~Chapter 5~
I snorted and shook my head.
“Nah. He wasn’t weird or anything.”
“You met Duke Pictian?” Ruby’s eyes went wide.
“Yeah, at the tea party earlier.”
“What’s he like?”
“Super handsome, really nice, great sense of humor, picks up on things fast… just all-around awesome.”
I kept it casual, but I almost added that he was tall with great skin and such perfect manners. Ruby narrowed her eyes, a sly grin spreading across her face.
“Miss, could it be…”
“Could it be what?”
“You… fell for him at first sight?”
“What? No, of course not.”
“Oh, my.”
“Seriously, no!”
I protested again, but Ruby’s half-moon smile made it clear she didn’t believe me.
She fussed over straightening my blankets, lips twitching like she knew more than she was letting on.
I swear, I didn’t fall for him.
He’s amazing and all, but our first meet-up was in a dungeon—the most unromantic place ever.
Plus he saw me rummaging around in a monster’s skull.
He probably thinks I’m a total weirdo—and if that’s all he thinks, fine.
But what if he tells everyone? I need to shut him up tomorrow.
The next morning, Ruby burst in with more gossip.
She set down the basin of water, eyes gleaming.
“Miss, did you see that weird thing in the palace yesterday?”
I froze, spooning water in my hands.
Couldn’t act cool—for once I stuttered.
“W-what weird thing?”
“They say a black hole opened in the sky. They even canceled the Crown Prince’s engagement announcement because of it!”
“Really? I didn’t hear.”
“Lucky you, Miss. Everyone was freaking out about that ominous hole.”
I’d hoped it vanished so fast nobody saw it… but wishful thinking only goes so far.
Someone might’ve seen me with Linus near it.
It was tucked in a garden corner, though—maybe the distortion around the Gate hid us.
I stood there, water dripping through my fingers, as Ruby continued.
“The mages and scholars were all summoned. The Duke left for the palace early this morning.”
Seriously, it’s chaos.
I remembered Earth’s first Gate panic—it was nothing like this.
When monsters poured out, “chaos” didn’t even cover it.
“So… what are they saying about that black hole?” I asked, bracing for them to say “gate” or use some official term.
But Ruby went the other way, leaning in and whispering a familiar name.
“People say Duke Torned is behind it again.”
“Duke Torned?”
“Yep. Who else in the palace would do something so shady?”
“But I thought the royal family and House Torned were reconciled? The Crown Prince and Lady Larienne were supposed to be engaged.”
“Oh, they’re pretending to be on good terms, but secretly scheming, I bet.”
Everyone knows Torned’s, the anti-Emperor faction’s main house, and Secret Romance in the Butterfly Garden is all about their conflict with the royals.
Haid and Larienne’s romance is a brutal rollercoaster—but that happens later in the book.
Right now, their alliance should be kicking off a brief peace.
Without a Gate throwing a wrench in the works, everything would’ve gone as planned.
Honestly, if Torned gets blamed for the Gate, I won’t mind.
He has been plotting behind the scenes in the story anyway. Sure, pushing their feud ahead of schedule, but the original plot isn’t important right now—so long as no more dungeons pop up.
…As long as no more dungeons pop up.
I’d been worrying myself sick when I realized something: maybe it wasn’t me causing these Gate incidents, but that chubby talking cat I met.
Because the Gate appeared right after it babbled nonsense!
Talking cats in a Gate-ridden world—that’s the real absurdity.
Something tells me that kitty is up to no good.
“I need to find that cat…” I muttered.
“Huh? A cat?” Ruby asked, confused. “Miss, you want a pet?”
“Oh, no—never mind.” I waved her off and finished washing my face.
If I go back to the Butterfly Garden, I can track that cat down there.
When my father returns from the palace, I’ll ask him how to get inside.
Around lunchtime, Ruby burst in again, grabbing her skirt.
“Miss! A letter came from House Pictian!”
It was Linus’s invitation—he was visiting. His handwriting was as elegant as his face.
I read the note and froze, and Ruby peered over my shoulder, equally puzzled.
I racked my brain for a way to explain why I was holding a monster core without sounding insane.
Ruby, meanwhile, played stylist, holding up dozens of necklaces.
“How about this one for you?” she asked.
She draped chain after chain around my neck.
“They’re all nice—pick anything,” I said.
“Anything? It’s your first… outing with him!”
“It’s not a date,” I reminded her.
“Fine, fine. But red gems suit your hair best.” She settled on a necklace with red stones that really popped against my pink hair and pale skin.
Looking in the mirror, I had to admit—I did look stunning. Exactly like I’d imagined being reborn into a romance-fantasy novel. And weirdly, my real-world face and this one were almost identical—just with a magic-filter glow-up.
My body was surprisingly fit for someone who’d spent ten years comatose. Magic, right?
This world is full of wild stuff.
