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Chapter 10
While standing just behind the duke, lost in thoughts about the original story, I didn’t even realize people were staring at me.
“!”
When Ricardo turned to look at me with a cold gaze, I finally noticed that all eyes in the hall were on me. Even the Emperor was watching with mild curiosity.
The Empress smiled and spoke.
“Stella, you seem nervous. It’s understandable, since this is your first time meeting His Majesty.”
Then, as if taking my side, she added to the Emperor,
“Your Majesty. This is the girl I told you about before. The one who will become my second son’s wife.”
At her words, I quickly stepped forward and properly bowed.
“Greetings, Your Majesty. My name is Stella Enrio.”
By chance, I ended up standing right beside Ricardo, making us look like we were already husband and wife.
The Emperor stroked his mustache slowly before speaking.
“I heard you are a distant relative of the Empress. Since you will soon become family, feel free to visit the palace often as if it were your own home. Ricardo, you’re always so busy you hardly even show your face to your own father.”
A subtle tension filled the air.
Ricardo’s expression stiffened slightly, and even the Empress’s face seemed to distort for a brief moment.
“I am honored, Your Majesty. I will try to visit whenever I have time.”
As I answered and lifted my head, my eyes met a young woman standing in front of us.
“…That woman.”
She was about my age, but her gaze was so arrogant it was as if she considered herself superior to everyone else.
Black hair, pale skin, and an elegant yet sharp beauty—she carried an aura as strong as the Empress herself.
“Pania?”
A name flashed through my mind instantly.
How could I not recognize her?
She was the infamous woman from the original story who looked down on Keila and treated her like a servant.
Pania Zenkishi was the wife of the Third Prince, Elaine. Her natal family, the Tragi Count House, held immense influence within the empire.
If anything, she might even be more dangerous than the Empress in her own refined way. Her talent for crushing others while pretending to be kind was unmatched.
Like the Empress, Pania clearly saw Ricardo as the biggest obstacle to her husband’s future—and she was already looking at me, his wife, with hostility.
Still, knowing what she would do in the original story, I wasn’t particularly intimidated. I simply smiled back at her sharp gaze.
She frowned, looking momentarily taken aback.
“Ricardo. You should understand that there are always those with impure intentions trying to climb into the imperial family through your marriage. To prevent disorder, I’ve arranged an appropriate bride for you. You should appreciate your mother’s thoughtful intentions.”
The Emperor’s words sounded considerate on the surface, but in reality, they mocked both Ricardo and me at the same time.
From the corner of my eye, I saw Ricardo’s tightly set lips curl slightly.
He must be furious.
While the other sons of the imperial family were given brides from prestigious noble houses, he had been handed a bride from an obscure family—someone no one had even heard of, practically no different from a maid.
“I am grateful to Her Majesty.”
Ricardo bowed to the Empress and thanked her, but I could almost hear the faint grinding of his teeth. It sounded like a silent declaration—just wait and see.
After the brief audience with the imperial family, we left the palace.
Outside the grand central staircase, nobles gathered in groups, murmuring among themselves as they made way for Ricardo.
“I don’t like his expression.”
“Is that the lady brought by Her Majesty the Empress?”
“Shh. He might hear you.”
They whispered loudly enough to be heard, yet shrank back whenever Ricardo passed them. It was almost comical.
Then, amidst the crowd, I heard a faint sound—someone crying.
“…?”
I turned toward the sound.
It wasn’t my imagination.
A young noblewoman at the back was quietly wiping her red eyes with a handkerchief, while her maid glared at me with open resentment.
“Why…?”
But her sorrowful gaze wasn’t directed at me.
It was fixed on Ricardo.
Perhaps sensing it too, Ricardo briefly glanced in her direction before descending the stairs without hesitation.
The woman’s tearful eyes followed him, full of longing.
Golden hair, delicate features, and an almost saintly aura—like a pure white lily.
I instantly knew who she was.
Yelena Guineiro.
The heroine of the original story.
And Ricardo’s true love.
She was even more beautiful than the image I had once imagined from my dreams.
She must be heartbroken, seeing that she was not the one chosen as his bride.
And now, another bride had appeared.
I felt a strange sense of guilt toward her.
“…Ah. I really hate situations like this.”
I thought silently toward her.
Don’t be too sad.
Ricardo Zenkishi will end up with you in the original ending anyway.
I’m just the fake wife. I’ll disappear quietly when the time comes.
*
A few days later, the duke’s wedding was finally held in a cathedral in the capital.
Since I had been possessed into this story even before Keila’s original appearance, it already felt like I had lived through countless events. And yet, the real story was only just beginning.
As the maids moved busily around me, I thought about what would happen after the wedding.
“I should整理 the original plot before my memory gets too blurry.”
My greatest weapon was knowing what would happen in advance.
“What happened right after the wedding again?”
Trying to recall, the image of the wedding night naturally surfaced.
After the simple ceremony, the two returned to the ducal estate—but that was all. The mansion was unnaturally quiet, almost cold, on what should have been a wedding day, and Keila had grown deeply depressed.
Ricardo disappeared immediately after the ceremony and never came to the bridal chamber. Keila, left alone, cried through the night and even talked about returning home, while Stella tried to comfort her.
“The first night…”
Of course, he wouldn’t come to me either this time.
And yet, the word carried a strange weight that made my heart beat a little faster.
“Done.”
The maids suddenly stepped back in unison.
“Huh?”
When I looked up in surprise, I saw my reflection in the mirror.
The maids stood behind me, nodding with satisfied expressions, clearly proud of their work.
“Do you like it? I think it’s perfect.”
It wasn’t just “good enough.”
The woman in the mirror looked like someone completely different.
A voluminous wedding dress, elegant hair ornaments—it was as if I were looking at a stranger.
“Is… that me?”
As if the dress itself carried some kind of magic.
I couldn’t say a word.
To be precise, Stella’s hidden beauty had simply been revealed.
Her neatly braided red hair flowed down gracefully to her waist beneath the golden hair ornaments. Ruby earrings and a matching necklace shimmered against her pale skin.
The body that had always been hidden beneath dull maid clothes now looked delicate, elegant, and beautiful.
I had always suspected Stella was beautiful even after possessing her—but I hadn’t expected this level of transformation.
A maid giggled behind her hand. Then another. Soon, they all started laughing softly.
And before I knew it, I was laughing too.
It was a ridiculous scene for a bridal preparation room—too casual, too human.
The old me, who had once been disappointed at being possessed into a maid’s body, suddenly felt foolish.
There was a reason I had become Stella Enrio.
Maybe, just maybe…
The heroine of this world wasn’t Yelena.
It was me.
And for the first time, I felt a small sense of excitement.
Only Molly didn’t seem pleased.
“If the mistress were here, she would’ve called the bride indecent.”
Her sharp voice cut through the laughter.
At that moment, a servant rushed in.
“It’s time to proceed to the ceremony hall.
