I’m Supposed to Be the Neglected Princess in the Future, but Something Seems Strange... - 8 - The Future of the Neglected Fiancée Is Holding a “Welcome” Sign – 1

“Oh my.”

Even though she had just spit out her tea all over the sweets on the table, Raphael looked calm and composed.

He stood up quietly and called for the ship’s attendant waiting outside, asking them to replace the sweets and tea with fresh ones.

Normally, Rose would think, “It’s just a little tea, they’re still edible.” But she was in a panic after what Raphael just said, so she couldn’t think calmly at all.

(Wh-what does that mean!? Did my sister really disappear!? But then why is His Highness so calm!? And does that mean my future really is to be the neglected fiancée!?)

As she held her head and panicked, the table was quickly reset with a new tea set and fresh sweets.

Even though his fiancée had disappeared, Raphael calmly sipped the new tea without any sign of worry.

“Rose, calm down a little.”

How can anyone stay calm right now!?

“Why are you so calm, Your Highness!?”

“You can just call me Raphael. Anyway… here, how about this chiffon cake? It looks delicious.”

“Why are you talking about sweets!?”

“If you eat, you’ll feel better.”

“I will not feel better!”

Raphael then popped a small piece of chiffon cake into Rose’s open mouth as she shouted.

“Mmff!”

“Come on, chew and swallow properly. You’ll choke if you don’t.”

“Ngghh…”

She couldn’t just spit it out, so she slowly chewed and swallowed. It was tasty. But no matter how tasty it was, it didn’t calm her down.

“Hmm, I guess chiffon cake doesn’t help.”

“Of course not! She disappeared! And responsibility! How can you—”

“Want to see the letter?”

“Yes!”

She snatched the letter from Raphael’s hand. It said, word for word, exactly what she remembered:

“I cannot be your wife. I give you my younger sister instead.”

“Gah!”

Rose gasped and stopped breathing.

“Rose, if you don’t breathe, you’ll die.”

Raphael’s words snapped her back to reality. She inhaled deeply and then began to breathe slowly in and out.

As she continued to breathe deeply—inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale—Raphael smiled awkwardly and said, “Yeah… you’re totally panicking.”

“Anyway, let’s calm down and think. As it says, Lea disappeared and said she’d give you to me instead. Isn’t that a lovely offer? Don’t you think?”

“I do not!”

Rose wasn’t an object to be handed over like a gift.

But maybe her answer annoyed Raphael, because he looked slightly displeased.

“Still, Rose. Lea and I did choose to get engaged ourselves, but this engagement also became an agreement between our countries. Since Lea disappeared, the Kingdom of Gridor has a duty to fulfill that agreement. Of course, we could ask for something else as payment instead of you. But I think the compensation would be pretty huge. In that sense, if you marry me in Lea’s place, it might solve everything nicely. You still don’t like the idea?”

“Ugh…”

Please don’t smile like that while leaving me no way out.

Rose mumbled “uhh uhh” and tried to think of a way to stop this smooth-talking crown prince.

Unlike the angry man she remembered from before, this Raphael seemed willing to talk. Maybe if she handled it well, she could avoid that terrible future.

“B-but! You and my sister—”

“Raphael.”

“Raphael… you loved each other, right!? You met at the academy, fell in love, and chose to get engaged, right!? So why are you so calm about replacing her with me!?”

“Ohh, so that’s your concern.”

“I—I can never replace my sister, who’s so beautiful she’s been compared to a goddess!”

Rose clenched her fists and said it firmly. Raphael blinked several times, tilted his head, and asked:

“Have you ever looked in a mirror?”

“What are you saying!? I look in one every day!”

“…I see. Then your mirror must be very foggy.”

“What!?”

“Anyway. So your problem is that I loved Lea, so I can’t just switch to you.”

“Of course!”

“Then let me ask. If Lea and I truly loved each other, why did she leave me and disappear after leaving behind such a ridiculous letter?”

(How would I know that!?)

If she knew, she wouldn’t be suffering like this. If she knew, she could have tried to stop her sister before the masquerade ball.

Rose looked like she was about to cry. If she didn’t do something, she’d be locked away in a tower forever. That life sounded like a nightmare.

As Rose sniffled, unable to stand the thought of her future, Raphael sighed and shrugged.

“Alright. I don’t want to bully my future bride either.”

“I—I’m not your bride!”

“If things stay like this, that letter will be followed whether you want it or not.”

It was true. If the Kingdom of Gridor wanted to protect its interests, sending Rose to marry him would be the easiest way. And since the king disliked her, he wouldn’t care about her feelings anyway.

“…Am I really that awful to marry?”

“I—I’d like to marry someone who actually likes me.”

“Well, if I end up liking you, then that’s not a problem, right?”

“That’s not possible!”

“Fair enough. We just met. It’s understandable for you to feel that way.”

More than that, Raphael had loved Lea. It wouldn’t be easy for him to forget someone he loved and start loving someone new. She didn’t understand how he could be so calm now, but in the near future, he would become distrustful of women and push her away. There was no way she could be loved.

“I get it, I get it. You’re a hopeless romantic who loves pure love stories, and you’re so honest you’d end up on an endangered species list. My bad.”

(He understands?)

Surprisingly, Raphael backed off easily. Rose felt relieved, but also suspicious. He had been talking about compensation and responsibility earlier, so why give up so suddenly?

(Could it be… he’s going to demand a huge compensation from Gridor?)

If the reason for that huge compensation was because Rose refused to marry him, what would her father the king do? In the worst case, he might even order her execution. The thought terrified her. No matter what she chose, her future looked hopeless.

As Rose trembled at the thought of her future, Raphael suddenly appeared next to her and gently took her hand with a smile.

“Then how about this? For the next three weeks or so, you and I will work together to find Lea. Then, Lea herself can take responsibility for what she did. Sound good?”

“…And if we don’t find her?”

“Then, as the letter says, you will become my bride.”

In other words, Welcome to the future of the neglected fiancée.

But for Rose, who had no hope either way, finding Lea was the only chance to escape a life of despair.

She hesitated for just a moment.

(If there’s no way out, I want to struggle until the end.)

Maybe they would find Lea. Maybe she could avoid that future.

“…Alright.”

When Rose nodded with determination, Raphael gave her a big, happy smile.

“Good. It’s a deal. Now, let’s get you moved into a new room.”

Rose tilted her head in confusion.

“…Huh?”