‘Someone gave Miss Diane some strange medicine and she suddenly became ill.’
Otherwise, Diane would have been a bridesmaid at her wedding as planned.
‘The place that appeared in my vision must have been the Duke’s mansion.’
In the vision, Diane was wearing a white nightgown and she was in the bedroom. On the other hand, everyone else who appeared with the Duchess was dressed for the ball. Was it the day of the ball held at the Duke’s mansion? After thinking about that, she looked at the Duchess and asked as if she had just remembered.
“By the way, did you say there will be a ball at the mansion?”
“Yes?”
“I’m not sure, but I think I heard it from a lady before. That there will be a ball at the Duke’s house soon.”
Of course, she had never heard of such a thing, but she said it calmly to take a look at the Duchess. The Duchess, who had a friendly smile on her face, was visibly embarrassed.
“Ah, yes, we decided to open it on the evening of Dachen Day ten days later.”
The Duchess smiled embarrassingly.
“This is the first ball we are hosting this winter. At a time like this, a prom may seem like a shameful thing to do, but since it’s an annual family event, I couldn’t postpone it.”
Even the Emperor and his children were out in the war, and the owner of the family, the Duke, was also out on the field, so holding a ball in the mansion was a bit odd. Still, since it was a family event, it seemed inevitable.
Old aristocratic families have their own special events and traditions after all.
“Then, is His Highness the Grand Duke also attending?”
Would he attend? Because the Duchess was the Grand Duke’s only aunt.
The Duchess hesitated for a moment before answering.
“Yes, the Grand Duke hasn’t been there for years, but… This time, I asked him to be sure to attend. The Duke isn’t there either…”
Watching the Duchess blur the end of her words, she remembered their relationship in the original story. The Duke of Rohan was not a very important character in the original story, but she was sure of one thing. The Duke was a middle-aged aristocrat who valued honor and was neutral in the fight between the emperor and the Grand Duke.
That’s why he said it was a little awkward relationship with the Grand Duke. Although it was not an openly hostile relationship because they were relatives.
“If you don’t mind, can I be invited too? I want to thank Miss Diane in advance.”
When she asked with a desperate expression, the Duchess’s eyes twitched slightly.
“If the princess would attend… Thank you so much.”
She thought there was a brief pause in the middle. The Duchess’ feelings were understandable. It’s a ball held at the mansion after a long time, and she didn’t want to invite Eve. Eve used to mess everywhere she went and ruin the mood. In particular, when the Grand Duke was by her side, the level of nuisance would increase dozens of times.
“Do not worry. I will be quiet so as not to disturb other guests. I will meet Miss Diane, say thanks and leave early.”
She added sadly to reassure the Duchess.
“Of course, if the Empress doesn’t allow it, I won’t be able to attend in the first place.”
“Yeah, that’s right. I hope that Her Majesty the Empress will allow it.”
The Duchess seemed somewhat relieved after hearing her words. She went through today and seemed to be trying to trust her. On the one hand, the Empress wouldn’t allow her anyway, but she didn’t have to earn her grudge by refusing Eve’s request. She accepted it roughly, and seemed willing to leave the bad role to the Empress.
She was the Duchess and she invited Eve over with a smile.
“I would love for you to attend. If the princess comes, our Diane will be happy too.”
She nodded her head and handed the handkerchief she was holding back to the Duchess.
“Now my hands are all warm. Thank you.”
After parting with the Duchess, she reached out to Nell as they walked down the street.
“Can you give me your hand?”
“Yes?”
Nell was surprised but obediently held out his hand. Nell, like her, was bare-handed. Nell’s little hands were also frozen red from the cold. Didn’t the ladies-in-waiting say that it was etiquette that they couldn’t wear gloves? It could be worn in the middle of winter, but she thought it was harsh.
“Sorry, your hands are frozen from being here with me for so long.”
“Oh, no. I-I’m fine, Princess.”
She wrapped her hands around Nell’s hand and gently kneaded it to spread warmth. While doing so, she thought about what would happen to Nell in the imperial palace in the future.
She wanted to test my foresight. But even when she kneaded it until she reached the end of the garden, nothing showed up.
‘I had a vision of the Duchess’s future even though I only touched her fingertips.’
Eve in the original story hadn’t used this ability since she was 10 years old. Of course, information about her did not appear properly in the novel. How often this premonition appears, or how closely it could be seen, was currently unknown.
‘I’d better observe it a bit more.’
She was also good at getting around with her bare hands, even when her hands were cold. Because she saw vision for the first time. As she was thinking about that, a quiet voice brought her into reality.
“It’s warm.”
“Huh?”
Nell said, shaking Eve’s hand.
“The princess has warm hands.”
She was still holding Nell’s hand. Nell’s hand was warmer than before thanks to the warmth from her hand.
“Those who have warm hands have a warm heart.”
“Okay?”
She was not so sure of that. Neither Eve, the original owner of that body, nor she herself had a warm-hearted personality.
“Yes, it is real. In my experience, it really is.”
Nell looked at her and smiled bashfully. Her smile was very cute, probably because she still had girlish traits. Come to think of it, the princess, Diane, also seemed to be about the same age as Nell.
“Nell, is Miss Diane very sick?”
“Princess Diane is weak from her chronic illness and has an ugly rash on her skin, so she doesn’t appear in social circles.”
“Rash?”
When she asked back in surprise, Nell continued her words with a puzzled look.
“Yeah, but the rash is only on the body. She says it’s hard to see when she’s wearing a high-necked dress. So she was chosen as a bridesmaid on the condition that she wear a dress that covered her whole body.”
“Did I put that condition?”
Nell nodded her head with her worried eyes.
“I see.”
It reminded her of the Duchess, who had strongly emphasized that Diane looked forward to her wedding. After all, the Duchess must have invited her to the ball because of Diane. She was going to try not to go against her planting.
“Nell, Miss Diane was friendly with me… There is no way, did we meet often?”
“No, I’ve never seen the princess meet Diane while staying at her palace. I don’t know what it was like before I came to the princess’s palace… You wouldn’t have met often then. I had heard that she had never been to the imperial palace and that she never attended social gatherings.”
“I see.”
She was glad. If she met Eve often, she would be full of resentment, let alone good feelings.
After exchanging conversations like that, they arrived in front of the temple gate before they knew it. There was a carriage waiting for them outside the door and she climbed into the carriage with Nel.
It was after the sun had completely set when she returned to the imperial palace after finishing her work at the Great Temple. The glass lanterns that decorated the walls of the imperial palace brightly illuminated the dark night sky. As the carriage passed through the main gate and entered the princess’s palace, a snowy garden quickly passed through the window. Even on the white snow that covered the flower beds, the blue moonlight shimmered. Seeing that scene, she felt the bitter reality again.
‘Another precious day has passed.’
Was there 39 days left? It felt like playing a time-limited survival game. A thrilling game where you could die if you didn’t find a way to survive within the time limit.
‘Anyway, I accomplished the first goal.’
Because she forcibly put a flower in the Grand Duke’s hand. The future depended on how much he trusted her.
‘Tonight if things go well…’
She would be able to meet the Grand Duke again. Of course, considering the distrustful attitude of the Grand Duke she met earlier, the chances of things going so smoothly seem less than half.
She was taking off her dress while organizing her thoughts, when the ladies-in-waiting approached her closely. One of the ladies-in-waiting asked anxiously.
“Princess, are you going to pray today? Since you went to the temple today, wouldn’t it be better to rest early?”
After waking up here, she used to go to the chapel next to the princess’s palace under the pretext of going to pray.
“Okay. I have to quit today because I am tired.”
She ordered the lady-in-waiting next to her to deliver the message to the Empress’ palace.
“Tell Her Majesty that the Duchess of Rohan invited me to the ball, and ask for her permission.”
“Can I just say that?”
“Of course. Don’t say anything else, just tell her that.”
The maid lowered her head with a slightly puzzled expression. The lady-in-waiting returned from the Empress’s palace when she ate a simple dinner and soaked herself in warm water.
While she was sitting at the dressing table drying her hair, a white-haired lady-in-waiting delivered the Empress’ words..
“The Empress said to keep quiet until the wedding because going to the prom would attract attention,” she said.
“Hmm…”
It was as expected without a 1% error.
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Translator Note:
Hello there! This is RJR. Thank you very much for reading.
Next post will be released on March, 28.
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