Oh My, I Messed Up the Story

"Mariela, did you enjoy your time with Catherine today?" Franz asked once he was seated across from his wife at the long table and the first course—some sort of fancy quail soup—was served.

Her eyes lit up. "Oh yes, Katie is wonderful company."

He scrutinized me and I scrutinized him right back. This was the first good look I had gotten at the second prince.

His looks were more in line with Sigmund's than they were with Al's. He had light brown hair tied back with a strip of leather and his hazel eyes were sharp and intelligent.

"She certainly is," Al said in a tone tinged with sourness.

Someone was still upset that Mariela had taken some of my time away from him. So needy!

"You prefer Katie to Catherine?" Franz inquired.

"Yes, I do. Please feel free to call me Katie as well."

The next person that called me Catherine might just make me lose my mind. Madame Chalaise hit me with a 'Lady Catherine' every five minutes when I was under her charge and I hated it. I had lost every part of my identity but my nickname in this world. It was all I had left.

"I understand you are from the western region? What is it like there?"

So polite small talk was this guy's game. Sigmund hadn't acknowledged me at all since I had turned down his henchman so I latched onto the meager conversation gratefully.

"It is a beautiful area surrounded by forests and fields. I spent many hours galloping across the countryside on my horse. The capital has its own kind of beauty though. I enjoy looking out at the ocean."

Al smiled and pitched into the conversation. "She is rather knowledgeable about the ocean for someone who only saw it for the first time a couple of months ago."

I kicked him under the table. Now was not the time to bring that up.

"Is that so?"

My idiot fiancé did not take the hint. "Yes, she is well read about ocean creatures."

Sigmund finally spoke up and my blood ran cold. "From what I understand, Katie is well-read on a wide variety of subjects."

"You flatter me," I said demurely though I was screaming on the inside.

What exactly had that duke told him about me? I would kill to know.

"My friend Charles has spoken most highly of you. I do hope you will bless the monarchy with your talents."

A blatant invitation to join his side. I wouldn't do it. Not then and certainly not now. If I was going to fix the mess I made, I needed to side with Franz.

"I shall endeavor to do my best," I said slyly, not indicating which part of the monarchy I would be helping.

He took it as willingness to work with him. "Excellent. I look forward to your contributions."

Al's expression grew darker and darker throughout the meal. I could hardly continue engaging in small talk as the rest of the courses were served because of the waves of angst rolling off of him.

Did he honestly think I would take his archenemy's side? What exactly did he take me for?

After dinner we excused ourselves and glumly trudged back to Al's suite. The sitting room felt particularly stifling because of his bad mood.

"I hope you know I only said that to get Sigmund off my back," I stated simply. I couldn't let the misunderstanding continue or I was in for a long evening.

He looked up at me hopefully. "Really?"

Are you stupid?!

"Haven't I already told you I want nothing to do with him? I'd much rather put my political talents to use elsewhere."

"I forgot, you mean to help Franz." His mood dampened yet again. "Why are you so keen on getting involved anyway? Shouldn't we be thinking about an escape plan?"

I had no real answer for him since he wouldn't understand my desire to get the plot of this novel back on track.

Instead, I told him about what Mariela had said regarding Shibatsu and how I thought it would be a good place to go. I didn't mention that I fully intended to leave him behind once he fell in love with Marcy.

Al was skeptical. "I don't know much about Shibatsu. Why do you want to go there of all places? Wouldn't we stand out too much since we don't have silver hair or purple eyes?"

"There have to be at least some immigrants there," I reasoned.

I couldn't tell him that it seemed like the only place in this novel world that had the slightest opportunity for women to advance.

"It sounds nice and it's across the sea so I doubt we would be followed there."

"We still need a plan to actually get out of here. Having a destination means nothing if we don't have a way to reach it. Security is going to be tight until after the wedding…"

Suddenly Al grew excited. "That's it! There ought to be at least an ambassador from Shibatsu at the wedding as a show of goodwill, right? What if we find a way to sneak aboard his ship?"

I shot this down on the spot. Not only would it not work with my personal plans, it was a bad idea overall.

"No, if we disappeared right after the wedding the first place they would look is with whoever was leaving."

This did not deter him. He gained enthusiasm with every word.

"That's true but at the very least we can talk to him about trade and figure out when the next ship is coming. By then the security should lessen and we can stow away unnoticed."

Not a bad plan. Unfortunately for me, this meant I had to either go through with the wedding personally or magically find a way to make Al and Marcy get married in the next couple of months.

If a wedding didn't happen, I had no way of contacting anyone from Shibatsu about their travel schedules. I really didn't want to take Al with me.

I had an obligation to this novel to make him fall in love with Marcy and help his brother reform the laws. All I could do for now was pretend to go along with him while I figured something else out.