Chapter 06
Time passed quickly after that day, and before I knew it, it was the day of the banquet at the Cassel ducal estate.
Encouraged by Daisy and Madam Elwin, I was currently on my way in a carriage I had barely managed to afford with the little money I had.
Even that carriage was quite shabby.
Being poor really is inconvenient.
Rattle, rattle.
The scenery outside the carriage was vast and imposing.
After traveling for quite some time, the Cassel ducal residence—resembling a grand castle—began to appear in the distance.
This was the very area where the carriage accident that killed me had occurred.
The landscape hadn’t changed much.
However, the soldiers stationed along the road leading to the estate stood out.
Well, the accident had been so sudden… it made sense they would strengthen security.
What on earth had happened after that day to make Claude change so much?
And how was I supposed to live from now on?
As I had felt during the founding anniversary banquet, Briana’s reputation in high society didn’t seem very good.
Still, the responsibility she carried regarding marriage appeared quite significant.
If it were the original Briana, she likely wouldn’t care about rumors at all.
I found myself wondering whether I should cooperate with her plan to marry into a good family.
What if her soul hadn’t completely disappeared?
What if I was only temporarily inhabiting this body?
If that were the case, I might disappear at any moment.
Then I had no right to ruin someone else’s life recklessly.
Unlike me, she was someone who tried to carve out her own path in life, one way or another.
In a way, I was the intruder here.
I had no right to destroy what she had been trying so hard to build.
But…
No matter what, I don’t want to get entangled with Claude again.
I felt sorry for the original owner of this body, but I wanted to avoid marrying Claude at all costs.
So if the opportunity arose today, I planned to politely apologize to him and make it clear that I had no interest in marriage.
Even though I had loved him for a long time, loving someone from afar was painful.
And being hated by the person I loved was just as unbearable.
I didn’t want to continue such a miserable one-sided love even after death.
Lost in these thoughts, the carriage finally arrived at the ducal estate.
As I stepped inside, the sight of the mansion—so vivid, as if it were just yesterday—forced me to take a deep breath.
I had come because Madam Eleanor and Madam Elwin were so delighted, but this place felt like a bed of thorns to me.
It wasn’t somewhere a mere baron’s daughter should be.
I slowly crossed the garden.
As I got closer to the entrance, the sounds of the party became clearer.
I stepped inside awkwardly.
And I couldn’t help but be shocked.
The atmosphere of the party was completely different from what I remembered.
This event had been a long-standing tradition of the ducal house.
It had always been so formal that calling it a “party” felt inappropriate.
Important connections, including members of the imperial family, would gather to discuss serious matters over dinner, followed by tea or light entertainment.
Claude usually attended only the meal and meeting, then shut himself in his study for the rest of the time, appearing only when absolutely necessary.
But what I saw now was…
Everyone was drunk.
Fireworks burst into the air, champagne sprayed everywhere, and someone even threw cake onto the floor.
I stood frozen, unable to close my mouth.
“Ha ha!”
Laughter echoed from somewhere.
Claude’s laughter was mixed in with it.
That alone felt so strange that I immediately turned toward the sound.
Claude was sitting in a corner of the reception room, playing cards with other young nobles.
He seemed thoroughly drunk even in broad daylight, tossing cards and raising his glass repeatedly.
The surroundings were a complete mess.
They didn’t even care if their clothes were splashed with alcohol.
Compared to this, what I saw at the imperial banquet a few days ago was nothing.
I was bewildered.
Claude was never someone who behaved so carelessly.
And the ducal house’s regular gatherings were never like this.
They had always been about formal networking and discussions related to business.
If he keeps acting like this, the imperial family will look down on him…
I shook my head inwardly.
What does it matter?
I’m no longer his wife.
I needed a place to pass the time quietly here.
So I began to walk away.
“It’s quite refreshing to see Miss Elwin here.”
As I passed through a secluded corridor, a young noble persistently approached me.
It was a familiar face.
A distant relative with a bit of imperial blood—Lord Taren of the Marhen family.
His eyes gleamed with delight at seeing me alone.
He was a complete opportunist, someone who only pursued personal gain and treated anyone useless to him with contempt.
I knew better than anyone how much he despised me for having the blood of a lowborn maid.
I still remembered it clearly.
I must have been around eight years old.
I had simply been out for a walk when Lord Taren and his group suddenly surrounded me.
They were rowdy teenage boys back then.
“There you are, Your Highness.”
“Brother Taren?”
“Would you come with us for a moment?”
He dragged me to a dressing room used by maids in the basement.
Startled, I looked up at him, and he sneered.
“One of my maids is ill today, so I thought Your Highness could help instead.”
“B-But, I…”
“We can’t exactly ask just anyone.”
“And since you’re the only one among us with different-colored hair, no one will recognize you.”
Laughter followed.
I knew it was mockery.
Ever since he learned that my mother was of low birth, he had treated me that way.
“How dare you, Taren? What are you doing to my sister?”
Then Louis’s voice rang out.
Grabbing his hand, I escaped from them while they shrank back.
That same Lord Taren was now speaking to me again—
Or rather, to Briana.
And the reason was obvious.
Briana was truly beautiful.
Finishing my thoughts, I gave him a polite greeting.
I tried to move on immediately, but he followed persistently.
“Shall I show you around the estate, my lady?”
“No, I’m quite alright…”
“Don’t be like that.”
He grabbed my arm.
Instinctively, I shook him off, but he grabbed me again forcefully.
His intentions were obvious.
To think he’d try something so filthy in the ducal estate…
And the bulge in his trousers made it even clearer.
Horrified, I tried to pull my arm away again, but the more I resisted, the tighter his grip became.
“Let go of—”
“I heard the Elwin barony is struggling financially.”
“I could help with that.”
“What?”
“Aren’t you looking for a wealthy marriage partner?”
“Surely you’re not unaware of the rumors spreading through high society.”
Should I scream?
I seriously considered it.
At that moment—
A low voice came from behind.
“Lord Taren.”
“What exactly are you doing in my house?”
“H-Hii—! Y-Your Grace!”
It was Claude.
He had approached without me noticing and was glaring at the man holding my arm with murderous disdain.
No matter how little imperial blood he had, Lord Taren’s authority was nothing compared to that of a duke.
“I-It’s nothing! My apologies!”
As always, Lord Taren crumbled before power and fled in an instant.
Soon, only Claude and I remained in the corridor.
Silence fell immediately.
I hesitated, unsure whether to thank him.
“Is this how you plan to solve your family’s financial problems?”
Startled by his cold voice, I turned my head.
He was looking down at me from a great height, with the same contemptuous gaze he had given Taren.
“Lowering your own worth like this—”
“How is that any different from a prostitute?”
