Chapter 236.

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Translator: Seven ED: Sei

4.

The next moment.

Huhuhu.

Sylvia chuckled softly.

The moisture in her smile didnt interfere with the girlish innocence. Instead, they blended rather well.

As soon as I realized this, I was so startled I hid the note. The fact that the Lady of Silver Lily and I were bound to the same destiny from birth, or maybe even before birth. I hid the note where that scary fact was confessed.

As if she didnt want anyone to find out.

Thats natural isnt it? This was a really alluring secret. At our social club, the young misses always laughed as they said things like [I heard this secret from my friend], [Ah, I overheard this secret from my parents] as they digested their tea This [secret note] was different. Yes, it was completely different!

Still, there were many young misses of the same age in the Silver Bells Social Club.

How would she be able to take this secret note away without being noticed by them?

How could she get the Lady of Silver Lily to learn of this amazing, mysterious coincidence? Young Miss Sylvia was very nervous.

I was different from the other members of the Silver Bells. Yes, very different. Those children were just fascinated by how beautiful the Lady of Silver Lily was today, who she met and danced with, and things like that I secretly looked for some kind of mysterious connection between the Lady of Silver Lily and I. Horoscopes, fortune, birthstone However, that was all useless now. Our names. Because our names proved the unbreakable bond between the Lady of Silver Lily and I!

An exciting performance was unfolding in the old yard.

The setting sun slowly crested the mountain top like an old man who was tired after walking for a long time. As the day progressed, the sun seemed to age.

Like the old sunset falling to the earth, no matter how she shouted, the maids pa.s.sionate performance on the ground would only sound like a faded tone of the past.

I didnt care about the Imperial Law or anything like that. Ethics? Morals? Screw them. I was convinced. The Lady of Silver Lily didnt know about it yet, but I had to show this note to her. I skipped over the courtyard of daughters where the social clubs were, pa.s.sed through the maze-like yard, and finally reached the hall where the Lady of Silver Lily was dancing with the gentlemen I walked into the hall, and waited until the stupid men, who were waiting in line to hold the hand with the Lady of Silver Lily even once, had decreased. (TL: dialogue blocks like this make my eyes hurt)

I easily imagined that scene.

Finally, at long last, I could tell the Young Miss about the secret Id discovered

At that time, Sylvia, or in other words, the Lady of Golden Silk, would probably look quite dirty.

She would have run frantically all the way from the courtyard to the hall, so no matter how pretty she was, she would not have matched up with the elegant dignity expected of n.o.bles. Even if they tried to secretly drive her out, she would have brushed them all aside, saying, There is something I need to show to the Lady of Silver Lily!.

Then.

Finally, it was my turn.

The two faced each other.

One of them was the Crown Princess appointed the t.i.tle the Flower of High Society.

The other was a girl who yearned for the flower and was excited.

-Whats going on?

-I, I, I, I am the Daughter of the Evanail Barony. May the Moon of Ivansia have endless glory!

-Right. What did you want to see me for, Young Miss?

The Lady of Silver Lily was exhausted.

Shed been dealing with high society since dawn. Her mother had long since disappeared. So it was the young miss herself who was tasked with playing the role of host for the Ivansia Duke Family.

Because of this, not only did she have no choice but to plan, design, manage and supervise every ball, she also had to grant the honor of reaching out to the influential children who asked to dance because of the t.i.tle Flower of High Society which was given to her by His Majesty the Emperor.

While dancing in the hall, she had to be careful not to step on the other partys feet, and at the same time, she had to ensure, in real time, that the ball was going well, whether there were any issues with the orchestras song selections, and whether there was enough food and alcohol for the guests.

In other words, despite her young age, Raviel Ivansia was already dealing with an axis of the empire. Pretty well too.

The servants of the Duke Family spread throughout the hall reported the rumors and secrets circulating to the host Lady. Cla.s.sifying and interpreting this information was also the duty of the Lady of Silver Lily.

I was so nervous, I reached out to the Lady of Silver Lily

On the other hand.

Here was a young miss who didnt know the empire and didnt need to know the empire yet. She had just discovered a sparkling treasure. A treasure called coincidence.

The secret note was in a shabby state because it had been squeezed and crumpled in her hand so that others wouldnt notice it. It was embarra.s.sing to place such garbage into the hands of the Lady of Silver Lily.

-However, youll realise

What young Sylvia probably believed.

-Because, its really amazing! Im sure were going to be friends!

And.

The Lady of Silver Lily opened the secret note and looked at it for a while. Well. Now that I think about it, she probably thought it was a [secret order from an enemy country] or something like that. But I couldnt tell at all. The Lady of Silver Lily looked up at me expressionlessly.

-What is this?

That was when I made eye contact with the Lady of Silver Lily for the first time. Do you understand? Our eyes met for the first time! Well, her face was expressionless, so it was a bit cold, but I was certain that her expression would melt like ice when she heard my explanation. So, while calming my pounding heart, I told her.

-I, that, my name

-Your name?

-Yes! My name is Sylvia Evanail, and the Young Miss name is Raviel Ivansia if you split up our two names and write the letter separately The-, theyre the same.

-

-I-, isnt it interesting? Amazing its really amazing such a coincidence

The more I talked, uh, the more I could feel the atmosphere become heavy. I smiled awkwardly as I looked at the Young Miss face.

-

Ah.

With an ah, Sylvia Evanail, who was dressed like a maid, lamented.

I realized as soon as I saw those eyes. Huh, well. It wasnt even disappointment It wasnt an expression of disinterest. How should I say it? The Lady of Silver Lilys eyes looked down at me, and in those two seconds, I felt like everything grew cold.

A feeling as if your existence was being cut off from the fingertips.

I was just trash to her.

The Lady of Silver Lily didnt say anything to the young lady.

Without an insult, mockery, or farewell, she simply turned her back and went back to the ball.

All that was left in the place where she was standing was the crumpled note.

Sylvia Evanail smiled.

It was something I did a lot when I was younger. Yes.

She bent down and picked up the broom.

Then she began to brush away the letters written on the ground.

I Im not particularly greedy. I chimed in when the young misses around me said that the Crown Prince was handsome, but I wasnt really interested in dating or marriage. Then, I happened to catch a glimpse of the Lady of Silver Lily, and she was really beautiful.

Shuk.

The consonants and vowels drawn on the ground were engulfed in the dust and disappeared.

I just wanted to get to know you.

But, how could you insult someone like that?

Sylvia shook her head.

A completely different smile from before blossomed on Sylvias face. A poisoned flower. Sylvias broad smile gave off a ferocious stench.

Was the empire that important? Was it so important to collect and cla.s.sify information? Were the needs to organize your family affairs, pacify the subjects, and be engaged to the Crown Prince, so important that I didnt matter?

That.

Then Ill prove it to you.

Was a curse.

The Crown Prince you considered so important. I bewitched him. It was simple.

I had a pretty face, pretty whisper, and pretty gestures, so he fell for it right away. The family that you thought were important? I asked the Crown Prince to kill a few of the Knights under the Imperial Family. His Highness the Crown Prince was so considerate to his lover! I was so touched!

The Lady of Golden Silk smiled softly.

You despised me every time I did something like that. Isnt that right, Moon of Ivansia? [I never thought about the future of the empire]. Yes. Right. I never thought about the empire. However, I was curious. Something like.

Shuk.

All the letters were erased from the ground.

Stepping on the swept ground, Sylvia bowed her head politely.

I wondered if I could ruin that disinterested face.

Was it for the empire? For the people of the empire? For your loyalty to the royal family, your love for your family. Just that. After I broke the empire apart, plunged the people into misery, tore the royal family apart, and then dropped your family into the abyss Would you still love the empire and your family?

Or,

Would you hate me even more?

I was curious about that.

Sylvia chuckled.

I waited for the day when your hatred would grow deeper and stronger than your love for the empire and your family. It was regrettable. That an unseemly servant came in and ruined everything.

Sylvia glanced at me.

Behind her smile, poisonous hatred glittered in her eyes.

Raviel was silent.

The incident Sylvia was talking about was what happened in her first life.

Raviel didnt remember, and couldnt remember. My wife, the wisest person in the world, cupped her chin, deep in thought.

I know.

So I answered instead.

What are you talking about?

I know how you feel, and how painful it must have been.

Sylvia froze.

The poisonous hatred in her eyes poured out at me.

You dare,

The Lady of Golden Silk said.

You dare say that.

The Lady of Golden SIlk gripped her sleeve. The crumpled sleeve created wave-like wrinkles on her clothes.

She shouted out, fiercely and hotly.

How could you know? Do you know my wounds? Do you know how much it hurt? How much that day hurt, how painful it was, how painful it is for someone you look up to to ignore you! What bulls.h.i.+t are you saying, how the h.e.l.l could you know?

I know.

I continued.

I know it very well.

I didnt say that I didnt devote my entire life to revenge after that.

I didnt say that I at least didnt drive my entire world to destruction because of that.

Being ignored.

Being treated as if you were nothing.

Being treated like you werent human was a poison strong enough to kill a person more than 4,000 times.

The Lady Of Golden Silk clenched her teeth.

Her teeth clenched in her closed mouth.

Then, she opened her lips again.

If you know, then why did you interfere?

Your butler.

Silence fell.

I dont know much about your butler. He may have loved you secretly, or perhaps even my wife. However, what I do know is that the life you used to sharpen your knife of revenge would never have been happy.

The butler wished that someone would help. And Hamustra s.n.a.t.c.hed up that wish. I was just dispatched as his agent. In the end, you were the one that caused that situation.

Why was it because of me?

Because you didnt make your butler happy.

There was someone who cared for you and loved you, but you ignored them. You were too focused on your own revenge. Then, at the very least, you should have been the happy one, but you couldnt even achieve that.

As a result of that.

In reality, your butler became not human.

I spoke.

If Raviel was a b.a.s.t.a.r.d to you, then you were a b.a.s.t.a.r.d to your butler who was helping you from your side.

uh.

Sylvia Evanail lowered her head.

What are you that the story of the butler.

In the silence, spa.r.s.e words flowed.

Its cowardly to talk about him

The silence deepened.

The sunset over Seosan was now dim. The streetlights in the alley came on with a whirring sound. But in the poor village, the streetlights had to try with all their might. Ja Soo-jungs old hanok, which couldnt be reached by the streetlights, remained dark.

Sorry.

It was Raviels voice.

Im sorry. Sylvia Evanail.

And I am sorry.

Sylvia slowly raised her head. In the darkness of night, the peoples shadows seemed to merge together to form outlines. A voice came from the shadows.

What are you talking about?

Even if I cant remember, that is probably what would have happened. I would have ignored you. I wouldnt have even remembered you. Because at that time, all that mattered to me were the peace of the empire and the glory of my family.

Sorry. I was a human who didnt have any wounds yet.

Raviel got to her feet.

As she stood up, the wooden floor beneath her creaked.

Like a broken ca.s.sette.

You took away the future promised to me. You usurped the t.i.tle of Crown Princess, and monopolized the heart of the Crown Prince. The Moon of Ivansia. The Flower of High Society. The One who would Guide the Empire in the Future. All of those appointments were torn down because of you.

So what?

It made my heart bleed for the first time.

Thump.

Raviel walked over to Sylvia.

It hurt. It really hurt. It hurt so much that I wanted to stab a knife into my chest while looking into the mirror. It was only then that I realized how many people Id hurt.

Then I met my love.

Raviel turned to me.

Even in the shroud of darkness, I could recognize the heat of her breath, the timing of the sound of her breathing, the eye catching scent*. She didnt speak. Without a word, she was ordering me to come closer. (*: Nose catching?)

I went to her.

My love was suffering from the same wounds as me. A regressor. Neverendingly repeating the wounds of life. I didnt think there was someone who could share that with me.

I was grateful to have the curse of eternal repet.i.tion.

Thats right.

Thanks to it, I was able to meet Gong-ja.

I was also grateful for regressing in life.

I was grateful.

That was very painful.

As my Master had said, every day was pain.

But if it werent for those wounds, I wouldnt have recognized that my love was the same.

Thanks to that, I was able to fall in love with Raviel at first sight.

The only reason I got hurt was to meet someone who was bleeding just like me. Gong-ja, I knew it as soon as I saw you. Sylvia, I only found him because of you.

Thank you, Sylvia Evanail.

Slowly, Raviel.

Knelt down on one knee on the dusty ground.

And lowered her head to her maid.

Thanks.

Ah, as expected.

As expected of Raviel my lover.

Raviels feelings for Sylvia were probably as intense as my feelings for Yoo Soo-ha. And yet, Raviel knelt before Sylvia.

The present moment made me so immensely happy.

I became thankful for everything that had happened in the past that made this moment possible.

ugh.

Sylvia grit her teeth.

s.h.i.+t Dammit! This is why. This is why I hate you. Why do you alone get to be happy? Stay miserable! Keep being in pain! Keep weeping and crying bitterly, pathetically lamenting your misfortune! Right, f.u.c.k! Be unhappy!

This is why, that was what Sylvia said. This is why.

This is why I feel like an idiot for wasting my life because of my emotions!

Sylvia covered her face with both hands.

Thats not right. That cant be right. My wounds are deeper, more special, more difficult to understand. So I cant forgive you, so, so

Like a tap that was turned off, Sylvias voice cut away.

Silence fell.

After a moment of silence, Raviel got to her feet again as Sylvia s.h.i.+vered and held her breath.

Right.

Raviel went back to the chair and sat down.

She rested her elbows on the table and placed her lovely chin back in her hands.

Then lets figure out how well deal with this.

She said.