1st Kiss Was Intentional - Chapter 2

So, 3 years have passed. Until now, I have lived quietly in the imperial castle and I have not met anyone other than in the beginning.

“Huh?” I found a strange man while I was trying to enter the Lily Castle, with fresh flowers that I had grown in the garden.

The moment I stopped walking; my eyes met a silver-haired man who turned to see me when he heard my voice. Transparent red eyes that were like red wine or the sun.

“Who are you? Oh, I told Chief Geppetto that I needed a new vase, but did you bring that?”  The attendants who always come here were either uncles or grandfathers. A man in ordinary clothes looked two or three years older than me, who is eighteen this year.

However, he was very tall with a beautiful appearance that was admirable. His physique and his shoulders were wide open, a thought emerged while seeing him, it is rumored that the god of war, while he has a cruel personality, he also has a heavenly appearance. I wrapped the bouquet in my white apron to make holding easier, and I often stepped up to him to receive the vase that I would place the flowers in.

‘Oh,’ but as I got closer, I found that he wasn’t holding anything besides a sword. Besides, the red eyes that look at me silently are a bit guarded ……

….Wait a minute, he isn’t a servant, isn’t he? Suddenly, I felt strange, and as I stopped walking, his red eyes that had only looked at me silently began to curve. The glamorous lips also went up drawing into a slight smile.

Oh, he looks better once he smiles. I asked without doubt, laughing after him who smiled at me.

“Who are you…”

“Servant”

“Ah?”

What, this guy. Saying you are a servant quiet rudely.

“Who are you?”

Ah, its because he does not know who I am.

“I am the owner of the castle, Lydia Odette. Are you a new servant?”

“Yeah”

“Hmm, but why did you come here……?”

“That, did you grow them?”

“What?”

What a bad habit.

I frowned a bit my eyebrows lowering but I decided to think nicely. He is probably a newcomer that got lost in the imperial palace and managed to find his way to this corner. His red eyes glanced around the Lily castle interestedly before returning to look at me.

“How?”

“Just did……”

I frowned and shrugged my shoulders. He is obviously a new servant, but I feel embarrassed because I am uselessly confident even though I am not.

‘Why is he unexpectedly asking about the flowers I grew?’

I looked at the bouquets in my hands. Although the flowers didn’t have a name I though they were pretty and that everyone would appreciate them. I came upon them by chance a few months ago, I was proud of myself when I found the buds and managed to grow a bunch and take care of the flowers.

Huh. I should just let this go; I don’t want to catch the attention of others by causing a disturbance over this kind of thing. Its not worth it after I’ve been living as quiet as a mouse these last 3 years. With a small sigh I quickly added as I remembered it late just in case the newcomer has not been tamed by the imperial castle and might go cause an incident with another concubine.

“Hey, I am the thirty third concubine of His Majesty, The Emperor. So you can’t talk to me rudely.”

“Hmm……”

He just stared at me with a smile on his face. I felt like he was ignoring me, but I am as generous as my beautiful appearance and I also was scared of making a fuss and catching the emperor’s attention, so I ignored it.

“Good. I need a new vase to put these flowers in, could you get me one in the warehouse? I dropped the last one and broke it last week.”

“……”

“Hello?”

‘Are you deaf? Why aren’t you saying anything?’

I waved my hand, but his red eyes were looking at the flowers in my hand. He started laughing and then made eye contact with me.

“Okay” His answered

Oh good. I can finally use a new vase. There you go! I am excited. I watched as he walked out of the Lilly Castle with long strides. Then I head to my room to trim the flowers with scissors and wait for my new vase.

“Lydia Odette, you have been invited to attend the imperial ball. Please prepare and attend on time.”

What came to me was not a new vase but a large invitation with a golden seal.

What, what is this?

I can’t say anything because I’m surprised. Then dozens of maids poured into the castle bringing in dresses, trinkets, and makeup. The quiet Lilly Castle has suddenly become noisy. I had lived quietly with no presence and succeeded in living, but what is this? I am confused but suddenly realize.

It was the dance where the heroine first meets the emperor. The party is to welcome the princess of the country that the emperor just subjugated in the war as a new concubine! Today, the emperor meets the princess with a good heart and falls in love with her at a glance.

Um, since this is the first new concubine in three years, are they inviting all the concubines to the ball? Was Lydia Odette present in that moment?

I was curious but stayed quiet as the maids moved quickly. But opened my mouth at a sudden thought.

“Oh my, Lady Odette you must not move, or you will ruin the makeup”

“Oh, I’m sorry.” I was secretly amazed by the maids who carefully painted my lips with a peach color.

That’s right! Tonight, in the novel, Lydia Odette is supposed to die! It’s a big deal. My memories of the past are fading because of the change in body.

It’s only been three years since I entered the novel, but I can’t remember the detailed plot. How much more, there is no way to know the life of a villain who hasn’t come in detail!

‘I’m going to go crazy.’

Am I really dying today?

I secretly shared my feet with the maids cleaning their hair while digging my mouth. The princess of the neighboring country, Yuri Sina, the heroine, captured the emperor’s heart at their first meeting and became lovers.

Its horrible. She is almost at the same level of captivity I am here destined to become another concubine but instead managed to become the empress.

But the problem is how did Lydia Odette upset the emperor? I can’t remember at all! It is all black, my brain erased this! What happens if I forget all the important things?

Besides, I’m not the original Lydia Odette. I don’t even know her personality because as soon as I came into this novel I was sent to the imperial castle where no one knows any different.

I discarded it.

So, in the current situation, there was no way to know if she had a big accident like grabbing Yuri Sina’s hair, or if she just accidentally stepped on the hem of her dress and caused a minor incident.

‘It’s not a big deal, but wasn’t the emperor runaway? He is a war fanatic, so he is extremely sensitive. Besides, how many months do you do if you are under the thirty-three concubine?’ If it’s a concubine in the tenth I do not know because they are the daughters of a high nobility.

However, the palaces of the thirty concubines, like me, are not powerful enough to burn all the necessities in the Imperial Palace because they had territory near the border in the first place, they became concubines from a noble family in the countryside. Thanks to that, I can live quietly in the corner.

I don’t want to go!

I really don’t want to go! But I couldn’t reject the invitation sent by the emperor.

The maids trim my sunset blonde and made it wave and they said “I heard that there are only two other concubines invited to the party today, but you’re really lucky! Lady Odette will be able to see His Majesty in person!” He is always on the battlefield, and I heard that he always wears a mask even when he is in the Imperial Palace because of the threat of assassination. No one knows what he looks like, except for his closest aide!

“Oh, I’m so envious!” Then you go! I cried and closed my eyes.

That’s it. Perhaps because she doesn’t know who the emperor is, Lydia must have bothered Yuri Sina without knowing that the emperor is watching. Oh, what should I do?  What if I suddenly make a mistake even though I’m careful? What if I torment Yuri Sina and I am cut down on the spot.

I don’t know if I can go back out of the novel, if I die here, but if I die, I really won’t be able to eat or anything. Should I try to fake a sickness because I am suddenly sick?

“Well, hey! I think my head hurts a little.”

“Oh, I guess this ruby ​​was heavy. Then, I’ll redecorate your hair with flowers instead of jewelry. Renda, the rose?”

“Yes, here! After all, Lady Odette only uses high-quality jewelry, so I guess she is not familiar with such rubies. We don’t even know that but in the future, I will pay attention to it often.”

No, can’t we just forget it? I want to lose my presence! My eyes looked at the maids who were talking about this and that. The imperial maids should, in principle, listen to all the concubines and the emperor.  However, unlike the other concubines who manage their images by giving generous gifts to the maids to show them well, I lived quietly in the corner of the imperial palace.

Except for the attendants who deliver daily necessities in time, the maids who were suppose to help with grooming and cleaning have never been seen for three years except when they first came to the Imperial Palace. Thanks to me, I did all the small things myself. Cleaning, cooking, gardening. Well, thanks to that, I wasn’t going to get upset and I wasn’t involved in a power fight between concubines.  It was awkward to see the maids who tried to look so outrightly that they had received an invitation from the emperor without any interest for three years. That’s great too.

I was coughing at the feeling of sitting on a thorn cushion, and I was admired unknowingly when I saw my pretty reflection in the mirror of the dressing table. In a purple ornate dress matching my eye color, and my red blonde hair, gently drooping, was gathered behind the left ear and decorated with a red rose.

My face looked energized and decorated as much as possible to emphasize my beauty even more, and when sparkling cosmetics were sprinkled over the eyes, it was very bright whenever it was reflected in the light.

“Oh, how! We made it up, but it’s so beautiful!” The maids started trying hard to see if I was invited to the emperor’s own ball and thought there might be something more to me. What do I do? If I ride the carriage like this, you will be dragged to the ball without fail! Is an upset stomach the answer?

“His Majesty will fall in love at a glance! Rumor has it that His Majesty will execute anyone who violates the order, regardless of gender, but Lady Odette is beautiful, so it might be an exception.”

Curse it rather!

If I don’t go to the ball invited  when I was invited by the emperor, unless you’re the heroine, you will die of treason!

Note: Thank you everyone for your support! I am sorry to say but this is the last chapter for this series unless I raise enough money to buy the rest of the series. If everyone wants me to continue please donate to help raise money!