Before long, a profound darkness had descended.
The wind coming in through the open window stirred the curtains.
Elise’s body appeared and disappeared, half-hidden by the curtains.
Elise pondered for a long time about how to live her life from now on.
The first goal was easy to set.
Revenge.
‘But with what I have now, I can’t do anything.’
The foundation that Chase had built was entirely his. This was because Elise had thoroughly hidden herself and moved in the shadows.
‘Even if I ask for it now, Chase won’t give it to me. I should have kept a double set of books and set aside some money.’
The Elise of the past was naive.
So, while she ran several businesses for Chase, she didn’t manage to secure a single thing for herself.
‘I was so stupid it’s embarrassing to say.’
To keep Chase in check and to take revenge on the magician Iris, she needed money.
‘I also need my own people.’
But that alone felt insufficient.
‘What else do I need?’
Elise began to calmly list the things she needed to do.
When her thoughts were somewhat organized, Regina came in with a knock.
Looking back at Regina, who had neatly coiled up her brown hair, she came in with a letter and a small box.
“His Highness Chase has sent a gift.”
“A gift from His Highness?”
Elise was dumbfounded.
Chase was a stingy person when it came to giving to others, due to his impoverished childhood.
Before he became the crown prince, it was even worse, so most of the expenses for dates with Elise came out of Elise’s pocket.
Of course, she had never received a decent gift from him until he became the crown prince.
The only gift he gave was a hastily scribbled poem.
At that time, Elise thought it was quite romantic.
She said she received sincerity and his time, which couldn’t be bought with money.
But it turned out that the poem was written by his aide, and he merely copied it, changing a few words.
Even knowing that, she tried to understand Chase, saying that choosing the right words for a poem was a more difficult task.
‘I was crazy.’
Elise received the letter and box with a cold, hardened face.
It was an uncharacteristic act for Chase anyway.
“Oh my, ruby earrings. They’re small and cute, they’ll really suit you.”
Chase could be said to have shown sincerity, but Elise was not impressed.
Elise, who had casually tossed the box aside, tore the letter envelope without a paper knife. It made Regina startled.
“Miss, I’ll bring a paper knife.”
“There’s no need.”
Elise waved her hand and read the letter straight through.
Was it written by an aide this time too? The first sentence was quite literary and melancholic.
Elise casually threw the letter she had read onto the table.
“What does it say?”
Regina’s eyes sparkled. Regina cheered for Elise and Chase’s love as much as her own.
Regina believed that the situation of Elise, a lowly member of the Viscount’s family, would change if she became the prince’s companion.
Looking at it, it has changed now that they are in a relationship. The Viscount and Viscountess Worton didn’t openly oppress Elise. But the covert harassment continued.
‘They gaslighted me, saying it was all thanks to them and that I should be grateful.’
Phew, the more she thought about it, the angrier she got, so Elise tried hard to push the memory away.
“If you’re curious, read it. And you can have the ruby earrings.”
“Huh? You’re giving me such a precious thing? But it’s a gift from His Highness?”
“It doesn’t seem to suit me. Gifts should go to those who will cherish them. Besides, what’s Iris doing these days?”
“Miss, didn’t the master and mistress go to the hot springs?”
Regina said, glancing around.
The hot springs in winter, Elise quietly pondered. She knew what they would be doing and where.
‘Will it go as you wish, sister?’
Elise lifted one corner of her lips, imagining where the Viscount and Viscountess and Iris would be.
Regina took the box and left, and Elise finished her thoughts.
Elise had no intention of forgiving Chase, who had thoroughly used her and discarded her.
And it was time to retaliate against Iris, who had not only taken what was hers but also embroiled her in scandal.
‘I won’t let His Highness Crown Prince David die in vain either.’
Because she was Chase’s fiancée, Elise and David were inevitably not on good terms, but David was courteous to Elise.
Even when he was unjustly made the deposed crown prince because of her, he blamed Chase instead of cursing Elise.
“It seems his brother is a fool who only knows how to use good people badly.”
To save him, she had to prevent David and Iris’s marriage.
“This life will be different.”
Elise’s eyes shone brightly.
The Viscount and his wife took Iris and traveled to escape the summer heat and winter cold.
During that time, the heating and cooling magic devices in the Viscount’s mansion were turned off, and the fireplaces in various places rested.
It was somehow cold.
“Don’t be too upset, Miss. You’ll go with them next time.”
Regina offered the same comfort to Elise, who was shivering in the cold, for the tenth year.
Elise didn’t believe Regina’s words, but she nodded and smiled.
‘It’s better without Father. The person who would interfere with my plans is gone. I have to end things with Chase before they return.’
When Elise smiled, Regina’s face brightened considerably. Then Regina began to chatter.
“A while ago, Viscount Photon was caught meeting Lady Jane behind Lady Photon’s back. So, Lady Photon completely scratched Viscount Photon’s neck. That’s why Viscount Photon wears a scarf around his neck every time he goes to the gentlemen’s club these days.”
Regina chattered endlessly. Most of it was about the social circle, but there was also content related to the royal family.
“Oh, did you hear? The Crown Prince went hunting with His Highness Chase. They said they were going to Earl Joshua’s territory.”
‘He’s going to meet Iris.’
Iris and David’s love story was very famous. Iris, who was strolling in Earl Joshua’s territory, accidentally lost her way and stepped into David’s hunting ground.
There, Iris becomes friends with a bird.
‘David will shoot the bird. Iris will cry loudly.’
David apologizes to Iris and sends a bird made of jewels when he returns to the capital, and their love begins.
‘Iris said she lost her way by accident, but she didn’t. How did she know? It would be difficult to find out in advance about the princes’ hunting grounds due to security issues.’
The current Viscount Worton was not a family that wielded great power in politics.
Because of this, they were insensitive to the news of the monarchy.
‘Chase and I have been in contact from the beginning…or else?’
A flash struck Elise’s mind. Elise looked at Regina.
Whether her gaze was hot or not, Regina, who had been chattering excitedly, closed her mouth and looked around.
“Miss?”
“Regina, where did you hear that?”
“What, what?”
“The stories you just told.”
“This? I read it in a gossip magazine that we maids circulate.”
“Gossip magazine? You circulate it among yourselves?”
“Yes. It’s a gossip magazine that we receive once every two weeks. It’s cheap and has a lot of interesting news, so I read it. There are surprisingly accurate things too.”
“Can I see it too?”
“Huh? It’s not something Miss should see…”
Regina suddenly lost her confidence.
When Elise looked at her with a tilted head, Regina waved her hand.
“It’s not strange! It’s just that it doesn’t only contain content that Miss would like.”
Regina’s reaction made her even more curious.
“Bring it to me. Everything you have.”
She had accurately guessed the prince’s hunting ground. In the past, she would have dismissed it as a coincidence, but this time she wanted to confirm it.
Regina reluctantly brought the gossip magazine. The amount was considerable.
“It’s enormous.”
“Ah, that’s because it’s a collection of three years. It started being published three years ago. At first, it was only the size of a palm, but it gradually grew. Now it’s about the size of a regular newspaper. The publication cycle has also become shorter.”
Listening to Regina’s explanation and looking at it, it was indeed so. In the early days, the paper quality was terrible, perhaps due to lack of money.
So there were parts that were erased here and there.
“I’ll read it and return it.”
“There won’t be any content that Miss would like…”
Regina trailed off.
If it were the Elise of the past, it would have been so.
But the Elise now is different.
If this was what Iris used to have a fateful encounter with David, she had to get her hands on this first to change fate.
Elise sent Regina out and skimmed everything from three years ago to the latest issue.
She spent a few days reading the gossip magazine and identifying the publisher.
And finally, Elise checked the last gossip magazine.
‘It’s all true. There are lies mixed in, but they are cleverly mixed in, and if you look closely, they are all events that actually happened. It says it writes what it sees, experiences, and hears…’
She needed someone to be the eyes, ears, and mouth of the social and political circles.
Elise spread out the gossip magazine again with shining eyes.
‘Regina said she didn’t know the identity, but they left traces everywhere.’
By analyzing the content of the gossip magazine published at a specific cycle, she could infer the activity area.
Special parties, specific events.
Elise listed the parties and events, and the dates, and then narrowed down the list of people invited there.
The last thing to check was the handwriting. Elise rummaged through her desk drawer and pulled out a sheet of letter paper.
Elise sent a tea time invitation to the people who were suspected to have published the gossip magazine.
“Now, let’s wait for the reply.”
Elise climbed onto the bed. It was early to sleep, but she had to sleep now because she had an important plan in the evening.
It was a plan to completely turn away from Chase, who was insisting on not breaking up.
‘It’s something that can only be done with his help. But will he help?’
Elise had an inexplicable confidence.
In the evening, her heart was beating low but fast at the thought of meeting that man.
Should she catch those two red-handed with David…?