CH 10

As I left the hallway and came out of the corridor, a cold wind brushed my nape.

Every breath that I take, the cold winter infiltrates my nose.

The refreshing scent of snow and frozen snowflakes.

It blends with the smell of bitter incense that permeates in.

Then, I put the thick coat over my shoulder as I continued walking.

Even though I was wearing a thick white sable hair coat, cold wind still penetrates inside my body.

“This way, Your Highness.”

I continued walking towards the entrance with Nell on my side. Whenever I lost my way, Nell would take the lead and guide me.

I got a little tired seeing the chapels and gardens connected endlessly.

‘Just how wide is this temple anyway?’

The temple buildings occupied the entire hill, so it only meant to be this spacious.

We passed through the middle gate and went out into a flagstone-strewn garden.

There was a white frozen pond beside the pathway. The ice that was covered with snowflakes was dyed red in the evening sunset.

The road was still a bit confusing, but I can feel that we were now a little closer from the outside gate.

If we keep going straight down this road, we will be able to find the exit.

As I was walking along the path, a familiar person appeared at the opposite door.

‘Wait, isn’t that….’

It was a middle-aged woman with blonde hair, wearing a modest navy blue dress.

Please do not repost our translation. Read only at Pink Muffin Translations.

Even from a distance, I could already recognize her at a glance.

It was the Duchess of Rohan, whom I met at the tea party with the Empress, earlier.

“Oh my gosh, Princess.”

The Duchess found me and approached me in an instant. She seemed to be pleased as if she was looking for me.

“Hello. Duchess, it’s pleasant to see you again.”

This world seemed so narrow, because I bumped into the same person whom I just met earlier at the Imperial Palace.

The Duchess approached me and greeted me gracefully.

“I thought that you already left for the Imperial Palace, but fortunately you were still here in the temple.”

‘Is she looking for me?’

“Do you have anything to say to me?”

“Oh, about that….”

Whenever she tried to continue with her words, the Duchess would hesitate for a moment, unable to speak easily.

“Earlier at the Empress’s tea party, I may have said words that might have offended you…. So, I wanted to apologise in case that happened.”

‘At the tea party?’

‘Oh, is she talking about how the Empress tried to hurt my feelings with her statement about the Duke?’

But it was the Empress’s fault, not the Duchess’s. All this lady did was ask me about the war, nothing could have caused me direct harm.

“No, I’m fine, so don’t worry about it.”

I said it in a way that it would show that it’s not a big deal, but the Duchess was still nervous as she looked me in the eyes.

“Don’t pay too much attention to what Her Majesty just said. The Grand Duke is quite busy right now, but it will be different once you get married sooner or later.”

‘Wasn’t our relationship already bad enough to get any worse after marriage?’

I didn’t agree at all with the Duchess’ words, but I chuckled softly and chimed in.

“I believe so too. That once we get married, we might definitely get along well.”

Please do not repost our translation. Read only at Pink Muffin Translations.

“That’s right.”

When I replied with a bright smile, the Duchess stuttered slightly and nodded.

In fact, even the Duchess didn’t seem to believe what she said either.

Well that’s only natural.

‘Because the Grand Duke hated Eve that much and the wedding seemed rather like a kind of witchcraft or brainwashing, isn’t it?’

I carefully observed her face which showed signs of embarrassment.

Although the Duchess had reached middle age, she still looked beautiful and elegant.

The light blonde hair that is neatly pulled up looks like red blonde hair dyed in the setting sun.

I quickly searched for information about the Duke of Rohan’s family in my head.

The Duke of Rohan was not given much importance in the original story.

The Duchess appeared occasionally with the Grand Duke, but the rest of the family was only briefly mentioned in connection with Eve’s wedding.

However, since the only daughter of the Duke of Rohan was Eve’s bridesmaid, there was only one explanation that came out in passing words.

(P/N:A bridesmaid refers to a woman who attends to the bride on her wedding day.)

And bridesmaids are usually the closest friend of the bride, but when there are no friends, sisters or close relatives who could take over.

If nobody would take on that role, the sister-in-law or relatives of the groom’s side sometimes take on the role of bridesmaids.

Since the Duchess is the Grand Duke’s aunt, the Duchess’s daughter, Diane, would be considered as the Grand Duke’s cousin.

Since Eve has no friends and her only sister, Sorel, is out on the battlefield, the Grand Duke’s cousin has been entrusted with the role of the bridesmaid.

‘It was mentioned in the original story that Diane was very happy to become the bridesmaid because she secretly liked Eve’s older brother, the Crown Prince.’

If it had been another lady, she would have cried and ran away as soon as she heard that she was asked to be Eve’s bridesmaid.

However, Diane was not able to attend the wedding because she was not feeling well.

‘Was it mentioned that Diane was originally a weak child so that’s why she couldn’t get out of the house that often?’

But recently, it was said that she was in good shape, that’s why they decided to have her become the bridesmaid.

In all likelihood, before the wedding, her illness suddenly worsened.

In the end, Eve’s wedding went on without a bridesmaid.

‘It would definitely be helpful in some way if Lady Diane would be there on the wedding day.’

The bridesmaid takes care of all the chores next to the bride during the wedding ceremony.

Please do not repost our translation. Read only at Pink Muffin Translations.

Of course, from the morning of the wedding day until entering the newlyweds’ bedroom, she would never leave the bride’s side.

There are maids that would assist, but the maids who were with Eve when she died were of no help.

‘So, for me, it would be good for Diane to act as my bridesmaid safely.’

But then, it couldn’t be helped because of her poor health.

I looked at the Duchess and asked as if I suddenly remembered.

“Oh, by the way, how is your daughter doing?”

“What?”

The Duchess seemed a little startled by the sudden question.

She looked into my eyes with a nervous face.

“Yes. Yes. Of course, our Diane’s health has also improved these past few days, and she’s looking forward to attending the Princess’s wedding.”

“I’m so thankful that Diane is already preparing for the wedding.”

“Yes, and she’s been practising in her room on becoming the Princess’s bride’s maid. And it was also a good thing that we had prepared in advance for her dress fitting.”

The Duchess emphasised once again that Diane was diligently preparing for the wedding.

The Duchess may have been worried that I would just change her as my bridesmaid, just because of my fickleness.

That’s probably why she came all the way here and apologised in person for the misunderstanding she caused at the tea party.

If Diane’s role as a bridesmaid gets cancelled, she would suffer greatly.

It seemed that she was trying to do everything just to please me.

After all, if it was the original Eve, one day would be enough to cancel the need for a bridesmaid.

If she’s still preparing for the role of the bridesmaid, then that means that she’s still in a good shape.

‘I wonder when exactly, Diane’s illness would worsen since it was not specified in the novel.’

As I was thinking about it, the Duchess belatedly looked at my hand and was startled.

“Princess, your hand……”

‘My hand?’

I raised my hand reflexively. Thin white fingers were frozen red because of the cold air.

I didn’t even realise that my hands were that cold, I was so focused about meeting the Grand Duke and preparing the negotiations.

Ever since I picked the snow-covered flowers and carried them with my bare hands, I could feel the cold seeping into my hands.

The Duchess looked worriedly at my hand and asked.

“Why aren’t you wearing any gloves?”

“Oh, about that….”

I didn’t really have anything to say. It was basically known in the society that Eve cannot go anywhere without wearing any gloves.

‘But the truth is, this is the main key to trigger Eve’s divine power.’

But then I can’t honestly tell her about these details.

After much consideration, I came up with a valid excuse.

“Oh, I just received the flower of the Holy Tree. It’s a precious flower that comes from a sacred tree, so I thought I had to hold it with my bare hands to handle it with care.”

“A flower from the Holy Tree?”

The Duchess asked in amazement. The flower of the Holy Tree is not something that can be easily plucked, so it should come as a surprise to her.

Please do not repost our translation. Read only at Pink Muffin Translations.

“As I was offering my mother’s relics, I also donated the jewels that I usually used to the temple. It wasn’t something I was hoping for in return, but….. I asked if it would be okay if I could have some flowers from the Holy Tree, and the chief priest gladly allowed it. It’s been a while since I went to the garden to pick up those flowers.”

Of course, I was trying to get flowers in return from the beginning, but I lied casually.

“What are you going to do with the flower?”

“It is the anniversary of the deceased Grand Duchess in 15 days on the night of the full moon. So I thought it would be nice to bring those flowers to the cemetery.”

The Duchess seemed confused for a moment at my words, but then she bowed her head with a touching smile. She seemed genuinely moved by my actions.

“Oh my God, how can you be so kind? Thank you, Princess. She will be very happy.”

“I hope so.”

In an instant, the Duchess’ gaze came out unconsciously and quickly glanced at Nell. She seems to be wondering where the flowers that I have received are placed, when she saw that both of our hands are empty-handed.

I then quickly added to my words.

“Oh, I just ran into the Grand Duke earlier. I asked him if he could put the flowers at the cemetery on my behalf.”

“You met the Grand Duke?”

The Duchess, who was listening to me, asked with a surprised face.

‘Why is she so surprised? Is it because of the fact that I met His Grace , but I still looked normal?’