Chapter 2
The Eve Festival (1)
Slowly, I turned around.
Standing there was a woman in a deep green dress, her brown hair neatly pinned up.
A woman who had once reigned as the flower of high societyâ
Olivia Riley, now Olivia Winters.
My stepmother.
âAh.â
The soft exclamation slipped from my lips as Olivia approached me with graceful steps.
âRose?â
âMother.â
âWhat are you doing here?â
âJust taking a walk.â
âI see. A rare free day, isnât it?â
Her steps halted, and a faint smile curved her lips.
âI was going to rest, but it seems I should visit the knight order. Excuse me.â
âWait, Rose.â
When I turned back, that same mild smile was still on her face.
âYou should pay a little more attention to your appearance. Youâre the young lady of the Marquis Winters householdâand nearly of marriageable age, arenât you?â
Her own gown was lavish, a sweeping wave of fabric, whereas mine was closer to a simple one-piece than a proper dress.
Whatâs wrong with what Iâm wearing?
Itâs light, comfortable, and even fashionable among young noble ladies these daysâsurely nothing improper.
I wanted to argue, but my lips stayed shut, glued tight as if every nerve in my body were whispering: Donât. Just walk away.
âPerhaps we should call the Madam sometime soon, my lady,â said Margaret, Oliviaâs personal maid.
Olivia gave a slight nod, accepting the suggestion with quiet grace before taking her leave.
âLetâs go.â
As they turned, I walked the opposite wayâand couldnât help but let out a short laugh.
Not once had her eyes smiled.
Even in Rosebellia’s memories, Olivia had always approached her kindlyâ
but Rosebellia had never trusted her.
How could she, when that chilling aura lingered behind every gentle smile?
Olivia never made her hostility explicit, but I could feel it.
And if this body sensed it, then it had to be true.
Ever since Rosebellia had learned to fully wield her aura a year ago, her five senses and intuition had sharpened immensely.
She was, after all, the only Swordmaster in the entire Empire.
âThough I suppose Ian becomes one laterâŠâ
Yesâonly Rosebellia and Ian stood as equals, true rivals who could face one another in perfect balance.
But if Iâunlike the Rosebelliaa of the original storyâdidnât defect to the Kingdom of Lenor and stayed in the Empire instead…
Then I wouldnât become Ianâs rival.
And I certainly wouldnât face him on the battlefield.
âMy lady?â
The call snapped me back to reality.
Before me stood a boyâRoy, the stable keeperâs son.
âAh, Roy.â
I laughed sheepishly, realizing I had wandered all the way to the stables without noticing.
 Rosebellia often did that tooâwalked aimlessly until her feet carried her here.
A habit of this body, it seemed.
âShall I bring out Emily?â
âYes.â
Iâll figure out why Rosebellia made that decision soon enough.
Thereâs no need to rush.
âHere you are, my lady.â
Roy handed me Emilyâs reins, and I swung easily into the saddle.
For now, one step at a time.
To move forward, I first had to learnâ
What exactly happened between Ian and Rosebellia a on the eve of the festival.
âRoy, tell Anne Iâve gone to the knight order.â
Sheâll probably scold me again when I return.
My lips curved slightly in amusementâ
and Roy, who had been sneaking glances at me, suddenly looked startled and dropped his gaze.
Whyâs he acting like that?
âRoy?â
âAh, yes, my lady. Understood.â
â Rosebellia, youâre acting a bit strange today.â
At Lucasâs casual remark, a faint twitch ran beneath my eye.
âWhat? My outfit?â
âHuh? Whyâd you bring that up all of a sudden?â
No? Then what was strange?
As I tried to recall, Lucas tilted his head slightly and spoke again.
âYour outfitâs normal enough. Youâve come to the knight order dressed far more extravagantly before.â
Rightâshe had.
Even with all those memories in my head, Iâd still hesitated before walking in dressed like this.
The subconscious really is a scary thing.
I almost gave myself away.