Chapter 5.5
As soon as I stepped out of Rachel’s room, my legs gave out without warning.
“My lady!”
Alfred and Lilith, who had been waiting outside, saw me in this state and their eyes widened in shock. I coldly pulled my arm away from Lilith’s hands as she rushed to support me.
“Let’s go.”
“Duchess, your complexion looks terrible. Are you alright?”
Just how bad must my face have looked for even the prickly Alfred to show concern with a slightly flustered expression?
However, I merely shook my head.
“High Priest, I hope you’ll protect the Saint’s safety well from now on.”
At my sudden words, he stared at me with puzzled eyes for a moment. But soon, with the words “Of course,” his expression hardened with determination.
As he entered Rachel’s room, I resumed walking.
“My lady! What on earth happened? Did something bad occur?”
“If you’re asking about something bad, then yes.”
“What…?”
“But actually, in a way, it was predetermined. From the moment my marriage to Rubellian was decided. I thought I had prepared myself to some degree, but did I take this world too lightly? Rubellian was right. I was just a bystander.”
“…My lady.”
“But having it confirmed like this makes me feel rather disgusted.”
Disgusting. Really. It’s truly disgusting.
Despite resisting marriage with all my might, I eventually loved my husband and aimed for a good life—only to be sentenced to death at the end.
Humans originally live lives that don’t go according to their wishes. But even so, all of this was so terribly irritating that I clenched my teeth.
“How annoying.”
Even more so because while I had somewhat expected bad results when being pushed to take revenge with Rubellian, actually having it confirmed made me choke up.
Does this mean the original story won’t change after all?
But if that happens, what about Rubellian? What will become of him?
It was then…
“Eve?”
At the familiar voice, I looked up. In this moment when I was feeling all emotions of terror and death deep in my bones, I curled up the corners of my mouth at the silhouette of the man standing before me.
“Rubellian.”
“What’s wrong?”
As soon as he saw me, Rubellian approached with a stern expression, striding toward me. Standing right in front of me after just a few steps, he quickly spoke.
“Did you meet with the Saint? Is something wrong? Did the Saint say something?”
I stared into his eyes for a moment before speaking.
“I felt so sorry for Rachel.”
“…”
“So I cried a little. I mean, killing her own mother when she was young – how can such a thing be said? And it’s not even Rachel’s fault. Don’t you think so? And hearing that suddenly reminded me of you, so my heart ached.”
At my words, Rubellian quietly stared at me. His sharp eyes narrowed slightly, and his tightly pressed lips maintained silence before he gently kissed my forehead.
“It’s okay. It’s nothing serious.”
“Yes, it’s nothing serious. Everything will definitely be alright.”
I forced a bright smile at the suddenly gloomy atmosphere. Fortunately, he seemed to understand the expression on my face as it was, and Rubellian gently embraced me and patted my back.
“Oh, but why are you here? There should only be temple people in this area. Who did you come to see?”
After burying my face in his embrace for a moment, I asked with a forced smile. Rubellian made a somewhat meaningful expression, then smiled broadly again.
“I had some business. Then I saw your carriage and came over. You were meeting with the Saint, correct?”
“Business? With the temple side?”
“No. Not with the temple side… There’s a hunting ground nearby.”
The hunting ground… Ah, the place where Rubellian was attacked.
“What business at the hunting ground?”
“It’s nothing major. Just someone I need to meet briefly, don’t worry about it.”
“Hmm?”
“Eve, do you trust me?”
At his words, I tilted my head and pouted. What is it? What is he hiding?
Setting aside my curiosity for now, I nodded. If I don’t trust Rubellian, who else is there to trust?
At this, Rubellian curled up his lips.
“Then trust me, I will never let you get hurt.”
At his vague words, I narrowed my eyes, but I didn’t have the hobby of pressuring someone because of my curiosity.
Answering that I understood, I planted a seed of doubt deep in my heart.
* * *
Tigers die and leave their skin, humans die and leave their name.
“Yes, I’ve decided. They say you should plant an apple tree even if you die tomorrow. What’s more, I’m not dying tomorrow but in the distant future, so I should at least plant an apple orchard before I go!”
Everyone dies anyway.
By repeating these words hundreds of times since last night, I succeeded in convincing myself.
The day I left the imperial palace to return to the ducal house, watching Lilith’s back as she rejoiced more than me about finally going home, I took a deep breath.
How much I had agonized throughout the sleepless night, but since it wasn’t a problem I could solve anyway, I concluded that I should at least have one grand time before dying.
‘And since I died in my previous life too, I’ll be able to die better in this life.’
After greeting the nobles leaving the palace one by one and approaching the carriage, I blinked, realizing that the palace was more chaotic than expected.
“It’s quite busy, isn’t it? Is something happening?”
“I don’t know either.”
When Lilith shook her head, I put away my puzzled expression and got into the carriage, or rather, tried to. Having put my foot in the carriage, I frowned deeply at the scene visible in the distance.
“What’s that?”
“Uh… It’s the temple side. They seem to be preparing to leave, but next to them is… His Highness the Crown Prince?”
Lilith’s eyes also widened in surprise. That was understandable since it was quite unusual for someone of the Crown Prince’s status to see someone off.
Melina, you’re not just biting handkerchiefs somewhere again, are you? I grimaced and spoke.
“She never misses an opportunity anyway. I have to acknowledge her drive.”
In the original story too, The moment the Crown Prince took an interest in Rachel, he went on a wild offensive attack. What used to make my heart flutter when reading the novel now looked so disgusting to watch?
Rachel’s face as she talked with the Crown Prince showed no particular joy. She was just calmly listening to what the Crown Prince was saying.
“Eve was collapsed on a blood-soaked floor with a sword pierced through her heart, and the owner of that sword was… none other than His Highness the Crown Prince.”
In Rachel’s prophecy, the Crown Prince kills me. Given this, the hypothesis that he could become an ally was completely wrong. At least for me.
With nobles gathered nearby, it was hard to keep the two apart under such watchful eyes. I eventually got into the carriage obediently.
‘I should ask Rachel next time what conversation she had with the Crown Prince.’
“What are you thinking about so deeply?”
“Rubellian, you’re here?”
I beamed at Rubellian who had climbed into the carriage while I was lost in thought.
“Did you see Rachel talking with the Crown Prince? It seems like the Crown Prince is seriously making moves on Rachel.”
“It’s not particularly strange. It seems he’s been showing interest in her power since Rachel’s power went out of control that day.”
“That means the imperial family is also eyeing Rachel, doesn’t it?”
I lightly held my chin and fell into thought. After the Crown Prince’s birthday banquet ended, Rachel would continue to grow tremendously, and during that time, the Crown Prince’s existence as a catalyst couldn’t be denied.
But if the Crown Prince was destined to become my enemy, I had to push him away from being a catalyst for her awakening.
And I had to fill that position myself.
‘To fill that position, I need Melina to do some foolish things.’
Melina’s evil deeds level up progressively. Tearing dresses, framing her as a jewelry thief, ruining Rachel’s reputation with noble ladies, and then cleanly finishing her off with poison.
And her evil acts would obviously target Rachel again this time.
If she’s not someone who can be stopped by trying to stop her, then I had to personally protect Rachel from all those evil deeds.
I pondered while throwing my gaze out the window. Looking at the scenery gradually moving away from the palace, I smiled broadly.
* * *
“Congratulations on your safe return.”
“Oh my goodness. You were all gathered in front of the mansion to welcome us? How touching.”
“You didn’t cause any trouble, did you?”
“…”
“If you caused any trouble, it’s best to address it within the family as soon as possible.”
“So you were lined up in front of the house to clean up the trouble I caused?”
I, who had been looking at the employees lined up in front of the ducal residence with moved eyes, held the back of my neck. Looking at Mrs. Jena, who continued speaking indifferently without showing any regret for breaking my emotional moment, I entered the ducal residence with pouted lips.
“So did you really not cause any trouble?”
“Even if I wanted to cause trouble, I’d need the opportunity. At the party, I was alone when some guy started bothering me. Right after the bothering ended, Rubellian came, and the Crown Prince came too. Oh, His Highness the Third Prince also came and caused that commotion, so where would I have had the chance to cause trouble…”
“Bothering?”
As I rattled off my grievances, Mrs. Jena slightly frowned. Entering the room, I sat in front of the vanity and sighed deeply.
“That Blaze Earson guy or whatever came and talked to me. Oh, don’t worry. In this place, anyone who crossed me never walked away unscathed.”
“If it’s Blaze Earson, from the Earson Barony… How dare he, not knowing his place…!”
Mrs. Jena’s face contorted with anger.
“I’ll send a warning to the Earson Barony to be careful with their words from now on.”
“Oh, well, that would be even better.”
“But what about His Highness the Third Prince?”
“Ah.”
I had forgotten about him due to Rachel’s matter, but he was also problematic. Either way, since I’m the Duchess and he’s the Third Prince, we’re bound to encounter each other in the future.
“He appeared at the party and came to me. But Rubellian hid me behind him. Oh, that was really cool.”
“This is not the time to be moved. Did His Highness the Third Prince perhaps cross any lines?”
“He tried to, but Rubellian stopped him. Oh, that was cool too.”
Mrs. Jena, who had been looking at me pathetically as I smiled brightly while reminiscing about Rubellian’s reliable back, sighed deeply.
“The fact that His Highness the Third Prince discovered my lady is troublesome.”
“I heard his reputation isn’t good, but surely he wouldn’t openly… Oh, the Emperor did it openly. Still, he’s not even the Emperor, just a prince…”
“The imperial family has an excellent talent for covering each other’s scandals.”
“…”
“They can apologize as much as they want, but ultimately it’s ‘the imperial family’s here to cover for you, so don’t think you can rise above.’”
Then was that why the Crown Prince acted that way too? He cherished Rubellian and treated him like a brother, but couldn’t tolerate exposing his father’s scandals?
“But now that things have come to this, you can’t avoid His Highness the Third Prince, and frankly, it’s not a problem that would be solved by avoiding him…”
“Why not just get rid of the person? You know, when the problem can’t be fixed, they just eliminate the individual—that’s typical of those in power. Oh, but I can’t just eliminate the Third Prince.”
I clicked my tongue and shook my head. Then what should I do? When even Mrs. Jena comes out like this, there’s inevitably something there. The Third Prince – I thought he was just a lustful nobody, but the problem was bigger.
“I’ll need to discuss the Third Prince with His Grace.”
“With Rubellian?”
“It’s not a problem that can be solved by my lady being careful, and it’s not like we can teach my lady self-defense right now…”
Mrs. Jena looked at my slender body and shook her head.
“It seems unrealistic.”
“Wouldn’t it be better to carry a silver dagger in my bosom and just stab it into someone’s head when in danger?”
“Do you have that much strength? Then I’ll get one for you.”
“I was joking, but if you’re offering, I won’t refuse.”
I shrugged at Mrs. Jena’s serious face.
Eventually, after saying I’d think more about this matter, Mrs. Jena began unpacking my luggage one by one.
Meanwhile, thanks to Lilith who thoughtfully brought various delicious things from the kitchen, I popped an orange into my mouth.
“Ah, home is nice after all.”
“Has the ducal house become home now?”
“It seems so. It has become home.”
I blinked in amazement and smiled softly.
Mrs. Jena, who was unpacking luggage one by one, spoke bluntly.
“While it’s very congratulatory that you now consider the ducal residence as home, it seems you won’t be able to rest comfortably for a while.”
At Mrs. Jena’s words, I, who had been muttering ‘Tonight it’s definitely a rose water bath!’, stiffened slightly. Unable to settle, I fixed my trembling eyes on Mrs. Jena.
“…Is it because of the Holy Spirit Festival?”
“The fact that you know there’s something called the Holy Spirit Festival is quite commendable.”
“Who do you take me for, a fool?!”
“For the Holy Spirit Festival, nobles affiliated with House Florence will be coming up. My lady has the duty as the Duchess to welcome them. Naturally, some training is necessary for that.”
“Gasp…!”
“So don’t think about resting.”
What kind of talk is that, Head Maid?
I stared at her with my mouth agape.
The Holy Spirit Festival was the period that served as the background for the second major event after the Crown Prince’s birthday banquet.
The Holy Spirit Festival, which seemed like modern Christmas, was hosted by the temple every year, and this year it would obviously be held on an even grander scale due to the Saint’s appearance.
And during that period, Melina would seriously do all sorts of strange things to Rachel.
‘I need to plan meticulously, but now there’s guest reception training. Goodness.’
I held my forehead.
Moreover, nobles affiliated with the ducal house. Won’t they ask when I’ll have an heir? Won’t they tell me to definitely have a son? Should I explain the mystery of chromosomes to shut them up?
No. It might be better to explain with our time-honored proverb that beans planted yield beans, and red beans planted yield red beans…
Somehow feeling like my bleak future was unfolding, I collapsed face-down on the vanity.
My fate. Why is it so arduous? I don’t even know when I’ll die, yet I can’t even live as I please. Then what about Rachel? It would be troublesome if the Crown Prince takes her away in the meantime.
I ruffled my hair. Author, why did you create such a harsh world just for me? What’s with this extra treatment?
It was then…
“My lady, my lady!”
Anna’s flustered voice echoed in my ears as I had my head buried in the vanity. I slowly raised my head.
“Goodness, what news have you brought now? In novels, at times like this, it’s never ordinary news… I’d rather it be news that the Emperor died of a heart attack.”
“My lady, something terrible has happened.”
“What? Did the Emperor choke to death on food?”
“No, that’s not it – that, that assassin who attacked His Grace last time.”
“What about him?”
“He’s gone missing!”
