3

"Don't do that..."

"I told you to go back."

"I'm sorry, I can't do that because I was told to deliver it to you."

The voice of Baron Frederick, who was barely suppressing his dissatisfaction at Grace's disobedience, rose.

"Are you hearing what I'm saying now? I won't say it twice. Take it back right away. Come on!"

"Honey, what the hell is it?"

When her husband, who had always been calm, became angry, Chesana became nervous.

"You don't need to know. You don't have to look."

The hand of Baron Frederick, which had the parchment, was tightened.

"What the hell! Go take it back!"

"I'm sorry, but I can't comply. I'll leave the note, and just return"

"Grace!"

Despite the screaming, Grace did not budge. Although he didn't have a fiefdom, Baron Frederick was a nobleman. He may have felt insulted by the disobedience of a single butler, and his face turned red and blue. Elena, who was watching the situation in a tense battle of nerves, pointed to the parchment and said.

"Can I see it?"

"You don't have to see it!"

Despite the nervous response, Elena's reaction was calm.

"It's about me, right?"

"What?"

"I asked if it was about me."

"...!"

Shocked, Baron Frederick was hesitant to answer. Elena was convinced by the response.

"I guess I'm right."

"My dear."

"I want to know. That's what I have to do."

Elena carefully removed the crumpled parchment from the hands of Baron Frederick. At first, Baron Frederick was unwilling to stand and hesitated, but when Elena looked at him silently, he relaxed his grip.

Elena read the wrinkled parchment.

Elena burst into laughter as she read the last sentence at once. This parchment was a proposal. A package of boxes is a kind of gift sent as a security for proposal. In other words, be a concubine to the lord.

'Funny.'

If it were Elena in the past, she would have been crying, screaming, and making a huge fuss at the news. Concubine. She must have felt a sense of despair at the world. But not now.

'I can't believe it, but it's not out of my expectations.'

Leabrick. That's her. Leabrick wanted Elena to despair. That way, she'd pretend to be comforting her until she grabbed the hand of the salvation. After making Elena believe and trust her, she would eat everything, whether it was her liver or gallbladder. And if the use value is exhausted and rendered useless, she would be killed.

'If it were in the past, I would hold your hand. But not anymore. The way you did to me, I'll give it right back.'

Baron Frederick looked at Elena who was silent, and said.

"Elena, don't come forward. This is one-sided and unfair. I will see the lord and speak to him."

As soon as he finished speaking, he went into the room and put on his overcoat, and came out.

"I will see the lord and refuse the proposal."

"Honey, tell me. This is not really it."

It was when Baron Frederick, who was trying to build a negotiation, started to discuss with Chesana. The alarm went off and Elena's mind.

'I can't let father go!'

Leabrick's snare started with the harassment of her family. In the past life, he was imprisoned while protesting against the lord who tried to marry her as his concubine.

'I have to create a knot in her string.'

Elena had a strong heart.

"It's all right, father."

"What?"

"E-Elena. What do you mean it's all right?"

"I'll take care of it. Please wait a moment."

Elena, seeking one-sided understanding, turned around.

"Can you pass him this message?"

When Elena suddenly approached and talked to him, Grace, the butler, who was standing there, seemed surprised.

"Tell him the presents he sent..."

Elena's eyes were bent like crescents. It was the smile that bewitched the social world of the empire.

"I have received them gratefully..."

"...!"

"Elena!"

It was almost at the same time that the astonishment of Baron Frederick and Chesana erupted. It was customary in the duchy to accept a proposal as a sign of acceptance. Elena's rash words and actions were met with a scathing response from Baron Frederick.

"What the hell are you talking about?! Elena you're going to be a concubine all your life!"

"... It can't be helped."

Elena was still smiling. However, they didn't know what that smile unfolded.

"I know something scary will happen if I refuse. I don't want that to happen.'

"You..."

Elena's honest thoughts shocked the couple. Even though they were half fallen nobles they had lived without losing their pride. And her direct words were heartbreaking.

"It's pretty good. Father also wanted me to find a good husband in the social world, right? I'll accept this proposal."

"..."

"I'm sorry, Mom and Dad."

The firmness in Elena's words had no room for compromise. It was close to a notification.

"H-honey."

Baron Frederick bit his lips hard.

"But even so, there's no reason to be a concubine?"

"It's all right."

"You really..."

Elena bowed her head and asked for his understanding.

"I'm sorry."

"..."

The couple's lips were tightly closed, so they couldn't say anything. It was painful as it seemed that Elena's choice to recognize their situation calmly and to accept it as fate stemmed from their helplessness. Likewise, Elena's heart was uncomfortable when she poured out harsh words.

'I'm sorry for being spoiled. I will only do that today. That way, my family can live.'

Butler Grace, who had read the room, slipped away.

"I will hasten to tell him the good news."

After she left, there was a heavy silence in the house. A somber atmosphere ensued, as if the laconic and serene breakfast was a lie.

"Elena, no matter how much I look at it, I don't think this is it. What are you short of..."

Chesana couldn't keep her mouth shut. Her eyes moistened as she felt bad for Elena, who would live as the concubine of an old lord.

"Don't cry."

"I'm sorry, mom. I'm sorry."

"I'll live happily, so don't cry."

Elena held Chesana's hand tight. She knew that warm communion can be a greater comfort than 10 words.

"But you won't, you won't."

Baron Frederick murmured at the incoming helplessness and distress. He seemed unable to accept the reality.

"I'll see the lord at least now. A concubine. How did we raise you..."

"It's not father's fault, it's my choice."

"It's not too late. We, the parents, will step up and correct our child's wrong choice."

Elena shook her head.

"Don't do that. If you really love me, please trust me and watch over me."

"You..."

Elena's request became a large nail, driven into the chest of Baron Frederick. He patted his chest, thinking that if he was an unreliable parent, he would be like that to carry all the karma.

"... I'm going to get some air."

"Honey."

Baron Frederick, who was no longer confident in seeing Elena's face, left the house. Elena's heart was heavy as she watched her father walk away.

"I'm going to take a break."

"Yes."

Chesana turned her head with a somber look. Knowing that nothing could be of comfort, Elena painfully returned to her room.

Thud.

Elena, who locked the door, leaned her back against the door.

"I hurt you both too much."

She regretted that she had to go this far.

"Let's not look back. Let's just look ahead."

With a strong grip on her weakened heart, Elena walked toward the wall with a determined expression. And she pulled the curtains installed to prevent drafts in winter. Memo papers the size of a palm were stuck on the exposed wall.

The future for the next five years! These memo papers were a chronological table of events that would occur in the future. She dared to say that the future history would go as it was written here. And at the center of it will be Elena who has changed. Elena removed a piece of memo paper from the top.

[Birthday banquet of Duke Rosette, first owner of the Friedrich family.]

This was the biggest reason Leabrick wanted to hurry and take Elena. This important event was only two months away.

"It was this day, the first day I stood in front of the world pretending to be Veronica."

Bad rumors spread throughout the capital after Veronica did not appear in society for a few years, saying that she had fled with a servant at night, and that the Grand Duke had released knights to capture Veronica.

The ambitious Grand Duke had no choice but to be sensitive to her reputation in order to make Veronica the empress in the future. He needed to eliminate the rumors as soon as possible, and the surest way to do that was to show the aristocracy that Princess Veronica was alive and well.

"I'm looking forward to it. I didn't know what to do back then, and I blindly followed your orders, but now I have no reason to do so."

It was Elena who took the lead on the board. Even the Joker, who could flip the board at any time, was in her hand.

"It's your turn now."