(unedited)

Looking back, it’s a cliff (3)

‘If it were Whirsen….’

The viscount had heard that Prince Michael was marrying a young lady from Whirsen. She was said to be a troublemaker in society, so the viscount looked at Rosetta curiously.

Michael’s soft expression turned icy at the sight of his gaze. The viscount realized his mistake and quickly looked away. Michael dismissed his summoned beast in the meantime and looked back at William.

“Where is the carriage?”

“I’ll have it brought to you now.”

William gestured, and several of the knights scrambled away. The viscount stared eagerly behind him, knowing he would lose Michael if he didn’t. At his pleading gaze, Rosetta tugged at the hem of Michael’s robe, and the viscount’s mouth dropped open as Michael’s gaze relaxed.

‘Huh….’

With that one glance, the viscount realized that Michael had fallen hard for Rosetta. Apparently, the young lady of Whirsen hadn’t taken advantage of his weakness and dared to marry the prince, as had been rumored.

Rosetta whispered in Michael’s ear, and Michael glared at the viscount with disapproval. The viscount swallowed hard under that glare.

“…I will remember your hospitality.”

Those words were enough to make the viscount’s eyes pop out of his head. Just as he was about to shout, “Oh, Prince!” the imperial carriage pulled up in a cloud of dust.

Oddly, the dust only seemed to fly in the direction of the viscount. Rosetta clicked her tongue at the sight.

‘He’s an extra, too….’

The viscount was silent, unable to spit out the dust in front of the royal family. Rosetta hastily pulled out her handkerchief.

“Viscount. Use this to….”

“How kind of you! Thank you….”

The Viscount, who had already figured out who the real boss was by Michael’s reaction, quickly accepted the handkerchief. For some reason, the side of his face felt cold, and when he looked at Michael, he felt as if he was electrified.

‘Hiiiik!’

Rosetta felt a strange sensation and turned her head in Michael’s direction. Michael, who had been glaring at the viscount in a scary way, was smiling like a spring breeze, as if he had always done so.

‘Heok, can I use this handkerchief to wipe my face….’

The viscount felt the death sentence in Michael’s gaze so he folded the handkerchief with both hands.

“T, This handkerchief will definitely be washed and returned to you!”

“No. You don’t have to….”

Rosetta’s panicked response made Michael’s gaze even more terrifying. The viscount stifled a groan and changed the subject.

“I will take it as a great treasure, nay, as a boast, Duchess!”

As the viscount shouted, a servant stepped out of the imperial carriage and quietly opened the carriage door. Michael tore his gaze away from the viscount and looked at Rosetta.

“The carriage has arrived, Rosetta.”

“Uh, yes.”

Rosetta climbed into the carriage, escorted by Michael. Michael followed her into the carriage and glanced at the viscount. His gaze was still cold, but much softer than it had been earlier. The viscount was relieved to see that.

‘Phew. I survived?’

The servant closed the carriage door and quickly sat down next to the coachman. The knights sent by the Emperor were also mounting their horses. The viscount clutched Rosetta’s handkerchief tightly in his hand and raised his voice.

“Take care, Prince, Duchess!”

From inside the carriage, Rosetta waved lightly. The viscount breathed a sigh of relief as he watched the imperial carriage and the knights escorting him pull away. He hadn’t accomplished his goal, but for some reason, it felt better this way.

? ? ? ?

Like all possessed protagonists, Iris had a notebook with the plot of the original story. The notebook was written entirely in Korean, so no one but her could read it.

‘This is weird. Why is this happening?’

Iris pondered as she flipped through the pages. Her personality was different from the original Iris, so she was able to subvert the original to a certain extent, but she didn’t expect it to be this bad.

‘Is the real Iris really possessing Rosetta’s body? What about the real Rosetta?’

In hindsight, the Rosetta of a few months ago had become strange. She was more of a one-dimensional villain but seemed to have grown up quite a bit. Furthermore, the mere sight of Iris’s shadow was enough to make her run for the hills.

The original Iris would have confronted Rosetta and asked her why she was bothering her.

But the possessed Iris didn’t. She remembered the original and knew Rosetta’s simple, unyielding nature.

‘Would it have been different if we had talked?’

Iris wondered as she closed her notes.

Even if Iris was possessed by Rosetta’s body, it was strange. Why would Iris bully her like that? Even if she hated her for taking her body, it didn’t make sense to bully her like that.

‘Then it’s not Iris, because she’s different now…. Did something happen to Rosetta, the Villainess 2?

Pondering, Iris shook her head wildly. It didn’t make any sense that Rosetta would be touched by something.

If Isabelle was the main villainess who specialized in cruelty, Rosetta was an extra villainess who specialized in simplicity and stupidity. She hated overthinking, and she didn’t like it when people of lesser status interfered with her.

If Iris had tried to give her advice, Rosetta would have slapped her first.

‘Yes, Iris must be possessing that body, but that doesn’t make sense, maybe…, maybe Iris was just pretending to be Rosetta by bullying me.’

And it was clear that Michael had seen and fallen in love with Iris’ inner self in Rosetta. Convinced of this, Iris pouted and moped.

“S…. So I’m not good enough for Michael? I like him better.”

What’s more, Iris is a character who never seems to be able to accept Michael! She even goes so far as to enlist Patrick and Logan to kill him….

“Come on, come on…. I’m the one Patrick and Logan like now, so Iris as Rosetta can’t kill Michael, right?’

That was a relief in its own way, but not a complete relief, because it was Michael she was really trying to make her husband, and she wanted Patrick and Logan to be her friends while she was still in love with him.

“This novel was a reverse harem to begin with. That’s not the original plot.”

In the original plot, Iris was supposed to be a couple with Patrick. It was Patrick who rescued Iris from her imprisonment from Michael and married her, even though Logan became her lover and stayed by her side.

“Wait….”

Iris’s eyes widened.

“Yes! Iris did like Patrick after all, and Rosetta’s body, which now houses Iris, did like Patrick…. The body must have memories, so I can connect Patrick and Iris—no, Rosetta!”

Since it’s a continuation of the original story, they can’t ignore it. The problem is Michael’s heart….

Would Michael give up Iris as Rosetta?

There was no way, no way. Even if the world moved in two or three directions and the heavens sank to the ground, there was no way he would give up on Rosetta.

Iris knew it would be quicker for her to give up, but it was too unfair. This body she was in was supposed to be the main character!

“Well, yeah, let’s at least try. It’s not fair to give up without doing anything, so….”

Let’s try to connect Patrick and Rosetta!

“…Although I don’t think I’ll make a dent if Michael catches me.”

Just the thought of it sent a chill down Iris’s spine, but she decided to push through. She can’t give up her favorite just like this!

It was a little scary, but she couldn’t let go of him.

? ? ? ?

The imperial carriage was speeding toward the capital. In an instant, the viscount’s small estate was in the distance, and the carriage traveled along the road that led out into the middle of the fields.

Tonight, according to Michael, they would spend the night at Count Whirsen’s home, and tomorrow they would sleep at the imperial palace while attending a party thrown by the emperor. The next day, they would leave the capital again and travel down to the Duchy.

‘Back in the capital again….’

Of course, even if she had married Philip, she would have returned to the capital to pay her respects. But it would only be for a short stay at the Whirsen’s mansion in the capital, not to attend a big party at the imperial palace.

‘I don’t want to meet people.’

She barely noticed it when she was with Michael, but as they neared the capital, she became uncomfortable. Most of the nobles in the capital’s social circles were gossiping about her, calling her a witch, and the thought of standing in front of them again made her want to puke the breakfast she’d had before leaving the island.

“Rosetta.”

Her anxiety showed in her expression. She turned at the sound of Michael’s affectionate voice. She was going to marry Philip and start over somewhere else. She thought she didn’t need to rejoin the capital’s social circles.

She had thought of taking up residence on one of Philip’s provincial estates, or perhaps leaving the empire and settling in another country after she divorced him.

Little did she know that the day would come when she would be attending the Emperor’s parties again, not as the wife of a low-profile countryside lord, but as the wife of Prince and Duke Michael.