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Chapter 31
“Milady! Wake up! You’ve rested enough already. No more laziness!”
Jane flung open the curtains in Eva’s bedroom and raised her voice to wake her.
“Ugh, nooo—just five more minutes.”
Eva burrowed deeper under the blanket to avoid Jane, but Jane, long accustomed to this, swiftly pulled the blanket away, leaving her with no escape.
“You’ve been oversleeping for three days straight. That’s more than enough. If you keep this up, it’ll become a habit.”
“So what? Haven’t you heard? A beauty is always a sleepyhead. My face isn’t complete unless I sleep for an entire year.”
Eva groped in the air, trying to pull the blanket back over herself without even opening her eyes.
“Besides, there’s a law that says today is a no-wash, laze-around day.”
“There’s no such law. And besides, so many invitations have arrived for you, you really must check them.”
“Huh? Invitations?”
But hadn’t all the invitations for the palace party been sent out long ago? Could it be… was all her success just a dream?
Wait—did I return to the time before the party? Does regression happen not only at death?!
“W-wait, is today my debutante ball?”
“What? What are you saying, milady? Your debutante ended ages ago.”
“Then… before the imperial ball?”
“No, milady. You hosted the imperial ball splendidly three days ago.”
“Oh, thank goodness. I thought my heart was going to stop.”
She had thought the start of her fourth life had come, and the shock had chased all drowsiness away.
“Then… what invitations are these?”
“You’ve been invited to tea parties by other young ladies from noble families.”
“They’re inviting me to tea parties?”
When Eva looked at her skeptically, Jane clapped her hands twice. At her signal, another maid entered the bedroom carrying a box as large as her upper body.
“Wha—?!”
The box was stuffed full of colorful invitations.
“Th-that’s all invitations?!”
“Yes, milady.”
“That’s way too many.”
“And more keep arriving even now.”
Eva clicked her tongue at the sheer overwhelming number.
“So now they’re all scrambling to act friendly, huh.”
Before she had taken charge of Claude’s party, she had never once received a tea party invitation.
Partly it was because the Blanche family itself wasn’t particularly distinguished, but also because Eva was the “villainess” character. No one had ever tried to be close with her.
Her childhood friend, Chase, had been her only friend.
But after the delegation party, during the subsequent imperial assembly, the emperor himself had publicly expressed his satisfaction—and the news had been printed in the empire’s newspapers.
Eva’s parents had been so overjoyed that they talked about it all day long and even had the newspaper framed and hung on their parlor wall.
Eva too had been delighted, as it felt like a little revenge against Julian, who had said her party would fail.
And now, that success had even led to tea party invitations.
Other nobles, sensing the Blanche family’s potential, were now trying to sound her out.
“Your parents were so happy to see these invitations, saying at last you’ll be making many friends.”
“Really?”
Eva’s heart warmed at the thought. In this life, after having grown up an orphan in her previous one, these were her first real parents, and knowing they were happy because of her made her happy too.
“Alright then, let’s at least see what they’ve written.”
She began opening the invitations.
It only took a few to realize they all said the same things.
“We would love to continue reliving the delightful memories of your party together.”
“We wish to speak again of the inspiring event you hosted.”
The words sounded nice, but every single one was political. They would pretend to talk about the party, then naturally steer the conversation toward Claude.
Then they would subtly ask what gifts she’d received from the imperial family—praising themselves if their own gifts were better, sneering if hers were.
“I can see the hidden meanings in just one sentence now.”
Three lifetimes had sharpened her ability to read society’s coded language.
“I won’t go here. Or there either. Nope, not going.”
As Eva was quickly sorting through the pile, one particular invitation caught her eye.
“Lady Eva Blanche of House Blanche. With desperate sincerity, I send this invitation. I wish to seek your advice on love.”
Unlike all the others, this line was startlingly different—and dangerously so.
If someone with ill intentions spread this, rumors could fly that a noble young lady was in the throes of a hopeless love affair.
For young noblewomen, whose marriages were their greatest turning point in life, such rumors could be devastating.
The fact that the sender dared to write it showed incredible courage.
“Yes, that’s the kind of boldness that makes me actually want to go. Jane!”
“Yes, milady.”
“Prepare me for a tea party.”
Eva rose from bed, her face bright with excitement for something fun.
“Oh my, Lady Eva! Thank you so much for coming to my tea party.”
“Not at all. I should be the one thanking you for inviting me, Lady Rosie.”
The one who had sent the love-advice invitation was Lady Rosie Orfel, daughter of Count Orfel.
The Orfel family had built its fortune on a booming dessert business, even supplying to the imperial household.
Unsurprisingly, the reception room of their mansion overflowed with delicious-looking sweets, making Eva’s mouth water.
“It’s a pleasure. I’m Seyni.”
“And I am Yujure. It’s such a delight to meet you.”
Besides Eva, two other count’s daughters had already arrived.
Since their names hadn’t appeared in the original story, Eva guessed they were quiet and unremarkable types.
“It’s wonderful to meet you all,” Eva said, returning their warmth with a smile.
“We heard that everyone has been sending Lady Eva invitations to tea parties recently. I never imagined you would choose mine out of so many.”
Rosie guided Eva to her seat, and a servant brought her a warm cup of tea.
“Your invitation won me over in a single line.”
“Oh! Then you really did come because of the request for love advice?”
Although they hadn’t spoken of it openly in case it was a secret, it seemed everyone already knew.
“The truth is, the three of us came up with that line together. But we were all too afraid to send it. None of us imagined Rosie would actually do it.”
“I see. So then… do all three of you have someone you like?”
“O-oh, no! It’s just me alone,” Rosie admitted, blushing a rosy pink as she timidly raised her hand.
As all eyes turned to her, she ducked behind her soft pink hair in embarrassment. Yujure quickly stepped in to explain further.
“Rosie has been suffering in silence from her unrequited love for over half a year now.”
“What, half a year?!”
“Yes. And she hasn’t even spoken to him properly yet.”
“Oh dear…”
“And just last week, Count Orfel casually mentioned another family’s son as a potential fiancé.”
Yujure’s brows knitted in sympathy as she spoke.
“I see… that must have been hard.”
“So we thought—even if she can’t confess yet, at least she should try to say something.”
Hearing this, Eva could already guess who the object of affection was.
For a count’s daughter to suffer this silently, unable even to approach him—he must be royalty.
And among the three imperial princes, the only unmarried one was Claude. That must be it. Rosie was in love with Claude.
It made perfect sense why she had been agonizing for so long.
“But are you really sure you should be telling me all this?”
“I wanted advice from you and no one else, Lady Eva. Forgive me if I’ve overstepped.”
“No, it’s not that I mind… I was just curious. What made you think I could give you advice on love?”
Eva wondered why Rosie had risked such dangerous rumors to confide in her.
“Well, you’re so beautiful, we thought surely you’ve spoken with both men and women alike. And we saw you at the delegation party—you handled conversations so skillfully. We wanted to learn from that.”
“Yes, exactly. None of us are good with words. We thought of you immediately when the idea of asking for help came up.”
All three looked at her with sincere, hopeful eyes.
“Alright then—you pass.”
Eva flicked her red hair back confidently.
“I’ll teach you my secret technique to steal someone’s heart in one conversation! It’s a method I wouldn’t even tell my own daughter-in-law!”
“D-daughter-in-law?”
“First of all, if you want to capture Prince Claude’s heart, you must…”
“N-no! That’s not it!”
At the mention of Claude, Rosie flailed her head and hands frantically in denial.
“It’s not Prince Claude?”
“How could I ever dare harbor such feelings for His Highness? That’s unthinkable!” Rosie whispered urgently, lowering her voice to avoid anyone overhearing.
“Then who is it?”
Eva was baffled. Of course she had assumed it was Claude.
Julian—the original heroine—had become her younger sister, leaving Claude without a love interest. Eva had thought the sweet Rosie would fill that role instead.
But with that expectation shattered, her face was full of question marks.
“Then who are you in love with?”
“W-well…”
Rosie’s face glowed with overwhelming emotion as she finally whispered in the tiniest, shyest voice:
“…Sir Chase Perior.”
Eva’s eyes nearly popped out of her head.
“What?! You mean Chase who works at the imperial palace? No way—surely you mean another Chase?”
“No, it’s him. Sir Chase, aide to Prince Claude.”
“Oh my goodness!”
Eva covered her gaping mouth with her hand.
“Chase and I have been childhood friends since we were young.”
“Really? I had no idea! What a coincidence!” Rosie beamed, delighted at the discovery.
“How did you ever… ahem. Forgive me, but may I ask why you fell for him?”
Rosie’s face reddened like a beet.
“Half a year ago, I accompanied my parents to the imperial palace. It’s so vast—I got lost while wandering.”
“Oh, I know. It’s the perfect place to lose your way.”
“That was when Sir Chase found me crying, lent me his handkerchief, and comforted me. He was so kind and gentle, even escorting me back to my parents. My heart was captured at once.”
“Why didn’t you confess right then?”
“Wh-what? I could never! I don’t have that kind of courage. Besides, Sir Chase is very popular… how could I possibly compete?”
Popular? Chase? Very popular?!
Eva was utterly confused. The words simply didn’t compute. But the other young ladies eagerly chimed in:
“Yes, many ladies adore the way he brushes back his ash-gray hair when he’s concentrating.”
“And when he furrows his brow at the same time… oh, it’s simply irresistible.”
Rosie, shy but glowing, kept listing Chase’s attractive traits.
“The sharp, focused look in his eyes when he’s working is so charming.”
Eva could only picture Chase’s exasperated face whenever she teased him, which made her expression go a bit vacant before she quickly reminded herself she was in the middle of a consultation.
“Don’t worry, Lady Rosie. As Chase’s childhood friend, I know everything about what he likes and dislikes. I’ll tell you everything!”
“Really? Thank you so much!”
“That’s wonderful, Rosie!”
Thus began Eva’s second grand scheme: “Operation: Get Chase Out of Singlehood!”
