Shadow Queen - Chapter 1

“Can you be my daughter?”

I shouldn’t have held that hand. Even the Emperor couldn’t treat him rashly; the Empire’s Prime Minister, Grand Duke Franches. That request that one couldn’t reject, the cause of the problem.

Princess Veronica, who died because of a fever—the only one who could replace her was me, who resembled her. I ended up having a hard time.

Had I refused at that time, I could’ve avoided such a miserable death. It ended up looking ridiculous. What’s the point of being at the top of the society, being envied by ladies, and being courted by men? What’s the use of embellished dresses and jewelry made by artisans? What’s the point of being crowned First Queen?

Princess Veronica, whom I’d thought was dead, was perfectly alive and well. Now that she’s back, my existence in this world was unasked for.

“From the start……this was the plan.”

Every time I spoke, the metal stuck in my stomach snarled. My insides twisted, the blood stained my dress and covered the floor.

“Don’t resent me. I only reached out my hand, it is you who took that hand.”

Grand Duke Franches countered mockingly. I burst into laughter at the clever way he put the blame on me. Standing beside him, Veronica, bluntly continued speaking.

“We’ve been working on this plan for a long time. And because of that, I pretended to be dead and needed a replacement. You did quite well.”

I lifted my head and looked at Veronica.

Ah! It’s as if I was looking at a mirror. I saw the resemblance to the princess. Sorrow rained down on me. When I stopped breathing, she would naturally take over my place. The position of the queen, the relationship between the Emperor and I, even the newborn might call Veronica ‘Mother’.

No, I’m certain it would happen. It was so unfair. My tears burst out in rage.

“Are you crying? Don’t be too sad. I’m more merciful than I look. As consolation for your hard work, I’m thinking of doing something for you.”

Veronica beckoned, and the knight behind her handed over a baby wrapped in silk. Veronica showed the face of a sleeping baby as if she was being generous.

“Baby, say your last goodbye to your mom. Mom’s going to die soon.”

“…..!”

Veronica raised the crying baby’s hand and waved it. It really looked crueller than the devil.

“I—Ian!”

I crawled towards Veronica in a desperate struggle. The metal trampled my insides, I couldn’t stop struggling with pain. The apple of my eye, my son. It drove me mad to see Ian cuddled in her arms.

“Don’t try too hard. I don’t know what to do with this child for now. I’m going to hear him call me ‘Mother’ and see a great deal of his cuteness. By then, I’ll possibly have a baby with the Emperor, right? I’ll send him by your side then.”

“You—You devil!”

My hands and lips trembled with anger.

“You’re taking too long, Veronica.”

“Oh, I lost track of time because of the entertainment in front of me. Let’s go.”

Grand Duke Franches glanced at me and turned coldly. Veronica followed behind.

“I can’t even say goodbye because I don’t even know your real name. But I’ll tell you, at least you did a good job, fake Veronica.”

Looking at Veronica’s distant back, I stretched out my hand as hard as I could. My desperation kept me from giving up even though I knew I couldn’t keep up.

However, so much blood spilled out from my body. This was it.

Thud.

My hands fell weakly. Veronica’s distant back was the last thing I remember.

Chapter 1: The Rise of Vengeance

“Elena!”

Elena, who was dipping her feet in a low hillside stream, stopped at the sound of calling for her. The waves that were spreading over the surface of the water died down and Elena’s image was projected onto the calm water.

Where should we start explaining? She was young in the reflection of the water. Her young face and sheer cheeks were especially prominent. It contained the freshness of a bud waiting to bloom, somewhere between a girl and a woman.

Believe it or not, Elena had returned. After rising to the throne as Veronica, she returned at the age of 16 before the coming-of-age ceremony.

She couldn’t accept all this at first. The betrayal that took all that she had achieved by posing as Veronica. The acrid feel of iron through her abdomen. Veronica’s back as she was walking away with Ian. The vivid recollection kept her from those days.

Especially when she thought of Ian, she was heartbroken. It was suffocating to think of the time when the child would survive alone without the care of Elena, his mother.

Why did she have to come back five years ago? If she had gone back a year or three months ago, she wouldn’t have been helpless by then. Ian could’ve been protected.

For the first ten days she lived like a spirit. It wasn’t easy to narrow and admit the gap between reality and past life. But as time went by, the flames of emotion, which had been burning deep in the heart, gradually cooled.

Sure, a world where there’s no Ian. They couldn’t meet even if she searched the whole continent, because he hadn’t been born, so he didn’t exist, right? Only after accepting that fact was Elena able to bury Ian deep in her heart.

Not only that. She could no longer stay in the past, but faced towards the present life. Elena was aware that she could choose the future that lay ahead of her.

“Elena!”

The call of a middle-aged man was heard loud once again. Elena turned her head as he came close.

“There you are.”

“Father.”

Elena slightly raised her chin to make eye contact with him. Baronet Frederick was a gentleman with neatly arranged hair and a pair of eyeglasses. He was once a recognized administrator in the capital city, but his grandfather’s failure in business had cost him all his fortune and forced him to the periphery. Currently, he worked as an administrator in Viscount Claude’s manor and was receiving pay, but he was also a half-nobleman who’s trying hard to survive.

“What do you mean you’re not coming to the coming-of-age ceremony? What on earth are you talking about?”

Baronet Frederick’s speech was straightforward than ever. The urgency in his behavior could be felt as he came all the way here to find his daughter at the time when he had to see to his official duties at his official residence. In contrast, Elena was absolutely calm.

“Just like I told you this morning. I don’t want such a grand ceremony.”

“But Elena, this is a good opportunity. Although it’s sponsored by the Lord, it’s a formal social debut.”

Baronet Frederick was desperately trying to persuade her. Elena’s social debut was practically impossible with a tight green light.

But an unexpected opportunity came. Viscount Claude offered to sponsor the expenses needed to make her debut in society for Elena’s coming-of-age ceremony. Already, he did not want to miss this opportunity because he felt guilty, because his incompetence seemed to block his daughter’s marriage.

“I’m sorry. I know you’re concerned, but I don’t want to overdo it.”

“It’s all for you. You might not know since you’re still young, but debuting formally in the society affects your husband’s feelings. Did you know that?”

Elena’s eyes became intense. As always, the honest and single-minded father put forward a political theory. If you could prove your aristocratic reputation and show off your beauty in society, you could be courted by men.

“Isn’t it strange?”

“What are you talking about?”

Baronet Frederick raised his eyebrows.

“The sponsorship he said. Is it really just a sponsorship? I don’t think so, Father.”

“What do you mean by that?”

Elena squinted her eyes.

“Let’s say I made my debut in society. But what if I get sent as a concubine of an old nobleman or a merchant in the guise of a sponsorship? As I’m the one who received the sponsorship, how can I refuse?”

Baronet Frederick was shocked at Elena’s words.

“A concubine! He’s not that kind of person.”

“You don’t know that.”

‘He’s someone who hides a knife behind a smiling face.’

Elena had experienced it painfully. Despite Elena’s concerns, Baronet Frederick did not give up persuading.

“I see what you’re worried about. Just calm yourself. I will interfere and stop it.”

Elena’s expression hardly unfolded despite his trustworthy words. Not because he was unreliable, but because she knew it was something he couldn’t do.

“…… You won’t be able to stop it. They’ll tie up not only me, but also the whole family.”

It’s a trap. A thoroughly planned trap. In the previous life, the sponsorship had become debt. The debt became chains, and forbade the family from being able to do anything.