Elisia didn't want to draw attention at the party, if she could avoid it.
In her previous life, when Prince Crichton's birthday party was held, this hadn't been difficult.
No one had paid her any notice as she entered—not even her husband, Franz, who showed no interest.
The Second Prince's wife had been a living ghost, a person without a presence.
No one had even bothered to whisper about the poor quality of her dress.
The second prince's wife had been so insignificant that she didn't merit mention.
Instead, the talk had centered on Nerys.
Daughter of the noble Roshanak family, and niece of the Empress.
A delicate, rare lady, swaying like a cosmic flower.
Elisia still clearly remembered the dress Nerys wore and what had happened that day.
The events of that night had clung to her, refusing to fade even for a moment.
Nerys had worn a pale pink dress, a softer shade than her hair.
And with those bright blue eyes, which people praised as sapphires, she had shone as she approached Franz.
Glenna had introduced her and spoken to Franz with an innocent, sweet look.
As she watched Franz lean toward her, Elisia had quietly dug her nails into her chest.
She had wanted to run to him and shout: Don't look at Neris!
Don't listen to her stories!
She had wanted to beg him not to touch Nerys with the same hand she had rejected, and not to dance with his hand on her waist.
But Elisia had just stood there, shabby and alone against the wall, watching them.
She had known that as soon as she got closer, Franz would close his nose and frown.
She hadn't wanted anyone—especially Nerys—to see her humiliated like that before all the nobles.
She had stood and watched them—as they danced, then danced, then danced again.
When all the dancing ended, she had watched Nerys lead Franz to the balcony and then draw the curtains on the window.
She didn't even remember how she had gotten back to the palace that night.
The only thing she remembered was the smile Franz had given Nerys.
A beautiful smile...one he had never given her even once.
Cruelly beautiful...and utterly devoid of compassion.
“By the way, where is His Highness the Second Prince now?”
Elisia snapped out of her distraction at Lucette's question.
She took a small breath as she looked at her reflection in the portrait mirror.
Before her, the prince's shabby wife from the past had not stood.
Instead, she was an elegant prince's wife, radiant in a charming dress.
Her wandering mind had been pulled away and then returned to the present.
“I thought it would be nice to show him how beautiful you look,” Lucette continued, adjusting a jewel stuck to the hem of Alicia’s dress.
“He's busy right now.”
“Okay, that's fine.
Surprising him at the party wouldn't be a bad idea either.”
Since his last shift, Franz had shut himself away.
Lucius had told her he had a cold.
She had pretended to believe him, because she didn't want to delve into the secret surrounding Franz.
“Then he probably doesn't care about dresses,” Elisia had said quietly.
But Lucette, who had been bent at her feet, quickly raised her head and shaken it vehemently.
“That is not true, Your Highness.”
Lucette had stood, patted her back, motioned for the female assistants to inspect the jewelry, and then continued: “He gave me precise orders—that your dress at the party should be the most beautiful and splendid.
He told me that the cost did not matter at all.”
She had gestured playfully, looking at Elisia with clear admiration.
Elisia had looked surprised.
She hadn't been used to being looked at like that.
She had always been the one feeling jealous, not the one being envied.
She hadn't known how to act.
“Oh...”
“I see.”
“Of course!
He even said that the design should match the necklace that Her Majesty the Empress gave you.
What do you think?”
As she spoke, Sarah had brought the necklace, placed it around Elisia's neck, and then gasped, saying: “Oh my God, Madame, you are a genius.
It is perfect.”
“Haha, I think so too,” Lucette laughed proudly.
Elisia looked like she had just stepped out of a royal painting—beautiful and elegant.
If only that shadow was removed from her face, she would be perfect.
Elisia touched the necklace gently, her expression mysterious.
While Lucette tried to understand her expression, Elisia broke the silence with a faint voice:
“I didn’t know he had given those instructions.”
“He had even ordered a number of personal items for you as well.
He was very meticulous.”
Lucette pointed her finger.
One of the female assistants came carrying the notebook and handed it to Elisia.
“This is the list of items that His Highness requested from our workshop.”
And on the list, as Lucette had already said:
“Outing gloves, hair bands, soft cotton socks, silk stockings, sleeping mask, house slippers, bathrobe, jewelry box”—all carefully written down.
If Lucette hadn't mentioned it, Elisia would have thought Lucius or Sara had set it up.
Her eyes widened as she read, and the shadow on her face gradually began to fade.
Lucette smiled, happy to see the light returning to Elisia's face.
“Amazing, isn't it?
So please, don't say he doesn't care about you.
If noble ladies heard this, they would be jealous.”
“Why...?
Why put in all this effort...?”
“Obviously because he loves and cherishes you.”
“…This isn't possible.”
Elisia muttered in confusion, dropping the paper from her hand.
“When...when did he do all this?”
She turned her gaze toward Franz's room.
As she stood silently, Lucette quickly added: “What do you mean by ‘not possible’?
You are the perfect couple in the empire!
You are still on your honeymoon!”
Elisia slowly turned to look at her.
Lucette seemed confused, not knowing how to respond to the unexpected reaction.
“Yes, Lucette.”
Elisia smiled sweetly and returned the note.
Then she looked again at the woman in the mirror and said: “His Highness cherishes me.”
We are a newly married couple.
It is natural for the Second Prince to be proud of his wife—she said that hopeful and foolish sentence without meaning to.
After Lucette left, Elisia sat alone in the spacious room.
The sunset rays painted everything a deep golden color.
Her red hair glowed like transparent gold in the light.
“Is it normal for Franz to be proud of me?”
Elisia laughed sarcastically at her reflection.
A woman wears an extravagant dress, expensive jewelry, and flaunts an elegant posture.
A woman stupid enough to tell lies and hold out hope.
This is Elysia Eustace in this life.
“Why do I hold out hope?”
She put her hand on her forehead.
She has to give up expectations, give up hope—especially in times like these.
Nerys had appeared a year early.
I have to move quickly too.
Elisia placed her hand on her chest.
Right in the center of her chest—where she had once been stabbed by Franz's assassin's sword.
If she didn't want another sword stuck in her, she only had one choice.
The choice she repeated to herself over and over again.
Revenge.
Elisia gritted her teeth and clutched her chest.
The silk wrinkled under her trembling hand, and her white palm shook.
She was worried.
Things were moving faster than they could be controlled.
Nerys had shown up early, and Franz's mana still hadn't been neutralized.
Was it because she had provoked Glenna?
Or because she had decided to stay in the Second Prince's palace instead of living separately?
She wasn't sure of the real reason.
Elisia slowly released her chest.
“I can't panic.
I have to stay calm.”
She had to think about what to do now.
Her goals for revenge were two:
First: Refusing to neutralize Franz's mana.
Second: Attracting the Schuyler family to her side and building a faction opposed to Franz.
Of the two, only neutralization had gone according to plan.
As for attracting Schuyler or giving their faction any real power, that had not happened yet.
There had simply not been enough time.
It hadn't been long since they had married.
Elisia bit the tip of her fingernail.
What should she do now?
Her head was hurting.
Even the mana neutralization no longer went as planned.
The matter was slipping out of her control.
Everything was going in the wrong direction.
But it was still better than being forced to neutralize him against her will.
She tried to keep her thoughts positive.
If she couldn't control the course of things, she had to find a way to exploit them.
Elisia collected her thoughts and looked around the room bathed in crimson light.
Her gaze passed over the bed, the table, the mirror—and then stopped at the door of Franz's room.
Franz was behind that door.
She remembered his conversation with Aaron.
He had urged him to use someone else to neutralize his mana.
If Franz valued his life, he would have resorted to this sooner.
She couldn't let that happen.
Elisia rose quietly.
Then, making her way through the sunlight that flooded the room, she walked toward Franz's door.