* * *

Creeeak—

A strange sound, as if the ground itself were twisting, echoed from somewhere. Carlisle, who was holding me, quickly leaped toward the forest.

Meanwhile, I was too flustered to fully grasp the situation I was in.

‘Damn, I’m so shocked I can’t keep my expression in check. How should I act here?’

In the original novel, Jeanne meets Carlisle for the first time on their engagement day.

Carlisle, noticing Jeanne’s vanity, subtly mocks him, but Jeanne, captivated by Carlisle’s beauty, resolves to make him his.

However, compared to Luke, who constantly steals Carlisle’s attention with his incredible exploits, Jeanne never manages to draw any notice.

Not only is he always the one being rescued, but he also consistently causes trouble, injuring those around him.

‘Jeanne doesn’t know who Carlisle is yet. I shouldn’t act like I know him or be too formal. It would only raise suspicion. Since I want to avoid the engagement, there’s no need to make a good impression here.’

Carlisle didn’t reveal that he was the first prince until he came of age. He was a very strong contender for the throne.

Thus, within the Empire, Carlisle was only known as ‘a son of a noble family.’

Only a small number of close aides knew that Carlisle was the first prince.

For Jeanne, who was like a sheltered flower in a greenhouse, recognizing Carlisle here would have made her seem suspicious.

‘…I’ll just act like I always do. Like the usual Jeanne.’

I stared expressionlessly at Carlisle, who was grinning as if he found something amusing.

“What are you doing? After fondling me all you want, you should put me down now.”

“…”

“Didn’t you hear me? Put me down.”

I pushed Carlisle’s shoulder irritably. I meant to push him hard, but Carlisle didn’t budge at all, and I was momentarily embarrassed. My hand hurt more, like I had struck a rock.

After a brief silence, Carlisle gently set me down on the ground. As I hastily stepped down, my ankle twisted.

When Carlisle tried to help, I roughly slapped his hand away.

“Don’t touch me.”

“Shouldn’t you thank the person who just saved your life?”

“Why should I? You were the one who decided to catch me when I was falling.”

Even to my own ears, it sounded ridiculous. I tried to speak brazenly, but inside, I was scared out of my mind. If I got thrown in prison for insulting the royal family, that would be a real bad ending.

But Jeanne was a proud young lady of a duke’s family. It wouldn’t be like her to lower herself to a man she was meeting for the first time just because he saved her life.

Carlisle, who had been staring at me quietly, gestured with his eyes.

“What are you holding in your hand?”

My hand? With a puzzled look, I glanced down. The egg I had grabbed just before I fell was still intact in my hand. Carlisle, seeing my stiff expression, chuckled incredulously.

“Don’t tell me… you fell just to save that egg?”

“…”

“Not even a saint would do something like that.”

For some reason, I felt a surge of anger.

Hey, you idiot, do you think I climbed up there just to save this egg?

It just happened to be in my hand when I fell.

But I knew that in this situation, it was best for a transmigrator to keep their mouth shut. I silently glared at Carlisle, who was openly mocking me, and then spoke.

“Thanks for saving me, but I don’t need your sarcasm.”

“…Sarcasm?”

“Yeah, sarcasm. Judging by your armor, you must be a royal knight… That’s perfect. Take me back to my mansion. I’m lost.”

Good, this should leave a terrible first impression.

He’ll definitely not want to be engaged to someone like me. I hid the egg behind me and arrogantly rested my weight on one leg.

But that only lasted a moment; the sharp pain in my ankle made me stagger again.

Carlisle, who had been watching, wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me close.

“Are you trying to be funny?”

“…”

“You’re too sloppy, way too sloppy. Why is that? Your insults… have no soul.”

This crazy guy.

Of course, someone who’s a master at throwing insults would immediately notice the lack of sincerity.

My gaze drifted to Carlisle’s arm wrapped around my waist. Compared to Jeanne’s skinny arms, the difference in size was obvious.

‘…Jeanne was malnourished, that’s why.’

I felt a strange sense of frustration. This is mostly due to the the stress of hiding the fact that he is a man.

But this guy, on the other hand, exudes a vibe that screams, ‘Yes, you saw correctly. I am indeed male.’

As soon as I habitually bit my lower lip, a large hand grabbed my chin, stopping me.

“You’re trying so hard not to look scared, but…”

Carlisle forced my head up, making me look at him.

The smile had vanished from Carlisle’s face, replaced by an entirely different atmosphere. I flinched at the coldness in his golden eyes.

“You’re actually terrified.”

Though his face was beautiful enough to captivate anyone, knowing the original story, I saw that beauty in a different light.

Despite his seemingly perfect exterior, this guy was rotten to the core.

To Luke, he was a kind childhood friend. To his brothers, who saw him as a threat to their succession, he was a ruthless tyrant.

And to Jeanne, he was a cold-hearted fiancé who never let her get close.

Depending on whose perspective you looked from, his image changed dramatically.

‘That just means he’s an unpredictable enemy.’

I let out a slow breath and wiped the tension from my expression. Unless I were the real Jeanne, I had no intention of playing along with Carlisle’s fickle nature.

I swatted Carlisle’s hand away and spoke indifferently.

“I don’t know who you are, but no one is allowed to treat me with such disrespect. Even if you’re an ignorant knight, you must have heard of the Efilia Duke’s family.”

“…”

“Consider this your final warning. Take your hand off my waist, now. In these times, even noblewomen carry a dagger for self-defense.”

I tried to sound as stern as possible, but instead of being intimidated, Carlisle merely smiled.

He removed his arm from around my waist and shouted loudly enough to make the forest echo.

“Ian!”

His voice was so loud it reverberated through my entire body. Not long after, I heard the sound of hooves in the distance. The man who appeared was dressed in armor, just like Carlisle.

The man dismounted and approached us with quick strides.

“Carlisle, what are you doing here? All the boundary mages and purification priests have been taken out. If this keeps up, they’ll soon breach the fortress.”

“Escort this young lady back to her estate.”

“What? Right now?”

Ian looked at me in disbelief, scanning me up and down. I shrugged under his gaze. As Carlisle drew his sword and passed by me, his words carried a clear message.

“Yes, she is the precious daughter of the Duke of Efilia.”

His tone was mocking, his eyes full of disdain. One thing was certain—I had completely fallen out of favor with Carlisle.

But that was necessary. Only by doing so could I avoid the engagement.

Ian, who had been staring blankly at Carlisle disappearing into the forest, sighed deeply.

“Well then, my lady, I will take you home….”

Just as I was starting to feel relieved that I could finally return home, a large shadow loomed over Ian’s head.

Sensing someone’s presence, Ian turned around.

In a fleeting moment, Ian’s head rolled across the ground.

‘Huh?’

My mind went blank as I stared at the head that had tumbled to my feet. The blood splattered on my face was so warm it was almost hot.

Primal fear took over my thoughts. I slowly lifted my head, my face pale.

“Kyaa―.”

If I had to describe it, it looked like a giant black frilled lizard.

Its neck was adorned with human hands, and a large eyeball was embedded in the middle of its chest.

A grotesque creature that was neither human nor monster.

As the original author, I recognized it. This was undoubtedly one of the “Heretics.”

‘No, something’s not right. The timing doesn’t add up. This creature is supposed to appear when it encounters Luke.’

Holding my breath as much as possible, I slowly backed away. The fingers around the creature’s neck moved as if playing a piano.

The creature’s powerful tail slammed down on Ian’s body once more.

Blood and flesh splattered everywhere. Seeing the mangled remains made me feel sick to my stomach, and I quickly covered my mouth.

I instinctively sensed that the creature’s gaze was fixed on my pocket.

‘I see… it’s after this pocket watch. This is originally Luke’s hidden item.’

As I struggled to process this, the creature, now right in front of me, let out a strange cry. It sounded eerily like a newborn baby.

To avoid the creature that was charging at me, I threw myself to the side. A sharp pain shot through my twisted ankle.

‘I can’t escape!’

The creature’s tail sliced through the air. Just as I braced myself, unable to even scream,

Clang—!

Blue mana surrounded us. Carlisle, who had blocked the creature’s tail with his greatsword, smiled with interest.

His eyes gleamed with a crazed intensity in the darkness as he ground his teeth.

“A being that is neither a monster nor a human… this is troublesome.”

Carlisle’s greatsword sliced off the creature’s tail. With a deafening scream, the creature recoiled, trembling.

Instead of severing, the tail split into two and struck the ground. It then unleashed a barrage of attacks.

Carlisle easily deflected the attacks and asked in a light tone.

“I didn’t even get to ask your name. What a shame.”

“…….”

“What’s your name?”

I was momentarily speechless at the question, which seemed out of place given the situation. Carlisle’s greatsword plunged into the creature’s chest.

“Keeeyii―!”

The creature’s blood spurted like a fountain. Carlisle, now drenched in blood, wiped his eyes with a frown.

It was only after hearing his next words that I realized.

“Today, we might both die here. So, hurry up and tell me.”

That today might be the last day I live as Jeanne.

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