Chapter 54
Riv mentioned the illegitimate son of Madame Dolores, who was known only to the Queen and her maids. Madame Dolores couldn’t get up due to contemplation and deep shame.
Madame Dolores eventually left early with her granddaughter.
The reading group concluded with light refreshments and the introduction of a few books. A couple of hours passed and the group was about to part when the ladies of the group gathered around Riv.
They lingered around her and Sophia, still doubtful of her identity.
“Duchess Sentoren, will you accept our invitation?”
“Duchess, please let us know which ball you are attending.”
“Ball?”
Large and small balls were going to be held in the royal capital, so Riv had been discussing which ball to attend with Lionel.
Sophia linked arms with Riv and spoke.
“Riv, you know my family is the Vincent family, right? My father decided to throw a ball for my youngest sister, who has just debuted. I will send you an invitation, so please come.”
“I will discuss it with Lionel.”
“It’s a place where only those with invitations can attend, so you can rest assured.”
Rumors about Riv, who was Madame Katana and became the Duchess of Sentoren, spread throughout the Royal Capital. That she wasn’t a fake. It was truly her. She was in disguise at the palace. That the Duchess wanted to attend the royal ball. The nobles listened to the news.
“It’s not bad to have a relationship with Duchess Sentoren. The Sentoren family has power but also money.”
“Is it? Until now, there was no hostess, so it was difficult to establish a relationship.”
“Isn’t the Duchess of Sentoren also a young lady of noble origins? They said she was in charge of the manners of Princess Marieanne, so her manners cannot be underestimated.”
“It would be nice if we were invited by the Sentoren family.”
“How do we get closer to the Duchess?”
Even commoners who were interested in the aristocratic family and the upper class were excited. As if people had forgotten about Madame Katana’s notoriety, they were anxious to get close to Duchess Sentoren.
Invitations for the Duke and Duchess of Sentoren poured in.
***
Riv had a dream that night. It was a cold night. It was winter and her breath was white.
‘Haa.’
Riv’s vision was blurry as if there was mist all around her. Her hands and feet were frozen. But she knew this was a dream.
It was like there was a layer of opaque film laid over her eyes.
‘Haa.’
Breathing out white steam, Riv looked around her.
‘Where am I?’
Riv noticed that she was wearing the dreadful Madame Katana disguise.
The huge dress was too heavy. Her hands were covered by the huge sleeves. Not only the weight of her clothes, but also the stiffness of her body made it so that she could not move.
‘Oh, am I in the prison where I died?
A pile of old straw lay under the dress.
When she lifted her head, she saw a rusty grate. It was the dungeon where Riv died.
‘It’s still terrible here.’
The cloudy landscape of the dream began to change.
Marianne didn’t appear but a fire still broke out around Riv. It seemed to be a repeat of Riv’s death.
The flames that engulfed her body were a vivid red.
‘Pain will come.’
The fire quickly burned Riv’s dress and body.
The pain of her burning flesh and bones was unbearable.
‘Aaaah! Aaaah!’
Riv struggled from the pain.
After the pain passed, her body turned into a pile of ashes.
Riv’s soul, which left her body, looked down at her ashes in melancholy.
She saw the face of a white skeleton wearing an old robe beside her.
It was the Grim Reaper. His lips widened and he smiled. The white teeth shone eerily. He opened his mouth to speak.
The moment his words touched Riv’s ears, the world shattered.
Just before Riv returned to reality, she saw Lionel.
He was wearing a military uniform and was standing on an endless yellow plain.
‘What is this?’
Lionel had much longer hair than Riv remembered, and his face looked brutal and sharp. There was a foul stench of blood coming from him.
‘Lionel?’
For a moment he lifted his head and met Riv’s eyes.
The moment their eyes were about to meet, Riv’s soul was sucked into her real body.
‘That was the future.’
In the fall, Riv would not be by Lionel’s side.
“Haa.”
Riv woke up from her dream and grabbed her necklace, which she had placed on her bedside table.
As she touched the ring pendant, the terrible pain that had enveloped her seemed to disappear.
Riv stared at Lionel, who was sleeping next to her.
He was still fast asleep.
‘What was that dream? Was it a foreshadowing of the future? Why did I dream that?’
The pendant necklace was burning red. Riv’s senses were so sharp that she could sense the flow of air.
‘I can’t foresee the time after my death.’
She realized it naturally. Unknowingly, she performed magic. The dream seemed to show the old future of Riv, and the new future of Lionel.
“Why was Lionel there?”
As far as Riv could remember, Lionel didn’t go to the battlefield this year.
She didn’t think that it would get that cold at the warm Southern estate.
‘Then where was he?’ Riv could hardly sleep. At dawn, Lionel cuddled Riv and turned her body towards him.
“Riv? What’s wrong?”
Drowsiness could be heard in his voice.
“It’s nothing.”
“Do you have a fever?”
Lionel’s quivering hand touched Riv’s forehead.
“No.”
Lionel closed his eyes and sighed deeply.
“Come here.”
He yawned and hugged Riv tighter.
Her frozen body began to melt due to his body temperature.
There was still time before the sun rose. Contrary to her dream, reality was peaceful.
She longed for this peace to last forever, but she knew life wouldn’t go her way.
She didn’t want to die, but she was destined to be killed.
Although she stayed silent for a long time, pretending that she knew none of the palace’s secrets, to the Royal Family, Riv was nothing but an obstacle to be removed.
She couldn’t pretend not to know her fate. Moreover, her partner was Lionel.
If it was a vision of the future of Lionel, what would Riv do?
She was lost in thought.
Many invitations to the Duke and Duchess of Sentoren came flooding in. The servants who brought the invitations camped out waiting for an answer, and sometimes nobles came to ask for an audience with the Duke or Duchess of Sentoren. Riv had to be escorted by her female knight, Hailey, whenever she left her room. Hailey was shorter than Riv, but she was a great woman.
“Many would like to meet the Duchess of Sentoren.”
“I see. But the interest will not last long.”
“You will still feel uncomfortable for the time being.”
Riv sighed as she looked at the crowd gathered around the main gate of the mansion.
“I don’t know why I have to be the center of attention.”
It seemed likely that this would continue, at least until the end of the socializing season that spring.
She planned to minimize her attendance to balls as much as possible and only go to a few social gatherings.
“Haa.”
Riv sighed and recalled last night’s ominous dream. The clue was there. Hailey in front of her was a rare female knight. She would have a lot more knowledge about battlefields than Riv.
“Hailey, where is the largest plain in the north? There are no mountains around and it is all flat.”
“I don’t know where you are talking about. Why are you asking?”
“Is there a possibility of war on the plains?”
“Of course, on the plains of Ezul in the north. It’s close to the border and there’s a war every few years. Although the last was five years ago. Again I ask, why?”
“It’s nothing.”
Riv was immersed in her thoughts.
Riv rarely attended social gatherings, so she only attended Countess Murden’s.
As she was about to return from her reading group for the second time, she was plagued with a bunch of questions by the ladies in attendance. They all wanted Riv to invite them to the Duke’s estate, and they wanted to brag that they were close friends of Riv Sentoren.
Even if Hailey tried to push them away, they resisted.
“How are you, Duchess?”
“How did you meet the Duke of Sentoren?”
“Invite us to the Duke’s mansion. We’ve become quite friendly.”
The colorful emotions of curiosity and jealousy they exuded made Riv tired. Perhaps it was because her magical senses had become too sensitive, or she was too overwhelmed by the emotions of others, Riv was exhausted.
Even now, the subject of their attention was Riv.
Hailey, who lightly pushed the ladies, looked at the weary Riv and said.
“Please go back and rest.”
“I will.”
After Riv parted from the ladies of the gathering, she locked herself in her hideout, the greenhouse. Not long after Lionel had heard she had come home, he entered the greenhouse.
“Riv, you’re here again?”
Lionel looked worried at Riv’s sullen expression.
“Were you at another meeting?”
“Yes. I thought it would be nice to attend a social gathering, so I went out.”
“Did you? I understand that dealing with women is tiring.”
Riv grinned.
“They were more interested in Lionel than me.”
“Why me?”
Riv stared at Lionel.
“You were very popular.”
Lionel chuckled.
“So are you jealous?”