I gave Adelaide a complete rundown of the events of the last three years, redacting the part of my rebirth and the story of the original novel, so that she doesn't think I'm crazy.

As much as I wanted to tell her the truth, there are certain things that need to be kept secret for the sake of her future.

I have a strong feeling that I will find myself recounting the story of my life numerous times in the days to come.

Adelaide's face showed shades of a thousand expressions as I detailed the events from the attack on Mount Zion and my life in Velven all the way to being scammed into coming to Pathellam by a disguised Edward.

Sometimes Adelaide would gasp in surprise, other times she would sigh in relief, and at times she would furrow her brows, looking at me with speculation, particularly when I told her about Eugene.

By the time, I had finished Adelaide's face had long gone pale as she covered her mouth with her hands in horror.

"So that's why you disappeared for three years..." She muttered to herself, looking into the distance.

"It was either that or sitting in the bedroom twiddling thumbs till Edward recovered, so... I figured why not just get it over with" I shrugged.

After taking some time to process everything Adelaide summarized,

"Then... you are saying that His Grace knows that you are you. He also knows that you are pretending to be not you. And he made it so that everybody thinks that you are you while not remembering that you are you?"

"Yup. That pretty much sums up everything."

I nodded, impressed by her summing up the entire ordeal within a few words. In fact, Adelaide's presence here was a testament to the success of Edward's fabricated story. Why else would Adelaide come to see the Duchess immediately after encountering her at the palace, knowing she is her amnesiac friend?

"We're in a semi-quasi-standstill... It's a mess."

I picked up a cookie that Eve had brought for us and began munching on it.

The cookie was perfectly balanced in taste with just the right amount of sweetness, and the added crunch from the nuts, along with a satisfying nutty flavor, made it just the way I prefer it.

While I was lost in bliss, savoring the taste of the cookie, Adelaide grabbed the hand that held it.

"How is your hand, Angelica? Did it leave a scar?" She asked with concern. She appeared to have remembered Richard attacking me at the palace.

"Nah. I'm fine"

I reassured her with a wave of my hand, then picked up another cookie and offered it to her.

"I'm not made of porcelain to crack at a little tug. If anything, you should be concerned for the future descendants of the Steins 'cause I'm pretty sure I cracked both eggs."

The shocking news of Adelaide's engagement with Alexander had monopolized my thoughts so much that the entire situation with Richard was pushed to the back of my mind until she brought him up.

At that time, I was too agitated to think clearly for a reason. But, even now, I still have no clue as to why he attacked me.

'You are not supposed to exist'

I furrowed my brows, recalling Richard's words, when all of a sudden, Priest Hansom's voice rang in my ears.

'You shouldn't exist. You're nothing but a sin that needs to be purged in the fire of hell!'

There was a striking similarity between Richard's remarks and Priest Hansom's delirious outburst from a few weeks earlier. The odd thing was that both of them had attacked me completely unprovoked for unknown reasons.

What does it mean that I'm not supposed to exist? Is it because I was living past my fated lifetime? Or is it because I altered the future that was meant to happen?

'Why can't they just talk straight without using any cryptic words for once!' I gritted my teeth in frustration.

As far as I know, there are only two people who can answer my questions. One of them was Richard, but after yesterday, I'm sure he wants nothing to do with me other than to start a fight. Guessing by his character, his bruised ego would blind his senses before he could even hear me speak.

Then there is the phony Priest Hansom, currently incarcerated under Edward's care. Surprisingly enough, between the two, Priest Hansom sounded the most promising to me.

Based on the information gathered during my reconnaissance of the Frost estate, it appears that the area where they have confined Priest Hansom could possibly be by the stables adjacent to the training grounds, or within the southern wing of the estate.

My entourage of knights and maids have been making great efforts to keep me away from the southern wing while pretending to be ignorant. They may think I have not noticed, but I have long been aware of their efforts.

"What are you going to do now?"

At Adelaide's concerned question, I looked her in the eye and responded firmly,

"Fight it out, of course."

Although the way I go about it may be a bit unprecedented at the moment. No matter what Edward throws at me, I will never back down.

"Isn't that like a walk in the park for you?"

Adelaide let out a throaty laugh, clearly oblivious to the type of conflict I was referring to.

"Yup, Jurassic Park" I scoffed.

"Ju-classic park?"

When Adelaide tilted her head in confusion, I bit my lips, contemplating whether or not I should tell her. The struggle between Edward and I was not exactly synonymous with the term 'fight'. It leaned more on the mental fortitude of the human mind, my mind in particular.

I ultimately chose to tell her the truth since it was better to get things off my chest than have them pile up unresolved till they reached the sky. After all, she was the only person I could speak to regarding this stuff.

"Edward's a lunatic, Addie. The constant flirting and the strip tease are driving me insane. Dammit! I should be ashamed of myself!"

I could feel a familiar heat rising in my cheeks, accompanied by a rush of vivid and embarrassing memories that crashed over me like relentless waves, each one distinct and overwhelming than the one before.

"He knows, Addie! He knows I find him attractive, and he's using it against me as a weapon. He's diabolical"

I slammed my head against the table to stop the relentless onslaught of images playing inside my mind.

"He's a diabolical diabolic!"

"You're ashamed of yourself because your husband is seducing you?"

Adelaide sounded skeptical, her brows furrowing in a show of doubt. I could see her trying to place the version of Edward in her mind against the one I was describing.

Edward was well-known for his stoic and cold nature. He was the kind of person one would find difficult to hold a conversation with. Thus, hearing him act in a completely opposite manner must come as a surprise.

"No!" I denied, raising my head that stung from hitting the table.

"I said I should be ashamed of myself. I'm not. What I am is angry. Not because he's seducing me with his body. But because he is seducing me with his body and it's working!"

"Your thoughts evade me."

Adelaide shook her head with a puzzled expression as if to convey her inability to comprehend my line of thinking.

A moment later, the confusion on her face dissolved, replaced by a mischievous smile that slowly spread to the corners of her lips.

"You know you say all that, Angelica. But it doesn't seem to me that you hate His Grace."

"!"

I froze as if time itself had come to a halt. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end as the weight of realization sank in.

"I'm not married to him, Addie. I was sold to him. I'm a property he invested in. I'm an investment he's not going to lose in."

I ran a hand through my hair, trying to calm the uneasiness that had settled in the pit of my stomach. In a way, it felt like I was speaking to myself rather than to Adelaide.

"What am I supposed to do? Fall in love with him?"

An uncomfortable silence fell between us. After several minutes of quiet reflection, I broke the silence with a confession.

"Know that I'm not developing Stockholm syndrome. I hate him... But I just don't 'hate' hate him. It's complicated"

It has always been that way. I know more than anyone that this world is real. The people around me are not characters from the pages of a novel.

Just like how the villainous from the novel was different from the Adelaide in front of me. I know that the man that I'm angry at is not Edward, but rather the fictional character from a book I read in my previous life.

The longer I stay in the Frost estate with Edward, the more I realize the difference and the more it worries me.

I'm also acutely conscious that my anger is misdirected. However, the idea of liking Edward after all that happened feels like a betrayal to me. Yet at the same time, a part of me fears that it might not.

Our entire relationship started with a lie. It was built on a foundation of deception, with each interaction entangled in a web of more lies and deceit.

My rage demanded a target, and Edward being at the epicenter of it all made him stand at the reciprocal end of my full fury.

"All this anger and frustration has to be pointed at someone."

As the words escaped my lips, it felt as if a burdensome weight had been lifted from my chest.

It was fate that made us cross paths. It was fate that tried to kill one of us to pave the way for the other. Whatever happens after that is in our hands.

Certainly, I was not going to push Edward toward Helen for that sake too. After all...

'I'm not his matchmaker for god's sake. I have better things to do!'

Seeing my downcast expression, Adelaide picked up one of the cookies from the tray and placed it in my hand.

"Are the people here treating you well, Angelica?"

"Hmm"

Nibbling on the cookie, I thought about the cheerful maids by my side, the knights constantly surrounding me like I was a witness in a high-profile case, the ever-quiet Eir priests with the exception of High Priest Thesser, and the butler Nathaniel slyly trying to make me take over the duchess's duties.

"They all think I'm a helpless amnesiac ready to walk off a cliff if left unattended. And this is coming from a person who has done it twice."

"Twice!?" Adelaide sputtered, her eyes wide with bewilderment.

"I guess the first time won't count since I was pushed. But I jumped with Eugene the second time so... Anyway. I need your help, Addie."

I dusted the crumbs off my hand and leaned forward.

"I want to get in touch with Grandpa Gilbert. I can't do that when I'm under constant supervision. But you can."

I have been thinking of ways to contact Grandpa Gilbert for a while now. After Edward, he was one of the most influential people in Volos. He was also the first person I went to in the aftermath of the carriage attack.

If there was anyone who could provide the support and guidance I needed to navigate through my current predicament, it would be him.

"Write a letter, Angelica. I'll pass on the message."

Now, with Adelaide's aide, I will be able to have my message to him secretly without anyone knowing.

Later that afternoon, after I watched Adelaide's carriage fade out into the distance, I turned around and went to my spot by the window in the library with one of the newspapers in my hand.

Leaning on the window sill, I recalled Adelaide's departing words just before she boarded her carriage as I opened the newspaper.

"When I learned you were in the capital Angelica, I went to see you immediately. But there were soldiers in armor everywhere."

"Yeah. Frost Knights, I've gotten used to it now"

With a sense of secrecy, she made sure to impart her words to me alone, leaning in to whisper them into my ear.

"No. Not Frost Knights. Templer knights were surrounding the gates. They barricaded the main roads and blocked my carriage."

One fine day in the capital of Orion, armored Templar Knights from the Church of Theodore laid siege in front of the gates to the Frost Estate and demanded entry. A tense confrontation ensued between the Frost Knights and the Templar Knights until the Holy Pope stepped in to diffuse the situation.

As the Knights respectfully parted ways for her, Helen emerged and made her way to the Pope. The people of the city gathered around in curious crowds, watching intently as she began conversing with the religious leader.

Adelaide, unable to hear their conversation, had watched the entire scene unfold from a distance. She stood by, observing, until the arrival of the Imperial Knights, who swiftly dispersed the crowd. The last thing Adelaide caught sight of was Edward arriving as she climbed into her carriage.

The notable thing being that this particular event took place on the very day I woke up from a coma, which explains why there were no guards around as I wandered about in a half-conscious state.

This was significant news, especially because Adelaide, well-versed in the social world, was careful to ensure that her words were only privy to me.

'They must have come for Priest Hansom'

My eyes drifted down to the article in the bottom corner of the newspaper about the future of Helen and Edward's romantic relationship. The ridiculous article portrayed me as the other woman who came between the destined lovers.

Beside the article, there was an announcement urging the people to gather for a special prayer led by the Holy Pope at the Central Church in two days' time. The purpose of the prayer was to seek blessings for the prosperity of the Empire.

Helen had been selected to represent the absent Saintess during the prayer, a role that would further establish her position as the next Saintess before the foundation ball.

I folded the newspaper and set it down. It seems like at least some parts of the story are progressing as intended.