The Rose Labyrinth

As a former modern commoner, she had never attended an emperor's birthday party or even associated with rich people before. Now, she was the only daughter of the marquess of Orephia and the last thing she lacked was money. It was such a huge change for her. It hadn't even been a day since she arrived inside the novel, it was a wonder how she was able to adapt so quickly; the medieval setting, the culture, the fashion, the armoured guards that were present… and the Emperor who had appeared in the ballroom. Faenia didn't imagine that the Emperor would look so… scary. His cold eyes, his expressionless face and his confident posture gave out an intimidating aura.

"Today is my birthday and I want to thank you all for coming and congratulating me. I hope that everyone can relax and enjoy the evening. Now, I do not want to take too much time on this so I will have to end it here."

Everyone clapped and began to socialise with each other. Faenia, on the other hand, was a little speechless. She couldn't believe the speech of the emperor to be so lacking and short. That emperor was definitely not a talker, that she was sure of. Because of the novel being sloppy, she couldn't be certain whether the king was trustworthy. It didn't matter yet, she would take it slow for now.

"Ah, Lord and Lady Orephia. It's nice to see you two!"

The voice caught the attention of Faenia. She looked at the rather short man and watched her parents greet back.

"Oh my, Lord Dailehm, how's your daughter, Missa?"

Lord Dailehm laughed, "Thank you for asking, Lady Orephia. My little Missa feels much better now. It was only a mild fever."

Lady Orephia nodded and said, "That's good to hear."

Lord Dailehm seemed like a kind and honest man, Faenia thought. She recognized the viscount name from the novel. Although the viscount household wasn't mentioned a lot, she knew that they were close with her family from Faenia's memories. Lord Dailehm had visited them a few times before. As if Lord Dailehm felt her staring at him, he looked down and smiled.

"I see that Lady Faenia Lutatia Roscius has grown a lot since I saw you."

Faenia greeted with a small curtsy, "Lord Dailehm, it is nice to see you. You look healthier than the last time."

A little taken aback, Lord Dailehm replied, "Yes, thank you. Lady Faenia has indeed grown." He looked at her confused face and chuckled, "Last time, you were so quiet and shy. Isn't that so, Lady Orephia?"

Her mother smiled warmly. "Yes, my little Fae has grown so much!"

Both of them began to chatter non-stop about their daughters and drowned in their little world. Faenia was troubled, she didn't know if she should join the conversation or just listen by the side. Her father noticed her distress and a small smile appeared on his face. He placed his hand on her shoulder, which had her raise her head at him.

"Little Fae, the adult talk can be boring for you, you can go and look around on your own if you want to. Just don't go far."

Faenia was in a daze, she silently contemplated it. As much as she would like to not stay with her parents and listen to them talk, it would limit her chance to accidentally bump into the crown prince. But to listen to the chatter all evening and greet each and every person they interact with would be quite exhausting. It was better if she used this opportunity to secretly explore the palace, especially now that she was merely a child.

For the sake of knowing the palace better to secure her future, she decided to sacrifice herself to meet any member of the imperial family she might encounter while exploring.

Faenia nodded happily at her father and waved her hand, to which her father waved back at her—even though he didn't know what the gesture meant.

'Exploring the palace, so exciting…' Faenia couldn't help but think.

She never imagined she would ever enter a palace, it was insane. Everything was extravagant and shiny. Above all, the paintings on the walls were something she couldn't stop taking her eyes off. At some point, she got herself completely mesmerised by the art and got lost. She looked right, left, and even swirled her little body. All she could see were walls everywhere.

"Eh…? Huh?" Her eyes became so big they could pop out any time, and she whisper-shouted upon realisation, "Fuck, I'm lost?!"

She bit her bottom lip in frustration. 'How could I get lost?! I am not a child, or am I? Am I?!' She walked back and forth in panic. 'Okay, okay, everything is fine. It's the palace, someone will eventually find me, or I can just walk until I find the exit…' She reasoned with herself and successfully calmed down.

Faenia nodded in determination to get back to her parents. The idea of getting to know the palace more has failed the moment she didn't pay attention anymore. She took a mental note to not get lost again in the future. She walked, walked, and walked until she felt like collapsing. Although she was able to get outside, she was now somewhere in a garden full of roses. To be more specific, she noticed she had entered the rose labyrinth.

'How big can this be?!' She screamed mentally in frustration.

The rose labyrinth belonged to the late empress dowager, it was her most beloved place. Ever since her passing, no one frequently came there and it wasn't because it was forbidden, it was just that no one had the guts unless they were invited by a member of the imperial family. But particularly because if they didn't go with an imperial, they might get lost and be unable to get out of it before they collapse from starvation. The novel stated that the rose labyrinth was large enough for the possibility, and might even result in death. Faenia who had gotten herself in trouble shuddered in horror.

Obviously, the late empress dowager was adventurous and had a knack for solving puzzles, or she was just simply sadistic. Faenia wasn't sure since it didn't say anything about it in the novel. But one thing was certain—the crown prince liked to hang out there whenever he wanted to be alone. It was also the very place where the female lead encountered him, the male lead.

Faenia stopped in her tracks and took a deep breath. Closing her eyes, she slowly relaxed. She listened to her surroundings. Silence. It was silent, she couldn't hear anything but her own beating heart. How unfortunate, she thought. She had never liked silence, in fact, she hated it.

But then, something happened. She heard a rustle and immediately opened her eyes. From a bush corner in front of her, a figure came out. It was a boy taller than her. Because it wasn't dark and the sun hadn't gone down yet, she could see his features clearly. His hair was golden, his eyes were blue and his face… Faenia subconsciously made a disgusted face.

'That is definitely the horny piece of shit from the novel… and he saw me. Great.'

He could see the clear disgust on the girl's face and he became dumbfounded. No one at her age had ever shown that kind of expression to him. But more importantly…

His blue eyes sharpened and he spoke vigilantly, "Name yourself. What are you doing here?"

At an instant, Faenia changed her expression to panic. She flinched but hurriedly greeted with a curtsy, "Excuse my manners... I'm Faenia Lutatia Roscius. And uhm… I'm lost, sire."

The boy raised an eyebrow. "I see. Leave."