Transmigrated Into A Tragic Romance Fantasy-Chapter 43: Click

“...My Lady?”

After the unveiling ceremony concluded and the Grand Duke departed for the Capital, Lumia sat in the dressing room.

Her expression was blank and soulless.

Concerned, Marien called out to her Lady as she placed a red dress beside her.

“Yes?”

“How was it...?”

Marien had been eagerly awaiting this day.

A grand ceremony to unveil the grand existence of her Lady to the world.

An event that would reveal Erenscia Velroc’s identity to her suitors.

She prayed that everything would be perfect.

Since this day would mark the beginning of her Lady’s freedom.

How was it?

Marien asked as she combed Lumia’s hair while examining her expression through the mirror’s reflection.

But the maid started to feel uneasy as if her Lady’s answer would crush her sincere hopes.

Soon enough, that uneasiness turned into reality.

“It was a disaster.”

“What...? W-Why?”

Marien had watched the ceremony from the sides of the stage.

She cheered when Kyle collapsed, his eyes rolling back.

That was the downfall of a despicable man who had tortured her beloved mistress.

As such, Marien felt a vindictive pleasure as she witnessed that.

That was why, she had believed that the ceremony had concluded perfectly.

But of course,

The moment she also saw Elden’s face, her expectations wavered a little.

Even with ‘Erenscia’ in front of him, the man remained calm.

Unlike the others who were completely shocked and terrified, his only reaction was a momentary widening of his eyes before regaining composure.

Moreover, her Lady’s expression as she faced Elden made Marien a little worried, and now, those ill feelings had become reality.

Lumia gazed at her reflection.

As she examined herself, Lumia remembered his question.

“It’s humiliating.”

“What...?”

“Trying to force myself on him. And after making a fool of myself, I even ran away when he asked if my feelings were genuine.... No... This was more than humiliating... It’s utterly disgusting.”

“......”

Marien’s hands, which were now unbuttoning her Lady’s dress, halted.

They were back to square one.

Despite the ceremony, her Lady was still stuck in the past. Nothing had changed.

Truthfully, Marien wished that Lumia would accept Elden’s withdrawal already, so she could focus on the other three.

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After all, if things continued this way, her Lady would simply break free from an old shackle only to be tied down by a new one, one made of her own volition.

At the very least, if she won’t accept his withdrawal, Marien hoped that her Lady would recognize the changes he had shown.

If acceptance wasn’t possible, then at the very least ignorance wasn’t all that bad.

And if even ignorance was out of her Lady’s reach, then Marien wished for a cold and heartless resignation.

She knew her Lady was a determined researcher, who clung to problems day and night until solutions were found, but this time, Marien hoped she would give up.

“Why? Why am I like this? Why do I keep begging for his praise? Why do I thirst for his approval....his validation? Why must I, the victim...bow to my aggressor?”

While Lumia continued to doubt herself, Marien carefully resumed her unbuttoning, hoping that if her Lady wouldn’t give up, then she would at least consider the errors in her beliefs.

Wasn’t there a saying?

**-Even old monkeys fall from trees.**

With such belief in mind, Marien cautiously breached a previously sensitive subject.

“...My Lady, there are many things I’m not sure about, but... Perhaps you’re acknowledging something subconsciously?”

“Acknowledging what, Marien?”

“You once said that a person’s nature cannot change. That this was an immutable law.”

“Did I say that...?”

“Indeed, My Lady. So, perhaps you’re acknowledging Elden’s efforts in defying this immutable law?”

“W-What...?”

“Turning the impossible into possible must require a heart-wrenching effort.”

A new hypothesis.

No.

It was merely one Lumia discarded, but now that Marien had discussed its possibility, Lumia’s eyes widened.

Truthfully, Lumia herself had no more hypothesis to form.

She was already tired of her constant failures.

These failures stagnated her mind, to the point that Lumia couldn’t be flexible with her ideas anymore.

Because of this, she had become more prone to emotional impulses rather than rational cool-headedness.

Had she been wrong this whole time?

Perhaps Elden’s self-assured behavior was simply because his change had been real?

Maybe...

Elden was walking on the path of repentance this whole time.

Was he putting in the effort to change his wicked nature, even when others weren’t seeing him?

Marien’s casual remark stirred up numerous doubts that had sunk beneath the surface of Lumia’s mind.

Of course, these doubts were far from being resolved.

“E-Even if that’s the case...It doesn’t justify my obsession. That couldn’t be the sole reason I’ve been clinging to him. If I had acknowledged something like this, then that should have been the end of it.”

Lumia had failed to even consider Elden’s changes due to her denial and stubbornness.

She even appointed a watcher to spy on his moves.

Despite claiming she wouldn’t be consumed by vengeance, Lumia withered as her obsession grew following Elden’s withdrawal.

Finally, after all those hypotheses were wrong, Lumia felt as if a new door was slowly opening in her mind as Marien smiled gently at her.

“My Lady, haven’t you mentioned this yourself?”

“...What?”

“That you would marry the participant who either sincerely repents for his sins...Or the one who remains unrepentant till the end.”

“T-That...”

“Perhaps you’ve unknowingly selected Elden as your partner because he has shown signs of repentance?”

Lumia’s eyes widened.

Something else now swirled inside those blue orbs that were previously overtaken by fury and disgust.

It was something yet unknown, something indescribable.

“M-Me? Marry someone like Elden? N-No! That...That’s completely absurd... It can’t be.”

Though Marien always felt that her Lady was too good for those four, if she had to choose the lesser evil among them... Her choice would undoubtedly be Elden Raphelion.

“My Lady...There’s something I’ve kept hidden from you...”

Marien wholeheartedly believed that Elden was the best choice after he had helped a ‘fallen maid’ who twisted her ankle.

“Actually...The reason for my injury is because I collided with Lord Elden and fell.”

“...?”

“And it was Lord Elden who helped me receive proper treatment.”

“Hah?”

Hearing such an absurd tale, Lumia furrowed her brows as she looked at Marien’s ankle through the mirror’s reflection.

“What’s your point, Marien?”

“That Lord Elden helped me when I fell. But despite helping me, he told me to keep it a secret...That’s why I didn’t tell you.”

“He told you... not to reveal that he had helped you? Why?”

“I didn’t understand then, but now I think I do...Perhaps he wanted to keep a low profile until his withdrawal had been accepted?”

“Why would he...?”

“It makes one think, doesn’t it? What if both his withdrawal and his changes were truthful all along?”

The sudden revelation of Elden’s good deed.

Since it came from someone Lumia cherished the most, it was impactful, she didn’t doubt her handmaiden’s words.

Slowly but surely,

Her ears, long closed, began to open.

Her eyes, long shut, now saw things clearly.

Click-.

The last button on the back of her suffocating dress came undone.

**

“Ugh...!”

“Gah...”

Such beautiful sounds echoed through the Grand Hall.

During their first tasting of monster meat, their reactions hadn’t been as intense as Lumia had wished.

Thus, the enjoyment factor wasn’t that great.

It was somewhat regrettable, but for the sake of her future plans, she had to be satisfied with that.

But now,

“Guh!”

“Uargh!”

The dishes she had carefully prepared were causing a significant backlash.

It was such a satisfying reaction. Exactly what Lumia had been waiting for.

She wished to see Deron and Blund gagging just like she had been when they forced bugs down her throat.

Despite their noble facades, both of them were licking the Grand Hall’s floor like filthy mutts now.

They were now obeying her commands like wretched slaves.

She should have been clutching her sides, laughing at their miserable states.

However,

“......”

She couldn’t.

It was all because of Elden, who sat there, with a bored expression on his face.

While her gaze might have been focused on Deron and Blund, all her other senses were directed toward Elden.

Lumia couldn’t find the courage to look at him for some reason.

Despite this being the moment she waited for, instead of feeling vindicated, her resentment and irritation surged.

All because of Elden Raphelion’s presence.

“...I’ll reward the first who eats it all and leaves the floor spotless...So, good luck.”

Even if her mouth tasted like ashes, Lumia still spat some words to them as she approached Elden.

Her steps were neither weak nor confident.

Thus, with an uneasy expression, she stood before him.

Things were supposed to have changed by now.

Lumia was supposed to be the mighty Tyrant now, while Elden was the pitiful wretch.

But nothing had changed.

Elden still felt like a giant, and Lumia couldn’t help but feel intimidated by him.

It was something absurd.

But she would overcome it.

She would subdue the mighty giant.

With such resolve, Lumia opened her mouth.

However,

“You asked me, didn’t you? Whether my confession was a sincere one or not.”

Once again, her traitorous mouth spilled things without her consent.

Why did that keep happening to her?

“It was sincere.”

“Pardon?”

“I said it was sincere. That I supported you, that my love for you was real.”

During their first face-to-face confrontation, the things she couldn’t say now flowed out of her mouth quite easily.

Her heart thumped in her chest.

Her lips felt as though they were burning.

But despite all of this,

“So...Will you marry me?”

Lumia managed to fight her revulsion and speak such dreadful words.

“I swear to grant you everything you wish for. The revival of your fallen house, honor, power, love, and forgiveness. Whatever you want, I shall give to you. That is my vow in Winterfell’s name.”

Originally, Lumia didn’t wish to drag down the sacred name of Winterfell in her plans,

Because she didn’t want to dirty such a name with a Villain’s filth.

But,

This time,

The promise made in Winterfell’s name came out quite easily.

Lumia wanted,

She yearned,

Craved,

Acceptance.

She didn’t want to be rejected yet again.

So, this promise in Winterfell’s name wasn’t a lie.

It was an ultimatum.

However,

Elden bowed his head.

Low enough that his waist bent.

And then,

“I’m sorry, Your Grace.”

Once again, she had been rejected.

Just like in that hellish past.

The root of all her problems rejected her without hesitating.

Therefore it was natural that instead of feeling liberated, her resentment surged like never before.

Tears welled up in her eyes,

Tears filled with her past grievances,

Tears carrying the stress of having her plans foiled time after time, the anxiety of her nightmares,

Tears drenched her face in her despair from those hellish days.

During their first confrontation, not even a single speck of moisture came from her eyes. But now, Lumia’s vision had become blurred as her tears flowed down her cheeks.

Her heart pounded and her whole body trembled.

It was at this moment that Elden raised his head.

After he declared withdrawal, that innocent face always seemed to infuriate her.

It was a mockery of Lumia’s desperation.

It drove her mad.

That must have been why.

Without realizing it, her hand rose, and in that single moment of emotional turmoil, of rejected confessions, of failed plans...of revenge.

She slapped his cheek.

To a young woman who didn’t know how else to express the boiling resentment inside her, violence seemed to be the only answer as she marred that innocent face.

Slap-!!

She had made a vow.

She swore never to become like them.

She would never steep that low.

But, just now, that vow crumbled.

She couldn’t control herself.

She couldn’t stop it.

This was merely the reaction of her bottled-up feelings exploding in an uncontrollable burst.

In an instant, her tears dried up.

Her trembling hand stilled, as her legs began to wobble.

“...Ah...”

Her mouth could only let out a pitiful moan.

There was nothing else she could do.

After having broken her vow, and resorting to violence, the only thing Lumia could do was to shrink herself before him.

Eventually,

Thud-.

Lumia collapsed onto the ground covering her face with both hands.

It had been a cursed moment.

A desperate one.

Lumia couldn’t stop the resentment that wreaked havoc in her mind. Once again she couldn’t control her impulses when faced with him, be it then or now.

Oh, how she despised him.

How she utterly hated that man’s very existence for doing this to her.

Thus, Lumia found herself kneeling before Elden, just like in her Academy days.

Doomed to always repeat those painful moments.

“......”

And,

Elden, who stood there, caressed his sore cheek for a moment, before proceeding to lift the lid off the dish set before his seat.