Chapter 2 (Part 2)

Since she had stayed at the ball for such a short time, the Duke and Duchess of Hamilton had still not returned by the time she got back to the estate. Fearing she might get caught, Amelia felt foolish for letting her imagination run wild.

“You’re back already?”

Feeling embarrassed, Amelia lowered her head and entered her bedroom, where Mary, who had been keeping watch, was surprised to see her return so early. But she soon showed a look of relief, realizing that the plan had failed.

“It just turned out that way.”

Having boldly set out but failed in her plan, Amelia wore an awkward expression. Although Mary seemed pleased, Amelia felt embarrassed.

“You didn’t want to spend the night with the men there, did you? Right?”

“Yes. Their eyes felt impure, and I couldn’t bring myself to do it.”

As Amelia sighed deeply, Mary looked as if she had expected this outcome.

“So, what will you do now? Who will you ask next time?”

“I don’t know.”

Unable to refute Mary’s words, Amelia sighed deeply once more. Her mind was too chaotic to think of anything.

Maybe it was better to just wait and hope the Crown Prince didn’t choose her.

“For now, I’ll sleep and think about it tomorrow.”

“Alright. Rest well.”

After Mary left the bedroom, Amelia stared blankly at the ceiling shrouded in darkness.

‘I guess I thought too simply. Why is it so hard for life to go according to plan?’

Reflecting on what had happened at the ball, Amelia regretted going there. She hadn’t realized it would be this difficult to be disqualified as a Crown Princess candidate.

She even considered that begging the Crown Prince not to choose her might be the easiest option. Or perhaps praying to God not to be chosen as the Crown Princess would be better.

But with the odds being fifty-fifty, she couldn’t just wait passively. If she wasn’t careful, she might actually become the Crown Princess.

The problem was that seeing men and women mixing bodies without caring who saw them had made her feel repulsed. She didn’t want to give herself to people who treated their bodies so lightly.

‘Isn’t there anyone decent?’

If there was someone who attended out of curiosity just once and wouldn’t come back, she would be willing to give herself to him. But with everyone wearing masks, it wasn’t easy to find such a person.

‘What should I do?’

Despite pondering and pondering, Amelia fell asleep without finding a clear answer. In the dark room, only her quiet breathing could be heard.

* * *

Shortly after attending the masquerade ball, Amelia received a summons from the royal family. Anxious from the morning, she watched Mary dress her up.

“What could they want today? Surely they aren’t already eliminating two candidates, right? Or maybe they’re checking if we’re virgins?”

“Calm down, my lady. Nothing has happened yet. So first, take a deep breath.”

It was only after hearing Mary’s words that Amelia realized she had forgotten how to breathe. Taking a deep breath, she felt the tremor even in her exhalation.

After barely calming her anxious heart, Amelia recalled the events of the past few days.

Despite Mary’s opposition, she had attended the masquerade ball once more afterward, but she returned empty-handed again. There simply wasn’t a man she fancied.

Moreover, having become wary, even seemingly decent men made her lose the desire for intimacy whenever they tried to talk to her.

‘Was I always this shy around strangers?’

Amelia couldn’t understand herself. She had always been good at conversing with new people. But whenever she went to the ball, her body froze, indicating that, despite her will, her body feared unfamiliar men.

As a result, she now had to go to the royal palace while still a virgin.

‘I wish the carriage would overturn and hurt me just enough that I couldn’t go.’

While boarding the carriage, Amelia hoped for a situation that would force her to miss her appointment with the royal family.

However, the moment the carriage safely crossed the bridge leading to the royal palace, Amelia’s hope ended in vain.

When the carriage came to a complete stop, a royal attendant who had come to greet her approached and opened the door. Amelia got off the carriage with his help.

Originally, Mary should have come with her, but the letter from the royal family stated that royal attendants and maids would be serving her, so there was no need to bring an escort. Thus, she had no choice but to come alone.

Following the attendant who led the way, she headed to the designated location. Unlike last time, they did not go to the Crown Prince’s palace.

The attendant walked deep into the palace and stopped in front of a door adorned with intricate patterns.

“Lady Hamilton has arrived.”

As the door opened and she followed the attendant inside, she saw the Chancellor and three other Crown Princess candidates sitting on the sofa.

“It seems everyone is here now.”

Even though Lady Waterford had not yet arrived, the Chancellor stood up as if everyone was present. The other ladies, who also rose from their seats, had puzzled expressions on their faces, just like Amelia.

“Ah, it seems Lady Waterford does not meet the conditions to be a Crown Princess, so she was not called.”

With a nonchalant expression, the Chancellor announced that Lady Waterford had been disqualified as a candidate. The ladies present either sighed in relief or smiled with satisfaction, glad they had not been eliminated. Amelia, however, sighed in relief for a different reason.

‘Thank goodness only one was eliminated.’

She was puzzled as to why two candidates weren’t eliminated simultaneously, but now wasn’t the time to dwell on it. What mattered was that she still had time to voluntarily withdraw from the Crown Princess candidacy.

However, since it was uncertain when the next elimination would occur, Amelia couldn’t help but feel anxious.

Soon, the Chancellor explained why they had been called to this place instead of the Crown Prince’s palace.

“For the time being, you will undergo training here to become suitable Crown Princesses. It will be inconvenient, but please come to the palace 3-4 days a week for your lessons. You will be graded, and the lady with the lowest score will be eliminated.”

Though spoken in a solemn voice, the content was cruel.

At the mention of elimination, the other ladies displayed mixed emotions of confusion and distress, but Amelia felt differently. She was relieved that there would be no eliminations in the near future.

‘Oh! Then there’s no need to lose my purity.’

Moreover, it sounded like a sweet opportunity to her. If she performed slightly worse than the other ladies, she would automatically be disqualified without raising suspicion.

However, she soon realized how naive that thought was once the lessons began.

“Lady Brooke, your back is slouched. Straighten up more.”

“Lady Telbeos, you need to extend your fingers a bit more.”

Mrs. Lowden, who had previously taught Lady Limerick, was now in charge of the Crown Princess’s training. Naturally, the training was different from the etiquette lessons they had received from their families.

Mrs. Lowden did not tolerate even the slightest deviation. The moment a posture was off, she immediately corrected it.

She deliberately tried to provoke their pride to foster competition, but it didn’t work. One lady was particularly lacking.

“This is disappointing. Didn’t you receive home education? Why are your postures so poor? At this rate, Lady Brooke, you might as well get disqualified from the Crown Princess’s candidacy.”

‘Why does it have to be Lady Brooke!’

Amelia realized during the lessons that the Marquis of Brooke had spoiled his daughter too much, resulting in her not receiving a strict education.

Of course, she maintained the minimum etiquette expected of a noble, but she was far from being fit to become a Crown Princess.

Trying to imitate Lady Brooke’s inadequacies, Amelia found it difficult to intentionally perform poorly because her habitual movements were already ingrained. She couldn’t pretend to be completely ignorant of etiquette, so she had to awkwardly pretend to be incompetent, which was even harder.

“Lady Hamilton, where are you looking? Look ahead. Why are you paying attention to your surroundings?”

While observing Lady Brooke’s movements, Amelia was caught several times by Mrs. Lowden. Trying to match Lady Brooke’s level, she failed.

As a result, she had to stay alert throughout the lesson. After such a strenuous class, Amelia faced an even bigger challenge.

“I don’t think I can do this. I guess becoming the Crown Princess was too ambitious for me.”

Lady Brooke burst into tears, expressing her desire to give up. While her giving up didn’t mean she would be disqualified, it was problematic if she stopped trying.

If she showed gradual improvement, it would be fine, but losing her will from the start meant Amelia couldn’t be sure of receiving the lowest score.

‘You can’t give up!’

Realizing the need to encourage her, Amelia immediately held Lady Brooke’s hands.

“We may have many shortcomings, but let’s try our best. If we improve a lot, Mrs. Lowden might view us favorably.”

Thinking that Amelia was on the same level as her, Lady Brooke smiled faintly at her encouragement.