Konny brought the only red dress Lara had.
The noblewomen in Hautean did not wear red dresses. It seemed like they had made a promise together, they considered red to be a favorite color for women who were not in an honorable position. They mocked those who wore red color for being lowly in status, lacking in noble features, and being rural in nature.
Lara wore that red dress and released her curly hair. Her cat-like haughty eyes were emphasized by black lines, and she did not apply anything on her skin. Instead of gloves that cover her entire arms, she wore several thin bracelets.
That was enough for Lara.
"Excuse me… Lady Laviore?"
When Lara was all ready, she went out to the drawing-room. The artist who was waiting in front of the canvas stood up with a surprised look. He was an artist who was paid a lot to paint the portrait. It was told he also painted portraits of royalty. So his skills were indisputable.
Lara flashed a twisted smile and said.
"Paint me like this."
"Pardon?"
"Don't distort it or add anything to it. Just paint me the way I look right now."
The artist nodded in the confusion of the moment. He did not have the confidence to draw the portrait differently. The girl who appeared before him had such a firm charm that it seemed that changing the mood would ruin the painting. After Lara sat on the sofa, the artist began to paint her portrait.
The diligent Konny brought a glass of cold water for Lara. With the glass in one hand, Lara was quietly lost in her thoughts. Her portrait for the prince was painted after a few days of her coming-of-age ceremony. Prince Sidhar is a man of firm taste, he will not pay any attention to a badly groomed girl in a red dress with a fierce look. He might even think that the Marquess of Bailey was not blessed with a good child.
Lara was 19 years old now.
As she was 28 years old before she died, she had gone back approximately ten years. She had come back at the perfect timing. She was not too late, nor was she too soon. It was before the prince knew her, so if she had just avoided him, she did not have to be involved with him for a while. She had a lot of things to be solved before then, there was also someone she had to meet. Without moving, Lara sat and recalled things from the past one by one.
2. Demian
Sometime before Lara's coming-of-age ceremony, her father had asked her.
"Who do you want to marry?"
"The prince."
Lara―who was young and ignorant―did not know what her answer meant politically. The Marquess of Bailey was pleased. He wanted to be a man of power, and he believed that if he had made his daughter the wife of the prince and became the faction leader, then he could someday become a duke.
"Crazy."
By now, her father would have succeeded in becoming a close aide to Prince Sidhar. It was around this time that nasty nobles began to frequent this manor.
"He must be thinking about how to plausibly wrap me up so I would look good."
"Pardon? Milady, did you say something?"
"No, I didn't."
After the portrait sketch, Lara and Konny rode in a carriage and returned to the city center. She wanted to find someone. When Lara came back to the past, she had someone she really wanted to meet again.
Demian Rhode Drake.
As far as Lara knew, the man who was known as the best fighter in the world had been enslaved for a while in an arena in Hautean. The man was called the 'King of Outlaws' because even the knights of the Empire could not defeat him. After being crowned king by the outlaw warriors, everyone added 'Rhode' to his name. He had many other titles besides that. There were several Lara knew, including 'the last Barbarian', and 'the demon slayer'. Most importantly, he was someone who became unlucky because of Lara.
It was when she had learned that there was a great combat slave in Hautean and that the slave had crossed from Tarragon Empire.
"He must be a spy sent from the Empire. He hides his identity and pretends to be a slave to steal the information of the nobles in Hautean."
It was a lie.
Lara lied without even knowing that it was a lie. Because the prince asked her to do that. Demian was falsely charged for something that he did not even do because of Lara. He ended up as a slave in Prince Sidhar's prison and fought on behalf of the prince.
"He did not worship God. He was able to confront the demon because he used power from the wicked!"
That was all a lie too.
As if it was not enough that Demian was forced into the dangerous battlefield, he had to live a life of being excommunicated and hunted by the temple and Empire. The word 'enemy' would not be enough to describe their relationship, but he did not blame Lara until the very end.
"I have a question."
He always asked her.
"Will you stop hating me if I come back bringing victory this time?"
Lara said she would.
Demian believed her words and went out to the battlefield to fight for Prince Sidhar and Saintess Lara.
He asked again.
"Will you really stop hating me if I come back bringing victory again this time?"
Once again, Lara said she would.
Demian went to the battlefield, and once again, he returned with a big victory.
Such things repeated several times. Demian, who was exhausted and wounded, asked her for the last time.
"Why do you hate me so much?"
Lara could not answer him.
She could not even tell him that she did not hate him. She just couldn't help it because Prince Sidhar made her do it.
That was their last meeting.
That night, Demian smashed the prison door as if it was a toy and left Hautean. His colleagues at the battlefield helped him escape. They crossed the border and settled in a barren mountain region, and they called that place a lawless area.
He was an existence that Lara could not erase, that was left with heavy guilt in her chest.
"…Demian."
Lara whispered.
She needs to find him.
After a moment, the carriage that carried her had arrived in front of the arena. It was a slave arena that was rumored to be the most popular among the wealthy young noblewomen these days.
Woaaahhhhhhhh.
Even though Lara only got off at the entrance, that shout that came out of the building shook her eardrums. Konny, who was looking around, ran to Lara's side and let out a strong snort, she was ecstatic with joy.
"Milady, I'm so excited."
Konny could not hide her excitement. Konny mumbled, she thought she would never be able to come to a fun place like an arena because of her modest and conservative lady. She felt as if the sun rose in the west.
In fact, this was also Lara's first time coming to an area. The only places she had ever been to were the royal palace, the temple, the school, and her house. Who would have thought she would come to a slave arena. Along with the Night Ball, this place was a symbol of misdemeanor and deviation for the young noblewomen. The young noblewomen who hang out in the slave arena were condemned as unsophisticated nobles. So a lot of young noblewomen who visited the area wore veils or hats to cover their faces.
"Are you really going in?"
"Let's go."
"What if we get caught by Lord Bailey? We will get in trouble."
"Don't worry about that."
"Really? Are we going to be fine?"
"I will make sure that he won't even want to scold us just because of things like this."
"What?"
Konny looked at Lara with a face asking for an explanation.
Lara did not explain in detail.
Instead, she grabbed her red dress and walked confidently into the arena.