<CHAPTER 19>
She Wasted Her Life
At the unmistakable voice, it felt as if every hair on her body stood on end.
The Duke of Embrio, who had approached the dazed and frozen Evelyn, asked.
“Raven?”
With a pale face, Evelyn answered without realizing it.
Only then did she review whether the question she had heard and her answer were appropriate.
Tension took control of her.
It felt like walking straight into a nightmare.
Evelyn had been a person molded entirely by her father, from head to toe.
From the moment she learned to speak and move, she had been corrected on everything, from how to breathe to the speed and frequency of her blinking.
How harsh were the looks she received when she failed to meet expectations.
Without realizing it, Evelyn tensed her body.
She struggled desperately not to make a mistake.
Fortunately, the movements she had learned over a lifetime allowed her body to function even when her mind was not working properly.
“If only a fleeting moment were permitted.”
“I would devote that time entirely.”
Throwing out a random line from an old poem or a phrase from a book was one of the countless ways the Duke tested Evelyn.
It seemed he preferred it because he could check not only whether she had memorized well-known classical poetry and maintained her education, but also the rhythm and accent of her recitation all at once.
Searching her memory, Evelyn recited the latter part of the poem they had exchanged most often.
“I dare say that I have loved you forever.”
As she pushed out the final syllable with the tip of her tongue, Evelyn knew she had done it flawlessly.
As she unconsciously felt relieved and her cheeks flushed, a low chuckle was heard.
…He laughed?
She had never seen her father laugh like that in her life, so with her mind nearly broken, she lifted her gaze and stared directly at the Duke of Embrio.
A chilling sense of unease ran down her spine.
“You received a fine education.”
When she had lived as Evelyn, she had never expected praise.
Because she had never received it.
The praise she received only after becoming Raven made her feel strangely conflicted.
“…You flatter me.”
She offered a belated response.
Then he spoke.
“It makes me curious who taught you.”
You.
But she could not say that, so Evelyn remained silent.
Even with her gaze lowered, she could feel the Duke of Embrio examining her.
She did not even try to understand her father’s intentions.
Her best option was simply to avoid giving him anything to criticize.
“You are skilled at controlling your expression as well. That is good.”
He muttered the evaluation as if speaking to himself.
Evelyn was confused and did not know how to respond.
“An obsession with bloodlines,”
He gestured for a chair.
In Evelyn’s space, her father moved as if he were the master.
“In a world where families rise and fall, disappear and are newly formed, it is certainly strange and remarkable for a house to continue for over three hundred years.”
Only then did Evelyn realize that the “bloodline” her father mentioned referred to the imperial family.
Across the entire continent, the only family with a history of over three hundred years was the Delpeo imperial family.
“Even the breeding instinct of beasts wouldn’t be that strong.”
At his tongue-clicking remark, Evelyn hesitated as she considered sending the others away.
Why should I?
While she had been his daughter, Evelyn had done her best for the Embrio family.
She had worked to prevent scandals from leaking and worried constantly so that the Duke of Embrio’s disloyal and rude behavior toward the imperial family would not become known.
But his attitude never changed, and now that she had been reborn in a body not connected by blood, she found no reason to defend him.
In her heart, Evelyn rejected the Duke.
She could not openly condemn him, but that was the most resistance she could muster.
The Duke of Embrio, who had been silently observing her, spoke.
“How peculiar.”
At the sudden hand reaching toward her, Evelyn’s body stiffened.
Forgetting even how to breathe, Evelyn had her chin lifted by the Duke, who tapped it upward and stared at her intently.
“You resemble her.”
He was genuinely puzzled.
There had been quite a few women who resembled the deceased Evelyn.
If he counted the women with amber eyes or ivory eyes whom he had brought before Rexfail, even both hands would not be enough.
However, the Crown Prince had rejected them all.
He had not even glanced at them, let alone taken them in, and had driven every single one away.
Some he had even killed.
Yet he had accepted this woman, and that was why the Duke had come, curious about what made her different.
“Leave us.”
He raised his hand, signaling the maids to leave.
As if waiting for that signal, the young lady of the Lerol family rushed toward the door, while the young lady of the Ibiton family hesitated but slowly followed.
The only one who did not move at all was Camilla of the Berzac family.
“I said leave.”
“You do not have the authority to do so.”
She could not hide the trembling in her voice.
Still, ignoring her pounding heart that warned her to stop, she defied her father’s will.
“Ha.”
A dry laugh escaped the Duke of Embrio.
He stroked his chin and then waved his hand again, as if granting permission.
“Such boldness is not bad. The more so, the more you resemble that child.”
The Duke of Embrio truly looked amused.
The only man enjoying himself here looked around the furnishings of the Winter Palace office before asking.
“What does the Crown Prince call you?”
“I have no obligation to answer.”
Once she resisted, it became easier the second time.
As Evelyn pushed back, the Duke of Embrio observed her and gave the answer he had expected.
“Evi.”
It felt as if her airway was completely blocked.
Evelyn could no longer tell whether she was standing or sitting, or even whether she was breathing.
But as always, the Duke of Embrio had no interest in the state of others.
“That’s what he calls you, isn’t it?”
It was absurd.
A nickname she had never heard while alive was now spoken by her father after her death.
“Whether he does or not, why does it matter to you?”
Ah… no matter what, I am still Maxwell’s daughter.
Even that arrogance of yours runs in my blood.
Evelyn even felt a slight sense of pleasure as she mocked him.
But the Duke of Embrio did not look displeased at all.
He only looked puzzled.
“That is not like her. You should not behave like that in front of the Crown Prince.”
“Do I need to tell you to leave for you to understand?”
Why could she not speak like this before.
Evelyn firmly pushed him away.
But her father seemed utterly unaffected by her resistance and evaluated her indifferently.
“Clumsy. That attitude is not like her. As expected, a counterfeit can only go so far.”
“I do not recall asking for your evaluation.”
Evelyn dismissed his words and called for the guards.
She intended to have him removed.
However, the guards hesitated upon seeing the Duke of Embrio.
At a mere gesture from him, they stepped back, and that alone was enough to enrage Evelyn.
“Return at once—!”
“You do imitate someone of higher standing fairly well. That might even surpass her.”
Having never learned how to shout, Evelyn clenched her teeth, unable to contain her boiling anger.
Watching her, the Duke of Embrio spoke again.
“How much have you seen?”
Even speaking to a wall would have been less frustrating than this.
Evelyn did not respond.
But the Duke of Embrio continued.
“If you wish to become the master of the four seasons, you will find it difficult without joining hands with Embrio.”
It was becoming more absurd by the moment.
He truly believed that a mere duke could interfere in imperial affairs.
And even more absurd was the fact that his confidence was not entirely baseless.
Seeing that Evelyn could not find a rebuttal, the Duke of Embrio assumed she was considering his offer and extended his hand once more.
“I will place you in the most noble position a woman can attain.”
“Do not assume that everyone is obsessed with power.”
She had not clung to the position of Crown Princess out of greed for power.
It was because she could not let go.
Because she wanted to remain as close to Rexfail as possible.
Even if she was not loved, even if he did not look at her.
Even if he held another woman, cherished her, and loved her, she still wanted to keep him within her sight.
Even knowing that it was poison to him.
Even knowing that it was feeding the ambitions of the Duke of Embrio.
Her realization had come far too late.
Tears fell in droplets.
Evelyn admitted it.
That she had tormented herself and Rexfail for far too long, believing she could someday guide her father onto the right path.
That she had wasted her life, bound to something impossible.
