“Your Highness, the Princess, let me help you with your hair.”

Emma offered, approaching quietly and beginning to comb Elliope’s hair. 

Elliope ignored her and continued to stare out of the window. 

In Ilmos, where the skies were often cloudy and the days often overcast, the hours of sunlight were limited. Not wanting to miss those rare moments, Elliope stood at the window. 

In this life, she didn’t want to live as a lifeless, corpse-like woman. 

Whoooosh. 

A strong gust of wind rattled the window with a loud shake as it passed. Emma let out a small sigh. 

The outbuilding Elliope had been assigned to was deliberately cold and run down. The doors looked as if they might fall off at any moment and cobwebs decorated the corners of the lobby. It was in even worse condition than the annex she had been given in her previous life, which had been kept to a minimum for the sake of appearances. 

Oddly, she found it amusing. 

‘He must be quite upset.’ 

Her husband… Theodor was clearly displeased, and the state of this annex was proof of that. 

“But you are someone who has come from the Imperial Palace. How could they…?” Emma fretted, her concern evident as she worried about Elliope’s situation. 

Even Emma, considerate as she was, was one of the few who still cared for Elliope. The other maids, realising that they had followed the princess all the way from the distant capital only to end up in an annex hardly worthy of the name, turned their backs on her far more quickly than they had in her previous life. 

“We can’t go down with the princess.” 

“But Lady Rayla…” 

“You all feel the same as I do, don’t you? We had no power in our families to begin with, which is why we came, but now we’re expected to endure such humiliation?” 

“Still, we have no choice.” 

“Why shouldn’t we? We could join forces with the noblewomen or knights of Ilmos and secure a new path.” 

Elliope remembered the conversation she had overheard one restless night as she wandered the annex, unable to sleep. It was the maids talking among themselves.

Rayla. Although she was only the daughter of a baron in name and status, she had once dared to stab Elliope – a princess in title only – with a needle. Not satisfied with that, she had even attempted to slap her, only to stumble and fall. It was Rayla who led the charge, and now almost all the maids had left Elliope’s side. 

But Elliope had no intention of blaming them or holding on to them. She was struggling to survive herself; why should they not do the same? 

“Why didn’t you leave?” 

Emma just blushed, her cheeks turning red. 

“I… was a commoner to begin with, unlike the others.”

Emma had originally been a palace maid, like Elliope before her. When Elliope, overwhelmed by the number of noble-born maids, had expressed a desire for at least one maid from the same humble background, Emma had been chosen at random from among the palace servants. 

It was the only wish Elliope could fulfil after becoming a princess. 

Emma replied with calm composure. 

“I must take care of Your Highness.”

“…….” 

“And besides, you have to prepare for your wedding… Shall I call the dress designer today?” 

Even as she spoke, Emma’s discomfort was obvious. Despite the fact that Elliope had come here for her wedding, the Grand Duke showed no signs of preparing for it. He seemed utterly indifferent, and the gifts that a bride would normally receive from her groom were nowhere to be found. Not even his retainers paid her a formal visit, fulfilling only the bare minimum of protocol. 

‘How could things be so completely the same?’ 

If anything, the situation had worsened from her previous life, with no sign of improvement. But it was all within the bounds of what Elliope had expected. 

Still, Elliope was no longer saddened by such things. 

Her mind was occupied with other things – like what had happened in the hut a few days ago. 

Elliope looked calmly out of the window. The bare, skeletal branches swayed wildly in the north wind. A few knights were training in the exercise yard, but Kallian was nowhere to be seen. 

“…….” 

Ever since she had entered the Grand Duke’s residence – more precisely, ever since Theodor had dragged Kallian away – it had been difficult to get a glimpse of him. 

Elliope wasn’t sure if she wanted to see him, or if she didn’t want to see him at all. 

“Haah.” 

Emma gave her a sad look, perhaps misinterpreting the meaning behind her sigh. 

‘If you could read my mind, you wouldn’t make that face.’

The real reason Elliope had been wandering around the annex, unable to sleep since his arrival, was…

She often woke with shortness of breath or a flushed face, even in her sleep. Although she thought she had given up such thoughts long ago, her dreams were often haunted by Kallian. These dreams had only become more intense since she had confronted Theodor in the Grand Duke’s residence. 

Last night’s dream in particular was so absurd that she couldn’t help but wonder about it herself. 

In the dream, she had returned to the past – back to the days when she had just married into this place. During that time, she had forced herself to enter her husband’s chambers every day and watched him engage in lewd acts with his mistresses and pr*stitutes. 

In the dream, one of the pr*stitutes, sitting astride Theodor in a negligee, burst into laughter when she noticed Elliope. Her laughter rang out as she shamelessly moved her hips. 

“Ahaha, how can you be so stiff and lifeless?” 

“Oh dear, I didn’t even know you were there.” 

The vividness of the scene was enough to make Elliope feel like her heart was being crushed, even in the safety of her waking hours. 

Her husband, watching the scene, grabbed the woman’s br*ast violently. A moan escaped her lips, followed by shrill laughter as he gripped her waist and moved her with fervour. The women around them cackled with pleasure, their laughter echoing through the room. 

Theodor watched the pr*stitutes with apparent amusement, then shifted his gaze to Elliope, his expression dripping with contempt as if he were looking at an insect. 

“Silence is their only virtue.” 

“An ornament to the imperial family. Expensive, too.” 

Those words were burned into her memory, uttered as she stood motionless in her soaked negligee, sticky with fruit juice – a moment she had actually experienced in the past. 

“I told her to live and die like a statue, and she really became lifeless like a statue.”

One of the many days she had endured repeated itself in her dream, filling her with deep disgust
Her husband, watching the scene, grabbed the woman’s br*ast violently. A moan escaped her lips, followed by shrill laughter as he gripped her waist and moved her with fervour. The women around them cackled with pleasure, their laughter echoing through the room. 

Theodor watched the pr*stitutes with apparent amusement, then shifted his gaze to Elliope, his expression dripping with contempt as if he were looking at an insect. 

“Silence is that woman’s only virtue.” 

“An Imperial Family decoration? How expensive it is.”

Those words were burned into her memory, uttered as she stood motionless in her soaked negligee, sticky with fruit juice – a moment she had actually experienced in the past. 

“I told her to live and die like a statue, and she really did become lifeless like a statue.

One of the many days she had endured repeated itself in her dream, filling her with deep disgust.

The insults she had already endured resurfaced in her mind, and she gritted her teeth in renewed anger. 

But what followed was different. 

Bang! 

The door to the room suddenly flew open. A gust of cold wind swept in as Kallian stepped inside, much like when he would rush in to tell Theodor something urgent. 

But unlike those moments, there was no polite knock, no formal greeting. The pr*stitutes froze, and even Theodor stiffened in shock, completely taken by surprise. 

“Sir Kallian?” 

It was an instinctive reaction as she, caught off guard herself, unconsciously called out to him. 

From the deepest recesses of his eyes, an indescribable emotion quickly rose to the surface. 

“Sir…!” 

The next moment, Elliope found herself held tightly in his arms. He lifted her effortlessly, tore off the soiled negligee she was wearing and pressed his lips to her nectar-soaked br*ast.

“Kallian!” 

Her sharp cry was swallowed by the moans that escaped.

“Ah!”

Kallian’s attention shifted between her full, rounded br*asts.

The explicit sound of sucking was intense, resonating with fervour. A scent of crushed fruit seemed to rise from somewhere on her body.

“Haah!”

Kallian suddenly took her br*ast in his mouth with a powerful tug and sucked deeply. The sensation sent her into a frenzy, her breath escaping in soft, involuntary moans. Elliope’s eyes grew warm with embarrassment at the sound she’d made.

“W-wait, just a moment…”

Instinctively, she raised her arms to stop him, but Kallian quickly ran his tongue from her armpit to her neck in one smooth motion. He was behind her in an instant, wrapping her in his embrace. 

“Ah…” 

Elliope’s body was suddenly and completely exposed to her stunned husband, who looked on in disbelief.

Seeing his stunned expression, she let out a sound somewhere between a laugh and a sob, unable to fully comprehend her own emotions. Meanwhile, his heated hands, now bare after removing his gloves, roamed her body with relentless persistence. As her body flushed and she wriggled instinctively, his firm thigh slid between her legs.

“Ah, ahh!”

Her legs parted helplessly, yielding to the pressure. The pr*stitutes and Theodor could do nothing but stare blankly at the scene, too stunned to intervene. 

Elliope’s heart felt like it was being violently torn apart, only to heal and break again in an endless cycle. 

The expressions of those on the bed were a sight to behold, as if the chaotic bursts of her heart had splashed blood across their faces. The heat that had once filled her husband’s bed seemed to have ignited in her own body. 

“Kallian!”

As she let out soft moans, still held tightly, Kallian’s fingers explored her depths. A whirlwind of emotions – embarrassment, a hint of shame and an undeniable flicker of pleasure – reverberated through her mind, leaving her dazed. 

“Ha… ah…”

The fingers that had been exploring her withdrew, leaving her body trembling in anticipation of what was to come. 

“…….” 

Kallian’s imposing presence loomed, his hardened form poised menacingly at her entrance, as if he could enter her at any moment. Just as Elliope stiffened, her lips parting instinctively, his voice broke the tension. 

“Are you going to r*pe me?” 

As she opened her mouth to answer, her eyes suddenly snapped open, bringing her back to reality.

“…….” 

Consumed by thoughts of Theodor and Kallian, she couldn’t believe that even her dreams had taken such a turn. Feeling restless, she wandered aimlessly around the annex in the early hours of the morning. Even though Kallian had distanced himself from her and no longer approached her, she still found herself dreaming of him. 

‘How pathetic.’

While she was busy worrying and hoping for no reason, she had no idea what Kallian was thinking. It was clear that he had long forgotten the promise she had made to him that day after he had wrapped her in furs and left.

‘He probably thinks it was a foolish act.’

Perhaps he regretted allowing himself to be swept away by an impulsive and foolish woman, almost compromising his position as a loyal knight. 

Just as she sighed again, the worn and creaking door swung open with a loud crash.

“Everyone!” 

Emma frowned as she looked at the people entering the room. 

The maids, now dressed in finer clothes than Elliope himself, entered with strange smiles on their faces. 

“Where have you been?” 

“Your Highness, the Princess.”

The maids replied, ignoring Emma’s scolding tone as they turned their attention to Elliope, their eyes narrowing in a mischievous smile. 

“We have good news for you, Your Highness.” 

“Good news?”

Elliope replied calmly. Rayla, the maid who had almost slapped her, lifted the corners of her lips. 

“Your welcoming ceremony is to be held, Your Highness.” 

As soon as those words were spoken, a face suddenly appeared behind the maid, frozen in a rigid expression.

It was the head maid, Baroness Taleon.