Deep inside the armory, an old suit of armor stood alone due to lack of use and care. This armor was called Starfall, the predecessor to the Starfall Crusader series used extensively by the Church.

"Starfall? I haven't seen one in the last five or six years," Sola remarked. Which was telling, considering how young she was. "Definitely not the original model like this."

"Most Starfall in the Kingdom have been updated to current performance standards and otherwise customized. This might very well be the last original model without alteration." Adrianne's father rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "This would make a good gift, certainly better than leaving it here gathering dust, not even as a showpiece."

He couldn't even say they kept it for nostalgia value. If that had been the case, then it wouldn't be here sitting unseen in the corner of the armory.

Ten years ago, this knight armor required three thousand hours of skilled labor to make. The cost of the raw materials itself were only a tenth of the labor cost. But that much money wasn't a concern for them.

"It's maintained at least once a year, so at least it shouldn't take much work internally. But what should we do with the armor?" The Marchioness's husband rubbed the dusty surface of the armor, which looked much dirtier than it actually was.

That was because the armor was covered in beeswax, which served as rust protection for the long-term storage of metal weapons and armor. Dust on beeswax was more noticeable than on bare metal.

"We can just skimp on the polish and paint it to save labor and money," Adrianne proposed. "I'm sure they wouldn't mind."

The mirror-like polish of hardened steel wasn't something that came naturally. It had to be done by hand, and had to be constantly maintained. Sometimes, gold engraving was added for extra glamour. The shimmering appearance of the Marchioness's Royal Blade was an example of such.

Slapping on a coat of lacquer paint was cheaper. Even cheaper than that? Torching an armor pitch black after covering it with linseed oil. The difference in cost between a mirror-polished and a blackened suit of armor of the same model was staggering.

An armored suit with gold engraving and mirror polish might cost five times as much as the same armor suit with a rough, untreated surface.

Thus, mirror polish on armor came with a certain prestige. It was a show of excess wealth and craftsmanship. Blackened suits of armor are usually associated with poverty: they are widespread among landless knights, brigands, and mercenaries.

Painting the old armor would be the perfect compromise option. It would not exactly be dirt cheap, but it would still be affordable and more than good enough for its intended purpose.

So, in the three days between Ruby's arrival and departure, the machine was restored to working condition and painted with crimson red color. The same color as Garnet's hair.

Adrianne could hardly remember what Garnet looked like, despite the fact that she was the keystone of her future. Adrianne did recall Garnet was shorter than an average woman of her age. Short, crimson-red hair adorned her head.

Yet Adrianne couldn't remember what color Garnet's eyes were. Adrianne couldn't recall ever seeing Garnet's eyes, period. It was as if the upper half of Garnet's face was always covered by shadow.

And other than that... Adrianne also could not recall her own emotions during the whole ordeal. It was as if Adrianne watched her own future from an outsider's perspective...

CHAPTER 04 - THE VILLAINESS AND HER WHITE FLAG

"His Highness Theodore is here, Milady," a maid reported to Adrianne while the young Lady prepared a set of tea and confectionaries on the table.

The Second Prince of the Kingdom, Theodore, was none other than Adrianne's childhood friend and also a fellow page of the late Sir Agravain.

Adrianne, in the past, used to mock him for being short and feeble. That was indeed still the case when they separated from each other five years ago.

So it was breathtaking when she saw a handsome man approach her in the mansion's garden. He had grown tall – a good quarter of a head taller than Adrianne – quite an impressive growth spurt since she herself was a bit taller than average women.

His brilliant blue eyes still looked innocent as always, but the rest of his face had matured.

Adrianne gave a polite bow and a curtsy. "Long time no see, your Highness."

"Long time no see, Adrianne." Theodore gently hugged Adrianne without warning, which made her stiffen up.

Adrianne's face flushed in response. "A-anyway, this is improper so..."

It was not that unmarried men and women hugging each other was taboo. Public hugging was something that commoners, the military, and the clergy were expected to do.

Furthermore, there was a clear gap in terms of social status between Theodore and Adrianne. He was the son of a king, and she was the daughter of a marchioness.

"Ah, I'm sorry." Theodore let her go. "I keep thinking of our days learning under Sir Agravain. I'm sorry if it made you uncomfortable."

"It is not that I'm uncomfortable, but..." Adrianne held his hand and smiled. "We are no longer children. There are things we must adhere to, including social etiquette."

"Indeed, that's true." The Prince laughed. "Except it's just two of us here, so who cares about social decorum?"

Adrianne looked away in panic. In actuality, she was conflicted about this whole meeting. Having the maids around would keep both of them in line, but it wouldn't feel right if she suddenly gave him the cold shoulder.

"Ah well, let's not sweat over the details." Adrianne forced laughter to cover her nervousness. "Would you like to enjoy some tea? We have a lot of things to talk about."

"Yes, there are a lot of things that mere letters cannot cover."

It has been one month since the incident. Things began to click together as Adrianne was lost in deep thought. The memories she had were actually those of a maid named Kuro, who lived on Modern Earth. And it was only recently that Kuro's memories had merged perfectly with Adrianne's own.

To make sure she didn't forget anything, she had immediately written down as much as she could remember. Human memories were fragile, prone to holes and corruption. Sometimes things didn't really happen as you remembered them at all.

That's why Adrianne got herself a tiny pocketbook, her personal reminder of the things that may come. And even then, there was the possibility that the pocketbook's contents might be wrong in the end.

Adrianne felt a rush of emotion as she and Theodore began to exchange their stories: things they had left unwritten in the periodic letters that they had sent each other in the last five years.

"And so I was cornered by eight deserters and got my leg bruised by a polearm." Adrianne laughed as she recalled her last battle of life and death. "I didn't even realize how much it hurt until the night came, and by then it was swollen."

Of course, Adrianne forgot to account for how much she walked after that battle. That might have been a factor in why the swelling got so bad.

Adrianne actually limped on her way the day after. Thankfully, Ruby had little to do anyway. The humble pharmacist ended up taking care of Adrianne's leg during her time at the mansion.

"Ouch. But even for a knight, eight skilled soldiers would have been too much." Theodore winced. "You ARE lucky to have got away with only a bruised leg."

"The brigand commander was wearing a stolen knight armor too, likely from his previous hostage or kill. Sola drew the short end of the stick at the time, fighting him."

If they were some random brigands wearing suits they were not accustomed to, there would have been good odds on Adrianne winning. Alas, that wasn't the case.

"So, a squire helped you in the end: do I know him?"

"I'm not sure if you would. It was Reinhard, the son of Baron Pieter."

"Can't say I recall that name myself, but I've been living a reclusive life over the last five years, so... I've heard of Baron Pieter at least."

Reinhard was quite the charmer, but perhaps his fame had never extended far past the border of his home province. That made sense to Adrianne. It would have been suicidal of him to try and pull his usual tricks on higher-ranked nobles.

"Speaking of which, did anyone of particularly high rank come to visit you recently?"

"No, just you. Why?"

"Erm. Well, how do I bring this..." Theodore twiddled his fingers. "Some people really want to push the idea of us being engaged."

Adrianne choked on her confectionary and, in her panic, immediately took a big sip of tea.

"I've heard the suggestion in passing, but no one ever approached me directly like that," Adrianne said, her voice wavering.

"It was the Prime Minister who brought up the idea." Theodore's tone turned serious as he continued to speak. "I figured you'd like it better when people are honest with their intentions."

Oh, absolutely. Subtlety had a place in politics, but Adrianne still preferred it better if people said things to her face. Theodore knew very well what Adrianne wanted.

"You know me well."

"And I'm glad that is the case, but I wanted to know what you think about the idea."

"Lord Gareth's hope lies on your shoulders and my mother has only me to rely on as her heir. So I think it's a difficult prospect for us to marry. There would be far too many obstacles in the way."

It didn't mean the marriage itself wouldn't be appropriate, legally and socially. Politically, however, that would be a different story. The combined economic and military strength of the Dukedom and the March would shift the power balance away from the throne.

That was why too many people wanted the engagement to fail, including some of the royal family members themselves.

Of course, some nobles thought this engagement was actually better for national unity. This belief was even more widespread among militaristic houses, lusting to expand the Kingdom's territory and influence.

But those opinions weren't the majority.

Speaking of which, the current reigning Duke of Caliburn was the younger brother of Adrianne and Second Prince's old mentor, Lord Gareth. Lord Gareth was very fond of Second Prince, especially after losing his wife and children to a freak disaster.

It was the reason why Lord Gareth was trying hard to make Second Prince his successor, a sentiment that the Second Prince returned in kind. Adrianne didn't think the King objected to it. Not openly, at least. And the First Prince was the same.

"I understand that well. I'm not talking about that, though." Theodore squirmed slightly. "I want to ask how do you feel about it, personally."

Adriane looked at her childhood friend strangely, wondering he meant by that. Was he trying to send her mixed signals or something?

"I think it would be a wonderful idea... for us as individual people, that is." Adrianne smiled sadly. "But we cannot avoid taking responsibility and should be aware of the consequences since we're part of the nobility."

Theodore blinked.

It was not that Theodore didn't understand what Adrianne was saying. But Sir Agravain could have attested to how much the idea of noble obligation mattered to Adrianne. As in, not at all.

Theodore could tell that Adrianne's personality had changed from the content of her letters over the last three years. However, he still couldn't wrap his head around the fact that the changes might be even more drastic than he had thought...

Theodore would like to say she had matured... but it only left him uneasy instead.

"Since you already asked what I feel about it, what about you, Theo?" Adrianne asked him. "What do you feel about the idea?"

"Personally, I can't think about something like marriage anytime soon. I'd like to think if it's the two of us, it might turn out okay. But I'd be lying to myself if I said I didn't have any concerns about it." Theodore had steeled himself and, instead of beating around the bush, told Adrianne how he felt about it.

"We can't really run away from what we are." Adrianne smiled... or attempted to. Her face was tense and she looked a little angry. "And you haven't met that many girls in your life; your frame of reference is too narrow. And you might meet someone you love so much that you're willing to leave my side to be with her."

"What?" Theodore was stunned by Adrianne's sudden if low-key outburst.

From Kuro's perspective, she had watched Adrianne's life unfold as an outsider. As it was as if she was a watching historical reenactment or theatrical performance.

The terms that came to mind were visual novel and Otome game.

A visual novel (VN) is a novel told through a series of highly detailed and stylized pictures, sometimes with voices, music and various other sounds.

Otome game – shortened otomege – is a bit complicated. But, essentially, they are narrative-based fantasy games for young girls. They're essentially fairy tales that the female players project themselves into.

Most otomeges are VNs, but not all VNs are otomege.

Modern Earth is truly so advanced as to have these sophisticated forms of entertainment media. While the Kingdom has similar technologies such as crystal screen displays, they are not widespread, let alone available to the lower classes.

In Kuro's memory, she saw her young mistress playing an otomege, which told the story from Garnet's view as the player's personification in the game.

That was the reason why Garnet herself rarely showed up physically. She was supposed to be a generic, almost featureless girl representing tens of thousands of players.

But Adrianne was there. She was there as Garnet's rival, and throughout the story, descended down the path of villainy out of jealousy. Furthermore, Adrianne's fate changed considerably depending on which route Garnet took.

Or rather, which man she decided to have an affair with. Since most otomege have multiple story branches, this particular game wasn't an exception.

Kuro's memory was a bit fuzzy, but the one that Adrianne kept seeing in her nightmare was the 'Second Prince' route. In the Second Prince's path, Adrianne was driven mad because Second Prince seemed to choose Garnet over Adrianne.

It culminated in a moment where Adrianne revealed a piece of sensitive information that put Garnet's life in great danger.

However, after things were cleared up, Adrianne was horrified by what she had done. Especially after it was revealed that Garnet's mother was the one who had saved Adrianne's mother's life.

As penance, Adrianne decided to quit the academy and went to the frontier to protect the Kingdom. A few years later, she died in battle, as a war hero, and her name was sung throughout the Kingdom. However, it didn't change the fact that Adrianne died alone and heartbroken.

It left a strong impression on Kuro because of how tragic and ironic it was. Compared to that, Kuro's recollection of other routes and endings was lackluster.

But they all had the same conclusion: Adrianne never got together with the Second Prince, even if he wasn't the chosen love interest for Garnet. Undoubtedly, it was because he wanted to become a duke, and Adrianne herself wanted to become a marchioness.

In the end, Adrianne's hatred and envy for Garnet had nothing to do with the fact that her speculative engagement with Second Prince had always been destined to fail.

With that knowledge, Adrianne slowly began to loosen up. She had managed to avert a major catastrophe – and she deserved a break.

Her mother had recovered swiftly, and the curse left behind a minor impediment at worst. The Marchioness resumed her duty in the frontline, with her husband supporting her from behind his desk. The House of Lyster remained unshaken.

Adrianne had to start moving away from her personal feelings and start taking her duty seriously.

"There may be a time in the future where you meet someone that you find far more charming and appealing than I am. When that time comes, you will have to put effort into making things work out. Not just for your own sake – and hers – but also for the future of this kingdom and its people."

Theodore widened his eyes in shock. What in the hell was Adrianne talking about?

"I love you, Theodore." Adrianne held his hand. "But I want to see you happy, more than I desire anything else in the world."

While she had decided not to pursue the Second Prince romantically, she had also decided to support his future endeavors. If for no other reason than because of their shared childhood and irreplaceable experience as Sir Agravain's page.

"Adrianne..."

That sudden confession from Adrianne stung Theodore more than it should have. Theodore felt that Adrianne had told him her feelings as a way to drive him away, and he could not accept that.

She cared about his happiness, but what about her happiness? She wanted Theodore to pursue his personal interests, yet Adrianne herself strives to focus on her obligations?

"Then what about you?" Theodore asked her angrily. "I'd be unhappy if you put my happiness over your own. That's not the Adrianne I know at all."

"You're right. I may no longer be the Adrianne that you know." Adrianne put on a stone-cold expression and stood up. "Which is all the more reason you should leave."

It made Theodore feel a bit mad; but when he looked at Adrianne's expression, his anger disappeared. He brushed her cheek gently with his thumb. "You said that so coldly, so why are you crying?"

Adrianne couldn't muster any words in response as he let her cry on his shoulder.

...

"I understand things have been hectic recently, and that's why we should let things cool down naturally," Theodore told Adrianne once she calmed down. "I cannot in good faith promise to return your feelings, but I don't want you to throw them away. I'm sorry for being selfish and I can understand if you start hating me for it."

"No." Adrianne shook her head. "That part of you is the reason why I fell for you in the first place."

Prince Theodore had always been a sensitive man, someone driven by emotion than logic. It was a huge character flaw for a nobleman, yet it was also what made him charming in the eyes of many, including the ordinary people of the Kingdom.

And it was also what had made Adrianne fell for him in the first place. Because Theodore was different from other noble children she had met before. They were all selfish yet kept up a pretense of dignity, but Theodore had always been honest to a fault.

"Still, I want you to think about it deeply," Adrianne kept trying to convince him. "And don't be narrow-minded about your options."

He scoffed. "Look who's talking."

She averted her gaze. "Guilty as charged."

Adrianne herself wasn't open-minded about the whole ordeal. She was so scared of the 'prophecy' that she couldn't rationally think of a better course of action than immediately giving up.

"You're right, but for the wrong reason. I was too preoccupied with pursuing my dream to succeed Lord Gareth, something that other people have pushed on me." Theodore sighed. "I will have to think about that: both my life goal and the nature of our relationship. I can't promise I will come to a decision anytime soon, and I wouldn't ask you to wait."

"Take your time. We both need it." She shook her head. "And I won't wait."

It wasn't as if Adrianne herself didn't have any problems, and they both have obligations to fulfill. Adrianne had plenty of things to sort out, and that was going to take a lot of time.

"See you again in the Academy, Theodore."

"Yes, let's meet again in the Academy."

Adrianne was very much looking forward to it.