LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 8: The heroin
"Hey! You peasants are not allowed in here,"
the Two palace guard said to Ivy as she tried entering the castle to attend the ball.
They referred to Ivy as a peasant because she wasn't dressed in all the glamor like the royalties and ladies from powerful clans. To them, Ivy was just a peasant trying to sneak into a royal party in disguise.
"And who are you calling a peasant? I'm no peasant!"
Ivy defended herself, pointing with a slight frown, her hand resting on her waist.
Ivy realized the guards were looking down on her because of her outfit. She glanced down and examined her dress, thinking there was nothing wrong with it.
She had chosen this simple gown, which looked like an ordinary dinner dress. In reality, the other clothes in Ivy's closet were all Victorian-style dresses, which she couldn't bear to wear. She preferred her castle pants and T-shirts. But now, since it was an official royal party, she needed to wear a dress. Luckily, she found this one—the truth being, the dress actually belonged to the daughter of the nanny who worked in the castle.
"Host, teach this man a lesson. Disgrace him! Show him that you are the Duke's wife,"
the system snapped in defense of Ivy. Its body, invisible to the guards, flexed its short hands as if ready to watch a fight break out. Clearly, it wasn't here for the mission.
"I'm the Duke's wife. You better let me in because you don't want to know what my husband might do to you!"
Ivy declared, fueled by the system's fiery words. Even though she knew she looked ridiculous, there was no turning back now.
"Yes, you heard her right! She's the Duke's wife—the wife of my master!"
The hedgehog maid, who had been standing obediently beside Ivy, chimed in proudly.
The guards laughed at the maid's words. One of them said mockingly,
"Pfft, in your dreams, being the Duke's wife. And even if you are, who doesn't know about the Duke's stupid wife who has no self-respect? Isn't that right, Tony?"
He turned to his fellow guard, who was named Tony.
Tony laughed, pointing mockingly, and added,
"Ha, yes! The stupid wife of the Duke who's head over heels for the crown prince. Wasn't it at the last ball when she confessed her love to the crown prince?"
Another guard laughed in agreement, pointing at Ivy.
"Ha, yes!"
Ivy felt her anger boil as their mockery continued. Her body was ready to move and attack, defending herself from their insults, even though she knew she wasn't the original person they were talking about.
The voice in her heart echoed to the system, reflecting her foul mood.
"System, I'm going to break their heads off!"
The system, ever the master of destruction, responded with an overly excited tone,
"Break their heads off, Host!"
Before Ivy could act, Lady Seraphina's sophisticated voice rang out, interrupting the exchange.
"Impudent servants, can't you recognize the Duke's wife?"
The guards immediately kneeled when they realized it was Lady Seraphina who had spoken. Their voices trembled as they greeted her,
"Lady Seraphina."
Seraphina, with her cool blue hair, sneered as she looked down at the guards. She turned to her personal guard and ordered,
"Guards, take your fellows and teach them how not to mess with members of the royal family."
The guards beside Lady Seraphina quickly complied, dragging the offending guards away. However, there was resistance as they struggled. In the chaos, their shape-shifting forms were exposed—the guards turned out to be pig shape-shifters.
Once the chaos ended and the guards were gone, Lady Seraphina turned to Ivy. Her cold expression instantly softened.
"Ah, if it isn't Ivy Everhart… Nice to see you," she said, giving Ivy a once-over from head to toe.
Ivy forced a smile onto her face as she greeted back, "Nice to see you too, Lady Seraphina."
Her politeness was hollow; deep down, Ivy knew the kind of person Seraphina truly was. She could tell that Seraphina was already mocking her in her heart.
After all, cannon fodder always had bad blood with their enemies.
"Host, she's looking down on you," the system chimed, trying to provoke Ivy.
"I know that, Birdy! I'm not blind—I can see it clearly!" Ivy retorted internally, her annoyance showing as a slight frown in her heart.
Seraphina could mock her all she wanted, but as long as she didn't do it openly, Ivy would remain as calm as a lotus.
"Well, since you're here for the party, you may come along," Seraphina said, turning towards the gathering. Her face shifted into an unreadable expression as she moved where no one could see her.
Ivy, unbothered, followed Seraphina as instructed. However, her steps faltered when the system's voice interrupted her thoughts.
"Host, she's calling you like a dog, and you're going with her? Ew."
Ivy frowned, the thought irritating her. She scolded the system. "Shut up, Birdy, or I'll wipe your ass!"
The system, unfazed, whistled as it pretended to clean itself before darting off, evading Ivy's wrath.
At the party where all the noble ladies had gathered, Lady Seraphina arrived with Ivy in tow.
"Everyone, this is Ivy Everhart, the name that has been trending across the kingdom. The hot search is all about her," Lady Seraphina announced.
A few noble ladies giggled in secret at her words.
"Yes, I know, right? On my FYP, it's all her!"
"Well, welcome, Ivy. Happy to see you here," the ladies chimed, though in their hearts, they were simply enjoying the spectacle.
Ivy furrowed her brows. For a moment, she wished she hadn't read the book, because now everything felt like she could zoom into everyone's hearts. Every expression on their faces revealed what they were truly thinking.
"Thanks. I know you're totally not happy to see me here. And Birdy, I thought this was a fantasy book," Ivy muttered in her heart, wishing she could say those exact words aloud, but instead, she could only share them with the system.
The system skipped around and brought out a long scroll, reading off its knowledge.
"Yes, Host, it's still a fantasy book, but the mage here has created something like a scrying mirror. It works just like how humans use their devices down there on Earth. It's the same concept!"
Ivy rolled her eyes.
"I see. So, am I like a celebrity now?"
"Yes, but in a bad way, Host," the system chirped, its voice sounding excited, even though the situation wasn't exactly cheerful.
"I understand," Ivy sighed, her face turning serious. She became so lost in her thoughts that she didn't notice Lady Seraphina walking ahead of her. Seraphina's voice snapped her out of her reverie.
"Someone seems to be lost in their thoughts, but don't worry. I'll fix that by getting us into some little fun game."
Ivy's face was full of question marks, but the other ladies reacted differently. Their faces sparkled with false enthusiasm.
"What fun game?" Ivy couldn't help but ask.
Lady Seraphina smirked at Ivy and simply replied, "Don't worry, Ivy. I know you'll enjoy it."
Walking to the center of the hall, Seraphina continued, "Ladies, we are all princesses here, aren't we? To continue with our tradition, we shall ride the mystical cheval! Why is it a competition? Because we all know that the mystical cheval cannot be tamed without immense magical power. That's why we've all gathered here."
She paused dramatically before adding, "The one who rides the mystical cheval for more than an hour will be the winner of this competition and will be crowned the one with the most controllable magical powers."
The noble ladies cheered after Seraphina's announcement, murmuring excitedly among themselves.
"Yes, let's do this!"
"I can't wait! I'll be the most powerful. My plant magic will outshine everyone else's."
"No, mine will!"
"So, what do you say, Duchess Ivy?" Lady Seraphina asked as she appeared once again before Ivy, who was still processing whatever schemes Seraphina might have in mind.
"I say yes, Seraphina. I'm in," Ivy replied.
She agreed to join, knowing this was part of her mission. Missing such an important plot event wasn't an option.
"Good. Then let the competition begin," Seraphina said with a smile, picking up her dress as she walked toward the teleportation grand.
The other noble ladies followed, each stepping into the teleportation grand. Ivy had no choice but to follow them.
When she arrived, she saw a silver cheval. Ivy, assuming it was just a normal horse, reached out and gently petted its head. To her surprise, the cheval bowed to her, and she easily climbed onto its back.
Unlike the others, Ivy rode the cheval as if it were an ordinary horse, applying no magic. Yet it was still the fastest among all the chevals the noble ladies were riding.
In the end, Ivy remained atop her cheval, victorious, while the others gave up midway, exhausted and defeated before the time was up.
Lady Seraphina, dismounting her cheval with clear displeasure on her face, announced begrudgingly:
"And the winner of this race is Ivy."
_________
Ivy simply smiled like an idiot at Lady Seraphina after receiving her congratulations. She thought the mission was complete—until a voice spoke behind her.
"Wow, Duchess, you're great at this."
For some reason, the voice sounded familiar. Turning to confirm her suspicion, Ivy's blood ran cold.
It was the heroine of the book: Goldy Smith.
Ivy's eye twitched involuntarily, but she forced herself to say, "Thank you."
She planned to escape from the heroine, but before she could, Goldy stopped her, smiling sweetly.
"How about we go for a round with me?"
A round with the heroine?
That was absolutely something Ivy wanted to avoid. Still, she forced a smile and said, "Sure thing. If you wish, Goldy."
With that, the heroine mounted a purple cheval, throwing Ivy a smug look and urging her to follow. Ivy, her fake smile plastered on her face, reluctantly climbed back onto her silver cheval. The race began.
Though the heroine's powers weren't detailed in the book, Ivy could see purple magic emanating from Goldy as she controlled her cheval. In contrast, Ivy used her wind magic—an unassuming grey hue—to guide hers.
But something felt off. Her powers weren't gone, but she couldn't control them. Even treating the cheval like a normal horse didn't work anymore.
Voices from the crowd echoed in Ivy's ears, intensifying her unease.
"Wow, enemies meet on the field!"
"Do you think they'll pull each other's hair?"
"Wait, we'll see soon enough!"
______
"You've got to be fast, you know," the heroine said to Ivy, her expression mocking despite the sweet, innocent smile on her face.
Goldy's words cemented her victory as the race ended, with her taking first place.
Goldy walked toward Ivy with her arms crossed and said, "And I'm the winner. I'm always the winner."
Her words carried an edge of threat, even though they were delivered in a cheerful tone.
"Yes, you're the winner, and I'm happy for you. Excuse me, then," Ivy replied indifferently, as if she didn't care about losing. All she wanted was to get out of there, so she walked away.
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In a dark garden within the palace, where she had somehow ended up, Ivy groaned, pulling at her hair.
"That was a total disaster," she muttered.
"Host, I don't know what happened. I don't understand," the system appeared before her, its tone no longer enthusiastic and instead filled with confusion.
"Yes, Birdy, I don't understand either. In her presence, I felt powerless. All of a sudden, I couldn't control my arms, my feet—the magic inside me—I couldn't push it out," Ivy said, her voice dejected. What had happened to her was anything but not normal.
"System, is this the classic scene where the cannon fodder faces off with the heroine and is destined to lose?"
She hugged the system, voicing her suspicions.
"Yes, it is, Host. It is… You've been here for quite a while, Host. I think we should leave," the system observed, checking the time.
"Yes, but I still have some more embarrassment to face at the party," Ivy responded.
Before she could say anything else, the system disappeared, as it often did. She didn't understand why it loved doing that.
With her mood at an all-time low, Ivy turned around, intending to return to the party. However, she suddenly collided with someone.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to—" she began to apologize but froze mid-sentence as her eyes landed on the person before her.
"Crown Prince?" she uttered,her voice barely above whisper.