Chapter 147: Manupaltion [1]

Chapter 147: Manupaltion [1]

Julies Evans POV

—I received a letter from Count Frost’s house.

—An engagement proposal.

I leaned back in my chair, letting the parchment rest between my fingers for a moment. "Really, father?" I muttered under my breath. "You should realize this is a trap — especially for someone from a baron’s house."

A connection with a prosperous count’s family would tempt most men in my position. It’s a golden ticket on the outside — but nobles aren’t generous benefactors. They smile sweetly while sharpening the knife they’ll eventually put in your ribs.

I clicked my tongue, folded the letter, and tucked it into my desk drawer. No need to throw it away. Yet.

Amelia Frost.

The name alone brought an image to mind — bright pink hair cropped short, pale green eyes that always seemed to glitter in the sunlight.

In the "original" game, she was the ever-present shadow behind Alice — her loyal childhood friend and the loudest of her defenders. In the background, she was Lady No. 1, fluttering around Alice like a bright-winged insect.

But in the mid-boss stage of the Alice Raid?

She was a nightmare.

I could still picture it clearly — her magic erupting in all directions, turning the entire corridor into a blazing inferno. That wide-area spell of hers painted the whole screen red. It wasn’t elegant magic; it was raw, suffocating force, enough to make half the players rage-quit before they ever reached Alice herself.

After the duel events ended and Alice was cast aside by the crown prince, branded a villain... Amelia didn’t bend. She stood by Alice’s side until the bitter end, defending her with a fanatic’s devotion.

What would a typical noble gain from standing by a woman the crown had already discarded?

Nothing.

Which is exactly why Amelia’s loyalty always struck me as dangerous. It wasn’t born from reason, but from blind faith.

So now she wants an engagement with me?

I almost laughed.

Her attempt at "approaching" me — if that’s what this was — was already doomed. Amelia Frost isn’t the type to fall for someone because they beat her in a duel. If anything, she’d hate me for it.

Which leaves only one explanation.

She isn’t after me. She’s after keeping me away from Alice.

But,

"—in a way, she’s making the first real move on this board," I thought, tapping the armrest of my chair.

Up until now, everything between me and Alice had been natural — or at least as natural as it could be in this world.

I helped her because it benefited me and because I will die if she is dead, according to system of mine.

And she kept me close because she saw I was useful. But Amelia? She wasn’t playing that kind of game.

She was trying to rewrite the rules altogether.

An engagement wasn’t just a social gesture.

In the noble world, it was a chain.

You didn’t just accept tea invitations from another woman’s fiancé — not without whispers. You didn’t visit her room late at night to discuss "urgent matters" without the rumor mill spinning at full speed.

And Amelia... she’d weaponize that chain with surgical precision.

I leaned forward, elbows resting on the desk, and let the thought settle. "So that’s your plan, Amelia. To lock me down before I can get too close to her."

It was clever, I’ll give her that. Even if I rejected the proposal, it would create the illusion that there had been something between us. Enough to plant doubt in Alice’s mind if she was the type to believe in such things.

Unfortunately for her, I’d already learned that doubt was a slow-acting poison — and like any poison, it could be traced back to its source.

I wasn’t about to let her dictate the terms of the game.

Still... part of me was curious. In the original timeline, Amelia never would have made such a move.

This was a deviation. A crack in the script.

And cracks could be widened.

Who would have thought Amelia’s hostility would be aimed not at the protagonist, but at me?

What to do with this troublesome, fervent fan?

It was tempting to dismiss her, but... no. That would be shortsighted. If our interests aligned, even slightly, she could become a powerful ally in preventing Alice’s downfall.

I’d much rather have her as an ally than an enemy.

In the game, when Alice was utterly isolated, many followed her for convenience, but only Amelia stayed until the bitter end. That loyalty was rare. Unique.

"...Maybe it’s time to take a gamble," I murmured, setting down the carefully prepared dish before Verren, who accepted it with the slow dignity of a creature that knew its own worth.

I didn’t want to lose Amelia any more than I wanted to lose this beast. Both had the potential to be invaluable in the future.

But if she’d already decided I was a threat to Alice, she wouldn’t be swayed by simple kindness.

If I failed, one of us would have to go. And between her disappearance and the Frost family’s inevitable outrage... well, it wasn’t a headache I wanted.

Still, I couldn’t ignore the thought. If it came to it, I’d make the cut.

But for now...

"I wonder how my fiancée will react to this," I said softly, more to myself than to anyone else.

Instead of the folded letter resting in my desk drawer, my hand reached for the golden mask etched with a strange, spiraling pattern. I let my fingers trace its cold surface.

Yes. It was time for the return of the Demon — Faceless Imposter .

And something told me she would appreciate this gift of mine... in her own way.

I let the mask’s weight settle in my hand. Cold. Unyielding. A perfect mirror for the role I was about to play.

Amelia Frost thought she was clever. She thought she could pull me away from Alice by dangling the Frost family’s prestige in front of me like bait. Maybe for the original Julies Evans, that would’ve worked.

But I’m not him.

I’ve seen what she becomes when Alice is threatened — I’ve seen the firestorms, the reckless magic that would scorch friend and foe alike. If she thinks she can remove me from Alice’s side without consequences, she’s already making her first mistake.

The real question wasn’t why Amelia had moved.

I knew that answer — jealousy, plain and raw, disguised under a noblewoman’s smile. No, the real question was why now.

She’d watched me since the duel, her gaze lingering too long whenever I stood near Alice. She saw the way Alice’s tone softened with me, the way her eyes followed me without her realizing it. That was enough to turn suspicion into action.

I could almost picture Amelia in her study, writing that letter with stiff fingers, telling herself it was a "strategic move" when really it was fear driving her pen.

And fear... fear could be useful.

I set the mask down gently on the desk and leaned back, watching the play of light across the spiraling pattern.

Amelia was making her move to keep me away from Alice. Fine. I’d just make my own move to keep Alice — and maybe Amelia — right where I wanted them.

Because if Amelia Frost thought she could lock me out of Alice’s life... she hadn’t yet learned that I don’t leave the board just because someone tries to shove me off it.