When she secretly met with Lucas in Canta to plan the extermination of the Franche royal family, she dreamed of the brilliant future she would gain after killing them all.

Although she couldn’t become the Crown Princess from the start, she could vividly imagine the day when she would become a woman recognized and loved by all through her abilities, and when Lucas eventually ascended to the throne, she would stand beside him with everyone’s blessings after driving out the incompetent queen.

But what was the reality?

Far from blessings, she was often exhausted from volunteering at the worst relief center, not only uninvited to noble ladies’ tea parties but no one came even when invited, and even information known to street children didn’t reach Elise’s ears.

And that’s not all.

Lucas, who she thought would at least act like a father, had been gone for ten days already, apparently finding hunting too enjoyable to return. Because of this, Elise had been doing relief center work for over ten days, when she thought it would end in a week.

She felt like she was going crazy.

Nothing was going according to plan.

In the midst of feeling like she was losing her mind, Madam Histine’s next words turned Elise’s stomach.

“By the way, isn’t it surprising? Grand Duke Ratean getting engaged to the princess of a fallen country.”

When she first heard it from Lucas, she didn’t fully believe it. She thought it must be some mistaken rumor and suppressed the jealousy spreading like wildfire. But seeing that even Madam Histine knew about it, it seemed to be true.

“Is that really true? Did Grand Duke Ratean really get engaged?”

Still not wanting to believe it, she asked again, and Madam Histine nodded.

“Yes, it’s true. The world is in an uproar over his engagement to Roxiana Franche.”

Elise clenched her fists.

‘How could Roxiana?’

How could she have that man?

Why did that man, who had everything and was the object of everyone’s envy, choose a woman like Roxiana? What did he want? What did she have?

“Roxiana Franche’s luck has turned. To think she’ll become the Grand Duchess of Torkan… You know? There are rumors that Torkan is even wealthier than the Empire.”

Of course she knew.

She hadn’t been interested before, but after seeing Floyd, she had looked into Torkan from various angles. Though it was densely packed with rifts, Floyd and his knights known as the “Five Wings” were said to be perfectly blocking the magical beasts. She had heard that many countries were desperate to get on his good side to obtain even one by-product from fighting magical beasts.

Why would that man, who lacked nothing, get engaged to someone like Roxiana?

She couldn’t understand. Something was wrong. Roxiana shouldn’t be like this. Roxiana, who had lost everything – her country and family – shouldn’t be engaged to such a man.

You should feel what I feel. Like me, who was lonely without allies in the Kingdom of Ider, you too should be engulfed in solitude, crying and despairing. Like me, who received contemptuous looks because of my father’s crimes, you too should receive scornful gazes.

But how could someone like you get engaged to Grand Duke Ratean?

“This can’t be…”

Her agitation leaked out.

“I know, it’s really unbelievable. To spend thousands of gold on an engagement ceremony.”

“…What do you mean by that?”

“They say Grand Duke Ratean must be head over heels for his fiancée, as he spent over a thousand gold just on dressing up Roxiana Franche. People who attended say it was an incredibly lavish engagement ceremony.”

Every word flowing from Madam Histine’s mouth pierced Elise’s lungs.

I couldn’t even have a wedding. I tremble at buying even a dress worth a few gold. Despite becoming the Crown Princess, I’m running around relief centers doing work fit for maids. I have to be nervous about stealing a 25-gold fan without getting caught.

But why you!

Elise clutched her skirt. If she didn’t, she felt like she would scream.

When she watched the slave brand being imprinted on Roxiana’s shoulder, she thought she would no longer have to compare their situations and feel sad. She thought she would spread her wings and soar high, while Roxiana would only have sobbing and despair left, pinned under a perverted old man.

But why had it turned out like this? Why was she so miserable while Roxiana was so radiant? Where and how had it gone wrong?

Her body trembled uncontrollably.

Her heart shattered into tiny pieces.

She felt dizzy, as if her blood was flowing backwards.

“Right now, noble houses are abuzz with talk of that engagement ceremony. Everyone envies Roxiana Franche, saying it’s an engagement ceremony beyond their wildest dreams. Just a thousand gold for adornments… It’s really unbelievable.”

Though it wasn’t Madam Histine’s fault, Elise wanted to tear her mouth apart. She gritted her teeth and glared at Madam Histine.

“Oh my, Your Highness. Are you feeling unwell? Is the tea not to your liking?”

“No.”

A suppressed voice flowed through Elise’s clenched teeth.

“I’m just… glad to hear that Roxiana is doing well.”

“Ah, you were once her maid, weren’t you, Your Highness?”

“Friend!”

Her voice rose. A scene from the past flashed through her mind. The gentle but firm voice of Ekion Franche I.

– “Elise, it’s good that you and Roxy get along well, but in public settings, it would be better to address her properly as Princess.”

Elise suppressed her resentment and said with a trembling voice.

“We were friends, Madam. Not some maid, I was the princess’s friend. A friend like family.”

The guilt of plunging blades into the family of that friend who was like family was no longer present in Elise.

“Ah, I see. I’m sorry. I didn’t realize.”

“Yes, I was not just some maid.”

Madam Histine stared blankly at the trembling Elise, who seemed lost in her own world, then picked up the documents she had put down on the chair and placed them on the table.

“The results of your recent investment have come in.”

Elise’s eyes lit up at Madam Histine’s words.

Right, money. She needed money. To crush Roxiana, who had a fiancé who could pour thousands of gold into an engagement, she needed money. It also took money to fill the cold palace with her own people.

Even while busy with relief center work, Elise had met someone introduced by Madam Histine and invested 10 gold in a venture that could yield profits in a short time.

“They say they’ve made a 100% profit and will return 20 gold to you.”

Madam Histine held out a pouch made of fine silk. Forgetting her dignity, Elise opened the pouch in front of Madam Histine to confirm the gold coins inside.

There were indeed 20.

Elise’s eyes shone with desire.

“If I had known this would happen, I should have invested more. To get double back in just a few days.”

“Well, high returns often come with high risks. You did well to invest only 10 gold.”

“Isn’t there anything else? Not these small ones, but something big.”

“Your Highness, I’ll say it again, but you shouldn’t make reckless investments. It’s better to invest in sure things, even if it’s slower, and gain profits gradually.”

“I’ll handle that on my own.”

“Your Highness, no matter what you say, I’m still worried…”

Elise didn’t listen to the end of Madam Histine’s words and brought over the stack of documents in front of her. They were documents detailing business plans, required investments, and expected returns from various ventures.

As she quickly flipped through and scanned them, Elise’s hand stopped.

“This one.”

Elise handed one document to Madam Histine.

“Introduce me to this person.”

Time required: 3 months. Expected return rate: 400%.

Madam Histine furrowed her brow.

“Your Highness, I was going to discard this one because it’s too aggressive a venture with a high chance of failure. Moreover, the investment starts at 500 gold… I’m not sure why it was mixed in there.”

“The dye business rarely fails, doesn’t it?”

It was an investment in developing a new dye and setting up a factory.

“I trust my eyes, Madam Histine.”

“But I’m worried about what might happen if something I introduced doesn’t go well…”

“I won’t hold you responsible. I’ll even write a contract if necessary.”

“Well… if you insist?”

Elise wanted to meet this dye businessman as soon as possible. She wasn’t sure if Floyd would come to Gania alone or with Roxiana, but she thought they would likely come together.

‘You’re coming to mock me, aren’t you?’

The dye business would take 3 months, so she wouldn’t be able to show profits by the time Roxiana arrived. But at least she could show that she was doing something grand.

She could show that she was a proactive woman striving to achieve something on her own, not like Roxiana who relied on a man and slowly ate away at his fortune.

After drafting a contract stating that she would not hold Madam Histine responsible for any major losses, Elise said,

“Let’s meet in four days.”

“Understood, Your Highness. Then I’ll see you here at that time.”

“Very well.”

Elise answered confidently and left the salon, but as soon as she boarded the carriage, her face contorted.

‘Roxiana. Roxiana. Roxiana!’

Roxiana was cornering her. Even though Torkan and Gania were far apart, her eyes kept following Elise.

Come to think of it, Roxiana hadn’t done anything, yet Elise felt as if all the misfortunes that had befallen her were Roxiana’s fault. If Roxiana had become a slave as planned, and the only news heard was of her death, she wouldn’t have felt this desperate.

The image of Roxiana smiling brilliantly in front of the well in Canta wouldn’t fade. It was etched more deeply than the slave brand, impossible to erase no matter how hard she tried.

She wanted to see that face horribly distorted.

Just like hers now.