Free Web Novel“How did you get in? I set up a barrier.... Ahaha.”
Do Gyeoul looked at me and broke into a bright smile, as if she had just discovered something entertaining.
“I took a wrong turn. I’ll be on my way now.”
“On your way? To where?”
She continued staring at me like she was studying a specimen.
“That cloak you’re wearing looks like the Grand Duke’s... a prisoner who snuck into the North?”
“No, no, no. Please don’t mind me and just continue what you were doing.”
As I took a step back, Do Gyeoul extended her hand. Black smoke curled up from her slender fingertips.
“Ah—! Do Gyeoul, you lunatic!”
I squeezed my eyes shut.
Crash!
Before the smoke could touch me, something shattered.
It was the brooch attached to Ji Haebeom’s cloak. It broke into pieces—probably some kind of protective item.
“...Interesting. For the first time.”
Do Gyeoul muttered while looking down at the fragments.
Taking advantage of that brief moment of distraction, I scrambled out of the palace. The ground beneath me vibrated strangely, making my legs feel like they might give out at any second.
It had only been a short exchange, but goosebumps covered my entire body.
“Wow... I almost died....”
One Do Gyeoul was scarier than a golem the size of a house. I shook my head violently, trying to shake off that suffocating gaze.
“But seriously, where even is this....”
How was I supposed to get back to Ji Haebeom? I needed to retrace my steps, but I had run so blindly I had no idea where I’d come from.
“Whoa! Golems in the imperial palace?!”
“Hey! Miss! This is not the time to be amazed!”
Perfect timing—familiar voices came from beyond the wall.
“Dami—!”
* * *
It wasn’t just So Dami and Choo Gaeul standing beyond the topiary.
“Hey.”
Joo Junseo was there too. No—can’t call him that here. His name... there was something else....
“You saw me and didn’t even greet me?”
“Hello first, I guess.”
Worried Do Gyeoul might come chasing after me, I grabbed the edge of Joo Junseo’s cloak.
“Are you going to let go?”
“I’m shaking a lot right now. Why did you come so late?! I seriously thought I was going to die. I’m terrified, so let’s hurry up and go. Still, seeing a familiar face really helps me calm down.”
“Calm down, my ass. I’m just taking you to the banquet entrance and leaving.”
While escorting me, Joo Junseo suddenly grabbed my shoulder and stopped me.
“Hey. There’s blood on your cheek.”
“Blood?”
“Where did you get scratched? You’re always so careless.”
It was probably from that stone that grazed me earlier when the golem appeared.
“Ah! Do you even realize what kind of face this is?!”
That crazy Do Gyeoul. I’m not letting her off the hook.
Joo Junseo touched my cheek with his gloved hand.
“It’s not a deep cut.”
“It won’t scar, right? Look properly. What can you even tell with gloves on? This is a face that’s going to represent the country!”
“...Why are there so many demands?”
Despite the complaint, he took off his glove and gently brushed my cheek.
“So? How is it? Huh?”
I looked up at him, urging an answer. But instead, he just dragged a hand down my face.
“...Tch.”
For a moment, I unconsciously closed my eyes. When I opened them, he had already turned away and started walking again.
He moved faster than before, forcing me to practically jog to keep up.
“Hey—why are you suddenly walking so fast?!”
“...None of your business.”
Watching us, So Dami muttered quietly,
“Wow... Gaira, you were right. We should’ve just reported it back then. That wanted notice this morning—it really was the thief who stole the Northern Knight Commander’s heart.”
“Seriously, miss, how are you going to survive in this world being this naive? If we’d reported it, we’d have gotten ten thousand gold. Do you know how many dresses that is?”
“Yeah... thanks to you, I could’ve recovered the dresses I owe the salon. At this rate, I’ll have to wear your maid outfit starting tomorrow.”
“....”
From somewhere in the distance, music began to drift through the air. The imperial banquet had started.
* * *
“Hey. If anything happens again later, just stay behind me.”
At the entrance of the banquet hall, Joo Junseo spoke like a warning.
“And stop getting scratched somewhere and whining.”
“If I stay behind you, does that make me safe?”
Looks like he hasn’t read romance fantasy.
If you stay near a major character, you’re guaranteed to get dragged into trouble. Being near him is basically a danger zone for me.
‘If anything # Nоvеlight # happens, I’m running faster than anyone.’
As if he read my thoughts, Joo Junseo frowned.
“You think I’d let you get hurt?”
“Wondered where you went.”
A familiar voice cut in—it was Ji Haebeom.
He looked exactly the same as before. Not a single scratch on him.
“Where did you wander off to? You even broke the brooch. And you’re late.” freewёbnoνel.com
“A lot happened. I’ll tell you later.”
“Mm. Give me your hand first.”
As I took his hand and entered the imperial banquet hall, the sight nearly overwhelmed me.
A massive chandelier, floral arrangements that looked like entire gardens transplanted indoors, and above, a ceiling shimmering with starlight as if the Milky Way had been summoned through magic.
The hall was already packed with people.
‘Then it’s about time...!’
The main character of a party always arrives last.
Right on cue—
Bang!
Two attendants near the doors stomped loudly. Then the Crown Prince’s arrival was announced, and every head turned.
The doors opened—
“...Holy shit.”
A noblewoman beside me let out a curse.
“This is insane.”
It was no different from when Myeong Jeha appeared at the airport—except there were no cameras.
Every woman was smiling brightly, as if they didn’t even have partners beside them. One husband tried to cover his wife’s eyes with a fan—she knocked it away within a second.
Dressed in a pristine white uniform, Myeong Jeha strode in, a crimson cloak billowing behind him.
The medals across his chest and the gold-thread epaulettes looked like they existed solely for him.
‘There really should’ve been cameras.’
It felt like a genuine loss that a face like that wouldn’t be recorded.
Ji Haebeom’s dark uniform looked impressive too, but it wasn’t even the same league.
‘He suits this better than casual clothes, too.’
I should’ve been used to it by now, but I still couldn’t look away.
As if sensing my gaze, his steps slowed—and stopped right in front of Ji Haebeom and me.
“I greet Your Highness the Crown Prince.”
“...And the person beside you?”
Looking at his expression—he knows.
Good. Finally something I can rely on.
“My partner for tonight’s banquet.”
“...Hmm... I don’t recognize her. Haha.”
Myeong Jeha stared straight at me.
But what was that look?
‘...It feels like the same expression he had when he set a trap and waited...?’
No—not similar. It was exactly the same.
“Save the prepared lie for later.”
Wait... does he not know anything either? No—that can’t be it. It absolutely can’t.
‘No way....’
As we held each other’s gaze, the music shifted. The center of the hall began to clear.
After briefly glancing at the empty floor—
“If you would grant me the honor of the first dance.”
With a dazzling smile, Myeong Jeha extended his hand toward me.
A dance? Out of nowhere?
“Oh my....”
“A love triangle?”
“My goodness....”
The whispers stabbed straight into my ears. Everyone was watching, fascinated.
“I don’t really want to get caught up in a bunch of kids’ love triangle....”
Ji Haebeom muttered quietly.
Hearing that, Myeong Jeha grabbed my hand.
“Then I’ll gladly accept.”
I was half-dragged toward the center of the hall by his long strides. His arm wrapped around my back with practiced ease.
“...Well, this is great.”
From the very first step, I stepped on his foot.
His finely shaped brows twitched slightly.
“Senior. You’re messing with me, right? What is going on here?”
I whispered so only he could hear. He smoothly turned our joined hands.
“Senior, huh....”
He murmured, then leaned closer. freewēbnoveℓ.com
Close wasn’t even the word—this was beyond 4K, practically 16K.
“Strange, isn’t it? Your etiquette is a complete mess, there’s suspiciously no information about you, you suddenly appeared at the Northern Temple, tried to run, and ended up here in the imperial palace....”
His low voice cut through the elegant waltz.
“There’s more than one thing to be suspicious about.”
His grip tightened around my back, preventing any escape.
“Who are you?”
So this is the despair route of a romance fantasy.
‘Even you, Senior....’
In the middle of all this, I stepped on his foot again.
As he effortlessly lifted me into a turn, a cold smile curved his lips.
“You didn’t exist in any of the damn resets I’ve gone through....”
...Wait.
Senior.
You’re a regressor here too?
