Chapter 79

Episode 79: May Your Daydreams of Twilight Be Ever So Radiant

Then, her face gradually began to be colored with a subtle smile.

She pursed her lips, made eye contact with me and said,

“You know what, Lady Misérian was right. The more I learn, the more I know what I didn’t know.”

“Now that I know it, I have something I want to do for the first time. And… I can do it if I sit here.”

Helena straightened her back.

The fact that it was me who wanted to run away, not Helena…… I realized it again.

Did I want to run away from her and feel vicarious satisfaction? A bitter smile lingered around my mouth.

Helena looked different again. I had hated Helena since I first read the novel. Because it wasn’t my favourite personality. She was indecisive, dull, overly optimistic, nosy and incompetent.

There was a truth that I learned only after entering this world and after constantly bumping into her. A person’s personality was the same as two sides, so the pros and cons could be different depending on how someone interpreted it.

Helena was not indecisive, but cautious. She was dull, but she sympathised with the joy or sadness of others faster than anyone else. Being overly optimistic meant that one always tried to move forward positively without giving up easily even in difficult situations, and being nosy meant that one was good and interested in their surroundings.

And incompetence. Come to think of it, what did ability mean? Being able to read and write? Knowing the etiquette of the imperial palace? Having fashion sense? Or political sense? All of these were abilities that Helena, who was born and lived as a maid, did not need to have.

She didn’t learn because she didn’t need to. Even if she tried to take a certification test, learning must precede, or if I disparaged her as incompetent just because she didn’t know, that would have been unfair.

Helena Antebellum was…… She just didn’t have a chance, and now she got it back.

The opportunity I had barely earned was in vain, I didn’t deserve to have it.

“Will you come to my wedding?”

Helena smiled shyly. When I saw that smile, I was rather ashamed of myself running away to the end of the earth.

We each had our own work to do. She took the first step, but I couldn’t back down. My shaken mind hardened fast.

Even if I didn’t kill her, Helena would become the crown princess. She was a lovable person and she would live in peace in her surroundings, just as she had always been.

Alecto would take care of her on his own, even if political opponents might frame her or rebel against what she did.

But if I killed Helena, and if Hubris saved her again, people would think that the new crown princess, or the empress, had been blessed by God. And they would believe that those who want to harm the ‘God-blessed Empress’ were absolute evils.

Religion would have a great influence on this country, and miracles would instill strong awareness in people.

Then whatever Helena did, it would become difficult to rebel against her politically. If I was going to give her strength, I had better make sure. It was the original story, so it was much safer.

The calculator, which had been tapping quickly in my head, stopped. I laughed at myself. Perhaps this was why Helena felt sorry. People usually craved what they didn’t have.

“I’ll go. Instead… I want to meet you alone. People might think it’s strange.”

Will you let me in? At my question, Helena smiled brightly and nodded.

The day after tomorrow, her wedding will be held.

I had to kill her that day for a happy ending that everyone wanted.

* * *

It was a morning that matched the expression of being truly blessed, with white clouds blooming beautifully in the clean and blue sky.

I breathed in the clear and cold air to the fullest. Perhaps Helena and Alecto were going to the temple and being blessed.

I chose the right casual clothes and wore a black veil. Anyways, it was my ex-fiancé’s wedding, so there was nothing good about standing out.

When I was ready to go out, the maid looked at me with worried eyes.

“Lady…”

If I went out now, I could never come back. Perhaps that was why the usual greeting of going didn’t come out of my mouth easily. It was just a formality anyway, so it was okay if I spat out lies or anything.….

That was probably because she didn’t treat me formally. Emma had always been faithful to me, so I could last a little longer in this strange world.

“Thank you always.”

So I decided not to lie too. Anakin followed me when I hurried out of the room for fear of lingering feelings.

I stopped him with a gesture. In case of an emergency, I thought it would be better to keep Anakin hidden as the secret weapon.

“It’s dangerous.”

“There’s something else you have to do for me. I’ll let you know when the time comes.”

“Then take a mirror with you.”

I took the mirror and looked at my face for a while.  I was sorry to Eris, but now it was time to say goodbye to her as well.

Of course, the wedding was not something that could be seen just because one wanted to see it because only the aristocrats, especially the high-ranking aristocrats and the imperial family, could enter and watch it. Therefore, it was a principle to have a street parade on the street for the common people when the crown prince or emperor got married.

This was also what the imperial family worked the most on at the wedding. Since there were so many people and it progressed slowly because of people, there were more threats of assassination than ever. According to records, some people must have really died.

Nevertheless, the reason why it did not stop was because it was good for recovering public sentiment, and there was no other way to revitalize the stagnant social atmosphere or economy.

There were even rumors that the weather would change for the street parade, so that said everything.

Perhaps the crown prince or Helena were wearing artifacts just in case. In addition, the knights and magic engineers would be standing guard in each area.

Perhaps I stood in the right alley and measured where the guards might be hiding.

Each person was excited and had flowers in their hands. It was clear that they would probably throw them as hard as they could when the procession passed.

It was said that the magic engineers who were at the forefront of the procession were constantly shooting sparkles through magic tools, so it was a sight that would be eye-catching even if you didn’t see it.

I heard cheers from far away. The sound was getting louder and louder, and it seemed like a tsunami was coming.

My hands were a little sweaty, so I wiped them off my skirt and caught my breath. Everyone was shouting congratulations. They said that they wanted to live happily ever after, and that they loved each other.

Finally, Helena appeared, waving at people and smiling among the pouring light and flowers.

Her dazzling silver hair was decorated with polished orange branches, and a sheer veil was hanging at the end. The white empire dress which was delicately embroidered with gold thread, looked very good on her.

May your daydreams of twilight be ever so radiant.

But why did I keep..… I didn’t know if I could imagine Eris’ wedding. Eris’ wedding must have been beautiful.

Was she blessed like this? With very few exceptions, Eris, who left after being hated by the world…… Did she only show her sincere smile that day?

At that moment, would she have thought that life was really dazzling and that she was lucky to be born?

* * *

I think I knew why the original Eris chose this day. The imperial palace was simply a mess. When hiding in the back garden of the imperial palace, no one noticed me, unlike usual. No, maybe the causality was helping me.

Eris said she hid in a ‘new room’. Where was the new room in this imperial palace? It wouldn’t be the crown prince’s existing bedroom. He wouldn’t have been given a new room separate from the palace.

It must have been inside the Imperial Palace, but the building called the Imperial Palace was also quite large.

I couldn’t ask anyone, so I had to guess it well with my gut. If I could, I thought about just opening the door in each room and checking it.

Since all the people in the palace were transferred and busy preparing for the wedding and reception that followed, only the minimum number of people remained.

The room with a small door was out of the list. The crown prince and his wife slept well in the bedroom, but of course it would be a large bedroom. Also out of the list if it was near the stairs too. It was a newlywed bedroom, but was it in a place where people came and went? In the same sense, the first floor was also out.

After erasing it roughly, there were actually few bedrooms to check.

I thought they would not have sprinkled roses on the bed, but even though there were no roses, the flowers and branches of the linden tree were beautifully decorated on the bed. There was nowhere else to sit, so I sat on the bed and waited for Helena.

At this rate, it was clear that it would be a setback if the crown prince came in first, but for now, I decided not to believe in the novel and hide. The knife hidden in my arms felt heavy. When Helena comes in…… I’ll have to kill Helena with that knife.

What if she resisted? Would I be able to win by a difference in power? What if she screamed and ran away as soon as she saw the knife? It might be faster for the people who came running after hearing her scream to catch me than for me to catch her.