It had been the beginning of January when Catherine Bryant appeared like the heroine of a fairy tale, causing a wave of gossip in high society, and now it was nearing the end of the month. The day before the debutante, to be precise.
"Ah… what a wonderful day."
The bright morning sunlight streamed through my window as I stood in front of my dressing mirror. My reflection was an elegant noble lady of seventeen, beautiful, mature, and graceful. Red curls framed my sharp features and cascaded down my back, fitting of a villainess. My eyes, dark as night, bore into the mirror with the promise of success.
"You look amazing, as usual, my lady!"
I waved off Tia's remark with a smile. She learned quickly, and had long mastered the art of compliments. However, her present intrusion between me and my vanity meant I had to start my day. With a sigh, I tore my gaze away from my reflection and let her help me dress.
Sleep had become of little importance a long time ago, for dark circles could easily be covered up with powder. I yawned as I strode through the halls, too aware of my hunger. Alas, as I'd found, the saint must overcome such earthly needs like food for more 'important' matters.
Since my debut two years ago, my family and I had stopped living in the royal castle during the social season and moved into our own mansion in the capital, so we could have more privacy and host balls. I made my way to the small chapel in the back.
"Good morning, Priest Nathaniel. May God bless you."
"And you as well, Your Holiness. Shall we begin?"
I nodded, and knelt beside Nathaniel at the foot of the statue of God. We recited morning prayers together, the devotion in my words mechanic, but his sincere. His eyes were shut, his expression serene, with peace he only showed God. A rare and true believer.
I had given up on him. Despite my offers, he still stubbornly insisted on not calling each other by our first names, because it wasn't appropriate, or so he said. Nearly a decade of companionship could not make him like me, but at least he was appreciative. That was good enough.
I'd learned what the words in my prayers meant, but I didn't bother processing them. It was simply a routine I was forced to undergo, to prove my faith. When it was done, Nathaniel's expression hardened back into mild gentleness, the best he could give me. He bid me farewell and rushed off to his work before I could try to engage him in conversation.
It was a pity, really. He had grown to possess a kindred beauty that I liked. Moreover, he wasn't a high priest yet, like in the novel, despite me making the temple offer him the position. My best guess as to why was that he didn't want me to use him for my unholy purposes. It was an annoyance I was trying to sort out.
On the verge of starvation, I went to breakfast.
"Good morning, Mother, Father!"
I kissed Father on the cheek and sat down next to him. The sight of my family never ceased to make me happy. Damian was absent, for he had moved out to a laboratory Father bought for him. However, I was going to have lunch with him today, perhaps the last normal day we would have before Catherine.
"Good morning, darling. A friend asked me if you would be willing to speak at her charity event. She's the one that gave you that lovely vase. I've given her letter to your maid."
"I'll look into it, Mother. And Father, I've reviewed the report on the taxes. It's all in order, and I left it on your desk."
"Excellent, my angel! I'll present it to the parliament today."
Breakfast was brief and I didn't talk much, since I needed to be quick to get more work done. Their presences were ample emotional support.
When I was full, I headed up to my office. Zoe awaited with mountains of papers, expertly sorted, if that made it any better. She was like a secretary to me, with her own desk beside mine working through stuff not important enough for me to deal with personally. Her pile looked larger than usual today.
"There's been more letters about the tax, my lady. I'm still in process."
"There might be more coming, Father's presenting a report today. You can have a bonus."
"Thank you, my lady."
Indeed, Zoe was a gift from God. My involvement in politics was kept from the public, with my image as the kind saint that wanted the best for the people. Opposing lower taxes certainly went against that, but we had to do things for the good of House Avington. The solution was to compartmentalize Lady Valentina of House Avington and Saint Valentina of the Temple.
The saint, with the help of her assistant, replied to every concerned letter from commoners. The successor to House Avington helped her father shamelessly exploit people behind the curtains. It was almost funny.
'Work, work, and more work. Well, it's worth it. It's my job, after all.'
I dealt with a variety of documents, from reports of businesses I helped Father manage, to all sorts of invitations, to affairs of the grand duchy and more. The work had its benefits, like valuable experiences Valentina from the novel never had, and a clear view of the political situation.
There were three factions: House Avington with corrupt nobles and merchants, the royal family with minor nobles and scholars, and the temple with the support of the people. The mages were split evenly between House Avington and the royal family, and there was also a small number of neutral nobles. Of the four dukedoms, the next most powerful families after ours, two were with us, one was with the royal family, and one was neutral.
I was the successor and next leader of House Avington, as well as the saint central to the temple. When I married the crown prince and became queen, I would have the royal family's faction too. With the united power of all three, Orilon would be truly within my grasp.
Time flew when there was work to be done, and Tia soon knocked and came in.
"Lady Bryant has arrived, my lady."
"Is it time already? Show her in."
Lady Bryant seemed a little distressed, likely due to the sudden death of her father and appearance of a stepdaughter, though I daresay she never imagined the two events were connected. Yet I was proud to see that after my years of guidance, she carried some genuine sophistication, refined even in mourning black.
"I'm terribly glad you invited me to chat, Lady Valentina. Why, I had to get out of that house!"
Though I had mastered all the languages she knew a while ago, I made sure we stayed close, inviting her over regularly with the excuse of practicing. A deep relationship had formed, and she was completely in the palm of my hands.
"Is it the new addition to your household? You mentioned her last time."
"I did. She's completely awful! I didn't expect much, you know, but she's got no manners at all. A peasant if I ever saw one. And my husband's so keen on her, she's all he ever talks about! But God knows if she's even his daughter! I can't see the resemblance."
That was normal, for according to the novel, Catherine looked practically identical to her mother, which was how the baron was able to identify her. Still, it wouldn't be a bad rumour to have, especially coming from the baroness. From the contempt in her voice, I gathered she was conveniently projecting the grief and anger of losing her father onto the girl. It was good, for me.
"Have you talked to the servants, like I suggested?"
With my social mentoring, Lady Bryant gradually became much more assertive. Not only was she accepted into high society, she had gained influence and power within her own household, as a consort should. It made things much easier.
"Yes, and thank you so very much. They'll make sure she knows her place, and that she doesn't belong. I myself think it's very possible she's some little beggar fooling my poor husband."
"Of course, she must earn your hospitality. I think your theory's likely, Baroness."
"Thank you. In fact, I think it's the only explanation. She's not educated in the slightest, you know, and definitely not bright like you, Lady Valentina, passing your Third Class qualifications so young! She has Second Class credentials, I half-expect her so-called uncle bought them. He's shifty, but my husband seems to like him."
I was aware that not everything Lady Bryant said was wholly unbiased, but I entertained her notions. She was my best eye on the female lead, and I delighted in her commitment to make Catherine's life a living hell.
"Doubtlessly, you have to show her who's in charge. Your husband is merely blinded by his joy, so you must show him and high society her true colours."
"I will, as a matter of fact. I have a surprise for tomorrow, at her debutante. You won't be disappointed, Lady Valentina."
We exchanged smirks, excitement rising in me. After a bit more complaining, she bid me farewell, saying that she must get back to make sure the girl hadn't done anything stupid, and left.
I drank some water and glanced towards Zoe, who had observed our conversation.
"Well? What's the other perspective?"
We had four maids at the Bryant mansion in the capital. Two were in positions not of much use, but one was a housemaid that heard things and the other was lucky enough to be assigned as Catherine's personal maid.
"Lady Bryant's report is true. All servants were told to distance themselves from Lady Catherine because she was too vile and would dirty them. The baron does not seem to know, but he cherishes her, and her adopted uncle has officially become his valet. Lady Catherine is very attached to our maid and treats her like a true friend."
"Splendid. And the tea?"
There was a poison that made women infertile. It was undetectable and given over time, so no one would notice until it was too late. Even better, it could be explained as an allergic reaction to something like makeup or tea, which a commoner wouldn't be used to in high society.
"Proceeding as planned."
I nodded, smiling. A lady that couldn't produce an heir could never be queen, assuming she never awoke her divine powers. In that case, everything would change, but I hoped it wouldn't come to that.
Though I had disrupted the baron's plan and made it so that Catherine never showed up in any orphanage, I couldn't underestimate him. The timing of her return had been just right, when high society was bored and erupted with attention on her. This July, I would turn eighteen, and I planned on getting engaged immediately, so he couldn't wait any longer. I looked forward to seeing how he planned to prevent it, and crushing him and his daughter.
There had been a few setbacks, true. The temple stopped me from sending more people abroad like Sophia to study like I wanted to, but I hadn't expected much from that anyways. My memories of my past life and the novel were also almost completely faded, but it meant I no longer had the faces of my old parents haunting me. Besides, I had done my best to basically reconstruct the novel, recording all the details I could remember and writing it down. It was a fair success.
It had been nearly a decade since I realized I was a reincarnator, and my preparations were in order. I was ready to face Catherine Bryant and destroy whatever threat she posed, by any means necessary.