CH 25

(Eve’s POV)

I revised it a bit as I spoke with a slightly different tone, making it as if my post-war relationship with the Empress made her offended by me acting on a whim.

Arentine pondered on my words as he closed his mouth.

He looked offended as well.

It was obvious that he also didn’t have a good impression of the Empress.

Seeming as if it is not enough that the woman who was once a concubine succeeded the position of Empress after the death of our mother. Her son, the Second Prince, is aiming for the position of Crown Prince as well and causing Arentine problems.

Therefore, Arentine has more reason to loathe the Empress than the emotional Eve. 

He had been silent for a while before changing the topic to a random question.

“What did you study?”

“What?”

“I heard that you’ve been studying to become a Grand Duchess? What did you study?”

“I studied the history of the Albion Empire, as well as the history of the Duchy. I thought that I should learn a lot to become a Grand Duchess.”

It wasn’t a lie.

While sitting in the Imperial palace with nothing to do, whenever I had spare time, I studied the books in the library of the Imperial Palace.

Although some information came from the original story, I think that I should gather more information about the Empire that was not detailed in the novel. 

Fortunately, I can read and write the letters here perfectly, which allows me to read books that were created in this world.

I don’t know how I can do that. But I, who was suddenly transmigrated to this world, can understand the language here.

I wondered if it was some sort of instinct that remained in Eve’s body.

“Then I’ll ask you. The estate of the Grand Duke Lenz was bordered in the northern part of Mount Cleven…..”

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

“They have a territory at the northern part of Mount Cleven up to the Fulbian border. In the past, it was owned by the Grand Duke of Lenz. After a war with the Albion Empire three hundred years ago, a peace treaty was signed and it became part of the Empire.”

As I continued to answer without hesitation, Arentine’s gaze at me changed slightly.

He was looking at me like, ‘I didn’t know that you had this much knowledge about the Empire.’.

Of course, the original Eve wouldn’t have known.

Arentine nodded and looked back to the filing cabinet.

“I heard that you donated jewelry to the temple a few days ago. You’ve matured quite a bit because you’re getting married now.”

Even if he talks like this…..

“Then you’ll have to attend the Duke’s Ball as my partner. And you don’t have to worry about the Empress, I’ll tell her about it later.”

“Thank you, Brother!”

All you just have to do is to allow me to attend for whatever reason. You don’t have to come with me.

“Is that all that you need?”

“Yes, and I know that you’re quite busy right now, so I’ll take my leave now.”

I bowed to him and turned around as I was about to leave.

“Eve.”

I was about to go out when Arentine called me back.

When I turned around, he looked at me for a second and then looked back at the documents on his table.

“If you need anything to prepare for the wedding, feel free to contact me.”

He wasn’t originally interested in Eve’s wedding. So what’s going on now?

“Yes, Brother.”

This time, I didn’t receive any response.

-ˏˋ ━━━━━━ ʚɞ ━━━━━━ ˊˎ-

(Eve’s POV)

This is the fifth day after the second meeting with the Grand Duke at the Grand Hall.

I took a bath in the afternoon, with the help of my maids.

I soaked my body in warm water containing perfumed oil and washed my hair with water brewed with petals.

Today was the day of the promised Ball.

After returning from the Great Hall, four days passed in an instant.

Of course, I wasn’t idlingly waiting for this day.

I’ve been practicing hard for the ball.

After the talk with my brother, I locked myself inside my room informing everyone that I’m sick and need some rest.

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

It was rumored that the reason I caught a cold was because of the time that I was going outside the Imperial Palace.

I’ve given them instructions not to allow the maids to enter the room with the excuse that I need to rest to recuperate.

During the day, I practiced dancing with Nell in the bedroom, and after Nell went to sleep, I walked around the room by myself and practiced until dawn.

I practiced all day and rested when it’s time to eat. Like a fighter before a dance competition, I need to put in a lot of effort.

But it worked.

After four days of running around the room enough to hurt my feet, I have now managed to reach a similar level to the original Eve.

It was a phenomenal achievement for me, who had never experienced dancing at whatever rhythm let alone a waltz.

‘Even so, there’s still a big difference from the usual Eve.’

And since I only practiced the waltz, I could never do another song. 

It’ll be fine because I only have to dance to one song anyway. For the next one, I’ll need to exit the banquet right away.

“Princess, I’ll help you now with your makeup.”

“Okay.”

After taking a bath, I put on a dressing gown and sat down in front of the vanity table.

There’s still time left before the Ball begins, but after a while, I’ll be leaving the Duke’s residence once I’ve finished my purpose.

I wanted to go to the Duke’s mansion in advance and meet the Duchess and Lady Diane.

I also informed the Duchess that I would visit a little early today.

“Is the present for Lady Diane ready?”

“Yes, Princess. Here it is.”

The maid brought a small box wrapped in gold paper.

It contains gems that I have prepared in advance.

After Nell and the other maids finished my makeup, another maid brought in the dress.

“Princess, I bought your dress for tonight.”

“Okay. Good job everyone.”

Eve had a lot of dresses, but the dress for tonight should be special.

Well, being a Princess required me to attend a lot of social events, that’s why it was mandatory to have a lot of dresses prepared.

A light green evening dress was selected in advance from hundreds of dresses in line.

It was a beautiful and bright dress with a combination of white and light green. I picked this one because I thought it would go well with my hair color.

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

“Fortunately, it fits me perfectly.”

Thanks to those sleepless nights of practicing all night, Eve’s slim body, lost more weight and became much thinner.

I wondered what would happen if the dress was a little too big, but luckily they fit me well.

I checked myself in the mirror while wearing the dress.

In the mirror, a beautiful woman was wearing a light green dress and long red blonde hair in a ponytail.

The clothes fit perfectly, but maybe because I lost some weight, my body looks skinnier than before.

Others would think it was the aftermath of the hunger strike that the original Eve planned for.

After putting on the dress, I put on my gloves for the first time and my prom shoes.

After I came to this world, I was obligated to wear a dress every day, but this was the first time I had dressed up with such care.

Well, it’s my first time going to an official social gathering.

There was a lot more to prepare for the Ball than I thought.

After putting on the dress, I wore a sleeveless white cape that covered my shoulder and even put on a cover on my prom heels to prevent it from ruining once I walked on a snowy road.

As I walked downstairs in the hallway, cold air brushed against my skin even before I came out of the door.

Even though the sun was still shining, it was very chilly.

Carriages and guards were already waiting at the entrance to the palace. The maids who lined up at the entrance bowed their heads to see me off.

The carriage passed through the main gate of the Imperial Palace following a familiar road. And immediately entered the street lined with colorful mansions.

“Is that the Duke’s mansion?”

I asked, looking outside the carriage window.

In the distance, a huge mansion with gray-white walls and an indigo blue roof was looming.

You could be sure of it just by looking at its unique color. The mansion that I saw with foresight was clear.

“Yes, Princess. This is the mansion of the Duke of Rohan.”

Listening to Nell’s answer, I naturally tilted my head.

“I don’t remember.”

“It’s only natural that you don’t remember. Because the Princess rarely visited the Duke’s residence.”

“Really?”

After all, Eve only pursued the Grand Duke.

Although the Duchess is the Grand Duke’s aunt, the Grand Duke had an odd relationship with his Uncle, that’s why he never visits that often.

Moments later, the carriage passed the sidewalk and through the mansion’s main gate.

It was not as big as the Imperial Palace, but the Duke’s mansion was also huge.

Even after passing through the main gate, the carriage entered the mansion along the driveway for a long time.

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

There was a large front garden on either side of the driveway to the mansion.

The entire garden, including the large fountain, was covered in snow, creating a picturesque snow scene.

When I saw the white snow piled up, I remembered the foresight that I had ten days ago.

‘Maybe Lady Diane will faint at the Ball today.’

The vision of the brown-haired girl who had collapsed, bleeding came to mind vividly.

I believe that it was going to happen tonight.

I wanted to rescue Lady Diane, who was my bridesmaid, if possible.

It would help me a lot if I have Lady Diane with me throughout the wedding day as a safety measure.

Even if that’s not the case, it would be better to avoid accidents at the Ball that I attended if possible.

Upon arriving in front of the Duke’s mansion, the Duchess came to meet me in person.

“Welcome, Princess. We’ve been waiting.”

“Thanks for the invitation, Duchess.”

The Duchess greeted me with a bright smile.

Of course, there was no sign of dislike for my visit.

Rather, it felt like she was struggling to match up to my mood.

Maybe because if I was in a good mood, I would have no reason to ruin the banquet.

Even the Grand Duke will be arriving later.

“I don’t know if I’m disturbing the preparations by coming too early.”

“Of course not. We are almost done, and Diane was also very happy when she heard that the Princess would be visiting early?”

I don’t know if the Duchess’ words are true or if it’s just a lie to adjust to the mood,  but now I want to meet Diane as soon as possible.

“Where is Lady Diane?”