The Ice Crown Prince and the Jade Maiden

This was the world of the web novel The Ice Crown Prince and the Jade Maiden.

The Ice Crown Prince and the Jade Maiden was a classic romance novel set in the Kingdom of Melba, centered around the condemnation of a villainess. Updated daily in small segments at a fixed time, it had been a little source of joy during her morning commute in her past life.

The heroine was Sylphy. The daughter of the baronial House Lumiere, she had pale blonde hair and jade-colored eyes. She had enrolled in the academy as a scholarship student, where she met Felix, popularly known as the "Ice Prince," on the student council.

Normally, the gap in social status between a baron's daughter and the prince of a nation was so vast they wouldn't have even exchanged words.

However, as a scholarship student, Sylphy was required to join the student council. As she spent time working alongside the council president, Felix, the distance between them gradually closed.

The prince, always calm and collected, gradually began to show his emotions only in Sylphy's presence.

But there was someone who didn't appreciate this.

And that was Aurelia.

The "Ice Prince" had never once smiled at Aurelia. Yet, he reserved the smile he would never show her for Sylphy alone. Aurelia had viewed Sylphy as an enemy for that very reason.

Spoiled, selfish, and arrogant, Aurelia was a duke's daughter whom no one dared oppose. She used others to repeatedly harass Sylphy.

And finally, she tried to push Sylphy down the stairs.

Felix, who had received numerous reports of the harassment against Sylphy, was on his guard against Aurelia. However, he couldn't accuse a duke's daughter without proof. To obtain solid evidence, he refrained from taking open action and instead ordered his guard, Dylan, to protect Sylphy.

Thanks to that, Dylan was on the scene to catch Sylphy, leaving her completely unharmed.

Even so, Felix did not forgive Aurelia. He declared their engagement annulled right then and there and sentenced her to exile from the country.

Afterward, Felix and Sylphy confessed their feelings to each other and became a couple.

It was your typical story of a villainess.

"That was way too close..."

Recalling it like this made her painfully realize just how close of a call it had been.

If she hadn't reached out to Sylphy on instinct, Aurelia would have been exiled by now.

Actually, no.

It was hard to believe a duke's daughter who had been raised to be completely selfish could survive being suddenly thrown out into the world alone. It was highly doubtful she would have even made it across the border.

Honestly, that's just like the author.

Aurelia couldn't help but chuckle.

She had started reading The Ice Crown Prince and the Jade Maiden in the first place because it was a new work by her favorite author. While she didn't know what kind of day job they had, the author's stories always featured an excessive amount of descriptions of fruit and sweets. It felt like they were savoring a tiny luxury at the end of a hard workday.

Most likely, that author was also a former corporate slave. Across their various works, she could sense the vibe of someone who, like Aurelia's past self, spent their days chased by overtime. Feeling a sense of kinship, she had kept reading their new releases whenever they came out.

On that day, at that exact moment, the trigger for Aurelia remembering her past life had been the distinctive color of Sylphy's eyes.

Shine Muscat green.

It was an expression that the author had used multiple times in the story. That was how they described Sylphy's jade eyes when they caught the light.

That day, bathed in the light streaming through the window, Sylphy's eyes had shone an unbelievably vibrant, juicy green.

Ah... This is the color of that juicy Shine Muscat flesh, the one that cost several thousand yen a bunch, my reward for working hard...!

What had vividly flashed back into her mind was the Shine Muscat from her past life.

It was her once-a-year treat fruit. There was no way she could just stand by and let it fall down the stairs.

Rather than reaching out with the intention of saving Sylphy, she had actually extended her hand out of a desperate desire not to waste a premium fruit.

Before any thought of her own mortal danger, the first thing that had crossed her mind was... Shine Muscats.

Fruit over my own life. Well... I suppose having such a ruthless side is fitting for a villainess.

It was a fact that Aurelia had viewed Sylphy as an enemy. Up until now, Aurelia had subjected Sylphy to numerous petty, spiteful harassments. She had never cared what others thought of her before, but now she understood. The look Felix had given Aurelia lately had been laced with utter contempt.

Just as depicted in The Ice Crown Prince and the Jade Maiden, Felix had undoubtedly been wishing to break his engagement with Aurelia all along.

If anything, it was impressive he had endured it for so long. Had it not been for the political ties of an engagement backed by the duke's house, he would have abandoned her long ago.

"Well, if I suggest calling off the engagement, it'll be exactly what Felix-sama wanted anyway."

Remembering her past life didn't mean her memories as Aurelia had vanished. When she thought of Felix-sama rejoicing at the end of their engagement, her chest throbbed with a sharp pain.

Felix-sama...

She felt a momentary pang of sadness, but quickly shook it off.

In The Ice Crown Prince and the Jade Maiden, Felix had condemned Aurelia on the spot.

Perhaps he had been waiting for that opportunity all along.

That's dangerous... Even if the engagement is successfully called off, I can't let my guard down until Felix-sama and Sylphy are together.

If she continued to see Felix and Sylphy acting all lovey-dovey at school, there was no guarantee her jealousy wouldn't flare up again. Even if she could remain calm now, there was no telling how her heart might waver if she kept watching the two of them.

Maybe I should go live in our territory under the pretext of recuperating?

If she distanced herself from the source of danger, she wouldn't have her emotions stirred up by them.

Although Aurelia had many sycophants at school, not a single person had reached out to help her when she was condemned in The Ice Crown Prince and the Jade Maiden. Aurelia was probably the only one who believed everyone actually adored her.

Despite always being surrounded by a crowd, Aurelia didn't have a single person she could call a friend.

Well... to be fair, even looking at her now, Aurelia really was quite a piece of work.

Just as she let out a sigh, there was a knock on the door. It seemed Nina had called her parents.

"Father, Mother. I have something to discuss... or rather, a request to make."

Feeling a bit nervous, Aurelia asked her parents to call off her engagement to Felix and requested to recuperate in their territory.

Naturally, her engagement to Felix carried political significance. Even with a father who doted on his daughter to a fault, she hadn't expected him to agree so easily.

But...

"I understand. If that is what you wish, Aurelia, I will begin the arrangements immediately."

"There is no need for you to suffer, dear."

Her parents readily agreed to Aurelia's request without hesitation.

It seemed they valued Aurelia's feelings far more than an engagement to a prince. Her father immediately departed for the royal palace to formally request the dissolution of the engagement.

According to her father after he returned from the palace, Felix hadn't even batted an eye, simply nodding and saying, "Understood."

It was exactly as she had expected, yet it still drove home just how much Felix had wanted to get out of this engagement.

Despite Aurelia's side being the one to initiate the break, Felix's incredibly casual acceptance had infuriated her father.

"I am withdrawing our backing of First Prince Felix!"

He had declared it flat-out the moment he got back. But even hearing that, Aurelia had no intention of stopping her father.

It had already been decided that the procedures to dissolve the engagement would move forward smoothly. Soon, she and Felix would be strangers. She held no grudge against Felix, but she had no reason to lift a finger for his sake anymore either.

It's not like whoever becomes king is going to change my life anyway.

Planning to seclude herself in the family territory from now on, Aurelia had no intention of ever showing her face to Felix again.

Losing the backing of the House of Rosenberg wouldn't destabilize Felix's position as the first prince. There surely wouldn't be any problems.

Goodbye, Felix-sama.

Aurelia quietly whispered a farewell to him in her heart.

She still felt a tiny, lingering attachment. Even so, she definitely felt a sense of relief. This loneliness, too, would surely fade with time.