A strange illusion took hold of her.
Karina heard something in her head.
Tinkle, tinkle, tinkle.
She felt like the wheels of her lost fate were coming together.
The noise got lower until she couldn’t hear anything.
She and the black-haired and red-eyed man could not take their eyes off each other and fell into a world of their own.
A bright light radiated from behind the man.
There was like a rain of flower petals.
Karina saw a bright night shadow fall behind the beautiful man.
Shining Stars and the Milky Way.
Everything in the world was below man’s beauty.
He was a vicious and destructive existence.
Karina became unable to think of anything the moment she saw him.
The old woman’s prediction came to her confused mind.
「“You will soon start a new life. A strong fate awaits you. You will fall in love with a very fateful and passionate love. The man was tall and had dark hair. His eyes… … Cough cough cough.”」
A tall man with dark hair. And his eyes… …
She didn’t hear the color.
Sabiel was also tall and had curly black hair, but his eyes were blue.
And the man in front of her had red eyes.
Karina’s heart pounded.
A great destiny led her to Café Cardinal to meet this person.
Karina felt like crying. Her heart was full of emotions.
She was reflecting on what Rona said.
It seemed that fate was giving her back what she always wanted.
A sense of having found a place to live as the protagonist of her life came over her.
It was then.
The man’s lips, which had been closed the whole time, moved.
Karina felt like she already knew what he was going to say.
It’s an honor to be able to save a beautiful woman.
That phrase popped into her mind.
She believed that a clear future was flowing into her hands from somewhere.
But the words that came out of the man’s mouth were completely different.
“That’s a relief. Then bye.”
Suddenly, the noise from the street rushed into her ears.
The thugs were still cursing her from a distance as they walked away.
What happened just now… ….
It was as if her soul was connected to his.
A dizzyingly deep and sweet connection.
It was her first time.
Am I the only one who felt this great feeling?
Karina couldn’t believe it.
Clearly, our eyes met.
But within those seconds he was already quite far away.
“Hey, excuse me! Wait!”
Karina’s voice did not reach him.
The man’s back soon disappeared into the crowd.
* * *
The gardens of the Duke of Yuter’s mansion were famous for their beauty.
Duchess Mariela had a hobby of gardening herself, and Gillian, who loved his wife, did a special big project for her.
A shallow moat was dug in a wide plot of land.
Some ground was raised, and everything from flowers blooming along the water to plants growing in mountains and streams looked like a miniature version of nature itself.
Yuter’s paradise.
There was a small music hall in the middle of the garden where Mariela often spent her time.
But today, her face was gloomy and full of worry.
“Mother.”
Elysia walked up to her, smiling.
“Elysia.”
Mariela smiled kindly.
“What did you call me here?”
“Sigh.”
Mariella let out a sigh before she even started talking.
“What’s wrong?”
Elysia thought it wouldn’t be too serious.
Mariela’s biggest concern was that Elysia was excommunicated from Hadunsha.
But in comparison, nothing mattered too much.
However, sighing for a long time over something related to her didn’t bother Elysia.
“Her Majesty, The Empress wants to see you.”
“The Empress?”
Mariela nodded very worriedly.
“Is it because I lack manners?”
Elysia took Mariela’s hand.
“Until then, I will work hard and learn more. It may not be perfect, but I’ll try my best to make sure I don’t embarrass Mother.”
A little while ago, Elysia had been attending an etiquette class for over three hours.
Tears welled up from her. A corset squeezed her waist, and she had to sit very straight for a long time. She was so frustrated that she nearly passed out.
There is no more place to tighten.
Elysia’s body was already perfect.
Her face was small and her body was slender without any fat.
She had to tighten her waist with a corset to make her look slimmer.
During all this time, she worked as a maid at the Grand Duke’s residence, so it was her first time wearing a corset.
What a monstrous thing!
She felt the blood flowing through her lower body and her upper body was cut off from the middle.
She wanted to take it off as soon as class was over, but Mariela had been waiting for a long time.
Mariela looked at Elysia and shook her head.
She had an unknown sadness in her deep eyes.
“Is fate inevitable?”
“What do you mean?”
Unable to comprehend the helpless mumble, Elysia stared at her, raised her head, and smiled.
“Nothing. Just saying.”
Mariela picked up a letter with a large golden imperial coat of arms.
“The Empress wants to see you in five days.”
“So fast?”
“She must have heard that you were excommunicated from Hadunsha. The Empress is very fond of you.”
Elysia couldn’t comprehend which part of this sympathetic letter was worrying Mariela.
So she asked.
“Mother. I don’t remember. Please tell me anything.”
Elysia became impatient thinking that she might make a big mistake.
“Ahhh. Elysia. The Empress wants you to become the Crown Princess.”
“Yes?”
Elysia opened her eyes wide.
“The Crown Princess… … .”
She stared at Mariela.
Mariela’s reaction was strange.
When she was excommunicated from Hadunsha, Elysia tried to understand that Mariela’s behavior was similar to ‘the reaction of a parent who sends their children to Seoul National University and then drops out of school’.
But right now, she was like, ‘The child who quit Seoul National University was admitted to Harvard, but the parent didn’t want the child to study abroad‘.
Could it be that the Crown Princess’ position is lower than being a candidate for High Priest?
No matter how little she read the original, she could not understand all of these parts, so Elysia said cautiously.
“Uh, um. I don’t think I’m good enough to be the Crown Princess.”
Also, the Crown Prince is Karina’s second male lead.
Karina even said that she was having an affair with the Crown Prince.
But, what the hell is wrong with the Empress, wanting to make her the Crown Princess?
“Not enough? It’s not because you’re lacking. It’s all because I’m a useless mother.”
Mariela smiled sadly.
Oh, if Laurie had seen Mariela’s face, she would have become her fan instead of mine.
Elysia became serious.
“There is no noble who would refuse to marry to the imperial family but as your mother, I don’t like it.”
She looked around the paradise surrounding the Music Hall.
“The Yuters have been exceptional from generation to generation. They made a great fortune. But your dad likes to study history and travel abroad. I’m from a humble family, so I’m not interested in politics. I’m just quietly taking care of the garden.”
The problem was that the Duke of Yuter was very powerful.
“If you became the Crown Princess, you would have to live in the Imperial Palace, and that is happiness for those who want it, but for those who don’t, it may be unfortunate.”
Elysia almost said something but preferred to keep her mouth shut.
I was wrong to think poorly of Mariela.
She was an ideal mother who put the happiness of her child first.
“What do you want to do? If you are interested in that position, I will discuss it with your father.”
“Well. I don’t think I want to be the Crown Princess.”
Elysia was curious about what happened to Karina’s marriage.
“Maybe I have forgotten everything. But from now on, I will learn from scratch. I know Mother is worried about my ex-communication. But I’m going to figure out what I want to do. Please believe in me.”
Elysia thought that if she succeeded in finding a job, she would never have to worry about her future.
She suddenly fell into this world and worked as a maid to survive, but Elysia questioned herself.
If I wasn’t living a different life here, wouldn’t I have thought about my life course in reality?
She knew, in fact, that’s not true.
After graduating from school, getting a job, then getting a promotion, then getting married, and after getting married, you have to have a child.
She wanted to get out of the cycle of endless worries and be happy for a while.
“I’m sure I can make a good choice.”
The only thing she could believe in was herself.
Elysia was sure she was strong and lucky.
At first, she almost died on the shore of a cold lake, but in the end, she lived on her own for half a year, and she was lucky enough to find her family.
“Thank you for saying that, Elysia.”
Only then did Mariela pat her on the head, a little relieved.
She treated her eldest daughter, who was twenty, like a little child.
Perhaps it was because Elysia went to Hadunsha at a very young age.
“Anyway, I’m worried. I have to get a dress all of a sudden.”
“Dress?”
Mariela nodded.
“You can’t wear clothes that are inferior to the Royal Palace. I can’t get a dress this quickly.”
Mariela sighed, saying that even a simple dress would take weeks to make.
At that moment, a brilliant idea flashed through Elysia’s head.
“I have a good idea.”
* * *
‘Le Ballein‘, a dressing shop located on Luton Street.
Eleon murmured as he looked up at the signboard with golden letters.
“This is the place.”
It seemed to him that it would be difficult for commoners and maids to come and go.
It was the first time Eleon had come to the dressing room with Rona.
This is because the Grand Duke’s residence has contracts with several famous clothing stores.
And if he needed clothes, they would come directly to the mansion.
The reason Eleon brought her here was that he thought Rona liked going out since she couldn’t go out for six months.
He had quite a good time before Sabiel appeared.
The texture of the clothes he touched that day still remains on his fingertips.
The woman who was supposed to wear those clothes disappeared.
“Welcome. Grand Duke. It’s an honor to meet you again.”
Seeing his red eyes, Emily could not hide her surprised face and quickly bowed.
“I’m here for the clothes I had ordered before.”
Emily nodded and answered quickly.
“Yes, Your Highness. The order cancellation and refund have been completed.”
Thank you,