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Chapter 3
Of course, Elizabeth had never once considered emigrating.
No matter how gifted a prophet Sibylla might be, abandoning her homeland because of a single warning was absurd.
More importantly—
She can’t possibly know my secret.
Her father had told her so himself. Other than the family, not a single person knew the truth.
So it had to be an empty threat.
Elizabeth completely forgot Sibylla’s warning.
Then, one month later, she attended a tea party hosted by her closest friend, Devonne Sorel.
“Welcome, Ellie! I’m so glad you came!”
“What perfect timing! We were just complimenting the brooch you wore last time, Lady Elizabeth!”
Everyone warmly welcomed Elizabeth, the future queen of Ikarzan’s social circles.
As always, Elizabeth resolved to keep smiling for the sake of her family’s dignity.
Then she heard something that made her freeze.
“Have you heard about Count Tail’s youngest son? The one who was recently appointed as a palace official?”
“I heard. Apparently he was dismissed after it was discovered he was an illegitimate child.”
An illegitimate child.
Elizabeth unconsciously swallowed.
In the Ikarzan Empire, illegitimate children ranked even lower than commoners.
Before the founding of Ikarzan, the First Emperor’s greatest enemy had been his own half-brother, who had been born out of wedlock.
That man had even joined forces with evil beings from beneath the earth in an attempt to seize the empire.
In the end, however, the First Emperor, aided by the Goddess Elistas, defeated them and brought peace to Ikarzan.
Perhaps because of that history, illegitimate children had been despised and discriminated against since the empire’s earliest days.
If a nobleman’s illegitimate son was discovered, he could not inherit a title and was strictly barred from entering government service.
For women, a respectable marriage became nearly impossible. Becoming a nobleman’s mistress was often the best outcome they could hope for.
As a result, some nobles secretly registered their illegitimate children as legitimate heirs.
This was especially common when a noble couple failed to produce a lawful heir.
Although the deception itself was not punishable by law, once exposed, the child suffered a social death.
Titles and positions would be stripped away, and even marriages were often annulled.
“They say Lady Sibylla exposed him. She’s truly amazing!”
“I always thought it was strange how much younger he was than his brothers. His engagement will probably be canceled too. Poor thing.”
“Poor? Not at all. The nerve of a mongrel pretending to be a noble of Ikarzan.”
…Mongrel.
Elizabeth silently clenched the fabric of her dress.
Just then—
“My goodness, Lady Rearnette, are you alright?”
Someone asked her with concern.
Elizabeth looked at the woman with a pale face.
“You don’t look well! Did we bring up something too vulgar?”
“No… not at all. I think breakfast is just sitting poorly with me.”
“Oh dear! Then you should rest. Shall I escort you to the powder room?”
“No, I’m fi—”
“The Prophet has arrived!”
At someone’s shout, everyone’s attention turned toward the garden.
Sibylla entered, her black hair tied halfway back.
The appearance of the prophet favored by the Empress drew immediate cheers.
Everyone welcomed her—
Except Elizabeth.
“If you don’t leave within a month, I’ll reveal the secret you want buried with you in your grave.”
Sibylla’s final words kept echoing in her mind.
A sudden unease settled over her.
…Surely not.
At that moment, Sibylla’s gaze swept across the crowd and landed directly on Elizabeth.
It felt as though she had come specifically for her.
I need to talk to her again.
Unable to suppress her anxiety, Elizabeth started toward Sibylla.
Then—
“I have something to tell everyone today!”
Sibylla’s clear voice rang throughout the reception room.
Everyone expecting a prophecy immediately fell silent.
In the sudden hush, Sibylla looked directly at Elizabeth once more.
Elizabeth’s heart began pounding.
“The woman who will bring chaos to Ikarzan is present here today.”
The unexpected declaration caused the room to erupt into murmurs.
Meanwhile, Elizabeth’s thoughts became a complete mess.
What is she trying to say…?
Step by step, Elizabeth moved forward, intending to stop her.
Then someone asked,
“Who is it, Prophet?”
“That woman right there!”
Sibylla’s finger pointed directly at Elizabeth.
Elizabeth froze in shock.
“Everyone has been deceived by her mask. Elizabeth Rearnette!”
Gasps spread throughout the room.
After all, Elizabeth Rearnette was known as a noble, beautiful, kind young lady—the future queen of Ikarzan’s social circles.
How could such a woman be a fraud? A source of turmoil?
No one could understand.
Then Sibylla spoke the words that stunned everyone present.
“The woman who became the Marchioness Rearnette’s adopted daughter despite being born as the illegitimate child of a prostitute.”
***
“Lady Bailey, the young lady has returned.”
Bailey, who had been enjoying tea, frowned in confusion.
Elizabeth had come home far earlier than expected.
The tea party should have continued for several more hours.
How dare she interrupt my tea time!
Determined to find something to criticize, Bailey marched toward the drawing room.
Without even looking at Elizabeth, she began,
“Young lady, what on earth is the meaning of this appeara—”
“Father and my brothers.”
For the first time ever, Elizabeth interrupted her.
Bailey was so shocked that she forgot what she had been about to say.
She stared blankly.
Elizabeth looked deathly pale, as though she might collapse at any moment.
“They won’t be returning anytime soon, will they?”
The men of House Rearnette had left a month ago to subjugate monsters in the empire’s northwest.
Such campaigns took a long time.
At minimum, it would be another month before they returned.
Bailey nodded absentmindedly.
Only then did Elizabeth release a trembling sigh.
Bailey finally recovered and tried to continue her scolding.
“Young lady, what exactly is wrong with your appeara—”
“No one is to enter my room.”
Elizabeth interrupted her again and walked past her unsteadily.
Bailey stood there with her mouth hanging open.
Never in her life had she suffered such repeated disrespect.
“Young lady! Just what is the meaning of this—!”
But before she could finish, Elizabeth had already disappeared.
***
For the next several days, Elizabeth remained locked in her room.
She ate only enough to stay alive and spent entire days sitting motionless, like someone whose soul had left their body.
During that time, the events of Devonne’s tea party replayed endlessly in her mind.
“Everyone, please look at the proof that this woman is an illegitimate child.”
How Sibylla had obtained them, Elizabeth had no idea.
She had produced Elizabeth’s birth certificate—registered by her biological mother in order to blackmail her father.
Alongside it, she displayed the death certificate of the real Elizabeth Rearnette and a medical examination conducted one year after Elizabeth’s adoption.
The examination, mandatory for all seven-year-old noble children, noted that Elizabeth’s physical development was unusually advanced and that she appeared closer to ten years old.
“I could no longer stand by and watch her deceive us all behind such a hypocritical mask.”
And everything Sibylla claimed was true.
Elizabeth was the illegitimate daughter of Viscount Musk and a prostitute.
For the first five years of her life, she had been called Anne—the most common name in the empire—given to her carelessly by her mother.
She lived under her mother’s abuse.
After her mother died, she was sent to her father and spent four more years as little more than a servant.
Then a massive fire consumed the Musk estate.
Everyone died.
Everyone except Anne, who had been out running an errand.
At that time, the Marquis Rearnette happened to visit the estate for an appointment with his friend, Viscount Musk.
There he found Anne, the sole survivor.
Seeing the orphaned child left behind by his deceased friend, he adopted her.
Thus Anne became Elizabeth—the marquis’s daughter who had supposedly gone abroad for medical treatment three years earlier and died there.
The deception had only been possible because the marquis had been unable to accept the death of his three-year-old daughter and had delayed officially reporting it.
Since the real Elizabeth had left at such a young age and had been absent for so many years, no one suspected anything when she returned.
“Remember this. You must never tell anyone that you were adopted.”
The disgrace of being born an illegitimate child could never be allowed to stain the glorious House of Rearnette.
That was how Elizabeth had interpreted her father’s warning.
“Since you’re living in place of the real Lady Elizabeth, you must behave accordingly.”
Bailey, who became her governess, constantly demanded that Elizabeth become the “real Elizabeth.”
And Elizabeth obeyed.
When told a proper lady should not speak her mind, she swallowed her words.
When told she must stay slim, she suppressed even basic hunger.
When told she had to be a beautiful young lady loved by everyone, she restrained every impulse.
When told someone of low birth could never afford to appear foolish, she studied desperately.
The servants, including Bailey, did not know she was illegitimate.
Yet simply because she was not the real Rearnette daughter, they treated her coldly.
“If you fail to become someone worthy of House Rearnette, the master will eventually disown you and have you killed.”
The warning had sounded believable.
So Elizabeth worked even harder.
The reason she came to believe it so completely was none other than the attitude of the men of House Rearnette.
