A girl around our age stepped into the ballroom, her light blue hair cascading neatly over her shoulders like flowing silk. Beneath the chandelier lights, her royal-blue eyes carried a calm elegance that immediately drew attention from everyone around her.
The princess curtsied—every movement refined, as though grace had been drilled into her since birth.
She scanned the ballroom before gesturing for the crowd to stop bowing.
"A delightful evening, everyone. Please pay me no mind. I'm merely here to express my gratitude to a friend."
Her voice and smile were polite, but her eyes continued searching for certain people.
It lasted only a moment, but our eyes met.
No disdain. No affection.
Just a familiar smile.
One I knew way too well.
Both from my own memories and from reading about it over and over in the novel.
Then her gaze shifted toward Amon, and the smile softened into something warmer.
Right. Princess Agnes Caelmont Falan—the emperor's second child and only daughter from his third wife. The cleric in Amon's party. The main heroine.
"What a welcome surprise, Princess. Please, make yourself comfortable. I believe the younger guests are gathered over there. It would be cruel to subject someone your age to the tedious conversations of nobles."
Baron Sheeves Emilton spoke with a friendliness that somehow never crossed the line into disrespect.
The Baron is more thoughtful than I expected.
Using his position as host, he greeted her first while subtly pulling her away from the nobles already trying to catch her attention.
I guess Amon's kindness really is a family trait.
The princess nodded before making her way toward us. She lightly raised the sides of her dress and greeted us with another curtsy.
"Young Lord Amon, Young Lord Alan, and Lady Ethea. A lovely night, is it not?"
Amon returned the greeting with practiced elegance while Thea hurriedly curtsied beside him.
I gave a simple bow of my own.
"It is nice to finally meet you, Princess Agnes."
Despite this being her first time meeting royalty, she didn't look nervous in the slightest.
"I've heard a lot about you from your brother. I'm no genius, but I've also been studying magic. Unfortunately, I've shown little talent in most attributes."
She maintained her composed smile, though disappointment slipped through her voice.
"Nonsense. I heard you are more than capable of using healing magic. That is something even geniuses such as myself cannot do."
Thea puffed her cheeks proudly.
One compliment was all it took for her tail to start wagging.
She looked genuinely happy at the praise, though I could tell she had meant every word of her compliment too. She truly admired the princess.
Healing magic alone made Agnes extraordinary. Mages weren't exactly rare in this world—wealthy commoners could hire one if they searched hard enough—but most never advanced beyond the intermediate level.
Clerics were different.
Some towns spent decades without one.
Healing magic required anima—an affinity toward nature and living things. Not divine power. Not mana. Just a trait people either possessed or didn't.
And how did someone even gain that trait?
Unknown.
Within minutes, Thea and Agnes were already chatting comfortably. Despite the three-year age gap between them, they still acted like little girls around each other.
It was… nice.
"So you've already met Young Lord Alan, Princess?"
Amon asked as he returned carrying glasses of orange juice for all of us.
Agnes visibly brightened.
Surely he's asking about my relationship with Alan. He's jealous!
Her expression practically screamed it.
"Playmates, that's all we are. Speaking of which, how are Prince Jerome and Princess Diana?"
I answered before she could continue.
"The usual. Though perhaps if you visited more often, you'd know. It's been over a month since we last had tea together."
Agnes huffed and crossed her arms slightly.
And somehow, I ended up smiling back like an idiot.
Her smile—the one that swayed me before my past-life memories returned. The same smile that ruined Alan in the novel.
Always meant for someone else.
Every pathetic thing Alan did in the novel was for scraps of her attention. One smile from her and suddenly nothing else mattered.
Even if everyone else thought he was trash.
What a dumb motherfucker.
Did I really simp that hard over puppy love?
The princess noticed my stare.
For a moment, her smile stiffened.
Right. Staring at people like a psycho probably does that.
"What?" she asked quietly.
I clicked my tongue and looked away.
"Nothing," I said.
"You just clicked your tongue, didn't you?"
I really was being petty right now. It wasn't her fault I liked her, and it wasn't her obligation to like me back, but…
It still felt unfair.
That I had resorted to the scummiest things imaginable just to get her attention in the novel.
Sacrificing myself for Amon to impress her was probably the stupidest one.
I looked away before she could read my face any further. Composing myself, I changed the topic.
"It's my turn for questions now. Why are you here, Princess?"
Agnes glanced around the ballroom. Her eyes lingered on nearby nobles before she quietly led us toward a more secluded corner.
"You see…"
Apparently, she had been wandering around town incognito with only a single knight escorting her. At some point, she got separated from her knight, got lost, then somehow managed to run into a criminal in the middle of some shady alley.
Right. Because walking into creepy alleys alone was apparently a brilliant idea.
Luckily, Amon happened to be nearby and stepped in before things got worse.
According to Agnes, the criminal wasn't just some random thug either. He was strong enough that even Amon struggled against him.
Apparently, the bastard had a knife coated with poison and some sort of enhancement magic. By the end of the fight, Amon was covered in cuts and barely standing, but he still managed to put the criminal down.
Then Agnes healed him before he bled out on the street like some tragic hero in a play.
Honestly, the whole thing sounded absurdly romantic.
Turns out the man wasn't acting alone either—it was part of a criminal organization. By the time Agnes's knight arrived, the remaining criminals had already fled.
Since then, the two of them had apparently kept in touch through letters.
All of this happened while I was unconscious after the duel.
"Where were you attacked?" Thea asked.
Agnes tapped a finger against her chin, genuinely trying to remember the alley she nearly died in.
Eventually, she sighed.
"I don't know. It was hot, so I wanted somewhere shady to rest. The only place nearby was a dark creepy alley… then the criminal chased me deeper inside, so I got even more lost."
She explained it so casually that I was genuinely impressed by how quickly she moved on from life-threatening situations.
Look at her giggling like it wasn't a big deal. Princess, you almost got killed, you know?
"Good thing Amon happened to be there." the princess continued.
The slight upward curl of her lips made the flirtation painfully obvious.
A petty little sneer escaped me.
Try all you want, main heroine. He won't understand a thing.
He's den-
"Ahem… perhaps it was fate."
A faint blush spread across Amon's face.
…What?
WHAT IS HAPPENING?!
The man who usually couldn't recognize flirting even if it slapped him across the face was actually taking a hint?!
"Hehe."
Amon actually tittered back.
WHAT DO YOU MEAN "Hehe"?! ARE YOU ACTUALLY A WOMANIZER, YOU SCUMBAG?!
He's not dense at all.
He's a predator.
A predator, I tell you!
"We best be careful. After all, they were members of Pierrot."
My thoughts came to a screeching halt.
Pierrot.
The name alone made my stomach drop.
Cold sweat immediately formed down my back.
No.
There was no way I heard that correctly.
"The criminal organization supporting the Demon King… that Pierrot?"
Thea tugged lightly at my sleeve, probably confused by my sudden reaction.
Both Amon and Agnes furrowed their brows. My reaction must've looked strange because the two of them hesitated for a moment, silently debating whether they should answer.
Eventually, Amon nodded.