Queen in the Shadows

Chapter 10

Grand Duke France assumed that Elena had been momentarily surprised by the sudden contact. He slid the back of his hand down her cheek.

“I missed your warmth so much that I couldn’t bear it.” After a pause, he added, “Thank you for making me feel like I’ve met my dead daughter again.”

Elena wanted to applaud the acting of this contemptible man. It was amazing how someone could be so shameless when Veronica was still alive.

“I was so focused on what was going on outside that I didn’t properly care for the inside. I ended up losing both my wife and daughter. And after my precious family was gone, power and wealth became useless.”

Elena stood there silently, listening to his confession, which contained not even a trace of sincerity.

“Child.”

At his soft address, Elena raised her lowered head.

“Could you become my daughter?”

Grand Duke France looked at Elena’s shimmering eyes and spoke tenderly. “Live in Veronica’s place. If I can watch that child’s unfulfilled life through you, I feel like I won’t have any more regrets. Could you do that?”

“O-of course!” Elena exclaimed, blatantly showing that she wanted to fill the princess’s vacant position. “If that is all right with you, of course I’ll do it!”

I have to look like a woman who is consumed by the desire for advancement. That’ll ensure that he looks down on me.

Elena could detect poorly hidden contempt in France’s eyes. How disgusting this must’ve been for him—he so valued the nobility of birth, and now, he was being forced to stand before a lowly girl who was excited at the prospect of pretending to be a princess of the grand duchy.

“To be honest, you didn’t seem like a stranger the first time I saw you,” said Elena. “I will make sure to become a daughter that you are not ashamed of. Father.”

When Elena added the word “Father” with emphasis, the grand duke’s face twisted for a moment. France was a man who felt noble pride, self-respect, and authority down to his bones. He thus felt insulted and ashamed about bringing a half-noble woman into his family—especially one who so openly coveted his daughter’s empty position.

“It’s late. Your journey must have been long and tiring, so go upstairs and rest.”

After Elena bowed, Riaveric gestured and instructed her to follow. Accompanied by Jane the maid, they walked to the room in the farthest corner of the second floor. When Riaveric opened the door, Elena was greeted by a bedroom filled with wooden furniture of the finest quality.

“Please rest. If you need anything, let this child get it for you.”

“Okay. Good night, Riv.”

When Riaveric turned the corner of the hallway and disappeared from sight, Elena waved her hand to dismiss Jane as well—she didn’t have anything for Jane to do, and she wanted to be alone right now.

Thud.

The door shut. Finally alone, Elena let out the laughter she had been suppressing. As she thought of France’s contorted face, she felt as if she had gotten relief from long-term indigestion.

In her past life, she had always walked on eggshells around the grand duke. He had often looked at Elena with disapproval because she was inadequate due to her lack of education, and she had always lowered her head like a sinner. She hadn’t even been able to make eye contact with him.

Ah, why had she behaved like that? Thinking back, the power she’d possessed had been comparable to theirs. But she had been foolish and ignorant of how to properly wield it.

“Look forward to me using that power,” she murmured. “I will manipulate this new name and identity. I’ll use it to suffocate all of you.”

* * *

Even though Princess Veronica’s reputation had been dragged through the mud, she was still a princess. That was why Elena had been brought to the safe house instead of the grand duchy—she needed to be educated on the basic knowledge of how to pretend to be Princess Veronica.

In the morning, she mainly learned about a noble lady’s posture, table manners, speech, gait, and greetings.

In the afternoon, the focus was on understanding and learning about the national identity of the empire. This started with the imperial language and continued with its history, literature, and culture. These formal classes ended before dinner.

“Don’t think about resting. Review what you learned today and become fully acquainted with it. If you think this has been too much information to absorb in one day, then relinquish your sleep for further study.”

Elena had no choice but to be cooped up in the study until late at night. Though to be precise, it would be more correct to say that she locked herself in there of her own free will.

“I know the future, but I don’t have the knowledge or ability to utilize it all.”

Elena used her study time to fill in the gaps in her knowledge.

History of Famous Paintings

Art and Philosophy

The Merchant-Ruled Continent

The Value of Moving Money

The Alchemy of Makeup

Etc.

The books that Elena selected were mainly focused on the fields of art and commerce.

“There will soon be changes in the empire’s art world.”

Elena focused on the renaissance that would soon sweep through the entire empire. After all, a person could accumulate great wealth if they took advantage of a revival period when cultural innovations occurred in thought, literature, art, architecture, natural science, and music.

“The new era is an opportunity for me.”

Changes over time were bound to come with a lot of growing pains. Elena wanted to become the leading figure of the Renaissance era. While one may wonder what that had to do with her revenge, she knew that the Grand Duchy of Friedrich was not a weak family that could easily fall apart. If that were the case, they wouldn’t have remained the leading force in the empire for hundreds of years.

“I must take advantage of this era’s trends in order to shake up the great duchy—from the inside and the outside.”

As Princess Veronica, she would first cause division within the country. She would cut off funding sources and look for weaknesses to expose to the public.

At the same time, she planned to apply pressure from the outside. She had decided to adopt a third name—an alias, “L”—and with this name, she was going to become a woman who led the times. Someone who the Empire’s intellectuals and nobles would look up to.

Using her reputation and the public’s respect, she was going to expose the evil deeds committed by the grand duchy and isolate them through criticism and pressure. This was something that only Elena could do as she pretended to be Princess Veronica and became deeply involved in the affairs of the grand duchy.

Of course, all this was easier said than done. But Elena was confident. She’d now completed this plan, had gone over it hundreds of times, and its detailed outline filled Elena’s head. She was already looking forward to it.

She would stay at the safe house for, at most, three weeks. But Elena was excited—she wanted to go to the grand duchy and put her plan of revenge into action right away.

And so, three weeks passed.

* * *

It was quiet in the dining room with the high ceiling and eye-catching chandelier. Riaveric and Elena were sitting at opposite ends of a long table.

Elena cut the steak elegantly and put a piece into her mouth. There was no sound of chewing food, and the jaw was not opened beyond a certain interval. She took turns using the four forks with different purposes to pick up and eat her meal. It was flawless dining etiquette.

Riaveric wiped her mouth with a napkin. “You really look like a noble now.”

“It’s all thanks to you, Riv, for teaching me so well.”

“You also have a good command of your speaking style—of responding to others’ compliments with praise and positivity.”

In the beginning, Riaveric’s criticisms had been endless. Now, Elena gave off such a noble impression that it was impossible to find fault with her unless Riaveric forced herself to find something bothersome.

“Is that so? I’m happy to hear you say that, Riv.”

Riaveric stared at Elena as she elegantly took a sip of wine. The true value of etiquette only came out when it was naturally ingrained in you—when you were not conscious of it. That was why the daughters of noble families behaved correctly from a young age and had teachers constantly drilling them on etiquette.

She learned it all in just three weeks... thought Riaveric. Rather than merely imitating the manners, she has made them her own. It’s like a lie.

While Elena was originally of noble birth, she was part of a fallen noble family and had lived more like a commoner. Even her basic etiquette had been sloppy at first, but now, she was a completely different person.

She wasn’t just good at etiquette—she knew how to use it in order to make her physical attributes stand out. It wasn’t done in an excessive way, but naturally. Such elegance was hard to find in social circles. And on that level, she could be considered well-versed in imperial etiquette.

Yes, her etiquette is exquisite. However, her flaw is that she’s not very bright.

She found it unfortunate that Elena simply met the passing level that Riaveric set with her studies. The girl did not go beyond that.

But to be honest, I guess even following along this far exceeded expectations.

It had only been a month. That wasn’t enough time to transform Elena into a true noblewoman when she had lived all her life as something akin to a commoner. Considering that, it was safe to say that she had become quite noble.

“If you’re finished, let’s go up.”

Elena followed Riaveric through the central hall and up to the second floor. She walked along on the plush carpet and was about to stop when they reached the study, but Riaveric walked past it.

“We’re passing the study?”

“Today, we’re going to the drawing room.”

Elena, who walked behind her, easily guessed the meaning of her words.

Ah, today’s the day when I will memorize the portraits and personal details of the nobles.

Gazing at the portraits of nobles who were influential in social circles and imperial politics, memorizing their faces, and identifying their personal information—if Riaveric was having her do this, it meant that there weren’t many days left until Elena had to meet them.

From what she remembered, she had memorized the details for two days before leaving for the grand duchy.

When they arrived in the drawing room and took their seats on the sofa, Riaveric placed her hand on the pile of portraits and personal details. The stack of documents was about four inches thick.

“This is a list of the imperial family members and capital nobles who are active in imperial society.”

“T-there are this many?”

“This list has also been filtered and sorted through.”

What Riaveric had said was true. The number of nobles officially given titles by the imperial family was close to half of the duchy’s entire population.

“Memorize everything, from their name and face to their family name, family relationships, and personal history. No matter where you meet them, you have to make them feel like they’re family and friends that you’ve spent a long time with. You can do that, right?”

“Yes, I’ll try.”

Riaveric took the portrait of a middle-aged man with a mustache from the top of the pile of documents—the portrait also listed his personal details.

She began her explanation. “This man is Duke Whit. He is the head of the House of Buckingham, one of the empire’s four greatest families. He is very close with His Excellency the Chancellor and has cared for Princess Veronica like his own daughter since she was young. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

“Yes, I will keep that in mind.”

“No, you don’t understand at all.”

Riaveric’s eyes became sharp. “Listen carefully. The closer they are to Princess Veronica, the more you have to be on guard. You must be completely alert when you meet this person as he may easily be able to discern that you are a substitute.”

“Ah, I understand what you’re saying. I’ll be alert and careful.”

Riaveric must’ve liked Elena’s attitude since she didn’t repeat the warning twice.