Became A Stand-In For A Time-Limited Princess

 

Prologue.

 

Lia.

Camellia.

Camellia Flourette Ariadne.

 

 

 

The Princess of the Aiet Empire, who blossomed into a beautiful young woman, just like the graceful camellia she was named after. She was the beloved and only daughter of the esteemed Duke of Ariadne. Despite her fragile health, she was wise and elegant beyond comparison.

 

Soft, rich blonde hair that looks closer to white. Eyes that resemble vibrant red rubies when you first look at them. Fluttering eyelashes, as white as snow, that dazzled and captivated the gaze of others.

 

A slender and petite figure. Skin so pale it was almost ghostly, revealing her bony structure through her thin arms and legs. Overall, a frail body with slow growth.

 

 Like a fragile glass sculpture that seemed like it could shatter at the slightest touch.  However, she was neither aloof nor arrogant like a porcelain doll. Instead, she was like an angel who seemed to hold the sun’s warmth in her smile and cheer everyone up.

 

Camellia Flourette Ariadne was such a girl. A pure and kind princess who without hesitation, extended her hand to a stranger who rolled in from god-knows-where.

“Hi, Mary. It’s nice to meet you. I am Camellia.”

 

The hands that wore long gloves were small, perhaps because they hadn’t been getting enough of the sun. When we shook hands for the first time, I could feel the soft, silkiness of her gloves underneath my own rugged palms.

 

That was our first meeting. The start of a fateful beginning that felt like a masterpiece in the making, but was simultaneously leading us to our ruin.

 

Camellia. We didn’t know back then. The fact that not only would I take your name, your position, and everything you should have had, but also eventually usurp your rightful seat.

By the time the memories we made together piled up, time sharpened its sword and stabbed you. In my ignorance, I became drunk on the peace we had, and only after everything passed did I realize the truth and regret it all.

 

Yet, my selfishness couldn’t let go of the blissful present, and in my desire to never return to the past, I stole your future.

As you vomited blood and lost your color, I painted my lips red to become the perfect you. While you writhed in pain, grimacing, I tried to mimic your pure and radiant smile. And so, the moment you closed your eyes under my name, I became you. No, more accurately, I became your substitute. Because no one else could ever replace you, Camellia.

 

I wonder if you know that the person whom I’d secretly loved, the one who loved you, and the person who should have loved you, fell in love with me instead?

 

All the things you loved remained here, but you were gone, and the person I used to be vanished in the form of you, who’d closed your eyes for eternity. The promise we made under the red camellia tree is now buried together with you in the pure white snow.

 

I never wish to go back to the life I had before I met you, but I do not deny that your absence has left a void that can never be filled again. The best thing I can do now is to fulfill the life you were meant to live, bringing it to a perfect end in its due time.

 

Only by fulfilling the responsibilities given to me in the name of Princess Ariadne, not Camellia, will I be able to wash away a little of this endless guilt.

 

Everytime I repeat your name, whom I won’t see ever again, a camellia flower will fall on your nameless grave.

 

Oh, it’s a cold winter.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

The winter in Neocadre was exceptionally cold and harsh. Though the Grand Duke’s castle was in the central capital, which offered some respite, being in the northern region of the continent itself meant that it couldn’t escape the biting winds and heavy snowfall.

 

It was in stark contrast to last year’s spring, which was sunny and fragrant like there was a rain of flowers. There was a time when I used to like the cold winter, but it was over now.

 

It’s already been months since I came here. The window, which I was looking out of, was full of snow. It would take at least 2 more months before the snow stuck in the middle of the window frames melted.

 

I heard the sound of footsteps from outside the closed door. Seeing that a servant was shouting ‘His highness, The Grand Duke has returned!’ it seemed that he’d returned.

 

Instead of going out in the hallway and greeting him, I sank into my chair. It was a wife’s duty to welcome her husband back, but I didn’t have to engage in such formalities in a loveless relationship.

 

He came when I was looking at the camellia flowers on the table, my gaze averted from the door. Footsteps approached from behind, but I deliberately did not turn my gaze to him.

 

“What are you doing, wife?”

At his call, I raised my head as if I had just come to my senses. White frost, which had not yet melted, sat on his shoulder. After a few seconds, I opened my mouth and shook my head.

 

“I was just thinking about the past.”

“If you’re thinking about the past, you must be recalling the Ariadne mansion.”

 

At his words, I nodded lightly. To be exact, I was thinking of the time even before I’d been adopted by Duke Ariadne, but this was something that needn’t be said.

Because I was Camellia, the beloved, only lady of Ariadne.

 

The princess who’d been frequently ill since childhood, was miraculously cursed after people prayed day and night, and was wed according to the alliance between the Duke of Ariadne and the Kingdom of Neocadre. 

 

I used the word alliance, but strictly speaking, it was a political marriage arranged to gain mutual benefits from both parties. However, to those who did not know the actual circumstance, it would appear like a love story ripped off the pages of a romance novel.

 

He naturally seated himself opposite me. When my eyes met those nonchalant yet friendly golden eyes, I unconsciously lowered my gaze.

 

Eyes that seemed to penetrate through the surface and see beyond appearances. They were familiarly affectionate, but the mysterious glow in them made it hard to discern his true thoughts.

 

He observed me, and I was unsure if he could read my uneasy thoughts. And then he asked in a curious tone,

 

“Come to think of it, my wife, you said you were very sick in your childhood. Do you truly have any good memories from it?”

“It is true that I was stuck in the mansion most days, but that doesn’t mean I only had bad memories. Perhaps a majority of them are good.”

 

Yes, to be precise, I had mostly good memories of the mansion. When I’d been taken in by Duke Ariadne without knowing anything, I was warmly welcomed by everyone.

 

Camellia, the Adelon siblings, Lady Evangeline, the piano teacher Gloria, the Duke and Duchess of Ariadne, the nanny Dulsinea, the butler Dylan, and all the staff of the ducal estate. And…

 

When I was once again about to be drifted away with my thoughts, he gently grabbed my hands and made me divert my eyes from the empty space I was staring at. His hands, having just returned from outside, had not warmed up yet, and were cold and hard to the touch.

 

When I turned to him, he smiled as if it was okay, and he asked in a more cautious tone than before.

 

“Can I hear what exactly happened in the mansion? I’m curious to hear about my wife’s life, which I haven’t heard about from others.”

 

I knew this question would come up one day. Even if it’s a political marriage, a couple couldn’t spend their entire lives without saying a word to each other. I’d put off telling you about my life for a while, so you must have questions.

Instead of being flustered, I composed my expression with a subtle face. With a smile that was hard to decipher, one of both joy and sorrow, I answered. 

 

“Well… it might end up being a somewhat lengthy story.” 

 

Where should I begin this tale? If I were to delve into every detail, even after omitting the parts of the past that I couldn’t reveal to him, it would take quite a long time.

 

To gather my thoughts, I closed my eyes for a moment. To prevent him from discerning between the truth and the lies, I would have to carefully craft a plausible narrative after suitably filtering it.

 

I recalled my days at the Ariadne mansion before coming all the way to Neocadre for this marriage. I recalled my life not as Camellia, the character that I was playing, but as Mary, who no longer existed.

 

—

 

Hello, translator here!

Are you liking this series? If so, please leave it a review on novelupdates and rate it!

I’d had my eyes on this series for a long time now, but since I already am working on two projects, I had put this off. After seeing that it still hadn’t been picked up after months despite the promising premise, I decided to pick it up afterall.

 

That said, my main projects will still be my two other series, so I won’t be able to update this too regularly until one of them is completed, but I will still try to release at least one chapter per week. I might even release a bunch of chapters in bulk one day, so there’s that.

 

Here’s a cheers to another hopefully good read!

this is a camellia, btw.

they represent love, admiration and longing.