How to survive in the Romance Fantasy Game

Chapter 434: Wintery Date

Before Riley and Liyanaʼs date began…

Just a few meters away—hidden in plain sight—a certain group of three girls watched them intently.

Snow, Rose, and Alice.

Their eyes were all locked on the same scene: Liyana clinging to Rileyʼs arm with an almost ethereal smile on her face as the two walked out of the Mageʼs Association building.

They didnʼt need to speak to know they shared the same reaction.

Discomfort. Curiosity. And something sharp simmering beneath it all.

Thanks to a casual yet effective manipulation of reality by Cheshire, the trio remained unnoticed by both the couple and the surrounding crowd.

Their appearances were slightly altered—not enough to look like strangers, but just enough to slip past attention like shadows.

The familiar had cloaked them with subtle distortions, blending them into the world without drawing suspicion.

”...Sheʼs pretty,” Rose mumbled aloud, unable to stop the words from slipping out as she stared at Liyana in the distance.

Though she had expected the dukeʼs daughter to be beautiful—the rumors had been endless, after all—she hadnʼt anticipated this kind of presence.

There was an elegance about Liyana that felt effortlessly graceful, like someone born to stand out in any room she walked into.

Her white and sky-blue dress shimmered with the slightest movement, her long hair catching the afternoon sun like strands of silk.

Rose didnʼt usually care about appearances.

She wasnʼt someone to get jealous over something so shallow. And yet…

Watching Liyana pressed so close to Riley, smiling like she belonged there, Rose felt a quiet ache tug at something deep inside her.

A feeling she couldnʼt quite name.

”…Tch.”

She looked away, trying to shake it off.

Beside her, Snow gave a small nod of agreement, her expression unreadable.

”Yeah,” she said softly. ”She always was.”

Unlike Rose, Snow had some history with Liyana.

They were cousins—distant enough to be strangers most of the time, but close enough for one or two shared family encounters in the past.

Her last memory of Liyana was hazy, from a formal visit when Duke Heavens had introduced his daughter to the imperial court.

Snow had been younger then, perhaps ten or eleven, and Liyana had been a quiet, poised girl in a frilly cream dress, holding her fatherʼs hand while bowing to the emperor.

Even then, Snow remembered thinking she looked like a porcelain doll.

But now…?

Even Snow had to admit, Liyana had grown into something more than just noble beauty.

There was a maturity in her smile, a quiet confidence in the way she carried herself beside Riley.

She wasnʼt just beautiful—she was deliberately beautiful.

A kind of person who could own a room without even trying.

Of course, Snow was fully aware of her own beauty.

She always had been.

Dubbed the ”Most Precious Flower of the Empire,” the ”Snow-White Treasure,” and even ”the most beautiful lady of this era” by nobles, poets, and commoners alike, Snow had never once doubted her appearance.

It was a fact of her existence—an inescapable part of her identity from the moment she was old enough to understand what beauty meant.

Sheʼd grown used to admiration, to reverence, to the pressure that came with perfection.

So no, she was never particularly concerned about the other women Riley might interact with.

She already knew she was the prettiest of them all.

Or at least… she had always believed she was.

But seeing Liyana now—so close to Riley, laughing freely, her hand wrapped delicately around his arm—something strange began to twist inside Snow.

A feeling she didnʼt recognize.

Doubt.

Liyana was two years younger than her, yet her face already had that soft, flawless quality that made others stop and stare.

Her features were delicate yet sharp enough to stand out, her smile demure yet bold enough to steal attention.

Her long, silvery hair was arranged in a slightly tousled, romantic style that danced with every step she took.

And even though her body still carried the signs of youth, it was undeniably developing in all the right ways.

Her figure, though not yet fully mature, already hinted at the kind of elegance that would bloom completely in a few more months—maybe even weeks.

Snow watched her from the distance with narrowed eyes.

…If she looks like that now, then in a few years—no, even just a season or two—she might…

She didnʼt finish the thought.

The possibility that someone might one day surpass her in beauty had never truly occurred to her.

But now, standing hidden in illusion beside Rose and Alice, watching Rileyʼs fiancée radiate charm with every step…

A certain uneasiness began to bloom inside her chest.

A kind of discomfort that had nothing to do with logic and everything to do with comparison.

Theyʼre both white-haired, pale-skinned, highborn noble girls… so similar yet different.

ʼHow many people have already confused us before?ʼ

ʼDid Riley perhaps.... Compare me and her sometimes?ʼ

She hated that she noticed.

She hated that she cared.

And most of all, she hated that she was comparing herself to anyone.

Her brow furrowed, and before she could stop herself, she mumbled under her breath—

”Iʼm still the better white-haired wife…!”

Rose, who had been silently tracking the couple alongside her, blinked in confusion.

”What are you talking about?”

Snow stiffened.

”N-Nothing,” she said quickly, her voice slightly higher than usual.

Too quickly.

Rose raised an eyebrow but didnʼt press further.

Still, Snow could feel the heat rising faintly to her cheeks as she turned her gaze back to Liyana.

That soft, content smile on the younger girlʼs face… the way Riley was actually listening to her so attentively… the chemistry between them…

She knew she had to act mature in situations like this…. But...

Snow clicked her tongue quietly and looked away.

She wouldnʼt lose.

Not in love.

And definitely not in beauty.

”Theyʼre going out…”

Alice, who had been silent up until now, finally broke her quiet observation. Her voice was soft but edged with something… unreadable.

Jealousy?

Concern?

Maybe both.

She pointed ahead toward the figures of Riley and Liyana as they exited the Mageʼs Association building, arms linked naturally, as if it were the most normal thing in the world.

The other two girls—Snow and Rose—were still caught up in their own thoughts.

Snow, lost in silent comparisons, and Rose, still trying to make sense of her brief flicker of envy, hadnʼt noticed that their targets were on the move again.

Only when Alice spoke did they snap back to reality.

”Should we follow them?” Rose suggested without much hesitation. She didnʼt even try to pretend anymore that they werenʼt doing something shady.

”Yes,” Snow replied immediately, almost too quickly, as if sheʼd just been waiting for someone to ask.

Alice didnʼt say a word, but her feet were already moving, and that was answer enough.

And so the three of them—disguised by Cheshireʼs casual but powerful reality manipulation—began tailing Riley and Liyana from a safe distance.

They were well aware that this was, in every sense of the word, stalking.

They knew it was wrong. In fact, it was exactly the kind of behavior Cheshire had teased them for not too long ago back on the ship.

At the time, they had denied it with blushing faces and embarrassed shouts.

But now?

Now they couldnʼt deny the truth: they were far too curious to stop themselves.

Curious about how Riley acted with his official fiancée.

As time passed, the date unfolded before them like a slow-burning play.

What started small—just casual walking, simple talk—gradually grew in liveliness and intimacy.

Riley wasnʼt just entertaining Liyana; he was engaging her in every sense of the word.

There was laughter. There were shared memories.

A familiarity that the three onlookers couldnʼt ignore.

The streets of Hamen City were bustling, despite the wintry air and the soft snowfall dusting the rooftops and pathways.

A thin sheet of snow coated the cobblestones, but that only seemed to make the city more picturesque, its festive lights flickering like stars.

At first it was mostly Liyana who made proper moves in the date, but eventually even Riley couldnʼt help but budge in taking the initiative,

Riley took Liyana from one nostalgic spot to another—places from their childhood that they hadnʼt visited in years.

An old park bench under a leafless tree.

A candy stall tucked in the corner of a quiet alleyway.

A fountain that was half-frozen but still glowing with faint magical light.

Then, the two moved on to newer places.

Quaint little cafés theyʼd never tried before, colorful shops selling trinkets and couple-themed accessories, and even one of the cityʼs open squares where street performers had gathered, drawing a small crowd.

Despite the cold air, the mood between Riley and Liyana was undeniably warm.

They shared treats.

They exchanged stories.

And though no grand gestures were made, everything about their movements spoke of closeness—of comfort.

Of the kind of chemistry born not from chance encounters or awkward flirting, but from years of shared history and unspoken understanding.