Eve hurriedly spoke as if making an excuse.

“Oh, no! It’s actually… I didn’t have enough time to get a new dress tailored…”

“Time? Not money?” Countess Dubois smirked, and the surrounding nobles began to murmur.

“Oh my, what does that mean? Just a few months ago, Duchess Fontaine…”

“Perhaps in the meantime…”

“Maybe the Duke of Fontaine…”

The nobles seemed delighted to speculate about the cause of the situation. It didn’t matter what they guessed; the more pitiable the reason, the better.

‘They should take the bait now. Should I shed a tear?’

As Eve was contemplating, Cecilia, who had been quietly observing, finally spoke up.

“Come, sit down, Duchess Fontaine.”

“…Really?”

“Yes. It seems you are in a difficult situation, and I hope there’s something I can do to help.”

‘Ha, what a joke. As if you would actually help.’

Despite scoffing internally, Eve approached Cecilia with a feigned expression of gratitude and took a seat.

“Thank you, Lady. I’ve been eager to meet you.”

“Really?”

“Yes, you are the topic of everyone’s conversation these days. As expected of the future Empress, you carry an unmatched grace and presence!”

Although Cecilia seemed to have been adopted into a minor baron’s family, Eve knew her true origins. She also knew Cecilia likely had a complex about it. Hence, Eve made sure to compliment that very aspect.

The trick was to avoid sounding sarcastic, so Eve spoke with a genuinely cheerful expression, almost to the point of seeming simple-minded. She smiled brightly.

Fortunately, Cecilia seemed satisfied, her lips twitching into a smile. What Eve didn’t know was that Cecilia had always felt an inferiority complex toward her.

Eve was the eldest daughter of the influential Laurent family, and the granddaughter of Marquis Bernard, the richest man in the empire. Born with everything, she was perhaps the most aristocratic woman in the empire.

Shortly after meeting Arsen, Cecilia began to hope she could aim for the position of Duchess. To confirm her rival, she had secretly visited the Fontaine mansion.

Upon seeing Duchess Fontaine for the first time, Cecilia had to admit, though she didn’t want to, the vast difference between them. Despite Arsen’s indifference, Eve’s beauty remained, and instead of seeming pitiful for being abandoned by her husband, she exuded an air of tragic elegance.

She was still refined and noble. It was inborn.

If that woman hadn’t foolishly loved Arsen blindly, he would have been bound to her forever.

Arsen… No, men were like that. They quickly grew tired of pure love but easily fell for false affection.

All the men Cecilia knew were like that. Hence, she never sought love from them, only benefits.

Eve’s pure love for Arsen was something Cecilia envied. Growing up receiving such pure love must have enabled her to give it in return.

And now, here she was, pathetically envying and complimenting her. It was both amusing and gratifying.

‘Pathetic woman.’

She had only intended to check on the Fontaine family and the Emperor’s situation, but this was a bonus.

While internally mocking Eve, Cecilia put on a concerned expression.

“Is the Duke of Fontaine very busy?”

“…Yes.”

“I heard he stood up for you recently, though.”

“That was just because he…”

Eve started to continue but, noticing the eyes on her, she closed her mouth again. Cecilia, thinking for a moment, then dismissed the surrounding nobles.

“Everyone, could you give us a moment alone?”

The nobles’ faces were filled with disappointment and jealousy directed at Eve, but it didn’t matter to Cecilia since Eve would be the one to bear their resentment.

They would gossip among themselves, saying that Duchess Fontaine was playing the pity card to win the Empress’ favor. That suited her just fine.

Once the nobles had moved away, Cecilia asked with a tone of concern.

“Is there something wrong?”

As if she had been waiting for this moment, Eve’s emotions burst forth.

“Oh, he only cares about his honor. Even at the tea party, he stood up for me just for his own sake. He doesn’t care about me at all.”

“Oh… really?”

“Yes, I don’t know why, but he has changed. But that doesn’t mean he loves me. It’s like he doesn’t care for women at all anymore.”

“…”

Eve recounted sorrowfully while recalling the time she had mistakenly fed Charles eel, thinking he was allergic. It was a dark part of her past.

Cecilia narrowed her eyes as she looked at Eve. It was well-known that the Emperor had no interest in women. Since the Emperor and Arsen had switched bodies, it made sense that Duke Fontaine would lose interest in women, too.

Eve sensed that her words were working and continued.

“He’s become strange. Like someone who’s given up… he stays in his room all day, doing nothing. He doesn’t see anyone.”

“I see.”

Maybe he’s despondent because he lost the throne unexpectedly? Or perhaps he’s secretly plotting something. But he wouldn’t tell his fake wife anything.

While Cecilia pondered this, Eve closely observed her. It was clear that Cecilia was trying to gauge Charles’ actions based on her reactions.

‘Judging by her response, she didn’t notice when the bodies were swapped…’

The incident happened at dawn and was resolved by morning, so if she was asleep, she wouldn’t have known. That was fortunate for both Charles and Eve.

“And lately, the estate’s business hasn’t been doing well… Countess Dubois was right. I couldn’t afford to prepare a new dress.”

“Really?”

“I don’t know what went wrong…”

Eve pretended to cry, covering her face with her hands, while Cecilia’s lips curled in amusement. However, she gently patted Eve’s shoulder.

“Oh, you poor Duchess. That’s really unfortunate.”

“…I’m sorry. Crying at a place like this.”

Eve pretended to wipe her tears and chuckled softly.

‘I can see right through you, Cecilia. My misery makes you so happy.’

Eve suddenly wondered why Cecilia hated her so much. Was it because she loved Arsen? Would that reason be more bearable?

‘Whatever the reason, I despise her just as much. No, I loathe and scorn her.’

That was enough. Eve cleared her mind of unnecessary thoughts.

“Let’s call everyone back.”

Cecilia motioned to her maid to bring the nobles back. They still looked at Eve with disdain, but she no longer feared their baseless hatred.

“After hearing everything, it seems the Duchess of Fontaine has had a lot on her plate. Violette, go fetch one of my dresses. The orange one.”

“Oh, yes. Right away.”

The nobles were confused by the sudden request for a dress. Cecilia waved her fan and smiled.

“I have a dress I don’t wear anymore, so I thought I might give it to the Duchess of Fontaine.”

“Oh, really?”

“But Lady Cecilia’s dresses are worth quite a fortune…”

“How generous of her.”

“It’s charity, really. We should help those in need, shouldn’t we?”

Eve was astonished.

‘A dress? For me? And she wants to make a show of it even though it was bought with state funds?’

Eve barely restrained herself from overturning the tea table.

Moreover, the dress brought by the maid was in a color that didn’t suit Eve’s silver hair and blue eyes at all. She struggled to maintain her composure.

“Thank you very much, Lady Cecilia.”

‘I’ll use it as firewood when I get home,’ Eve muttered internally. But Cecilia didn’t stop there.

“You should try it on.”

“…”

“Go on.”

“Alright.”

Eve smiled and stood up. As she followed the maid out of the garden, Emma quickly joined her.

“Ma’am, will you be alright?”

“Yes.”

Eve gave a brief reply to Emma’s question as she was led to a room by the maid.

“My maid will help me change. You may leave now.”

“Oh, yes. Understood.”

After sending away the maid who had escorted her, Eve quickly spoke to Emma.

“Emma, go to the garden and pick as many dahlia flowers as you can.”

“Yes, ma’am!”

Eve opened the window. Fortunately, there were plenty of red dahlias blooming outside. She picked all of them and asked a passing maid to bring hot water.

By the time Emma returned with a handful of dahlias, Eve was already crushing the petals and pouring hot water over them.

Seeing what Eve was doing, Emma quickly helped crush the petals and add them to the water. The water soon turned a vivid red.

“Are you sure about this?”

“I have to try.”

‘Please let this work.’ Eve loosened her hair and soaked it in the red water.

* * *

“Why is the Duchess of Fontaine taking so long?”

“Who knows… Maybe she went home? Well, it seems like she’s not coming back, so let’s wrap this up soon.”

Cecilia said as she popped a sweet cupcake into her mouth. The cake seemed to melt more deliciously than usual today.

Just then, there was a commotion a little ways off. Among the murmurs, someone exclaimed, “Oh my!”

‘What’s happening?’

Cecilia looked up and was shocked. Standing before her was Eve, her hair now a striking shade of red.