Chapter 92

“Duke, let me introduce my sister.”

A dignified male voice came from somewhere.

Reina turned her head and saw Damian standing beside someone she’d never seen before.

‘The Emperor…?’

The man was dressed in extravagant attire and even wore a crown. Even Reina, who had never seen him in person, could immediately tell who he was.

Smiling, he spoke to Damian.

“No matter how much the young lady is a Winternight, she’s still half Finecke. Wouldn’t she need a mother figure who can support her?”

At a short distance from them stood Estelle. An elegant woman approached the child’s side.

Reina hurried toward Estelle.

Everyone she passed went right through her like ghosts. Or rather, it was as if Reina herself were the ghost.

“M-My lady.”

Estelle neither saw nor heard Reina.

She didn’t say a word, but her face was terribly dark.

Reina wanted to at least hug her or get her out of there, but she couldn’t touch anything at all.

Beside the Emperor stood a princess, shyly positioned at his side.

She was even more beautiful than Titania, the Duchess, whom Reina had seen in dreams.

The princess bent slightly to meet Estelle’s gaze.

“You really are as lovely as the rumors say, my lady.”

Though she said so, her eyes were cold and sunken.

Reina felt the hairs all over her body stand on end.

“I truly want to become very close with you.”

“…”

“That way, we can become a good family together, don’t you think?”

“…”

“Hair color can be dyed, and as for the eyes… I suppose I’ll just have to get used to them.”

She spoke words sharp enough to drive nails into a child’s heart, as if it were nothing.

“…There’s no need for that.”

“Oh my, why not? His Majesty the Emperor and the Duke are already discussing marriage with me. You need a mother too, don’t you, my lady?”

“…My mom isn’t dead.”

Thud.

At Estelle’s firm reply, a very faint sound of mocking laughter came from somewhere.

It didn’t come from the princess’s mouth.

Reina turned her head to find who it was, but she couldn’t see anyone.

“…”

She turned back to look at Estelle.

Estelle’s face had gone pale and stiff as she lowered her head.

Her small hands clutched the hem of her dress tightly, trembling.

‘This is…’

Reina’s lips parted. Her throat went dry, and her head rang.

“This is something that’ll happen in the future.”

The imperial ball they were about to attend.

The reason Reina was translucent right now was because, in the original story, she was already dead by then. She wasn’t supposed to exist in this place at all.

“Then why is it a dream this time?”

Until now, these scenes had only surfaced vaguely in her mind. This was the first time they appeared as a dream.

“Before, nothing came clearly to mind…”

Whenever she tried to remember, it only made her head hurt.

Reina looked around the dreamlike ballroom.

‘Let’s think.’

What connected the things she remembered with the things she couldn’t? Reina looked at Estelle standing before her.

‘There’s always something involving Lady Estelle.’

That was natural since Estelle was the protagonist, but it was usually moments where Estelle got hurt.

Things that felt too distant, or less related to Estelle, made her head hurt whenever she tried to recall them.

‘So the only things I can remember are the moments when my lady gets hurt?’

But that raised another question.

‘When Peter taught me before, I recalled the story about Count Pantale’s heir without any issue.’

She’d experienced too many strange things in a row and wanted to find a pattern.

Being able to glimpse the future was a huge advantage for Reina, which meant she needed to use it properly.

An ability she couldn’t use when she wanted was no different from having none at all.

‘What’s certain is that my lady could get hurt at this upcoming ball.’

Reina thought.

Maybe the reason she’d entered this body and was sharing these emotions and memories was someone’s way of making sure Estelle wouldn’t get hurt.

And if there was someone who’d arranged that…

‘The Duchess.’

Titania was the only one it could be.

* * *

“Mom, wake up.”

“Reina.”

Bonita and Estelle were sprawled on top of Reina, peeking their heads out.

The dim light suggested it was dawn.

After such a complicated dream, something that barely even felt like a dream, Reina was exhausted.

“Why are you up so early?”

“Because today’s the day. Right, Boni?”

“That’s right, my lady. Today’s the day!”

“…”

The children’s eyes sparkled brighter than diamonds. Still half asleep, Reina took a moment to think about what day it was, then went, ah.

“Today’s the picnic.”

“Yes!”

“Yes!”

As soon as Reina said the word picnic, both children smiled brightly.

She slowly sat up, her body still heavy with sleep.

“A picnic is after breakfast and later in the day. You didn’t need to wake up this early.”

“But I was so excited I woke up.”

“Me too. Same as my lady.”

Reina glanced at the clock. The hands pointed to a time that truly suited the phrase dead of night.

“Then let’s all get back under the blanket for now. Even in spring, the air at dawn is cold.”

Reina settled in the middle of the bed and lifted the blanket. Both children wriggled their way inside.

When they lay down quietly with angelic expressions, Reina stroked their hair and tucked the blanket in snugly.

“Shall we sleep again? If we want to have fun on our picnic today, we need proper rest.”

“I can’t sleep…”

“Me neither… Mom, can you tell us a fun story?”

“A fun story?”

“Yeah.”

What Bonita meant by a fun story was a fairy tale that didn’t exist in the Eisen Empire, something from Eugene’s fragmented memories.

“Then…”

Reina hesitated for a moment.

“Is it okay if I tell Cinderella again?”

“Yes! That’s fine.”

“What’s Cinderella?”

Bonita already knew the story and nodded with a grin, while Estelle, who didn’t know it, looked on with curious eyes.

“It’s a story about a kind-hearted woman who ends up with the prince she loves.”

That was the simplest way to put it.

A girl who lost her mother and gained a stepmother and stepsisters. Cinderella, who was mistreated. A fairy, a pumpkin carriage, magic that breaks at midnight, the prince and the ball, and the glass slipper.

By the time the story ended, the children who’d said they weren’t sleepy were nodding off.

In a drowsy voice, Estelle said,

“I don’t think all stepmothers are bad.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah. There could be good sisters too. I hope that’s true…”

“Do you think so too, Boni?”

Reina asked Bonita as well, responding to Estelle’s sleepy murmur.

But Bonita was already fast asleep and couldn’t answer.

Reina gently poked Bonita’s cheek once, then turned to look at Estelle.

“…Reina, don’t you think so?”

“Think what?”

“Reina, stepmothers are usually…”

Estelle paused for a long time, searching for words since she didn’t know the term stepdaughter.

“Is it hard for them to get along with the dad’s original daughter?”

Reina remembered the dream. That princess hadn’t looked interested in Estelle at all.

She gently patted Estelle at a steady rhythm to help her sleep.

“There are people who don’t get along, and there are people who live together just like they were family from the start.”

“Really…?”

“Of course.”

Estelle smiled softly, then asked,

“Then, about Cinderella… if she hadn’t run away after the magic wore off… would the prince still have loved her?”

Reina didn’t hesitate for even a second and answered with a smile.

“Of course.”

* * *

When Reina woke up again, Estelle and Bonita were in a deep sleep.

It was the complete opposite of how they’d chattered about not being sleepy at dawn.

Reina kissed both children on the forehead as they slept like angels, then got out of bed.

‘I’m glad the weather looks clear.’

The sky had been fickle lately, sometimes pouring rain right after being clear.

Reina peeked outside through the curtains and saw a cloudless sky.

‘If there’s a perfect day for a picnic, today must be it.’

Smiling contentedly, Reina took out a lavender-colored outfit.

It was clothes she’d saved to wear only on the best days.

One of the buttons at the cuff felt a little loose.

Reina touched the slightly rusted silver button.

‘Should I wear something else?’

She’d bought it over a year ago. After hesitating while holding it, she decided to wear it anyway.

She tied her hair with the handkerchief she’d never managed to give Damian, then put on sturdy, comfortable boots.

Looking at herself in the full-length mirror, she wasn’t as flashy as a noble, but she didn’t look shabby either. This was a look Reina felt familiar and comfortable with.

“Looks fine.”

She smiled brightly, checked once more that the children were sleeping soundly, and left the room.

The place Reina headed toward was the kitchen, where delicious smells were already drifting through the air.