“…My Lady?”
After the unveiling ceremony concluded and the Grand Duke departed for the Capital, Lumia sat in the dressing room.
Her expression was blank and soulless.
Concerned, Marien called out to her Lady as she placed a red dress beside her.
“Yes?”
“How was it…?”
Marien had been eagerly awaiting this day.
A grand ceremony to unveil the grand existence of her Lady to the world.
An event that would reveal Erenscia Velroc’s identity to her suitors.
She prayed that everything would be perfect.
Since this day would mark the beginning of her Lady’s freedom.
How was it?
Marien asked as she combed Lumia’s hair while examining her expression through the mirror’s reflection.
But the maid started to feel uneasy as if her Lady’s answer would crush her sincere hopes.
Soon enough, that uneasiness turned into reality.
“It was a disaster.”
“What…? W-Why?”
Marien had watched the ceremony from the sides of the stage.
She cheered when Kyle collapsed, his eyes rolling back.
That was the downfall of a despicable man who had tortured her beloved mistress.
As such, Marien felt a vindictive pleasure as she witnessed that.
That was why, she had believed that the ceremony had concluded perfectly.
But of course,
The moment she also saw Elden’s face, her expectations wavered a little.
Even with ‘Erenscia’ in front of him, the man remained calm.
Unlike the others who were completely shocked and terrified, his only reaction was a momentary widening of his eyes before regaining composure.
Moreover, her Lady’s expression as she faced Elden made Marien a little worried, and now, those ill feelings had become reality.
Lumia gazed at her reflection.
As she examined herself, Lumia remembered his question.
“It’s humiliating.”
“What…?”
“Trying to force myself on him. And after making a fool of myself, I even ran away when he asked if my feelings were genuine…. No… This was more than humiliating… It’s utterly disgusting.”
“……”
Marien’s hands, which were now unbuttoning her Lady’s dress, halted.
They were back to square one.
Despite the ceremony, her Lady was still stuck in the past. Nothing had changed.
Truthfully, Marien wished that Lumia would accept Elden’s withdrawal already, so she could focus on the other three.
After all, if things continued this way, her Lady would simply break free from an old shackle only to be tied down by a new one, one made of her own volition.
At the very least, if she won’t accept his withdrawal, Marien hoped that her Lady would recognize the changes he had shown.
If acceptance wasn’t possible, then at the very least ignorance wasn’t all that bad.
And if even ignorance was out of her Lady’s reach, then Marien wished for a cold and heartless resignation.
She knew her Lady was a determined researcher, who clung to problems day and night until solutions were found, but this time, Marien hoped she would give up.
“Why? Why am I like this? Why do I keep begging for his praise? Why do I thirst for his approval….his validation? Why must I, the victim…bow to my aggressor?”
While Lumia continued to doubt herself, Marien carefully resumed her unbuttoning, hoping that if her Lady wouldn’t give up, then she would at least consider the errors in her beliefs.
Wasn’t there a saying?
With such belief in mind, Marien cautiously breached a previously sensitive subject.
“…My Lady, there are many things I’m not sure about, but… Perhaps you’re acknowledging something subconsciously?”
“Acknowledging what, Marien?”
“You once said that a person’s nature cannot change. That this was an immutable law.”
“Did I say that…?”
“Indeed, My Lady. So, perhaps you’re acknowledging Elden’s efforts in defying this immutable law?”
“W-What…?”
“Turning the impossible into possible must require a heart-wrenching effort.”
A new hypothesis.
No.
It was merely one Lumia discarded, but now that Marien had discussed its possibility, Lumia’s eyes widened.
Truthfully, Lumia herself had no more hypothesis to form.
She was already tired of her constant failures.
These failures stagnated her mind, to the point that Lumia couldn’t be flexible with her ideas anymore.
Because of this, she had become more prone to emotional impulses rather than rational cool-headedness.
Had she been wrong this whole time?
Perhaps Elden’s self-assured behavior was simply because his change had been real?
Maybe…
Elden was walking on the path of repentance this whole time.
Was he putting in the effort to change his wicked nature, even when others weren’t seeing him?
Marien’s casual remark stirred up numerous doubts that had sunk beneath the surface of Lumia’s mind.
Of course, these doubts were far from being resolved.
“E-Even if that’s the case…It doesn’t justify my obsession. That couldn’t be the sole reason I’ve been clinging to him. If I had acknowledged something like this, then that should have been the end of it.”
Lumia had failed to even consider Elden’s changes due to her denial and stubbornness.
She even appointed a watcher to spy on his moves.
Despite claiming she wouldn’t be consumed by vengeance, Lumia withered as her obsession grew following Elden’s withdrawal.
Finally, after all those hypotheses were wrong, Lumia felt as if a new door was slowly opening in her mind as Marien smiled gently at her.
“My Lady, haven’t you mentioned this yourself?”
“…What?”
“That you would marry the participant who either sincerely repents for his sins…Or the one who remains unrepentant till the end.”
“T-That…”
“Perhaps you’ve unknowingly selected Elden as your partner because he has shown signs of repentance?”
Lumia’s eyes widened.
Something else now swirled inside those blue orbs that were previously overtaken by fury and disgust.
It was something yet unknown, something indescribable.
“M-Me? Marry someone like Elden? N-No! That…That’s completely absurd… It can’t be.”
Though Marien always felt that her Lady was too good for those four, if she had to choose the lesser evil among them… Her choice would undoubtedly be Elden Raphelion.
“My Lady…There’s something I’ve kept hidden from you…”
Marien wholeheartedly believed that Elden was the best choice after he had helped a ‘fallen maid’ who twisted her ankle.
“Actually…The reason for my injury is because I collided with Lord Elden and fell.”
“…?”
“And it was Lord Elden who helped me receive proper treatment.”
“Hah?”
Hearing such an absurd tale, Lumia furrowed her brows as she looked at Marien’s ankle through the mirror’s reflection.
“What’s your point, Marien?”
“That Lord Elden helped me when I fell. But despite helping me, he told me to keep it a secret…That’s why I didn’t tell you.”
“He told you… not to reveal that he had helped you? Why?”
“I didn’t understand then, but now I think I do…Perhaps he wanted to keep a low profile until his withdrawal had been accepted?”
“Why would he…?”
“It makes one think, doesn’t it? What if both his withdrawal and his changes were truthful all along?”
The sudden revelation of Elden’s good deed.
Since it came from someone Lumia cherished the most, it was impactful, she didn’t doubt her handmaiden’s words.
Slowly but surely,
Her ears, long closed, began to open.
Her eyes, long shut, now saw things clearly.
Click-.
The last button on the back of her suffocating dress came undone.
“Ugh!”
“Gah!”
Beautiful sounds echoed through the grand hall, reminiscent of the melody of the wind.
During the first taste test, I had moderated the intensity to give hints, so their reactions had been milder.
As such, the backlash was equally mild.
It was a disappointment, but I had to be satisfied with a little reaction for the main event.
And then…
“Ugh!”
“Whew!”
The dishes I had meticulously prepared were causing a tremendous backlash now.
What a satisfying reaction! Exactly what I had been anticipating.
I wanted to see Deron and Blund gagging just like I had when I was forced to eat bugs.
Pretending to be noble, they now licked the floor of the grand hall like filthy mutts, swallowing their disdain and humiliation.
Rather than mocking and laughing at their pitiful conditions, I found myself…
“……”
Unable to do so.
All because of Elden, who sat there, looking entirely indifferent.
While my gaze was fixed on Deron and Blund, all my other senses were directed toward Elden.
I struggled to meet his eyes for some reason.
Even though this was the moment I had awaited, a surge of resentment and irritation overwhelmed me instead of liberation.
All of this was due to Elden Raphelion’s presence.
“…I will reward the fastest and cleanest eater, so everyone, do your best.”
Unaware that my mouth tasted of ash, I threw out words like a taunt as I approached him.
With uncertain steps, I stood before him.
This moment had to mark a change.
I should be the mighty one now, while he was the pitiful loser.
But things hadn’t changed at all.
Elden appeared as unyielding as ever, while I, the once-mighty, felt small and diminished.
How absurd this was!
But I would overcome it.
I would bring down the mighty giant.
Determined, I prepared myself to speak.
Nevertheless,
“You asked me, didn’t you? If the confession I sent in a letter was sincere?”
Once again, words fell from my traitorous mouth without my consent.
Why did that keep happening to me?
“It was sincere.”
“Pardon?”
“I said it was sincere. I truly supported you and my declaration of love was genuine.”
The answer I couldn’t muster during our first meeting now spilled out almost effortlessly.
My heart raced.
It felt like my lips were burning.
And ultimately,
“So… will you marry me?”
In an act of rebellion against my own disgust, those words I had wanted to scream came tumbling out uncontrollably.
“I promise to give you everything you desire. The revival of your house, honor, power, forgiveness, love—whatever you want, it’s yours. I vow this in the name of Winterfell.”
Originally, I had no intention of using Winterfell’s sacred name in my manipulations.
I didn’t want to tarnish such a name with the dirt of a villain.
Yet,
This time,
That promise binding to Winterfell came out so smoothly.
I longed for…
I yearned for…
I craved…
Acceptance.
I wanted him to accept me and not reject me once more.
This promise, sealed with Winterfell’s name, was not a lie.
It was an ultimatum.
However,
Elden lowered his head.
Bending at the waist, he looked down.
Then,
“I’m sorry, Your Grace.”
Once again, he rejected me.
Just as in the shadowy past of my memories.
The source of all my turmoil turned me down without a moment’s hesitation.
Instead of a sense of liberation, only resentment swelled within me, gripping me tightly.
Tears began to swell in my eyes.
Tears born from the grievances of my past.
Tears that bore the weight of my plans falling apart time after time, echoing fears of the nightmares I’d endured.
Each day spent teetering on the brink of hell bled into my soul, and now, expectations of liberation felt like a cruel joke, making my tears flow endlessly.
Unlike that moment during our first confrontation, where no moisture fell from my eyes, now tears blurred my vision and streamed down my cheeks.
My heart raced and my body trembled in overwhelming despair.
At that moment, Elden finally raised his head.
Since the moment of his withdrawal, that cherubic face of his had always stirred irritation in me.
It felt like mockery of my needs, and I couldn’t take it anymore.
That must have been why.
Unconsciously, my hand shot up, and in a whirlwind of pain, rejection, and vengeance, I slapped his cheek.
With the boiling resentment and injustice that burned within me, I resorted to violence against his innocent visage.
Slap-!!
I had sworn to never become like them.
I had promised to never stoop to that level.
Yet, just like that, that vow crumbled to dust.
I was unable to contain myself.
No one could stop what had surged so violently from within.
It was a moment where everything I had bottled up came bursting out uncontrollably.
In the blink of an eye, my tears ran dry.
My shaking hand came to a halt as my legs threatened to give way.
“…Ah…”
The only sound that l escaped my lips was a distressed groan.
Nothing else seemed possible.
Having broken my own pledge to avoid violence, all I could do was shrink in defeat before him.
Ultimately,
Thud-.
I found myself collapsing, hands covering my face, drawn down by my own despair.
It was a cursed moment.
A moment filled with desperation.
With resentment that clawed at my mind, I was powerless against my impulses when faced with him.
Oh, how I loathed him!
How utterly I detested his mere existence, for putting me through this!
Thus, once again, I knelt before Elden as I had during my Academy days.
I was trapped in the painful cycle of repeating the past.
“……”
And as I sat there, Elden merely rubbed his sore cheek and lifted the lid off the dish set before him.
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