Queen in shadow

"Elena, he's not as evil as you think. Maybe he's really trying to help you. I think you're getting ahead of yourself."

"Maybe so. But..."

Elena blurted out the backstabbing and swallowed the words that she couldn't take out now.

'What if the one who set this trap was not the Viscount?'

Viscount Claude was a puppet. He didn't have a good enough head to spin to set this trap. It was so simple that it was a readable sort of thing. Elena's eyes, which were at the height of society in an empire where conspiracy and plot were rampant, could not be wrong. Elena thought of a woman hiding behind a puppet smiling.

'Leabrick.'

A financier who graduated from the Imperial Academy with the highest grades in history, she was a scheming woman who ran the Grand Duchy. She was skilled in the art of deception to play on people's minds and to make them fall out with each other. She played a major role in the recent public assessment that the might of the Grand Duke might surpass the imperial power.

'She did it to me. I must be able to see the thorns hidden in the bright flowers.'

There were many challenges while Elena was pretending to be Veronica. In particular, the social circles of the empire were a feast for the weak and the strong. Conspiracies and intrigues abounded, and even the background of the Grand Duke could not give her an absolute advantage. She had experienced countless dangers where she had been pushed into a corner and almost eliminated.

It was Leabrick who taught Elena to reign as the queen of society. That Leabrick was now in the land. To take Elena, who resembles Veronica, to the Grand House.

'It's not going to be the way you want it anymore. I'll be the one taking the lead now.'

What Leabrick wanted is Elena. Even though Veronica was alive, the Grand Duke had no choice but to take Elena and put her on stand. Otherwise, he wouldn't have taken the trouble of picking her up all the way in the outskirts.

As long as she knew that, she wouldn't have been used and killed miserably like in her previous life. However, she could not help feeling sorry for her failure to find out the truth.

"Are you sure you won't regret it?"

"I won't regret it."

Elena's answer was firm. She wouldn't have the decision in the first place if she was going to regret it. She wasn't going to be swayed anymore. She was going to live her life without being swayed by the intervention and interference of the Grand Duke. To do that, Elena was going to make the worst, not the best, decisions.

'This plate, I'm going to flip it over.'

Elena's eyes glowed coldly.

***

The face of Baron Frederick had been filled with regret for the past few days. He tried persuading Elena once again.

"My dear, if you're worried about the lord making any unsavory events, we can make a written agreement. Why don't you change your mind?"

"I'm sorry, father. My decision remains the same."

Elena shook her head, putting down her spoon.

'What effect would a document have.'

If a lord breaks a contract, can a vassal hold him accountable? It was difficult. It was difficult for the clause to take effect even if the lord's influence was insisted to be unjust in his periphery.

"Who do you resemble to be this stubborn..."

Baron Frederick made a painful sound at his daughter's unwavering attitude.

"Honey, don't force it, respect Elena's will."

His wife, Chesana, sided with Elena, serving salads on a plate. She had suffered from her youth, and her wrinkles increased sharply as she struggled with life. That is why she struggled with all the housework without a single maid.

"It's too bad..."

"Don't be so impatient. My daughter, she's the perfect child for everything. Even if she doesn't make a social debut, she'll be able to find a good match."

Chesana slightly frowned and comforted Baron Frederick. It was a signal to Elena.

'I'll make sure he understands. Don't worry about it.'

Chesana's inner voice was heard as if it was a whisper into her ear. Elena also said thank you with a smile.

"Rather than that, Elena when I was doing the laundry, your clothes were all messed up with dirt. It looked like they were ripped by something like a vine."

"I went to Mount Rose earlier."

"Again? Sweetheart, why don't you be careful about climbing the mountain in the future? Recently, there have been frequent sightings of mountain animals, and I'm worried that a woman might go through something bad while climbing the mountain by herself."

Even Baron Frederick, who was silent, came forward and helped.

"Chesana is right. It won't happen, but it won't hurt to be careful."

"I'm not going to do that. There's no reason to go anymore."

Elena, who left a meaningful answer, pulled out her chair and stood up.

"I'll go in first and rest. Sleep tight."

Yes, good night."

Back in the room, Elena locked her door and sat at her desk.

Swoosh. She pulled out a notebook from the bookshelf where the thick cultural books were neatly in place. When she opened the notebook, which looked like a diary, a sloppily drawn map which was drawn with a pen rather than typeface caught her eye.

"It's a good thing I completed it in time."

Although the picture may be clumsy and bloated, the map's sophistication was more accurate than any other loose mountain map on the market. This was because the mountains and geography had changed subtly from the time the map was released 10 years ago.

Elena took the red ink pen out of the bucket and picked it up.

Su. Ssk. Without hesitation, she drew a curve along the mountains and the geography of the map of Mount Rose. The red line leading to the canyon along the slope without crossing the mountain did not stop until it reached Igis river which flowed beyond Mount Rose.

"Leabrick can never predict this route either."

Elena dared to affirm. It was the perfect escape.

"Mom, Dad. I will support you in this life. Definitely."

Elena's pupils settled with deep regret. In her past life, as she left for the Grand Duchy, she didn't care about her parents at all. Leabrick's words that she could escape becoming a concubine made her only think about her own flesh. She knew it only when the time came when she was used and abandoned. The night she left the estate, she learned that her parents were killed at the hands of Leabrick.

Elena's eyes were poison. Now that she had recognized her dark feelings, she would not expose her parents to danger without defense.

***

Elena woke up at dawn. Even if no one woke her up, her body reacted first at this time. Habits are truly scary. As the first queen, Elena had spent time in the palace, and the habits that she had developed had continued. No matter how hard she tried to change them, they never went away.

Elena slowly raised her upper body. She looked so neat that nobody would have thought she had been lying in bed a while ago. It was the body that was soaked in the days of the First Queen.

As Elena tied her hair up and left the room, Chesana's eyes widened as she prepared breakfast.

"Why did you wake up already? Why don't you sleep more?"

"I opened my eyes early. I'll help."

"Will you?"

Elena helped rim the table with skillful hand movements. She took the brown grilled bread out of the furnace and cut it into pieces to make it easier to eat, and the broccoli soup, which had a delicious aroma, was transferred to a plate. It was a very strange thing. She didn't hate the chores that seem to bothersome in her past life. Because she realized the importance of this time.

"Father, have a meal."

No more sponsorship was forced. Thanks to that, she could have a peaceful and casual breakfast.

"Honey, isn't it a little noisy out there?"

"Maybe a carriage is passing by."

Despite Chesana's doubts, Baron Frederick ate the soup without any small consideration. The house was located next to the road, so it was considered something that was always encountered. However, as time passed, the noise grew. It was definitely too bustling to just ignore.

"I'll go out."

Baron Frederick rose from the table where the spoon was laid down.

Knock, knock.

He was just opening the door, when there was a quick knock.

"Baron, it's Grace."

"Grace?"

Grace was a butler in charge of all the management and household affairs related to the private residence of his Lord Viscount Claude. It was rare to encounter Baron Frederick, who works at the official residence.

"What are you doing here?"

When he opened the door, Grace nodded with courtesy.

"Excuse me for a moment."

Grace, who sought one-sided understanding, looked back and gestured. Then porters waiting outside the door came in with boxes packed with high-grade silk and began to pile them up.

"What is all this?"

"It's a gift from the lord."

"Gift?"

As if he could not grasp the situation, Baron Frederick was embarrassed. Many gift packages were piled up to receive as a simple gift. When he moved all the boxes, the butler Grace waved the porters off.

"He said these gifts are in the lord's heart."

"What heart? If I don't know what it is, I can't accept that heart, can I."

Grace took out the envelope he had kept in his arms. The silk cloth with gold thread was luxurious at a glance.

"He gave me this."

Baron Frederick was handed the envelope and opened it. His complexion slowly hardened as he read the letters written on the top-quality parchment paper.

"Take this back right now."

His speech was polite, but the anger in it was great. His trembling hands like aspen trees made it easy to guess how much he was holding back his emotions.