A Blend of Romance and Fantasy Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Honestly, female leads always have absurdly sharp instincts.

I avoided Aurora’s piercing gaze and snapped,

“Don’t say it like that. Anyone listening would think it’s some secret romantic rendezvous. I’m going to interrogate him because he’s suspicious.”

“Then I’m coming with you.”

“No. Absolutely not.”

I rejected her immediately, and Aurora’s eyes narrowed dangerously.

“As the Saintess who protects this country, I have a duty to eliminate potential threats. You, on the other hand, fall head over heels for handsome men. You’re a liability.”

“Even so, Aurora, there’s something you need to do.”

“What is it?”

Half of it was true—and half was just to shake her off.

“Go to the Altar of Sacred Blood and check if the relics are stable. If that prince were truly a threat, the relics should’ve reacted by now—but nothing’s changed.”

“…That’s true.”

“You understand the relics better than I do. I’ll handle him—you check the altar.”

Aurora hesitated for a long moment, then finally nodded.

“…Fine. But be careful.”

After getting ready, I headed to the greenhouse garden where he was waiting.

Worried he might be late again, I went early—

and sure enough, Leonard Blake was already there, seated on the terrace.

Right on time.

He was dressed simply—a silk shirt and a gray suit.

In contrast, I was…

excessively dazzling.

As he stood to pull out my chair, he stared at me for a moment and said,

“…I think Blake might struggle to understand Singcester’s fashion.”

So much for polite manners.

I shot back immediately,

“I heard Blake isn’t a fashion backwater. Maybe it’s just your personal taste that’s lacking.”

“If you’re going to pick a fight this early in the morning, you should drink jasmine tea. It helps calm you down.”

“I am perfectly calm.”

Right.

No matter how powerful his empire is, I’m still the princess of the only Sacred Kingdom on the continent.

The beloved sister of the Pope-King.

The closest friend of the Saintess.

Far more important than some sixth prince clawing his way through a succession war.

I sat down firmly and got straight to the point.

“You asked me to help you yesterday, didn’t you? My answer is no.”

His eyes narrowed slightly.

“Even if Singcester is headed for destruction?”

“I don’t believe you. There’s no evidence. I already finished this story—and I wrapped it up perfectly.”

I lifted my teacup elegantly, feeling rather proud of that line.

“But as fellow transmigrators into a romance fantasy world, cooperation might be useful. You said you want to become emperor, right? Depending on how you behave, I might consider helping—”

“I didn’t transmigrate into a romance fantasy.”

“…What?”

“Just fantasy. Not modern fantasy either. Pure fantasy.”

The way he emphasized each word made it painfully clear—

we were not in the same genre.

I froze.

“B-but I did! I read a romance fantasy where the male lead was raised as a slave, became twisted, fell in love with the heroine, treated her terribly, then regretted everything after she tried to escape—five out of five stars!”

I blurted out the entire plot in one breath.

Leonard only frowned slightly.

“You don’t need to explain. I understand the general idea.”

He began turning a black ring on his finger—obsidian, heavy-looking.

“The novel I transmigrated into is Song of Sky Fire and Moon. And it’s not even finished.”

“…What?”

“The authors of your romance novel and my fantasy series are married. They built the same world together. After finishing the romance story, they reused the setting for a separate fantasy—focused on Blake’s imperial succession.”

I stared at him, stunned.

“So the romance fantasy I read and your fantasy novel are connected? Written by a married couple?”

“That’s what I’ve been told.”

“And because of villains from your story, Singcester is going to fall?”

“Most likely.”

That casual tone finally broke me.

I slammed my hands on the table and grabbed his collar.

“You jerk! Then why haven’t you killed the villain yet?!”

Nine years.

Nine years of hard work.

I thought I had fixed everything.

“…Do you have any idea how much I went through to clean up this mess?! What have you been doing all this time?!”

My voice shook.

Tears even welled up in my eyes.

Leonard looked—just for a moment—slightly flustered.

The knights nearby tensed.

“Princess.”

He grabbed my wrist.

“Charlotte.”

That single word snapped me back to reality.

In this kingdom, calling someone by their name alone implied closeness.

Intimacy.

I immediately pulled my hand away.

“D-don’t call me that without permission.”

“…Fine. Then calm down.”

Too many eyes were watching.

I gave Lucas a quick signal that everything was fine and sat back down.

Leonard reached into his coat and pulled something out.

“Here.”

A brown, checkered handkerchief.

Hideous.

I stared at it—

then snatched it and blew my nose loudly.

Petty revenge.

“…Fine. Whether I believe you or not, I need to hear everything about this Song of Sky Fire and Moon.”

He paused, once again rubbing the ring on his finger.

“It’s a long series. Over five hundred chapters. And it wasn’t finished even before I transmigrated.”

And then—

he began explaining.