I Sought Out the Tragedy's Scheming Mastermind

Hera immediately provided a place for Eliana to stay.

However, her direct support of Eliana could raise Verkley’s suspicion, so she took measures to receive support from other nobles instead.

That day, Eliana was officially placed under the support of Marquis Demeter and stayed at his estate.

Of course, her final destination was the Imperial Palace.

In other words, the Demeter estate was like accommodation for preparation lessons before moving to the Imperial Palace.

The Demeter Family has trained holy knights for generations, and this generation’s marquis is a young man who was told since he was a child he’d become the next Holy Priest.

Currently, he was outside the capital exterminating demons, so his seat was vacant.

Marquis Demeter never appeared in the original novel, so it was like he was invisible.

‘I think it’s because I ended up meeting Hera earlier than written in the novel, so I stayed at his estate… but it doesn’t seem like this change had a big impact on the original story.’

Fin thought Demeter was supporting Eliana.

And she was delighted to hear that Eliana could stay at the palace with his support.

This was because Fon did not inform Fin of their meeting with Hera, so he told Eliana to keep it a secret.

After Eliana moved to the Demeter estate, Fin immediately quit her job at the Mussieux estate and followed Eliana.

“Can you believe I quit my job so easily?”

“What are you doing at this estate? You don’t have a lady to tend to.”

“I think you adore me too much.”

“Well, don’t you like me, miss?”

“I do like you.”

“So then what’s the issue? I like you, and you like me, so I can automatically stick by your side.”

“…Very well.”

As Eliana stared at Fin with an amused expression, Fin puffed out her chest and gestured for Eliana to trust her.

Eliana started preparing to leav the palace that day.

Hera sent mentors to teach Eliana every single detail about royal etiquette and what the emperor favored.

Although, it seemed it was their goal to make her seduce Verkley with the information they fed her.

Of course, Eliana welcomed it all.

Since she didn’t know much about the mysterious emperor, being aware of his minor tastes beforehand would be a great help to survive inside the palace.

It was the day before she would enter the Imperial Palace as planned.

Fon would pop in from time to time to see how everything was running, but even his visits had become rare.

The Empress Dowager had all the boards laid out, so Eliana just had to act in accordance.

“I’m nervous.”

“I’m sad, miss.” Fin replied in a sullen tone to Eliana’s murmur.

As Eliana turned to her curiously, Fin continued. “I thought I could go with you…”

“Huh? What do you mean? I thought we were going to the palace together?”

When Eliana asked back, Fin shook her head. “Commoners are not allowed inside the palace.”

“Ah.”

Only then did Eliana realize the difference between Fin and herself.

There was a hierarchy in this world, and the gap between a noble, like Eliana, and a commoner, like Fin, was enormous.

After reincarnating into this world, Fin was the only one she could comfortably talk to, so she had forgotten.

‘…Of course, she cares for the real Eliana Mussieux, not me.’

In fact, Fin may start to notice the changes in Eliana if they carry on staying together.

It would be better to separate at this point, no matter how sad it may be.

When Eliana said nothing in return, Fin clenched her fist and said, “I’ll find a way to be by your side somehow.”

“No, you don’t have to push yourself.”

“No, I’m sure I can find a way. So in the meantime, don’t you forget me.”

“I would never be able to forget you,” Eliana replied with a bitter smile.

That night, Eliana had stayed up to comfort Fin and soothe her to sleep due to the tension.

* * *

The following day, as promised, a carriage with the Imperial Palace’s crest arrived at the Demeter estate.

A strict-looking woman stuck her head out from the carriage.

Judging by her outfit, she looked like a lady-in-waiting.

Considering that most of the ladies that worked for the royal family were nobles, she must be one too.

Sure enough, the woman introduced herself with high-handedness.

“I am Sophia Moore, a lady-in-waiting. Are you Eliana Mussieux?”

She guessed correctly. The Moore family was more resourceful than the Mussieux’s.

“Yes, that’s right. It’s an honor to meet you, miss.”

“I heard of your situation from the Empress Dowager. Get inside the carriage. We must go before it gets late.”

The lady-in-waiting emerged from the carriage.

Seeing that Hera ordered her to escort Eliana herself, she must be Hera’s lady-in-waiting.

“You must take care of yourself, miss.”

“Goodbye, Fin.”

Eliana pressed a handkerchief to her eyes and hugged Fin tightly, before climbing onto the carriage.

As soon as the lady-in-waiting climbed up and gave a signal, the carriage departed.

The carriage rattled with the sound of horse hoofs.

As they rode along the main road, the speed of the carriage increased.

It was then that Eliana suddenly felt a sharp pain in her heart and doubled over, clinging to her chest.

Sophia suddenly called out to her with a bewildered expression as Eliana struggled. 

“Miss Eliana?”

“…Ugh.” Eliana groaned, unable to answer.

Her head was buzzing and she felt like she had to throw up.

It felt different from motion sickness.

At that moment, she heard a familiar sound that mixed in with the sound of horse hoofs.

The sound of a screeching tire, but no cars existed here.

And soon, the noise of car horns pierced her ears.

Her whole body trembled and her mind was distraught.

Sophia held on to Eliana’s arm, which had become languid.

“What is the matter? Are you uncomfortable?”

“Ah, it’s nothing.” Eliana managed to respond. 

She opened the window and inhaled a deep breath.

It was strange. When she rode the carriage with Fon, she didn’t feel this way.

It’s a frightening feeling to be nervous.

‘I’m afraid… Is it because of how fast we’re going?’

The last time she was inside a carriage was when she met Hera. It wasn’t moving fast because the streets were crowded.

So she didn’t feel anything.

But when she got into this carriage, the streets were empty, so she was scared. It reminded her of the bus accident.

Eliana tried to ignore those memories.

Trauma was more serious than she thought.

Once she realized how a carriage and bus are similar, her anxiety soared.

Eliana drew in flaming breaths and kept her head near the window until they reached the palace.

They managed to speed up even more, and Eliana told Sophia that they were going too fast.

So Sophia asked if they could slow down because once her heart started racing, it wouldn’t stop.

Sophia Moore just clicked her tongue as if she thought Eliana was exaggerating.

Her pounding heart did not slow until the carriage came to a complete halt.

Sophia handed Eliana cold water as soon as they entered the drawing-room.

Eliana flushed out her lingering jitters with a glass of cold water.

Sophia, who was watching in disapproval, nagged her. “Surely that was not your first time inside a carriage… Motion sickness is very unpleasant.”

“Haha, I never left the estate much, so I was a bit uncomfortable.” Eliana, feeling a bit better, smiled awkwardly.

“You cannot be so weak and take care of His Majesty.”

“I’m sorry, miss.”

When Eliana apologized somewhat, Sophia clicked her tongue.

It was not normal for a person to be so exhausted after sitting in a carriage.

Eliana was embarrassed.

It seemed she would have to avoid carriages for now.

“I will notify the Empress Dowager of your arrival, so be prepared.”

“Yes, miss.” Eliana lightly nodded.

Click.

The lady-in-waiting closed the doors behind her and Eliana let her gaze roam around the room

The drawing room inside the Imperial Palace was incomparable in size and elegance to the one inside the Mussieux estate.

All the furniture was painted gold and glittering jewels were neatly embedded into the wood.

The freshly picked flowers inside the vase added freshness, and the carpet on the floor gave off an elegant atmosphere.

Eliana gushed as she admired the drawing-room that reminded her of a movie set.

It was then that she truly realized she reincarnated during an empire’s era.

After looking at her surroundings, the doors to the drawing-room opened.

Her gaze automatically turned toward the door, and she was met with Hera in a gorgeous dress.

Eliana quickly lifted from her seat and raised the hem of her dress slightly to show courtesy.

“I greet the Empress Dowager, the flower of our empire.”

“I heard you had terrible motion sickness. How are you feeling now?”

Sophia seemed to have reported to her master.

Eliana nodded her thanks with a shy smile. “Thanks to your concern, I feel much better.”

“That’s a relief.” Empress Dowager smiled gracefully and took her seat in front of Eliana.

Then a different maid poured them tea.

Hera went to grab her cup of tea.

The cat that Eliana saw last time jumped onto Hera’s lap.

Clink!

“Ugh.”

“Empress Dowager! Are you alright?!”

Hera groaned, clutching her wrist.

She had spilled the scorching tea onto her skin.

The cat scattered in surprise, and Hera held her hands away from herself.

Sophia quickly brought a cool wet towel and placed it on Hera’s red hands.

“It worked.”

But then Hera hit Sophia with the towel.

Sophia appeared nervous when she noticed Hera’s expression.

Hera ordered in a calm tone. 

“Sophia, bring it.”