Phoebe was infatuated with Seira and couldn’t even make eye contact with her. It belatedly came to mind when her hand brushed against hers; it seemed like an electric current passed through it.
Even if she had hidden her feelings during that time, it made no sense that she would be so unconcerned with Seira’s uncharacteristic kindness.
The knights who made quick calculations pulled out their swords in unison.
The impostor rolled on the floor like her broken teapot, coughed, and clutched her throat. It was quite painful to be hit in the throat, probably trying to prevent her from casting a spell.
“Cou—cough… … . Ugh… … .”
“I know you are an impostor. If you don’t show yourself, I’ll cut your throat.”
Coughing, Dion glared at Seira. He didn’t know there was such a fellow. Even though he transformed into a woman, he had been randomly struck in the neck… … . Thanks to that, it didn’t seem easy to cast a spell.
‘Damn it!’
At a disgrace he had never experienced before, Dion coughed and spat at Seira, raising his body. It was no use disguising himself as a handmaid any longer, so he revealed himself while glaring at the guards.
The escorts frowned at Dion in amazement and dismay as he transformed into an unfamiliar young man.
Dion stomped his feet and shouted:
“Trying playing with the Devil’s… … vines! Dumb bastards!”
The floor cracked, and another world was connected through the portal. The startled knights flinched back at the thorny black vines gushing out. The vines, tightly wrapped in sharp thorns, sprung out with such force that they filled the hallway within the span of a gasp.
***
Alone, after dismissing all the maids, Suyeon idled and soon felt drowsy and fell asleep in her bed for a long time.
She knew she was sleeping too much day after day, but when Lyle came, she didn’t sleep at all at night, so she reasoned that it evened out.
‘Lyle’s gonna be okay, right?’
Even though he was the former male lead, he was once a protagonist. Since he had already appeared from the beginning with the title of being the strongest on the continent, she thought he would be safe.
The part where the Emperor directly attacked the Dark Tower was in the original story. The difference was that Seira went out with Lyle instead of Luke in the original work.
But in this reality, Seira remained in the Imperial Palace… … .
‘It feels like the scenes where Seira has to play an active part keeps disappearing. I can’t keep doing this… … .’
The hunting competition in the original work was at a different time, but the events in that hunt also differed from the original story. In the original story, assassins attacked the princess of a neighboring country.
“Argh!”
Suyeon jumped up at the sound of sharp screams coming from afar.
Screams? Why did she hear screams in the imperial palace? At the Empress’ palace?
Suyeon looked in the direction of the door and got off the bed.
An ominous feeling crawled up her spine. Lyle led his army to the Dark Tower… … . Although Seira was by her side… … .
‘There was no character named Dion in the original work. Only a few lines of dialogue revealed that he was the master of the Tower of Darkness who had abandoned his position early on.’
In a year’s time, Dion abandoned the Dark Tower. The story fully started next spring. However, Dion approached Suyeon a few weeks ago, and everything turned out to be very different from the original story.
Slam!
The door opened violently, and three knights rushed in.
“Your Majesty! You must evacuate! This way, please!”
What?
Suyeon ran to them, shocked. Fortunately, she was wearing a relatively lightweight dress because she was pregnant.
“Sir Hestia?”
“We’re tracking the wizard! It seems that somehow the magic barrier of the Empress’ palace broke. So we must hurry to the main palace! The barrier there should still be intact!”
As expected, it seemed that Dion was not at the Dark Tower. Suyeon was half-sure that the wizard who broke into the Empress’ palace was Dion.
‘Aaaahhhhh! Why is this happening? Wasn’t the main character Seira? Only the male lead was changed to Luke, so I shouldn’t be in danger!’
But there was no time to lament. Instead, Suyeon rolled up her skirt and left the bedroom under the knights’ protection.