Chapter 8: The Lady’s Circumstances Part 2
It was funny how men laughed at women’s extravagance and hanging on to manners after making them do nothing in the first place.
Those who were sarcastic about holding a sword were even more ridiculous. Well, I have nothing to say since I was one of them.
Madam Erene thought, inwardly, that her words had offended Lucifella.
Madam Erene finally thought about this when she lost her title because there were no men in the house, and her rank was substantially demoted.
What is the difference between a man’s role and a commoner and a noble.
She was curious about something similar, and she had to answer her attitude without knowing it.
“I see. I understand.”
After a while, Lucifella smiled and said.
“If this is their way, we should follow their way.”
She stood up gracefully, straightening her back. Her rigid movements and carefreeness were gone.
“Then shall we try until the banquet?”
Madam Erene agreed with the statement that Lucifella was beautiful. But it was just an assessment of appearance.
Her silver eyes were shining like stars, just like her nickname, Jansgar’s Morning Star. Because of those eyes, Madam Erene felt her true beauty.
***
“Do you have any concerns?”
The empress looked up at Eozif’s words. In the warm sunshine, the empress stood in front of the gold cage, listening to the canary singing. It was one of her actions when she was full of anxiety.
“It’s a banquet in three days.”
“I see.”
Eozif nodded.
“I’m worried about Lady Aydin.”
At the Empress’s words, Eozif looked at the Empress with a soft expression.
“Lady Aydin is in trouble because she brought it herself. My mother doesn’t have to be so concerned.”
The tone was soft, but the content was cold. The empress said with a bitter smile.
“The prince seems to be trying to create a rift between Count Aydin and me.”
“Is that so?”
Since the invitation was sent directly in the name of the empress, it was obvious that Count Aydin would resent the empress.
The crown prince was not wary of his younger brother, Eozif, but was wary of the empress, the mistress of the palace. At least he must have been wary of becoming emperor and the empress becoming empress.
“You don’t have to.”
She sighed and put her hand on her forehead. The bangs that made her look younger than her age were lifted and her forehead was revealed. Then there was a scar on her forehead that could not be covered with makeup.
“I think it’s just because of your bad temperament.”
“Do you think so?”
“Don’t you know my brother’s personality well?”
At that, the empress nodded her head. They were well aware of Temir’s sadistic and ferocious nature. Eozif approached the Empress and looked at the cage.
“It wouldn’t have been this way if I had thought about it.”
“Why do you think so?”
“Didn’t you offend Zed?”
Zedekiah Heint was engaged to Count Aydin’s daughter. Bringing out a fiancée with flaws in many ways and making fun of it was directly related to the honor of the Duke. It wouldn’t have been a pleasant thing.
“Unlike Count Aydin, Zed would have immediately noticed that it was my brother, not my mother, who invited the lady. He hates my brother’s personality.”
Eozif took off his glasses and rubbed them against the hem of his robe.
“But only a little offended, would Duke of Heint pretend to be the prince for his fiancée? If you think there’s no relationship, it won’t even be an insult.”
“I know Zed’s personality very well. Even though he looks like that, he’s not a rude guy. Well, except for me.”
Eozif folded his glasses finely and put them in his pocket. Then the sharp eyes that were hidden in the glasses were revealed.
“She’s his fiancée, even if it’s flawless and forced. Inviting his fiancée there to insult her is an obvious insult to Zed. Zed won’t forget this.”
“….”
“If it were me, I wouldn’t have given him an excuse to turn Zed into an enemy.”
The green eyes of Eozif, who took off the glasses, were shining sharply. There was a smirk on his face, different from the gentle smile he had made earlier.
***
Lucifella did the best she could to learn the etiquette. Thus, on the eve of the banquet, she was able to act like a noble lady to some extent.
Although she did not perfectly learn the basics of the nobles’ family tree or country, but somehow succeeded in making it appear plausible in appearance.
“With all due respect, no one wants to talk to you because of what you’ve done.”
“Because of the stupid thing that jumped into the lake by begging for love from the crown prince?”
“That’s it. Still, you know what you’ve done.”
She was praised, but somehow she felt bad. Madam Erene sighed at Lucifella’s expression.
“I’m sure you’ll be ridiculed at the banquet hall.”
“There’s the easiest way not to go, but I can’t do this…..”
I thought about how I came into this body and suffered, but it was right to think about why I had such a hard time in Ersha in the first place.
If I had to attend a banquet in the future, it was better to just hold it as soon as possible. Estelle was not the type to avoid and run away.
‘It’s a banquet.’
She’s acting as Lucifella, but she hasn’t got a sense of reality yet. However, when she see Duke Heint, She’s only strongly aware of herself as Estelle. Currently, her life seemed to be floating somewhere.
“It’s like you’re dreaming.”
“What?”
“No, it’s just that. Just.”
Lucifella laughed bitterly.
If she doesn’t accept it as a dream, she’ll still not understand what’s happening to her.
How would you accept that Ersha’s knight becomes a lady and attends a banquet in Jansgar?
It was only natural that she wasn’t afraid of things that didn’t have a sense of reality, like a dream.
***
On the day of the banquet, it was not her but the maids who were shaking from the morning. In the morning, she had to soak herself in a bath full of scented bath products.
She thought blankly when she saw that the maids were already in high spirits and decorated her.
I didn’t know the day would come when I would wear this dress. If Liam sees it, he’s going to faint from laughing his head off.
She thought blankly as she looked at her clothes.
“Are you ready, my lady?”
Royza, the maid standing next to her, said. Lucifella nodded and nearly fainted. Is a corset this amazing?
“Sto- Ah!”
Tightening your waist was not the skill that you had once or twice worn a corset. Wouldn’t it be bad if you recklessly tighten the waist of a person with such low muscle strength?
What’s this corset if there’s a reason for the ladies’ manners? Is it to kill a woman? Or is it to intentionally weaken the existence of a woman?
“Louisa, you’ve had a grudge against me, right?”
“Ah no~ no way. How can I be angry with my lady? Hang on, my lady.”
Now, in another sense, women were respectable. If looking pretty was a kind of job, they were always living fiercely.
“Louisa, I was wrong!”
“It’s Royza.”
When the name was called wrong again, Roiza stepped on and tightened the corset even more.
After dressing up, Lucifella looked at her reflection in the mirror. She was definitely pretty.
“It’s pretty.”
The maid’s faces were seriously stiffened by Lucifella’s uninspiring appreciation. Of course, it is herself standing there, but it is also Lucifella’s face, so there was no emotion in decorating it.
Her long hair was pulled up and pinned, the scented powder brought by the maids (when she had her eyes closed) seemed to do something with her pale face as it’s looked alive.
The face I thought was a pretty face from the beginning was transformed into a more beautiful face after dressing up.
What she’s called? Jansgar’s Morning Star?
She is compared to herself, who was called the Morning Star of Ersha. In the first place, Lucifella and Estelle were too different to put themselves in the same position.
Lucifella looked at the dress she was wearing. It was a navy blue dress. In a way, it was her ‘first’ dress. This is the color of the uniform she received when she became a knight.
I remembered the dream that I had a while ago.
Dream of becoming a knight and wearing a uniform that did not fit my body. She was a little more excited then, unlike now, when she had a dull expression in her dress.
She can do something with her sword. Something can rise to a great position. She was overjoyed in that she could defend the people and the country.
She vowed to dedicate her loyalty to the country that gave her the opportunity to fight with a sword.
And when the presence of the man standing next to her came to mind, she tried to calm down, but Lucifella shook her head. I am Lucifella. I decided to live as Lucifella.
She opened the door and went out. As she went down to the lobby on the first floor, the Count in banquet clothes was waiting. The Count looked at her for a moment and smiled brightly at his daughter.
She held her skirt carefully so that it wouldn’t wrinkle.
“You are so beautiful, Lucy.”
“I think so, too.”
The count burst into laughter at the casual remark.
“It’s like you’re getting your memory back. It’s a very good sign.”
Lucifella must have been a person who had confidence in her appearance. She was convinced that it was not groundless confidence.
The Count was dressed in great refinement. It is not only in words that Count Aydin is a rich family, but in her view, the material of the clothes itself was different.
Lucifella inadvertently reached out and fiddled with the clothes. The Count smiled.
“I’m sorry.”
“What?”
“No, I forced you to go to the banquet.”
“It’s all right.”
What do you mean? How many great nobles would refuse the Queen’s invitation?
Lucifella’s bright reply gave the Count a bewildered expression on his face, then he gently placed his hand on her head and stroked it.
Lucifella felt the Count’s affection. It was a strangely warm feeling that tickled her heart. However, somehow, a vague pain spread on the side of her chest.
“I hope you don’t make the same mistake as before today. Your Highness the crown prince will be in trouble.”
“I will.”
The Count headed to the carriage as Lucifella took his arm, answering obediently.
But well, she wasn’t sure how she would react when she saw the friendly Jansgar.
However, she said she would live as Lucifella, and she did not intend to cause an accident, so even if she answered like this, she did not tell a lie.
As she was led into the carriage by the Count, the carriage began to run toward the Imperial Palace.
I made up my mind slowly, but as I got closer to the palace, I began to feel nervous.
***
Thank you for reading!
Although she decides to live as Lucifella, I hope she still has the same vigour as a knight because she deserves to be a knight.