Chapter 115

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Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter: 115

Chapter Title: Last Chance

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Evangeline tossed the next week's issue of onto her vanity.

The front page was dominated by a massive headline.

-Was the suspicion true after all? The truth about the Crown Princess...

-The imperial scandal—who was the real victim?

Everything was prepared.

Yet the source of her unease was still the same one thing.

Is Hilia a transmigrator too?

It wasn't just the Duchess incident.

Aaron Muzeen had reportedly become a Sword Master right in front of Hilia and sworn his knightly oath to her.

The Young Duke Muzeen became a Sword Master far faster than in the original story.

Could this really be coincidence?

Evangeline recalled the day before Hilia and Ludwig's wedding.

Hilia's words, spoken through tears in front of Ludwig, still rang sharply in her ears.

"What if someone wants to sabotage our marriage? I'm scared because it feels like there's someone nearby who hates me and wants to shatter our happiness."

Hilia's words had pointed straight at Evangeline.

That was when it started—Hilia's attitude, speech, and actions had completely changed.

And come to think of it, they found that paper knife in my room that had ruined Hilia's wedding dress.

Evangeline had neither ruined the dress herself nor ordered anyone to do it.

So who would have been the easiest person to stage that incident?

The owner of the dress herself... who was right there the whole time.

In hindsight, it felt like she'd realized it far too late.

Over the past few years, Evangeline had believed she'd observed and understood Hilia thoroughly.

That's why she'd let her guard down.

She'd underestimated her, thinking the foolish Hilia lacked the nerve or brains to pull off something like that.

She remembered Hilia's violet eyes glaring at her defiantly from Arpad's embrace during her entry to the palace.

A chilling belated realization surged up like ice in her veins.

Was the Hilia she knew capable of that kind of gaze?

The answer was no.

There was only one conclusion.

The current Hilia was different from the one she knew.

A shiver ran down her spine.

Hilia was the original story's heroine. What if she was a transmigrator too?

And though Evangeline was a transmigrator herself, she didn't know every detail of the original plot.

If Hilia was also a transmigrator and knew the story even better than she did...

Can I... win?

Could she truly become the real heroine?

Gloomy possibilities swirled chaotically in her mind.

Don't make me laugh! If not, then why did I transmigrate into this world?

Evangeline refused to believe her arrival here was mere chance.

Before transmigrating, she'd ended her previous life in misery.

It had only been a minor conflict among high school friends.

Not outright bullying. At least, that's how she'd seen it.

But because of that trivial incident, the other girl attempted suicide, turning Evangeline into the unilateral villain.

Expelled from school and shunned at home, she'd holed up in her room.

She passed the time binge-watching dramas and movies, devouring novels.

Sometimes she'd vent her stress by leaving nasty comments on anything that rubbed her the wrong way.

That's when she'd come across the original story.

And about five years ago, after dying from illness, she'd realized she'd transmigrated into Evangeline's body.

At first, she was thrilled.

A fresh start at life.

But when she grasped whose role she'd taken...

She was furious.

"If it's a novel transmigration, shouldn't it be into the heroine? Why me, the villainess?!"

It was unfair. Rage boiled up.

"Then what's the point of me transmigrating? What meaning does it have?!"

"Cursed as a villain in my past life and dying pathetically—now this too?!"

Was she supposed to watch the heroine live happily ever after as the villainess?

"This is unfair!"

As fury and sorrow raged in Evangeline's mind, a bolt of lightning struck. A familiar voice seemed to whisper in her ear.

"Just seize it with your own hands, right? In the end, the winner becomes the real protagonist."

"Just like how you lost in reality and ended up as the villain."

It was her voice.

The voice of her past self, "Yoo Shin-ah."

Evangeline repeated that vow once more.

"Right. The real heroine is me. I'll become her."

That's why she'd transmigrated here.

Otherwise, her past death and this second life meant nothing.

Evangeline stood lost in deep thought, gazing into the mirror in her bedroom at the Ruth Marquis's mansion.

That's when the commotion interrupted her reverie.

A frantic knock sounded at the door, followed by an urgent call.

"Miss! Miss!"

"What?! I said don't disturb me!"

Evangeline shouted without even opening the door.

But the next words left no room for mere irritation.

"His Grace the Grand Duke has suddenly vanished!"

Ludwig, currently at the Grand Duke's mansion, was under strict surveillance by Evangeline's subordinates.

She'd repeatedly instructed them not to lose track of his movements.

Because she had crucial plans for him next week.

She flung the door open with a bang, snapping irritably.

"So you're saying you lost track of Ludwig?!"

"Well..."

"Speak clearly!"

"The last sighting of him... was at the imperial palace."

"...What?!"

I couldn't believe my ears. Was that really what I'd just heard?

My shock must have shown on my face. Or maybe Annie, who'd brought the news, was perfectly in sync with me. She jumped right in.

"We should chase him off immediately, right?"

"...Hmm."

The Duchess Muzeen, recently appointed as my head maid, offered cautious advice.

"I agree. Best not to meet him and just send him away."

Her worried expression suggested she was mindful of the odd rumors circulating lately.

She leaned in close, lowering her voice to advise me earnestly.

"And... about that knight he brought from his family estate."

"You mean Sir Beltein?"

"Yes. Perhaps send him away to some distant post for a while?"

I turned and asked her outright.

"Does my head maid believe the nonsense from some trashy novel?"

"Of course not. I watch over Your Highness from right by your side."

But the duchess wouldn't back down.

"Even so, it's best to avoid any rumors, Your Highness."

I could tell exactly what worried her most.

"Why? Afraid it'll reach His Highness the Crown Prince's ears?"

"Well..."

I smirked and replied.

"No need to worry about that."

"I suppose... but still..."

My next words apparently caught the duchess off guard.

"He already knows."

"Pardon?!"

Her blue eyes widened like saucers.

"His Highness the Crown Prince wouldn't be swayed by such baseless gossip."

"I must have worried needlessly. Of course, with how harmonious you two are..."

At my confident smile, the Duchess Muzeen let out a relieved sigh.

Her concern made perfect sense.

After all, the one throwing a tantrum at the Crown Prince's Palace without prior notice or request, demanding to see me...

Was Ludwig himself.

Ludwig had shown up out of nowhere...

Reports from the spies I'd planted at the Grand Duke's mansion confirmed he and Evangeline were conspiring together.

This meeting might even be an opportunity.

I could pry more out of Ludwig about what Evangeline's plotting.

Beyond that, I had a touch of personal pettiness too.

I'd already humiliated and retaliated against him quite a bit.

But it wasn't enough.

The humiliations and pain he'd inflicted on me in my previous three lives still burned vividly.

I wanted to vent a little more. That's why I'd given that answer.

"...I'll meet him."

"Your Highness!"

In the end, the duchess couldn't sway me.

That said, I had no intention of meeting Ludwig without any preparations.

By the time I'd issued orders and had the necessary items brought, nearly an hour had passed.

In the meantime, Ludwig had been raising hell in the drawing room, shouting at the top of his lungs.

Loud enough to echo all the way to where I was, quite a distance away.

He's abandoned all pretense of dignity now.

It was somewhat satisfying, showing just how cornered he was.

I toyed with the transparent crystal necklace around my neck.

A particularly large teardrop crystal dangled from a silver chain. Touching it sent a faint glow briefly shimmering through the necklace before fading.

I checked the bracelet and ring next, pressing their hidden buttons. All functioned perfectly.

Good. Everything's working fine.

Once confirmed, I opened the door to the drawing room and stepped in.

Ludwig was waiting there.

"...Finally deign to show yourself."

He looked at me with unfamiliar eyes.

I'd expected him to glare at me like an enemy.

But no. It was the gaze one might give the world's most coveted treasure.

Either way, it was utterly repulsive to me. I replied in a stiff tone.

"He's my husband's cousin, after all. I thought it best to deliver the 'go home' message myself."

Ludwig gnashed his teeth and shouted at me.

"I've come to give you one last chance, Hilia."

"What kind of chance?"

"It's not too late. Come back to me now, and I'll forgive you."