Chapter 51
“Ah!”
A gasp slipped from between her lips, dazed and breathless. The damp sensation between her breasts made her head fall back involuntarily.
Her mind grew cold, but her body burned. As she was pushed and pulled without resistance, letting herself be swept away by Greddy’s touch, her head tilted again in hazy ecstasy.
“Aaah!”
A sharp scream rang out.
Eliana, pinned beneath Greddy, pushed him away with flailing arms. Her already flushed face turned an even deeper red. The pleasure that had overtaken her face moments ago vanished, replaced by the pallor of someone who had just seen a ghost.
Greddy, now off of her, adjusted her lifted skirt and looked out the window.
Outside the large pane of glass, Rodin—his illness still evident in his complexion—was staring in at them.
“So this is how your much-anticipated first night ends. Rather anticlimactic.”
Curled in a corner of the sofa, Eliana looked up at Greddy. It was as if he had known all along that Rodin had been watching them.
“You knew Rodin was watching us?”
“Why? You can’t do it with me if your lover is watching?”
“Greddy! What kind of thing is that to say?!”
Eliana, horrified, curled her body tighter on the sofa. Greddy looked down at her coldly, then turned back to the window—his gaze so fierce, it was as if he intended to kill Rodin on the spot.
“Or did the plan change?”
“Greddy!”
He didn’t take his eyes off Rodin as he continued.
“Running away? How quaint. There’s a much easier way.”
Eliana looked up at him, shaking her head in confusion. She seemed completely thrown off by the situation.
“Think about it. If I die too, what will you have left?”
Her fingertips turned as cold as ice. Her heart dropped into an endless abyss. Before she even realized it, tears were streaming down her cheeks.
“…Do you not trust me?”
“You can say that kind of thing after proving your trust.”
Greddy spoke coldly, watching her cry.
Eliana lowered her head. A woman unable to share her secret and a man consumed by one—they ran parallel like lines that could never meet.
“How utterly vulgar.”
Those who had been eyeing Eliana’s deep-cut dress quickly turned away when they met her gaze.
It was a tea party hosted by Empress Rozella. Ladies fanned their faces while clicking their tongues at the kiss mark on Eliana’s neck.
“She must’ve worn that dress deliberately, just to show it off to Her Majesty.”
“Oh, please. It’s nothing more than a shameless temptress flaunting how much her husband dotes on her.”
Clustered around small round tables, the women whispered their judgments, tearing Eliana apart with their words.
“Come to think of it, the Grand Duke of Kryber hasn’t visited the palace lately, has he?”
At the elderly countess’s remark, the women sipping tea nodded in agreement.
Greddy, who used to hover near Empress Rozella day after day, had stopped coming to the palace since his marriage.
They glanced at Eliana and erupted in stifled laughter.
“Ahem. By the way, why were we gathered so suddenly today? I’ve never received such an urgent invitation before.”
Tea party invitations usually came with at least two weeks’ notice. Everyone whispered uneasily about the Empress’s sudden summons.
“Could it be… Her Majesty is pregnant?”
The countess leaned in and whispered conspiratorially.
Quick, knowing glances flew across the table.
Since the wedding, there had been no news of a pregnancy. The entire empire was waiting for such news from the Empress. Some even whispered that it might be time to revive the abolished concubine system.
“Her Majesty the Empress enters.”
Claire Raymond’s clear voice rang out as the reception room door opened, and all the seated ladies rose.
“We greet the empire’s little sun.”
Empress Rozella smiled at the noblewomen who bowed elegantly before her—until her gaze landed squarely on Eliana.
“Please, be seated.”
“We are honored, Your Majesty.”
Though she was the host of the tea party, Rozella arrived last, exuding composed elegance.
“Despite the sudden invitation, not a single one of you is absent.”
Looking around, the Empress smiled in satisfaction.
Those present, from baronesses to duchesses’ daughters, all had one thing in common: each was a prominent figure in high society.
Like an elite knightly order, they had their own cliques where they reigned supreme.
Except for one.
“No one would dare refuse an invitation bearing the Empress’s silver seal.”
Because of this tea party, several salon gatherings across the capital had collapsed. A young lady who had been planning her debut tea party for months was left in tears. But none of that mattered.
“A rather special painting arrived recently. I wanted to share it with you all, which is why today’s gathering was arranged in haste.”
“…A painting?”
True art was expensive. Maintaining old masterpieces cost a fortune. And Rozella was known to prefer music over painting.
At her signal, Claire opened the door.
Several attendants entered, carrying a massive canvas covered in a white cloth. Carefully, they placed it in the center of the greenhouse.
All eyes turned toward it.
“Are you sponsoring a new artist, Your Majesty?”
“Rather than explain, it’s better that you see it for yourselves.”
Rozella rose and approached the painting. She waited until everyone’s anticipation peaked.
Then, with a slow, deliberate movement, she reached for the cloth.
Everyone held their breath, tension thick in the air. At last, Rozella revealed the painting.
“…No way.”
A noblewoman gasped, hand covering her mouth in shock. Rozella nodded slowly.
“No need for me to say it aloud. Some of you already recognize it. This must be why they call certain works ‘masterpieces.’”
Rozella beamed proudly as she looked around, clearly savoring the attention.
“Then is that truly The Crimson Winter, Your Majesty?”
The young duchess could barely contain her awe.
“Yes, it is.”
“My goodness… After that one display at the Ranetz Gallery, no one knew where it had gone. So it was with Your Majesty all this time.”
The girl gazed at the painting with reverence, then turned her eyes to Rozella, full of admiration.
Flushed with satisfaction, Rozella basked in the attention. She had expected surprise—but not this level of adoration.
“Oh, but if I had possessed it all this time, don’t you think I would’ve shown it off sooner?”
“….”
“Especially to all of you whom I treasure dearly. Surely I wouldn’t have waited this long.”
“Then…?”
“In fact, it was a gift I received not long ago.”
Rozella clasped her cheeks with both hands and smiled radiantly.
At the word “gift,” all eyes slowly turned toward Eliana.
There was only one person in the empire who would gift such a rare treasure to the Empress.
Eliana, suddenly the center of attention, lowered her gaze. Her face had gone pale with tension.
“Had such a grand wedding, and yet the love has already cooled, it seems.”
Though whispered to the person beside her, it was loud enough for Eliana to hear.
“To give such a priceless painting… Clearly, Her Majesty still holds a special place in his heart.”
The countess sought agreement from those around her, and heads nodded in unison.
A victorious smile spread across Rozella’s face.
All the rage she’d felt reading the news about Greddy and Eliana melted away. The sleepless nights spent wondering whether Greddy had truly fallen for Eliana now felt pointless.
“If I can’t have him, no one can.”
Rozella smiled brightly as she looked at Eliana, who sat there with a gloomy expression.
Greddy Kryber would never escape her grasp.
Meanwhile, Eliana stood before the infamous Crimson Winter, her eyes dull as if blind. Her vision, clouded with tears, drifted through the air, unfocused.
“Isn’t it only natural for a knight to serve a beautiful lady?”
The ladies continued chatting, completely excluding Eliana from the conversation.
Rozella, blending easily with the noblewomen, cast a glance at her. Seeing Eliana unmoved, eyes still locked on the painting, Rozella assumed she was merely overwhelmed by its presence.
“Of course. After waiting so long, it’s no wonder the Grand Duke needed a stand-in.”
As the women carried on their pointed chatter, treating Eliana as if she didn’t exist, Rozella’s smile only grew.
And finally, Eliana turned her head.
That’s right. I was just a substitute.
She had known it already. But hearing it confirmed by others made her chest ache with fresh pain.
