Chapter 10

Evelyn’s delicate hand pushed open the rough wooden door and entered.

The shabby door, lacking even a common doorbell, let out a somewhat eerie creaking sound as it opened.

“Hello!”

The clerk’s voice from inside was fairly bright.

The girl, who looked to be in her teens at a glance, froze when Evelyn approached.

“U-um… is there something… you’re looking for?”

She seemed unable to understand why someone who so obviously appeared to be a high-ranking noble had come to a place like this.

The girl, who had been reciting her usual greeting, stumbled over her words as though she were malfunctioning.

“I’d like to order some clothes.”

“From… our shop?”

“Yes.”

Embarrassed by Evelyn’s consistently plain tone, the girl cleared her throat.

“Ahem. If you’ll have a seat for a moment, I’ll go get Madam…!”

Despite its shabby interior, the dressmaker having a space set aside to receive customers was quite impressive.

Though compared to the sofas in luxury dress shops, it was nothing more than a simple wooden chair.

When Evelyn merely nodded in response, the girl hurried inside.

“Your Highness, this is the last shop.”

Standing behind the chair, Mol spoke with visible fatigue.

This was already the seventh shop.

Why a princess had suddenly decided to visit shops that ordinary commoners would frequent was beyond Mol’s understanding, but she no longer had the energy to care.

All she wanted was to return to the palace as soon as possible.

Though not of a rank as high as the princess, Mol was also the daughter of a count’s family.

She might not have been a beloved daughter, but the family’s reputation still mattered, so she had always visited elegant and refined dress shops.

Yet because of the princess, who spent the entire day visiting dress shops that were not merely ordinary but downright shabby, Mol had seen far too many things she never wished to see.

Her mental endurance had already reached its limit.

“Mol, if you’re tired, go rest in the carriage.”

“N-No, it’s alright. I should be attending Your Highness!”

“There are knights outside, and I’ll call if I need anything. Go rest for a while. You’re tired.”

“…”

Mol’s reddish-brown eyes wavered.

In truth, the moment she entered, she had nearly screamed after seeing a spider hanging from the ceiling consuming a moth.

Had she not gradually built up some resistance throughout the afternoon, simply squeezing her eyes shut would not have been enough to endure it.

“T-Then I’ll wait in the carriage. Please call me if you need me.”

“Alright.”

After bowing at Evelyn’s calm reply, Mol hurriedly left the shop.

Finally alone, Evelyn let out the breath she had been holding.

This shop had been her destination from the start, but she had deliberately spent time going around to other shops first.

Since Mol had hated dirty things in her previous life as well, Evelyn had thought that after seeing enough unpleasant sights, she would be unable to endure it and leave.

‘Though I didn’t expect her to hold out this long.’

She had been wondering what she would do if Mol stubbornly remained by her side even here, so this was truly a relief.

At that moment, the inner door opened and a woman emerged.

“…Hello.”

“Are you the madam of this shop?”

“Yes. My name is Lilia Grenzach.”

Unlike her wary eyes, her attitude was exceedingly polite.

Dark circles beneath her eyes suggested a considerable accumulation of fatigue.

‘You’re still pushing yourself too hard.’

Even though the circumstances were different, the familiar sight still filled Evelyn with a sense of nostalgia.

Though she had been little more than a puppet, in her second life Evelyn had been the head of the Imperial Treasury, a department that reported directly to the Emperor and managed the imperial finances.

During her time as Minister of Finance, Lilia had been one of the few friends and subordinates with whom she truly got along.

But about a year later, it was revealed that she was the illegitimate daughter of House Chester, a family that had supported the Second Empress.

After that sudden revelation, Lilia disappeared without a trace.

A week later, she reappeared as a participant in the Emperor’s horrific “feeding competition.”

To see her friend, having lost all reason, chasing after food like a beast…

Even as she watched that scene unfold, Evelyn had been unable to do anything.

She despised herself for being so powerless.

Recalling Lilia’s final moments from her memories, Evelyn slowly closed and opened her eyes.

“You seem very tired.”

“Well, yes.”

A tone entirely lacking in sociability.

The darkened eyes and rough skin that came from doing nothing but work every day.

Lilia was exactly as Evelyn remembered her.

‘So you’ve always been like this.’

The familiar feeling, along with the fact that Lilia was still alive and well, kept bringing a smile to her lips.

Even when she worked in the Ministry of Finance, Lilia had possessed many talents.

She was good with numbers, skillful with her hands, and highly intelligent.

She also had a keen sense for identifying who would be beneficial to her.

In that sense, the reason Evelyn had been able to become close to her was simply because their unfortunate circumstances had been similar.

‘Which also means Lilia has always been soft-hearted.’

Because, viewed rationally, a powerless princess could never be of any benefit to her.

“I’d like to have a dress made.”

“If you tell me the design you want and the address, I’ll have it made and delivered within ten days.”

“You can decide the design yourself. As for the delivery, I’d like you to bring it personally.”

“…”

“To the Imperial Palace.”

Lilia, who had lowered her gaze to the table to make notes, looked up.

“What is it that you want?”

Distrust filled her eyes, and the hand holding the quill tightened.

“I know who you are.”

“What are you?”

Watching Lilia grip the pen so tightly that it looked as though she might stab her in the throat at any moment, Evelyn frowned.

“I’d prefer it if you weren’t quite so wary. I came because we’re in the same situation.”

“The same situation?”

“Yes.”

Pulling back the dark purple robe she was wearing, Evelyn drew out the hair she had hidden beneath it.

Platinum-blonde hair, dazzling as sunlight, spilled below her shoulders like waves.

“Evelyn Strovana. That’s my name.”

“…”

“The daughter of Empress Blair, whom your father supported.”

“Why are you…”

“I came to make a proposal. It seems we both want the same thing, so let’s join hands.”

Lilia’s gaze shook violently as it met hers.

“Lilia Grenzach. How would you like to work with me?”

***

In the Strovana Empire, even commoners placed great importance on bloodlines.

Because of that, every citizen of the Empire possessed a surname regardless of status.

Among those surnames, Grenzach was one used by orphans whose origins were unknown.

Lilia carried the blood of House Chester, but she was an illegitimate child never acknowledged by the family.

Her mother had been forced to give birth without ever having a proper wedding ceremony.

The reason her parents had been unable to marry was that House Chester, despite being a devout family, paradoxically refused to acknowledge her mother because she had grown up as an orphan of the Temple.

Her father fiercely resisted and wished to marry her mother, but the family rejected the mother and daughter to the very end.

In the end, her father chose excommunication from the family of his own accord, and the three of them became Grenzachs.

Even so, her parents loved Lilia more than enough.

Raised in a happy and harmonious home, she had never held any attachment to noble status.

She did not mind staying up through the night as the dress shop she had opened to help support the family grew increasingly popular.

After all, it meant she could make her parents’ lives a little easier.

But only a month ago, everything was shattered by the Imperial Knights, who suddenly descended upon their home.

When her parents were mercilessly dragged away by the knights.

When the house filled with all of her memories was engulfed in flames.

She could do nothing.

“Don’t come! Don’t come over here!”

Her mother’s voice, screaming toward her from within the crowd until her throat nearly burst, was so desperate.

She wanted to push through the people and run to her immediately.

But Lilia endured.

‘If I get caught too, I won’t be able to save them.’

‘So I have to endure it. I have to endure and find a way.’

That single thought was what allowed her to hold on.

But two days later, the notice posted on the wall completely broke her.

“House Chester Completely Exterminated for Heresy.”

‘Heretics.’

Her father had abandoned House Chester decades ago.

Yet the Emperor had stubbornly traced every branch of the family registry and killed every last Chester.

“Ah… Ah…! Aaaah!”

That day, happiness collapsed.

And Lilia lost the purpose of her life.

From that moment on, she swore revenge against the Emperor whose face she had never even seen.

***

The quill trembling violently in Lilia’s hand finally snapped.

Even the table shook from the force.

“How dare you…”

Yet upon seeing this, Evelyn’s expression remained utterly calm.

“How dare you. Do you even know where you are?”

A scoff escaped Lilia’s lips.

‘Has she lost her mind? Then again… how could she come looking for me while knowing all that if she weren’t?’

Judging by the situation, there were escorts waiting outside, but that did not matter.

No matter how exceptional those knights might be, they would not be able to stop her from driving a pen into Evelyn’s throat right here.

‘Should I kill her?’

‘If I kill that woman’s sister here, wouldn’t I at least accomplish a small measure of revenge first?’

The whirlwind of her desire for revenge swirled within her eyes.

Evelyn’s sorrowfully lowered green eyes stared directly into it.