Elisia gasped, breathing hard in Franz's arms.
As soon as she met his gaze and heard his voice, strange feelings trembled in her chest—followed by an indescribable wave of rejection.
Her body seemed to refuse to drift towards Franz.
“Huh... huh...”
“Are you okay?
Quickly!
Call the royal doctor!”
Franz's worried voice rang out from somewhere far away.
Elisia pushed him weakly.
“Stay away from me...”
She stumbled backwards, holding her chest with one hand and shaking her head.
“I don't need a doctor.”
“No, you need treatment.
Your face is pale.”
“I said I didn't want one...”
She shook her head more violently, her red hair flowing over her shoulders.
Elisia hugged herself with her arms, as if trying to protect her body from him.
“No one will come.
The doctor will not come.”
Her eyes widened at the mention of the word “doctor,” and she stared at Franz with sharp red eyes full of accusation.
“They won't come.”
Franz stood in shock at her sudden change and tried to calm her down.
“Please, don’t worry.
I was sent for—”
“I said they won't come!”
Elisia screamed in a voice bordering on hysteria.
With her voice breaking, Lucette calmly gestured to the staff.
The attendees withdrew silently.
After them, Lucette came out and they walked quietly, closing the door behind them.
Now, the only ones left in the room full of wedding dresses were Elisia and Franz.
Elysia didn't even realize it.
She was whispering in a trembling voice:
“Please...call the doctor...”
“Calm down, Elysia.”
Although moments before she had rejected the doctor, now she was begging for him madly.
Her emerald eyes, lost and disturbed, were trembling.
“Please...”
She groaned as she slowly lowered her trembling hands towards her flat stomach.
Her eyes filled with tears.
“Call the doctor, please!”
“Elysia!”
Franz frantically grabbed her and pulled her into his embrace, holding her tightly.
She tried to wriggle out, but he didn't move.
“Okay, okay, I’ll do whatever you want.
Just calm down.”
“Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.”
Elisia burst into tears in his arms.
Hot tears ran down her cheeks and soaked into Franz's jacket.
Her shoulders were silently trembling.
Everything was hurting.
Her mind is confused.
Her heart suddenly beat so painfully that she instinctively pushed Franz away from her.
Every part of her pain is related to him.
The scars on her wrists, the guilt, the grief, the loss of the child, her feeling of abandonment—all of his doing.
She thought pushing him away would end everything.
But, as soon as she heard the word “doctor,” everything collapsed.
She forgot that she was in the middle of choosing a wedding dress, and clutched her empty stomach.
The doctor won't come.
No matter how many times she cried for help, no one came.
There was no doctor in the palace to take care of the abandoned Crown Princess.
Even when she soaked her pillow with tears and starved for days, no one from the palace came to rescue her.
However, Franz simply said that he would call the doctor.
As if it were simple.
As if he really cared about her.
The world revolved around her.
Past, present and future intertwined in her mind.
She no longer knows where she is or what she is doing.
There was only one thing that was certain—her fear of the future.
If she marries Franz, she will have to spend the wedding night with him.
Then, sooner or later, she will lose another child.
No matter how much she tries to change fate, she will end up again in this white dress.
“No…”
She moaned and cried helplessly.
It was very painful.
It was as if she had lost an unborn child.
“Everything will be fine.”
“No…”
“You'll be fine.”
Franz repeated the same words over and over, patting her gently.
She was humming “no” and crying in his arms.
Even if her words were not clear, he still listened to her steadily.
“If you don't want it, nothing will happen.
Just don't cry.”
“I hate you, Franz Eustace.”
“You are terrible.”
She whispered, as if she was revealing what was deep in her heart.
Franz said nothing.
Frustrated by his silence, Elisia let out her feelings and then closed her eyes.
Moments later, her body went slack.
“Elysia?”
Franz's shocked voice gradually lowered.
Elisia could not respond.
She lost consciousness.
“…Don’t let her know.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Elisia's mind jolted when she heard a familiar voice.
Her body felt like it was drowning.
She wanted to open her eyes, but her eyelids were too heavy.
She gave up and returned to her coma.
“...the dresses... are all ready...”
She heard Franz's voice giving orders during fleeting moments of consciousness.
Lucette and Sara were responding quietly, but their words were slurred.
Time after time, Elisia moved between unconsciousness and wakefulness.
After an unknown amount of time, she was finally able to open her eyes.
Her vision was blurry.
She blinked several times until she saw Sarah's face shining with joy.
"Ma'am!
Are you awake?"
“…sa…ra.”
Elisia furrowed her brow at her dry, cracked voice.
Sara helped her sit down and offered her a glass of water.
“Drink a little.
Your throat must be dry from lying so long.”
“How long have I been asleep?”
Elisia drank and returned the cup.
Sarah's face became serious.
“Since yesterday—a whole day.”
“Ah…”
Elisia rubbed her forehead, trying to remember what happened.
She was distracted by Franz's gaze, and everything after that was a blur.
She remembered a bit of the conversation, but not the details.
She lowered her hand and asked Sarah cautiously:
“Did I...did something wrong?”
"Wrong?
Of course not!"
Sarah looked shocked.
Then, in front of Elisia's serious face, she shook her head vigorously.
“You fainted from the stress of wedding preparations.
There is no reason to feel guilty.”
“What about Madame Lucette?”
“She apologized and said she was overly excited to help you choose the perfect dress.
She intends to visit you during rehearsal to formally apologize.”
“She shouldn't have...”
Elysia mumbled embarrassed.
Lucette wasn't wrong.
On the contrary, Elisia is the one who is supposed to apologize for her sudden collapse.
“As an apology, she said she would give you a wedding dress.”
"What?"
Elysia looked stunned.
Even if Lucette was the reason, that seemed like an exaggeration.
Wedding dresses were three times more expensive than regular dresses—and the Elysia dress was designed specifically for the royal family.
She grabbed Sarah's arm and spoke seriously:
“This is not right.
I will pay for it properly.”
“It is no loss to Madame Lucette.”
Sarah smiled, shrugging her shoulders.
“His Highness the Prince has ordered that all your clothes from now on—your dresses, shoes, hats, and even accessories—be from Lucite.
By giving you this dress, you are now the official royal boutique.
It is a huge win for her.”
“Well… I guess that makes sense.”
Sara gently patted Elisia's hand and continued: "Thanks to that, the Lucite crew is on your side now.
You don't have to worry about the rumors."
“Thank you, Sarah.”
Elysia smiled at her gratefully.
She always thought of everything in advance.
Spreading the news that the future Crown Princess has fainted will not be good.
It will not cancel the title, but it may cause them to marginalize her on official occasions due to her health condition.
She had to be more careful.
She gently squeezed Sarah's hand while holding hers.
Sarah sighed and said, "But what do we do about the dress?
You haven't chosen one yet."
“I'll choose the last one I tried.”
“You mean the one the Prince saw you in?
Good choice.
It looked great on you.”
Elisia smiled at Sara, then noticed a bottle of medicine on the table.
"What is this?"
When asked, Sarah suddenly froze.
She quickly stood up, covering the bottle with her body.
"This?
Oh, nothing!"
Elysia stared at her.
Sara bit her lip under her silent gaze.
“Sara…Are you hiding something from me?”
Sarah's face froze at this quiet accusation.