The castle air turned colder as tensions rose—not just within the walls, but within the pages Gerah once controlled.
Mara, dressed in her finest silk, entered the ballroom with a look of triumph. Her father, the fierce General, had just returned from a successful battle, earning the royal family’s favor once more. She stood proudly beside him as the nobles praised her lineage.
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But her eyes weren’t on them.
They were locked onto Prince Xavier, who had just entered—with Princess Gerah by his side.
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Gerah, looking confused but composed, wore a soft smile as Xavier whispered something into her ear. Something that made her cheeks flush.
Mara’s fists clenched.
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“She was never supposed to matter,” she muttered.
“She’s just a side princess…”
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Later that night, in the empty scriptorium, Mara met a figure cloaked in black—one who claimed to read and rewrite dreams.
“I want you to change her story,” she said.
“I want her gone.”
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The cloaked figure only smirked. “There’s always a price when rewriting someone else’s fate.”
Meanwhile, Dahlia found Jiru asleep in the garden—under the old tree where they used to meet. She knelt beside him, brushing his hair from his eyes.
“You’re still my favorite chapter,” she whispered.
Jiru stirred, eyes half-open. “Dahlia… did I fall asleep in your story again?”
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They both smiled, but it was a bittersweet one.
Gerah, back in her room, opened the enchanted book again—only to find Chapter 14 already titled:
“The Betrayal of a Princess.”
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And under it, scratched messily in ink, was a second line:
“This was never your story to begin with.”
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She gasped as the candle beside her flickered violently—then went out.
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And in the silence, a whisper:
Side characters aren’t meant to fall in love with the prince.”
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