Meeting My Favourite Character
1166 Words
Chapter 5
"It's nice that you came."
The red-haired princess smiled warmly.
"I thought it would be unfortunate if the bad blood between us continued to grow."
Eliana stared.
Wow.
She was pretty.
Painfully pretty.
The kind of beauty that made people immediately lower their guard.
Soft crimson hair framed a delicate face.
Her emerald eyes sparkled with innocence.
Her smile was gentle enough to make anyone believe she could do no wrong.
No wonder the entire kingdom worshipped her.
Even Eliana, who knew exactly what kind of character she became in the novel, could admit she was beautiful.
Before Eliana could respond, the dark-haired boy beside Nora spoke.
"Princess Nora."
His voice carried obvious disapproval.
"You know she's dangerous."
His eyes narrowed at Eliana.
"Why did you invite her?"
The moment she heard the name Nora...
Everything froze.
Nora.
Princess Nora.
The Saint Princess.
The heroine.
The cause of Asher's suffering.
The future center of the ridiculous reverse harem.
The woman who somehow collected handsome men the way children collected toys.
Eliana's blood ran cold.
Suddenly, everything clicked.
The palace.
The royal family.
The birthday party.
The familiar names.
The familiar faces.
This wasn't just some random fantasy world.
This was Saint's Awakening.
Her favourite novel.
Her most hated novel.
The novel that killed Asher.
The realization nearly made her choke.
She looked at Nora.
Then, at the dark-haired boy.
The future knight.
The future loyal lapdog.
The future i***t who would spend his life worshipping Nora.
A dangerous smile appeared on Eliana's face.
Inside her mind, however—
You two ruined my favourite character's life.
You are absolute disasters.
If I could legally throw both of you into a lake right now...
Outwardly, she smiled sweetly.
"Oh, Princess."
Her voice sounded gentle enough to fool anyone.
"The bad blood you speak of exists only in your imagination."
Nora blinked.
The dark-haired boy frowned.
Eliana continued.
"For some mysterious reason..."
She placed a hand on her cheek.
"Whenever I'm near Your Highness, you somehow end up falling down or getting hurt."
Silence.
Nora's smile stiffened slightly.
The dark-haired boy looked offended.
Eliana's smile widened.
The original Eliana had indeed bullied Nora.
However, several incidents had been suspicious.
Far too suspicious.
Many accidents somehow occurred only when witnesses were present.
And somehow, Eliana always received the blame.
Emma had noticed this while reading.
At the time, she had been too distracted by Asher to care.
Now?
Now she was paying attention.
Still smiling politely, she curtsied.
"Regardless, happy birthday, Your Highness."
Nora smiled.
"Thank you."
After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Eliana escaped before she accidentally committed treason.
The moment she reached a balcony overlooking the royal gardens, she let out a long breath.
"Okay."
She gripped the railing.
"Let's think."
Cool evening air brushed against her face.
The sounds of the party became distant.
Finally alone, Eliana organized her thoughts.
She was Eliana Collin.The villainess.
The original Eliana's future was terrible.
She despised Nora from childhood.Claimed Nora was fake.Manipulative.
A hypocrite hiding behind a saintly smile.
Naturally, nobody believed her.After all, Nora was beloved by everyone.
As years passed, the rivalry intensified.
Eventually, Eliana attempted to poison Nora.
It was a terrible decision.
The future knight personally executed her for it.
Her family suffered greatly.
And after today's birthday incident...
Things only got worse.
Eliana remembered it clearly.
On Nora's eleventh birthday, the original Eliana ruined the celebration.
The birthday cake.
The dress.
The entire event became a disaster.
Though Emma privately suspected the dress incident had been manipulated somehow.
The cake incident, however, was absolutely Eliana's fault.
The result?
The king blacklisted the Collin family.
A punishment that marked the beginning of their downfall.
Yet somehow...
None of that had happened today.
Because she wasn't the original Eliana.
She had spent the party eating desserts instead of causing trouble.
A victorious achievement in her opinion.
"Good."
She nodded.
"No blacklisting."
All she had to do was avoid becoming a villain.
Then save Asher.
Simple.
Extremely simple.
While she remained lost in thought, footsteps approached quietly.
A small voice interrupted her.
"Lady Eliana?"
She immediately looked up.
"Hm?"
A boy stood nearby.
Silver hair.
Pale skin.
A black eye patch covered one eye.
For a moment...
Her brain stopped working.
The world disappeared.
The balcony disappeared.
The palace disappeared.
Only one thought remained.
OH MY GOSH.
HE'S REAL.
Eliana nearly fainted.
The silver-haired boy blinked.
Confused.
She stared.
And stared.
And stared.
The poor boy became increasingly uncomfortable.
"Lady Eliana?"
"Oh my gosh, you're pretty."
Silence.
The boy froze.
Pretty?
Nobody had ever called him pretty before.
Not like that.
Not with such sincere admiration.
His visible eye widened slightly.
Eliana covered her mouth.
"Oh no."
She forgot her manners.
Again.
"I'm so sorry!"
The words exploded from her mouth.
"What is your name? You have such a pretty face. Can we be friends?"
Everything came out in one breath.
The boy stared.
Then stared some more.
For several seconds, he didn't know how to respond.
The rumours about Eliana Collin described a cruel noble girl.
Arrogant.Spoiled.
Mean-spirited.
The child standing before him looked nothing like that.
Her crimson eyes sparkled.
Her smile radiated excitement.
She looked genuinely happy to see him.Slowly, amusement appeared in his expression.
Then he laughed.
A soft laugh.
Gentle and pleasant.
Eliana's heart nearly exploded.
He's laughing.
My Asher is laughing.
This is the greatest day of my life.
The boy offered his hand.
"My name is Asher Winston."
His voice was calm and elegant.
"It is nice to finally meet you, Lady Eliana."
Then, with perfect noble etiquette, he lifted her hand.
And kissed the back of it.
Eliana's soul immediately left her body.
For several seconds, she forgot how breathing worked.
The future Duke.
Her favourite character.
The man she had cried over.
The man whose death had broken her heart.
Was standing right in front of her.
And he had just kissed her hand.
I'm never washing this hand again.
The decision was immediate.
Absolute.
Unchangeable.
She looked at him with sparkling eyes.
"Would you be my friend?"
For a brief moment, surprise crossed Asher's face.
Friend.
Such a simple word.
Yet very few children had ever offered it to him.
Especially after seeing the eye patch.
Many avoided him.
Others pitied him.
Some whispered behind his back.
But this girl...
She looked at him as though meeting him was the greatest thing that had happened all day.
A warm feeling settled in his chest.
"As long as you don't regret it."
His smile softened.
"I would be happy to be your friend."
Eliana's eyes lit up.
The smile she gave him was dazzling.
And for the first time in a very long time—
Asher felt genuinely welcomed.
Neither child noticed fate quietly shifting around them.
The story had already begun to change.
Because the villainess had chosen friendship.
And the lonely boy destined for tragedy had just met the one person determined to save him
- Writer
