Chapter 12
Someone must have given Lady Diane strange medicine that made her illness worse.
If that hadn’t happened, she would have attended my wedding as a bridesmaid, just as planned.
‘The place in that vision was definitely the duke’s mansion.’
In the vision, Diane had been wearing a white nightgown, lying in her bedroom.
Meanwhile, the duchess and the others had been dressed for a ball.
‘So… that must’ve been the night of the ball held at the duke’s mansion.’
I turned to the duchess, pretending to have just remembered something.
“By the way, Madam, did you say there’s going to be a ball at your mansion soon?”
“Pardon?”
“I’m not sure, but I think I heard it from some lady. That there will be a ball at the duke’s mansion.”
Of course, I had never heard such a thing.
I just wanted to see how she would react.
The duchess, who had been smiling kindly, looked flustered.
“Ah, yes… it’s scheduled for the evening of Daehan’s Day, ten days from now,” she said with an embarrassed smile.
“It’ll be the first ball we’ve hosted this winter. It may seem improper to hold one during such difficult times, but it’s an annual family tradition, so we couldn’t delay it any longer.”
That made sense.
Even though the emperor and his children were all away at war, and the duke himself was on the battlefield, they still had to hold it because it was a family custom.
Old noble families often have traditions that can’t easily be broken.
“Then, will His Grace the Grand Duke be attending as well?”
He should, right? After all, the duchess is his aunt.
The duchess hesitated, then nodded.
“Yes. He hasn’t attended for several years, but… I personally asked him to come this time. The duke isn’t here, so…”
Her voice trailed off awkwardly.
I remembered what I knew from the original story.
Duke Rohan wasn’t a major character, but there was one thing that stood out —
He was a stiff, old-fashioned noble who valued honor above all else.
When the emperor and the grand duke quarreled, he remained neutral.
Because of that, his relationship with the grand duke was somewhat strained.
Not openly hostile, but still uncomfortable.
“Would it be possible for me to attend as well?” I asked earnestly. “I’d like to thank Lady Diane in person.”
The duchess’s eyes wavered.
“If Your Highness were to attend… we would be truly honored.”
Her voice caught for a moment.
I could understand her hesitation.
If it were up to her, she wouldn’t want to invite me at all.
Wherever Eve went, she caused trouble and ruined the atmosphere.
And when the grand duke was present, her behavior became even worse.
“Don’t worry. I won’t disturb anyone. I just want to thank Lady Diane and then leave quietly,” I said with a soft smile.
“Of course, I’ll need Her Majesty the Empress’s permission first.”
“Y-yes, of course. I hope Her Majesty allows it,” the duchess replied, sounding relieved.
It seemed she wanted to give me the benefit of the doubt —
or maybe she simply didn’t want to refuse me and risk offending me.
If the empress declined on my behalf, the duchess wouldn’t be blamed.
Finally, she smiled warmly.
“I truly hope Your Highness will attend. Diane will be so happy to see you.”
I nodded and handed back the handkerchief.
“My hands are warm now. Thank you.”
After parting with the duchess, I started walking down the path and reached out to Nell.
“Nell, let me see your hand for a moment.”
“Eh? Oh—yes, Your Highness.”
Nell blinked but obediently extended her hand.
Like mine, it was bare and red from the cold.
I remembered hearing that maids weren’t allowed to wear gloves in front of royalty, even in winter.
How cruel.
“Sorry, your hands must’ve gotten cold because of me,” I said.
“Oh, no! I’m fine, truly!”
I wrapped her small hands between mine and gently rubbed them to share my warmth.
At the same time, I thought about what would happen to her later.
I wanted to test my foresight again.
But even after we walked all the way to the edge of the garden, nothing happened.
No vision appeared.
‘Strange. When I touched the duchess, just a light brush of our fingers was enough to trigger it.’
In the original story, Eve hadn’t used her foresight since she was ten years old.
There was almost no information about how her ability actually worked —
how often it appeared, or how detailed it could be.
‘I’ll need to observe more carefully.’
Still, I was glad I had gone out without gloves today.
Otherwise, I would never have seen that first vision.
As I was thinking, a quiet voice brought me back.
“It’s warm,” Nell murmured.
“Hmm?”
“Your hands, Your Highness. They’re so warm.”
I realized I was still holding hers.
My warmth had spread to her chilled fingers.
“People say that those with warm hands have warm hearts,” she added with a shy smile.
“Is that so?” I chuckled.
That couldn’t be true.
Neither Eve nor I were the type to be called warm-hearted.
“It’s true! At least, from what I’ve experienced,” Nell said brightly.
Her smile was so innocent that it made her look even younger.
She was about the same age as Diane, come to think of it.
“Nell, is Lady Diane very sick?” I asked.
“Yes, Your Highness. She has a chronic illness. Her body is weak, and she has some… unpleasant rashes on her skin. That’s why she doesn’t attend social gatherings.”
“Rashes?”
I frowned. Nell quickly continued, flustered.
“B-but the marks are only on her body! If she wears high-collared dresses, they don’t show at all. That’s why she was chosen as your bridesmaid — on the condition that she wear a dress that covers her completely.”
“So I was the one who made that condition?”
Nell nodded nervously.
“I see.”
The duchess’s words from earlier came back to me — how much Diane had been looking forward to the wedding.
It made sense now.
The duchess probably invited me to the ball because of Diane.
She didn’t want to anger me and risk ruining her daughter’s chance.
“Nell, were Diane and I ever… close?”
“Not that I know of, Your Highness. I’ve never seen her visit the palace while I was serving you. And before I came, I heard she rarely left the mansion or joined any society gatherings.”
“I see. That’s good.”
If the old Eve had met her often, there’d be nothing but resentment between them.
After chatting for a while, we reached the temple gates.
Our carriage was waiting there.
I climbed in with Nell.
By the time we returned to the palace, the sun had already set.
The glass lamps along the palace walls glowed softly, brightening the dark winter night.
Snow covered the gardens, glimmering faintly in the blue light of the moon.
Looking at that beautiful scene made me feel the weight of reality.
‘Another precious day has passed.’
I had thirty-nine days left.
It felt like being trapped in a survival game with a time limit —
if I didn’t find a way to live before the timer ran out, I’d die.
‘At least I achieved my first goal today,’ I thought.
I had managed to give the grand duke the flower.
Whether he believed me or not would determine what happened next.
‘If things go well… maybe I’ll see him again tonight.’
But remembering the look of distrust in his eyes earlier, I doubted it would be that easy.
As I was changing out of my dress, my maids approached carefully.
“Your Highness, will you be going to pray again tonight? You already visited the temple today. It might be better to rest early,” one of them suggested.
Since arriving here, I often went to the small chapel beside my palace, saying it was for prayer.
“You’re right. I’ll skip it tonight.”
Then I turned to another maid.
“Go to the empress’s palace and tell Her Majesty that the Duchess of Rohan has invited me to a ball.”
“Shall I add anything else, Your Highness?”
“No. Just that.”
She bowed and left.
By the time she returned, I had finished dinner and taken a warm bath.
I was drying my hair in front of the mirror when she came back, her face pale.
“Her Majesty said…” the maid began timidly, “you will draw too much attention if you appear at a ball before the wedding. So she commands that you remain quiet and stay out of sight until then.”
I smiled faintly.
“As expected.”
Not even one percent off my prediction.
