A few days later.

Kasha rode the carriage for two full days towards Elor Bay.

The Grand Duke’s family would have already arrived at the villa a day ago. Kasha was visiting them as a guest and planned to stay together for about ten days.

Of course, the Grand Duke would throw a fit at her appearance, but his reaction was of no concern to Kasha.

‘I will save Eve.’

Kasha reaffirmed her determination with that resolution.

‘I broke Leon’s curse too. There must be a way to save Eve as well. I can do it.’

While repeatedly making such pledges, the smell of the sea began to waft into the carriage.

When she slightly opened the window, a breathtakingly stunning scenery unfolded outside.

The golden sandy beach following the bay that gently curved inland. The jade-colored sea reflecting millions of light ripples under the intense summer sunlight. The white sailboats floating leisurely above it like a dream.

It was Elor Bay.

“Elder sister, Kasha elder sister!”

As soon as the Lyuschino Count’s carriage arrived at the front gate of the villa, Eve came running out and hugged her.

“Elder sister, why did you come only now! I waited all day.”

Eve rubbed her cheek against Kasha’s face as if she couldn’t contain her joy.

The lovely and sweet scent emanating from Eve made Kasha smile naturally, while at the same time, a sense of tension gripped her heart that she must never lose this child.

The two enjoyed the joy of reunion, clinging to each other as if they had met after several years.

“I’m sorry. I came as quickly as I could. Now, shall we go inside?”

At Kasha’s words, Eve’s brightly smiling face instantly darkened and she glanced at the villa as if checking the situation.

“Umm… But I want to go for a walk on the beach with you, elder sister.”

“Really? Then first, let’s go inside and greet His Grace the Grand Duke, Sir Leon, and Sir Anthony.”

“Yes… About that….”

Eve kept hesitating. Kasha seemed to understand why she was doing that.

‘They must be arguing about me, Leon and the Grand Duke.’

Kasha reassured Eve kindly.

“Which way is the beach? Let’s go… to the place you often take walks.”

“Really? There is a very pretty beach. The sand sparkles golden!”

Eve’s face immediately brightened and she led Kasha by the hand.

Swish. Swish.

Kasha sat on the dunes of the beach, gazing at the endlessly incoming waves.

The blue water, so vast that it seemed about to spill out of sight at any moment, maintained such an orderly position.

She suddenly felt sorry for her past self who grew up in the northern snowy mountains and lived almost in self-exile.

‘After collecting all the demon stones and uncovering the identity of the dark forces, I want to tour various places in the world.’

The desert in the center that is said to be scorching hot like hell during the day and freezing cold at night, the Crystal Falls that are said to fall from peaks as high as the end of the sky, the small and mysterious islands dotting the ends of the north and south.

Now she knows that many things she had dismissed as just book-world in her previous life actually exist.

The friendship Margaret shows, Daril’s family love that is sometimes startling, and the admiration this little one building a sand castle in front of her eyes shows towards her are the same.

And those things she actually experienced had a much more intense power than vague imaginations. Enough to make the frozen heart of a woman who returned from a terrible death beat again.

“Elder sister, look at this!”

Eve turned to her with a bright smile.

The sand castle built with her little hands was quite decent. Although the governess standing next to Eve was hopping on her feet, looking at the sand on the Grand Duke’s daughter’s hands and skirt.

Eve’s shoes were also thrown away, rolling on the sandy beach. When Kasha realized that walking on the sand with shoes on was inefficient and took them off, Eve quickly followed suit.

If the Grand Duke saw Eve’s current appearance, he would probably jump up and down again, saying that the crazy young lady had a bad influence on the Grand Duke’s daughter.

But Kasha hoped that Eve would not fret about sand getting into her silk shoes in front of this beautiful nature.

‘I want you to live. Fully enjoying the good things in your life. Laughing lovingly like you are now.’

Kasha thought so and nodded to Eve.

‘To do that, I will do my best. I will save you as I saved your elder brother. Because that is also the way to atone for my sins.’

“Well done. You dug around the castle in a circle?”

“Yes! I’m going to scoop up seawater and put it here to make a moat!”

When Kasha carefully looked at her work, Eve exclaimed proudly.

Kasha had already carefully observed the coming and going of the beach sand and seawater. So she knew that even if they scooped up seawater, it would quickly seep into the sand, making it difficult to create a moat, but she calmly nodded.

“Do whatever you want. I will help you.”

Hehe.

Eve’s peach-colored cheeks dimpled, showing how happy she was.

While watching Eve engrossed in the sand castle for a while, Kasha felt her head getting hot, and tinnitus rang with a slight dizziness.

‘It must be because I’ve never been exposed to such strong sunlight for a long time. Come to think of it, Eve’s skin might get damaged from being under the sun for too long.’

She was about to raise her hand to call Eve’s governess.

“Oh my, isn’t it the Grand Duke’s daughter?”

Along with the exaggerated voice of a young woman, the surroundings became noisy.

Seeing Eve’s complexion darken as she looked that way and abruptly stood up, Kasha also slowly turned around.

The procession that appeared on the dunes of the beach was very luxurious.

Noble ladies wearing the finest lace parasols and state-of-the-art fashionable dresses, and a group of gentlemen escorting them. Recognizing the particularly radiant pair of man and woman among them, Kasha rose gracefully without being flustered and bowed.

“Katiana Lyuschino of the Lyuschino Count family, I pay my respects to His Highness the Crown Prince and Her Highness the Crown Princess.”

Contrary to the polite greeting, Kasha’s sense of smell reacted sensitively to their appearance.

The intense floral scent that pierced the nose and brain simultaneously.

It was the perfume used by the dark forces before the regression. Jasmine, who had become the Crown Princess, and several other nobles were looking down at Kasha with arrogant expressions, wearing that annoying scent.

Eve, standing behind Kasha, also bowed with impeccable courtesy, but the governess turned pale and struggled to brush the sand off Eve’s hands and skirt and put on her shoes.

“Just leave it. It’s the only summer vacation in a year, so the Grand Duke’s daughter should enjoy it according to her age. Right, Eve?”

When Crown Prince Nigel dissuaded with a pleasant voice and a grin, the nobles, who had been looking down on her, all nodded in agreement.

“Of course. It’s so nice to see the Grand Duke’s daughter being lively.”

“Thank you, Your Highness the Crown Prince.”

Eve replied in a meek voice and bowed her head.

Then Jasmine, who was standing next to Nigel, threw a question at Kasha.

“By the way, did you say you were the young lady of the Lyuschino Count family?”

Kasha raised her bowed head.

Jasmine was looking down at Kasha with a haughty face.

Kasha thought that Jasmine’s exotic tan skin in a white dress fitting the atmosphere of the resort went perfectly with the scorching sun.

The person who brought in that perfume, the only clue to revealing the identity of the dark forces, to this country. Kasha didn’t expect the confrontation with Jasmine to happen like this, but she calmly observed her.

A woman who grew up as a princess of a powerful kingdom and held everything in her hands. A person who finally won the love she fell for at first sight and became the Crown Princess of the empire.

The arrogant and self-centered atmosphere resembled Odette, but somehow her eyes looked a little more innocent than Odette’s.

Was it due to her personality, or because she was a bride enjoying a happy honeymoon after having her wedding a few days ago?

Jasmine also examined Kasha from head to toe as if observing an interesting creature. Then, when her gaze reached Kasha’s white feet stepping on the sand barefoot, she snorted in disbelief and shook her head.

Capturing her every movement with her eyes, Kasha replied softly.

“Yes, Your Highness the Crown Princess.”

At Kasha’s answer, Jasmine showed an openly curious look.

“I suppose you received an invitation to the Osilote Grand Duke family’s villa?”

“That’s right.”

At Kasha’s reply, the group of nobles exchanged glances with different meanings in their eyes.

Elor Bay was a land that only those with imperial blood and those invited by them could enter.

As a symbol of the imperial family’s privileges, invitations were not given to just anyone, and the mere fact of being invited here meant being officially recognized as having a connection with the imperial family.

Following their public courtship, now spending the summer vacation together in Elor Bay, it was clear that rumors would soon spread throughout the capital that the relationship between Grand Duke’s son Leon and Lady Kasha was not ordinary.

But as Kasha examined the faces of the gossiping nobles, something caught her eye.

‘…? Why is that fellow here?’

There was a man among the group who did not fit in terms of family status, reputation, or influence.

Kasha noticed that only that man’s gaze was fixed on a different target than her, and followed his line of sight. Kasha’s eyes suddenly turned cold when she realized what he was looking at.

“Ah, Leon. I wondered where you went leaving your companions, and here you come.”

Crown Prince Nigel’s bright voice distracted Kasha’s attention.

When she turned around, she saw Leon in a white shirt walking towards them with the scorching sun on his head.