When My Enemies Began to Regret

“Lady, is there any inconvenience living in the mansion?”

“No. Thanks to everyone for treating me so well.”

It had been a few days since Fanora had stayed in the guest room at the Guelder mansion, but it wasn’t difficult to adapt. First of all, everything that caught her eye was of the highest quality, and the unique, sophisticated interior of the mansion was comfortable.

If I had to pick one inconvenient thing, it was the scuffle with Hanar. Her family seemed displeased that she would stay alone in the estate of Princess Guelder. They didn’t know how much trouble she had arguing with Hanar, who asked her to bring at least one of the family’s servants.

Don’t you know that I’m not a child anymore? Perhaps it was for surveillance purposes. Fanora felt her head pounding as she recalled that time.

“You’re here, Fanora.”

“Good morning, Princess! I can’t believe in having breakfast with Princess. It’s like a dream.”

“Haha. I knew it, so I prepared something you like today.”

But in conclusion, Fanora succeeded in entering and leaving this mansion without anyone from the Celsius family observing her. The Guelder family said they would prepare the servants, but why do they keep trying to plant Celsius’s people? Did they really think Guelder’s servant level is lower than Celsius? This could be an act of ignoring consideration.

“Ah, Princess, when I woke up today, I looked out the window, and the weather was very clear.”

“I know. I like the cold air at this time of year.”

“Since the weather is nice, should we go horseback riding?”

“Oh my! That’s a good idea.”

Fanora pondered how she could earn more of Vasago’s trust in the future. And just in time, there was useful information obtained from the midnight novel.

“Fanora, have you heard the story?”

But then, while eating, Vasago wiped her mouth and brought up a new topic.

“What story?”

“It’s about Duke Aloken Jalier…”

“!”

“He said he was going to spend this winter in a villa at my estate.”

But who knew something like this would be brought out?

“Yes? Aloken?”

“I checked, and it looks like he bought a villa near here yesterday.”

How could he buy a villa just like buying an apple? It was at this point that Fanora realized his wealth.

He didn’t follow me to this estate, right? Deep down, Fanora hoped that he wouldn’t buy the villa for such a trivial reason, but she thought that Aloken had no other reason to come here than that.

“Really… He’s always unpredictable. I hope Princess doesn’t feel uncomfortable because of his actions.”

Soon after, Fanora spoke worriedly, and Vasago smiled as if there was no problem.

“It’s alright. I knew from our conversation at the salon that Aloken had no grudge against our family.”

“Is that so?”

“He insists on peace first, so I don’t need to sharpen my blade.”

“Peace….”

“I, too, have been fed up with the political battle with Jalier since before.”

Duke Jalier and Duke Guelder seemed to have been at odds in the previous generation. Still, the tension between the families seemed to have eased a lot now.

That’s a relief. It was a good thing for Fanora. Then she needed to hear about Aloken for the first time in a long time and make an appointment for today.

Having finished their meal, they enjoyed horseback riding in the Guelder family’s horseback riding area.

“Fanora! Your riding posture is quite good.”

“No matter how good I’m, I’m still lacking compared to Princess. Ah, by the way, can Princess wield a spear while riding a horse?”

“That’s easy. I would have been a great knight if I had been born into the Andras family.”

The day’s horseback riding was a success. Unlike the boring ladies, Vasago liked Fanora, who could drive a horse roughly.

“Hahaha. As expected, I lose track of time when I spend it with you.”

“Me too. Princess!”

These happy moments accumulate and form a friendship between them. However, it was difficult to get the trust with this alone.

Even though she smiles so beautifully, she keeps her distance from me. For some reason, Vasago didn’t let go of her alertness in this relationship even though Fanora was perfectly pleased her. She sometimes acted as if she were spying on Fanora, who had been brought into the mansion as her companion. So Fanora came to take extraordinary measures.

* * *

It was that night.

“So walking alone feels like this.”

The background that unfolded from the novel one day was repeated.

“The guards must be worried.”

The woman with green hair was walking on a dim road relying on a single moonlight.

“But at least once… I wanted to go around alone.”

Vasago Guelder. At 10 P.M., she moved according to the story in ‘Dangerous Love’ that Fanora had already seen. This was the scene where the princess, who lived like a flower in a greenhouse, felt frustrated and ran away from people’s eyes for the first time in her life.

“…”

Her father told her to marry a good person as soon as possible. His cousin was always protecting her as if she was made of gold or jade. The approaching nobles were eager to suck Guelder’s power. Vasago was gradually fed up with the behavior of society. That’s why she fell into this deviation only today.

The flowers are really pretty.

But Vasago had no intention of wandering around for long. There was a clear destination for her secret outing. It was none other than to see flowers that bloom only on full moon nights like today.

Since she had already finished viewing the flowers, all the remains were for her to return to the mansion. She thought she could live in restraint from now on while remembering today’s freedom. However…

“!”

Step, step. The sound of someone’s footsteps echoed in the back alley at night where no one should be there. This scene also overlaps with the midnight novel.

<#3. Back Alley (night)

Encountering mysterious assassins, Vasago took out her sword and revealed her honed skills. However, due to the number of assassins, Vasago began to be physically pushed back, eventually hurting and falling, leaving only two assassins left.

Vasago: (Damn it!)

At that time, Aloken appeared from another passage in the alley and cut down the assassin who was threatening Vasago. The people who had been fighting in the alley looked at Aloken all at once.

Assassin: Aloken?! Why is he here?!

Aloken stabbed the assassin in the neck before he could utter the next word, knocking him down.

Vasago: You…

Aloken: What crime did you commit to having so many assassins as your guests?>

The next scene was the part where the assassins aiming for Vasago appeared.

“!”

Swoosh. A nearby bush swayed, and a person appeared, Vasago reaching for the sword at her waist. It was then.

“Princess… Vasago?”

A familiar voice was heard from the mysterious passerby holding a lantern.

“Fanora?”

“It’s really Princess!”

When she turned her head, Vasago saw Fanora in a robe. Fanora looked surprised, as if she hadn’t expected to meet Vasago. But her inner thoughts were different.

Vasago’s outing. As expected, it’s today! Fanora had predicted all of this. At the end of autumn, Vasago ran away for a short time. After that, Vasago met the assassins while walking along the night street.

Aloken, who originally had a crush on her, appears splendidly and saves her from the assassination threats. But she’s currently not close with Aloken. So Vasago should meet the assassins by herself, right?

Then why did Fanora follow Vasago?

But since she has mastered swordsmanship, she might kill the assassins and return. I’m not going to lose that chance. I’d rather use those assassins.

This was the rough plain in her head.

When she meets assassins, I will rescue her and gain her trust. All of these plans would be possible because Fanora knew the novel featuring Vasago in advance. Then, the first step of her plan, tailing Vasago, was a success. All that remains is to persuade Vasago to fall into the novel’s situation together.

“Fanora. Why are you here?”

“I’ve been worried about Princess. Since it was time for the servants to sleep, I went to Princess to ask some questions, but you were nowhere to be found in the mansion…”

Fanora made an expression like a weak woman. She quivered her eyelashes and put her clenched fists on her chest.

“You came all the way here because you were worried about me? What about your escort?”

“I urgently said I should go to Aloken’s villa, got a coach, and came out alone.”

“Why did you do such a dangerous thing…!”

“I-I-I’m not that tactless. I know Princess got out of here in secret. That’s why I ensured the rest of the mansion didn’t notice. She added, looking around the dim surrounding. “But I was very, very worried. If Princess gets into an accident…”

“…”

“Why did Princess go out alone? Can’t we just go back to the mansion together?”

Fanora cried, so Vasago calmed her down. She was annoyed that her freedom seemed to have been broken for a moment. Still, she couldn’t get angry because Fanora worried about herself to the point of crying like this.

“Don’t worry, Fanora. Because I was just about to go back.”

“Hiks, Princess should at least bring an escort. It’s so dark…”

“…”

Vasago patted Fanora and began to move in front of her. They were on the way back to the duchy. And while walking on this dark street, Vasago asked.

“Fanora, have you ever felt frustrated that you were born into a noble family?”

“Pardon?”

“It may sound too much for some people. I have been skeptical about my life in the spotlight for a long time.”

Fanora stopped crying at her words.

“I can’t go to the bathroom on my own without an escort, and when I go to the party, countless people give comments to each of my gestures.”

“…”

“If I become the Duke Guelder in the future, the attention will be worse than this, but before that happens, I wanted to enjoy my freedom just once. I’m sorry to have caused you unnecessary worry.”

I’m sorry. Fanora didn’t expect to hear an apology from Vasago was simple. Fanora, who was pretending to cry before, thought hard. She wouldn’t have tried to poison her if Vasago had apologized like this when she asked her to keep her distance from Naverius.

“There is nothing to be sorry about… It’s natural that each of us has difficulties in our lives. Even if others don’t understand, all the hardships Princess goes through are real.”

“…!”

“Princess’s skepticism is justified.”

This sentence was a line spoken by Aloken in the novel. And just like the midnight novel described, Vasago was deeply moved by this line.

“Fanora…”