Chapter 6
“The Princess is marrying the Tower Master? Wasn’t he just a supporting character?”
Rebecca felt disappointed. Charlize wasn’t behaving the way she’d expected. And Valter—she was disappointed in him, too. He acted like some arrogant young master from a cliché romance.
In the original story, Valter Bianchi was a cold and charismatic noble—a classic aloof male lead with a sharp charm. He was so relentlessly pursued by the Princess that he developed a mild distaste for women altogether.
But the Valter in this world… wasn’t like that.
He had ambiguous relationships with several noble ladies—none of it clearly friendship or romance. The ladies were hesitant, worried he might one day officially be engaged to the Princess, and Valter himself was…
“Why is he so vague about everything?”
There was something about his behavior that reminded her of a frustrating ex-boyfriend from her past life. She couldn’t bring herself to like him.
He acted cold and dismissive toward Charlize but clearly cared. Yet he never stepped forward either. Their relationship felt like an exhausting tug-of-war, only possible because Charlize kept holding on.
‘This is when an evil villainess should appear and stir up a crisis—that would at least make the romance burn hotter…’
But Charlize wasn’t a villainess. And because there was no obsessive rival, Valter Bianchi just ended up looking like another spoiled noble son who couldn’t make up his mind.
Yes, he was incredibly handsome. Yes, he was a Sword Master and immensely talented. But the way he kept circling around without doing anything decisive was—
“He’s too much like a real guy. Ugh. What kind of male lead is that?”
Forget “realism patches”—who needed that in romance? Rebecca was beginning to wonder if it was time to give up on Valter. Sure, he was the official male lead and had the best looks and status out of all of them… but maybe that wasn’t enough.
“I should just go after one of the supporting male leads instead. Ugh—but that face and that body, it’s still hard to let go…”
And so, Rebecca continued to wrestle with her feelings.
“Lize. Just tell me the truth.”
Oscar crossed his arms and one leg over the other, eyeing her sharply as he stood in her room. Charlize, seeing her brother’s stance and expression, began to sweat internally. It was obvious what he was here to ask—and she couldn’t bring herself to meet his eyes.
“W-What do you mean?”
“What happened between you and that Tower Master?”
“Nothing! And anyway—why are you even asking me about that?!”
Her face flushed red with embarrassment as she shouted. Oscar, for his part, didn’t seem thrilled to be having this conversation either.
“I’d rather not get involved in my little sister’s love life, believe me. But still… you never know! That guy—he didn’t try anything inappropriate, did he?”
Well… he kissed me, Twice. And I didn’t exactly stop him, so he must’ve taken that as permission… and then the second time, he…
‘And the worst part is, I didn’t hate it!’
“N-Nothing like that happened,” she stammered, looking away.
Oscar’s expression twisted as he rubbed his temples. She was clearly hiding something—but he decided not to push.
‘Better not to press her. It doesn’t seem like she was forced into anything…’
What he feared most was that the Tower Master had taken advantage of Charlize. The man was impossible to read. The Emperor seemed to only care about his abilities and what benefits he could bring to the Empire, so Oscar knew he had to be the one watching out for his sister.
“Alright then. Just remember—if he ever does anything you’re uncomfortable with, come to me. No matter what, I’m on your side.”
“…Okay. By the way, when is Mother coming back?”
Their mother, Empress Roxana, was a foreign princess who had returned to her homeland to congratulate her nephew, the crown prince, on his upcoming wedding.
Though she’d already planned to return soon, the Emperor had gone ahead and arranged Charlize’s marriage to the Tower Master on his own. Charlize figured the Empress would now be rushing back.
But she wasn’t seeking her mother just to beg her to stop the engagement.
Of course, it would help if the Empress sided with her—but Charlize had something else she needed to talk about.
She had other friends, yes, but they all disliked Valter so much that if she told them anything, they’d probably spread rumors with glee. She couldn’t trust them with this.
“She sent word. She’ll be back by next week at the latest,” Oscar replied. “You’ll see her soon.”
Charlize gave a small nod as her brother gently patted her head.
Even so, she wasn’t sure she’d be able to speak when the time came.
“Maybe my heart was just racing because it was my first kiss!”
Charlize tried to convince herself.
Her chest still tightened whenever she thought about Valter, but when she thought about Achilles… it wasn’t pain. It was something else—unsettling and restless. Her heart fluttered in a way that confused her.
Did anything like this ever happen in my past life? Why do I feel so strange now?
Maybe it had, and she just didn’t remember. After all, she didn’t recall everything from her previous life.
As Charlize sat, deep in thought, Oscar said,
“His Majesty is hosting a grand ball in a few days. That’s when your engagement will be officially announced.”
“S-So soon?!”
“The wedding’s happening fast. Of course, the announcement has to come first.”
It wasn’t just the fact that everyone—especially Valter—would find out. The bigger problem was that Achilles would be attending. As her fiancé, he’d be her partner for the night.
“What am I going to do? I’m not ready to see his face yet!”
Charlize stared at her brother, as if begging him to save her. But Oscar simply shook his head, giving up on her behalf.
“The date’s set, Lize. It’s not going to change.”
“Ughhh!”
She let out a dramatic groan and collapsed into herself. Oscar looked at her with pity, though he was a little relieved—at least she didn’t seem devastated like she had when she cried before.
Contrary to what many assumed, Achilles had not returned to the Magic Tower after seeing Charlize. He was still staying at the imperial palace. The Emperor had personally invited him to remain as a guest in the auxiliary palace until the wedding.
He had already been informed of the ball’s date, and royal attendants were assigned to help him prepare. The Emperor had specifically requested that he dress more elegantly than his usual simple black attire.
When someone hinted that Charlize would probably appreciate it, Achilles didn’t protest. As always, his expression remained unreadable. No one could tell what he was really feeling, but as long as he didn’t refuse, they took it as agreement.
Just in case, an etiquette tutor was brought in to help him.
That’s when the real issue arose.
“I don’t know how to dance.”
The noble etiquette instructor blinked in disbelief. Rumors had long suggested that the Tower Master came from a humble or even rural background—but now the instructor was starting to believe them.
“But… Illien… isn’t that the name of a royal bloodline that disappeared centuries ago?”
Still, whispers spread through the court: The Emperor must be desperate—he doesn’t even know where his future son-in-law came from.
“Ah, well… if you’ve devoted your life to magical research, I suppose it makes sense,” the tutor replied quickly, trying to mask his shock under Achilles’s cold stare. He politely suggested they take a short break—then discreetly sent a servant to report this to the Emperor.
The upcoming ball would require Achilles and Charlize to perform the opening dance. But dancing wasn’t something you could learn instantly—not even for a genius.
When the tutor returned, he tried again—only to run into a new problem. Achilles refused to practice with a female partner.
They searched for an attendant who could demonstrate the female steps, but Achilles shut that down too.
“I’m not going to dance with anyone but the Princess.”
Was he just trying to avoid learning?
The tutor wondered that, but there was no way to push the Tower Master. Left with no options, he simply relayed Achilles’s words back to the Emperor.
“He says it has to be Charlize. Is he already acting like he owns her?”
Oscar scowled.
It was as if Achilles had demanded the Crown Princess be brought in just to help him practice. Maybe he didn’t mean it that way—maybe he truly didn’t want to dance with anyone else—but to Oscar, it reeked of arrogance.
All information about the Tower Master was to be reported to the Emperor, but day-to-day affairs were handled by the Crown Prince and the chief steward.
That structure had been put in place by the Emperor himself—because Achilles Illien wasn’t just any guest.
Oscar sighed, thinking through the situation.
Charlize didn’t seem to dislike Achilles anymore—not like she had at the beginning—so maybe it was okay to ask her. If she weren’t royalty, this would be a non-issue. Their engagement wasn’t going to be undone at this point. Even if word got out, it wouldn’t damage the imperial family much.
In fact, they could use it to their advantage—spin the story into a tale of romance. If done right, it might even boost public opinion.
Oscar made up his mind and sent a messenger to Charlize.
She might feel betrayed when she heard, but Oscar agreed with the Emperor on this one.
‘Valter’s done nothing but make her suffer. The Tower Master… he’s a bit strange, sure, but at least it seems like he actually likes her.’
“…If only he could do something about that expression.”
Oscar sighed, shaking his head as Achilles’s eternally cold face came to mind.
