Chapter 15.1

Chapter 15.1

Yes, something went wrong along the way. Eleanor was suddenly lost in her thoughts. She had read all sorts of web novels in her previous life. She had liked The Life of Serceau the most, but she had read many other romance fantasy novels too. She knew everything there was to know about the formula for romance in fantasy. 

Reincarnation genre was the most prominent. In these stories, a character is born again and uses the knowledge of their previous life to change the story to focus on themselves. They could turn the flow of the story. As always, the supporting characters remained the same, the villains remained the same and tried to thwart the heroine. 

In the reincarnation genre, the supporting characters and villains could fight using the knowledge of their previous lives to be the protagonist. The one who can attract more male protagonist candidates to their side eventually becomes the true heroine. 

“Who could it be…,” Eleanor wondered and muttered. “Who…”

Miss Kelevan stood in front of Eleanor patiently and frowned. “Your Highness,” she said, “Are you going to return to the party?’

“Just a second,” said Eleanor, “I am thinking of something.”

“You don’t have to think of anything,” said Miss Kelevan. “Your Highness just needs to return to the party and smile at other nobles and assure them that everything is alright. If you don’t deal with what happened a moment before, things might get worse.”

What Your Majesty has to do is go back to the party, smile at the other nobles and show some manners. If you don’t deal with what happened just before, things might get worse.”

Eleanor stopped pacing and narrowed her eyes at Miss Kelevan. The queen’s lady-in-waiting tilted her head to the side and looked at her, with both her hands behind her back. It was as though she was trying to drill some sense into a disobedient child.

Unbelievable! Eleanor seethed. Is this maid being disrespectful to me? She is merely a maid! I am the successor to the throne!

A lady in waiting is not a simple maid. Being closest to the Queen, while attending to her every need, she knew all her secrets and knew a lot about politics too. 

But still. 

“Get out.”

“Pardon?” Not expecting such a reaction, Miss Kelevan’s eyes widened as she looked at Eleanor.

“I said get out,” shouted Eleanor, “You don’t get to nag me on whether I return to the party or not! How dare you be so rude and arrogant towards me? Get out at once!”

Eleanor glared at her. Miss Kelevan swallowed her surprise and her anger. She grabbed the hem of her skirt with a flushed face, bowed and left the room. No one dared to speak to Eleanor. Her maid, Jane Ann, remained quiet as she watched Eleanor with her clamped into a thin line. They knew their place. 

If she’d need some advice, she’d go to someone worth asking. How dare a maid tell her what to do? Did her authority drop to this level? Eleanor shook her head. That was not the important thing right now. Kelevan wasn’t important at all. The important thing was finding who had reincarnated into the novel. 

“And here I am, like a fool!” Eleanor smacked her forehead as a sudden thought came to her. 

To become her companion, it would have to be a woman. A girl just as beautiful, but not as recognized as she was. A girl with not as much authority, but someone who was powerful in her own way. A girl who changed her fate when she was supposed to die. 

“Of course, there’s no one other than her.” 

The girl who fawned over and had asked for a dance with the biggest villain of this story. The girl who split the attention of men at the party with her. The girl who was trying to steal what was supposed to be hers. 

It was obvious that the daughter of Marquess of Wishburn was the reincarnated character. 

***

I knew things would have turned out in this manner from the moment I started the dance. But I didn’t know it would get to this point. The men who danced with me didn’t seem to get tired at all. When I was done dancing with one of them, another turned up asking for a dance. And if I tried to refuse, they would look so insulted. This was a nightmare!

Grandfather had left the party a while ago. He told my parents that he would come visit the day after to know more about the case regarding Count Thoreau. It sounded more like a warning. Dad rubbed his temples. He seemed to be having a hard time with grandfather. Grandfather always enjoyed tormenting dad.

The dancing stopped for a moment. Thankfully, no one came forward to ask me for a dance again. But this seemed like the calm before a storm. You never know when someone would come up and ask again. I had to run away while I could! 

Avoiding people’s eyes, I grabbed the hem of my dress and ran up the stairs. Fortunately, it didn’t look as strange. Many people were walking up and down the stairs, some going to the washroom, some fixing their make-ups and some people just strolling around. 

Instead of entering the segregated loungeroom for men and women to rest their feet, I passed the hallway, descended the stairs and walked straight towards the palace garden. I didn’t exactly know where I was going but I just needed to get away. Fortunately, there were no guards guarding the doorway to the garden.