Chapter 5

“What did you just say?”

At the words of the Empress Dowager, Evelina bowed her head and said.

“I was taught etiquette by the Marquis of Ecartina, Your Majesty.”

At Evelina’s words, the Empress Dowager tried to hide her bewildered expression and gripped the handle of her chair very tightly. She didn’t expect her twin sister’s name to appear here. That’s probably because her twin sister, Marquis Ecartina, was a well-known etiquette teacher.

The Marquis of Ecartina used to be in charge of the rites of countless young girls. So even if she hadn’t taught Evelina etiquette she had no way of checking.

“Wow! No matter how good a teacher is, her pupils can’t keep up!”

Evelina saw her expression, bewildered, and was relieved a little.

“You’re correct. I lack a lot. I would be grateful if Your Majesty the Empress Dowager instructed me as well.”

“Okay.”

She didn’t want to reveal the Empress Dowager’s embarrassment, but Evelina couldn’t help but notice the Empress Dowager’s expression.

“Do you know why I called you?”

“I do not.”

“Huh.”

Evelina knew that the Empress Dowager had called her to size her down, so she spoke quickly.

“Originally, I wanted to come with His Majesty the Emperor. But I heard that the Empress Dowager was ill and could not attend our wedding.”

She didn’t really want the traitor’s daughter to sit at the Empress’ seat, so she didn’t attend. She originally said she didn’t want Elsius to attend either, but Elsius said she only attended to show off to Kaiden, as she didn’t have a good relationship with the Empress Dowager.

“You look very devious, resembling the Marquis of Logias.”

“I’m sorry.”

“You can’t be as wicked as your father.”

Evelina did not flinch when the insults came to the Marquis of Logias, who gave her more affection than her biological father. She still saw her adoptive father wiping away tears at the wedding.

“Next time, I will come with His Majesty the Emperor.”

“Huh! How dare you decide where to go when you want! How disrespectful!”

“I’m sorry.”

The Empress Dowager’s voice was too loud to belong to someone sick, and her eardrums hurt as a result.

“You’re here to say hello today, so just say hello properly and go.”

“… Yes.”

To say goodbye to her, Evelina bowed her head and said.

“I see the Empire’s Moon.”

“Again.”

At the words of the Empress Dowager, Evelina changed her manners again, bowed her head, bent her legs, and prepared her manners as she stood.

“I see the Empire’s Moon.”

“Again.”

Her ankles were very sore because she was wearing very high heeled shoes now. It felt like her ankles were going to fall off, but she had to endure it and say hello.

“I see the Empire’s Moon.”

“After all, you resemble your father, even if we teach you properly, you seem to be a mess.”

Evelina clenched her fists at the insult to her father.

“Again.”

“I see the Empire’s Moon.”

Evelina had to greet the Empress Dowager over 100 times like that.

It was about midday when she returned to her palace after her wedding with Kaiden, but it was not until the sun was setting that the Empress Dowager laughed and said.

“Try it again.”

“The Empire… I see the moon.”

Evelina was sweating profusely all over her body. At first she only injured her ankles, but now her entire body hurt.

“It’s a little better now.”

It couldn’t have been better. Her ankles hurt as if they were going to break, her thighs pulled together, and her calves hurt as if they were going to split in two. Evelina was in pain as if her joints were dislocated. At the same time, she tried to smile and said.

“I’m sorry, Empress Dowager.”

“Go now.”

“Yes.”

It was just at the moment when Evelina was about to turn around.

“She’s the daughter of a traitor, even the way she walks is vulgar.”

At the voice of the Empress Dowager clicking her tongue, Evelina struggled to untangle her fists and had to go back.

~~~~

“Where are we?”

The place where Evelina barely reached while limping was not the Imperial Palace.

“While the position of the Empress was vacant, I was told by the Empress Dowager for you to use the Empress’ Palace.”

“Did Her Majesty tell you to do that?”

“Yes.”

The place she came from was the Empress Dowager’s Palace. The Empress’ Palace was right next to the Imperial Palace, and she had a lot of encounters in the garden.

Evelina couldn’t understand why the palace assigned to her was the Empress’ Palace, but the Imperial Palace was a separate building, so it was far from the Imperial Palace. So Evelina was relieved.

“Yes.”

Evelina sighed and went inside, wondering how she would change what had already been decided. But Evelina couldn’t move any more.

“What is this….”

“His Majesty has said that you will have the first night here.”

Evelina freaked out looking at the Empress’ room assigned to her.

It was very luxurious inside. Not only that, but all the furniture inside was new. Evelina was surprised by the mahogany table and cabinet. On top of that, all the products were of the highest quality, and most of them were products that could not be obtained normally.

Even the picture hanging by the bed was a map in gold, a map of the Abelard Empire. The capital was studded with red rubies.

The Marquis of Logias was already wealthy enough for Evelina, but she had never seen anything so luxurious. In addition, roses that should have been decorated only on the table were decorated throughout the room. Rose petals were even sprinkled on the bed.

“I heard that the Empress likes roses.”

“… Yes.”

Evelina actually didn’t like flowers very much, but she was willing to pretend if the Emperor had said so. After all, she had one month left to live.

“Ha…”

She sighed and sat down on her bed. Then her first-time servants came, took off her shoes and started untying her clothes.

“Where is my medicine?”

“What kind of medicine are you talking about?”

The maid with brown hair, who was wearing a maid’s badge, asked Evelina with a smile.

“Didn’t the Marquis of Logias send me anything?”

At Evelina’s words, the maid tilted her head and immediately gestured with a commercial smile again as if she had realized something. Then, an employee with dark brown hair handed something to the maid.

“He sent you this.”

“Ah…”

Evelina was almost brought to tears. It was her music box that she had before she was adopted.

“My father did this…”

Evelina was grateful for the music box her father sent her, but also felt sad. She thought she really would never see her father in the mansion again.

The moment she saw her music box, she missed her room.

It was revealed in her room how much the Marquis and Marchioness Logias loved her. Her marquis’ room, filled with her favorite things, was a lovely room filled with people eager to give her anything.

It was all pink, and it made up for everything she said in passing.

“Majesty. Are you crying?”

“Ah, yes.”

Evelina put her music box on the table, wiping away the tears without realizing it with her hands.

“Did you have any medicine other than this?”

Then she found the medicine.

She had to take the medicine given by the Marquis of Logias every day, once a day. Evelina, the villain in the original story, had suffered from heart disease since childhood, and she died of chronic disease at a young age.

She truly grieved that she received all the love she had received from her parents in this life that she had not received in her last life, but now it seems that she really is nearing the end of her life.

The original work was largely amiss, but her health wasn’t as good as the original.

Evelina in the original story a month before her death went through all the omens she now suffered from. Maybe that’s why she was convinced that Evelina would die within the next month or so.

“There were no drugs. There is, however, a new medicine that the Emperor has made for you.”

“His Majesty?”

“Yes. It probably has the same ingredients as the medicine you used. His Majesty knew a lot before you came here.”

She said with a smile on the face of the chief of maids, but Evelina didn’t feel that grateful for it.

“Okay.”

She smiled bitterly at her and had to stand upright in her slippers. As she took off her clothes, the workers who hesitated quickly clung to it and began to peel it off. Because she was still in a wedding dress, it was still too heavy for her body. Her legs felt like they were going to break.

“Ugh…”

“Majesty!”

Evelina, the harbinger of the disease, felt very dizzy, and sat down on her bed. Her head was spinning and she felt nauseous. She clutched the sheets as if she were about to faint while her stomach twisted.

After a few minutes, Evelina, who was in a cold sweat, soon got better.

“I’ll call the doctor!”

“No. It’s over.”

Evelina beckoned and sighed.

“Would you mind taking off my clothes? I want to wash myself.”

“However…”

“It’s done.”

The maids were confused and staring at the chief of maids. Then the maid bowed her head and said,

“I’ll take your clothes off first.”

“Okay.”

Evelina stood up again. This time, her legs were too weak and she had to hold onto her maids to be supported.

Like a cane supporting her, the maid helped her stand, tightly holding Evelina’s hands. Then the maids, who were moving their hands behind her, took off her outerwear. Then they began to loosen the corset that had been suffocatingly tightened.

“Hah.”

Evelina felt like she was gasping for breath as her corset loosened. It was like finally being able to breathe after having almost drowned. As she breathed in the fresh air, her dizziness had also subsided quite a bit.

Soon after, her corset was completely removed and the negligee came out. As she untied the straps that were fastened to her back, her undersides were revealed.

She felt awkward at the hands of her maids, different from the maids of her hometown, who took her clothes off and put them on. As she waited patiently, ignoring it, she was completely stripped down to the negligee and then was naked.

She sighed as she saw the marks of the corset on her waist.

When she looked at her waist, she started to see things that she couldn’t see because she was exhausted. The needle marks on the waist, and the hem of the dress where Mary’s blood was splattered.

That was then.

– Click.

Kaiden opened the door and entered.

“Ah…”

He was holding a red jewel box, and the moment he made eye contact with Evelina, he unwittingly crumpled it like paper.