Palace

The next day, Lady Vienna prepared herself to go with her father to the palace, which she finally managed to convince. She decided not to bring her knight Titus, which Titus strongly opposed but did not have the choice but to listen to her request. 

In the book, there is another reason why the empire would fall soon, and she has to get a chance to talk to the emperor. But first, she’ll have to gain his favor. 

"Can I ask why you want to go with me to the palace, Vinnia?" Asked her father as they got on the carriage. "Are you going to stalk the crown prince again?"

She shook her head no. She has completely lost feelings for the crown prince the moment she knew her fate. "I want to meet Prince Avelina, father. She seems lovely." She said, giving her a puppy look. 

"Oh, you mean the fiancé of the crown prince?" He asked. 

She nodded, "Yes."

Her father smiled, "That's great, you're wanting to meet someone of your peers. I'm glad you're finally not isolating yourself, my dear."

She nodded. She was telling the truth of course. It’s time to meet the female lead. She’ll just take a peek and see what she looks like. They would be meeting at the royal ball after all. "Tell him the enemy's troops are on the southern border. Princess Avelina's family are breaching the agreement." She spoke up.

Her father looked at her, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion. "The enemy's troops? How did you know, Vinnia?"

"I just heard from the knights and did some investigation, father." She smiled. Of course, that’s a lie. She knew it from the book, but her father does not have to know.

Duke Xaviera nodded, "I see, I'll try to bring that up during our meeting. Enjoy making friends, Vinnia." And with that, the carriage stopped. 

"I'll be going home to my own father, just send Titus to escort me home." She informed her father, to which he nodded in reply. Her father separated with her and went towards the emperor's study while she strolled in the garden. 

“Have you heard? Duke Raziel likes men?” She halted at that, hearing the palace maids whispering as they trimmed the bushes. Hiding behind a nearby tree, she let herself hear the rest of what they had to say. 

“No way!” Said another. 

“Yes, and worse, the reason why he came to Xaviera’s mansion was that he liked Marquess, the older brother of Lady Vienna!” Replied the first maid she heard.  Lady Vienna smirked, it seems that what she had ordered Roxy to spread worked! It was all her doing! She laughed to herself but stopped when she realized the maids were still conversing. 

“I thought he was asking for the lady’s hand! Turns out he was into men? Wow, what a waste. I liked him at first, you know.” 

“Yeah, your type is an intimidating and cruel man after all. But I'm more into the crown prince.” Said the other maid, heaving a dreamy sigh. 

“Well, how about Lady Vienna’s personal knight? The son of the general of the imperial army, Lieutenant Titus? I like strong men like him who’ll save me like an honorable knight.” Squealed another. 

Oh...she paused at that. She didn’t know that her personal knight is famous around the girls. She has to take note of that. It’s time for Titus to get married...I’ll help him pick then…

She then went to her past hang-out spot...the tall tree that she climbed every day where she can clearly see the crown prince, Prince Alexander "Mathias" de Stavios III sitting by his study. 

Before the book was given to her, she always visited him to catch a glimpse of his long and slender hands and his handsome face...This had always completed her day. It became her everyday routine that she did not even mind what other people thought of her being so desperate for attention. 

She can't help but feel pity for her past self. Climbing the tree, she settled herself as it was not that high. The wind blew again and the leaves were blocking the sun for her not to get burned in the middle of noon. 

The lady peeked at the window where she knew the crown prince was. He was busy signing papers as his personal attendant, Maxfield, stayed by his side. Despite the fact that she will be killed by him sooner or later, she admired how he was sitting so elegantly by the table, and watched at how he gracefully held the pen with his long slender fingers.

I bet his handwriting looks good...She can't help but say to herself.

She never saw his handwriting as she could only watch him from afar...She may be obsessed with him, but she does not have the courage to face him. She's afraid she would melt when that happens. Besides, the crown prince never paid attention to her...

To be his future queen...that was her past dream. But not anymore. 

She shook her head, getting lost in her thoughts. No, this is not the reason why she came here. 

Remember you are going to get killed by that man! She whispered to herself. 

Lady Vienna saw Prince Mathias glancing in her direction, and her eyes widened. For unknown reasons, she was nervous.   Her heartbeat out of her chest, hands trembling. She kept her eyes locked on him and he did not look away.

But then she saw his lips turning upward into his dazzling beautiful smile. She felt like an arrow hit her and her knees turned to jelly, slipping from where she stood and falling down from the tree.

She released a loud scream. Falling to the grass, she felt the excruciating pain from the impact. Mumbling a curse, she groaned in pain.  "Ow!"

Just then, she heard rustling from the bushes. "Who's there?" 

The voice was coming from a female. Looking up, she saw the female lead, Princess Avelina Ophelia de Solerr. Dressed in a white dress, her silver long hair and blue eyes almost made her look like an angel. Lady Vienna gaped at the sight, temporarily forgetting the pain from falling until the princess spoke up, "Hello, what's your name?

The wind blew. She just stared at the princess. So this is how it looks like to be the female lead. She felt a bit jealous, but shook her head, remembering that she came here for her. But this is too early, she only wanted to take a peek at her! She was supposed to be meeting her at the royal ball!

Sighing, she shook her head. It’s too late. The damage is already done.

"I'm...." She stopped, realizing she must not reveal her identity first. She yelped in pain.

The princess noticed her feet' state and looked at her worriedly, "Oh, are you hurt?"

"Oh, I'm fine. Stay away from me." She said, wanting to make the female lead leave. Of course, she wouldn't, the princess is kind to nature, and it irritates her.

The princess kneeled at her, "You fell from the tree, I know you're in pain." Looking around, she held her feet. "I have a secret, and I want you to keep it to yourself."

Lady Vienna shook her head. "No, stop, leave me alone." She knew what she's going to do...

But the princess just beamed at her before a light shone from her hands and before she knew it, she felt the pain disappearing. She gasped. Wow, she knew that the princess had healing abilities already since the book had revealed it, but seeing it with her own eyes, felt magical.

"I know the feeling of pain, as someone who's offered it as a treaty." She could feel sadness in the princess's voice. "But I'm fine." Of course, she would be sad, but this was part of the plot of the book. Captured into an unknown land and marry the prince instantly, if she was her, she would have gone mad. But with the help of the Crown Prince, they would instantly fall in love.

Just then, a voice boomed from behind her. "What is happening here?" Turning around, she was not shocked to see the crown prince marching towards them.

"Your highness." She bowed gracefully, standing up. “Forgive me for the unpleasant sight." Now that she thinks of it...this is the first time that the crown prince talked to her.

Beside her, Princess Avelina smiled at her, bowed at the crown prince, and said, "Good afternoon, your highness. I heard her screaming so I came to check."

The crown prince nodded and smiled gently at the princess, "I see, then please enjoy walking through the gardens, you can also visit me at my study." The princess nodded and excused herself, leaving them alone. She watched her retreating figure. Realizing they were alone now, she felt a bit nervous.

The crown prince noticed her feet' state and gasped in shock. "What happened to your feet, Lady Xaviera?" There was concern in his eyes. If she were her past self, she would have already fainted. He knows her name, that's good. She was always just watching him from afar...she won't be surprised if she knew her past routine-stalking him.

Lady Vienna cleared her throat. "I fell from the tree, your highness."

"Yes, I saw it from the window that is why I came to check up on you. Are you okay, Lady Vienna Xaviera?"

"Yes, I am, your highness." She answered...Good thing that the female lead had healed her and her body are strong...she faced something worse than this when she was still a child...

"No, I think you're not fine. Let me help you." He offered. Walking closer to her, the lady gasped. "I might trouble you, your highness! You were busy working..."

"It is fine, Lady Xaviera. You are one of the nobles in the empire. A lady should be taken care of." Instead of feeling butterflies in her stomach, she didn’t. She felt numb and empty at his words. He didn’t sound sincere…

“Then, shall I treat your feet in my study? This will not take too long.”