Elysia didn't want to attract attention at the party, if she could.
In her previous life, when Prince Crichton's birthday party was held, this was not a difficult matter.
No one paid any attention to her as she entered, not even her husband, Franz, who showed no interest.
The Second Prince's wife was a living ghost, a person without a shadow.
No one even bothered to whisper about the poor quality of her dress.
The second prince's wife was so insignificant that she did not deserve mention.
Rather, the talk was about Neres.
Daughter of the noble Roshanak family, and niece of the Empress.
A delicate, rare lady, swaying like a cosmic flower.
Elysia still clearly remembers the dress Nerys wore, and what happened that day.
The events of that night clung to her, refusing to fade away even for a moment.
Nerys wore a pale pink dress, a softer color than her hair.
And with those bright blue eyes, which people praised as sapphires, she shone as she approached Franz.
Glenna introduced her, and spoke to Franz with an innocent and sweet look.
As she watched Franz lean towards her, Elisia quietly dug her nails into her chest.
She wanted to run to him and shout: Don't look at Neris!
Don't listen to her stories!
She wanted to beg him not to touch Nerys with the same hand she had rejected, and not to dance with his hand on her waist.
But Elisia just stood there, shabby, alone against the wall, watching them.
She knew that as soon as she got closer, Franz would close his nose and frown.
She didn't want anyone—especially Nerys—to see her humiliated like that in front of all the nobles.
She stood and watched them—as they danced, then danced, then danced again.
When all the dancing was over, I watched Nerys lead Franz to the balcony, and then draw the curtains on the window.
She doesn't even remember how she got back to the palace that night.
The only thing she remembered was the smile Franz gave Nerys.
A beautiful smile...he never gave it to her even once.
Cruelly beautiful...and completely devoid of compassion.
“By the way, where is His Highness the Second Prince now?”
Elysia snapped out of her distraction at Lucette's question.
She took a small breath as she looked at herf in the portrait mirror.
Before her, the prince's shabby wife from the past did not stand,
Rather, she is an elegant prince's wife, radiant in a charming dress.
Her wandering mind was taken away and returned to the present.
“I thought it would be nice to show him how beautiful you look,” Lucette continued, adjusting a jewel stuck to the hem of Alicia’s dress.
“He's busy right now.”
"Okay, that's fine.
Surprising him at the party wouldn't be a bad idea either."
Since his last shift, Franz had shut himf in.
Lucius told her he had a cold.
She pretended to believe him, because she did not want to delve into the secret surrounding Franz.
“Then he probably doesn't care about dresses,” Elisia said quietly.
But Lucette, who was bent at her feet, quickly raised her head and shook it vehemently.
“That is not true, Your Highness.”
Lucette stood, patted her back, motioned for the female assistants to inspect the jewelry, and then continued: “He gave me precise orders—that your dress at the party should be the most beautiful and splendid.
He told me that the cost did not matter at all.”
She gestured at her jokingly, looking at her with clear admiration.
Elysia looked surprised.
She wasn't used to being looked at like that.
She was always the one jealous, not the one being jealous of her.
She didn't know how to act.
“Oh...
I see.”
“Of course!
He even said that the design should match the necklace that Her Majesty the Empress gave you.
What do you think?”
As she spoke, Sarah brought the necklace, placed it around Elisia's neck, and then gasped, saying: “Oh my God, Madame, you are a genius.
It is perfect.”
“Haha, I think so too,” Lucette laughed proudly.
Elizia looked like she had just stepped out of a royal painting—beautiful and elegant.
If only that shadow was removed from her face, she would be perfect.
Elysia touched the necklace gently, her expression mysterious.
While Lucette was trying to understand her expression, Elisia broke the silence with a faint voice:
“I didn’t know he gave those instructions.”
“He even ordered a number of personal items for you as well.
He was very meticulous.”
Lucette pointed her finger.
One of the female assistants came carrying the notebook and handed it to Elisia.
“This is the list of items that His Highness requested from our workshop.”
And on the list, as Lucette already said:
“Outing gloves, hair bands, soft cotton socks, silk stockings, sleeping mask, house slippers, bathrobe, jewelry box”—all carefully written down.
If Lucette hadn't mentioned it, Elisia would have thought it was set up by Lucius or Sara.
Her eyes widened as she read, and the shadow on her face gradually began to fade.
Lucette smiled, happy to see the light returning to her face.
“Amazing, isn't it?
So please, don't say he doesn't care about you.
If noble ladies heard this, they would be jealous.”
“Why...?
Why put in all this effort...?”
“Obviously because he loves and cherishes you.”
“…This is not possible.”
Elisia muttered in confusion, dropping the paper from her hand.
“When...when did he do all this?”
She turned her gaze towards Franz's room.
As she stood silently, Lucette quickly added: “What do you mean by ‘not possible’?
You are the perfect couple in the empire!
You are still on your honeymoon!”
Elysia slowly turned to look at her.
Lucette seemed confused, not knowing how to respond to the unexpected reaction.
“Yes, Lucette.”
Elysia smiled sweetly and returned the note.
Then she looked again at the woman in the mirror and said: “His Highness cherishes me.”
We are a newly married couple.
It is natural for the Second Prince to be proud of his wife—she said that hopeful and foolish sentence without meaning to.
After Lucette left, Elisia sat alone in the spacious room.
The sunset rays painted everything a deep golden colour.
Her red hair glowed like transparent gold under the light.
“Is it normal for Franz to be proud of me?”
Elysia laughed sarcastically at her reflection.
A woman wears an extravagant dress, expensive jewelry, and flaunts an elegant posture.
A woman stupid enough to tell lies and hold out hope.
This is Elysia Eustace in this life.
“Why do I hold out hope?”
She put her hand on her forehead.
She has to give up expectations, give up hope—especially in times like these.
Nerys appeared a year early.
I have to move quickly too.
Elisia placed her hand on her chest.
Right in the center of her chest—where she had once been stabbed by Franz's assassin's sword.
If she didn't want another sword stuck in her, she only had one choice.
The choice she repeated to herf over and over again.
Revenge.
Elisia gritted her teeth and clutched her chest.
The silk wrinkled under her trembling hand, and her white palm shook.
She was worried.
Things are moving faster than we can control.
Nerys showed up early, and Mana hasn't neutralized Franz yet.
Was it because she provoked Glenna?
Or because she decided to stay in the Second Prince's palace instead of living separately?
She wasn't sure of the real reason.
Elysia slowly released her chest.
“I can't panic.
I have to stay calm.”
She had to think about what to do now.
Her goals for revenge were two:
First: Refusing to neutralize Franz's mana.
Second: Attracting the Schuyler family to its side, and building a faction opposed to Franz.
Of the two, only neutralization went according to plan.
As for attracting Schuyler, or giving their faction any real power, that has not happened yet.
There was simply not enough time.
It wasn't long after they got married.
Elisia bit the tip of her fingernail.
What do I do now?
Her head was hurting.
Even the mana neutralization no longer went as planned.
The matter was getting out of her control.
Everything is going in the wrong direction.
But it's still better than being forced to neutralize him against my will.
She tried to keep her thoughts positive.
If she cannot control the course of things, she must find a way to exploit them.
Elysia collected her thoughts and looked around the room bathed in crimson light.
Her gaze passed over the bed, the table, the mirror—and then stopped at the door of Franz's room.
Franz was behind that door.
I remembered his conversation with Aaron.
He urged him to use someone else to neutralize his mana.
If Franz valued his life, he would have resorted to this sooner.
I can't let that happen.
Elysia rose quietly.
Then, making her way through the sunlight that flooded the room, she walked towards Franz's door.