After Sinclair left, the Aswald household was in utter chaos.

“Answer me now! What did you say to Sinclair’s proposal?”

Melvin, interrogating Elaina, seemed like a man being chased by something.

Elaina knew the reason very well. In fact, she knew it better than anyone.

Of course, part of it was anger that his plan to marry her off to Duke Hank, who could die any day now, in exchange for a hefty dowry, had gone awry. But that wasn’t all.

The shining Empire of Edenbell.

Barring any major changes, the next Emperor of the blessed Edenbell would be Hister Butler, the son of a concubine.

There was a reason Melvin had been courting favor with Hister and the Emperor for a very long time.

But in this situation, if Elaina, who carried the Aswald bloodline even if she was only half, were to become the wife of that good-for-nothing prince Sinclair…

It went without saying that all his efforts would be for naught.

“Why are you still holding onto that proposal, Elaina!”

Perhaps knowing Melvin’s inner thoughts, seeing him flustered and angry in a way unlike him was somehow a little satisfying.

So Elaina deliberately chose not to lie.

“His Highness said he would give me time to think, and I said I understood for now.”

“…What?”

“His Highness was so forceful that it frightened me.”

“…”

“I’m sorry, Father.”

But what she got in return was a slap to the face.

Elaina was hit exactly eight times on the cheek and kicked five times.

Melvin, crazed with anger, looked like he wanted to tear up Sinclair’s proposal, but the moment he held it in his hand, he seemed scared.

He struck Elaina’s head with all his might, then threw the proposal and spoke.

“Send a reply to Sinclair within tomorrow that you cannot accept his proposal. You deal with it yourself. If not, know that I will truly cripple both your legs!”

He was utterly pathetic and cowardly. If Sinclair had left a marriage contract and Melvin had seen the Emperor’s seal on it, could he have gone this far?

Elaina inwardly sneered at Melvin as she picked up the proposal. Then she returned to her room.

“…”

She was still sitting in front of the old, cracked mirror, holding the proposal in her hand.

Her face was a mess, and her hair was even worse. If she went out on the streets like this, she would surely be pointed at and called a madwoman.

But this too was so familiar that it wasn’t particularly sad.

Elaina stared silently at her reflection in the mirror.

Hair as black as the night sky and as fine as silk reaching her waist. Bright blue eyes that resembled the ocean and her mother. Skin as white as moonlight. Small face with well-defined features.

In a way, it was natural for Leila to have an inferiority complex about Elaina’s looks.

If asked to name the most beautiful woman in the Edenbell Empire, quite a few men would say in unison. That it was none other than Elaina Aswald.

…If only one of her legs wasn’t ruined, she could have lived an easy life with that beauty.

But it was unfortunate.

For a weak woman who had nothing, no backing, and thus could not raise her voice to anyone, beauty was nothing but poison.

A fatal poison that completely ruined her life.

“…”

Eventually, Elaina reached out and swept behind the mirror this way and that. And before long, what she picked up was a dagger covered in dust.

She had tried to scar her face before.

Thinking that if she did that, maybe she wouldn’t be sold off.

Thinking that no man would take a woman who was not only a cripple but also had a scarred face.

Of course, it was Melvin who mercilessly shattered that hope as well.

[Go ahead and try it.]

He sneered at Elaina, who was trying to cut her face with the dagger.

[The moment a single scar appears on that pretty face of yours, I’ll dig up your mother’s grave.]

With a look of utter contempt.

[Why, didn’t you cry saying you missed your mother?] […] [I’ll personally dig her up and bring her to you. You don’t think I can?]

From that day on, Elaina gave up all hope.

There was nothing Elaina could do. Not even harming herself with her own hands…

‘Accepting Sinclair’s proposal might be the best choice for me.’

Then she could crush Melvin’s political standing into the mud overnight without any effort on her part.

Besides, didn’t Sinclair say it? That if she endured for just one year, he would help her leave Edenbell.

‘But… if Sinclair’s rebellion fails, I’ll be killed too.’

And could she really trust Sinclair’s words? What if he had other ulterior motives?

Lost in thought, habitually rubbing her injured leg, Elaina soon let out a hollow laugh without realizing it.

Being beheaded and killed,

Or being sold off as a slave for a dowry, living a life of violation.

What was the difference between the two?

Elaina bit her lip tightly, her face hardening. Then she picked up the dust-covered proposal she had set on the floor.

[You know, Ren. I’m definitely leaving.]

Suddenly, her own voice from long ago echoed in Elaina’s ears as she silently looked down at the proposal.

[My mother said I take after her, that my feet are really fast. So no one will be able to catch me.]

“…”

[And once I succeed in escaping the Aswald family, I’ll come for you too. I promise.]

“…Ha.”

A fleeting laugh escaped Elaina’s lips. But at the same time, for some reason, a subtle anger was evident in her eyes.

‘Pointless thoughts…’

It was all in the past now.

Now she had to solve the problems at hand.

“Yes, I have nowhere to run to…”

Elaina muttered desolately in a cracked voice.

“Nowhere at all…”

Then, she wanted to hold onto a new hope, even if just a glimmer.

If Sinclair really succeeded in his rebellion within a year, became Emperor, and let her go…

A fragile hope that she might be able to completely escape this hell called Edenbell, the Aswald family.

Even if it meant risking the possibility of being beheaded, she didn’t care.

Having made up her mind, Elaina carefully folded the proposal into a small size. Then she tucked it inside her chest, into her worn-out dress.

“…”

She raised her head and stared endlessly at the dark night sky, bathed in the moonlight pouring in through the narrow window.

And she thought to herself.

Praying that today’s choice would at least not drive her to an even worse hell.

Because she was already struggling in a hell that was unbearably terrible.

[This is the timeline separator]

Melvin’s face was still pale as he downed glass after glass of alcohol.

“…”

Melissa, who had been staring intently at Melvin with her arms crossed, couldn’t take it anymore and grabbed her husband’s shoulder as he poured another drink.

“What are you going to do?”

Then she asked.

“If Elaina, that wench, really marries Sinclair, the Aswald family is finished. Our Leila, Leila won’t even be able to find a match!”

There was no noble family anywhere that would accept the daughter of a family that had earned the ire of the Emperor and Hister, the future Emperor. Not to mention the Aswald family being ruined.

“If Sinclair pushes through like this… There’s no solution!”

“…”

“Stop drinking and give me an answer!”

“Shut up!”

With Melvin’s loud shout, there was a loud crashing sound. Melvin, unable to contain his anger, had thrown the glass he was holding.

“Damn it…”

Melvin cursed, the blue vein on his forehead appearing and disappearing.

He fumed alone like that for a while, then downed the entire bottle of alcohol.

He had long known that Sinclair was crazy, but he had never thought that madness would affect him as well.

“Why on earth that stupid wench…!”

No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t understand the reason.

But he couldn’t go directly to Sinclair and ask either. He was afraid, and if rumors started spreading that he had met with Sinclair, it would be troublesome for him.

But hadn’t Sinclair already visited the Aswald family? So at this very moment, word must be spreading among the socialites.

No, it was certain. Those damn nobles and royals made a living out of gossiping about others.

Then how was he supposed to overcome this predicament?

Melvin’s face grew pensive.

“Darling! Are you going to just sit back and watch…!”

“Send someone to Duke Hank right now.”

“What?”

At the sudden mention of Duke Hank’s name, Melissa’s eyes narrowed.

“She’s not even the legal wife, and only the seventh concubine at that… They won’t even want a proper ceremony in the first place.”

“…Darling?”

“As soon as we get a reply, send Elaina straight to the duke’s estate.”

Finally realizing Melvin’s plan, Melissa hesitated slightly.

“But how will you handle the aftermath…”

“Duke Hank is very close with Crown Prince Hister, so he’ll take care of that much himself.”

It was an obvious statement. If not for that reason, no matter how much dowry Duke Hank offered, he wouldn’t have thought of selling Elaina to him.

“Even Sinclair… He won’t be able to insist on taking a woman who has already become a concubine as his wife.”

Yes.

This would solve all the problems.

Melvin, having finished his thoughts alone, shouted at his wife.

“What are you doing now! Go downstairs and relay my words to the butler!”

“I understand, I understand. I’ll tell them to send someone to the duke’s estate right away.”

Melissa nodded hastily, then left the bedroom, leaving her husband alone.

“Ha…”

Left alone, Melvin continued to down alcohol, then sighed with an irritated face.

In fact, before Sinclair’s visit, he had intended to drag out the process for a few days to try and raise the dowry amount a bit more. But in this situation, he had no choice.

Also, Duke Hank was very fond of Elaina, so he would be even more pleased if they skipped the unnecessary procedures and sent her straight away.

…Yes, there was nothing more to worry about.

Melvin believed that without a doubt.

Very foolishly so.