Chapter 6.3

On the way to the Imperial Palace, Ellie absentmindedly played with Feroza’s hand, imagining what Rozelia might look like now.

‘I heard the Imperial Palace’s underground prison is the worst…’

High status meant nothing there.

Once branded a criminal, nothing else mattered.

Ellie looked up at Feroza.

“Feroza, have you ever seen Lady Azenne?”

“Not since the first day she was imprisoned. But, well… I haven’t heard she died in prison, so she must still be alive.”

He shrugged as he answered.

His utter indifference gave Ellie a strange feeling.

Eventually, the carriage arrived at the Imperial Palace and they headed to the underground prison.

“Ellie, the smell of blood is strong down here. If you feel sick, tell me right away.”

“Okay.”

She nodded and clenched her fists.

Holding Feroza’s hand, she carefully descended the stairs.

Even after only a few steps, the stench of blood hit her, making her frown.

Immediately, Feroza’s concern came flying at her.

“Ellie, are you feeling sick? Should we come back another time? Or not come at all?”

“I’m fine, let’s just go quickly.”

“Alright…”

At her firm answer, Feroza looked disappointed.

Rozelia was being held in the innermost cell.

Feroza explained that it was because the crime of treason was so grave.

“Are there people who ever get released after being imprisoned here?”

“No.”

He shook his head.

Finally, they arrived at Rozelia’s cell.

Perhaps hearing their footsteps, Rozelia, who was lying on the floor, slowly lifted her head.

Her once beautiful and pure appearance was gone, replaced by tangled hair and a filthy dress.

Seeing Ellie, Rozelia’s eyes widened and she abruptly sat up.

“You, you…!”

Even speaking seemed difficult; she was breathing heavily.

If looks could kill, Rozelia’s glare would have done it.

Ellie stared at Rozelia for a moment, then turned to Feroza.

“Feroza, you remember the promise, right?”

“Are you sure you’ll be alright alone?”

“Yes. Just… go far enough that you can’t hear my voice. And don’t try to eavesdrop.”

“Alright.”

Feroza nodded and left.

Once his footsteps faded, Ellie sat down cross-legged.

“Hello.”

“……”

“You’re really a mess, Rozelia.”

“…Why? Did you come to laugh at me? Are you satisfied now?”

Rozelia’s voice was cracked and rough.

Ellie didn’t answer Rozelia’s question.

Instead, she spoke differently.

“Why were you so obsessed?”

“What?”

“I came to ask why you were so obsessed with the original story.”

“…Ha.”

Rozelia twisted her lips into a crooked smile.

Ellie spoke calmly.

“I warned you. The story has already gone off track, so just live your own life.”

“……”

“Then why did you go this far? Look at the results of your actions. In the end, it’s death.”

At those words, Rozelia bit her lips hard.

Rozelia glared sharply and shouted,

“What do you know?”

“……”

“What do you know about me! Do you know what kind of life I lived?”

Ellie blinked and quietly listened.

“I just wanted to be happy. I didn’t want to live miserably. The heroine always gets to be happy, right? That’s all I wanted, so why?”

“……”

“As someone who lived at the bottom… you have no idea how relieved I was to end up in this body.”

Apparently, her life before coming here hadn’t been easy either.

So after becoming Rozelia, she desperately tried to find happiness.

“You stole my place. You took my life away from me!”

Rozelia screamed.

Her hoarse, metallic voice echoed through the underground prison.

Ellie looked at Rozelia, who was panting for breath, and spoke.

“I don’t feel sorry for you. Just because you lived that way doesn’t mean what you did to me was right.”

“……”

“I didn’t listen to your story out of pity. And I didn’t come to plead for mercy, either.”

Ellie groaned as she stood up.

Her legs tingled from sitting crouched for so long.

“Don’t feel wronged. You’re just taking responsibility for your actions.”

Before leaving, Ellie looked straight at Rozelia and spoke.

“I’ll hear about what happens to you next in the newspaper.”

As she turned and walked away, Rozelia screamed after her, asking where she was going.

The further Ellie walked, the fainter Rozelia’s voice became.

Turning the corner, she found Feroza leaning against the wall.

“Ellie.”

“Did you wait long?”

“No. Are you done talking?”

“Yes.”

Ellie nodded.

“I won’t be looking for Rozelia again.”

“Alright.”

It was an unspoken permission to proceed with Rozelia’s execution.

As they left the underground prison, Rozelia’s words echoed in Ellie’s mind.

‘I stole Rozelia’s life…’

Maybe there was some truth to that.

From Rozelia’s perspective, Ellie had taken the heroine’s place.

But Ellie believed this life was her own making.

“Ellie.”

“……”

“Ellie!”

“Ah, yes?”

Feroza’s voice snapped her back to reality.

He was looking at her with a slight frown.

“Are you alright? You don’t look well.”

“Ah…”

Looking around, Ellie realized they were already out of the underground prison.

Feroza led her to a nearby bench and sat her down.

Then, kneeling on one knee in front of her, he carefully examined her face.

“You really did push yourself too hard, didn’t you?”

“No, I just spaced out for a moment.”

“What were you thinking about?”

“Just…”

Ellie trailed off, then smiled softly.

“It feels like all that’s left now is to get married and be happy.”

“Ellie.”

“By the way, they told me to come next week for the final wedding dress fitting. Would you like to come too, Feroza?”

Worried that Feroza might press further, Ellie deliberately changed the subject.

It wasn’t a lie, either.

He stared at her for a moment, then nodded.

“Alright. Let’s go together.”

He looked like he was giving in, but had no choice.

Ellie leaned in and gave him a quick kiss on the lips as thanks.

“I want to go back now. I just want to rest today.”

“Let’s do that.”

Feroza stood up and offered his hand.

Ellie took it firmly and stood up.

* * *

The next day, a huge headline in the newspaper announced that both the Azenne and Rokcheta families, convicted of treason, had been executed.

Ellie stared at the article and handed it to Roni, who was standing beside her.

“Roni, could you burn this for me?”

“Huh? Oh, yes.”

Roni tilted her head in confusion but soon took the newspaper.

‘Rozelia must have cursed me until the very end.’

Ellie didn’t need to see to know.

She decided to stop thinking about Rozelia, since she’d never see her again.

“That’s enough. It’s all over now.”

Ellie slapped her own cheeks with both hands.

Now, it was time to focus on her wedding.

Next week, she’d have to go see the finished wedding dress fitting, and there was still so much to prepare.

She felt like even two bodies wouldn’t be enough to handle everything now.

At that moment, there was a knock at the door, and it opened slightly.

“Ellie, do you have a moment?”

“Mother?”

It was her mother.

She beckoned for Ellie to come over, and Ellie tilted her head curiously as she rose from her seat.

“What is it?”

“I wanted to talk about the tiara for your wedding.”

“Ah…”

Ellie could imagine exactly what her mother would say.

It would surely be something about making it the most splendid in the world.

Ellie was about to say she’d handle the tiara herself, but her mother spoke first.

“Do you remember the promise you made when you were little?”

“A promise…?”

“Yes. You were supposed to inherit the tiara I wore at my wedding.”

“Ah…”

So they had made that promise.

Ellie stared blankly at her mother and then nodded.

“Yes…”

“Since your wedding isn’t far off, I thought it’d be good to show you the tiara in advance.”

Her mother led her to the very top floor of the main building.

There was only one room at the very top, and it was actually Ellie’s first time climbing all the way up, so her eyes widened.

Her mother carefully opened the door.

What appeared were several portraits.

“This is…”

“Do you remember? You hated sitting still, so it was tough to get your portrait painted.”

Her mother laughed softly.

Ellie slowly examined the portraits.

“Ellie, come here.”

Ellie was gazing blankly at the portraits when her mother called her.

Walking over, Ellie saw the tiara placed inside a glass case.

“This is the tiara.”

“…It’s beautiful.”

Ellie murmured absentmindedly as she looked at the tiara.

The tiara was truly stunning.

Diamonds set closely together shone brilliantly.

“You have no idea how long I’ve waited to pass this tiara on to you.”

Maybe that’s why her mother had been so eager for Ellie to marry.

She had always seemed like someone who wanted to benefit from her daughter’s marriage, but at this moment, her mother looked different.

Her mother took Ellie’s hand and spoke.

“Congratulations on your wedding, Ellie.”

“…Thank you, Mother.”

Ellie lifted the corners of her mouth into a gentle smile.

“Oh, Ellie! Isn’t your wedding dress fitting finished?”

“Ah, yes. I’m going with His Grace next week.”

“Really? I’m so excited to see the wedding dress.”

For some reason, her mother seemed like a young girl.