Caelestis's sharp eyes landed on Hael, his closest friend. A smile broke across his face, and he walked over, his long strides cutting through the crowd. The two men embraced, a genuine warmth passing between them that only close friends shared.
"Good Evening. Dear Friend." Caelestis said.
Eleanore stepped forward, expecting a courteous greeting, but Caelestis turned away, offering her nothing more than a fleeting, almost dismissive glance. Her heart shuttered. She hadn't seen this particular expression in the web novel she had read. It was as if he were regarding her as a stranger, someone who didn't belong beside him.
'Was this how he truly felt all along?' she wondered, a pang of unease settling in her chest. 'How did the original-owner-of-the-body fall for such a man?' She questioned the entirety of this character named Eleanore Sinclair.
Hael noticed the subtle hurt in her eyes but excused himself, needing to discuss something urgent with Caelestis. It felt like she didn't like how they excused themselves far from her, as if she wanted to be involved in the discussion, she had never found interest in before.
With a final glance at his sister, he disappeared into the throng, leaving Eleanore standing alone. She felt strangely vulnerable, left to the judgmental stares and murmurs of the guests around her. She was no longer the confident, vain woman she had imagined to appear; now, she was an outsider, lost in that vast ballroom.
She wandered over to a corner and picked up a glass of wine from a passing servant, the rich red liquid shimmering in the light. As she sipped, her gaze shifted to the ballroom entrance, when the announcer's voice called out, "Presenting Baroness Stella, the renowned dressmaker of the Seraphine Kingdom."
Heads turned, and murmurs rose. Eleanore raised her glass, watching as Stella entered. The young dressmaker, who had once been an orphaned commoner, now strode confidently, her chin high as she stepped into the lavish room. Eleanore's lips curled into a bitter smile. 'It must have been Caelestis,' she thought. Only he would arrange such a grand entrance for her.'
Eleanore let out a quiet sigh, her eyes trained on the sparkling wine in her glass. "Goodness! What love he has for Stella!" she murmured, taking another sip to steady herself, though the bitterness in her tone was unmistakable.
"I know, right?" A voice beside her responded, and Eleanore turned to see a young woman standing there, also sipping from a glass of wine. She was dressed in a gown of deep red, the color of blood, which contrasted vividly with her porcelain skin and drew attention to her striking grass-green eyes and wavy cyan hair.
It took Eleanore a moment to recognize the companion of the original Eleanore Sinclair—Flora Demaria, her loyal but sharp-tongued friend, and in some twisted way, her sidekick. Flora was one of the few people who had stood by Eleanore's side, despite all her faults and petty rivalries. And now, with a newfound determination, Eleanore saw Flora not just as a companion, but as a piece of the life of the original-owner-of-the-body, that she could learn from.
Flora continued with a disdainful sniff. "The Grand Duke must have arranged it. That witch—what sort of black magic has she done on him?"
Eleanore sighed, turning to her friend with a resigned expression. "Ha! Flora, it's all right. You don't have to say things like that just to cheer me up." She waved a hand dismissively, but her voice was steady. "I mean it. I'm over him. If Baroness Stella wants him, then she can have him."
The disbelief in Flora's eyes was fairly visible. She paused, scrutinizing Eleanore as if trying to determine whether her friend was serious. It was hard for Flora to reconcile this calm, detached Eleanore with the woman who had once pursued Caelestis with unyielding passion. 'Is she serious? Is this all a joke?' Flora could only wonder.
Eleanore smiled, a genuine if small smile, as she glanced at her friend. "I'm not lying. And no, this isn't some new scheme of mine. I swear, Flora. I'm done with him."
Flora raised a skeptical eyebrow, still studying her friend's face. "You… really mean that?" she asked, her voice softer than usual, as though she were afraid of jinxing something delicate. Eleanore's eyes met hers, steady and unwavering, and Flora let out a soft sigh of relief. "Well then, I'm proud of you, my dearest friend. You've come a long way."
Flora lifted her glass, a bright smile breaking across her face. "To freedom!"
Eleanore laughed softly, raising her own glass in a toast. "To freedom," she echoed. They clinked their glasses and drank, each finishing their wine in one bold sip. Eleanore felt a sense of clarity settling over her, a new kind of strength she hadn't experienced before.
Just then, a murmur swept through the ballroom, punctuated by gasps and whispered exclamations. Eleanore noticed the tension rising in the air. The way the crowd's attention shifted toward a particular spot across the room. She frowned, turning her head toward the source of the commotion.
"The Grand Duke has done it," someone whispered nearby. "He's asked for Baroness Stella's hand!"
"I can't believe it," another replied. "A real-life fairytale. She's a true Cinderella, isn't she?"
Eleanore's face froze, her fingers tightening around the stem of her empty glass. It wasn't jealousy; it was the fact that this wasn't supposed to happen yet. In the original story, Caelestis's confession was meant to come much later. Her mind raced as she tried to make sense out of this new timeline.
***
||Chapter 1: Stella Belongs To Caelestis
Caelestis Lancaster, one of the pillars of the Seraphine Empire, grows obsessed with his best friend, Stella. During the Crown Prince's 20th birthday banquet, he confesses his love to Stella, who rejects him in front of the entire court. Furious, Caelestis kidnaps her from the party.
Eleanore Sinclair plays a crucial role in setting up Stella's kidnapping by Duke Caelestis Lancaster, under the guise of "recovering" at his mansion.
Quest 1: Prevent Stella's Kidnapping.
Do you accept this quest?
Yes| No ||