And the worst part was that May felt it too.
She felt lost. Her master was out of reach. The villainess had shut the door in her face. And now her fake sister had planted herself directly in the middle of everything, one problem after another lining up in a neat row to dismantle a plan she had six days left to finish.
Seol Yun kept going, because of course she did.
"Don't be too discouraged," she said. "This is simply how things work in a romance fantasy. That world always revolves around the protagonist. Extras like you don't get love. You don't get hope. You don't even get to hold on to something as insignificant as your sister's body."
That was when May completely lost it.
Everything else she could have swallowed. But hearing her sister's body — April's hands, April's voice, April's small stubborn chin — called insignificant was the end of her patience.
She raised her hand.
The fake April caught her wrist before it moved an inch.
"Since you seem unfamiliar with current trends," she said, smirking, "allow me to educate you. These days, romance fantasy heroines are strong."
And she was not finished acting. Over May's shoulder, at the far end of the corridor, she had noticed someone familiar approaching.
So when May finally wrenched her arm free, Seol Yun caught her hand again — and used it to strike her own cheek.
The sound carried down the corridor. To anyone watching, May Averil had just slapped her younger sister across the face.
"What," said Reheim from behind them, "is going on here?"
Perfect timing.
May turned around and stuttered. She tried to assemble a sentence and got about four words into it before the fake April raised her voice over her.
"It's a misunderstanding!" she cried, tears arriving precisely on cue. "Truly, Your Majesty, it's all a misunderstanding — my sister was only trying to guide me. She wanted to help me walk the right path."
Reheim shut that down at once.
"You have a habit of speaking in a way that blurs your real intentions," he said. "I asked for an explanation. Nothing more."
April lowered her eyes. "We simply had a small conflict. That's all it was."
"You're telling me my fiancée raised her hand over a quarrel between sisters?"
May stepped forward herself then. Her hands were shaking so badly she could see it happening, and she reached for Reheim's arm anyway, trying to get the words out.
He paused. He looked at her closely — at her face, at her hands.
"You don't look well today," he said, and his voice had gone gentle. "Go inside first."
She tried to protest. Her trembling fingers made the argument for him.
"Gail. Escort Lady May back to her room." He glanced at her once more. "And I'd like you to spend some time thinking about how worried I am for you. My beloved fiancée."
From where May was standing, all of that meant one thing. He had already decided not to hear her out.
Walking down the corridor beside Gail, her thoughts went round and round in a tightening circle. She understood his position. She really did. Anything she said right now would sound like an excuse, and a poor one. In a situation like this, of course he would trust her sister over her; everybody trusted April over her. That was simply the arrangement of the world.
So why did it feel like she was about to cry?
Back in the corridor, Reheim considered the girl in front of him.
"Your cheek is badly swollen," he observed. "If she had been wearing a ring, that would have left a serious mark."
April maintained the innocent face without a flicker. "This sort of thing isn't new between my sister and me, Your Majesty. Please, you should hurry after her. May is sensitive, but she isn't a bad person."
Reheim scoffed.
"You must take me for a fool."
April's head came up.
"The only younger sister my fiancée has," he said, looking directly at her, "is greedy, vile, and stupid. I have been trained with a sword since I could hold one. I know how to read the way a body moves. I sent her away just now not because I believed a word out of your mouth, but to stop her being forced to defend you in front of me."
April's eyes darted along the corridor, hunting for something and finding nothing. This was not how any of it was supposed to go.
The prime minister, who had witnessed the entire exchange from a few paces back, quietly declined to meet her gaze.
"So," Reheim said. "I'll ask you again. Why did you use my fiancée's hand to strike your own face? Why would you go out of your way to disgrace the only sister you have?"