“Ugh! This is so unfair!”
Today, once again, there was no reply, and in my frustration, I flung myself onto the bed, flailing my arms and legs wildly.
Then, as if Prince Luciano were floating in the air before me, I thrashed at him with my limbs.
‘You infuriating male lead!’
If you’re so great, just how great are you to keep ignoring me like this?
“Oh dear, miss. How can you do that while wearing a skirt?”
My nursemaid approached and straightened out my skirt, which had flipped up amid my tantrum.
I wasn’t in the mood to listen to her nagging, so I ignored her and pounded the bed with my fists instead.
“Nurse, there’s no letter today either! This is the third time! Isn’t it too much?”
After being chased out of the palace that day, I’d sent three letters already.
Each one politely asking if I might visit.
And yet, not once had I received a reply from Prince Luciano.
I could understand no response to the first letter.
The second one irked me a bit, but I held back.
But the third? Wasn’t that crossing the line?
‘How can he be so consistently dismissive?’
At this point, I started wondering if Prince Luciano was even meant to be my male lead candidate.
In typical possession stories, things unfold so smoothly.
Especially when the heroine extends a helping hand to the male lead with his tragic childhood—he opens his heart right away. Isn’t that the classic romance fantasy cliché?
‘So why can’t I even meet him!’
I’d even landed a solid blow on Empress Isabel!
With Prince Luciano giving me no opening, I was at a loss for how to get close to him.
I needed to become his childhood friend quickly for the plot to progress, but how could I get near him?
“You’re right, Your Highness is being too harsh. Why would he reject our adorable miss?”
As I pondered this headache, my nurse dropped a bombshell.
I bolted upright in shock, stunned by the word that had come from her lips.
‘Come to think of it, I’ve been rejected three times already!’
No, if I counted being kicked out during my first visit, that made four rejections.
I’d been angry thinking it was just ignorance, but framing it as rejection bruised my pride even more.
A twisted stubbornness inevitably welled up inside me.
I couldn’t let it go on like this.
Waiting for his permission felt like it’d mean never seeing him again.
Come to think of it, in the original story, the heroine had forced meetings through sheer persistence.
The early atmosphere was never all laughs and warmth.
They clashed over everything, building emotions to the point where it felt like outright fights.
Just waiting meekly like this wouldn’t create any connection with Prince Luciano.
I’d show him the epitome of a brazen sunshine heroine.
‘I’ll force my way in if I have to meet him!’
I jumped up and headed to my desk, then scrawled a letter fueled by rage.
[Dear Prince Luciano,
The warm weather continues, making for pleasant days.
I hope you’re enjoying a happy one?
I’m writing to inquire if I might visit you on the upcoming 7th.
How about sharing lunch and having an enjoyable time together?
I believe it could be the first step in strengthening the bond between us.
I’ve contacted you several times before, but without a reply, I’ve been unable to visit, which is regrettable.
I understand you’re so busy that you couldn’t even write back.
Still, you must eat, so I’ll arrive in time for lunch.
If there’s no word this time either, I’ll take it as affirmative and proceed with the visit.
Wishing Prince Luciano a peaceful future ahead, Espin Samuel.]
I’d written it at length, but boiled down, it was this:
I know you’re ignoring me on purpose.
That’s fine.
But if you ignore this letter too, I’ll assume it’s permission and barge right in.
What bold audacity.
If a reply came, great—it meant it wasn’t ignorance. If not, even better—I could go anyway.
“Nurse! Send this to the palace!”
With the letter dispatched, I simply waited for the self-appointed date of the 7th.
Before I knew it, idling away the time, the promised day was tomorrow.
No reply from Prince Luciano, but that was fine.
‘I can just meet him in person!’
I was incredibly excited—not from butterflies, but from a defiant determination to win him over no matter what.
“Oh my! Miss!”
“What?”
“A reply has come!”
“What?”
As I was planning for tomorrow, my nurse’s words made me leap to my feet.
Seeing her beaming face and the luxurious envelope in her hand, there was no mistaking who it was from.
“Give it here, quick!”
I hadn’t expected a reply from Prince Luciano at all—I’d just planned to force my way in—so I was utterly thrilled.
“Here you are.”
I took the letter from her, slicing it open in one swift motion with the paper knife.
Reading it with eager anticipation, I froze.
[I decline.]
A curt refusal, without even a greeting.
It was so firm that I couldn’t find a crack to shamelessly push through.
He hadn’t even bothered with a signature, just stamping his seal—like an impenetrable wall.
“This is too much!”
“Did he say not to come?”
“Very firmly!”
As I kicked at the air in another fit of nerves, my nurse let out a sympathetic “Oh dear.”
It offered no comfort at all, lacking any sincerity.
“So what will you do?”
“I’ll write another letter!”
I couldn’t give up like this. I moved back to the desk and penned another.
[To the resolute Prince Luciano,
Your crisp rejection, snapping like my neck that’s been craning in wait all this time, has been well received.
However, I reject your rejection.
See you tomorrow.
The wounded but gracious Espin Samuel.]
Since Prince Luciano had ditched formalities first, I skipped the pleasantries too and went straight to the point.
I folded the letter neatly, slipped it into an envelope, and held it out to my nurse.
“Nurse, send this!”
“Yes, miss.”
At my call, she swiftly took it and sent it off. Knowing the urgency, her movements were quick and efficient.
Even after sending it, I couldn’t relax.
Sure, we’re both young, so romance might be premature.
But still.
At this rate, we wouldn’t even become friends.
It was truly a headache. So frustrating that I sighed.
In romance fantasy possessions, aren’t things supposed to go smoothly with a bit of luck?
Like stumbling and finding gold!
Falling from heights right onto the male lead!
Encountering thugs only to be saved by the sub-male lead!
The whole universe conspiring to create connections with male lead candidates, piling up wealth effortlessly!
My spat with Empress Isabel should have left quite an impression on Prince Luciano, so why no reaction?
Considering his personality, I wasn’t expecting love at first sight.
But he could at least give me a sliver of an opening!
‘How’s the story supposed to progress like this!’
“Miss.”
Lost in thought after sending the letter, my nurse’s call pulled me back.
There was an unusual excitement in her voice.
“Another letter has arrived.”
Not ignored—and a second one!
This was practically an immediate reply to mine, so my heart raced.
I quickly checked the response she handed me.
[I have no time to deal with this.]
‘What! Why so guarded!’
Can’t spare two sentences without breaking a finger?
I fumed for a moment, then dashed off another furious letter.
[To the ever-so-busy Prince Luciano, for whom even a long reply is too much effort,
No matter how busy, you have to eat, right?
Let’s just share a meal.
The understanding and forgiving Espin Samuel.]
“Nurse!”
Once again, she nimbly took my letter and sent it to Prince Luciano.
She really was my nurse through and through.
As if sensing I’d truly barge in, a reply came right back from him.
[Are you hard of hearing? I said don’t come.]
Had he read my mind?
Still, it was two sentences this time.
Giving up here would mean I wasn’t the heroine.
I hurriedly wrote back.
[To Prince Luciano, who seems to be waiting for my letters,
You must enjoy exchanging them in real time with me?
Your replies come so promptly, like you’ve been anticipating them—I’m delighted.
But surely, meeting face-to-face is better than letters?
See you tomorrow.
The equally joyful Espin Samuel, penning this with pleasure.]
I’d held my own against Empress Isabel, brazenly saying everything without a care.
Faking obliviousness in letters? I could do that a hundred times over.
And so, our correspondence flew back and forth in real time, several more times.
We exchanged quite a few, but the content looped endlessly.
[I’m coming!]
[Don’t come!]
[I said I’m coming!]
[I decline!]
[Hey! I’m coming!]
[I said I’m busy!]
In short, that was it.
I kept writing out of a stubborn ‘let’s see who wins’ mindset.
[To Prince Luciano, with whom I’ve grown so familiar after a full day of letters,
Exchanging them in real time has made us feel incredibly close.
There won’t be a hint of awkwardness when we meet tomorrow.
Let’s chat happily face-to-face then.
The ever-kind Espin Samuel, eagerly awaiting our meeting tomorrow.]
As we traded letters, the sky outside had turned to sunset before I knew it.
I sensed this would be the last one.
“Nurse!”
At my call, she automatically took the letter and left with it.
The more I wrote and he replied out of irritation, the more my stubbornness flared, but so did a surge of emotion.
I even considered giving up on meeting Prince Luciano.
But to meet the sub-male lead, Harrison, I had to be by his side.
In the original, he was Luciano’s bodyguard knight.
They hadn’t met yet, but once he appeared, he stuck by Prince Luciano throughout the story.
If I couldn’t connect with Prince Luciano now, meeting Harrison would be uncertain too.
Since Harrison wasn’t the main lead, his pre-story activities weren’t detailed.
Of course, as a sub-lead, his backstory came up a few times after the heroine appeared.
But that was far in the future.
I couldn’t leverage the advantage of being before the original started at all.
And it was the same for the villain, Damian.
In the original, early on, Empress Isabel and her son, Prince Stephen, were the overt antagonists.
Damian only appeared well into the middle.
His sudden villain entrance sparked comments accusing it of padding the plot.
In other words, there was even less early info on Damian than on Harrison.
I couldn’t just storm his home or hideout blindly, so I’d have to wait for a natural encounter after the story progressed.
That’s why I had no choice but to cling to Prince Luciano!
But clinging like this—wouldn’t it turn him off?
It seemed more likely to make him despise the sight of me than spark love…
‘No, think of the original.’
The heroine and Prince Luciano fought fiercely from the start.
I’d decided to view this as my own ignition point, positively.
Had my desperation reached the heavens?
[I understand. I permit your visit tomorrow.]
At last, I received a reply from Prince Luciano granting permission.
