovey-dovey characters that shattered their initial impressions.
Anyway, I’d completely forgotten about Crown Prince Luciano’s prickly early phase.
It was my fault for naively thinking even male leads were pure when young.
‘Well, even protagonists can’t have everything go smoothly.’
I’d relied too much on the protagonist buffs and taken it too lightly.
Flustered by Crown Prince Luciano’s unexpected coldness, I steeled my resolve.
Early arcs were supposed to be tough.
I’m the protagonist, so I can do this.
Crown Prince Luciano will fall for me.
With that vow, I flashed a brilliant smile.
“You agreed last time that we’d be friends.”
You said we’d get along back then.
I smiled radiantly with a face that said, ‘I know nothing of the world’s ugliness.’
“…….”
Instead of answering, he gazed at me steadily.
I’d noticed it before, but Crown Prince Luciano stared so openly.
Even now, his red eyes scanned me thoroughly, as if trying to discern if my smile was fake.
I pulled my mouth into a smile so hard my cheeks twitched.
Kindness was best for melting prickliness!
“Well, that doesn’t mean you can barge in uninvited.”
But Crown Prince Luciano was too formidable.
‘R-right. He didn’t say I could come.’
It was technically true, so my beaming skill faltered.
Still, we’d agreed to be friends.
I hadn’t expected a welcome, but this was too much.
“How can we be friends if we don’t meet?”
I protested fervently, but.
“That doesn’t mean you can come without permission. I’m busy, so please leave.”
Crown Prince Luciano’s walls were ironclad.
Without even offering me tea, he turned and left the room.
Left alone, I sat there dazed, unable to believe it.
I realized then that no amount of kind smiles worked on someone this rude.
And the more I mulled it over, the more wronged I felt.
I’d clearly sent a letter announcing my visit today.
Sure, I hadn’t gotten a reply, but no explicit refusal meant it was okay to come.
‘I hadn’t realized it was just being ignored!’
Frustrated, anger welled up.
Still, it wasn’t entirely my fault, so I decided to head back for today.
I couldn’t just hang out alone in the hostless reception room.
No need to rush.
Even in the original story, he and the heroine clashed a lot before getting close.
With effort, we’d grow close someday.
That’s what I believed.
I Thought I Was the Protagonist
