ITIF Chapter 10

The Reason Giselle Grante Changed

So at first, I thought there must have been instructions from Duke Amaterasu, but from what I observed, that didn’t seem to be the case.

Rather, it seemed more accurate to see it as Giselle Grante’s own will. Acting stupid, that is.

[I’m worried about Giselle. What if she can’t get married at this rate… Kavel, if that happens, could you please take care of our Giselle…]

If I hadn’t heard Mikhail, who rarely drinks, muttering like a drunk on one of those nights when he was intoxicated, I probably wouldn’t have known even that much.

For such a woman to reveal her true self not only to me, but even to others at this point, was truly an unexpected turn of events.

“…….”

Even thinking about it slowly, it was difficult to definitively determine the reason for her sudden change, but I felt I could clearly see the difference between the former Giselle Grante and the current one.

It was the emotion contained in the way she looked at him.

The eyes of Giselle Grante who used to look at him before contained desperation.

Such burdensome eyes, as if seeking salvation from him.

But recently, in Giselle Grante’s eyes toward him, displeasure was the first thing that could be read.

A strong expression of antipathy, one might say.

It was also different from expressing anger when someone you have unrequited love for doesn’t accept your feelings for a long time.

Kavelaseth’s long, straight fingers slowly brushed his lower lip.

‘Whatever it is, it’s as if her inner core has completely changed…’

Kavelaseth’s straight brow furrowed considerably.

Nothing was as intriguing as discovering the unknown, but nothing was as irritating either.

****

As soon as Giselle Grante came out of the guest room, Lindsey exclaimed:

“Miss! Nothing… happened to you, right?”

Giselle Grante lightly scanned Lindsey and the guard knights who were waiting for her in front of the door.

They were all looking at her with somewhat anxious expressions.

“Something? What kind of something?”

Giselle Grante looked back and forth between the guest room doors on the left and right, contemplating which would be the better choice.

Lindsey glanced at her and asked hesitantly:

“Well, did Duke Cardia perhaps speak to you… somewhat harshly…”

At that, the guard knights’ expressions immediately turned menacing.

They seemed convinced that Kavelaseth had said something insulting to her.

‘Interesting.’

She knew the important facts through Giselle Grante’s diary.

But the detailed circumstances weren’t written in the diary, and seeing their reactions, she could roughly understand how Giselle Grante had been treated by Kavelaseth all this time.

A chuckle escaped through Giselle Grante’s teeth.

“…Miss?”

She looked at Lindsey and the guard knights with a face full of confidence and said:

“Don’t worry. From now on, I’ll make sure Duke Cardia can’t treat me carelessly.”

At that, Lindsey looked at her with an expression that seemed to ask if such a thing was possible.

Instead of explaining the reason, Giselle Grante turned toward the guest room on the left.

“Where are you going, Miss?”

Soon, a puzzled voice from a guard knight came from behind her, but she moved forward without paying it any mind.

And only after opening the guest room door did she speak to them:

“Let’s go in.”

“Pardon?”

“What do you mean?”

Leaving behind Lindsey and the guard knights who asked back with faces that showed they didn’t understand, Giselle Grante walked into the guest room.

“We need to rest comfortably if we want to leave early tomorrow.”

****

“Wow! Miss, you’re really amazing!”

Lindsey couldn’t contain her amazement, exclaiming in admiration.

“What is?”

“You got permission from Duke Cardia to use this guest room! Perhaps…”

“…?”

“Could it be that Duke Cardia also has feelings for you, Miss?”

Lindsey, who had been carefully combing through her hair, spoke up hesitantly. She answered immediately to that question.

“I don’t think so.”

“Why not? Look! If it were before, he would have blown a cold wind and left as soon as your faces met…”

At this point, she became a little curious. What exactly had the previous relationship between Kavelaseth and Giselle Grante been like?

“Lindsey.”

“Yes, Miss.”

“How did it seem to you? Did Duke Cardia treat me very harshly?”

“…Pardon?”

Lindsey, who had been chattering well just moments before, made a troubled expression and lowered her gaze.

Well, what did it matter now? The past relationship between Kavelaseth and Giselle Grante.

‘No, that’s not right.’

Soon she remembered the distant future that Giselle Grante had seen. Her own future where she might become Crown Prince Joshua’s companion and die at Kavelaseth’s hands.

‘Maybe I should be nice to him instead of being stubborn…’

But she had absolutely no intention of bowing down and submitting to Kavelaseth.

In her previous life, she had only encountered Kavelaseth a few times, but she disliked him for no reason.

Despite having such a fine exterior that could captivate at first sight.

Kavelaseth acted politely on the surface, but she could feel that he subtly despised Trinity.

‘Right, that’s how it was. Those impure and arrogant eyes!’

Since there were few people who could hold their heads up stiffly in front of her, it had been somewhat novel to see such an arrogant attitude.

“It’s done, Miss. Wow! Your hair has such a beautiful shine.”

Lindsey seemed quite pleased with her flowing hair texture and even started humming.

“Will you sleep now?”

“Yes.”

“Miss, have sweet dreams.”

“You too, Lindsey.”

Lindsey, with her lips pressed together, smiled and left the bedroom.

But having sat still in the running carriage all day, her body felt stiff and she didn’t think sleep would come immediately.

‘The moon is particularly bright tonight.’

Giselle Grante draped a thick shawl over her shoulders and went out to the balcony.

“Beautiful…”

An exclamation naturally burst from her lips as she looked up at the black night sky.

In the sky, countless stars were twinkling as if they would pour down at any moment.

At this sight, more beautiful and wondrous than any artwork in the imperial palace, Giselle Grante couldn’t take her eyes away for a long time.

“Was there ever a time before? When I leisurely looked up at the night sky and enjoyed the beauty that nature gives…”

She tried to remember what it had been like in her previous life, but couldn’t recall well.

At night, she would usually fall asleep as soon as she lay in bed as if fainting, and in the morning, she would barely open her heavy eyelids from lack of sleep to start the day.

So there was no way she would have had the leisure to look up at the sky.

“Yes. Perhaps this worked out for the better. That position didn’t suit me anyway.”

Giselle Grante repeated those words several times.

Because otherwise it would be too miserable. The current reality where all the efforts to become emperor had become futile.

As she began to lament her situation, her eyes quickly became hot.

Just as tears welled up and she was quietly sniffling:

“Oh, it’s cold!”

Something cold touched her cheek. It wouldn’t have been tears.

She hurriedly touched her cheek. Starting with the first snowflake that melted like water, snowflakes began falling one by one from the black night sky.

“Wow…”

A low exclamation escaped from her lips.

Giselle Grante turned her head to the side while watching the heavy snow that began to fall.

And soon her eyes widened.

“…!”

Kavelaseth was standing on the balcony next to hers.

Her heart pounded rapidly from the shock.

‘Since when has he been standing there?’

She hadn’t heard any particular sounds since she stepped onto the balcony.

That meant Kavelaseth had been there even before she came out to the balcony.

‘Then he must have seen me talking to myself and feeling sorry for myself…’

She glared at Kavelaseth with a reddened face.

“How long have you been standing there?”

“Beautiful.”

“…?”

Her heart sank at the single word Kavelaseth casually threw out.

But she soon realized it was what she had said while looking up at the sky moments ago.

“Since you said that?”

Giselle Grante bit the soft flesh inside her mouth.

As she had expected, it seemed Kavelaseth had indeed been there from the beginning.

‘I didn’t say anything strange, did I?’

She hoped not.

Giselle Grante looked back on all her actions from the moment she stepped onto the balcony.

Fortunately, she didn’t remember saying anything particularly unusual.

Except for getting a bit emotional and tearing up…

“But why were you standing there without making any sound?”

“Do I need to?”

Kavelaseth took a big step toward her. Meanwhile, Giselle Grante suppressed her desire to step back and remained still, looking at him.

Then, staring intently at her as well, Kavelaseth opened his mouth:

“But… is it a habit?”

“…?”

“Not keeping your word once you’ve spoken it.”

Giselle Grante glared at Kavelaseth, who was picking a fight with increasingly sharp eyes.

[I will be careful not to catch your attention in the future.]

Soon she remembered the words she had said to Kavelaseth just a few hours ago.

“This was force majeure. If I had known you were already out on the balcony, I absolutely would not have come out here!”

“Ah…”

Kavelaseth nodded with a completely unresponsive expression, and veins bulged on Giselle Grante’s tightly clenched fists.

‘Just don’t engage with him. Yes. Don’t engage.’

No matter what she did, she currently couldn’t seize the initiative in her relationship with Kavelaseth.

She was no longer the next emperor, and because of the misdeeds that the previous Giselle Grante had committed, she would never be in a position superior to Kavelaseth for the rest of her life.

Rather, thinking of the future, she should be careful not to displease him.

But she didn’t want to humble herself in front of him. Though she wasn’t sure why.

Nevertheless, Giselle Grante spoke with a forced smile on her lips:

“Well then, have a good night. I’ll be going now.”

Since Kavelaseth currently held the initiative, if she didn’t want to grovel in front of him, the best strategy was to avoid catching his attention as much as possible.

She didn’t want to beg for her life to change the future that was to come.