The key in the neckline

Eliz opened her eyes and sat up. She looked around the room and sighed. She still had a little hope that she would wake up in her own life. But she did not.

She opened her system window to check how she was doing and to get a clearer picture of what she had to do today.

Name: Elizabeth Von Roseblood

Role: Minor Villainess

Position: Visitor number 247 -> 246

Cycle number: 1

Number of available revivals: 1

Number of failures: 0

Number of followers: 1

Finance: 3321 gold

Property: 1

Roseblood Blue Rose Estate in the Eastern Province

Achievements: - Big Sister

Bonuses: -

She raised an eyebrow. Her number had changed again. She still had not figured out what it was or how it affected the number.

She shook her head and closed the window again. Throwing back the blanket, she walked to the window in her nightgown and stepped out onto the balcony. The morning was chilly and smelled like rain. It must have rained during the night. She stretched and looked down at the garden. The gardeners were busy this early in the morning. One of the gardeners looked up and noticed her. He immediately bowed to her.

"Oh, hello, cutie." She murmured, waving her fingers at him as she noticed he was quite a handsome, young, tanned man.

"Young lady." A voice behind her startled Eliz, causing her to nearly fall over and quickly turn around.

Alobela stood there, her expression saying nothing, but her eyes were judgmental.

Eliz cleared her throat. "Good morning, Alobela." She straightened up and made her way past her and back into the room with as much dignity as her nightgown would allow.

Alobela was in her shoes. "Breakfast, young lady." She announced, and Eliz glanced at the cart. She sat down at the table and waited for Alobela to serve her. She got used to this quite quickly. It reminded her of when she still lived at home and her mother made her breakfast. It was nice to be served that way.

But what was on her plate, not so much.

"Alobela. No meat again?" She looked at it with a frown.

"Meat is not good for breakfast, young lady." She replied as she poured a glass of juice for Eliz.

"And who says that? Are you a part-time nutritionist?" Grumbled Eliz sullenly. Alobela glared at her.

Eliz realized she might have used a term Alobela didn't know, so she bit her tongue and turned away. "Next time, I want some meat."

"... As you command, young lady." She replied, and Eliz was satisfied with that answer.

For now, she ate what she was given. Salad, a piece of bread, an egg. At least she got the egg.

"Donovan Hephisto is due to arrive this morning. I want to be notified immediately when he arrives." She said as she wiped her mouth with a napkin and gathered the strength to dress again.

"Yes, young lady. A messenger has already arrived and said he will arrive at nine o'clock." Answered Alobela and made her way to the dressing room.

"I want something comfortable!" Eliz called after her.

Alobela appeared with a dark blue dress, this time with only purple accessories. It was not that Eliz did not like purple. But she preferred relatively bright colors. But it did not fit her current look.

Getting dressed was faster now—two minutes less. Soon Eliz turned around in front of the mirror. The dress was dark blue with flared sleeves and had two layers. A blue top and a light purple inner. Her waist was cinched in by a white corset with purple lacing, and she wore purple shoes on her feet. She also wore purple tutus and a silk ribbon in her hair.

"Alobela, you have good taste. You always know what looks good on me." She praised Eliz.

"Thank you, young lady." Replied Alobela, but whether she was pleased with the praise or not, Eliz could not tell.

Eliz admired herself for another moment before turning to the door. "Where's Father?" She asked.

"The duke left early this morning for the royal court." Alobela followed her like a shadow.

"To the royal court? Is something wrong?" She glanced back at her.

"The Festival of Lights will soon be held in the capital. Rumor has it that a religious terrorist group called Salvation has announced plans to attack that day." Eliz paused and turned to Alobel.

"Salvation?" She pondered, and the thought flashed through her mind. So that's why it was familiar to her! Right. They were supposed to attack at the festival—some threats with mana bombs. But Selene and company were going to save the day. She shrugged and walked a few steps before stopping again, aware of the problem.

But would they succeed if Eren stayed away? And maybe Donovan won't be there either. It was true that Donovan was the smartest one in the group. Without him, they might not have found the bombs at all. And let's face it... Gray and Chad, not to mention Selene, are less bright than Donovan.

"Well... This could get interesting." Eliz muttered to herself, smiling happily.

*****

Donovan got out of the carriage and looked at the Von Rosebloods' estate. The morning sun peeked through the central tower, giving the building a pleasant and inviting appearance. But Donovan felt that darkness and unknown danger lurked behind the windows.

He put on his white gloves, adjusted his glasses, and checked the time on the gold pocket watch in his breast pocket. He was right on time.

He then pulled the small suede box Selene had given him out of his pocket. He looked at it, frowning.

"This is for Eren. Just a little something to let him know I am thinking of him. Just give it to him and do not look inside." Said Selene as she handed him the box. He did not particularly like it, but Selene insisted, and he would not be a good gentleman if he opened gifts for other people.

He pocketed the box again and made his way to the estate.

He barely had time to knock before the door was already opened by the butler who was waiting for him.

"Good morning, young Lord Hephisto. Please follow me to the drawing room. Young Miss Elizabeth will see you in a moment." The older man butler ushered him into the same inviting room as before, where this time tea and a tray of biscuits awaited him.

Donovan was pleased with the welcome, and his apprehensions subsided somewhat. The more people who knew of his presence, the better.

Donovan calmly sipped his tea but actually reassured himself. He repeated to himself that he was doing it for Eren to ensure he was comfortable. Once he talked to him, he would hand him the gift so he could leave. Indeed, he does.

The door clicked, and Elizabeth came in. Donovan looked at her and felt a strange flutter around his heart before it settled. Even a blind man had to admit that Elizabeth looked charming, but what made her ugly was her nature.

"Donovan, I thank you for your visit. When you are ready, I will take you to Eren." She said, lifting her skirt slightly at the sides and bowing gracefully to him.

Donovan was impressed that Elizabeth was capable of such etiquette. He set his cup down with a clink before standing up, clasping one hand behind his back and bringing the other to his heart before bowing to her as well.

"Thank you so much for the welcome, Elizabeth. It was my pleasure." He straightened. "After you." He made a gesture with his hand.

Elizabeth, the hostess she was naturally supposed to be, walked ahead of him.

As he made his way through the corridors and up the stairs, he was seen by several servants and guards, much to his delight, so his heart finally calmed.

"You had no trouble convincing your friends to let you go here?" Elizabeth suddenly asked.

Donovan glanced at her. "They were fine with it. But it's not like I needed their permission to do it." He did not want to give the impression that he was taking orders from them. He adjusted the glasses on his nose.

"Oh, really? I was always under the impression that you couldn't stay away from each other. I mean, look at how it went yesterday. You could not even stand to be without Eren for a couple of hours."

Donovan had expected to hear mockery in her voice, but he heard none.

"We were worried."

"You or Selene?"

Donovan hesitated. "Us." He persisted.

"I see. If you say so." Now Donovan could hear the amusement in her voice. He looked at her with a furrowed brow.

Elizabeth stopped talking about that and instead talked about something else.

"How is the Baron?" Donovan was puzzled by this question and wondered why Elizabeth was suddenly talking about him.

"Father is fine." He answered slowly.

"Ah, that's great. Has he recovered from his illness?" chattered Elizabeth.

Donovan frowned more and more. "There are still some after-effects, but Doctor are positive so far. He can now return to work at the academy."

"That's good to hear. I'll be visiting the academy soon, and I thought...." Elizabeth kept talking until Donovan could not take it anymore.

"What are you planning to do, Elizabeth? What is the reason you are talking about my father and the academy?"

Elizabeth paused, turned to him, and raised her eyebrows in confusion. "What was I supposed to be trying to do? I was just wondering. I know your father has been ill, and I was wondering if you would show me around the academy since you know it so well."

Donovan was angry and confused. "Are you interested? You? And you want me to show you around the academy? Me? Since when have we been friends?"

Elizabeth crossed her arms before her body and gave him a violet look. "You have been a friend of Gray's for a long time. And until recently, I was his fiancée. Naturally, I took an interest in you and wondered what was happening in your life. And as for the academy, that was just an idea. I did not think our relationship was as strained as the others."

Donovan pressed his lips together, unsure of what to say. While it was true that Elizabeth had spent much time with them back then, he had no idea she was actually listening to what he and Gray were discussing. On the other hand, he barely spoke to her and did not listen when she said something. He realized with a queasy feeling that he was being very rude.

Suddenly, he felt a touch under his chin and raised his eyes to Elizabeth. Elizabeth smiled in amusement and lifted his chin with her finger. "Do not worry, your pretty little head, Donovan. Just because someone is interested in your life does not mean you are obligated to do the same if it's not true. Feigning sympathy is the worst kind of betrayal I know." She withdrew her hand and turned away to continue on her way.

Donovan swallowed and cleared his throat. Her words did not sound threatening; there was even a bit of wisdom in them, but why did he feel like he had a knife to his throat?

Donovan took another step behind Elizabeth, who stopped speaking, and in a moment, they reached the door of Eren's room.

"Here it is," Elizabeth said before knocking when they heard Eren's voice, so she opened the door and entered.

"Eren, you have a visitor." He heard Elizabeth announce.

"A visitor? That's not..."

"Do not worry. It's not. It's just Donovan." Donovan frowned as he heard the panic in Eren's voice. Who had he been afraid of?

"Donovan, please." Elizabeth prompted him, and so he entered.

Eren stood up from his chair under the window, writing something down. He wore loose clothing, a simple pair of loose pants, and a messy white shirt. He wasn't groomed in any way, obviously not expecting a visitor.

He smiled at Donovan. "Donovan, Good to see you; what a pleasant surprise." He walked toward him with his hand outstretched.

Donovan also approached him. "We insisted on coming to see you. Fortunately, your sister consented and arranged for me to at least see you. We are all worried. Are you all right?" Asked Donovan.

Eren's smile faded a little, and he let go of Donovan's hand. "I am fine. I am fine. It's nice that you are concerned. Also, Sele-" He was interrupted as the door slammed louder. They both looked at Elizabeth, who had closed the door and was in the process of locking it and removing the key.

Donovan's heart clenched at the sight. "Elizabeth. What are you doing?" He asked.

Elizabeth looked at him and smiled. "Just making sure we're not interrupted." She replied innocently.

Donovan doubted that was true. "And you had to take the key with you?"

Elizabeth shrugged her shoulders as if it was no big deal. "You never know who will try to pull a key out the other side, put it on a piece of paper, and slip it under the door."

Both young men looked down at the door before looking back at her. 'Who would do something so absurd?" sounded almost identical in the young men's minds.

Donovan's eyebrows twitched as he watched Elizabeth slip the key into her cleavage, and he had to avert his eyes quickly.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He demanded an answer.

Elizabeth made her way over to them but walked past them and sat down on Eren's bed. "Nothing. Just have a nice chat."