Four years had passed since Alan and his family were executed. In just two months, Gloria would enroll at the National Academy in the royal capital, the stage of the "otome game" and the place where her first life had come to an end.
In her previous life, this was the time she had been receiving education as the crown prince's fiancée, and later, as the crown princess. But in this life, such training was unnecessary.
Gloria was not the kind of person to forget knowledge, even after being beheaded.
A vivid memory was of A-ko gleefully exclaiming, "This is reincarnation cheat power!" as she watched Gloria breeze through her lessons and secure passing marks from the royal tutors, earning herself the freedom to act as she pleased.
Recently, the liquor Gloria had developed was officially recognized by the church as "Tears of the Divine."
When word spread that the liquor had been created with the purpose of spreading the teachings of the divine to commoners, Gloria's reputation soared to heights far surpassing what she had achieved in her previous life.
Unlike A-ko's world, this world had only one religion, the Church of White Hope.
Being acknowledged by the only religion in the world granted Gloria a fame rivaling that of a saint in her previous life.
Finding someone more suitable than Gloria to be the crown prince's fiancée was impossible—unless a saint miraculously appeared. But since Gloria had already crushed Melody's chance of becoming a saint, no one seriously searched for such a mythical figure.
In her previous life, the royal family had treated Gloria as nothing more than a "daughter of a high-ranking noble who could provide support." In this life, however, they regarded her as indispensable, as acquiring Gloria also meant gaining the church's backing.
The stark contrast brought a wry smile to her lips.
Despite this, Edward still behaved like a sulky child, treating Gloria as an "imposed fiancée" or a "woman drawn to the title of crown prince." Unsurprisingly, his reputation was terrible.
From the first time they met at the tea party to select his fiancée, Edward's attitude hadn't changed.
At that tea party, Gloria ignored Edward entirely and spoke only to Cedric about liquor, visibly souring Edward's mood.
Although Edward acted as though he despised the mere sight of Gloria, he would sulk whenever she completely ignored him.
Edward remained as immature as in her previous life, unable to grasp the situation or control his emotions. One had to wonder what his tutors were doing.
Finding Edward utterly insufferable, Gloria left him to Kate, a viscount's daughter attending the tea party.
Kate wore a dress that, in her previous life, had been the saint's—a pink gown that had become infamous as the catalyst for Alan and Cindy's beheading.
Given its history, Gloria refrained from wearing it herself. However, since it was well-made and better suited to Kate than herself, she handed it down to the younger girl.
Unlike Gloria, Kate darted about like a lively squirrel, her expressions constantly shifting, quickly captivating Edward's attention.
At the time, it appeared to be a budding friendship, but it was only a matter of time before Edward viewed Kate with romantic interest.
After all, Melody, a former orphan adopted by a baron, and Kate, a former commoner now a viscount's daughter, shared a similar background.
In her previous life, Kate had been just one of the maids serving Gloria.
At the academy, where the crown prince and the saint had their most frequent interactions, Edward had used the time while Gloria attended classes to secretly meet with the saint, exchanging information and deepening their connection.
But this time, Kate would attend as a noble student and would be bound by class schedules, limiting her movements.
And with no saint to worry about—since orphaned commoners could not enroll in the academy—there was no longer a need to remain vigilant against such a figure.
Still, in a saint-less academy, Edward might find yet another "true love."
To avoid such unpredictability, a close monitor—essentially, a spy—was required.
Kate, who bore a strong resemblance to the saint, was the perfect candidate to occupy Edward's attention.
Although Kate despised Edward for his treatment of Gloria and felt reluctant about her role, she forced herself to smile at her detested partner at Gloria's request.
It must be exhausting to deal with such a sensitive yet naive person of power.
The question remained: how far would Kate go to suppress herself and devote her efforts to someone so undeserving?