It seems She has Become the First Love of the Impenetrable, Iron-Hearted Male Protagonist

Fabian squinted at her, clearly skeptical. His hand rubbed his forehead, betraying his unease.

“That’s it?”

“Yes, that’s all.”

When Fabian cleared his throat, his aide, Philip, buried his head in a pile of documents. Judging by the atmosphere, Philip must have been the one who reported the rumor to Fabian.

“Then, you may leave.”

Fabian waved her off reluctantly, as though disappointed he couldn’t find any fault in her.

So, he’s been disapproving of Rosevelia this whole time and was hoping to catch her out, only to fail? Transparent, so transparent.

Muttering to herself, she headed toward the training grounds, where Simon approached hesitantly.

“Rosevelia, senior.”

“Yes, Simon? What is it?”

Simon hesitated, unable to ask outright. His face suggested he had a lot of questions.

He’s probably going to ask something pointless, like whether I’m getting married soon, just like Fabian.

“Is it true you’re leaving the knight order?”

“What? Who said that?”

“There’s a rumor you’re getting married and leaving the knights…”

“The rumor’s already grown that much?”

She pressed her temples as if soothing a headache. She couldn’t just brush this off as simple curiosity anymore.

If even Edwin thought Rinat’s gesture looked like a proposal, the other knights likely saw it the same way. For those unaware of the full story, the scene itself would have made for an amusing bit of gossip.

“…It’s not true, right?”

“It’s not true.”

She responded firmly. Simon, who had been visibly downcast, brightened at her words.

“I thought so. My goal is to join you in subjugating monsters. But when I heard that absurd and baseless rumor, I was so shocked…”

Tears glimmered in Simon’s eyes, as though he were overwhelmed with emotion.

Hey, Simon? I’m the one who feels like crying here.

“You must’ve been really startled. Let everyone know there’s no truth to it.”

She lightly patted Simon’s shoulder as he sniffled.

“To whom?”

“Whoever told you that ridiculous rumor, of course.”

Simon nodded as if he understood.

“Understood. I’ll take my leave now, senior.”

This rumor… I can’t just leave it alone, can I?

Her breathing was heavy, reaching the tip of her chin. As she steadied her breath, she looked down at the sweat-streaked handle of her wooden sword.

How long had she been doing this?

When she looked out the window, the sky was streaked with red. Before she entered the training grounds, the sun had been high, so she must have been training for hours. Yet, her body still felt heavy.

She had hoped that training, like when she sparred with Ian last time, would lighten her body and clear her tangled mind. But…

“Senior.”

Am I hearing things? Why does it sound like Ian’s voice?

Tilting her head, she picked up her wooden sword and walked toward the storage rack. It was then she heard the voice again.

“Senior?”

Even the sound of footsteps echoing across the training grounds couldn’t be a hallucination.

Finally, she looked toward the entrance and saw Ian approaching at a leisurely pace.

“It’s you, rookie. Have you been at the order all this time?”

“And what about you, senior?”

“I’ve been… caught up in intense training for the first time in a while…”

Trailing off, she glanced sideways at Ian. Judging by his expression, he didn’t entirely believe her.

“Is it because of what happened earlier?”

“Not just because of that.”

Her mind was tangled in various ways. The events of the original story and the deviations she had caused were all intertwined, leaving her confused.

She was supposed to walk her own path. But the uncertainty of what that path was filled her with fear.

Perhaps, deep down, she had been relying on the original story. She even wondered if it might have been better not to know the original at all.

It was natural to be unaware of what tomorrow held, and the future was always uncertain. Yet sometimes, it felt suffocating.

“Don’t worry about it.”

Startled, I looked up at Ian. The first thing that caught my eye was the color blue. His deep, abyss-like eyes shimmered faintly.

“About what?”

Even though I knew there was no way he could, it felt as if he’d seen right through my thoughts, and I found myself swallowing nervously.

“That the rumor about you leaving the knight order to get married is baseless. Everyone knows now.”

Ah, so that’s what he meant.

“That’s a relief.”

It seemed my efforts had paid off. I had enlisted Edwin and Lucas, who were well-connected within the knight order, to spread the truth about the rumor. I had even added that anyone curious about the details could come to the seventh training ground behind the dining hall. Unfortunately, no one had shown up.

“Senior.”

“Hm?”

“Would you like… to spar?”

I couldn’t help but smile faintly at his cautious question. At the very least, he seemed to have figured out that I wasn’t in the best mood.

“Sure.”

“How about using real swords?”

“You’ll regret it.”

“There’s no chance of that, so don’t worry.”

Ian drew his sword without a moment’s hesitation. His provocation made me pause briefly, but then I pulled my sword from its sheath as well.

As if he’d been waiting, he stepped forward and pressed the tip of his blade against mine.

It felt completely different from our sparring with wooden swords. Every clash of our sharp blades heightened my senses.

The tension gripped my heart tightly, and suddenly, the ending of the original story came to mind.

Did Rosevelia and Ian also face off like this in the original?

The thought flashed through my mind for a moment, and I unconsciously tightened my grip.

In that brief lapse, Ian’s sword clashed against mine and then flew out of his hand. The metallic clang echoed loudly through the training ground.

Ian blinked slowly, as if trying to process what had just happened, then raised a hand to his face.

Did he… get hurt?

Startled, I dropped my sword and hurried over to him.

“Are you okay? Let me see.”

“I’m fine…”

Ignoring his words, I pushed his hand aside and examined his cheek. It seemed his sword had grazed his face as it flew away.

It was a tiny scratch, but since the blade was sharp, a thin line of blood had seeped out.

“Rookie, you’re bleeding.”

When I reached for his face, Ian quickly leaned back. I didn’t expect him to pull away at that moment, and with a startled “Oh no,” I accidentally bumped my forehead against his chest.

Rubbing my forehead, I looked up to see Ian grimacing slightly, one eyebrow twitching in discomfort.

“Does it hurt?”

Just as I raised my hand to touch his cheek again, he grabbed my wrist firmly.

“Do you do this with just anyone?”

“What?”

“Or is it because I’m just an unmemorable junior that you’re so casual with me?”