The Orb of Destiny
"Oh, for fuck's sake. How the hell am I supposed to do that?"
The door opened.
"Your Highness. And my lady. Please enter—"
The words weren't even finished.
Esran, who had been trembling on the floor, sprang up like a coiled spring.
"P-please excuse me...!"
Without so much as a glance back, she shot out the door like an arrow. The last glimpse was of her dress vanishing around the corner.
"…………"
Left behind were me with my hood pulled low, one awkwardly held blanket, and a servant standing there looking thoroughly awkward.
...Does she really have to run away that hard?
She had begged for her life over a single blanket, and the moment the door opened she bolted. ...Minus ten points. That deduction suddenly felt painfully, bitterly sad.
I followed the servant out into the grand banquet hall—but I didn't go inside. I slipped into the shadow of a pillar by the entrance, hood still drawn tight, and quietly hid myself.
...Stay out of sight. Stick to the corner. The second this is over, I'm gone.
From my hiding place the hall was pure chaos. Hundreds of nobles and young ladies packed a space whose ceiling soared into darkness. Chandeliers swayed. An orchestra played something lively. Excited voices ricocheted in every direction.
"Kyaa! I'm so nervous. Twenty-five years—can you believe it!"
"Look over there. It's the Grand Duke of the East. How can anyone be that tall and handsome..."
"Shh! Don't stare so openly. What if he looks back!"
"Oh my, wouldn't that be wonderful? Hoho."
Excited laughter burst like fireworks all over the room. People who had been locked away for twenty-five years—every last one of them was overflowing, unable to contain the thrill.
The big names were easy to spot. In the center of the hall the Grand Duke of the East was surrounded by young ladies, laughing and joking.
"Haha, I'm really not all that special. Come now, one at a time—"
He waved them off with a smiling face, but his eyes were already sweeping the crowd, calculating which families might be useful.
By the windows the Admiral of the South stood at a carefully chosen angle where the crystal orbs would catch him best, lifting his glass and smiling elegantly for an audience that wasn't even looking—posing for a portrait all by himself.
Opposite him the Grand Duke of the West stood like a wall, massive arms crossed. Young ladies hovered nearby, too intimidated to approach the giant warrior.
...Honestly, what a circus.
These were the stars of the feast. Everyone except me.
Then, in one corner, I spotted a familiar face.
Esran.
The same girl who had just fled from me was now nestled among other young ladies, chatting away.
"...So, well, the carriage got stuck in the mud—"
"Oh my goodness! How did you even get here?"
"Hoho. We ended up walking, of course. My shoes were a complete disaster..."
She was smiling softly. The pale, trembling wreck from moments ago might as well have been a different person; now she laughed easily and gossiped like any ordinary young lady.
...So that's her real face.
Without me around she was just a normal girl who smiled. The second I appeared she ran for her life. The realization left me oddly embarrassed.
Then the air in the hall shifted all at once.
The lively music faded. The noisy crowd fell silent as if by prior agreement, parting left and right to open a path. Glasses stopped mid-raise. The Grand Duke of the East, mid-joke, and the Admiral of the South, mid-pose, both quietly straightened and offered light bows.
Even those heavyweights didn't dare act casually around this man. A single figure walked straight down the center of that path.
He wasn't flashy. He wasn't loud. And that was exactly why he was overwhelming—someone who didn't need to do a thing for everyone else to make way.
The Crown Prince.
...The bastard who, in the original story, threw this body onto a battlefield and got it killed.
A chill ran down my spine. I pressed deeper behind the pillar.
But the Crown Prince never even glanced my way. He moved slowly through the crowd, accepting greetings like the proper star of the formal occasion.
"Your Highness, I trust you have been well."
"Haha, the Grand Duke of the East never changes."
He answered the East's banter lightly and moved on.
"I present myself before Your Highness."
"Admiral. You've brought another poem to recite, I assume."
"Haha, how did you know? I prepared one specially for today—"
The Admiral's banter never finished. The Crown Prince's gaze slid sideways—just for a moment—to the corner of the hall where Esran was laughing among the young ladies.
The Admiral never noticed. But from my distant hiding place I saw it clearly: even while accepting greetings, those eyes kept drifting in one direction.
"...Yes. I'll listen properly next time."
He cut the Admiral off with polite finality and walked on. Another noble hurriedly bowed.
"Y-Your Highness! It is an honor, this humble servant—"
"Mm. A pleasure."
His mouth answered, but his eyes were on Esran again. When she threw her head back laughing at something a nearby lady said, the corner of the Crown Prince's mouth lifted, almost involuntarily. Then he seemed to catch himself and smoothed his expression.
...Look at that.
He was going through the motions of greeting people while every scrap of his attention stayed fixed on one place. The surrounding young ladies didn't miss it either.
"...Did you see? His Highness has been staring this whole time..."
"That way. Toward Lady Esran. Even while greeting people his eyes keep—"
"Oh my, oh my. He's completely smitten, isn't he?"
"Shh! Princess Bianca will hear...!"
Laughter fluttered behind fans.
...So there's something between those two.
The Crown Prince held that princess in special regard. The way he couldn't tear his eyes away even while making formal greetings made it obvious even from my distant hiding spot.
Then a young man approached the group where Esran was chatting.
A young count. Tall, reasonably handsome, every detail of his clothes and stride dripping with confidence.
"Lady Esran. You look especially radiant today."
The greeting was smooth as silk. Esran flinched and bowed awkwardly.
"Ah... Count. Y-you're too kind."
"Too kind? Meeting someone like you at an occasion like this—I must be the luckiest man—"
He stepped closer with practiced ease. Esran retreated the same distance.
That was when it happened.
Far across the hall, the Crown Prince—mid-greeting with some noble—turned on his heel. He didn't even finish receiving the bow. He walked straight toward them, no other direction possible.
"Y-Your Highness...?"
The bewildered noble was left bent at the waist.
The Crown Prince strolled over and slipped naturally between Esran and the count, as if he had always belonged there.
"Count. It's been a while."
"Y-Your Highness the Crown Prince...!"
The count's smooth face froze solid.
"Convenient timing. There's a matter your father raised that I need to discuss with you at length. Walk with me a moment."
The voice was gentle. Refusal was never an option. The Crown Prince laid a light hand on the count's shoulder and elegantly steered him away—away from Esran.
"Ah, yes... yes! I-it is an honor, Your Highness!"
The count was dragged off without the faintest idea what was happening, all his earlier oily confidence gone without a trace. Only Esran remained, looking thoroughly confused.
............What the hell was that just now.
No sword drawn. No raised voice. Just one quiet "I need to talk" and a rival was elegantly removed from the board. The surrounding young ladies whispered and giggled again.
"...Did you see that? His Highness did that on purpose..."
"Look at the count's face as he was dragged away. Hoho."
"Lady Esran, what kind of good deeds did you pile up in a past life..."
The Crown Prince held that princess in special regard—enough to clear the path with his own hands. And Esran herself didn't look the least bit displeased. Cheeks faintly pink, she watched the Crown Prince's retreating back with soft, melting eyes.
The ladies beside her were never going to miss that.
"Oh my, oh my! What is this, Lady Esran!"
"What was that expression just now? The way you looked at His Highness's back—"
"You like him, don't you? Come on, admit it, hmm?"
They surrounded her, laughing and teasing.
"N-no... it's not like that. His Highness is simply... a kind person..."
Esran waved her hands in frantic denial—then, even as she denied it, she snuck another glance toward the distant Crown Prince walking away with the count.
"...See! You looked again!"
"Hohoho, Lady, your face is bright red!"
"I-I said it's not...!"
Flushed scarlet, Esran floundered helplessly.
............So she has feelings for him too.
From behind the pillar I watched the whole scene in a daze. The Crown Prince cherished that princess, and the princess didn't mind. They were mutual.
Before long an elderly noble in charge of proceedings stepped to the center of the hall. Behind him a massive crystal orb glowed with soft radiance on the dais.
"Ladies and gentlemen! After twenty-five years, the Marriage Festival begins—and we shall form the first pairs now!"
The hall erupted in cheers.
"Destiny is not decided by human hands. This Orb of Destiny will reveal the partners heaven itself has chosen!"
The old noble laid a hand on the crystal. It blazed with brilliant light. Pairs would be chosen at random by that orb.
...Then it has nothing to do with me.
Whether some hooded mystery man was included in the drawing or not, all I had to do was slip out from the corner once it was over...
Yet my eyes kept drifting to one place.
Esran.
The soft expression from earlier was gone. Now she stood with both hands tightly clasped, staring at the dais—glancing anxiously back and forth between the Orb of Destiny and the Crown Prince standing off to the side. Tension was written all over her face, but mixed into that tension was a faint thread of hope.
...That princess is hoping to be paired with the Crown Prince.
Well. Wanting to be matched with the person you like was only natural. It had nothing to do with me, of course.
One pair, two pairs—each time a match was announced, color returned to the young ladies' faces. Some cheered, some looked disappointed, some stamped their feet in frustration.
...Noisy as hell. Still, other people's parties make decent entertainment.
I could just ride this out and bolt near the end. I was feeling safely invisible when—
"And now, the next pairing—"
The old noble raised his voice.
"His Highness the Crown Prince!"
The hall stirred. Every gaze locked onto the Crown Prince. Esran looked too.
The Orb of Destiny spun.
"His Highness's partner is... Princess Bianca!"
A roar of cheers. A radiant beauty stepped forward, and the Crown Prince received her with perfect courtesy. They made a picture-perfect pair.
Esran's shoulders drooped just a little. Then she forced a smile for the lady beside her.
"...Hoho. What a shame. They really do look wonderful together."
The words were polite, but the smile at the end felt hollow.
"Next pairing!"
the old noble called.
"Lady Esran, please step forward!"
They call a princess 'lady' here. That was exactly how much Verdan was worth on this stage.
Esran carefully approached the dais and laid a small hand on the Orb of Destiny. The crystal began to turn slowly—then something went wrong.
Instead of spinning once and stopping the way it always did, it whirled faster and faster, spinning madly. The light flared a furious red.
The hall murmured.
"...What? Why is the orb doing that?"
"I've never seen anything like this..."
Even the old noble looked rattled as he peered into the crystal. Then, in a trembling voice, he read the result letter by letter.
"...The Grand... Duke of the North—!"
In that instant the banquet hall froze solid.
"The Grand Duke of the North? What does that even—"
"Blood Winter is... here? He was here the whole time...?"
"Th-then that hood earlier...!"
The murmurs spread like screams.
I slowly pushed back my hood.
Silver hair spilled free. The young ladies nearest me gasped and scrambled backward. The crowd parted again, a clean path opening straight through the middle.
At the far end of that path stood Esran.
I took one step forward.
The color drained from her face—worse than in the waiting room. Far worse. This time there was nowhere left to run.
This was the partner destiny itself had chosen. There was no undoing it.
Esran trembled violently, freezing in place as if she might collapse and prostrate herself any second.
I stopped in front of her. I had no idea what to say.
Then a gaze stabbed into me from across the hall.
The Crown Prince.
Standing side by side with his partner, Princess Bianca, his eyes were locked precisely on me and Esran. The softened look from earlier had gone cold and sharp again.
Then—
Ding.
Tame the Villainess
...Villainess?
I stared blankly at the window floating in front of my eyes. Then I looked at Esran, shaking like a leaf right in front of me—the tiny princess who had begged for her life just for showing her face, who looked ready to cry at any moment.
...Her?
More than that—tame her? How was I supposed to tame someone who bolted the second she saw me?
Then the back of my neck prickled.
The Crown Prince again. Partner standing right beside him, gaze still nailed to this side of the room.
......
It was uncomfortable as hell. But I still had a job to do. No matter how awkward the guy next door was, you started with a greeting.
Earlier, when his partner was announced, he had taken her hand with perfect courtesy. That seemed to be the procedure here.
I walked up to Esran.
"H-hiek—"
She sucked in a sharp breath.
I extended my hand. Politely. Exactly the way I had seen it done.
She tried to step back. Her feet tangled. She was about to fall.
I opened my mouth to tell her to be careful so she wouldn't get hurt.
"...Don't move."
Esran froze in place like a tree taking root.