Chapter 18

As Enria walked toward the reception room, she realized that the uneasy, prickly feeling inside her came from the fact that she had shared a bed with Caldeon the night before.

And to make matters worse, I monopolized him again at breakfast, she thought.

From Roseanne’s perspective—who held the title of Grand Duchess—it was only natural that such things would be unpleasant.

After all, Roseanne was the true heroine of the story: the woman destined to fall in love with Caldeon and live happily ever after.

Enria decided it was time to make her position clear to Roseanne.

She truly felt like Caldeon’s mistress now, and no matter what, she wanted to avoid being in danger again just for staying by his side.

But Enria’s resolve turned out to be unnecessary. Roseanne didn’t seem the least bit interested in anything concerning Caldeon and her.

“May I hold him?”

Roseanne’s eyes sparkled—not at Enria, but at Hayden.

“Ah, of course.”

As soon as Enria handed the baby over, Roseanne squealed with delight.

“Oh my goodness, he’s so adorable! I suppose I can’t bite those chubby cheeks? How about a kiss on his little hand?”

It was clear Roseanne absolutely loved children.

Perhaps her excitement was too much, because Hayden pressed his tiny palm against her mouth to shush her.

That only made Roseanne squeal again, and Hayden’s brows furrowed in disapproval.

Seeing Roseanne showering the baby with endless admiration, Enria blinked in confusion.

‘Was she always like this?’

Roseanne had always been a gentle, composed woman—fragile enough to seem like a breeze could carry her away, yet quietly strong on the inside.

A bright, bubbly personality like this didn’t suit her at all.

Do people’s personalities change when the story itself changes?

Everything about this world—down to the smallest detail—was diverging from the original plot, and Enria felt that same tangled mix of confusion and unease return.

After holding and doting on Hayden for a long while, Roseanne reluctantly returned him when Chavel entered carrying a tray of tea.

Once Chavel set down the tea and cookies, she told Enria she would take Hayden for a bit.

Enria naturally handed the baby over, watching as Hayden babbled incomprehensibly in Chavel’s arms. Then she took a seat across from Roseanne.

Roseanne couldn’t take her eyes off Hayden until Chavel finally left the room with him.

Only after the baby disappeared from view did Roseanne turn her gaze to Enria.

“Hayden is really adorable,” she said warmly.

With nothing better to say, Enria simply smiled faintly.

“The furniture maker will be here this afternoon,” Roseanne continued.

“Yes.”

“We’ll pick out a bed then.”

“Sure.”

Enria nodded, lifting her teacup in a small gesture of agreement.

The silence between them felt heavy.

Feeling awkward for many reasons, Enria sipped her tea several times without a word—until Roseanne suddenly asked, a faint smile playing on her lips,

“Are you uncomfortable around me, Lady Enria?”

The question froze Enria mid-motion, her cup halfway to her lips.

It was impossible to deny; the discomfort was probably written all over her face.

Besides, Roseanne surely already knew why she felt this way—so denying it would be pointless.

Meeting Roseanne’s eyes, Enria replied quietly, “Given my position, it’s hard not to be uncomfortable around Your Grace.”

“Ah.”

“Honestly, coming to the Grand Duke’s castle wasn’t by my choice either. I have my share of grievances.”

Roseanne rested her chin on her hand, smiling as though the conversation amused her.

“And, for example?” she asked pleasantly.

“…For example—well, as Lord Rahar must have told you, I’m not exactly Caldeon’s mistress, but rather—”

“Oh my, you’re calling him by name now?” Roseanne’s eyes widened in surprise, but her tone was teasing, almost delighted.

Thrown off by the unexpected reaction, Enria coughed awkwardly and said,

“Thanks to Your Grace sending Rahar, I was able to survive.”

“Please, call me by my name too.”

“…Pardon?”

“Adding titles to names feels too distant. I’ve been meaning to say that—it’s been bothering me.”

Enria blinked slowly, trying to process it.

‘Isn’t that distance a good thing? I’m literally her husband’s mistress…’

“I’ll call you Enria from now on, so please call me Roseanne.”

Roseanne winked playfully. “We can save nicknames for when we’re closer.”

Enria stared at her, flustered.

‘Nicknames? Does she even realize who I am?’

Even if their marriage was purely political for now, and even if she already knew about Enria and Caldeon, Enria was still—by all accounts—a very awkward presence in Roseanne’s life.

And yet Roseanne spoke as if it were nothing.

‘Is it because she truly doesn’t care about me? Or because she’s pretending not to?’

Either way, it didn’t feel particularly pleasant.

“Anyway,” Roseanne said, interrupting her thoughts, “you’re misunderstanding something.”

…A misunderstanding?

“Even though I currently hold the title of Grand Duchess, I’m not actually the real Grand Duchess.”

Enria blinked in confusion.

‘What does that even mean?’

When her puzzled expression deepened, Roseanne leaned forward slightly and lowered her voice, as though sharing a secret.

“I should’ve told you sooner, but things have been hectic since the Tower started moving.”

“…”

“And truthfully, acting as Grand Duchess has been exhausting in itself.”

Though no one else was in the room, Roseanne still looked around before whispering softly, “When my brother told me about your situation, I wanted to explain everything then—but I didn’t, because I heard you were pregnant.”

Roseanne went on to explain about the divine oracle and absolution powers, saying that at first, she had mistaken Enria for the oracle’s chosen vessel.

The spirits had all insisted that Hayden was the true bearer of the oracle, but given Enria’s many divine gifts, Roseanne had thought she might be the one instead.

She apologized, saying she’d been preoccupied visiting sanctuaries and ancient libraries to study the prophecy.

“And because of that, the person who most deserved to know the truth about my marriage with Caldeon was the very last to find out,” Roseanne said, looking regretful.

“…The truth?”

Enria blinked, startled.

She already knew their marriage was one of convenience—both the emperor and Roseanne’s father had wanted it. That much was even in the original story.

But Roseanne’s tone suggested something entirely different.

Roseanne met her gaze, her expression calm but serious.

“Caldeon and I never actually held a wedding ceremony. And we never signed a marriage contract, either.”

Enria’s eyes widened. Roseanne quickly added that she should have reassured her sooner but hadn’t found the chance.

‘No wedding?’ Enria thought in disbelief. ‘But I remember—there was a huge ceremony! The newspapers called it the event of the century.’

Rahar had even brought her the paper and shown her the pictures.

Seeing Enria’s confusion, Roseanne smiled lightly.

“The photos and reports were fabricated by our side. Since it was supposed to be a grand imperial wedding, we had to make it look real at first.”

“But luckily,” she continued, “the Tower’s sudden activity drew the emperor and the entire court’s attention away. That gave us room to… improvise.”

Roseanne then added with a faint laugh, “We enlisted the help of one of my brother’s friends—a very talented illusionist.”

An illusionist…

Illusionists were said to have the rare ability to manipulate sight and perception, blurring the boundary between truth and falsehood.

There were only five in the entire world, and they were considered exceptionally rare beings.

Was there such a character in the original story?

In the novel Enria remembered, Roseanne herself was incredibly powerful.

In the end, she and Caldeon defeated the God of Evil—the final villain—through the combined strength of their powers and their love.

Rahar and other notable allies had helped, of course, but the story had been framed as their triumph—their love’s synergy conquering darkness.

Now, with this new mention of an illusionist who’d never existed in the original, Enria listened closely, intrigued.

“In any case,” Roseanne said, “we still haven’t confirmed who the true bearer of the oracle is. It’ll take time. Until then, I’ll help you with your spell formations.”

“Ah…”

“I’ve been too busy and left it to my brother, but I intended to help you from the start.”

Roseanne went on to explain that the Tower Master’s alliance with the high fire spirit Panz was becoming dangerous, and she wanted to help Enria grow strong as quickly as possible—to ensure she could defend herself when the time came.