Chapter 1. Engagement to the Happily Ever After (1)
"Milady, are you ready?"
"Yes."
Lancelot lowered his head upon hearing her short yet careless reply. Today was the exact moment His Lady had desired for so long. She had already waited for several, passing seasons just so she could finally seize this opportunity. There was no way she'd let it slip through her fingers. Even if he was fully aware of this, Lancelot couldn't just bring himself to be happy. His chest clenched at the sight of the Nation's Flower and Inspiration, Charlotte Reinout, whose glaring eyes went ablaze as she clutched her sword.
Watching her back straightened up and ready, Lancelot came to a realization; His Lady had never once given him such a loving gaze no matter how much time had passed. Despite knowing how unfortunate it was for him, he still followed her wholeheartedly.
However, it was the same for Charlotte. Although she sought revenge against the man who had destroyed her family name, her efforts, in reality, were also because she ached to see Duke Vestia one last time. Duke Vestia was Charlotte's one and only fiancé, and the man whom she loved with all her heart. For that reason, his cancellation of their engagement and what followed soon after was her family name being tainted by him; such unfortunate events came to her all at once, earning her nothing but great disbelief and grief. Even if her heart had shattered into a million pieces, Charlotte would not give up. She discarded her dress and picked up the sword she had once cast away. Having inherited the family name by her own will, she showed that the Reinout family had yet to yield in defeat. And so, she gathered all the families that supported the Reinouts for her preparation in waging war against Duke Vestia. Without mercy, Charlotte slaughtered everyone who stood in her path along the way.
Such vicious actions earned her crude titles like 'The Demon of Reinout' or 'Witch' and they were closely followed by pointing fingers of mockery. But those rumors were far from the truth; Lancelot's lady was merely a poor young girl driven mad by love.
"Do you still love the Duke regardless of this?" Lancelot swallowed what felt like shards of glass. Even from childhood, the lady he served was perfect. And the man she loved the most was the most renowned and ideal gentleman on the continent. He once stood there, struck by awe as he looked at the beautiful picture the two made together. They were once a flawless pair that he couldn't help but congratulate despite the pang in his heart.
There was a reason as to why he could do nothing but to see her off to a horrid place of blood, gore, and schemes. It was because he had to consider the deep love and anger that was bottled up inside of her.
"Ah, my chest hurts."
As an attempt to soothe my heartache, I massaged the middle of my chest. To be so absorbed into the perspective of some character in a novel to the point of being this upset, who am I kidding? I scrolled up and down so many times already as a form of release for this pain. There was a menu panel to move onto the next episode, but I couldn't bring myself to press it so hastily. Especially when I've already read the entire novel before.
"Haa. Seriously Lancelot, what am I going to do with you?"
I've read it so many times, yet I still felt so committed to the brink of death. Unable to suppress these feelings, I opened the comments section. Out of the several hundred comments, the majority was occupied with talks about the butler. Though it was the only topic, the content varied immensely.
[Ms. Authorrrrr ;( What am I supposed to do with how passionate this story is?! TTATT How the hell am I supposed to wait for the next episode!!!]
[What do you mean by confirming that Lancelot is not the male lead?! saduwu How could this be? Please get rid of the Duke of Vestia and make Charlotte end up with Lancelot instead!! (ﾉД')]
[Charlotte's clearly blind or something...]
These comments were the ones so relatable in the comments feed. Especially with the one about Charlotte; I couldn't help but nod furiously in agreement. Like how on earth could someone leave a man like Lancelot in the dust and instead continue to love a bastard? I joined the crowd, surrendering to the itching temptation.
[I've read the entire series and I'm currently re-reading it all over again. Even though I've read it countless times before, this scene never fails to assault my heart. Haaahhhh. (ﾉД') I can't breathe properly because of Lancelot. While I'm at it, I might as well have him all to myself and take good care of him~ ;A; I seriously need just one Lancelot!! (っ╥︿╥)っ]
Before I knew it, I had poured out all my emotions into what was supposed to be a completely calm and composed comment. As someone who had read the full series before, I can't help but feel that way. I had no choice because I knew Lancelot was fated to die.
No, I already know that there are many different endings which exist in the world. But how on earth would it make sense to kill off such an innocent soft boy?
"Of course, they say that's exactly why they kill him though."
My own muttering only soured my mood even further.
"Ugh, why am I even fretting so much over this one particular novel anyway?"
I shook my head in protest. I then turned my phone off and immediately laid down in bed. I've got work tomorrow, so I quickly drifted to sleep with such thoughts. Perhaps the bitterness in my mood was also because it was already the end of Sunday. Tomorrow will be the day that I had expected to come since it suddenly came in the form of my half disappointed, half truthful comment.
• • •
"It's already morning, Milady."
A rather low, gentle voice could be heard from somewhere afar. Could it be my brother? Why was he suddenly calling me a lady? I found it disgusting and cringey.
The voice continued on for about two more times. It was such a pleasant voice but thinking of it as my older brother was enough to jolt me awake.
"I'm awake..."
Still groggy from sleep, I mumbled in a hoarse voice. As soon as I did, I could hear a muffled laugh from my brother.
"Your eyes are still closed, Milady."
"No, it's because I'm meditating."
It was a little embarrassing to be aware of how painfully fruitless and ridiculous my excuse was.
The cringe I felt from my brother's continuing behavior was gradually beginning to wake me up properly.
I opened my heavy eyelids. Through my blurred vision, I could make out a figure standing in front of me. Because I was unable to see clearly, I had to rub and blink my eyes a few times.
When my sight was finally clear, I could tell that this person was not my brother at all.
The man, who stood with his back to the morning sun, was tall in stature. Wearing a suit as dark as his jet-black hair, he resembled the butlers I had seen from TV shows in the past.
"You look awfully familiar..."
Trusting my train of thought, I lifted up my head to face him. Soon, I locked eyes with his bright red orbs and froze in disbelief. My eyes grew huge and my consciousness knocked me up with a flash. My lips, noncompliant by my will, began to move on its own.
"L–L–L...Lancelot?!"
"Yes, Milady?"
That calm response had me shaken more than before. Even after I frantically rubbed my eyes, there was no doubt that the man in front of me was Lancelot: a main supporting character of my favorite novel, Held a Flower.
How I recognized him would come down to how similar he looked to the image painted by the descriptions from the novel in my head. This man was unbelievably perfect to that extent.
"Am I only dreaming?"
I knew what I was saying was completely absurd, but at this current moment, there were no other thoughts in my head which could oppose the validity of it. All because of my stammering, the man whom I deemed to be Lancelot– no, Lancelot himself actually grinned. His smile was refreshing and gleeful, it was very much like that of a young boy.
"Oh my, it appears that you are still half asleep. Shall I bring you your favorite orange juice, Milady?"
"Uh, what? For me?"
The smile stayed on Lancelot's face as he nodded. Soon enough, my embarrassment flooded in. Why was he being like this?
There was nothing wrong with Lancelot's proper attitude. The problem was his gaze; they openly expressed how lovely I was to the point of overwhelming him. I knew all too well about the lady he'd look at with such an expression. As one particular thought flashed through my head, my mouth moved on its own once again.
"Hey, Lancelot?"
"Yes, Milady?"
That response, that was as gentle as the sun's rays, returned my words. My mouth filled with a more urgent request than the juice he had offered.
"Can you bring me a mirror?"
Although he looked quite surprised, Lancelot strode towards the vanity table without question. Picking up a handheld mirror, he then returned to my side.
I politely took the handheld mirror from his hands and peered into the mirror. As soon as I saw my reflection, I was in disbelief. The feature that first caught my attention was the long silver hair draped over my shoulders; in the reflection, these locks shone gently in the morning sunlight.
Underneath it were a pair of ocean blue orbs which went wide like saucers as they stared back at the mirror. As if there was nothing that could possibly surprise me more since a gaping mouth had to wrap it all up. The unfamiliar lady in the mirror mimicked the exact expression of my astonished face with absolute precision.
"Uh, oh, uhhh..."
Letting out a sound that frighteningly resembled a monkey's, I touched my cheek. The lady in the mirror copied my behavior at once.
"Milady?"
"Wait a moment. My mind hasn't snapped out of it yet."
I could feel the prickling sensation of an awkward stare, but that wasn't at all important. My goodness, how is this even possible?
It took a long while of feeling around my face before I came to an admittance. I accepted the fact that the lady in the mirror was me.
Although my head was still spiraling out of confusion, I desperately clutched onto my last remaining strand of sanity. There was still one more thing I needed to confirm.
"Lancelot."
"Yes, I am listening."
"I'm asking this just in case, but who am I?"
For a moment, Lancelot tilted his head. I could tell he was wondering why I was asking such a strange question but tried my best to hide it. Instead, my face was plagued with an obvious expression of a tense and bitter mood.
"Milady, you are the sole successor of Marquess Reinout in the kingdom of Tierres. You are Charlotte Reinout, the head of the family.
"..."
Wow, oh my god. What am I going to do?
My mind began to break as it was unable to withstand the weight of piling confusion. The world spun around me along with Lancelot.
"Milady!"
The panicked shout was the last thing I heard before I fell into a world of black.
I've hit the jackpot.
An immensely big one, on top of that.
In my dream, my favorite character made an appearance and I also appeared in it as his lady. Although it was merely a dream, it was the first time I had looked so beautiful or received a warm smile from my favorite character. This must be a sign signifying that something incredible will happen when I wake up. When I leave work tomorrow, the first thing I'll be doing is buying a lottery ticket. I'll definitely win it!
"Hehehehe..."
Just imagining it made me smile like an idiot. I should hurry up and go to work!
"Are you alright?"
However, a gentle voice made my body go stiff. No matter how hard I tried, it was impossible to forget his serene and soft voice. My eyes fluttered open. The classy ceiling became a background as my gaze drifted upon Lancelot's worried eyes that stared back into mine.
"Lan...celot?"
I just couldn't believe it, so I called out his name. A part of me was overwhelmed with the worry of never being able to wake up from this dream.
"Yes, Milady. I'm right here."
Instead of waking up from my dream, he grasped onto my hand as if waiting for it. I could feel his emotions; they seemed so fragile as if they could shatter. In this atmosphere, all the events from just then had sped through my mind. My favorite character Lancelot, the silver lady in the mirror, and Lancelot's reply.
Everything pointed out to one conclusion.
"This isn't a dream...?"
A feeling of complete shock swept me over once again, hitting me like a car. It seemed that my blank state was beginning to worry Lancelot as his eyebrows slightly furrowed.
"You have been talking about dreams ever since you woke up. Did you perhaps have a nightmare?"
The second he stopped talking, Lancelot raised his hand and placed it gently on my forehead. Thanks to it, I felt as if my heart could stop. My favorite character touched my forehead!
Lancelot was clueless to the chaos in my head and it seemed like he couldn't shake off his concerns.
"You don't have a fever but...please wait here, I'll bring a doctor."
The warmth of his hand brushed past my forehead. The second I thought of how disappointingly brief it was, Lancelot had already left to go look for a doctor in charge.
I sat there, staring blankly at the chandelier. Thinking of how this could have happened before I reached to one theory. This was all because of that one comment I left last night.
[I've read the entire series and I'm currently re-reading it all over again. Even though I've read it countless times before, this scene never fails to assault my heart. Haaahhhh. (ﾉД') I can't breathe properly because of Lancelot. While I'm at it, I might as well have him all to myself and take good care of him~ ;A; I seriously need just one Lancelot!! (っ╥︿╥)っ]
My lips parted by themselves.
"Thank you, God."
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