Chapter 11: The Regressed Noble Lady Dresses Up
Many of the young ladies were dressed in fantastical gowns enhanced with magic.
…“many” was an understatement—almost all of them.
After all, among the nobility of this country, being able to use magic was the norm.
Those fairy-tale-like dresses were meant to showcase both beauty and magical power at the same time.
Amidst all that, I—who wore nothing enhanced by magic—stood out all the more.
It didn’t take long before I drew curious stares, and several young ladies approached me.
“Oh my, what an unusual outfit. There’s not a trace of magical enhancement.”
“What’s your specialty attribute? Wind? Or perhaps earth? Either way, isn’t it far too plain to have decorations so modest that we can’t even sense your magic?”
Their dresses shimmered brilliantly—so dazzling it was almost as if they were wearing stained glass.
…That was what I thought, though I kept it to myself and answered with a pleasant smile.
“What a lovely evening. I am Eltriede of the House of Eldenvalk.”
“Eldenvalk…?”
“The ‘no-magic’ lady…!?”
Simply stating my name was enough. There was no need to explain further.
After all, I had become quite the topic of rumor.
The Duke and Duchess of Eldenvalk were both powerful mages—yet somehow, a defective child with no magic had been born between them.
“Oh my, we haven’t seen you in society for years, but you’re still around?”
“I thought you’d long since been cast out of your house… oh my, never mind.”
Mockery quickly filled their gazes.
In my previous life, I would have already raised my voice in anger by now.
Even without magic, the authority and wealth of a ducal house could silence most people.
Of course, doing so would greatly tarnish the family’s dignity.
In this life, the family comes first.
“It has been a while. I’ve spent the past few years in our territory, so it’s been quite some time since I last visited the capital.”
I started by lowering myself.
Perhaps they took my humility as a sign I was easy to bully.
“Oh, so you hid away in the countryside out of shame for having no magic.”
“But isn’t that the correct decision? Better than making a scene in high society and embarrassing yourself, don’t you think?”
They were clearly mocking my behavior before I turned ten.
And to be fair, that had been exactly the kind of person I was.
“But if you were going to stay hidden in the countryside, wouldn’t it have been better to remain there? To come all the way to the capital just to embarrass yourself…”
“Indeed, without magic, you can’t properly wear any of these lovely magical dresses. All you’d do is expose how pitiful you look. Now, compare that to mine—four-tier earth-element adornment.”
One of them proudly displayed her dress.
It glittered like glass—likely crystallized using earth-element magic.
I maintained my smile.
“My, what a lovely outfit. Is the material linen, perhaps?”
“Pardon?”
“Within the Kingdom of Spirinal, it’s easiest to work with locally sourced materials, isn’t it? And since you have magic, there’s no need for lace or frills. I envy you.”
I spoke with a gentle smile.
“My dress is rather plain, isn’t it? Since I cannot use magic, I at least focused on the materials—importing high-quality silk from abroad and using it generously.”
“S-silk…?”
“I also had specialized artisans create the lace and frills. Thanks to that, it manages to look presentable even without magical decoration. It was quite expensive, though… Let’s see, I suppose it cost about sixty times more than your dresses?”
““S-sixty times!?””
This was a dress my father and mother had created for me by mobilizing all their wealth and connections for today.
A rose-red color to complement my black hair, designed by a renowned designer from the neighboring cultural powerhouse, Lunetia—it was unquestionably a masterpiece.
Though I did have some doubts about how boldly it exposed my chest… still, it was comfortable enough.
“Since I cannot use magic, I must rely even more on wealth. I truly envy all of you. In other countries, dresses like yours would be too embarrassing even for poor nobles to wear—but with magic, they look so splendid.”
“T-thank you for your kind words…!”
Did they really think that was praise?
Well, they had to believe that to preserve their pride.
“Shall we move elsewhere now?”
“Yes, this is a gathering of young ladies from all over the country. It wouldn’t be productive to focus only on someone with ‘no magic.’”
They quickly excused themselves and left.
For now, I could finally breathe.
…Though I couldn’t let my guard down yet. At any moment, someone else might approach.
I could still feel the stares gathering on me.
Honestly, I wished this evening would end soon.
…Even now, they were likely measuring the baseline magical power of the participating ladies and ranking them.
Those who clearly fell short at a glance would be eliminated, advancing only the promising ones to more detailed selection.
In other words, tonight was the preliminary round.
From tomorrow onward, the second and third rounds would follow, until the lady with the greatest magical power in the country was chosen.
I knew this well—I had experienced it in my previous life.
Back then, I had been far more invested, even studying my rival candidates thoroughly.
…
Well, standing here like a wallflower won’t make time pass any faster.
Perhaps I should lose myself in thought instead.
Let me review the top candidates for Crown Princess, as a way to pass the time.
In my previous life, it was said that the final choice would come down to four ladies:
Adelina Fuanze, daughter of a count.
Françoise Bonucourt, daughter of a marquis.
Celine Chevaliers, daughter of a margrave.
Chantal Walto, daughter of a duke.
All of them possessed outstanding magical power for their generation—so much so that it was impossible to rank them easily.
Only after narrowing it down to such high-level candidates would factors like family status and personality be considered.
As for me?
I wasn’t even worth mentioning. I’d be eliminated immediately in the first round.
In my previous life, I forced my way into the selection through my family’s influence.
Even so, by relying solely on my information-gathering abilities, I had quickly identified these four as dangerous rivals.
If I wanted to become Crown Princess, I had to eliminate them.
That made them the first victims of my past self’s rampage.
To force my way into becoming Crown Princess despite having no magic, I had to remove the four legitimate, powerful candidates.
Some had their futures twisted by me.
Some were left with injuries that could never be healed.
Looking back now, there’s no need to even question how foolish I was.
Because time had been rewound, my foolish actions were undone, and those I had hurt were given a chance to start over.
In this life, I won’t interfere at all.
I already understand my place.
I’ll pursue a happiness suited to me, together with my family.
And I hope that this time, they can all grasp their own happiness through their own efforts.
…
The first face that came to mind was—
Adelina, the count’s daughter.
Among the four, her family rank was the lowest.
But she had been born with exceptional magical power and was raised strictly as her family’s treasured asset.
The complete opposite of me.
She was close in age to the Crown Prince, and her family surely expected her to aim for the position of Crown Princess.
She entered this selection with full preparation.
But in truth, Adelina would be eliminated in tonight’s preliminary ball.
By me—the devil.
In my previous life, I had already identified her as a strong candidate before the selection even truly began.
And I had discovered the perfect secret to eliminate her.
She had a lover.
Of course, it wasn’t Prince Kist Hart, whom she was supposed to marry.
It was the third son of a marquis.
Though his family rank was higher than hers, as a third son with no inheritance, he was far inferior to the Crown Prince as a match.
There was no way her father—who sought to elevate their family through her—would allow it.
Unable to confess her love even to her parents, she was forced to participate in the Crown Princess selection.
If she were chosen, she would never be able to marry her true love.
A tragic romance torn apart by ambition.
And there, I struck—like a wicked serpent.
The existence of another man was the perfect weapon to destroy a candidate.
And in my previous life, I planned the exposure at the worst possible moment.
At this very preliminary ball.
I lured her lover—the marquis’s third son—to the event.
Then I arranged for them to meet.
Faced with him, Adelina—who had steeled herself to become Crown Princess—had her buried feelings reignited.
Just as they embraced, unable to part—
I exposed them to everyone at the ball.
To the Crown Prince.
To her parents.
Had it happened at another time, it might not have been such a disaster.
But because it occurred during the selection, the consequences were catastrophic.
Adelina was punished severely for pledging herself as a candidate while loving another man—she was sent to a convent.
Her lover was disowned, and his whereabouts became unknown.
All of it… was orchestrated by me.
In my previous life, I despised every noble lady who could use magic, seeing them as enemies who belittled me.
And I harmed them far beyond what was necessary.
Truly… I was beyond saving.
