CH 12

(Eve’s POV)

‘Someone purposely added an unknown drug along Lady Diane’s medicine causing her disease to trigger and worsen.’

Otherwise, Diane would have been the bridesmaid at Eve’s wedding as planned.

‘The place where the foresight took place must have been the residence of the Duchess.’

Diane in my vision was in the bedroom wearing white pajamas.

On the other hand, all the others who appeared with the Duchess were wearing ball dresses.

‘Is it the day of the ball that was held at the Duke’s mansion?’

After such thoughts, I ganced at the Duchess and asked as if I had suddenly thought of it.

“By the way, did you mention before that there’s going to be a ball in the Duchy?”

“Pardon?”

“I’m not sure, but I think I heard it from a certain lady the other day. There was gonna be a ball hosted by the Duchess?”

Of course, I had never heard of such a thing, but I said it calmly to make her believe it.

The Duchess, who had a friendly smile on her face, became visibly embarrassed.

“Oh, yes, it will be held in the evening, we decided to have it 10 days from now.”

The Duchess smiled with a slightly flushed face.

“This is the first ball to be hosted this year. It may seem illogical to have a ball at a time like this, but it was an annual family event so I couldn’t postpone it.”

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

Since the Emperor and his children went to war, and the Duke, who is the head of the family, has also gone out, it would really seem weird to still continue with the ball at the current situation.

However, it seems that she was forced to host it because it was a family event.

Each old noble house had its own specific event or tradition.

“Then, will The Grand Duke attend as well?”

He would definitely attend, right? Because the Duchess is the only aunt of the Grand Duke.

The Duchess hesitated for a moment before answering.

“Yes, the Grand Duke has not been present for several years, but….. This time, I requested for him to attend. Since the Duke isn’t here either……”

Seeing the Duchess blurring the end of her words, I remembered the relationship of both families.

The Duke of Rohan wasn’t very important in the original story, but one thing was certain.

The Duke was a knowledgeable middle-aged aristocrat who valued honor, so he maintained neutrality without taking sides in the battle between the Emperor and the Grand Duke.

That’s why It said that their relationship with the Grand Duke was a little rough.

Since they were relatives, it wasn’t an openly hostile relationship.

“If it’s okay with you, can I be invited too? I just want to say thank you in advance towards Lady Diane.”

When I asked with an earnest expression, the Duchess’s eyes fluttered slightly.

“If the Princess will attend….. Then we would definitely appreciate it.”

I think her words slightly stopped in the middle.

The Duchess’ uncertainty was definitely understandable.

It is a ball that will be held in tha mansion for the first time in a while now, so she probably did not intend to invite Eve.

Eve used to mess around and ruin the atmosphere wherever she went.

Especially when the Grand Duke was nearby, the level of inconvenience would increase several dozen times.

“Don’t worry. I will be quiet so as not to disturb the other guests. I just wanted to see Lady Diane, to give thanks and then I’ll leave right away.”

I added those words with a sad look on my face to reassure the Duchess.

“But of course, if the Empress doesn’t allow it, I won’t be able to attend in the first place.”

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

“Yeah, that’s right. I really hope that Her Majesty the Empress grants you permission.”

The Duchess was somewhat relieved to hear the sincerity in my words.

And it seemed that she was slowly trusting me after what she saw today.

On the other hand, the Empress would definitely not allow it anyway. So there’s no need to buy a grudge if she rejects my request.

There seemed to be a willingness to accept roughly and just hand over the bad role to the Empress.

The Duchess immediately smiled and invited me in.

“I would really like you to attend. If the Princess comes, our Diane will also like it.”

I nodded and handed the handkerchief that I was holding back to the Duchess.

“Now my hands are all warmed up. thank you.”

After separating with the Duchess,  I reached out to Nell as I walked down the path.

“Can you give me your hand?”

“What?”

Nell was surprised, but gently held out her hand, since she was bare-handed like me. Her little hands were also frozen reddish from the cold.

‘Did the maids say that there is an etiquette to wear gloves? I thought it was harsh, though it can be worn in the middle of winter.’

“Sorry, if your hands were frozen from being here with me for so long.”

“Oh, no. I am fine, Princess.”

I wrapped my arms around Nell’s hands and gently rubbed them, giving them warmth.

At the same time, I yearned to know about what would happen to Nell once we got back into the Palace.

I wanted to test my foresight ability.

But until we reached the edge of the garden, even though I held her hands tightly, no foresight appeared before me.

‘But then, The Duchess had only touched the tip of my fingertips, but my foresight immediately happened.’

The original Eve hasn’t even used this ability since she was 10 years old.

Naturally, information about her divine power didn’t appear that much in the novel.

‘How often does this foresight appear? How closely can I see it? Nothing is certain at this time.’

‘I’d like to observe a little more.’

As expected, it was a good thing that I walked around with my bare hands even though it’s cold.

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

Because I was able to use my foresight for the first time.

As I was thinking about it, a quiet voice brought me back to reality.

“It’s very warm.”

“Huh?”

Nell said, as she wiggled our hands.

“The princess has warm hands.”

I was still holding Nell’s hand.

Thanks to the warmth from my hand, Nell’s hand was warmer than before.

“People with warm hands have warm hearts.”

“Really?”

I don’t think so.

Since Eve is the original owner of this body, and I myself was not a warm-hearted person.

“Yes, it is. From my experience, it really is.”

Nell looked at me and smiled gently.

Maybe because she’s still considered young, that’s why her smiling face looks so cute.

Come to think of it, Lady Diane seemed to be around Nell’s age.

“Nell, is Lady Diane known to have an illness?”

“Well, she was not able to socialize because she was very weak due to a chronic disease and had a terrible rash on her skin.”

“Rash?”

When asked back in surprise, Nell continued with a bewildered look.

“Yeah, but the rash is only on the body. So, if she wears a dress with a high neck, no one would be able to see it. That’s why she was chosen as a bridesmaid on the condition that she would wear a dress that covers her whole body.”

“Did I put such a condition on her?”

Nell nodded with concern.

“I see.”

It reminded me of the Duchess, who strongly emphasized that Diane was looking forward to the wedding.

After all, the Duchess must have invited me to the ball because of Diane. Just so not to go against my will.

“Nell, did you think that Lady Diane and I are close?……. By any chance, did I visit her even once?”

“No, I have never seen the Princess meet Lady Diane during my stay at the Princess’s Palace. But I don’t know what it was like before…. But then again, maybe you haven’t seen each other, because I heard that she had never been to the Imperial Palace and had not attended any social gatherings either.”

“I see.”

That’s a relief, because if she had already met Eve before, instead of liking her, she might have been full of resentment then.

As we exchanged conversations like that, we arrived in front of the temple gate.

A carriage outside was waiting for us at the door.

I got into the carriage with Nell.

It was after the sun had completely set when I finally returned to the Imperial Palace after finishing my goal at The Great Hall.

Glass lanterns adorned the walls of the Imperial Palace brightly illuminated the dark night sky.

As the carriage entered the palace through the main gate, a white snow-covered garden swept past the carriage window.

Even on the white snow covering the flower bed, the bright blue moonlight glimmered.

When I saw that, reality bit me again.

‘A precious day has passed again.’

Now, I only have 39 days left.

It feels like I’m playing a time-limited survival game.

A thrilling game where I would die if I don’t find a way to survive within the time limit.

‘Anyway, I already achieved my first goal.’

Because I was able to give the flowers to the Grand Duke by force.

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

What happens next will depend on how much he will believe me.

‘If everything goes well, tonight.’

I will be able to meet the Grand Duke again.

Of course, considering the distrustful attitude of the Grand Duke when we met earlier, the chances that everything will go smoothly seems to be less than half.

While I pondered and took off my dress, the maids approached me as they looked at me.

One of the maids asked worriedly.

“Princess, are you going to pray again today? Since you went to the temple today, wouldn’t it be better to rest first?”

After I possessed this body, I used to go to the chapel next to the Imperial Palace with the excuse of praying.

“Okay, since I’m tired as well, I won’t go today.”

I ordered the maid beside me to deliver a message to the Empress’s palace.

“Tell Her Majesty, that the Duchess of Rohan has invited me to the ball, and tell her that I’m asking for permission.”

“Is that all I need to say, Your Highness?””

“Just don’t say anything else, aside from the one that I told you.”

The maid bowed her head with a slightly puzzled expression.

The maid, who had gone to the Empress’s palace, returned after I had a simple dinner and soaking myself in warm water.

While sitting at the dressing table as I dry my hair, the white-skinned maid told me exactly how the Empress reacted.

“I told her to stay quiet until the day of the wedding, because she would get a lot of attention once she attended that ball.”

“Hmm…..”

Just like what I expected without 1% of error.