The familiar dense forest.
The familiar hunter.
Only this time, the one being aimed at by the hunting rifle was the girl called “Prince Charming.”
She twisted her lips, staring warily at the man before her.
“Tch… I still miscalculated…”
She never imagined the Queen would send a hunter to kill her.
Probably because of the Magic Mirror’s answer…
It had changed from Snow White to her, right?
Wait… Doesn’t that mean…
Even the Magic Mirror acknowledged… that I’m a more beautiful woman than the Queen… than Snow White?
For some reason, upon learning this, the Prince’s heart felt a surge of joy and secret delight.
“You are?”
The young man lowered his rifle barrel, staring with slight surprise at the golden-haired girl before him.
“You seem quite surprised… sir?”
The girl dressed as a prince sneered coldly, actively baring her chest toward the young man.
“What? Not going to take this young lady’s life?”
“How is this possible…? Why is the assassination target different from before… Why did it change?”
What answered her was the young man’s hesitation.
“Wait…”
She was the first to notice something off.
“What do you mean by ‘change’?”
“Are you also a Reincarnator?”
Summoning her courage, she boldly asked the man before her.
“I am.”
After a long silence, the man finally answered.
“I don’t know why, but I’m trapped in the past.”
“Whether I let the princess go or kill her… I can’t seem to escape this cycle.”
“I see…”
Seeing that the hunter had lowered his guard, the girl also took the initiative to walk toward him.
“And who are you? Why are you trapped in this cycle?”
“I… I am Prince Charming…”
Even though it was her own name, saying it now felt incredibly embarrassing.
“Prince Charming…? You… How?”
The hunter had heard this name in his past life.
He had saved the sleeping princess.
But he also knew very well—Prince Charming should have been a man.
“The princess didn’t love me, so the True Love Spell couldn’t be broken.”
“In countless cycles before, no matter what I did, nothing changed—and eventually, it always led inevitably to the cycle restarting.”
The prince let out a weary sigh.
“But this time… there’s a change.”
“As you can see… Though I’m still called Prince Charming…”
“In this life… I’m a woman.”
Then, she stared nervously at the young man before her.
What would he think of me?
A freak?
A pervert?
Or a monster?
“That’s good.”
“Huh?”
Unexpectedly, the hunter didn’t react strongly.
He simply nodded calmly.
“A new change might mean there’s a way to break the cycle… How is that not good?”
“Mm…”
“I suppose that’s true.”
The girl was very surprised and could only weakly agree.
“Should we work together?”
Then, the hunter took the initiative to extend his right hand, clad in a leather glove.
“Work together…?”
The girl was clearly startled by the man’s sudden action, leaning back slightly—adorably so.
“Yes, together.”
“Maybe if we join forces, we can completely break this cycle.”
—
‘This plot… feels kind of familiar…’
Snapping back from the screen, Finn wiped the sweat from his forehead…
Turning into a girl, cooperating, taking the initiative to extend a hand…
How did it feel like someone had been spying on his and Elena’s daily life?
As if Elena had taken on the role of Prince Charming, he couldn’t help but unconsciously put himself in the hunter’s perspective.
‘Damn, now I really feel like I’m the male lead of some anime.’
(Narrator: And so, the hunter and the prince hid in the forest, because they knew someone would not let things go, and someone would come looking for them.)
(They waited a long, long time. During this process, they lived together, went hunting together, and even gathered to chat to pass the time—but neither minded, because they both knew they shared a common goal.)
(Finally, one day, the wooden door of their hideout was knocked on.)
“This kind, gentle young lady~”
Prince Charming opened the door, greeted by an old woman with a kind face.
“Would you like to eat an apple?”
The old woman didn’t receive the golden-haired girl’s reply.
She didn’t hear her cheerfully say, “Okay.”
“Bang—”
What answered her was the hunter’s rifle, which had been lying in ambush in the shadows for a long time.
(And just like that, the Queen died!)
“H-Hunter…”
“Do you think… this cycle will end?”
The golden-haired girl nervously tugged at the hunter’s sleeve.
“Well—”
“Won’t we find out after we sleep?”
The hunter replied quite freely.
(But deep down, the hunter and the prince had no confidence. They didn’t know if, after closing their eyes today, they would be separated forever, and if tomorrow would bring another cold, merciless, lonely cycle.)
‘No… It can’t be what I think it is, right?’
Finn felt he had vaguely guessed the plot.
“Wow! Wake up!”
The hunter was shaken awake in a daze.
“Look!”
The golden-haired girl excitedly pointed at the rising sun outside the window, then twirled around.
“Great! We’re both fine!”
She had already forgotten aristocratic etiquette, warmly embracing the man who had shared her hardships.
“But… Why did the cycle end?”
The hunter calmly scratched his head.
“Shouldn’t the True Love Spell have been broken?”
“Wah, wah wah—”
At some point, the girl’s laughter gradually turned into sobs.
“Huh…? Why are you crying?”
“You迟钝 fool!”
She laughed and scolded.
Then, large teardrops began streaming freely down her cheeks.
“The target of the True Love Curse… was always the most beautiful woman in the world, as recognized by the Magic Mirror…”
The hunter opened his mouth in shock.
Did that mean…?
“Yes… I only understand now…”
The girl wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes, trying to compose herself as gracefully as possible.
“It turns out I fell in love with you long ago.”
—
Inside the movie theater, passionate applause, whistles, and cheers had already erupted.
“It turns out… I fell in love with you long ago…”
Elena repeated this line that touched her heart, savoring it in her mouth.
So… So even a “special” woman like Prince Charming… could find happiness?
Because she had already put herself into Prince Charming’s perspective midway through the movie, Elena unconsciously connected it to her own experiences.
She too had once been proud and confident, had fallen into the abyss of confusion, and had endured the curse of loneliness.
‘Feels… kind of similar…’
Life had once given her happiness—the happiness of family, called kinship.
But life also gave her a test: besides the care of family, where else could she seek happiness?
After that, her family’s care for her gradually diminished, until the day she discovered that disheartening truth.
She had to answer that question.
At the time, Elena was clearly at a loss when faced with these blows, almost utterly defeated.
It wasn’t until later, after Finn comforted her for a long time, that she slowly recovered.
But she was still confused, because she had no idea what the answer was.
Now, this film told her clearly:
Take the initiative to seek love—to pursue that ethereal, lofty, previously unknown emotion called love—might also be a solution to this problem.
‘So… if I, with a similar experience…’
‘Could I also meet my true love in the future?’
The silver-haired girl nervously played with her hair.
If she were fortunate enough to encounter her love in the future…
What would it be like?
How should she respond…?
Images of her beloved began to form in her mind:
First of all, as her partner, character must be the top priority…
He should be kind, with a strong moral compass…
He should be gentle, polite, and know how to maintain boundaries.
But he mustn’t lack humor in his speech—that would be too rigid…
He’d better be proficient in martial arts too…
Otherwise, word would spread that he couldn’t even beat his wife… how embarrassing would that be?
He would be a talented young man, and they would surely share many romantic, unforgettable moments together…
‘Wait…’
‘The image of my ideal partner in my mind… Why is it a man?’
She was slightly startled that her ideal partner wasn’t a woman.
But Elena didn’t dwell on it too much.
‘Probably because I don’t know much about women, so I can’t imagine it right now…’
Then, Miss Elena continued to fantasize:
After that, the bond between them would grow deeper through their daily interactions…
That young man would finally be unable to hold back, deciding to take the initiative to confess his feelings to Elena…
On some future day—perhaps a sunny, vibrant morning, or a romantic, fate-filled dusk…
The young man would have already prepared a carefully planned confession…
That ideal beloved would kneel on one knee before her, pouring out his love to her.
And then…
“Wah—”
As if she had thought of something improper, Elena suddenly covered her eyes.
Under the atmosphere of the theater, her head began to grow hot.
Perhaps bewitched, her right hand unconsciously reached out and grasped Finn’s hand, which was resting on the armrest beside her.
“What… What’s wrong?”
Although he asked, Finn knew very well that little Elena must have been moved by the plot.
Not to mention… He was actually a bit moved too?
A prince abandoned by his old love, eventually sinking into depression, no longer able to love…
A hunter bound by the master-servant relationship, facing the moral dilemma of either obeying the order to kill or defying it to let the target go…
Two people who endured cycles, ultimately saving each other and achieving a righteous union…
It actually felt surprisingly sacred.
“N-Nothing.”
In the dim lighting of the theater, Elena’s flushed face was well hidden.
“It’s just that…”
“It’s just that… it’s really wonderful when lovers finally get together.”
What a forced change of subject.
“Yeah… The prince who went through countless hardships finally found his true love… It really wasn’t easy…”
Finn responded briefly, then continued to watch the movements on the screen.
…
“Phew—”
Seeing that the young man seemed not to have noticed her recent abnormality, the silver-haired girl breathed a slight sigh of relief.
Confirming she was hidden in the shadows, she gently touched her cheek with a trembling left hand.
So hot.
But she hid it well, not letting her thoughts show on her face.
What she had spoken out loud was about the film’s content, but what was in her heart must never let Finn know.
These thoughts were so shocking that she couldn’t even allow herself to replay them in her mind:
She had just imagined a man—a young man with a blurry figure—kneeling on one knee before her.
That man, with deep emotion, said to her: “It turns out I fell in love with you long ago.”
Just as she was about to approach that blurry figure with curiosity, the young man’s face grew clearer and clearer.
That man had a tall, upright posture and handsome features, and the confidence in his every move was no less than that of the former Elian.
But somehow…
She realized that man’s face was actually very familiar to her.
That man…
Was her good friend, her good brother.
The image of her so-called beloved was gradually overlapping with a figure she knew well.
That ideal beloved…
Why did it have to be…
Finn?