Chapter 90

Lady Adelane.

She was once the princess of the outstanding magic kingdom, Reivens.

The Reivens Kingdom was located near the World Tree, the source of magic, and the magic books they created were sold at high prices to many countries.

However, the development of magic did not translate into military power, due to the kingdom's small size.

The kingdom was defeated in the imperial war and was destined to be wiped out...

But the King of Reivens saved the lives of his people by offering all the military forces and magic books to the empire.

The emperor accepted this and even bestowed a viscount title on the king, suspecting that there were hidden magic books and wanting to keep an eye on him for a long time.

In any case, the Reivens royal family and citizens were able to live in the empire, but...

"The king bowed to the emperor to save himself!"

"He abandoned us!"

The citizens, now imperial subjects, could not escape their criticism.

The emperor did not reveal to the world that the king had sacrificed the magic books and military forces to save his people.

In the hidden truth, Adelane grew up facing all kinds of criticism and neglect.

Finally, at the age of 17, she left her family and began to pursue the dream she had long cherished.

To become an opera singer.

'But it wasn't an easy path.'

Everyone looked down on and ignored her, being a princess from a defeated kingdom.

But she did not give up and eventually became a famous opera singer.

'And later, when it became known that the king did not abandon the country, she gained even greater popularity.'

Her life, rising from a fallen princess to a famous actress, was like a play and a walking billboard.

'And the patron of such Adelane was the Empress of Cartia.'

The Empress, recognizing Adelane's talent, supported her without hesitation.

'But it was all part of a plan.'

The Empress used Adelane, who became a queen, to control commerce and captivate society.

'And I also need a billboard for my salon.'

Let's see. She has light orange hair and brown eyes, right?

I looked around carefully.

The young ladies were divided into two groups, and the one with the particularly elaborate and large dresses seemed to be the more influential.

'But something doesn't seem right about that one...'

While I was tilting my head, I saw a glimpse of a dress hem in the corner.

I leaned forward. There, a young lady was huddled like a shadow.

'Is this Lady Adelane?'

Just as I was about to stand up to approach her...

"Truly, it's a torment to have such a shameless face around."

A sharp sneer echoed.

It was the young lady with the particularly elaborate dress, who had been whispering about me first.

"There are always people who don't know their place and intrude."

The young lady raised her voice and said, looking at Adelane.

"No matter how much the Empress invited her, there are limits."

She smirked.

"I would be too ashamed to even lift my head. It would be shameful to set foot on imperial soil with my own two feet."

"That's true, Clara."

"I don't think I could have come this far."

The other young ladies chimed in.

Despite their harsh words, no one pointed out their rudeness.

'Clara, I think I've seen that name in the original work...'

Ah, I remember.

She was a noble young lady who had looked down on Adelane since childhood.

She didn't originally dislike her.

But after the coming-of-age ceremony, at her first ball, when the second prince, Matteo, who had refused to dance with her, asked Adelane to dance...

'She started to intensely dislike Adelane.'

However, the official debutante ball never took place.

Given that she was already acting this way even before Adelane and the second prince had any significant interaction, it seemed like she just had a bad personality.

Adelane clenched her dress with her thin hands at Clara's words.

Her bowed head was pitiful.

It was a common occurrence in society. Perhaps it was even what the Empress wanted.

'To easily control someone, you need to isolate them and make them desperate for help.'

Getting Adelane to dance with the second prince must have been part of the Empress's plan to draw her in.

'Although I have no connection to Lady Adelane...'

Seeing her so dejected reminded me of myself as a child, and I couldn't help but look at her.

"I would have kept a low profile."

"Me too."

"That means she's shameless."

I ignored the young ladies' sharp remarks and stood up.

I could feel Clara glancing at me.

I cleared my throat and lifted my head high, as if daring her to speak to me.

"Hello."

But the person I addressed was not her.

"Uh..."

Adelane looked at me with a surprised face.

"My name is Elly. I am the daughter-in-law of the Schuetz Duke's family."

"Oh, I know. I mean, I know you."

Adelane quickly corrected herself and greeted me.

"My name is Adelane Reivens. Please call me... Lady Reivens..."

She hesitated a bit when saying her last name, so I smiled and said,

"I prefer to be called by my first name."

"Ah... Is that okay?"

"Of course. I will also call you Adelane."

I called her by her first name first.

Adelane's eyes widened in surprise, then she smiled.

"Yes, Miss Elly..."

Her face blushed, and her dimples showed.

With her exotic appearance, typical of a foreign princess, her dimples made her even more charming.

"Ha!"

Clara's harsh snort was audible even from here.

"Of course, we shouldn't expect much from a commoner."

"Clara..."

The other young ladies were shocked and tried to stop her.

But they seemed to share the same thoughts and only glanced at us.

"Let's ignore such people and continue our conversation."

Clara said this and took something out.

"Oh, this is...!"

"Violet Diamond!"

"Yes, the Violet Diamond discovered by my father."

"It's truly beautiful."

"Isn't it?"

Clara chuckled.

"I plan to take this to 'Jemuel Salon.'"

"Is that the popular salon these days?"

"The line is so long that you need to make a reservation..."

"Well, my father will take care of it."

Clara confidently shrugged her shoulders. The young ladies' eyes sparkled.

"People from humble families can only dream of it."

She glanced at us again.

'She must have said this to make us sad.'

It was so cliché that it didn't even affect me.

So I ignored it and spoke to Adelane.

"Your voice is so pleasant to listen to. Your pronunciation is so fluent. I envy you."

Adelane, who had been hesitant, replied cautiously.

"That's probably because I'm not an imperial citizen."

"Oh, I see."

I continued naturally.

"One of my distant relatives is also from a small country. Of course, it's just a guess."

Thinking back to my first meeting with Taloom, it didn't seem impossible.

"Oh, I see..."

Adelane made eye contact with me.

"That's why your eyes..."

Then it happened.

Bang!

The door opened with a loud noise.

'Surprised!'

I shivered and looked at the door.

"Hmm. You're all here, as expected."

A boy with a bad temper entered with several young men.

'Blond hair, golden eyes, and such a nasty face...'

There was no doubt.

He was the son of Empress Cartia, the second prince, Matteo.

"Oh, that's...!"

"Heavens! It's Prince Matteo!"

"Oh... What brings him here?"

The young ladies covered their mouths with fans and gasped.

However, the older young ladies seemed uneasy about his appearance.

'They know Matteo's character.'

Matteo was truly a frustrating villain.

He would stop at nothing to get the heroine, Ashabel.

And he was persistent!

Just thinking about the hardships Damian endured made me shudder.

'But why is he here? They said the men went to another room?'

It was impolite for a man to enter a room full of ladies. The prince should know this.

"Quite a crowd today."

Matteo sneered as he entered.

His gaze, sweeping the room, made me feel like a doll being selected.

"Hmm?"

Then his gaze fell on Adelane.

It seemed this was their first meeting in the original story.

"You?"

Matteo asked bluntly.

"Y-Yes...?"

"You. You're the princess of that fallen country, right?"

I gasped at his blunt words.

I knew he was brash, but... this was too much.

Even Clara, who had been subtle, seemed a bit shocked, covering her mouth with her fan.

"What was it... Adel, right?"

"..."

"I can't remember. What's your name?"

Matteo asked, tilting his chin.

Adelane's face had become even paler, and she only bit her lip.

"Can't you hear me?"

Matteo frowned, thinking he was being ignored.

"Hmm. My mother mentioned someone."

Matteo smirked and rolled a small gem in his hand.

It was rough and had a rough surface, not something a prince would be interested in.

If it were precious, he wouldn't be carrying it like that.

'So it's something he can play with...'

Matteo repeatedly lifted the gem into the air and caught it.

"Still have some pride as a princess?"

"I