The Soulless Duchess

Chapter 2

Yvona’s consciousness sharpened from a murky haze as she woke up. Watching as her vision slowly restored itself, she wondered how it was she was waking up.

I thought I died.

Instead of rejoicing in being alive, Yvona laughed bitterly.

I simply will not let go, huh? Even after seeing my cousin and my fiancé go to town on each other? What’s the point of waking up when I’m going to die soon anyway?

She had collapsed in her cousin’s mansion, but she had woken up in the Bote mansion. Gazing up at the familiar ceiling, Yvona realized she was lying in her own bed. It seemed she had been moved here after she collapsed.

How much longer are they planning to use me?

Yvona immediately sat up. It was better to breathe her last breath somewhere no one could find her than to be further exploited. She needed to hurry before Gaspar or Tristan caught her.

But the moment her feet touched the floor, she couldn’t help but freeze in astonishment.

Why do I feel so light?

Her body had changed significantly since the experiment with the secret text. With her legs prone to numbness and paralysis, she found it difficult to even walk, and she had acute shortness of breath in the mornings.

The migraines were constant. The struggle was much worse on days after a seizure. The worst part was the overwhelming mana pressing down on her.

Because it was artificially infused rather than grown gradually and organically through her training, the alien mana clashed within her and tore through her insides.

But all of the pain was gone now.

Yvona urgently placed her hand over her heart. She checked again to make sure, but it did not change the fact that the mana she’d obtained through the experiment had vanished, leaving only the magic she acquired through her magical training.

What is happening? Did the near-death experience weaken the mana? How did I return to how I was before the experiment?

She wondered if her life had been spared in exchange for the mana, but she had never heard that such an exchange was possible in magic. Her bewildered gaze fell on her hand. In that instant, her heart sank.

They were gone. The pus and blotches that covered her hands were all gone.

This can’t be.

She hastily pulled up her nightdress to check her body. Her skin was clear of pus and blotches. She was smooth and unblemished.

In a trance, she ran her hands over her soft skin. She couldn’t understand it. Wasn’t almost dying supposed to have a negative, not drastically positive, effect on the body?

It’s like I’m back to my pre-experiment state...

Then a thought suddenly came to mind. She immediately opened the door of the room and stepped outside.

Grabbing a passing maid by the arm, she blurted, “What’s today’s date?”

“Lady Yvona! You are in a state of undress!”

“Marie. Answer my question. What’s the date today?”

Overwhelmed by Yvona’s strange energy, Marie stopped trying to cover up her mistress and answered, “It’s the 15th of March, Empire Year 361... milady?”

At that, Yvona released Marie’s arm.

The maid standing before her had quit her job about half a year ago to get married. She was someone Yvona would not have seen at the Bote Mansion in the year 362.

Miraculously and absurdly, Yvona Bote had traveled back to her twenty-year-old past.

* * *

The Bote Mansion before the walls were rebuilt. The flowers in the garden before they were trampled for good. People who had not yet lost family to magical beasts.

Everything in the world looked like it did a year ago, as if Yvona had turned twenty again.

How did this happen?

Everyone dreams of turning back time as they despair over their unfortunate choices, but if it were possible, the word “regret” would be erased from the dictionary.

Feeling bewildered, Yvona decided to first assess the current situation. She had returned from the future with knowledge of what was to come, but the problems she had at twenty were still there.

First, I have insufficient mana.

Unlike the magic she had bound to her flesh that disappeared, the contracts with divine beasts were still bound to the soul and remained. But the magic she had now was much too low for summoning higher-level divine beasts.

Second, there’s the public opinion of summoners.

The demon army planning the resurrection of the Demon King was more powerful than ordinary beasts. Summoners therefore had to guide the divine beasts right by their sides. She wasn’t foolish enough to take the risk of controlling divine beasts from afar just to protect Gaspar’s pride when the continent was facing a crisis and lives were in danger.

Besides, the reputation of summoners in the public eye had taken a devastating blow when some turncoats joined the demon army and summoned demons to the human realm. Thus, Gaspar, with his dazzling good looks and verifiable lineage, was needed for PR—not her, with her grotesque appearance.

In my past life, I threw myself into experiments to solve these problems and lived as Gaspar’s shadow.

She sacrificed everything that was rightfully hers, was betrayed by her cousin Tristan who pretended to care for her more than anyone in the world, and faced hostile gazes from allies due to her hideous appearance.

I won’t live like that this time around.

However, no amount of resolve on Yvona’s part could solve all her problems. The biggest obstacle to her liberation from the two men was that twenty-year-old Yvona was still engaged to Gaspar.

Engagements among nobility were alliances between families. Breaking them off was never easy, especially when it was a viscount’s daughter marrying a duke’s son.

He would not accept the request to break off the engagement due to a simple “change of heart” on her part. Even if the Gieze name had lost its luster due to its pitiful progeny, there was still the dignity of the rank.

I have no choice but to make him break off the engagement first.

Yvona had just made up her mind to get Gaspar to break off the engagement when an urgent knock came from the door.

The maidservants, who had rushed in at her permission, spoke in near-panic. “Milady, Lord Gaspar is here to see you.”

“He’s waiting in the parlor. You must hurry and get dressed...”

The maid trailed off, puzzled to see Yvona sitting calmly instead of springing out of bed.

Yvona in her past life would’ve jumped to action the moment Gaspar’s name was mentioned and got dressed in a hurry so as not to keep him waiting. But now, she simply sat with a calm face without a hint of agitation.

Yvona narrowed her eyes. “Yes, then I should prepare to meet his lordship.”

The maidservant who entered the room was not alone. Another maid who was not Yvona’s personal servant was also summoned hastily due to Gaspar’s sudden visit. He wasn’t to be kept waiting.

“But you shouldn’t have come up together like this. I don’t need this many people. I just need my lady’s maid Sally. The rest of you may go.”

“But you’ll be late, milady, if we don’t all pitch in.”

However, Yvona’s firm command sent all the other maids back to their posts.

The remaining maid, Sally, momentarily bewildered, rushed to comb Yvona’s hair. Rather than getting all the tangles out of her thin, wavy locks, she tried to pull it back in a ponytail. But Yvona insisted that Sally brush her hair properly.

“I must look my best for his lordship. Brush all the tangles out of my hair.”

“Are you sure, milady?”

“And I need a bath first.”

Despite Sally’s protestations, Yvona waited for the bath to reach the perfect temperature before climbing in. She soaked in the warm water.

It was rude not to give advance notice before a visit. Especially for young ladies who were expected to appear their best, sending word before a visit was crucial.

However, Gaspar often disregarded such formalities and would drop in on Yvona unannounced. She wasn’t someone he felt compelled to observe etiquette for, and he rather enjoyed seeing her flustered and always fretting that she might upset him.

This time around, Yvona had no intention of catering to his whims.

After soaking her body in warm water for a while and insisting on having fragrant oils rubbed into her skin, she took her sweet time deliberating over her attire. She went through many outfits, and after making a huge fuss about selecting a dress, she took forever choosing accessories. None of them were to her taste, and once that was resolved, she experimented with various hairstyles she had never tried before.

“You seem different from your usual self,” remarked the baffled maid.

Naturally, Gaspar had to wait a long time to see her.

“Did something happen between you and Lord Gaspar, milady? Even so, he might really get angry if you keep him waiting this long... I hear he’s still downstairs...”

“A lady is never to dress hastily. A gentleman knows he must wait patiently,” Yvona said, knowing full well that Gaspar was neither patient nor a gentleman.

He could keep others waiting but could not stand others making him wait. He was capricious in every way and generous only to himself.

Yvona in her past life endured Gaspar’s hurtful words and abuse, believing he would change if she loved him to the best of her ability. She thought he would come to cherish her as much as she cherished him.

But because of my generosity, he took me for granted even more.

Yvona, having returned from her past life, no longer wanted Gaspar’s love—she preferred his rage. She glanced up at the sky through the window and headed to the parlor where he was waiting.

He had arrived at dawn, but now it was evening—the moon was rising.

Yvona opened the door and found him sprawled in his chair. Without bothering to sit up properly, he started shouting.

“A whole day has passed. How could you take ten hours to get ready? How did you get ready so quickly before?”

“Yes, I used to feel anxious about making you wait, your lordship.”

“What?”

Yvona’s smile was a stark contrast to Gaspar’s baffled expression. She sat down gracefully.

“What did you come here to say today?” she asked.

“Is that all you have to say to me? I have nothing else to say to you but that!”

“What would you like me to say?”

“Ugh...” Gaspar groaned.

He looked at Yvona in astonishment. She smiled as if to say she couldn’t imagine what he was so upset about. Gone was the woman who used to walk on eggshells around him.

“Are you crazy?”

“My lord, you tarnish the Gieze name by speaking in this manner. Sit up straight. A gentleman does not slouch in the company of others,” Yvona said, twisting what Gaspar had said when he wished to put her in her place by bringing up her inferior rank.

“You tarnish the Bote name with your actions. How vulgar.”

Gaspar turned purple with rage.

“My, are you unwell? You look as if you have a fever.”

“You must have lost your marbles. How dare you make me wait and then question my manners?”

“Please do not underestimate my concern for you, sir. And I could not help making you wait because...”

Gaspar looked up, thinking he would finally get the apology he was waiting for.

But Yvona smiled uneasily and said, “You should have sent word before coming. I would have prepared in advance.”

Gaspar was speechless.

He had no comeback for this. She was right. He knew that it was untoward to just drop by unannounced, but he never imagined Yvona ever pointing this out. He couldn’t believe that Yvona the pushover was calling him out.

This was not happening.

“Count yourself lucky today. I’m going to forgive you for running your mouth. I have more pressing matters to discuss.”

With the murderous glare still visible on his face, Gaspar managed to continue.

“A festival is being held in Morgia a fortnight from today. I must attend. People are less familiar with the summoning arts compared to swordsmanship, so the effect will be more impressive. If I show off an imposing divine beast like Hasslath, I will win great support. My reputation is not as great in the south as in the capital, so this is a good opportunity.”

“I see. Well, enjoy your trip.”