The first time I met him was when I was 9-year-old.

*****

The meeting place we were brought to was a spacious and extravagantly decorated guest lounge in the Royal Palace. My father and I settled down on one of the plush sofas as we waited for our host to arrive. On the opposite was another similarly sized sofa with a white marble coffee table placed in the center. I suppose that was where our host would be sitting later.

A maid wearing the signature blue uniform of the Royal Palace bowed before placing two cups of lightly steaming red tea on the table. My father picked up one of the cups and admired the purple flower decorations before sipping the tea elegantly.

The colour of the gold accents on the cup looked just like his hair.

“Liliana, are you not going to drink your tea?” he asked as he gestured towards the untouched cup.

“I think that it will be difficult to clean the stains off the beige carpets if I throw up.”

For a moment, his face scrunched up like he had swallowed something bitter.

“Liliana... I believe I have spoken to you about what is going to happen today,” he warned with a slight frown.

“It’s not like I am going to run away-”

“His Highness has arrived!”

My body jerked at the sudden  announcement by the guards outside.

The wide oak doors opened and entering the room was a boy around my height with caramel coloured hair and azure blue eyes wearing a white and blue coat. He was soon followed by a trio of guards who were likely to be his bodyguards. Together with my father, Marquis of Cruador, Peter Remington, we stood up to greet the First Prince of the country, Prince Charles.

I took deep breaths to calm down my palpitating heart. Thank goodness there was no culture of handshaking here as my palms were wet from sweat.

“Lord Remington, Lady Liliana. Thank you for travelling all the way to the capital. I am Prince Charles, and I am honoured to meet you today.”

“No, the honour is mine, your Highness. We have been eagerly anticipating the arrival of this day since we received the invitation.”

If only this feeling I have was attributed to something as pure as ‘a young maiden feeling shy in front of her handsome fiancé’.

The boy was blessed with angelic looks but he was too young be my type. There was no way for me to be attracted to him. I definitely do not have such weird fetishes.

Because - if I include the time I spent before I died, my mental age is already that of a 25-year-old.

What kind of person would I have been as a 25-year-old in modern Japan? Would I be working? Married? With kids? I hope that I would at least have a boyfriend already...

It had been three years since I suddenly recovered memories of a girl who lived in a vastly different place and time due to a tumble down the stairs. Although I was confused at first due to the huge influx of information, I had plenty of time to sort out my thoughts while being stuck in bed for two weeks.

I understood that the girl had lived a relatively peaceful and normal life in a country called Japan. The only thing remarkable about her was her love for daydreaming and romance stories.  Unfortunately, this girl had her life ended prematurely at age 16 when she was crossing the road and a white light suddenly filled the side of her vision.

In other words, I was most likely killed in a traffic accident.

Was it a car, a bus or a truck? I am glad I did not feel much pain before I died though.

“Liliana, what are you spacing out for? Hurry and greet Prince Charles.”

My father’s words broke me out of my inner monologue.

“Ah, yes.” I hurriedly lifted the edges of my skirt and gave a deep curtsy just like how my mother drilled into me. “My apologies for the late introduction. My name is Liliana Gracia Remington. Pleased to meet you, your Highness.”

When I had straightened my back, the boy directed a gentle smile at me, as if to tell me not to worry.

“It must have been tiring for Lady Liliana after the long journey to the Royal Palace. I should be apologising for making you travel all the way here instead.”

“Thank you for your consideration. I have rested well last night so I am completely fine now,” I quickly replied.

To someone like me who had not exited the mansion’s gates for the last three years, the long travel had pushed me to my physical limits. However, the high class inn we stayed in last night had completely blown away the fatigue accumulated during the duration of travel. They even had a massage parlour! Can you believe it? Under the deft hands of the masseuse, the knots on my shoulders completely loosen and I spent a very relaxing evening bathed in the scent of roses.  

Let’s ask the same masseuse to provide the same service tonight! Instead of rose, I want to try a lavender scent this time. They say that lavender has a calming effect and is good for alleviating stress, right?

Yes, I definitely need the help of lavender tonight!

“Why are you still standing, Liliana?”

Without my knowing, while my thoughts had wandered to a faraway place, my father and the Prince had already taken a seat on the sofa. A quick glance around made me realise that everyone’s eyes were on me.

While suppressing the panic in my heart, I turned to look at the person who had spoken to me.

Father’s light green eyes narrowed slightly as both our eyes locked.

Father was only in his mid thirties, but a permanent frown had almost become embed on his forehead. It was a slight pity as he was a fairly good-looking person despite having a stern looking face that was highlighted by his upturned light green eyes. Thanks to that, servants who were unfamiliar with him would usually tremble under this strong gaze. However, I, who had inherited the same vicious looking eyes, have grown some immunity to it.

“Ahaha…” I gave a hollow laugh as I covered my mouth with a hand. “I was so distracted by the beautiful decorations in the room I spaced out unknowingly.” Not forgetting to give a sweet smile, I slowly sat down on the sofa and placed my hands on my lap like a demure noble lady - exactly like how my mother taught me.

Even I know that it is a very poor excuse, but that is the best I can do. So father, please help me to round the strange atmosphere!

As I silently pleaded in my heart, I heard my father give a sigh.

“Liliana has been a precocious child since she was young. I seek your forgiveness if she does anything strange.”

What was that supposed to mean!

I turned to stare at my father as I puffed out my cheeks indignantly.

Oh no! I quickly patted the side of my cheeks when I realised I was doing a childish antic again. Although I have my previous life’s memories, I found it difficult to fully adopt an adult like demeanour. I wonder why...

Prince Charles chuckled slightly, attracting my attention.

The corners of his blue eyes softened as he leaned forward to look at my face.

“Is that so? Lady Liliana does look tired. Would it be better if you rested for a while in a room?”

My eyes wandered around the room immediately.

“Thank you for the concern, but I am really fine...”

“Alright...”

When I sneaked a glance up, I saw an unconvinced face, but he gave a short nod.

“In that case, please serve Lady Liliana tea that will relief her of fatigue,” Prince Charles turned to instruct one of the Palace’s maids in the room. The maid gave a quick bow and hurried out.

Although I knew that the education of a Prince would be very different, it still felt strange to hear someone only one year older than me speak so politely.

The 10-year-old boys I remember from my previous life were all a bunch of brats mad about playing soccer or video games. Is he having a proper childhood?

As the door closed behind the exiting maid, my father took it as his cue. He stood up and adjusted his coat.

“Well then, your Highness, please excuse me as I need to look for the King to discuss some matters. I will return to pick Liliana up after I am done,” he said as he lowered his head slightly.

“I understand, Lord Remington. Please go ahead and leave Lady Liliana to me.” Prince Charles gave a nod and a refreshing smile in return.

I had suspected father was not going to join us for the whole duration of the tea, but my heart was not ready yet so I immediately casted father a pained look.

‘Please don’t go!’ I tried to appeal as much as possible to him with my eyes. Do you really bear to leave your cute daughter alone like this?

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However, my father returned a stern look that said, ‘Behave yourself’.

This was, of course, an exchange that only the father and daughter can understand. To outsiders, we were only staring at each other.

Resigned to fate, I said listlessly, “Please take care, father.”

Pleased with my response, he nodded and exchanged a few more pleasantries with the Prince before exiting the room.

Ah, if my own father has abandoned me, who else can I rely on? Although I had brought along three maids with me, they were most likely to be of no use if anything was to happen.

I gazed forward blankly as uneasy thoughts ran through my mind.

“…ana… Lady Liliana?”

“Yes!” I replied with a start as my back snapped straight and I focused my eyes on the boy in front of me.

It seemed like while I was spacing out, Prince Charles had been calling my name.

A crease appeared on his forehead.

“Lady Liliana, it seems like you are not feeling too well,” Prince Charles replied in a solemn voice. “Please let me know if there is anything I can do to make you feel better.”

I clutched my dress and forced a smile.

“Not at all. I am really fine… Just that, because it is my first time meeting your Highness, I am slightly nervous. Hahaha… Please excuse me if I look unsightly...”

“Your first time...” Prince Charles muttered in a soft voice.

Seeing that he was no longer asking about my health, I heaved a sigh of relief.

The conversation with him was really shortening my life. After all, I had no idea if the things I said was going to lead to a game over.

That was because, the First Prince of Lorzelea, Prince Charles Leon Lorzelea, in the future, was going to be the cause of my downfall.

The reason I knew that was because this world has the setting of a story I had read before in my previous life.

In fact, I had just finished reading the end of the light novel series, and was closing the book in satisfaction when I was hit. Isn’t this strange? I could understand if I had grievances after I died, but I was satisfied with the ending, so why was I still reincarnated to  world with similar background and characters?

Although it was criticised for being cliche, I completely enjoyed the story and had I been reincarnated even just as a mob character, I would have been extremely happy watching over the main protagonists, the kind heroine and her love interest, the gentle prince, from the sidelines.

However, fate is cruel, and I ended up in the body of someone who was an antagonist in the story.

The 16-year-old Liliana Gracia Remington was a girl who was described as ‘the Poison Lily of the Capital’. With crimson red hair and sharp green eyes, she was a person with a frigid personality and did not hesitate to spew poisonous words at others.

Her only reason for existence in the books was to cause trouble for the protagonists. Liliana was betrothed to Prince Charles at a young age, and was brought up to be a spoiled child. She abused her authority and status as fiancée, causing trouble for those around her, and looked down on everyone of lower status. When the heroine transferred into the Royal Academy due to her ability to use magic, Liliana was jealous of the attention Prince Charles point towards her and bullied the heroine.

Verbal abuse, defamation, vandalism, Liliana was set on throwing her out of the Academy. She was a true and through villainess who would go all lengths to make life difficult for the heroine.

Luckily, Prince Charles quickly noticed and took the heroine under his protection. Disappointed with his fiancée’s actions and no long able to turn a blind eye to her evil doings, he announced an annulment of their engagement.

Her family, afraid that they would be punished for the misdeeds of Liliana up till now, decided to protect themselves and disowned Liliana before declaring that she will be sent to a monastery. This broke Liliana, and drove her to attempt to kill the heroine. However, she was caught by Prince Charles before she was able to cause real harm and was quickly subdued. Having lost her engagement, family, and chance to take revenge, Liliana committed suicide while being held in jail.

And that was the future that I, Liliana Gracia Remington, could be facing seven years in the future.

So how can I possibly meet the man who holds the key to my future calmly?!

“Excuse me,” a maid said politely before she proceed to place tea and an assortment of sweets in front of us. It seems like the maid who had went out earlier had returned.

As I looked at the spread of colourful cakes, muffins and macaroons placed in front of us, I could feel my mouth watering.

“Does this catch your interest?”

My face heat up a little as I realised Prince Charles must have saw my eyes lighting up at the sight of the sweets.

I nodded honestly.

“It looks delicious.”

“That’s a relief to hear. I heard that Lady Liliana has a sweet tooth so I specially asked the chef to prepare a spread today. I hope that it will suit your palate.”

While looking the face who was smiling innocently, I suddenly felt guilty for my behaviour until now.

Through our short interaction, I could tell that he did not have any ill-will towards me. In fact, he was probably just trying his best to cheer me up.

Perhaps I can afford to be a bit more relaxed?

“The strawberry shortcake looks really tempting. Can I have one of that please?” I enquired towards the maid.

“Most certainly, Lady Liliana,” the maid replied and served a slice of the strawberry shortcake on an ornate plate.

Picking up the three pronged fork at the side, I scooped up a small bite of the cake. As I sent the cake into my mouth, the rich flavour of the cream paired with a slight sweetness of the strawberry dissolved on my tongue.

“Mmm! This is really delicious!”

The chefs of the Royal Palace are really something!

“The chefs will be really happy to hear that.”

Prince Charles gave a wide and sincere smile.

“Here, I strongly recommend this strawberry crème de bleu as well.”

“Thank you!”

“How about this blueberry muffin? Do you like blueberries?”

“Yes!”

As I dug in to the sweets heartily, I became oblivious to my surroundings. I admit it was one of my faults, but sweets was my weakness. It was only when a presence had come up to my back did I realise that something was wrong.

“Lady Liliana…” A soft whisper entered my ears.

From the corner of my eyes, I saw long strands of black coloured hair.  

“... There is cream on your mouth.”

My face immediately heated up and I took out my handkerchief to dab furiously at my mouth. I recognised the voice as the one belonging to my personal maid, Diana, who had been standing a distance away.

By the time I was done and turned back to face Prince Charles, he was looking at me with a grin on his face.

Was there still cream on my face?

Just as I was wondering, he seemed to have realised my uncomfortable expression and covered his flushed face with a hand as he said, “Ah, sorry for staring rudely. I just feel glad that you seem to be feeling better now.”

My conscience felt a pang. It seems like my strange demeanour had really worried him. The current Prince Charles was really just a kind 10-year-old boy after all.

How can I make a young child worry about me? I became determined to change my attitude.

The rest of the tea time became much easier to pass through, and we managed to talk idly about topics like hobbies and daily life as we had tea and sweets.

However, it is said that trouble come just when you are at your most vulnerable.

Just as my feelings were at an all-time high from the delicious sweets and I was looking forward to the impending time to go home, a bomb was dropped on me.

The tinkling sound of a metal fork being placed on the ceramic plate brought my attention from the cake I was devouring to the smiling face of the boy.

“I was initially worried that Lady Liliana would be uncomfortable with the engagement, so I am really happy to be able to share such an enjoyable time with you today.”

The word ‘engagement’ made me freeze.

Remembering how the engagement was going to be the key to whether I was going to meet my downfall, I could feel butterflies coming back to my stomach.

As the engagement was something that was decided by the adults, and in addition the partner was the First Prince, it was something that was completely out of my hands to interfere in. There was no room for me to give my opinions. When I tried to object, my parents only looked at me with strangely gentle eyes and said that the First Prince was kind and will definitely take care of me. Before I knew it, it was  a done deal and I was on the carriage on the way to visit my fiancé.

“Uh, yes... I had fun as well…” I managed to squeeze out after a long time.

I could feel a sharp stare from the corner of my eyes, and without looking, I could tell that it was from Diana.

Understanding the prompt, I quickly plastered a smile on my face. It would be bad if the Prince took offence to my unfriendly attitude.

“Um, it was really fun!” I said with more energy this time.

Prince Charles studied my face quietly for a moment before opening his mouth.

“I guess with your partner being the First Prince, this engagement is quite heavy.” The voice that came out of his mouth was tinged with melancholy.

Before I could fully understand what that meant, he dropped another bomb on me.

With azure blue eyes that looked like the colour of clear skies looking straight at me, he continued, “Lady Liliana, as my fiancée, there will definitely be high expectations for you, but please do not be frightened. I will not do the same.”

‘I will not do the same.’ The words echoed in my head.

‘I will not do the same’… Which means that he does not have any expectations of me?

If he had no expectations, doesn’t it mean that this engagement does not hold much meaning for him?

If the engagement does not hold much meaning for him, doesn’t it equal to ‘breaking the engagement anytime is fine’?

I swallowed the lump in my throat as I understood what ‘breaking the engagement’ entailed.

The Liliana in the book was deeply affected by the annulment of her engagement because she was completely emotionally dependent on the Prince. Unlike her family who ignored her, or her classmates who were terrified of her, Prince Charles was the only person who showed genuine kindness towards her. Due to that, Liliana was obsessed with him, and went crazy when he broke their engagement.

However, the present me was different.

The Liliana in the books was a villainess, but I planned on living honestly and get along with everyone. Nevertheless, a lady with a broken engagement will not be viewed favourably by society, and it will be difficult to find someone else to marry.

But what if I could prove to Prince Charles that I was a useful retainer? Even if he falls in love with the heroine and annuls our engagement in the future, he might still put in some good words and help me to find a job or arrange it so that I could live comfortably for the rest of my life.

If that was the case, the first step that I must take was clear.

I bit my lower lips as I looked at the 10-year-old boy in front of me with a determined look.

“I will train myself to be a better person,” I said resolutely.

“I see…?”

Prince Charles tilted his head to the side adorably. Understandably, because I had said such a sentence without explanation.

Alright! Then let’s work hard to make a path for myself after my engagement gets broken!

*****

At that time, I thought that this was going to be the turn in my life. This was common in the stories I read. Due to a certain meeting or an accident, something changes a person’s resolve and changes her fate. I thought that it was such a moment.

However...

Perhaps, things have already started moving way before that.

This is something that I will only realise a long time afterwards.