The moment the sun rose, the maids who had been stripped of their tongues, tended to me, and prepared me for my supposed wedding today.
I could sense their feelings of resentment and bitterness which were probably directed to me. I wasn't surprised that father didn't change them. He probably wanted their animosity to faze me. Truly a fickle attempt.
I could be held accountable for their current speech inabilities. Nonetheless, they still had to obey father and do their jobs as maids. While they diligently worked on dressing me, the gears in my head turned, contemplating my scheme for today.
Although the proposition made by Duke Belv to be in control of the Belv Duchy as Ronald's wife, did sound rather tempting, I wasn't foolish to make such an alliance that would prove to be unfavorable later.
Plus, my eyes were already set on the throne of Empress. No stupid wedding to Ronald or a crown princess selection could stop me.
As a member of high society and a reader of the novel [I Shall Save My Knight], I know very well that the Emperor is very ill. It had not been made known to the general public yet. Very soon he'd die and Nathan would ascend the throne. Then the decision for an Empress would completely be in his hands so I genuinely didn't bother about the Emperor's decree.
The only people who challenged me now was my father and the now antagonistic Duke Belv.
Father had been a long term problem, I wish I had killed back when I was younger so that I could have been the successor of the Deor family. But if I kill him now, Cardin would automatically become the Marquis, because of his will. Or should I kill Cardin? Or maybe find a way to alter his will? Although my hypnosis doesn't work on him, there can be other ways..
'I'll think about that later. In a matter of time, everything will fall into place'
You may wonder why I so eagerly aspired to be the head of the Deor family. Well, no special reason. It's mainly due to my greed and desire to take away my enemy's most prized possession. And I'd do just that to father....and even to Duke Belv who threatened me.
If worst is to come to worst, I might have to commit a murder or two today. They wouldn't be my first kills and certainly wouldn't be my last murders. Destroying lives was necessary if I wanted to achieve all my goals.
With that thought, seeing the maids had finished dressing me up, I adjusted the vial of poison which I strapped unto my arm when they weren't looking.
As I gazed into the mirror, dolled up reflection looked back at me. I took notice of the smirk which was subconsciously plastered on my face.
Ah. That wouldn't do. Today at my 'wedding', I speculated that father probably invited a few important nobles from here in the South. High society knew me as a kind and meek lady, so I couldn't destroy this image I'd built over the past twenty two years. Well, at least not until I become Empress...
With that thought, I schooled my features and replaced the confident smirk with a lovely smile.
'It's best to look like a happy bride. That way no one would suspect me when I poison Ronald'
If the groom died, how then could I be married to him? The plan was as simple and as straightforward as a plan could be.
Call me evil, I won't argue. I was the kind of person to immediately eliminate anybody who hindered me. Besides, what's so wrong if a farmer gets rid of weeds surrounding their crops? The people I killed were such weeds that tried to affect my plans which were my crops grown with so much love.
I couldn't afford to be kind or sympathetic in such a brutal world. My death in my first life was all a result of my own weakness. I was careful enough to prevent history from repeating itself.
Pulling me out of my thoughts, were the hands which worked on adjusting the bow in my hair. It seemed like they had finished their job of dressing me. The maids all bowed then exited the room calmly. Immediately they left, my supposed escort came in.
"My lady"
This time, the head of guards didn't come, but instead, another guard who looked younger. It seemed like father didn't want me to be left alone even for a second.
"What is it?" I asked gently. I had already worn the mask of kind Adrianna and would have to keep it on for some time.
"The Marquis says it's time to leave"
I paused for a moment and thought about it. I responded by just obediently nodding. As I got up from the chair I saw my splendid reflection in the mirror.
My red hair flowed down the back of my white wedding gown. The corset had been put on rather tightly, highlighting my petite figure. The wedding gown was full of frills and bows. It did look pretty but wasn't much my style.
The guard led me outside to the parking area. In the parking area was a carriage fancily decorated with flowers, pulled by a white horse, rode by a coachman.
He gestured towards the carriage and I tried to get on it, proving to be much difficult, owing to the heavy gown which held me down. After struggling a bit, as he was supposed to in the first place, the guard reached out his hand and helped me unto the carriage.
I got in and settled in the carriage, arranging my gown ruffles around my leg. The guard scanned through the carriage before nodding.
"My lady, we will be leaving for the venue soon"
"Alright"
With that, he shut the carriage door and I was finally left alone.
On the carriage seat, I noticed a white booklet dropped. I picked it up and read through it's content. It was the schedule for the wedding.
Scanning through, at the last page, was a list of invited guests. Among the invited guests, the most notable were Count Thomas Farret and.... some family members of the Elby County.
The mansion of the Count Elby was steeped on the hillside of the South's boarders, quite a bit far from the South's central square. Back when I was younger I had visited there at least three times since the young lady had been my playmate.
Very soon, I'd have to visit that family's mansion again. After all, out of the three founding families of the South, the Elby County had wielded the most powerful forms of magic.
But that was a matter for another day.
The list seemed to go on and on. Of course not everyone invited would attend. But still, this was too much. I could fathom how big the venue was.
I rolled my eyes at father's carefulness. Usually, weddings in the South didn't need this many guests. I could figure he probably invited these people so this abrupt wedding would be solidified in the minds of the Southern nobles.
The wedding could have been done with a few relatives only, but he seemed to want to prevent any incident of me twisting the situation by making a scene or silencing the news of an official wedding in the future.
How cunning. Still, not enough effort to stop me from acting.
Tired of reading through the names, I flung the booklet aside.
Silently, I waited for the carriage to start moving, but even after a few minutes, it didn't move. As I was about to question the coachman through the window, the carriage door was swung open and somebody stepped in.
I turned and was genuinely shocked to see someone that I hadn't seen for over five months.
With a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes, chestnut hair cascading down her waist, shining golden eyes, her physical features remained the same, but the aura surrounding her had drastically changed.
"Long time, no see, Lady Adrianna. The Marquis ordered that I ride with you in the carriage. I'm worried that you'll be disgusted by the presence of the Marquis' lowly mistress"
Standing before me was Ashley Deor, the heroine's mother.