The atmosphere inside the Valemont estate became suffocating.
No one moved or breathed.
"The Crown Prince?" the duke repeated slowly.
The servant swallowed hard and bowed lower. "Y-Yes, my lord. His Highness has already entered the outer grounds."
The maids turned pale.
Even among the highest-ranking nobles, Kael Draven was not someone who visited casually. The Crown Prince rarely attended social gatherings unless necessary, and when he did, entire rooms froze beneath his presence.
He was the empire's strongest Alpha. A man whispered about in fear across battlefields and noble courts alike. And now he was here for Seraphina.
Selene calmly lifted her teacup and took a sip.
The duke's sharp eyes landed on her immediately, as though searching for the emotional breakdown he expected from his daughter. But Selene merely set the cup down.
"Then we shouldn't keep His Highness waiting," she said.
The duke narrowed his eyes slightly. Something about her was deeply wrong. Or perhaps… deeply different.
Before he could speak again, footsteps echoed from the hallway.
Every servant immediately lowered themselves to the floor.
The air itself seemed to tighten.
Then the doors opened.
Kael Draven entered the room.
Even with Selene mentally prepared, the Crown Prince's appearance was overwhelming.
Tall and broad-shouldered. Dressed entirely in a black military uniform adorned with silver wolf insignias. His dark hair fell carelessly over sharp golden eyes that seemed capable of tearing through lies with a single glance.
Dangerous.
That was the first word that came to mind.
Not handsome or elegant.
This man is dangerous.
He carried the quiet violence of a predator standing among prey. And the moment his gaze landed on Selene, the room temperature seemed to drop.
The duke rose immediately. "Your Highness."
Kael acknowledged him with a slight nod before turning his attention fully toward Selene. His eyes swept across her face carefully, almost searchingly.
"You survived," he said.
Selene noticed it immediately.
No formal greeting or polite distance.
Straight to concern.
"I did," she answered calmly.
The duke looked between them with growing suspicion.
Kael stepped further into the room, and the servants instinctively shrank away. Even the maids looked visibly shaken by the pressure radiating from him.
Only Selene remained still. Not because she was fearless. But because she had spent years negotiating with men far richer, crueler, and more powerful than herself in another world. Fear only gave opponents leverage.
Kael stopped before her. "You should be resting."
"And yet," Selene replied smoothly, "I'm receiving royalty instead."
For one dangerous second, silence filled the room. Then, the corner of Kael's mouth lifted faintly.
The maids nearly collapsed in shock.
The Crown Prince smiled?
The duke's eyes sharpened instantly.
Kael pulled something from inside his coat and placed it gently on the table beside her. A silver wolf-shaped crest.
Selene recognized it from the novel immediately. The imperial crest of protection. Any noble carrying that insignia stood under the Crown Prince's personal authority.
The duke stiffened. "Your Highness…"
"I heard," Kael interrupted coldly, "that Lady Seraphina nearly died after being publicly humiliated."
The temperature in the room plummeted further. No one dared speak. Kael's gaze shifted toward the duke. "Tell me, Duke Valemont. Why was your daughter standing alone while the empire mocked her?"
The duke's jaw tightened. Though House Valemont was powerful, even he could not casually oppose the future emperor.
"Seraphina's conduct has caused considerable controversy," the duke replied carefully. "The annulment with the Everhart heir--"
"Is not an excuse." Kael's voice sliced through the room like a blade.
The servants trembled.
Selene watched quietly.
So this man truly had intervened for Seraphina in the original story.
But from what she remembered, his role in the novel was minor at first. The Crown Prince was supposed to become interested in the heroine later, not the villainess.
Which meant one thing.
The story had already begun changing.
Because of her.
Kael turned back toward Selene. "Did you truly jump willingly?"
He was testing her.
Selene met his gaze evenly. "Yes."
The room froze.
The duke looked furious. "Seraphina--"
"But," Selene interrupted calmly, "that version of me no longer exists."
Kael's golden eyes narrowed slightly.
She could almost see the calculation behind them.
"You speak differently now," he observed.
"Nearly dying changes people."
"That much?"
"Yes."
The silence stretched.
Most people would have lowered their heads under the Crown Prince's stare by now. Yet Selene looked directly back at him without hesitation. Not flirtatiously or timidly. Like an equal sitting across a negotiation table. And somehow…
Kael found that more intriguing than beauty.
The old Seraphina had always looked at Lucien Everhart with desperate devotion. At court banquets, she followed him with wounded eyes like someone starving for affection. But the woman standing before him now felt entirely different.
Kael suddenly asked, "Do you still love Lucien Everhart?"
The room nearly stopped breathing.
The duke looked alarmed.
The servants stared at the floor.
What kind of question was that?
Yet Selene answered without pause. "No."
Kael studied her carefully, as if searching for traces of dishonesty. He found none, and that should have satisfied him. Instead, it irritated him strangely.
Because for the first time since the banquet, he realized something unsettling. The woman who had looked shattered beneath the rain no longer existed. And somehow, he disliked arriving too late.
Selene folded her hands elegantly before her.
"Your Highness," she said smoothly, "while I appreciate your concern, I doubt the Crown Prince came here solely to ask about my failed engagement."
A faint gleam entered Kael's eyes.
"You're right," he said.
The duke immediately straightened.
Kael's expression became unreadable. "The imperial family is preparing for the Moon Ascension Banquet next month."
At those words, tension immediately filled the room. Selene searched Seraphina's memories. Then she remembered.
The Moon Ascension Banquet. The largest noble gathering in the empire. A place where alliances were formed, political wars began, and powerful bloodlines displayed their heirs.
In the original novel, that banquet marked the official beginning of Seraphina's downfall, because it was where Lucien publicly chose the heroine over her.
How unfortunate for him.
Kael continued, "You will attend."
The duke frowned slightly. "Your Highness, considering the recent scandal, perhaps it would be wiser for Seraphina to remain absent this season."
"No," Kael said flatly.
The duke fell silent instantly.
Kael's gaze remained on Selene. "I expect Lady Seraphina Valemont to appear."
Selene understood immediately. This was not a request. The Crown Prince was forcing noble society to acknowledge her existence again. Not as a discarded woman. But as someone still standing beneath royal protection.
Interesting strategy.
Very useful too.
Selene tilted her head slightly. "And if society disapproves?"
Kael's golden eyes darkened. "Then society can learn fear."
The room went deathly still.
Even Selene paused for half a second.
Ah. So this man was insane.
Not loudly or recklessly. But in the dangerous, controlled way, powerful men often were.
Kael looked toward the window, his expression unreadable.
"There are wolves in this empire," he said quietly, "who mistake kindness for weakness."
Then his gaze returned to her. "You nearly died because of it."
Selene watched him carefully. This Crown Prince was not merely interested in her. He was angry. And anger from someone like Kael Draven was not a small thing.
A servant suddenly rushed into the room again, visibly panicked. "My lord! A message from the capital!"
The duke frowned. "What now?"
The servant swallowed nervously before speaking. "The Academy Council has officially released a statement."
Selene already knew she would dislike this.
The duke snatched the paper and unfolded it quickly. His expression darkened immediately.
Kael noticed at once. "Read it."
The duke hesitated.
That hesitation alone told Selene enough.
Kael's voice sharpened. "Now."
Slowly, the duke read aloud.
"Due to repeated misconduct, harassment accusations, and behavior unbecoming of a noble lady… Lunaris Academy hereby places all blame for the engagement scandal upon Lady Seraphina Valemont."
Silence.
The servant's hands trembled. The duke's expression became grim. But Selene merely smiled faintly.
The outcome was predictable. The academy was protecting Lucien's reputation. After all, he was their prized genius scholar. Destroying the villainess publicly ensured his image remained untarnished.
A classic corporate sacrifice. Unfortunately for them, they chose the wrong woman to destroy.
Kael's aura darkened so violently that the candles flickered.
"Interesting," he said softly.
And somehow, that quiet tone felt more threatening than shouting.
The duke immediately sensed danger. "Your Highness, the academy likely acted hastily. We can resolve this politically--"
"No."
Kael's golden eyes gleamed coldly.
"Since they chose to publicly disgrace Lady Seraphina…"
A terrifying smile appeared on his lips.
"Then let them publicly regret it."
For the first time since transmigrating into this world, Selene felt excitement crawl through her veins. Not because someone was protecting her.
But because the game had finally begun.