The sweet fragrance of flowers drifted in the halls of the Ivory Palace. In the gardens inside the serene palace, ivory flowers were in full blossom making it look like the clouds had fallen to the land.

The cold winds had started to blow ruffling the large puffy flowers causing loose petals to drift in the air to the rhythm of the songbirds.

Anyone seen walking through the garden could easily be mistaken for walking amongst the clouds.

In a pavilion south of the garden, three noble ladies were having a pleasant discussion each having a different opinion on the ongoings of the social season.

Originally, they had come to attend a tea party hosted by Countess Hawthorne in the Ivory Palace, which was often rented to nobles for events and gatherings.

After the party ended and the guests retired, they decided to continue their chat in the garden instead of returning home.

"This is quite a frustrating turn of events"

Lady Milaine fanned her face furiously as if she could not even bear to think of it.

"My my whatever happened" Lady Clara enquired, taken aback by her sudden declaration.

Lady Milaine took a sip of her tea and shook her head.

"No. I do not want to spread gossip"

"You cannot leave us hanging like that. Do tell us what is weighing on your mind Lady Milaine" Lady Isla urged her to speak despite the latter's reluctance to do so.

"You have to tell us!"

In the end, pushed by the two's insistence Lady Milaine relented and disclosed what had been troubling her mind.

"You see... one of my handmaids has a relative working for the Frost Estate. They say the Young Duchess Frost is quite a troublemaker"

"Young Duchess Frost? The lady that came back alive?" Lady Clara leaned forward intrigued by the new topic.

After all, the newly resurrected Young Duchess Frost was the hot topic of the social world. Even at Countess Hawthorne's tea party where needless gossip was not welcomed, Young Duchess Frost's name was mentioned a few times.

She was a mysterious figure in the social world even before her untimely death three years ago. Appearing out of nowhere and disappearing as fast, not much was known to them about her besides a basic description of her appearance.

Now that she had returned from the dead, more eyes were on her than ever before. But she had not stepped outside the Frost Estate for weeks. While some say she was sick and recovering, others say she had stayed inside to take control of the estate.

"Yes. She has been wreaking havoc since the day she arrived. She constantly screams at the maids and Knights and throws candlesticks at His Grace like a barbarian"

"Dear lord!" Lady Isla exclaimed while Lady Clara gasped.

"Throws candlesticks at His Grace? Are you certain you can believe the words of a servant?" Lady Clara asked, doubtful about the integrity of the words of an unknown servant.

Young Duke Edward Frost was not a person anyone could afford to disrespect much less to antagonize. Who in their right mind would ever throw a candlestick at him?

"This is from someone with confidence much closer to His Grace if you know who I mean" Lady Milaine assured and eyed meaningfully to which Lady Clara nodded in understanding.

"Ohh..."

If it was from 'that' person then it must be true. Who else was intimate to Young Duke Forst to know such affairs if not for them?

"I couldn't fathom what His Grace must be going through" Lady Milaine sighed and touched her forehead as if it hurt.

"When I heard jewelers and artisans were called to the Frost Estate. I thought His Grace was finally going to propose marriage" Lady Isla lifted her teacup and brought it to her lips,

"You were right Lady Milaine. This is frustrating"

"You were not alone to think of it. We all did" Lady Clara agreed and further added with distaste,

"Who would have expected the Young Duchess Frost would come back at the exact moment and ruin everything"

"You heard how His Grace found her in Velven right? Apparently, she had been living together in a house with a lot of men. Mercenaries I've been told."

At Lady Milaine's words, Lady Isla choked on her drink and placed it down in a spur.

"With mercenaries? Was it not with traveling gypsies?"

It was the most well-known romantic story in the empire. The story of how Young Duke Frost found his long-lost wife by chance after years of believing her to be deceased when he had gone to Velven as an envoy.

As the story goes, Young Duchess Frost was found by traveling gypsies the night she was attacked and with whom she lived until reuniting with her love.

If the part where she lived with the gypsies was a lie, Lady Isla wondered how much of the story was the actual truth.

It was not only that but according to Lady Milaine, she had been living with brutish mercenaries for all those years. Only god knows, what she had been up to during that time.

"To be honest, I had never heard of the House Ashford until His Grace married her. My father was surprised when he heard that name. But... they are just country nobles with a small land and no prospects" Lady Clara recalled her father Earl Winkler's strange reaction when he first learned of the news.

Earl Winkler, a trusted confidant of Marquess Esdel and Count Vesser, had been so taken aback when a messenger sent by the Marquess came in with the news that he had walked out during dinner and had not returned for two days.

"Do you believe she lost her memory? Or is it a mere fib to garner pity?"

Hearing Lady Isla voice her suspicions about the Young Duchess, Lady Clara asked,

"What kind of person do you think Young Duchess Frost is Lady Milaine?"

"All I know is even without losing her memory, a country noble like her is not a match for His Grace and... " Lady Milaine replied and took another sip of her tea,

"A reclusive rube with no sense of culture is what she is"

The three noble ladies chuckled, lost in their own world when they heard a playful voice speak from behind.

"Fascinating"

The noble ladies turned toward the direction of the voice simultaneously to find an unfamiliar woman leaning over the guard rail. She had her hands resting on her cheeks and a wide grin on her face that didn't seem to reach her emerald eyes.









A few minutes before, in a waiting room inside the Main Palace.

"What the f*ck just happened?" Angelica muttered as she stared at the closed doors.

After expressing his fascination with her scandalous marriage, the Emperor had asked Angelica about the weather in Parthellam.

Then he told her she was welcome to visit the Imperial Palace at any time without any restrictions before sending her away to have a private meeting with Edward.

Following this, Knights brought a dumbstruck Angelica to a waiting room nearby where she had been trying to make sense of the situation for the past several minutes.

"How was the weather in Parthellam?"

Angelica paced inside the room back and forth trying to clear her mind, her brows drawn together in a tight knot.

She had come all this way to the Imperial Palace to speak about the mysterious group of assassins, the Serpents, and their connections with a Priest of Theodore. About the Serpents' planned attack on the Merchant Headquarters and the mana outbreak that could have destroyed a city. About the lady who rose from the dead and much more.

There was all that and the only thing the Emperor of Orion wanted to know was...

"How was the weather in Parthellam!?"

Angelica stopped pacing and yelled at the ceiling,

"It was an inferno!"

The antique wall clock chimed in response to her roar, almost like it was laughing at her.

Huffing, Angelica assessed her surroundings. She was in a standard waiting room with extravagant furniture and a bookshelf with a few titles to pass the time. Outside, two Imperial Knights were guarding the door, spears in hand and instructions not to let anyone in or out.

Angelica bit her lips. It was obvious why they were stationed there. It annoyed her to have to deal with this everywhere she went. She had waited long enough and now that she was out of the Frost Estate, it was time to jump into action.

At that moment, the curtains by the side of the room caught her eye. However, when she drew open the curtains, she found that the windows were locked from the inside without a key.

"Hmmm..."

Angelica reached for the back of her head, pulled a hairpin from her braid, and began to work on the lock. Although it had been a while since she had last picked a lock, she knew a simple lock like this would be an easy feat.

"That ought to work"

Fortunately, with a few clicks of her hairpin, she managed to open the window and looked down.

The waiting room was on the first floor of the Main Palace. There were a few bushes right below the window and an identical building on the other side, with a similar window and drawn curtains. Other than that, the area was deserted.

After casting one last glance at the door to ensure that the guards had not detected anything, Angelica placed her foot on the window sill and climbed up, right as a gust of wind caused the curtains to dance wildly.

The next instant, Angelica leaped down and landed on her feet.

Then she straightened herself and walked in the opposite direction of the Main Palace, hoping to find an exit without running into any palace officials, all the while not noticing that someone had been watching her through the closed curtains the entire time.

"Should we stop her Commander?" The Vice-Commander of the Imperial Knights asked his superior, confused by the scene he had just witnessed.

Never in his years of service as an Imperial Knight, had he witnessed a noble lady pick a lock at the Imperial Palace, jump down a floor, and walk away like it was the most natural thing to do.

'How did she jump wearing those heels?' He stopped himself from saying something ridiculous in the presence of the Commander.

A curious pair of coral eyes, observed Angelica's back disappear between the trees through a small gap between the curtains.

"Have one of our men follow her discreetly. Let's see where the lady is going in such a hurry"

"Yes Commander"

During her days with the Nero mercenaries, there were times when Angelica and Eugene would get lost after she fumbled the directions. Ultimately, it would be either Raeden or Jade who found and brought them back to camp.

Although she would never accept it to Eugene no matter how many times he pointed it out, Angelica knew she was bad in directions.

'This place is a maze'

Angelica jumped a tall fence to find herself in a garden with big white flowers. She couldn't identify the flowers' species, but they smelled pleasant and relaxed her.

So far, Angelica had crossed three buildings, a lake, a horse stable, a storage house, and an archery field with no signs of an exit. She even tried following a group of servants only to realize they were leading her back to the Main Palace.

With no other option but to keep moving forward, Angelica brushed off the petals on her shoulder and followed the pathway in the garden when she heard a cluster of voices.

"Young Duchess Frost? The lady that came back alive?"

'What? Where? Who? ' Angelica flinched at the mention of the name.

She quickly hid herself among the topiary and cautiously peeked her head out.

'Did I get busted?'

A few steps to her right, Angelica noticed that the pathway led to a pavilion with several tables, one of which was occupied by a group of young ladies engaged in a lively conversation.

Thankfully, the vines adorning the walls of the pavilion concealed her whereabouts from their sight. Even if they were to spot her, it would be impossible for them to discern her face through the dense vines.

'Phew...' Angelica breathed a sigh of relief.

For a moment, she feared that she had been spotted in the middle of her escape. Turns out it was nothing but harmless chitchat among friends. Besides, it was not her first time hearing people talk behind her back.

'Why do I always keep running into people talking about me?' Angelica shook her head at her luck.

It was obvious what they were gossiping about. The same star-crossed lovers' story between two death-cursed people that made her head spin.

Three noble ladies having a tea party in a garden didn't seem all that threatening, so Angelica ignored them and continued searching for the exit until she heard what they had to say next.

"Yes. She has been wreaking havoc since the day she arrived. She constantly screams at the maids and Knights and throws candlesticks at His Grace like a barbarian"

'Sumimasen?'

Angelica who had walked past them, traced her steps backward at those words.

And just like that, their entire conversation was overheard by the worst person they could have ever imagined.

"Oh! sorry. It was rude of me not to introduce myself. I'm Antarctica Leveret. Pleased to make your acquaintance" Angelica introduced herself cheerfully.

She pulled an empty chair from a nearby table and joined the ladies as they stared at her frozen in place with gaping mouths.

"So, What were we chatting about? Yeah! Duchess Frost right? She's such a bitch, isn't she?"

Angelica rolled her eyes dramatically.

"Like such a big bitch. You can't possibly know what she's capable of."

She leaned in and gestured for the ladies to come closer.

"Since we are friends and all let me tell you a secret. I heard a rumor that she knocks out the teeth of anyone that spreads shit behind her back. So you are totally right about calling her an uncultured and reclusive rube from the countryside. After all..."

Angelica's expression turned ice cold as she enunciated,

"People with such violent tendencies tend to be very... unpredictable"

"!"

Lady Isla felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand still. It wasn't just her; all three of them could hear the sound of their heartbeats throbbing inside their heads in the uncomfortable silence that followed.

Rather than a threat, every word the unfamiliar lady spoke sounded like a promise. For the first time in their lives, they were scared to even breathe, fearing it might make a sound.

The smile reappeared on Angelica's face as she looked at Lady Milaine. She reached out and gently stroked Lady Milaine's cheek.

"By the way Miss, I must say you have such a gorgeous set of teeth I'm envious"

With that, Angelica stood up and returned the chair to its original spot.

"Anyway! It was wonderful talking to you, beautiful ladies. But unfortunately, I'm a bit tight on time so... Toodles!"

After a few seconds passed since Angelica left, Lady Isla let out the breath she had been holding, feeling a sense of relief.

"Ah..."

Her throat felt parched even though she had a cup of tea mere minutes back. She was about to reach for the teapot to fill her cup when she felt a firm hand on her shoulder.

"!"

Lady Isla jolted up, startled by the sudden touch. She glanced from the corner of her eyes to find that Angelica had returned, having failed to find the exit again.

"Oh! Before I leave. Which way is the exit?"

"That... that way..."

Lady Isla pointed her in the direction with a shaky hand and waved back unconsciously when Angelica did so.

"Thanks. Bye!!"

"Bye..."

Minutes passed before another word would be spoken. This time, after making sure they were truly alone in the pavilion, Lady Carla pointed out something important she had realized about the stranger they had recently encountered.

"Doesn't Young Duchess Frost have platinum hair and green eyes?"

'Exactly like the lady we just saw,' Lady Clara didn't need to finish her sentence for the others to understand.

*cluck*

Hands trembling Lady Milaine rested her teacup on the table, her pale face reflected on its contents.

Meanwhile, in a corridor of the Ivory Palace.

'Someone's been spreading rumors about me' Angelica frowned, analyzing the information she had learned.

It seemed like people assumed the butler Nathaniel's call for artisans and the news of numerous items being commissioned for a woman by the Frost Estate as a sign of Edward proposing matrimony to his rumored lady. While in reality, it was meant for Angelica.

But that didn't concern Angelica. If the novel's timeline were to match it would have been the natural course of events. Suspiciously enough, she hadn't even caught a glimpse of the rumored lady in the days she had been living in the Frost Estate.

However, what bothered her the most was the second half of Lady Milaine's claims about Angelica attacking Edward.

'I think I know which incident they're talking about'

Angelica recalled the incident that happened five days ago.

Early in the morning, Angelica had been standing by the fireplace outside the bedroom, waiting for the Eir priests, when Edward sneaked up behind her.

Coming back from training, he was shirtless and drenched in sweat. Still, he hovered behind her wherever she went like a piece of gum stuck to a shoe.

When Angelica politely asked him to leave, Edward loomed over her and made a few sarcastic remarks about their history. Irritated, Angelica grabbed the first object within reach, a candlestick, and flung it at him which in turn Edward caught and placed on the fireplace with a smirk. But...

'No one else was there'

Usually, when Edward was in the room, the Knights moved to the end of the hallway whereas the servants retired at the first sight of him. They neither stood guard by the door nor let anyone pass by till Edward left unless it was an emergency. Therefore, they couldn't have possibly witnessed the incident in question.

Yet, somehow Lady Milaine knew about it well enough to discuss over a cup of tea. How could she have known? Angelica contemplated.

Right as Angelica was about to turn a corner her mind occupied elsewhere a voice that was all too familiar called out to her.

"Angelica... Is that really you?"