I sat down on the sofa, across from the young woman. She was clearly surprised to see me too, though she hid her discomfort behind a calm sip of tea. Neither of us spoke. An uncomfortable silence spread through the room.
She was accompanied by a lady-in-waiting, who finally broke the ice.
—"You look quite handsome today, young prince," she said with a pleasant smile. "Honestly, the rumors about your looks don't do you justice."
I thanked her politely and asked for her name.
—"Oh, but I already told you that yesterday, young prince. Of course, you must be far too busy to remember every guest's name," she replied with a sarcastic smile. "Not remembering someone's name can also be seen as an insult. But I'm sure you would never do that... right?"
I was annoyed but held it in.
—"Please forgive me. It's not that I forgot your name, miss. It's just that, as a friend of my fiancée, I wanted to address you with proper respect. And besides, my behavior yesterday was unacceptable. I sincerely apologize for my lack of decorum."
I gave her a slight smile, watching her expression shift from anger to a soft calmness, a faint blush rising to her cheeks.
—"No worries. My name is Carol. Pleased to meet you."
—"The pleasure is mine, Miss Carol. I'm Prince Yuan."
There was a brief pause. We waited for the other young woman—my fiancée—to introduce herself, but she remained silent.
—"Please excuse her," said Carol, a little nervous. "She's probably still feeling a bit shy."
—"Of course, no problem. She's likely still upset about my behavior yesterday. That's why I brought a small gift, as a token of apology."
I signaled to my maid, who brought over a small box. I took it and slowly opened it, placing it on the table. Both girls widened their eyes in surprise.
—"Just a small gesture to help us start fresh... and a modest symbol of affection for my fiancée: these sapphire earrings."
Carol lit up, clearly delighted. But my fiancée simply stared at the box… then at me… and back at the box, confused. She said nothing.
Since I wasn't getting much with politeness, I decided to take a more direct route. I wasn't exactly a master of "noble etiquette," but my previous life as a writer had taught me how to deal with producers, fans, editors… and worse.
—"Miss, would you prefer a tour of the castle? I imagine this conversation is rather boring for you. I'll ask my maid to show you around."
I said it kindly. But what I really wanted was to be alone with my fiancée. Carol looked to her for approval. She gave a small nod.
Moments later, my maid and the attendant left the room. Once I could no longer hear their footsteps, I dropped the formal tone.
—"Look, I don't know who you are, but if we want to get out of here alive, we need to work together. So let's cooperate. I'll go first: in this novel, I'm called Yuan, the king's son—as you've probably figured out. But my real name is Urano, and I used to be a writer. There. First step's mine... your turn."
She didn't respond right away. She bit her lower lip, then finally spoke.
—"Yeah… I know you. We worked together. My name's Evelin. We met a couple of times during editorial meetings. We had the same manager. I was an illustrator… well, a mangaka."
—"Oh! Right, I remember now… You were the girl at the centerpiece table at the boss's wedding."
—"Ugh, that was ages ago. Let it go," she said with a groan, but the smile on her face gave her away. She was clearly relieved to see someone familiar—like a heavy weight had just been lifted off her shoulders.
—"Let's talk. Do you have any idea what the hell this is? Or how we get out of here?" I asked, more tired than surprised.
—"First off: yes, it's my first time too. But I've been here for two weeks… and I've figured a few things out. For starters, when we arrive in this world, we inherit the skills of the character we reincarnated into."
—"I noticed something like that... there's an 'Auto-Translation' feature that kicked in and started changing the way I speak completely."
—"Exactly. I stopped talking for a while because once that kicks in, my sentences come out like what the character would say—not what I would say. All sarcastic and reckless. I even threw a vase at a maid once, just because the dialogue filter pissed me off. But it only happens when I'm near certain characters," Evelin said, acting out the scene with her hands.
I couldn't help but chuckle. There was something oddly charming about how passionately she explained everything.
—"Do you know the story?" I asked, remembering the system's warning. Evelin's body tensed a little.
—"Yeah… It took me a while to recognize it, but I've got a solid idea now. This world is from a manga that was pretty popular a few years back. When I saw you yesterday—or rather, your character—I was sure."
I started listing key facts in my mind:
This world is based on a real story.
There can be multiple reincarnated people, even arriving at different times.
The system grants you the character's abilities.
Abilities depend on the role you're given.
While I was lost in thought, Evelin stirred her tea absentmindedly, deep in her own reflections.
"I'm glad I found him first... since I was the one who brought him here," she thought, her eyes full of quiet guilt. "I'll protect him."
I pulled her out of her trance.
—"You okay?"
—"W-what? Yeah! Totally fine," she replied with a nervous smile, hugging the pillow beside her.
—"Did you check the mission the system gave you?" she asked casually, though her eyes gave her away.
—"Wait... the system has missions?" I raised an eyebrow.
Before she could answer, the same translucent box from when I first arrived materialized again in front of my eyes.
⚙️ Narrative System: Objective Update
🗡️ Main Mission:
Survive the story of "Blades are Forged in Blood" until the end of the Revolution Arc.
📜 Side Mission:
Prevent the fall of the Empire.
💀 Failure Condition:
Death of the host character.
💬 System Note:
Out-of-character decisions will cause narrative desynchronization.
⚠️ Consequence:
Prolonged desynchronization = Termination of the "external creator".
I swallowed hard.
—"Fantastic… So not only do I have to avoid getting killed, I also have to save an entire fictional empire. Anything else?"
Evelin gave a short, nervous laugh.
—"My main goal is to get the Staff of Reincarnation before the revolution starts. Second goal… marry the third prince of the kingdom," she said carefully, watching my reaction.
—"I can help with one of those," I muttered, glancing at her. I cleared my throat. "Don't worry—I'll talk to the king. They seemed pretty thrilled about the idea anyway."
Evelin blushed slightly, then quickly added:
—"This is temporary. Don't get the wrong idea. I'm not into younger guys, and this is just until we get out of here."
Like me, Evelin had been 25 in her past life. And while my new body was stunning, it had just reached adulthood.
I caught her teasing tone and smirked. Technically, I was older than her now. The exchange turned playful—cat and dog banter—until we both got tired of it.
—"Enough," I said, worn out. "You know the manga. So how do we handle this?"
Evelin paused, then laid out a plan for the coming days. In short, we were currently in the early stages of the final arc. The protagonist would soon begin rallying forces to overthrow the king—by eliminating all royal heirs, including me and my fiancée.
When I saw the plan, I was stunned… then intrigued. A sly grin crept onto my face.
—"I like the way you think, miss."
Evelin grinned back.
—"Every author should know how to stir up drama, right?"
In front of us lay a single sheet of paper with a bold title:
"The Hero and the Staff"
Far from there, in another corner of the kingdom, a young man met with his generals to plan a coup and seize the crown. Suddenly, he shivered.
—"Are you alright, sir?" asked his commander.
—"Yeah… just felt a strange chill for a second," he replied, shaking it off.
Though the unease lingered.
As if someone were talking behind his back.