She did change the context a bit, as if the Empress was acting capricious because she was offended by Eve, but… Arentin closed his mouth and thought about the void.
It would be unpleasant. It was obvious that he would not have good feelings for the Empress either. Their mother, who was the Emperor’s wife, died, and the woman who was his concubine was not enough to assume the position of Empress. Her son, the second prince, was aiming for the position of crown prince. So Arentin’s reaction had more to do with the Empress than with the emotional Eve.
Arentin, who was silent for a while, changed the topic with an unexpected question.
“What did you study?”
“Yes?”
“I heard you studied to become a Grand Duchess? What did you study?”
“I studied the history of the Albion Empire and the history of the grand duchy. I think I have to learn a lot to become a Grand Duchess.”
It wasn’t a lie. While sitting in the imperial palace with nothing to do, she studied while looking for books in the library of the princess’s palace whenever she had free time. Although there was rough information in the original work, it was because she thought she would have to learn the details that did not appear in the original work. Fortunately, she could read and write the letters here perfectly, so she could read any book.
She didn’t know how she could read the letters here after suddenly moving to this world. Perhaps it was some kind of instinct that remained in Eve’s body.
“Then I will ask. The territory of the Grand Duchess of Lenz is bordered by Mount Cleven in the north…”
“They have a territory from the Northern Cleven Mountains to the Fulvian border. In the past, this was the Grand Duchy of Lenz. After a war with the Albion Empire three hundred years ago, it was incorporated as part of the Empire after signing a peace treaty.”
As she continued to answer without hesitation, Arentin’s eyes looking at her changed a little. She wondered if he thought she didn’t even know this much common sense? Of course, she didn’t think Eve of the original story knew it.
Arentin nodded and then looked down at the paperwork again.
“I heard that a few days ago you donated jewels to the temple. Now that it’s time to get married, you seem to have matured a bit.”
Even if this brother says…
“Let’s attend the Duke’s ball as partners. Don’t worry, I’ll tell the Empress about it.”
“Thank you, brother!”
All he had to do was let her out for whatever reason. He had not to come…
“Is that all there is to it?”
“It is, then you’ll be busy, so I’m leaving.”
She bowed again and turned to go outside.
“Eve.”
She was about to go out, but Arentin called her again and stopped her. She turned around and he looked at her, then back at the papers.
“If you need anything to prepare for the wedding, feel free to contact me.”
In the original story, he wasn’t interested in Eve, so what happened?
“Yes, brother.”
No answer came back this time.
* * *
In the afternoon of the fifth day after meeting the Grand Duke in the Great Hall, she took a bath with the help of the ladies-in-waiting. She soaked herself in warm water infused with scented oil and washed her hair with water infused with flower petals.
Today was the promised prom day.
After returning from the Great Hall, four days passed in an instant. Of course, it wasn’t just that she was stunned. All this time, she practiced every day for the prom.
From the day after she came back from her brother’s office, she said she was sick and shut herself in her room. The superficial reason was that she caught a cold after going outside the imperial palace. Saying that she needed to rest for a while, she made the other ladies-in-waiting enter the room as little as possible.
During the day, she practiced dancing with Nell in her bedroom, and after Nell went to bed, she walked around the room alone and practiced until dawn. In fact, it seemed like she just ate and practiced dancing from morning to evening. Like an athlete ahead of a dance contest, she put in a lot of effort.
Still, it had an effect.
After running around the room for four days until her feet hurt, she had now reached a level where she could imitate similarly. It was a phenomenal achievement for her, who had never danced a rhythm dance, let alone a waltz.
‘Even so, there seems to be a big difference from the usual Eve.’
And since she only practiced one waltz, she couldn’t do any other dance. It would be okay if she could only dance one song with the Grand Duke. When she did other dances, she better leave the ballroom.
“Princess, I will help you with makeup.”
“Okay.”
After taking a bath, she put on a dressing gown and sat down in front of the dressing table. There was still time before the ball started, but they decided to leave for the Duke’s residence in a moment. She wanted to go to the Duke’s mansion beforehand and meet the Duchess and Miss Diane.
She also told the ducal family that she would visit a little earlier.
“Did you pack a present for Miss Diane?”
“Yes, Princess. Here you are.”
The maid brought her a small box wrapped in gold paper. Inside this were her pre-packed jewels.
After Nell and the other maids had finished her make-up, another maid brought the dress.
“Princess, I brought you a dress.”
“Huh. Great job.”
Eve had a lot of dresses, but evening dresses were the most common. She must have needed a lot of dresses because as a princess, she would have to attend social events. She had chosen a pale green evening dress out of hundreds of dresses beforehand. It was a beautiful and bright dress in white and light green. She picked this one because it seemed to go well with her hair color.
“Fortunately, it fits just right.”
She stayed up all night practicing the waltz, which made Eve’s already thin body lose weight and become thinner. She wondered what if the dress was a little bigger, but luckily it fits similarly.
She checked her appearance in the mirror with the dress on. In the mirror was a beauty in a pale green dress with her red blonde hair hanging down in a half ponytail. Her clothes fit perfectly, but perhaps because she’s lost some weight, her body looks thinner and slimmer than before. Well, others would think she was starving and the aftermath of her body aches.
After she put on the dress, she put on her gloves for the last time and put on her prom shoes. She wore a dress every day after coming to this world, but it was the first time she had been dressed with such care. Well, it’s the first time she was going to a formal social gathering. There was more to prepare for the prom than she thought.
After putting on her dress, she put on a sleeveless cape over her shoulders and put on slipper-like galoshes under her shoes so as not to ruin her shoes.
She walked down the hallway and went downstairs, and the cold air brushed her skin before she even left the door.
It was chilly even though the sun was still shining.
A carriage and guards were already waiting at the entrance to the palace. The maids lined up at the entrance bowed down to see her off. The carriage passed through the main gate of the imperial palace along a familiar road. And straight into the street lined with gorgeous mansions.
“Is that the Duke’s mansion?”
She asked, looking out the carriage’s window. In the distance, she could see a huge mansion with gray-white walls and an indigo-blue roof. Just by looking at that unique color, she was sure. The mansion she saw with her foreknowledge was clear.
“Yes, Princess. It is the townhouse of the Duke of Rohan.”
Listening to Nell’s answer, she naturally tilted my head.
“I don’t remember.”
“No wonder you don’t remember. The princess hadn’t visited the duke’s house very often.”
“Okay?”
Well, Eve was only chasing the Grand Duke. Although the Duchess was the Grand Duke’s aunt, the Grand Duke had a difficult relationship with the Duke and said that she did not visit them often.
Moments later, a carriage drove across the sidewalk and through the front door of the mansion. It wasn’t as good as the imperial palace, but the Duke’s mansion was also enormous. Even after passing through the main gate, the carriage entered the mansion along the driveway for a long time. There was a large front garden on either side of the driveway to the mansion.
The entire garden, including the large fountain, was covered with snow, creating a picturesque snowscape.
Looking at the white snow covered with white clothes, I remembered the memory of ten days ago.
‘Maybe Miss Diane collapsed at the prom today.’
She vividly recalled the vision of a brown-haired girl who was collapsing bleeding. It seemed like it was going to happen tonight. If possible, she wanted to get her bridesmaid, Miss Diane.
Having the duchess Lady by her side on her wedding day would be a safety device in its own way. Even if that wasn’t the case, it would be best to avoid accidents at the prom she attended.
Upon arriving in front of the Duke’s main building, the Duchess came out to meet her.
“Welcome, Princess. I was waiting.”
“Thank you for inviting me, Duchess.”
The Duchess greeted her with a bright smile. Of course, there was no hint of dislike for her visit. Rather, it was a feeling of trembling to match her mood.
Well, it’s because Eve’s mood was unpredictable.
“I don’t know if I’m interrupting the preparations by coming too early.”
“Please. The preparations are already over. Diane was also very happy when she heard that the princess would visit early.”
She didn’t know if the Duchess was telling the truth or if she’s lying as a greeting, but now she wanted to see Diane as soon as possible.
“Where is Miss Diane?”
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Translator Note:
Hello there! This is RJR. Thank you very much for reading.
Next post will be released on May, 5.
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