Spoiler Shadow queen (manhwa)

Volume 3 summary (1/3)

Spoiler: Len's investigations: who was Veronica?

Len was using a spy to secretly monitor the Grand Duke house. He found out, after a few investigations, that:

• The doctor who was treating Princess Veronica in the past was still there.
• Moreover, the herbs used to detoxify poison were still entering the house. That amount had even doubled from before.

It was a confirmation that would instill confidence in the doubts that Len had throughout.
He expressed his joy with his whole body.

"What really is, this. Did you trick me into a fake substitute? "

He remembered every moment, from the first meeting on her birthday anniversary to the appearance of Lucia, and the laughter did not stop.
Like a fool.

Len was wondering about himself, about why he never thought of using the fact that Elena was a fake Veronica to hit the Grand Duke.
Lucia was not Veronica, Veronica was a fake.
He was not a cousin anymore.

"Are you casually pretending to be a daughter on a fake Lucia theme?”

Laughs came to mind when Len recalled Emilio, the top state of the Castol Chamber of Commerce, and Elena, who played the sweet woman.
Even Raphael, the famous painter portrayed her.

Even Ciel, who was united with a sense of duty, was shaken only in front of Lucia. Whether intentionally or unintentionally, sshe set yourself up among so many people with that many fake identities.

It's only a heartache, but he was guessing that she might be L, an insane human being who was aiming a sword at the Grand Duke.

Spoiler: The changing Ciel

"What? His Majesty was in my semi-final of swordsmanship? Not in the qualifying round, but in the finals?"
Elena, who had been restricted from her activities as Lucia, was only able to meet the Caliph.
It didn't make any sense. Ciel had never been at the top of the ranks of the Swordsmanship Academy, nor did he show any remarkable skills.

But what happened?
The fencing skills of the students of the Swordsmanship Academy are not easy to follow. Was it a fluke ?
"His Majesty told me to tell you something."
“What about me?”
""When I go up to the finals, please come to see me”
“Did he really say that?”

Elena asked her disbelief.
It was a tradition to invite family members or lovers, but Elena was neither family nor lover. At best, they are juniors with close friends.
“It can’t be”
.
.
Ciel began to receive overwhelming support from the common people.
It was because he listened to Elena and tried to reach out to the common people first.
He often participated in discussions among the commoners who were attending the Academy.

At first, it was a reluctance atmosphere, but it was said that students from common people were moved by the appearance of Ciel trying to abandon his sense of authority and approach them.
In addition, they said that Ciel was not bound by the status of Prince, and tried to understand their lives by searching for shops and restaurants near the Academy.
The commoners were enthusiastic about Ciel, who was like a miracle. Seeing Ciel's efforts to change the outcomes gave them hope.

Spoiler: The swordsmanship's semi-finale and Hurelbad's evaluations

Elena decided to attend the semi-finals. The fact that Ciel, who was careful in everything, invited her to the finals, was no different from saying that he had confidence to advance to the final

Elena left the dormitory as Veronica with Hurelbad. She didn't know much about swordsmanship. That’s why he needed someone to judge whether Ciel, who advanced to the semi-finals, won by luck or by skill.

And... if his Majesty rises in the final, his opponent would be Ren.

In the original history, it was Len's responsibility to win the swordsmanship. Since he was such a monster, he had been called the wolf of the imperial power, one of the three swords of the empire. .

At a glance, Elena looked down at the match, where Ren, who had advanced to the semi-finals, was playing with the right to advance to the finals. The end of Len's sword touched the opponent's neck, scaringly a wooden sword struck on the floor.
“Winner Ren Bastashu. Advance to the finals!”

At the shout of the professor, Len laughed. The opponent closed his eyes and swallowed the resentment of defeat.


"Did you see?” Elena stood behind and asked Hurelbad, who was watching the match.
“Yes, Sir Len tricked him while quickly aiming at the neck and breaking the sword. Without missing the gap, he flew his sword with a decisive cut.”
“It all happened in an instant?”
"That's right. "

“How is he?"
" Strong."
"Compared to the 2nd Knight General, Sir James? "
"Sir Len will be stronger. "

Elena nodded silently.

“What if you fight with Len? If you have trouble answering, you don't have to talk. "
“... I think it's half and half."
"It's half and half, it's really good,"

‘Grow up as you are now, Sir Hurell Bard.'

When Elena left the dorm, she allowed Hurell Bard to do personal training and she wanted to help him become stronger by focusing on training.


The 2nd match of the Semi-finale
Ciel won the victory after a fierce duel that took place in the final. The opponent who was defeated by Xian seemed to be fascinated.
Ciel had never beaten him.


"It seems like your Majesty won, but is it right?" Elena asked again. "I'll change the question, with the assumption that you're confronting his Majesty the Crown Prince."

Hurelbad was not just a general knight, but a genius who was praised as the sword of the empire. I

“Isn't it true that his Majesty seems to be lagging behind Ren, who overwhelmingly defeated the opponent? "
"Because he was tailoring to his opponent's level. "
"What does that mean? “

Hurelbard carefully opened his mouth.” It seems that his Majesty is hiding his skills. "

""No way."
“He is currently stronger than me or Sir Len.”

Elena momentarily realized that she had missed something. When she thought that the Ciel she had known was only a shell, she got goosebumps.
Furthermore, for some reason, it seemed that Ciel had made a decision different from the past.
Without that, there would be no reason to reveal the hidden swordsmanship under all circumstances.

Spoiler: The finale part 1

The final match between the two was seen as a confrontation of effort and talent.

The nobles, of course, cheered for Len, which was unusual as if they wanted to enjoy the appearance of despair in Ciel.
In contrast, Ciel received overwhelming support from the common people.

Elena, who was disguised as Lucia, not Veronica, came to the match. She was amazed to see the common people filling the seats

“Please break the noble guy's nose.”
"But Len is a genius? He said he had never missed first place throughout his school years."
"Talent? Efforts are the best. Look carefully. His Majesty will chew him, keep your stomach cool."

The commoners defined Len as an enemy of aristocratic nobility and cheered on Ciel. There was also an antipathy towards the nobles, but that's why they got closer to Ciel.



"Hey, friends!"
Elena sighed and reluctantly came out from her seat

In response to Elena's crooked reaction, Len laughed.
"Don't laugh disgustingly, why are you here?"
"If I win today, would you like to eat out with me?"
"Why am I eating out with my senior?"
"I want to do it?"
"I do not like it."
"You can't hate it. I don't have time. I know that we have agreed." (Lol Len)

Len ran away after saying his words.

Confused Elena shouted. "Wait a minute! Nobody said yes!"
"You chose the restaurant, I'll pay for it."
“That jerk” Elena sighed. Anxiety came over to Len's sudden offer.
.
.
.

“It's your Majesty! Majesty! Please win!” Caliph cheered as soon as he saw Ciel appearing in the battle hall.

Len's sudden behavior had made Elena embarrassed.
‘I think he misunderstood something? Ignore it.’

As if it wasn't worth paying attention to, Elena fixed her gaze to Ciel.
It was only a moment, but Ciel's gaze and Elena's gaze clashed in the air.
Then Ciel turned his head to face Ren standing in front of him and fixed his wooden sword.

Spoiler: The finale part 2: Ciel VS Len

"The finals started! "

A quiet silence flowed between Xian and Len at the square game hall.
The two people, who didn't even move as if time had stopped, just stared at each other silently.

It wasn't just fighting, but trying to find a gap. The first person who moved was Len.
His wooden sword, which spurred the ground and narrowed the distance at once, rushing as if piercing the opponent's torso. It was so agile and perfect stab that even an experienced knight could not easily respond.

As he lowered his posture, Ciel twisted his upper body, and struck Len's wooden sword, which was pushed in with propulsion, as hard as possible.

Chang,
Len's wooden sword was out of balance and fell to the floor. At the same time, Len's body was defenseless.

Ciel quickly turned the direction of the wooden sword and swung it toward Len's shoulder.
Len picked up his wooden sword and rushed back to Xian.

Chang.

The 2 wooden swords collided, causing a crackling sound to spread.

Even in this situation, Len twisted his back to aim for Ciel. Ciel’s body was pushed back because of his great strength, and at that fleeting moment, Len touched the ground with his hand and then stood with two legs while spinning in the air.


The grandstand was holding their breath from the competition. A huge shout poured out from
"Wow ah! "
Just by looking at it, it was natural to feel the tension with the hair on your whole body.


"Have you been hiding your skills for a while? Then keep hiding it. Why now reveal it and make it difficult for many people?" said Len.
It might be surprising to see Ciel's swordsmanship, but there was no such sign that Len was confused. It was because there was a firm belief that in the end he would win.

"Because I have to change."
"Are you changing? What are you doing? "

It has been a long time since the imperial family has already lost its authority.

"I was like you too. I thought I had to change."
"What are you talking about... "

Ciel glanced and looked at Elena sitting in the special seat.
"And to me, times have changed, and it's not my role to change the world. I'm just going to pave the way to go in a better direction."

Len didn't understand less than half of it. However, he guessed who was the one who made him change: it was Elena.

“I would have warned you before. Don't like her. ” Len referred to Elena.
“It's not your business.”
"Why not, I'm interested in her," as Len made an open declaration, Ciel's eyes widened.
He was guessing, but he didn't know that Len would openly admit it in this way.

"Oh, and if I win, I decided to eat out with her, but you have no intention of losing right?"
"I will do my best to win."
"It's a breakdown in negotiations."

Even in Ciel's calm eyes, a spirit of struggle lingered. As much as he invited Elena to the final, there was no desire to lose.
By the way, he knew Len's feelings, so even Len was the same. The promise he had made with Elena motivated Len to cling to victory.

Spoiler: The finale part 3: Len VS Ciel

It was a fierce confrontation that no one dared to say that one was superior.
Although threatening attacks that seemed to take the opponent's life were constantly coming and going, neither side had retreated.

The audience held their breath and couldn't take their eyes off the confrontation between the two.

"Ha, ha." Len and Xian, who were continuing the workshop without taking a breath, had a lull at a distance. The harsh breathing and sweat dripping down the chin gave a sense of how fierce their confrontation was.
"Oh my Majesty, don't know how you endured while losing to me and being ridiculed?"
"It was just a meaningless battle. "


Ciel had thoroughly concealed his sword skills. Even though he had been defeated by Len in official battles eleven times, he did not show his skills.
It was an unavoidable choice. Wearing a mask of incompetence, it reduced the vigilance’s of the guards and the four grand families.

"The Emperor is not reigning, but he’s a person who cares for the people. I only knew it now.”
A bitter smile was built around Ciel's mouth without knowing it. He tried to devote all his enthusiasm to rejecting the nobles in search of the former imperial authority and glory.
Then he met Elena and thought again. What kind of being an emperor should be.

Due to the corruption and exploitation of the nobles, the lives of the people were devastated ‘A new era will come, and change will start from the bottom, not the top of the pyramid.’ Ciel, who later understood the meaning of the words, tried to change himself. Plans were also being secretly revised.


The beginning was to reveal his natural sword skills, which had been thoroughly hidden.
Noble checks? He wouldn't care. Rather, he wanted to give the impression that he was standing at the point of symmetry with nobles and commoners.
That was the sketch of the big picture Ciel was drawing.

"What are you saying, what about the emperor, what about the people?"
“I didn't think you would understand.”

Len shook his head, swung his wooden sword in the air threateningly

"Let's see the end. I have an appointment for a meal, but I don't want to make you wait long."
"Your stab is excellent." Ciel also slowly lowered his posture.

Then Len began to push himself with the beast-like instinct to add momentum.
Ciel deliberately cut off his move. When he gave and received the swords two or three times, he spread the distance to take his breath, and after fighting fiercely by bumping the wooden sword, he stepped back and repeated the path.

Len's rhythm broke off when Ciel cut off the flow.

‘It's now,'
Ciel's eyes had changed. He bent his knees and lowered his posture.

Len's long-term stabbing was optimized for overpowering opponents with a blow, but had a weakness that there were many gaps in case of failure.
Ciel struck Len's stab from the front. The balance was broken. Len quickly took a defensive position.

"Oops!"

Cielsword tip was fiercely aiming at the heart, and Len, feeling the crisis, twisted his upper body with an animal instinct.
Ciel's wooden sword, which should have come deeper, changed the course.

'Heocho!'

Ciel had no intention of aiming at the heart in the first place. He simply stretched out his sword to pretend to be aiming and tricked Len into reacting with force.
Ciel launched a wave attack at the collapsed Len. No clutter. A moderate attack aiming only at vital spots.

In the end, Len, who couldn't stand the offensive and allowed Ciel's wooden sword to touch the uvula.


"The game is over! Fourth grader, His Majesty Claudios De Ciel wins!"

At the same time as the professor's announcement of the end, a shout erupted from the crowd watching the duel without breathing.


Ciel took the wooden sword
“It was a good match.”
Len threw the wooden sword and turned around with a nervous expression, as if he had given him politeness.

The thunderous shouts of the commoners who visited the match were poured out toward the winner,Ciel. The latter waved his hand and answered their support. Then Ciel's gaze turned to a special seat.

Spoiler: Eavesdropping

“His Majesty won. He beat Len” Elena couldn't believe it.

Len was a wolf in the wilderness, one of the three swords that defended the empire. Except for the Ice Knight Hurelbad, he was a superpower at the peak of an empire that was evaluated as having nothing to deal with.
Ciel defeated such Len.

'Sir Hurelbad was right. He was hiding his skills.' She couldn't help but to admit.

"His majesty is looking this way. Let's wave it! Lucia, what are you doing? Come over here quickly."
“Come on,”

Elena, dragged by Caliph, stood near the terrace and clapped. She congratulated him sincerely with a smile on her lips.


While going to Ciel’s side, Elena accidentaly oversaw Len through a door’s crack.

Slap!

Len’s face was slapped by a hand as big as a bear’s
Elena came to the wall without knowing it, and eavesdropped on the conversation.

"You're a pathetic guy like this." The voice coming from over the wall was profound. He was a middle-aged man who was forty to fifty.

"My father doesn't know how to be satisfied. I can lose. Did you always win against me?"

"Are you talking about that?"


Elena flinched. Hearing the sound was so ruthless that her body crumbled.
Elena's feelings for Len are bad. No matter how much you open it up, it was a relationship that couldn't get along.

Apart from that, however, Spencer's act of slapping his cheek indiscriminately for losing the final was not a mature act as an adult.
"The prince has been in the bottom for all four years. You have never missed the number one in the school rankings. But you lost. It's because you are lazy"
“Yes, I was lazy and lazy,”

"You idiot, I've never taught you defeat. I only taught you to win."


Throughout their conversation, Elena also understood that Len’s mother was killed (?) by Veronica, and that’s why he hated her that much.


When Spencer went away, Len opened his mouth
"Aren't you coming out? “
Elena appeared in the middle of the passage between the walls, and Len smiled with a distinctive smirk.

"What are you doing?"
“How are you?” Elena hesitated and said.
“ What? Oh, this? " Len touched his cheek, and laughed while pretending to be okay. With a face that didn't look good at all.

Elena looked sadly at him, then approached him unknowingly and reached out. Elena's hand covered the red swollen cheeks of Len. It contained the wish that the wounded heart hurt a little less.

Len was embarrassed by Elena's unexpected behavior. He had never learned how to accept the unfamiliar feeling, so he grabbed Elena's wrist
“What? Are you sympathising ? "
"Yes, it's pity. Why do you run around like a fool? You have a big body, and you can't even speak properly while beating here and there "
" Are you comforting me now? " The eyes of Ren, who questioned her, shook without any reason.

Consolation.

He grew up with a sense of responsibility and obligation. For him, the word comfort was a luxury.

Elena touched the weakest part of Len.

"Let go of it. Can you please? Ah!”


Len quickly let go of her hand, realizing that he had gripped Elena's wrist without knowing it. It was a mistake. But seeing Elena's wrist swollen red due to the mistake made his heart sore. He couldn't do it anymore.


Len turned around because it seemed weird

"I couldn't keep my promise, so let's eat out next time. Until then, even if you're sorry, be patient. "

"Senior. "

Why was Elena's last-minute words ringing in his heart like this today? Len turned around, went a couple of steps, and stopped walking.
He wasn't confident to see Elena, so he didn't look back “Because I might cross the line,”

Spoiler: Butterfly effect?

Elena met up with Ciel. The latter asked to be alone with Lucia for a moment.

An awkward silence flowed in the space where only the two were left. It was coem who opened his mouth first.
"I wondered what to do if you didn't come."
"Yeah?"
"I went to the match, and I saw you. My heart was relieved."

Elena didn't know what to say.

"..I'm a little surprised".
"Is it because of what I meant? Or because I beat Ren and win?”
“both.”

When Elena answered honestly, Ciel squeezed his chin and said with a glance
“because of you.”

Elena's pupils couldn't find the focus and shook as if it were an earthquake.


“Take advantage of the new era.”

“Ah."

Ciel listened to Elena's words in the dormitory and made his own judgment and decisions

'It was all because of me.’
She could now fully admit that her words and actions had a great influence on Ciel, and the future of the future was likely to be quite different compared to that of the original history.
Like the butterfly effect, she couldn't even guess where the change would happen.
‘No matter what, I don't regret it.'

No matter what variable arose, Elena was willing to persevere. Ciel, who became mature after defeating Len, was so proud that she was proud of him.


“The people will be on your side.” Elena spoke, and a light smile struck Ciel’s mouth.
"You can hear it clearly. The hot cry of the people who are supporting me,"
"Your Majesty."
"The people are not on my side. I will be on their side. It was a contest to prove such determination."
"You proved it in the end. You defeated Len and even won the championship."

His victory in swordsmanship would change the eyes of the nobles who had treated Xian as an incompetent prince.
.

.

.

"I have something I want to ask you."
"Please speak."
“Len said that. He promised to have a meal with you if I beat me, is that true?” (Ciel I died )


Elena gleamed. "I haven't promised,"
"I guess it was a one-sided coercion."
The tail of Ciel's mouth went up. "I didn't know what happened before and after, but I was angry when I heard about it. I hate you to meet him. Now and in the future. "

Elena's heart thumped.

Spoiler: The Graduation

Elena finally decided to reveal everything to Emilio and Caliph, that she was Veronica’s substitute
It was a secret that had never been revealed in the previous and present lives.

"I'm so confused right now. Then where is the real Veronica Princess?"
"I don't know. But, I know that she'll be back in the near future. When that time comes,I'll be abandoned."
"Abandoned?" Elena nodded.
"I'm just a doll to the Grand Duke. I'm a doll that should be disposed of when it's useless. What I'm looking for is the fall of the Grand Duchy."

"I see. A fall. It's never easy." Emilio's expression became complicated. The opponent is the Archduke Friedrich, which is called the pillar of the empire.

Until now, they had inflicted a lot of damage to the Grand duchy through the transactions, but it was not enough.

“It's not easy, but I believe I can do it. I've been doing it well so far,” said Elena, who took a breath, trumpeting. "But I'm not going to stand by the Grand Duke anymore. “

"Okay, let's bring down everything, whether it's the Grand Duke or anything, from now on, what should we do? What should we do first?"
"You just have to do what you're doing well. Consistently."


At the sight of both people supporting her, Elena felt a thrilling impression. She was very grateful for Caliph and Emilio for coming out for her, who was neither Lucia nor Veronica. Contrary to her previous life, she got strong friends that she could open her heart and trust.
.
.
.

This year's graduation ceremony was held larger than usual.

Prince Ciel, who wrote the story of the miraculous swordsmanship victory.
Raphael, the painter of Bella Dona, who was shaking the empire.
Even though he lost to Ciel at the swordsmanship, he was still a promising swordsman, Len Bastashu, who would be later called the sword of the empire.



Thousands of people flocked to celebrate graduation. Among them was Elena, who was disguised as Lucia.
“Happy graduation, seniors,” Raphael nodded after receiving Elena's congratulations.

"Senior Cecilia, congratulations on graduation."
“Thank you, juniors.” Cecilia expressed her gratitude with a bright smile, and spoke to Raphael and Caliph.

Then, Elena felt the gaze behind her back and looked back.
She could see Ciel standing up close.

"Congratulations on graduation, Majesty."
“Thank you,” Ciel said nothing for a moment.

By the time the silence turned into awkwardness, Ciel spoke with difficulty
“When I have time, I come to see you.” then he turned around. This was to prevent Lucia from receiving attention because of himself.

“Wait a minute!” Elena, who had been dumbfounded as she looked at Ciel's back, hurriedly called Ciel.
However, Ciel, who had gone so far, disappeared into a crowded crowd.

Even if his Majesty came, he would not be able to meet her.
Lucia was in a state of absence from school. Bella Donna (Raphael’s painting) made it difficult for her to work as Lucia because her face was so well known. Raphael left the academic institute after graduating.

There was also no longer any reason to work as Lucia, so even if Ciel came to see Lucia, Lucia would not be in the Academy, and that was the same with Veronica, who Elena was pretending.


Then, the contact between Elena and Ciel would disappear completely.

“Don't find me, I won't be here” She had to say this, but she couldn't.

Len didn't come to the graduation ceremony.

.
.
.

Then the vacations ended.

As required by Leabrick, Elena earned her target credits during the seasonal semester. Not surprisingly, shortly before the midterm exam, the academy called Elena. It was a meeting of the president of the Academy, the vice president and several professors.

"The thesis submitted by the princess was very good. The eyes to read the flow of the art world were excellent."

"I was also admired. I'm able to pinpoint the truth and the truth of the art world."

"It has a strong reputation in the art world. She has an excellent view to see the value of art."

Flow of the art world? Paper? Elena bite her lips hard, holding back the leaking laughter. This was why it was ridiculous to praise a paper that had never been published.
Elena wanted to ask them to show the thesis that she had never submitted.

From the president of the academic institute to the vice-chancellor and professors, they all received the support or influence of the Grand Duke.

That was the really scary thing about the Grand Duchy. Because there was no place in the empire out of reach of them.


So, after several meetings and deliberations, they decided to graduate early Veronica.

“Veronica von Friedrich, I express my respect for the Academy's decision,”

Elena bowed lightly and accepted the decision. This was the day that Veronica's name was on the list of early graduation, which was unprecedented in the history of the academic institute.

The four-wheeled carriage carrying Elena, who had finished her academic career, crossed the threshold of the Grand Duchy.

Andd that's the end of the Academy's Arc!

 

Well for sure you haven't read the spoilers carefully and judged just because several males were interested in her that would mean harem? It's not a reverse harem. There is a clear ML and someone she ends up with. The other 2 guys who are considered 2nd and 3rd ML's are just other men who were interested in her as well, but just because they're interested DOES NOT mean they will get with her. She never married them nor have any romantic relationship with them. She expressed clear friendship with them. The only male she loves is the ML, the crown prince. Also Elena does not know that the 2nd and 3rd ML's were interested in her romantically. That's why whenever she senses the tension between the ML and 2nd ML, she gets confused.

Even Ciel on his own had his own share of ladies who try to obtain his interest, the ladies who want to be empress such as the real Veronica and then there's another lady who bullied Elena after witnessing Ciel's interest towards Elena.

Also as I've stated how you haven't read the spoilers clearly, I'll summarize what you misread. Ciel married his first wife for political reasons due to how the royal family does not want the Duke to gain more power so he married the daughter of a noble who sided with the royal family, Count's daughter. He did not remarry after she died. The Duke was able to use his power to force Ciel to take in a concubine, Duke's daughter (Elena posing as Veronica). When the death of a first wife occurs, usually the next wife would step up for the seat. Because of this, the Duke had the first wife murdered to get his "daughter" into the empress position. Then he just waited for his own daughter to wake up and take over the position. Ciel knew it would happen so he acted cold to Elena to prevent people from thinking he's siding with the Duke. If Ciel had been nice to Elena who is posing as "Veronica" the other nobles will believe he's siding with the Duke. He did try his hardest to protect Elena in the 1st TL and the regret wasn't from realizing his love late since he had known he loved her for the longest time already. His regret was that he wasn't strong enough to defeat the Duke. This was posed true even in 2nd TL with him and Len alone, the Duke was still able to overpower them. They were only able to defeat him using Elena's aid with the knowledge of the future events.

 

@mijikado could you please give the link to the novel? I can’t find it.

 

Thank you for the trouble and effort...Sending lots of love

 

I don't know, maybe you are new to manhwa /manga but "just because several males were interested in her that would mean harem?" YES, as soon as there are SEVERAL love interests, its label as a harem. That is instant when the MC is male, but when its the reverse, people tend to not see it that way, call it feminism I guess.

this is tilting me, I guess I need to explain this further. Let's see what the theory tell us :

Harem, broadly speaking, is a loose subgenre of anime and manga characterized by a protagonist surrounded, usually amorously, by three or more members of the opposite sex. The most common and practically tantamount scenario is a male surrounded by a group of females; when this is conversed it is informally referred to as a reverse harem - MangaFandom.com


Checks out.

1) Anime that involves one lead male character and many cute/pretty female support characters. (2). (3)The lead male typically represents the average guy who is shy, awkward, and girlfriendless. While each female character surround the lead male possesses distinct physical and personality traits, those traits nevertheless represent different stereotypical roles that play on popular Japanese fetishes – KissAnime


· A harem (4)includes three or more characters who potentially show romantic interest in a male protagonist. The sex, gender, or orientation of the harem members is irrelevant as long as (5)they exclusively, or at least primarily, are vying for the affections of the same individual – (6)who may or may not reciprocate towards one, several, or none of these romantic rivals. -AnimePlanet


So lets count together, shall we ?
1. the Crow prince- shy devoted stereotype shy devoted,
2. The cousin menacing bad boy turns out good boy stereotype.
3. The artist/painter stereotype
4. the weak novice soldier stereotype

So there are four, wow, jackpot ! Lucky girl hm ?

Checks out.


Noun
reverse harem (plural reverse harems)

1. A group of someone's boyfriends and/or husbands in a polygamous household.
2. A situation in anime and manga in which a woman is the love interest of three or more men.

-Wiktionary

Checks out.

So, yes, Mc may or may not reciprocate towards one, several, or none of these romantic rivals, it's still a harem like explained above.
What blows my mind even further is that Elena is characterized as this smart girl who is focused on revenge and plots to get that done, meanwhile flirting with those MLs and even if supposedly smart, is not aware of their feelings (the cliché dense harem's MC ??? )

Does anyone need more points ?? ok

Since this is shoujo, I will compare it to shounen, his counterpart:

SAO, my first recommendation from an otaku friend in middle school. Although I liked the main pair relationship, I hated it when other females tried to make a move. Thank god Kirito seems like he only likes Asuna, Aincrad arc is still the best in my opinion (BTW it was announced that it's getting a reboot, YES) Lately its no longer label as harem as much as before, but some people still think its harem, which is nonsense. It was with this anime that I found my nemesis, the one thing I try to avoid at all costs- LOVE DRAMA(love-triangles and harem shenanigans ); but eastern countries love it, so it's widespread, like someone already mentioned, its hard to found a story without it, but there are some hidden gems that managed to avoid that crap, thank God

Nisekoi, ah, the legendary Nisekoi, after SAO I found Nisekoi, and my second waifu ever, Chitoge. It was so painful so read the harem bs, but in Reddit, there is a spreadsheet within each chapter, which girl in the focus and whether they can be skipped. So I endure it since I liked Chitoge and I spoiled myself that she was the end girl. I still hate the MC, how he treated FL, but he made the right choice at the end. Also,, with that ending, I couldn't appreciate that much because of how bad I felt seeing Onodera like that. For that reason, I started hating love triangles/harems even more. This one is tagged as harem, but I m pretty sure ML doesn't like anyone romanticly besides the 2 main girls, so it's rather a love triangle? but people tag it as harem because multiples girls like the ML

A Story About Treating a Female Knight, Who Has Never Been Treated as a Woman, as a Woman ~The whole story and the title doesn't give any doubt who the ML likes, and even if with every female introduced, the ML rejects them because FL is the only one he loves and he keeps on confessing to, it still is tagged as HAREM.

Isekai de Tochi o Katte Noujou o Tsukurou ~ they are literally married in the first few chapters, and for some reason, even if he doesnt feel anything for any other female, still HAREM.

Masamune-kun no Revenge , Your revenge plot, with a ML, and he wants to get his revenge on his ex-crush, but its really hard for him because he still likes her. Turns out it's an old misunderstand and they clear it at the end. He doesn't reciprocate the other female characters feelings, even rejects them openly. yet HAREM

Gal Gohan, a SoL based around a gyaru, a teacher, and cooking. ML doesn't want to be honest cuz she is still a schoolgirl but when she graduates, he confesses. Never had romantic feelings towards the other females. yet HAREM


Dosanko Gyaru Is Mega Cute, the plot is very clear with who ML has feelings for, the title is also obvious. All other are in friendzone. But since multiple girls like him -> HAREM

- Domestic Na Kanojo ~ I dont really want to talk about this one, since its the worst ending I have ever seen. But how the hell is this considerated harem ? At most love triangle, with Mc and his 2 stepsisters but the nonsense ending is so bad, I can't even write much else about this. Love triangle, sure but how tf is this harem?

Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari (Rising of the hero shield.) this one is complicated based on WN, but basically he likes the FL but SPOILERS, (this is semi-canon, since wn and LN are slightly different right now) he becomes god, and divide himself because another female needs him as a husband, yet his trueself return to is world with FL. Harem is very questionable, he is with just one girl, but has his "clones" with others...

5Toubun no Hanayome - The Quintessential Quintuplets, It still hurts, just saying that, even tho I hate harem, this is the one case I wouldn't mind a harem ending Sadly he takes out of nowhere the "promised" girl and rejects all others, so it stays one-sided with all the other sistes, yet HAREM

So, don't get me wrong I'm all for gender equity (rather then equality, check it out, it make sense) but here there is clearly a difference to how you are treating this. With all this, if someone doesn't see this Shadow queen as a reverse harem (It cannot be love triangle since there are 4 males interested). You are either a blind feminist or just don't want to acknowledge this as rev-harem for whatever reason you have. But I don't care about that anyway, I'm just really mad at the time wasted reading this, his webtoon, and who I got emotionally linked to the history to see this unfold like this.

I hate harem from the bottom of my heart because it tends to be an MC who is dense to all those love interests (Strangely it correspond to your description of Elena .... hmm...), milks the concept of it till the very end, and finally it pairs Mc with one of them, leaving the others abandoned. FFS, either you don't do harem or just go all the way and make a harem ending.
Another reason why I don't like harem is that I tend to feel worse about the party who is left behind instead of feeling happy about the couple at the end.




I don't need to read further than I already did reading this, its getting me sick the more I read. Shadow Queen? Queen, maybe but more like Shad-hoe Queen. Get it? cuz she is a ... well ok it's obvious, sorry I shouldn't make this kind of "jokes" with a forum filled with white knights waiting to defend every point, feminists and 16 yo girls. (Don't pay too much attention to my rant, please focus on my points, this is just me being mad.)

 

Hello Everyone, I just joined NU
I came from mangadex, and specially from Shadow Queen page, someone in the comments mentioned this page to get more info.

I can see things are getting heated here with this argumentation. I read your posts @DDWH and the resumes. I kind of understand what you are saying but maybe if you calm down a bit, people will more likely understand you as well. But t«saying that I just found out about this novel, I don't know how much time you dedicated to this, so maybe your frustration is understandable. Even so, try writing after your frustration ends, please.

I'm glad I came to visit this forum, so I can have a better idea of what is yet to come in this novel thanks, everyone, @mijikado for all the spoils, even you @DDWH.

Although, with that info, my vision of this novel is kind of low now I will investigate further.

 

You are right, I got too much into this, now I'm too frustrated. But yes, this story is nothing to recommend. Twilight has a better love story, not joking. And the "smart" FL getting "revenge "? funny joke that is.


If she "can't have just Ciel as a love interest because she suffered too much on the first timeline because of him" -- Ok, that's was not really his fault, he was also suffering. But then don't make then ending up together, FFS. Ciel, my homie don't deserve this, why everyone is white-knighting as if Elena was the only victim?

I would prefer a story from the first timeline with Ciel taking take of Ian with the budget FL out of the picture. Just Ciel being cute with Ian and him finding someone else down the line.

Or, if Elena didn't get back with Crown Prince, redemption arc for real Veronica, that she couldn't be together with Ciel because of her disease but wanted to be with him so bad that she set up a doppelganger so that when she could come back, Ciel could be together with her. Ciel doesn't know what to say, because of Elena, then Veronica shows how Elena has been flirting with MLs shamelessly.

After Veronica opens Ciel's eyes, he executes Elena and those MLs (maybe this is too much, just expels them from the kingdom, while selling Elena to slavery ofc). Ciel and Veronica get together, OTP, they get the child Veronica wished to have with Ciel:: happy ending (This is my canon now, Pls someone fanfiction it or maybe I will when I get time )

 

@DDHW

Basically, you're hating not on the story, but on the genre itself (Harem/ Reverse Harem)
You might also write the same thing on other famous manhwas/mangas/manhuas but it would undoubtly receive much more backlashes though.

You might spent quite a lot of times reading this and feeling frustrated because it has a genre you don't like, but that doesn't mean it's right to bash the story without really knowing it and labelled everyone else at "16 year old girl" "who need to seek out professionally".
It's quite insulting for the people who like the story, for the author and also for people who took their times to put on spoilers here.

People can enjoy the story for the plot.
Just like you for SAO, Nisekoi and other Harem anime/mangas that you've read.
You might not want to give Shadow Queen another chance, but please don't discourage other people when you have only read a small part of the spoilers provided here.


I also want to point out another thing:

You said you're for gender 'equity', and you also compare Shadow Queen to your favorite Harem shonen mangas, ok that's good.
But, why Elena is a "hoe", while Kirito, Raku and other protagonists are not a "dicc" while they are almost the same in your point of view?
I didn't remember gender equality (or equity even if they are not the same) being defined like that.


If new readers are curious, they can come here, read the proper spoilers and have their own opinions on that matter. They might hate them, like you, but they could also enjoy the novel, like me and many other people.


For that reason, please don't spread hate, or any other things irrelevant to the novel any further. It only adds fuel to the fire.

I don't want to start a war here, so it's better if we end things here, pacifically.
You might feel attacked at this post (just like me the other time but that's the old story), sorry in advance because that's not my intention.


Edit:

We are clearly not reading the same novel at this point...

 

I feel a bit apologetic that this may come off as hostile but I saw you initiating another anti reverse harem rant on Surviving as the Hero’s Wife because of your opinion of “reverse harems” and I feel like you’re trying to start something elsewhere.

The situation where more than one male/female character aside from the real ML/FL falls for the MC isn’t that rare. It’s as you said, a trope. However it happens in both male and female centred literary works.

I’d argue that such a phenomenon generally IS warranted as it’s arguably natural for more than one person to be drawn towards someone who is capable/kind/charismatic. As such it is kind of unfair to hate on someone just because they attract attention and argue that they’re a hoe.
It’s something that happens in real life too. In high school most people knew a pretty nice girl who had good grades/good at sports. Many people like and admire her and she is amicable towards everyone. Is she a hoe? No. Same with handsome/nice/charismatic male classmates. You don’t just assume that they just want everyone to be in love with them. They just happen to be likable.
Being friendly and amicable isn’t consent to initiate a romantic relationship and it is not indicative of reciprocating someone’s feelings. It’s not okay to treat a friend like a disease just because they happen to be a bit flirty or affectionate. Some people act like that even if they aren’t interested that way, it’s generally a normal part of socializing to be friendly. It’s actually super embarrassing to misunderstand that someone is romantically interested. Though it may be unfair to judge your argument as cultural norms do differ from place to place, I feel like your disgust isn’t warranted.

By the way I’m saying this as a grown 20-something year old single girl. The majority of my friends have boyfriends. I have rejected a guy in my life before and we’re still friends. I don’t see myself as a hoe. I’m okay with novels/shows where guys attract a lot of attention too so please don’t @ me for being a rabid feminazi.

As the family member of a people attractor (Older brother who’s objectively good looking, studies hard sciences in a top ranked university) I have anecdotal evidence that such people don’t assume all people who appear to respect/admire them are doing so with romantic intent.

(Edit)
I no longer even know if this person is serious or a troll. I’ve seen them in various forums trying to ask about so called 2nd leads and harems and how they want to slay them.

 

I don't see how Twilight is a better love story when that also has two love interest. If anything it just seem as though you're just favoring one type of story over another, i.e. just disliking Asian storytelling in general. I'm not against her having only one love interest either but that doesn't mean there doesn't exist other men who do have interest in the females. Elena only has ONE love interest. The other guys were just potential love interest as they one-sidedly love her. It's not a scenario where the relationship is polygamous either. Elena is loyal to Ciel. You're expressing double standards where Bella from Twilight can remain friends with the other guy who was interested in her but you don't seem fine with Elena staying friends with Len? Elena never flirted with the other guys. I don't see where you even read that. She has clear romantic affection for only the male lead, Ciel. She only kissed him.

As for Veronica, she doesn't have a disease. She was poisoned. She never loved Ciel either and only wanted him as like a trophy husband because she believes based on her position as the grand Duke's daughter, the only male in the kingdom worthy is the crown prince. She did not set up the doppelganger. As I've said, you misread everything. If you claim me to be blind, what of you? Your one-sided hatred is keeping you from actually even comprehending the story/spoilers.

Since you missed it due to your narrow minded views, I'll post this again.

I'll summarize what you misread. Ciel married his first wife for political reasons due to how the royal family does not want the Duke to gain more power so he married the daughter of a noble who sided with the royal family, Count's daughter. He did not remarry after she died. The Duke was able to use his power to force Ciel to take in a concubine, Duke's daughter (Elena posing as Veronica). When the death of a first wife occurs, usually the next wife would step up for the seat. Because of this, the Duke had the first wife murdered to get his "daughter" into the empress position. Then he just waited for his own daughter to wake up and take over the position. Ciel knew it would happen so he acted cold to Elena to prevent people from thinking he's siding with the Duke. If Ciel had been nice to Elena who is posing as "Veronica" the other nobles will believe he's siding with the Duke. He did try his hardest to protect Elena in the 1st TL and the regret wasn't from realizing his love late since he had known he loved her for the longest time already. His regret was that he wasn't strong enough to defeat the Duke. This was posed true even in 2nd TL with him and Len alone, the Duke was still able to overpower them. They were only able to defeat him using Elena's aid with the knowledge of the future events.

Repeating, Veronica was not the one who set up the doppelganger. Her father was the one who set it up because he needed someone to replace his daughter to let her finish the schooling and graduate. If he didn't set that up, Veronica who've been left behind. He used Elena to make Veronica look good while she was still poisoned. Veronica NEVER LOVED Ciel and only wanted him because of his position. She is only upset Ciel favored Elena because it insults her rankings. In her thoughts Ciel shouldn't favor a commoner.

 

No, I'm not new to manga/manhwa. I agree SAO is not harem because Kirito and Asuna has clear lover relationship, but then why would you believe SAO isn't harem but then think Shadow Queen is reverse harem? Shadow Queen is the same scenario. Elena and Ciel are the ones with the clear lovers relationship. It's the other 2 males who just one sided have interest in Elena. She's not even expressing romantic interest in them in any way. Kirito has other females interested in him and he remained friends with them, but then when Elena remains friends with the males interested in her you're against it? Kirito is just as dense as Elena in regards to knowing about the others' romantic interest towards them. If SAO isn't a harem, neither is Shadow Queen. There isn't even any unclarity as to whom Elena would end up with. She doesn't flirt with Len or that artist at all. She remains a clear friendship role with Len and a student/ mentor/ supporter role to the painter.

Also while there are a lot of shounen works tagged as harem, it's mainly due to a stereotype culture where males are look more positively for being a stud while females if they're with a harem, they're labelled as "sluts". The harem tag in shounen works draw in more male audiences while if it was a tag in a shoujo or josei work, it'll push away the female audiences. As for me, I don't follow the tags and read spoilers to see who ends up with who to know for myself if the work is actually harem/reverse harem or not.

To be fair, I don't mind if you dislike the genre in general, but your miscomprehension towards the spoilers are leaving you with views that would lead other readers to stray off a work without actually knowing the actual story or giving it a chance.

 

I was enjoying this wholesome spoiler thread bcuz of the lovely spoilers done by @mijikado (which is brilliant really, thank you for your hard work, please spoil more! ) and then the last few pages of argument happened.

After reading all the anti-Elena (yes, I'm gonna straight up say it's anti-Elena bcuz it seems they're hung up on Elena's character), I'm just gonna say this one sentence: If you haven't read the novel yourself (from the original source) and only made conclusions based on spoilers, PLEASE just STOP. You don't have the right to spread hate for the story unless you've read ALL the books yourself! You're basically making assumptions from spoilers (and so far, none of what you're saying even make sense), and the novel doesn't deserve to be hated just because you think certain plot should be done a certain way. This isn't your work honey, this is the author's work and he/she has the final say in how the story went. I also suspect that you're more interested to see the plot from Ciel's pov continuing from 1st timeline (based on your rant on how you want to see it go with Veronica no less), and isn't that just IRONIC? Because let me tell you, the main character is ELENA, and NOT CIEL. Of course the author would write a story that revolves around the MC and don't highlight the rest of the cast as much as Elena. I'm starting to suspect you're just a troll trying to start a fire here where no smoke should have been here in the first place. I also suspect your reading comprehension is on the low side (like no offense, how can you think Elena is flirting with all the male characters that are interested in her when she didn't even make any move! Elena didn't go on dates with them, she didn't even consent when Len ask her to have dinner with him if he won that sword tournament! Len basically just shove this onto Elena and she made it clear to Ciel by saying she never agreed to Len!).

Ok, I'm stopping there My conclusion is: PLEASE STOP SPREADING HATE when you haven't even read the story from the original source. I know mijikado did a wonderful job as it is spoiling us rotten , but there are 200+ chapters that's worth hundred of thousands of written words by the author (through sweat blood and tears) and what we have read here is like a drop in that huge ocean!! There's bound to be a lot of missing anecdotes that shows Elena's mannerisms, her thoughts, her feelings that made her do certain things so forth and so on. Remember, reading a story is like an adventure, even when you know what's to come from these spoiler, it's still brand a new journey once you experience it yourself! New readers shouldn't be discouraged to start reading this novel just because someone didn't think it's their cup of tea based on the spoiler alone.

On that note, I'm not gonna be replying to any argument citing to my comment. It's not worth it. I'm just gonna enjoy amazing spoilers from now on and I hope this thread continue on with that rather than anything else.

 

wait how did Sao came here?

 

Because he hasn't read even 1 spoiler properly before judging the story that's why many people disagree.
If he had read them properly and gave pertinent opinions, he wouldn't receive that many backlashes...


Do you think that's respecful for the author or the people who took their time to post spoilers here?


Also, the whole novel are almost already spoiled here (they begin at page 3-4), you can search for it.

I don't think it's pleasant especially for @mijikado when people keep asking for the same spoilers again and again when they're already here.

It might sound aggressive, sorry about that, but really, before judging the Novel or Elena, please read the novel or the spoilers first instead of basing on a biased opinion

 

Oh wow, so this is how you welcome people here. Great
I didn't want to read all the spoilers so that I kept some details to surprise me. But nvm, the toxicity never ends. Don't bother replying... This is for spoilers
Bye

PS: please, I will kindly ask, dont @ at me, I'm done with this thread and his people.

 

@DarkestLight95 : Hello and welcome to the Forum

It's quite unfortunate that you came here in midst of heated arguments, sorry about that

I read almost the whole novel, so I think I'm one of the people who know the most about it.

For each summary/spoiler post, I actually spent at least 2 hours (sometimes it could be up to 4 so if you multiply that by the number of spoilers, that makes a lot ) in rereading the novel, selecting important infos, reorganizing and correct them according to the contexts.
Just as @foxymirage said, they are only summaries, that's why many things are purposely missed out (descriptions of the scenes, dialogues, minor characters and moments,..). Consequently, it's difficult to fully appreciate the novel or criticize it with only spoilers.


Since I'm also a college student, I don't have time to answer every question that is posted on the thread, that's why I only put on summaries here when I have free time (I think that was @Kuryoma trying to say)

If you want to, I can PM you and we can discuss some details that you want to know

I really don't mind if people discuss about the novel, but I feel really discouraged lately with the free hatred towards the characters
However, while seeing the replies, I realized that there are also many other people who, on the contrary, are interested in the novel/spoilers/summary, and are accompagning me throughout the thread.
So to everyone, thank you very much for reading my spoilers and summaries!

 

Volume 3 summary (2/3)

Spoiler: Last days in the Academy

During her last days at the academy, Elena purchased arts brought by Caliph, and the rest of the time was devoted to the library to build up sufficient knowledge.

Even in the salon-related work, Elena did so well that there was no need to interfere.

Emilio perfectly carried out the sale of natural marble, befitting his reputation as the top state.
He paid a whopping five times the cost to have the exclusivity of the marble and later signed a contract to supply the Grand Duchy.
Thanks to this, it was possible to cover the cost of the extension of the salon and the cost of building the Basilica.

Related to Len, it was said that his loss during the swordsmanship competition was too great that he was stuck in the martial arts field within the family and devoted himself to swordsmanship training.

Ciel returned to the imperial palace. It was presumed that it was because of the nobles' checks, but that didn't make sense for Elena.
He must have been busy looking for something.
Ciel had changed a lot compared to the original story. Chances were he was moving in a different way by now. Very secretly and dangerously.

‘You'll do well without me worrying.’

Spoiler: Back to the Grand Duchy and Art talk

Grand Duke Franches came out and greeted her with a friendly smile.
It was an act to look like a loving father and daughter for whoever saw it
"Do not stand here and go in. Let's drink tea and talk about things we haven't been able to share."
"Yes, Father."

Elena responded to Archduke Franche's invitation and moved to the living room inside the mansion. As a matter of course, Leabrick was also there.
A conversation between the three began.

"Isn't there a lot of hard work in the academic academy to get credits?"
“No, it wasn't hard because I thought it was an opportunity to learn something I didn't know.”

Elena looked more mature than when she first came to the Grand Duchy. This was because it could increase her value, give them trust, and reduce vigilance.

"You made your words quite plausible. You said you showed good knowledge in the art side?" Archduke Franches opened the conversation as if he had already received a report through Leabrick.

“The value of the works you bought has increased considerably?” "There are a lot of works to see in the long run, but some of them have doubled the price the princess bought." Leabrick replied instead.

Elena covered her mouth with both hands, pretending as if she did not know that the value would jump.
The art world was fluctuating greatly after Raphael's release of Belladonna.
Due to this trend, people in the art world felt a sense of crisis.

'What will you look like if the price of the art I purchased plummets?' Elena corrected her thoughts.
It would be better to give a little more damage based on trust in this way.

"I'm so glad that my father and Liv acknowledged me. So I want to be more aggressive about buying art. Can I do that?"
"Would you like to buy it aggressively?"
"Even so, you can't. It's a big risk."
"Liv, can't I?"

Elena looked at Leabrick as if begging and turned her gaze to Archduke Franches who, thinking about the Noblesse Street and benefits, accepted her request.

What Elena wanted to buy is an ultra-high-priced art piece.
Most collectors do not intend to sell it, so in order to buy it, she would have to pay 10 times its original price.
In the meantime, the value of the paintings would collapse in the next year. It would be a blow for the Grand Duke who had already mobilized astronomical funds for the Noblesse Street development project.

Spoiler: New teacher

"From tomorrow, I invited a teacher to teach the princess."
"A teacher?"
“Madam de Flan Rose/Plangloz,” (you know the one she talked to in the manhwa chapter 27)

Elena was startled. Madame de Flan Rose had never been her teacher.
Elena's intervention and actions had an effect in some way.

“You are preparing for the appointment of the Crown Princess”

‘Already?’

In the past, shortly after Ciel graduated, Cecilia was welcomed by the crown prince with a surprise marriage announcement. It was such a quick move that even the Grand Duke and the 4 Dukes could not use their hands.
Eventually, the plan to make Elena into the Crown Princess failed.

"You'll learn from the very foundations of etiquette. Tea ceremony, sociability, how to smile, pronunciation, culture, etc. You will be born as a new lady among the ladies who will lead the social world."

Although Madame de Flanrose secretly had a promiscuous personal life, her external reputation was a flawless woman who could be said to be an example of a nobility.
Even though she knew it was uncomfortable to collide with Elena, who knew her private wife, the reason she responded to the invitation might be because she wanted to gain the reputation and fame as a woman who taught the mother of the empire.
.
.
.
The First lesson


"You're impudent. Is it because you erased all the traces? You've taken your own measures."
“What do you mean, a trace? I don't know what trace you're talking about," Madame de Plano Rose said. It was a calm acting enough to be fooled by an unknown person.

"I wonder if you really don't know or pretend you don't know. But there's no perfection in the world. Do you think you've erased everything?" Elena smiled and looked into her eyes.

Then Madame de Plan Rose's eyes shook without any reason. Clearly, it was true that she had erased the trace, but she seemed to be suspicious of something she had missed.

"Now, then shall we talk about the class?” Elena pushed her in moderation and pretended it was okay. She thought that it would be better to make her anxious rather than pushing her all the way to the edge of the cliff.

But that day, Madame de Plan-Rose, who left the mansion, was fascinated by the pale face she couldn't even point out any error, leaving her pride shattered to pieces.

Spoiler: Meeting with Caliph and the Secret Salon

This time, Elena met up with Caliph as Veronica- a noble who wanted to purchase some artworks

“I see your Majesty the Princess.”
For some reason, when Elena saw Caliph greeted her with an overwhelming expression, a laugh came out first because it was more ridiculous than a happy heart.

“This is ‘Laurel’, and the middle one is 'A thousand years of glory'. It's a poet's song. I never thought I'd bring this.”

Elena pretended to be amazed by covering her mouth with her hand.
Yet she was very satisfied looking at the paintings brought by the Caliph. They were presumed to be the most bubbly and highly regarded among the paintings.

The current value was high, but their values will drop sharply when the art world is turned upside down.

“To be able to hold these masterpieces. I don't care how much. I buy all three works. There is also a work I would like to purchase in particular, can I talk to you? It's a difficult work to find. I think we need to talk about something important privately, so stay away for a while.” Elena asked the maids to leave, leaving both of them alone.


"Now come? Let me know what's going on. I can't talk for long. Leabrick will be suspicious."
"I think the main salon will be completed next week."
"Already?"
"You know, it's because of Randol's unique construction method."
"How's the reaction around you?"
"It's crazy, well. There's still the annex work left, but people who have come to see it are enough to disrupt the construction."

Elena nodded happily. The salon would be reborn as a cultural center representing a new era.

"As you said, Raphael's next work, Tokyo, will be released in time for the opening of the salon.”
“The art world would be overturned.” It was all what Elena had expected.

All that was left was how to settle the salon and make it acceptable.

“Did you choose a name for the salon? "
“Secret Salon.”

Everyone was wondering who was L- the owner of the salon these days. It was a secret, so the salon must feel like a secret.

“Seniors, on the opening day of the salon. I have something to announce: The Secret Salon can only be accessed by hiding your identity. To do this, it is mandatory to wear a mask and not reveal yourself.
I'm breaking the wall of identity. I intend to give everyone the right to speak on an equal footing in the debate hosted by the salon."

"No matter how much you think about it, isn't it so unconventional?"
“I'll lower the threshold of the salon and let people debate freely regardless of status."

Commoners who had been exploited and plagued by nobles until now, had not been able to make a loud voice.
“We need to select and invite renowned intellectuals from outside.”

Caliph, who remembered all of Elena's words, suddenly found something strange.
"Wait a minute. Then there are nine participants in the discussion? One seat is empty."
"It's not empty. I'm going."
"Are you?" Caliph's eyes widened when Elena said she was coming.

Elena turned her side head with a meaningful smile, as if enjoying the reaction.
"Look forward. It will be the day when L, the owner of the mysterious salon, makes her first appearance in the world."

Spoiler: Opening day

"You're going out?"
“Yes, it is said that the salon is opening in the capital. I’m going to go there.” said Elena, who came to Leabrick's office without notice

Leabrick's expression hardened. As far as the relationship with L, the owner of the salon, was not good, Elena's words of going there must have sounded unpleasant.

"They will announce painter Raphael's next work, Tokyo. I would like to purchase it if possible, but I would like to see it at least once even if I can't.”
.
.
.
Arriving at the salon, Hurelbad opened the door and handed over the butterfly mask.
The mask reminiscent of the fluttering of a butterfly's wings went well with Elena's green dress that resembled a flower.

After entering the salon, Elena was guided and entered the hall of the main building.
She purposely wanted to show visitors that Princess Veronica had come to the salon. Everyone who knew Veronica would have recognized her.

‘Shall we get out of this body?’

She walked through a secret passage and met up with Caliph and Emilio.
"I was too late. I have to go down now." Elena left the room with the excitement she had felt for the first time in her life.

As she walked through the corridor leading to the main hall, Elena felt overwhelmed.

‘I'm here. Finally,'

Even in her previous life and now, Elena is only a fake, not a real Veronica princess.
Lucia was also a disguise.
L.
Elena's abbreviation L defined her own identity.
.
.
.
The identity of the owner L of the salon was not known at all.
Despite applauding and cheering at Elena's appearance, people could not hide their embarrassment.
That the salon owner L was a woman.
At the same time, interest and curiosity in L was further amplified.
What kind of woman was L, the mistress of the salon?


While looking with her eyes, she quickly opened her mouth and waited for her to introduce herself.
“I would like to thank the VIP for visiting the Secret Salon today. I am the owner of the salon, L.”

Elena's brilliant, yet daunting introduction, once again poured applause into the salon.

“The Secret Salon opened its doors as a place of discussion, breaking the barriers between gender and status, as well as a complex cultural space that opens a place for socializing, a living room of intelligence.”

Elena quickly fascinated the people in the hall with her fluent speech.
In particular, when talking about the direction of the salon in the future, they were surprised by her deep thinking, learning, and admiration burst out everywhere.
L was not only equipped with determination, but also intelligence.

Later, people flocked to attend the public debate.
When the promised time came, Elena finally left the waiting room.

Spoiler: Illegal business?

When they almost returned to the Grand Duchy, there was a suspicious man walking.
“It looks like someone is doing something wrong. Lock the door and don't get out of the wagon.”

Elena nodded and locked her head as Hurelbad told her.

‘Are you drunk?’
Elena narrowed her eyes and carefully looked at the man who was struggling.
Although he was old and dirty, he was wearing clothes made of the finest materials.
The man was undoubtedly a noble.

‘Strange. A person who is drunk with drugs who is talking about gibberish.. Oh’

An opiate addict.
Elena had seen an opiate addict in the past.
It was a count, who bought opium by secretly disposing of his assets as his addiction became severe.

The opiate addict went down in front of the Grand Duchy.
She couldn't say for sure, but Elena felt a strong sense that the Grand Duke was involved in this.

Obviously.
Elena found a clue. It was too early to affirm that the duchy was involved, but there was the expectation that they might find something more than expected when investigated.

While organizing her thoughts, the arrived at the mansion.

Spoiler: Weird meeting

"Sir Len is here in the parlor!"
"What?"
"He has come from broad daytime, and he’s waiting until now, saying that you must see him today.”
“Ha,” Elena sighed.

She was tired and exhausted, but thinking of dealing with Len made her head aching.

"What about Liv?"
"The Viscount has an urgent work, so she's on the road,"

Given that even the Grand Duke was absent, there was no one in the Grand Duke to sanction Len.

.
.

When she bumped into Len as Veronica's identity, there was no choice but to have an edgy conversation.
"You just forget? It's not a nice face to each other," Len laughed as Elena hit it sharply.
"No? Do I like to see your face?"
"Then you can watch it."
“Surely,” Elena sat down on the couch because she had no energy to deal with.

Len, sitting with his chin crooked, was really staring at Elena's face.

‘Why is he like that? Have you changed the way you bully?’

For some reason, he was quiet. And he was staring at Elena's face.

"You have a pale face? Are you sick? "
Elena's eyebrows were distorted by Len's unexpected question. It was difficult to respond to it because she wanted to have an intelligent argument.

"Let's talk quickly. What do you mean?"
"Ah, it's refreshing, I've seen it so I'm going now."
“What?” Elena looked up at Len, stretching and rising.

"You don't look very pale.” Len, who finally walked toward the door, shook his hand over his head, and left the parlor.

Elena was not sure how to understand and accept Len's behavior today. He came and waited until the sun went down, but less than ten minutes after he met her, he got up and went away.
Elena chose to observe Len more without being confused.

Spoiler: Slave auction raid, Heartbroken Ciel and the mysterious Lucia

Ciel, with count Lyndon, was raiding in secret the slave auction house that had been operated under the dark.

The head of the slave auction house prepared for death, but he collapsed after being hit by a black man standing behind him
“It was more accomplished than I expected.” Said the man with a gentle mustache.
"Did you find evidence?"
“The Duke of Reinhard made it to the top and secured all the evidence of human trafficking.”

"If I hadn't seen it, I wouldn't have known it. Even the four major families, called the pillars of the empire, would have been so rotten and festered."
"I couldn't believe it until your Majesty came to me and said it was suspicious."

The identity of the middle-aged man was Count Linden, a neutral aristocrat of a renowned family.

"I am grateful for Cecilia. She’ll live as a big kid freely. She would not have survived the frustrating imperial life."
"Is that so?"
"Is that because of Lucia?"

Ciel didn’t answer. Even if he didn't say it, Count Linden knew it was positive.

"You will fall in love too.”
Ciel looked up at the full moon between the buildings.
Lucia's face, which he missed for a long time, overlapped the moon.


‘It shouldn't be a lot of pain.’ His face has rapidly darkened.
Ciel, who left the imperial palace to escape the surveillance of the nobles, was eager to find the roots of the rotten and corrupt nobles in collaboration with Count Linden.

But one month ago, he couldn't overcome his desire to see Lucia, and he sent Count Linden to the Academy, but somehow, It was said that she left for the Belkan Kingdom, and when he heard of the story, Ciel was heartbroken

“Soon, Ben, who went to the Kingdom, will bring news.”
.
.
.
Ben knew his majesty's impatience, and he sent the news so cleverly.

“See for yourself.” He handed the letter to Ciel.

Ciel, who received it, read the letter with an eye mixed with concerns about Lucia's health and hoped that he would finally hear the news.

Count Lyndon felt worried about Ciel's eyes shaking.
"Is your health not so good?"

Ciel was silent. After reading the letter many times, he stood there for a while
“This letter must have been sent by Ben, right? "
" Yes, Your Majesty. “


The news that he was so curious about wasn't even a sign of joy.

“What on earth was it written about?”
"Count, I go back first. “
"Majesty? "

Ciel folded the letter, put it in his chest, and left towards the Imperial Palace.

"The Lucia I know is fake?" Was the shock itself.
Emilio's daughter Lucia, the top state of the Castol Chamber of Commerce, said she had a northern fever and returned to her hometown.
Her health miraculously recovered.
If this was true, who was the woman who had conversations with Ciel?

Ciel stopped walking back to the Imperial Palace.

The epistle stated that Lucia's father, Emilio, the top state of the Castol Chamber, had been in the imperial capital for more than a year.
Ciel also vaguely recalled. There was a time when Emilio went to the school building in a carriage with a pattern symbolizing the Castol Chamber of Commerce, and explained that Lucia often missed lectures and was unable to stay in the dormitory for health reasons.

Then, Ciel knew nothing about Lucia.
Even though her presence in his heart has grown so large

“Nothing. It doesn't matter who you are.”
It didn't matter whether Lucia that Ciel knew so far was fake or real.

Ciel decided to go visit Emilio.

Spoiler: Meeting with Ciel

With the Salon’s opening, some of the socialites gossiped and criticized L. The awakening young ladies enthusiastically regarded L, who is evaluated as a new woman, as an object of envy.
Despite trying to overcome the boundary as a woman, the limits were clear due to prejudice and external pressure.

However, L broke the framework of customs that had long rooted in the empire. That alone meant a great deal.

Elena visited the salon one day, when Emilio confessed a shocking story as he reached the parlor through the secret passage
“I remember seeing his Majesty the crown prince from a distance.”
Elena's eyes widened as much as the full moon. She was so surprised
"It looks like he sent someone to the Trilateral Union to find out. He also knew that my daughter was living there. He also asked me if she was really sick, where she was."
“So far,” said Elena's heart.

‘I'm sorry. Because of me’

“He never asked me who she was. He must know that you’re not my real daughter."
Because it was Elena who knows Ciel's personality better than anyone else, the relationship now was strange

"Send a letter to Count Lyndon. ‘Come to the salon. I'll see you that day’."
"Thank you very much. Benefactor."
.
.
.
“A message has come?” Ciel and Count Lyndon were talking while walking through the gardens inside the Imperial Palace. "What kind of accident did you have? "

"Accident? I don't know what you mean. “ The way he responded with a distinctive expressionless face was enough to be deceived.

But Count Linden knew it well.
“Did you send it?”
“I just gave the word "

Count Lyndon sighed a little. The Ciel that Count Linden saw had the shell of the emperor. It was not simply because he was a prince, but because he had all the qualities and virtues that he should have as an emperor.

"What did the letter say?"
"It was said that you (Ciel) were invited to the Secret Salon."
“It’s a secret salon. It's a place that makes the capital bustle lately."
“Yes, it is a salon built in the capital by a mysterious woman named L. It is said that it is called a secret salon because it is only possible to enter the salon by wearing a mask and hiding your identity.”

Ciel nodded silently.

"’It's good to see you. While you go there, see L, the mistress of the salon’”
"L?"
"It is said that the courtship of men and women and status is not placed on the entrance to the salon, and at the public debate, it is said that she has argued for humanism with excellent intelligence and speech.”
"I know what you're talking about,"

Count Lyndon, who was a nobleman, was in favor of Ciel's reform. This was because he saw the people suffering from the side effects brought about by the centralization of the empire and the rotten nobility who had forgotten their duties.
According to the information collected, the arguments and ideas pursued by L, the mistress of Secret Salon, seemed to have quite a connection with the reforms that Ciel pursued.

Count Linden told Ciel the date of the visit to the salon, which Emilio wrote in his letter.
.
.
.
The visit day finally arrived. Ciel, hiding his identity behind the mask, couldn’t take off his eyes at L descending the half-moon-shaped staircase in the middle of the hall.

He thought he saw the most beautiful thing in the world.
"Lucia?"

There were things that had fatal beauty, but her steps, gesture, and mood were strangely similar to Lucia in his memory.


"Prince." He was startled by the person who called him. This was because no one should know that he came here as he went out secretly to escape the surveillance inside the Imperial Palace.
"Follow me." The woman who spoke through Ciel's identity took the lead and walked.
The woman who came to pick up Ciel was May. May, who supported and cared for her master, often went out to the academic, had seen Ciel and remembered his face.

Ciel climbed up through the stairway behind the salon.

"You just have to wait in this room."
It was suspicious, but Ciel, who was capable of protecting his life, nodded and accepted.


Time has passed. Ciel got up from the sofa and went to the window and looked out. Despite this floor, the ceiling was high, so it was as high as four floors of a building.

“Is this a salon of a woman named L?”

Ciel’s expression suddenly hardened at the sound coming from the study on the wall.

‘trap?’

Ciel looked through the room and picked up the decorative rapier hanging from the wall.
After ringing, a woman in a mask walked out.

Even though her face was unrecognizable, the moment he encountered the mermaid dress she was wearing, the name popped out reflexively.

"L?”

Ciel's eyes shook terribly in embarrassment. The familiarity that he felt from L seen in the hall was deeper when he saw her right in front of him

“Have you been well?” L said hello to Ciel, as if she had known him for a long time.

Then, the pin on the mask that had been firmly fixed was released. Then Elena's white and fine face was revealed intact.
There was no makeup that corrected the line of the face to disguise as Lucia, nor the glasses she wore to hide her features.
Such minor differences gathered to make it look like a completely different woman.
It was more difficult to find Lucia's image without a brown short wig.

"Are you really the Lucia I knew?"
"If you are looking for a junior Lucia, who once had an exchange at an academic institute, you are correct."

Ciel couldn't keep up with the words. A woman in front of him who resembled Lucia and had a fatal beauty, the alien familiarity cleverly coexisted."

“Is L your real name? Or is it a fake name too? "
"L is an abbreviation for my real name. "

Elena confessed honestly. There was no reason to hide from here, and she didn't want to hide it from Ciel anymore.

"Aren't you asking more? " Elena asked
"Should I ask?
“I prepared the answers in advance."
"That's right.” Ciel took a light smile and approached Elena.

With his eyes full of excellence, he looked at Elena
Elena swallowed her breath when she raised her head pretending to be fine, Ciel hugged Elena without notice, in his wide and comfortable arms, tightly as if bruising and yet not harsh.

She couldn't move as if her muscles were paralyzed.

"Ah! Your Majesty. "
" And I missed you.”

Elena's head turned white. Her heart shook regardless of her will. Elena couldn't lift her head.
Just holding her breath, she lowered her head and looked at the ground.
Ciel put strength in his arms.

When the time that felt like eternity was over, Elena felt awkwardness that she could not handle


‘Uh, what should I do?’

Then she found a decorative rapier in Ciel's hand.

"You mean this? “ Ciel also looked down and realized that he was holding the rapier all the time.
Then he lifted up the rapier and replied, looking expressionlessly.
" Do you know the blacksmith who manufactured this rapier? “ (Ciel… really )

It was Elena who was embarrassed by that shamelessness... But, the awkwardness she felt was also softened a lot. Rather, the sense of distance toward each other was reduced compared to the first time they met, and even felt comfortable.


"I have a question."
"Please speak."
"If you were L, I wondered if you had to go to the academic academy by borrowing Lucia's name. Can you answer me why?"

‘What to do? Should I tell his Majesty everything?’

"I guess this is a difficult question to answer. "
"I can't tell you right now, but trust me and wait a bit. I will definitely talk later. "
It hurts her that she coudln't truly trust Ciel who came to convey his sincerity.

"I'll wait, so promise me this one. "
" Promise? "
“Don't go away without saying to me. If you're going for a long time, tell me, can you promise that?” Elena was cherished by him more than any other.
“ I promise. "
" That's it.” Ciel also nodded to show that he was very satisfied with the answer.
“Can I come to the salon if I want to see you?”

"No.” Elena laughed bitterly. “I don't have many days to come to the salon."
“Then, when will I be able to see you again? "

"When the day to come to the salon is decided, I will contact Count Lyndon. Would it be okay? “

"Go to the Count.. " Ciel blurred his words.
Count Lyndon, who will be treated as a link between Elena and Ciel, would be very eager.

“It's a pity that I can't see you more often, but I'll endure it.”

Spoiler: The waking up Veronica

This place, located in the best hiding place of nature, did not exist on any map, and was the most secret among dozens of houses owned by the Grand Duke

The silhouette of a woman sitting on the window sill was seen through the curtains fluttering in the wind blowing from outside the window.
She wore a pure white dress and looked out the window, then turned her head.

The woman, who wasn't feeling well, opened her pale lips.
"Come on, Liv," her voice was small but clear. As if to prove that she was alive. "I guess I slept for a little while. Liv looks like an older sister than me."

“Her Majesty the Princess,” said Leabrick to Veronica.
She woke up from a long sleep.

"It's amazing. It seems like I got up after sleeping for a while, but three years have passed. It's amazing."
“It was a long time,” said Leabrick, with a lot of meaning.

While Veronica was unconscious, rumors of scandals, obscenity, and evil against her flooded, and the succession of the Grand Duke was greatly shaken.
Archduke Franches and Leabrick needed a way to break through the rumors, so they brought Elena to stand as a stand-up.

Veronica, who became addicted to an unknown poison, passed the crisis of life and death dozens of times.
The doctors were unable to create an antidote.
Eventually, Leabrick was forced to gamble on Veronica's life.

"But it's been three years, and nothing has been revealed. It’s your doings, Leabrick?” Veronica coldly accused her.

With the trust of Archduke Franches, Leabrick wielded full power, but one day the Duchy would be inherited by Veronica.
By there, Leabrick's position would not be guaranteed. It was because there were overflowing geniuses who could take the place of her vacancy in the Grand Duchy.

"How is the princess's body condition?"
“The poison has not been completely neutralized and remains in the body. I think we will have to wait a little longer to see the progress. It is still too early to let her go.”

At the report of the attending physician, Leabrick nodded and turned around.
"I may have to burn the doll faster than we thought."

You can find the link to the original novel here: Ridibooks or Kakaopage

 

ALL CREDIT GOES TO @mijikado

Spoiler: BYE LORENTZ

In the pretext of forgetting something, Elena asked Hurelbad and Lorentz stay outside of her room.

A while later, Hurelbad knocked the door. No answers. He called several times but there was still no answer.


Feeling something strange, Lorentz turned the doorknob roughly and ran into the room. His expression hardened as he witnessed the empty drawing room. He searched everywhere as if being possessed but couldn't find any trace of Elena.


Click.


When Lorentz turned around, he saw Hurelbad locked the door.

"What is this about?"


Hurelbad, whose expression did not change even though Elena had vanished

"The lady told me to deliver the message"

He pulled out the sword

"I'll give Lord Lorentz, the knight of Betrayal, a sabbatical. That's the punishment for you"


Lorentz's face was beautifully distorted. It sound ridiculous and insulting to say that a little junior was going to punish him


"The knight of betrayal? I've accepted you as a knight without foundation, and you're not even have the qualifications for, it's a sight. Listen to me Hurelbad! The knight of betrayal is not me but you! You don't even know that your owner is a fake princess. Putting a sword at me is an act of betraying the great house itself!


Hurelbad's expression did not change a bit. He raised his sword and showed firm determination

"This is my chivalry" (Hurelbad ma boii )


"What?"


"My lady is only her. Betraying her is the most disgraful thing to me"


"You son of a.....you know everything from the beginning!"

Now Lorentz understood the situation. It was premeditated to keep him and Hurelbad away from the drawing room under the pretext of being sensitive ahead of the 3rd contest.

Lorentz grated his teeth


"That's why I don't accept the rootless. You or that b!tch".

He pulled out the sword he was wearing. A creepy energy flowed from the blade.

"If I torture you, I'll be able to track down the face princess. Do you knowthe fake princess made a mistake? Leaving you here. You'll never win me'


Lorentz kicked the ground, blew himself away and rushed at Hurelbad but the latter slanted his body and splat his attack.

Lorentz kept on attacking and Hurelbad kept on avoiding. In anyone's eyes, Lorentz was in charge of the game. He went wild

"You're good at dodging...can you do that if I cut out off your leg?"



However, such a judgment has led to an irreversible situation.

"Oh, my God," Lorentz looked down at his abdomen with uncontrollably trembling eyes. The cold blade pierced the abdomen and seemed to protrude behind the waist.

He didn't even see the movement "Imagination? Hey, that's ridiculous. To that baseless... ...from the meadow tribe. "

Lorentz grew up thinking he was a genius since he was young. So far, his record for the youngest knight that he received at the age of 18 has not been broken.


He could not get a blow from Hurelbad. It was not a little gap, but the overwhelming gap.

Hurrelbad looked at Lorentz like that with an indifferent glance.

Hurrelbad's image of taking victory for granted made Lorentz even more miserable:


"You, you son of a b!tch..." Blood flowed back when the blade that felt cold dug into the flesh and abdomen.

He was unable to stand the bitter blood flowing back to his mouth.

"Oop."

Hurelbad stuffed his handkerchief into Lorentz's mouth. The backflowed blood colored the handkerchief red.

Lorentz had no power to resist. Looking at him like that, Hurelbad said without a hitch.

"The punishment you give is rest. Death. Don't think this is the end. I'll make you pay for insulting the meadow tribe you ignored,"

Hurrelbad looked scary.



"Come on, come on, my master..." Lorentz thought he should go to Leabrick while his consciousness was blurry. But the dying body drooped, betraying his will.


After confirming that he was out of breath, Hurelbad supported his falling body with one hand. Then, he took out an extra handkerchief and put it on top of the sword-stained blood.

It was a measure to prevent blood from leaking out as much as possible.


Elena ordered not to leave any trace as much as possible. That's why Hurelbad aimed for a loophole in the process of defeating Lorentz.

It was almost impossible for him to pull out if the guards came after hearing the sound of the sword striking.

"There's still a long way to go." It was good to deliberately avoid a close game, induce Lorenz's carelessness, and then take a blow. It was not that difficult as the difference in skills was so great.


The problem was in his hands. Angried at Lorentz insults, he reacted violently without realizing it. Emotionally, he killed Lorentz with more blood than expected.

"I don't care if you insult me and spit on my face. But I can't forgive you for swearing at my lady."


Lorentz's body, which had become a cold body, was dragged to the fireplace. Blood gushed out of the sword-stained area in Lorentz's uniform.


Hurelbad grabbed the candlestick and manipulated it as Elena told him.


Click!


There was a perfect fit, and the wall inside the fireplace opened, revealing the secret passage. Hurelbad moved the body of the sword-tipped Lorentz into a secret passage. Then, he looked inside the drawing room, looked for any traces he might have left behind, and disappeared into the secret passageway.


The stone wall closed behind the fireplace and returned to its original form.

Spoiler: Liv downfall

Eventually, Lucas (= the best knight of the Grand Duke family) and a few people were able to found Elena, Hurelbad and May


They lauched an attack, but soon there were Len and Ciel who rejoined and helped Hurelbad defeating the knight.


Actually, Ciel was using the excuse of going "hunting" and "coincidentaly " witnessed the accident and launched a direct investigation.

Ciel revealed the existence of Leabrick and many political not-so-funny-stuffs going on. Consequently, many nobles openly expressed their distrust to the Grand Duchy.


In the end, even The grand duke had to come foward and comforted the angry aristocrats, saying that Leabrick had acted arbitrarily and had nothing to do with him.


In such a chaotic situation, Elena disappeared (actually she was hiding in her Secret Salon) and the Real Veronica officially returned


The Grand Duke locked Leabrick in the prison.


"It's funny," said Leah Brick, who had become half-mole by confinement. The hair was disheveled and the neat dress was dirty. There was not even a trace of the woman who shook the empire with hers brain.

"I can't believe I'm being humiliated by a little girl who doesn't even know the very foundation of the country."


"I think the reputation of Liabrick has been bubbling over. You've become arrogant after you've tasted some small success." Leabrick's eyes trembled thinly at Grand Duke Frances' insulting remarks.


She could bear it as much as she could. It was the fact that she was trampled on by Elena to the point where she could not deny a word of his miserable words.

"Kill me."

"Kill you?" sneered Grand Duke. "This is difficult."

"You've been so merciful to me."

"They're asking me to pay a huge fine for running a knight without permission in the imperial court. That's all? The nobles talk a lot about your command of the Knights."


Liabrick became a honeyed mute. It was a mistake and a failure. There was nothing to say.


Frances laughed sarcastically, looking at her avoiding the gaze.

"Have you looked in here? Half of those trapped in here are fom you."

"Well, Your Highness."

"Keep rotting in here. Every day, look back at yourself in the same situation as them and despair, Leabrick."


When he mentioned her name, Leabrick's lips, which had already turned blue, trembled. Grand Duke Frances giggled as if to enjoy her reaction.

"And you don't know, do you? Will I change my mind over time? Then I can think of your precious talent and bring it out."

"Please..."


Grand Duke Frances turned away with a faint laugh. Soon the silence that lay over the shaking candle was broken by the cry of the prisoners.

"You, you were LIABRICK?"

"You locked me up here. I am innocent!"

"I will kill you! I'm going to kill you"

"You're going to die! Ugh!"

The prisoners trapped in the iron bars were crazed with all kinds of abuse.


As Grand Duke Frances said, half of them were in Leabrick's conspiracy, or were taken away from hostility and trapped here.

"Stop it," said Leabrick, pulling her leg and turning herself into a gumbel.


Being trapped alone was to suffer from terrible fear and despair, and as the abuse, insults, demeaning and contempt of the prisoners with grudges poured out, there was no resource to endure mentally.

"Please, stop it!"

Leabrick closed hes ears with both hands and screamed.

But her cry only further stimulated the prisoners with no avail.

Rather, it became more intense. For a very long time.

Spoiler: The kiss (chapter 236)

“So would you believe me if I said you were more lovely?"


"Your Majesty, it's..” Elena didn’t know what to say.


She couldn't think of anything as if her usual brilliant mind had hardened.

No matter how tired you are, it's against etiquette to show some loose humility


Then she fell asleep. She was afraid that she had drooled, and her saliva might have caused some kind of scandal (yeah my nightmare too, drooling next to my crush )


But she guessed that was not the plan.


“I still can't believe it”


The affection dropped sharply in Ciel's mellow eyes.


"The fact that you and I are lovers. It’s like living in a dream-like world every day”


Elena felt like she was going to be sucked into Ciel's eyes and voice which directed at her.

The warmth of his hands sweeping down her cheeks, as if his heart had already been conveyed, made her heart raced so fast that even his heart could not be unaffected.


“There's no place that's not pretty…”


“That's why I keep getting greedy. I know I shouldn't do this, but I want to have all of you."


Ciel grabbed her chin softly with the hand that was covering her cheek and lifted it carefully. The eyes of Ciel and Elena crossed diagonally.

Ciel slowly put his lips on Elena's lips, as if time had stopped.


“Ah.”


Elena felt breathless from the soft touch of Ciel's mouth.


She thought this moment was like a lie.

Lovely kisses were like this. It made her forget all the pain of the wounds, and it made her feel that she was living now, and not in the past anymore.



Maybe that was why. Even the bitterness that was conveyed after the kiss was heartrending to her.


Not because she was a shadow, but because Ciel chose a woman named Elena. Elena unwittingly reached behind Ciel and wrapped her hands around his neck. She was so active as if she wanted this kiss more than anything else. As if no one could understand or know.


Ciel was surprised at the moment, but soon followed her and kissed her violently. He gave Elena a crushing hug. Hard enough to feel that his will would never let go.


When such Ciel's heart was conveyed, Elena’s eyes became watery.

Her one-sided affection no longer existed. She was so glad that they wanted each other.


So, they didn't let each other go. As if time had stopped, the two people exchanged deep kisses.


Ciel took off his lips first.


"Why are you crying?" Sian's eyes shook when he saw the water dropped around Elena's eyes.

It was because he was worried that he did something wrong when he conveyed his feelings.


“I'm glad” Elena smiled more brightly than ever, looking at Ciel wiping away the tears around her eyes.



Ciel felt an unknown lump in her tearful smile.


"Do you remember? You cried in front of me when we first met."


Ciel felt a strangely prickly pain in his heart when he saw her tears. Where there was a story he didn't remember, that someone forcibly made him forget

"It seems like I've seen this even before meeting you...”

"...As I said before, you…”

The eyes of Ciel, who was about to say that she had never been ugly for a moment, were wide open.



That was because Elena kissed him as if she was blocking him. As if she asked him to not to say anything.

Ciel shut his eyes again, as if he read her mind.



'Maybe..'

Kissing him was not just a confirmation of Ciel's affection.

It was a sentiment that could not be conveyed in a hundred words.



They could not reach each other through the past. The day Ian was born, Ciel had treated her more dearly than anyone else.

So far, she had only thought that the memory of that fateful day was a mistake by Ciel, who had mistaken her for Cecilia. Because he couldn't treat Veronica like that.



'Miracle is a product of desperation. Not only with love, but with the earnestness of someone.'

Cardinal Benedict’s words lingered in Elena's head and did not leave.


Looking back, she couldn't forget Ciel's words, asking who she was.


On the day where she was hurt by his harsh words, that he had turned away from Ian, Elena gave up her heart toward Ciel.


The expression of Ciel that day, was false.


It was ringing before her eyes. So Elena couldn't stop this long kiss. Sometimes in life, one's intuition is swept away by vague and unstable emotions. Her intuition kept whispering to Elena, who looked through the broken fragment of memories.


A miracle that broke down the wall of time and brought her back to life. Maybe it was this guy, Ciel.


It was impossible to check, but Elena keeps going that way.


That's why the kiss was, for her, a means to rest and to heal.

Spoiler: Anna

Anna, with May, followed Elena in her escaping. She was so scared of the Grand Duke coming for her life and begged Elena to save her.

So Elena and Emilio (idk who he was but he seems to be important later) decided to banish Anna from the Empire and coaxed her to board the ship to Mariana Islands with good words.

In the oral fairy tale, it was referred as the heaven on earth, but in reality, the land was abandonned. It was invaded by pirates, and it was even hard to catch fish due to strong waves.

Spoiler: Elena's parents

Elena heard new of her parents from Emilio.

They successfuly settled in the northern part of the country and were said to be engaged in the Wine business, as recommended by Elena in her letter, and now they lived in a well-to-do life thanks to the booming commerces.

Elena was very proud of the 2 of them who was forced to settle in an exotic island without connection.

Spoiler: Elena's next plan

As she had been working as "L" for a while, she thought to strengthen the inner workings of the salon and setting a financial trap to the Grand Duke family.

So far, Elena had been constrained as she always needed to devise a scheme to avoid Leabrick's surveillance. But not anymore. She was now able to the the initiative in drawing up the game.


Elena had bought all the surroungding lands and buildings around the Salon at a low price, and now the price was soaring high. Therefore, now there were more than a 100 lands, forests, and building purchased in the capital in the name of L. She could now even be called as the "Empire's greater financier" in name and in reality.


Seems like Elena was collaborating with Caliph, an art broker, and since she already knew what art and fashions trends would be like in the future, she thought of taking advantage of that by opening her own Street.

The Noblesse Street, belonged to the Grand Duke family, was under construction, with the objective to attract the aristocrats. Astronomical founds had been invested.

Consequently, with Elena's street, the Noblesse one would lose its place and instead, fashion-concious and artistic-minded aristocrates would visit the special street that had been created around the Salon.

Spoiler: Veronica's return, Liv's replacement and the Noblesse street talks

In the Duke mansion, Veronica seemed to have changed.

Now she kept admiring herself in the mirroir and taking all the compliments (like she was the most beautiful woman and stuff) for granted. Also she couldn't accept the maids' mistake anymore and imprisoned them for days.


Liv's replacement was Ashelas. She was evaluated as having a good analytical skills as Liabrick, but also determination and action. To the Real Veronica, she showed her full obedience (like a dog wagging its tail cravint for its owner's praise)




They talked about the Noblesse Street and the needs to hire virtuous people who could symbolize the dignity of the Street. They thought about Raphael- the painter, Christina - the designer, Gentonio - the musician.

They were right about the fact that all of them were great artists.

BUT what they didn't know was that:

- Raphael was a close friend of Elena and already knew about her being a substitute and her plan to get revenge,

- "L" was Christina's muse, the inspiration of her work,

- Thanks to Elena's support, Gentonio's father was able to receive medical treatment in time and ultimately save him.

⇒ All 3 of them declined the Grand Duke proposition haha

Spoiler: Len and the 2nd ML syndrome

Elena scheduled a meeting with Len after a long time.

Len previously had asked Elena to grant a wish in exchange of him helping her to escape.

Elena then asked Len to wish for something and she'd try to grand it in her capacity.


The only thing that Len asked for was that....to stay with him for about 6 hours (before Ciel came)

Elena stared at Len since it was a little bit embarrasing for her (I mean the atmosphere was pretty akward ) but accepted it anyway because it was not a difficult request.

Len asked to have a meal with her, then a cup of tea.

While Elena was preparing the tea, Len just kept looking at her for a long time.


"What shall we do now?"

"Nothing" said Len while leaning on the sofa as if he were serious.


"Why do you keep looking like that?"

The longer Len looked at her, the more and burdensome Elena was"


"Can you stop looking?"

"Why?"

"I'm burneded"

"No." Len laughed. "You do your job. I did what I had to do" His attitute was cleary different than from the past.

"Don't regret it later"

Elena picked up a philosophy book and sat down.

.

.

"Oh" When Elena briefly closed the book and stretched her shoulders and that the burden had disappeared.

Len was sleeping like a crib.

'who would know this man would be the greatest rascal of the Empire?'

Elena carefully recovered him with a blanket and looked at him closely.

She thought he was handsome.


"Hey"

"You didn't sleep?"

"It's too close" A hoarse voice came through Len's lips. Only then did Elena realize they were so close to each other that they could hear each other's breath.

She backpedaled and sprained her ankle. When Elena was about to fall, Len stretched out his arm and pull Elena on his lap.


Len was red from the face to the neck (aw you're so innocent Len )

"You're too close"

"Would you mind? You saved me again"

Len grinned and looked at Elena with a silent smile.

Spoiler: Veronica's poisoning- the truth?

"I have something to say" Len was still smiling, but his eyes not anymore.


"What if I was at the start?"

The words of Len caused Elena a stir


"Don't you wonder why Veronica disappeared? Suddenly the healthy kid?"

"Why?"

"Because she was poisoned"


Considering she had not showed up for nearly 3 years, Elena thought it was a disease but it was actually poison.

"No way"

"That's right. I poisoned her"


Len told the whole truth without hiding it and asked Elena if she was angry and if she wanted to hit him? (A strange way of apologizing)


Elena was really angry ben she knew that Len was hurt. Without him, she wouldn't be dragged in all this mess in the past as well in the present.

But when she thought about Ian, her unparalleled joy in the world, and her identity as "L", the hostess of the secret salon and the leading woman, she knew that she could only be here today thanks to Veronica's poisoning.


Then Len asked for her real name. After hesitating, Elena admitted:

"Elena"

Len muttered her name repeatedly like a parrot and seemed very excited "Elena, Elena, Elena"

"Stop calling me"


Then they talked about the Grand Duke family who could get rid of Raphael, Cristina and Gentonio since they couldn't hire them, that's why Elena and her teams needed to devise a plan to protect those 3.

It was then that they ran out of time.

"Time's almost up"

"You don't regret it? I think you wrote your wish in vain"

"Well, don't worry. Anything's more meaningful when it's left" Len grinned

"You're a real weirdo"

Spoiler: And back to our ML

Soon Ciel arrived and joined Len and Elena

Ciel and Len just kept glaring at each other so Elena had to mediate between the 2


They talked a about the Grand Duke family (their talks just evolved about them and political stuffs sorry )

At the end, Elena asked Len to let her and Ciel alone, in which Len left while pouting his lips haha


When they were finally alone, Elena gave Ciel an enveloppe with an astronomical amount of money. In the past, she knew he failed as an emperor because of the nobles' resistance but also financial problem

Ciel had a bitter smile. She knew everything, but he still felt miserable. The situation was so unsympathetic, even more because he couldn't refuse.


Ciel told Elena that it would be better to bestow her a title. Elena refused as she was good for now and the big problem was that she was a woman, and throughout history, only a few of them had been granted a title alone.

However, Ciel was stubborn, he wanted to protect Elena and he knew that giving her a title would stabilize her position. And using the law, even the Grand Duke could not persecute Elena.


"I'm more worried about you than you are concerned about me. I won't allow you to refuse"

With Ciel's heartfelt words, Elena was moved.

"....I'll accept it, Your Highness"

"The title is Baroness Jun. We'll take care of the award ceremony as a informal ceremony outside. I'll send someone to the salon"

"I'll greet the Empire gladly".

Now, L had become an imperial aristocrat in name and reality. It was her recompense, and her reputation would grow more and more, to be standing at the same line as the real Veronica.


"It's late" Ciel sneaked out the Imperial palace out of the eyes of the watchmen implanted by the nobles. Now he had to go back because he couldn't leave the palace empty for too long"

"Yes, it was unintentionally long, your Highness"

"Ciel"

"...."

"So call me"

Elena waved her hands in dismay "No, I don''t dare say in your presence...."

"I'd like it"

"It can't happen. Please.."

Elena was once a queen, she was sensitive to those manners. The only woman who could call Ciel by his name would be his companion for the rest of his life.

"Will you?"

"Yes?" Elena opened her eyes like a deer and blinked (yes she fell into the trap )


"However, there is a condition. No, I would say it's a request."

"A favor?"

"Can you allow me to know your real name?"

Elena, dumbfounded by the sudden turn of conversation, stared blankly at Ciel


'You don't wan to know my real name, do you? No, I don't think so'.

But seeing Ciel with an awkward look on his face, deepened her conviction.


"I'm sorry. Is it difficult? It's late now"


Elena's eyes softened. Ciel had never been urged. He never knew her name properly, and silently believed and waited for her to tell him first. It was time to repay the wait.


"It's Elena."


"Elena". His expression, looking at Elena became strange. It was also new for her to tell him her real name for the first time and to hear her real name through his voice.

A feverish smile came around his mouth.

"Let's keep that name for a long time, Elena."

Spoiler: Ashelas' failed plan and the unhappy Veronica

As the musician Gentonio and the designer Christina directly refused the Grand Duke's offer to work in the Noblesse Street, Veronica ordered Ashelas to get rid immediatly of them. Raphael the painter asked for sometimes to think instead of refusing directly.


But our Elena already knew everything in advance. She ordered Hurelbald to hire mercenaries to escort them immediately to her Secret salon before Ashelas managed to kill the 2 of them.


Ashelas shivered in fear next to the unhappy Veronica when they heard the new that not only Christina and Gentonio survived, but they also declared to work exclusively in "L" Salon.


Ashelas tried to reassure Veronica that at least they would have Raphael by their side because she was sure that he was going to accept their offer but instead, Raphael also refused because he too would work at L salon


Veronica, hearing the news, had a gruesome smile since for her, the Empire should only evolve around the Grand Duke family and not anything else, not even the imperial family:

"That's annoying, that L. L is called a new woman, isn't it? " Veronica's corners of mouth were twisted. "That's funny. How humble is she to call her a divine woman?"


They tried to identify her identity, face or age but couldn't find any information. L was a veiled woman.

Spoiler: The Salon Annexes' opening ceremony

L Salon Annexes' ceremony was also the occasion to celebrate L becoming an aristocrat.

The plan was to stick to the method of hiding one's name and identity by wearing a mask, but to win the aristocrats' heart by using culture and art.


Only those who received an invitation could enter. That provoke a chaos between the aristocrats, trying to obtain or buy the invitation to the ceremony.

Even Abella came (you know the one who competed against her in the Crown Princess competition)




The day finally came, and when Elena, as "L", came down to the main hall, everybody became silent. There was only admiration for her .


Den, the secretary of the Imperial Family, made everyone surprised by bestowing a title to L

"On behalf of the Emperor's Crown Prince, I exalt you for your achievements, which have greatly contributed to the cultural development of the Empire. Therefore, I give you the title of the Baroness, so be honored and do not be ashamed."

It was the first time that The Crown Prince had given a title to someone.

Rumors began to spread between L and the Crown Prince, and people became more and more admirative of L



Now, Elena had received Recognition, and the next step was to show the influence of salons by revealing the annexes.


But, Elena's shoulders trembled. Someone was looking at her direction.

A girl, with an owl mask, her face's features looked exactly like Elena.

The girl took off her mask, ignoring the rules.

"No way, Princess Veronica?"

"Your Highness, Princess Veronica"


Veronica was upset, seeing a girl 'not as her level' received that much recognition, that's why she took off her mask, wanting to see L in despair (This girl really )


Veronica turned her disheveled hair over her shoulder. She smiled refreshingly, showing her face as if she didn't care about Salon's rules.

"I don't know why you're all wearing this. You're not so confident about yourself?"

Veronica's scathing criticism has hardened the faces of the VIPs. It was taken as an insult by the proud aristocrats who were openly crushed in the face.

Veronica turned away, laughing at L.

"Or did the salon owner come up with these rules for nothing? Is that so, L?" Veronica made a mockery, staring openly at Elena, as if aimed at her.


On the contrary, Elena was not agitated despite Veronica's provocative words.

'I didn't know I'd see her again this way......You don't know how much I missed you, Veronica. I've been looking forward to this day since I returned. '


She realized that the time for revenge was not far away. The Salon was hers, and she could use it at her advantage

Spoiler: L and Veronica's face-to face

"It seems that your Highness unintentionally caused inconvenience because of the Salon's rules. As the representative of Salon, I apologize."

Elena politely showed courtesy to Veronica under the stairs. More than half of the VIPs invited today are aristocrats. This is the ability to use Veronica's rude words and actions as a stepping stone to build a good image and to gradually increase the influence of society.


"I would also like to thank you. Not only did I deserve the title, but the Princess Your Highness came and made me shine." Elena quickly continued and used Veronica's status and reputation to make her stand out.


Veronica's cheeks twitched. "I didn't know L cared about me that much. Then I can't just go. I'll give you a congratulatory speech on behalf of the nobility."


"Congrats?" Elena's forehead, which was covered by the mask, was frowned.


"Why? You don't like it?."


Elena grudgingly agreed, as it was difficult to refuse.


Veronica smiled meaningfully and walked up the stairs a few steps. Standing at a high eye level, she looked back at the table.

"I think L is really great. She put up a salon, and how could she insult the Empire's foundation of status with a ridiculous mask? So, as L did here, I'm going to enlighten you on your folly."


The faces of the VIPs were visibly distorted by Veronica's public insults.

The mockery of Veronica's mouth deepened. The aristocrats' reaction was nothing but joy to her.

"You." Veronica, looking under the hall with an arrogant look, pointed a finger at one. It was a man wearing a mask shaped like a cow.

"Me?"

"Yes, you. Are you a nobleman?"

The man in the cow's mask who was questioned was embarrassed. "Why all of a sudden..."

"I don't remember allowing you to ask questions? I'm asking, are you an aristocrat?" asked Veronica


A smile spread over Veronica's face, looking down at the bewildered couch. It was revealed that he was a commoner in the faded tailcoat and the atmosphere. Veronica stole a glass of champagne and poured it over the head of the masked man. Very slowly, wet from head to face.

In the stillness Veronica's laughter spread low into the salon. Her insane laughter was so faint and eerie that it was shocking enough for anyone to be killed


"What are you doing?" went up the voice of the masked man, who came to his senses. His pride was hurt by the humiliating situation.

But Veronica enjoyed this situation. 'Hwa? What's the difference when I'm angry? What can you do? You're a vulgar commoner, aren't you?"


The cow masked man bit her lips hard at Veronica's words. There was so much anger in his head. Wall of status. The irreconcilable gap with Veronica made him despair.


" Gentlemen, Do masks make ordinary people aristocrats?Oh, it's humiliating to think about it. You can't be a noble family in a moment. For generations, nobility is achieved as a blood vessel. Does it make sense that such an aristocrat is equal to a commoner?"


Veronica asked questions and looked up at Elena. It meant that she would not be recognized as an aristocrat, as she became a nobleman today.


Some aristocrats who were dazzled by Veronica's words were agitated. Although they had been tamed by the salon culture and forgot about the sense of privilege of the aristocracy, Veronica set the fire again.



But Elena would not just sit back and suffer. She came down the stairs with an elegant gait. As she got closer, the voices of aristocrats who were sympathetic to Veronica's words became smaller.


There was an atmosphere from Elena that they couldn't afford to say anything.

Elena, who ignored Veronica and passed by, approached the cow masked man. She took out a handkerchief and wiped his wet face and neck with her hands.


"I'm sorry to have caused you to go through this as the owner of the salon.'"

"Oh, no."

Elena shook her head. "I'll take you to your own place. I will also prepare new clothes and masks."

She quietly left the hall with the masked man. She bowed her head and offered him a note of apology as an example.


Elena's attitude was very polite, even though she knew she was a commoner.

Elena turned around and faced Veronica. Her amazingly similar face filled Veronica with anger that she couldn't handle for doing such a senseless thing.


Veronica, on the other hand, felt an unparalleled freshness. Every time she brought down her demeanor, she get excited and said,

"What do you think? Why would you have to wear a mask and be treated like this?"

Veronica looked back at the audience and smiled.


The nobles, hesitating at the strange smile took off his mask in sympathy. The number easily surpassed a dozen.


Veronica looked triumphantly at Elena.



In a situation that might be difficult, somehow the composure began to grow on Elena's expression.

'Are you laughing?'


Elena's meaningful smile was very annoying, but Veronica tried to ignore it.

"It's ugly, L." Veronica sarcasm, then turned to a haughty gesture. It was followed by masked aristocrats.

The combined number of aristocrats who hesitated and cooperated reached as many as 20. Watching


Veronica moving away, Elena said. "I'll see you again."


"Don't get me wrong. Because I decide whether to see again or not," said Veronica and the nobles who collaborated with her, left the hall. Veronica with triumphant eyes.


The twenty aristocrats who followed her only glanced at Veronica and hesitated without any scruples. Veronica looked at them and said in a soft voice.

"Today you have kept the pride of the nobility. You can be proud." add words as if the nobles had waited. "It's all thanks to the Princess' Highness."


The smile on Veronica's face deepened. It's refreshing to have hit L's salon, but she was glad that she got even people who unintentionally follow me.

Veronica was getting ready to get into society in earnest.



As Veronica turned haughty, the nobles in the back looked as red as they could. They were as happy as they could fly just because they had the chance to get along with Veronica.


Veronica climbed into the four-wheeler without a glance. The wheel rolled along the carriage. When Veronica looked out, the nobles were bowing to the carriage with courtesy.

It was a tearful effort to somehow catch Veronica's eye.


Despite such efforts Veronica gave no attention. She was a princess and had no reason to feel grateful for the obvious.

"It was a refreshing day." Outside the carriage, Veronica's lips curled up as she watched the distant salon.

Spoiler: After Veronica leaving

Inside the salon swept by the storm was full of heavy silence.

"That's strange," said someone peculiar. Wearing a bear mask, his voice assumed him to be young. "It's normal to be in a bad mood, but it doesn't feel bad."

"Me, too."

"I wonder if that's necessary."


Elena looked at the crowd with a loving glance. But there were more people left in the salon than there were those who left. Nearly a hundred VIPs were still left in the main hall.


As favorable public opinion was created, it was proof that salons were accepted, the rules were respected, and the culture was accepted


The Salon's influence grew and the Basilica (Elena's cultural Street) was nearing completion.

Again, the capital was agitated. Not only the society but also the entire nation focused on the fact that they could finally see the beauty of the mysterious woman L.

"Is she a beauty as rumored? Rumor has it that she's wearing a mask because of a scar? How old is she? 20 or 30? Or a teenager? "

As all eyes were on L, who had been shrouded in mystery, salons were also brought up and down again in people's mouths. Everything was smooth.

(In your face Veronica!)




The majority of Veronica's followers were aristocrats who entered L'sSecret Salon and were imbued with the Salon's free-spirited ways of thinking and culture.

As a result, coming to Veronica's party with a vertical hierarchy relationship was not interesting anymore.


Whereas L salon became more and more popular, Veronica' ones less and less .

One day, Veronica invited 28 people to the piano recital.

Buut....only 3 came, that meant 25 ignored her invitation haha

Veronica's face turned red. 'Are the girls degrading me?' Her eyes glistened with uncontrollable madness. She couldn't even feel the bitter taste of blood on her tightly closed lips.


Veronica then forced Ashelas to find out the whereabouts of those 25 people (I mean she even threatened Ashelas' family in order to make her find out more quickly)


Well, guess what?

It turned out that all those 25 girls were at the same place, in L's fashion show .

It was the first insult since she recognized that the empire was under her feet. She couldn't believe she was humiliated by a woman whose bloodline is unclear

"I pull the plan. I'll have to kill them all."

"Yes?"

"I'll find and kill not only the artists in Salon, but also all of the Salon's key positions. If they had a family, I'd find them and kill them all"

---

Meanwhile, at Len and May's side:

"I know Veronica well. If one can't focus on her, she's going to flip everything over. When she overstrings herself, we have a reason in our hands to bring down the Grand Duke."

 

ALL CREDIT GOES TO @mijikado

Spoiler: The Night Crows and the Grand Duke’s plans

The Night Crows were an organization specialized in gathering information and assassination, with the members fully pledged their lives to the Grand Duke.


The Grand Duke was not very happy. After the fall of Leabrick, everything was reported to him instead.

He hired the Night Crows to assassinate the Salon’s people, including Raphael, but mysteriously, every assassins were killed and their bodies disappeared without a trace

The finance of the Grand Duke family were deteriorating, and the soon-to-be-opened Noblesse Street suffered more financial damage than expected due to many difficulties.


He finally recalled what Leabrick had said: « Watch L. She’s a dangerous woman ». The Grand Duke family began to falter when this woman appeared. He also knew about the thing happened between L and Veronica.


Believing his influence over the Emperor Richard, he intended to push the Emperor to regulate L’s Salon and even push it to closure. For him, the royal family didn’t have any power to reject his request, he who held the real power of the Empire

(The megalomania was passed down from father to daughter )

.

.

The Grand Duke rushed to the Imperial Palace and demanded a private meeting with the Emperor. But contrary to his expectation, the Emperor cut off his story about closing the salon firmly and even gave him a warning


Actually, with the funds gave by Elena, Ciel successfully reformed the Imperial Guards and got rid of the psy from the nobles.

The sickly Emperor Richard was proud of his son, but also felt sorry because he gave him great burden and great responsibility. He knew the relationship between L and Ciel, that’s why he firmly refused the Grand Duke’s request.

Moreover, Richard even asked Ciel to let him see Elena once. Ciel couldn’t turn a blind eyes to his request and promised him that he would introduce him to her in the future.

Spoiler: L’s Assassination Attempt

As the Noblesse Street and the Basilica’s opening day approached, the more unhappy Veronica was.

L’s Salon was still extremely successful, and the Noblesse Street’s opening would surely become a failure if things still continued in L’s ways.


Veronica ordered then Ashelas to burn down the Salon, as well as L inside. Ashela prepared thoroughly the plan to minimize The risk of failure as much as possible.

Back to the Grand Duke side, hearing that his daughter wanted to burn down the salon, he decided to plant down an archer on the roof of a nearby building in case L escape.

« In the worst case, we’re going to shoot L when she goes out of the fire. L’s death will set a good example. When a dog barks without recognizing its owner (he talked about Ciel and the Emperor) »

.

.

.

The day finally came.

Elena just finished her work at the Salon, and thanked all the employees for their hard works.

She prepared to go to her bedroom to get some rest.

The salon was almost empty, there were only a people left, in charge of housekeeping and chores, but they lived in the Annex. In other words, Elena was almost alone.


That night, one of the employee came to the Salon and set fire to the mansion. The Grand Duke threatened the poor man to kill his children and his wife if he didn’t do what he ordered.

The fire soon grew out of control.


Far away, May, Len and Ciel saw the fire in the direction of the Salon and rushed to Elena side.


Elena was sleeping when Hurelbad woke her up, asking Elena to leave immediately.

But Elena didn’t want to give up her salon that soon and try to not lose her composure:

« I’ll put out the fire »

« Lady! »

« There is a way »

« It’s too late! »

« There is a secret sprayer in the Salon »

Elena went to the bathroom, covered herself with water and forced her way to go despite Hurelbad attempt to stop her.

Hurelbad decided then to open the Sprayer in her place and force her to escape.

« You must be safe. Swear that you will »

« I will swear ». Only then that Elena nodded and escaped the Salon with May and Emilio.


At Hurelbad side, he succeed into opening the sprayer’s valves. Water poured from the ceiling and stopped the fire

Spoiler: L’s Assassination Attempt part 2

Now Elena was vulnerable as didn’t have Hurelbad to protect her anymore.


Suddenly a man fell sharply from the opposite building. May and Emilio went in front in order to protect her from the unknown man.

But when he raised his head, Elena recognized him: It was Len!


Len, unable to overcome the relief, hugged tightly Elena (my poor 2nd ML )

« I was worried »

« Len »

« ‘cause I can’t handle myself right now. So let’s just stay like this for a little while »

Elena was dumbfounded, her heart beat fast. But she still tried to calm herself as ‘It’s not the time for this. Get a hold of yourself, Elena!’


The fire finally dropped, the worst situation was avoided, and Elena finally breathed a sign of relief when she saw Hurelbad opening the window and looked at her way.

Moreover, the area around the salon was crowded with people, bystanders watching the fire, or people who tried to extinguish it.

.

.

.

As Len needed to investigate about the matter, he asked Elena to go first.

But when she left, he saw something really: a silhouette of a man pulling a bow at Elena’s direction.


Len immediately cried out for Elena and threw himself reflexively in front of her. The arrow which was intended to Elena’s heart was dug into Len’s back.

Elena grabbed the fallen Len and cried out in tear

« Len!! Get a hold of yourself! Don’t die!! »

Another arrow flew into his back

Ultimately, Len lost his consciousness, and the assassin was still here.



It was pure luck that Ciel found the assassin pointing a bow at Elena while rushing at her side. When he arrived near the Salon, he could see Elena leaving and was relieved.

He turned away. Ciel really wanted to see Elena’s face and asked her if she was okay, but he held it in, since he didn’t wear a mask, and his indiscretion would harm her.


He noticed the assassin.

The first arrow was fired, Ciel pulled out the sword and rushed to stop the arrow, but it was faster than him. Ciel was desperate when he heard the arrow hitting a target.

But Len managed to protect Elena and collapsed.


Ciel saw the assassin putting the next arrow on the bow. He clenched his teeth and flew away, but he was still too far away to stop it. The arrow once again lodged in Len’s back.

If it weren’t for Len, it would have already penetrated Elena’s heart.


The furious Ciel pulled out a dagger from his waist and threw it as hard as he could at the assassin’s direction, as if he was throwing a spear. The dagger flew stronger and fiercer than the arrow. (Lol Ciel are you human? )

The dagger touched the assassin deathly between his armpits and shoulders. The bones and muscles were torn to sherds (Ciel how?? )

He couldn’t shoot anymore. The mission failed. He tried to stop his bleeding and ran away.


But Ciel caught up to him.

« I didn’t expect this kind of death

« No, you’ll live. I’ll make you think it’s better to die than living »

Ciel laid down his voice and growled low.


It was the first time in his life that he was willing to kill for personal reasons. However, he managed to hold his will to kill with superhuman patience. He thought of torturing the assassin To admit that he was a knight from the Grand Duke family.

‘The felony of killing noble families. Even the Grand Duke can’t avoid it »


But the assassin wasn’t willing to let himself captured. He had no will to live. He jumped from the roof and was killed instantly.

Ciel bit his lips hard at the unexpected choice. Now that he died, it would not be easy to pressure the Grand Duke.

Spoiler: Afterwards

In the early morning, Elena laid him down in a reception bedroom of the Salon annex.

She was in a great state of anxiety. She owed her life to Len

Elena constantly talked to Len about what to do if he died.

« That’s not how I’m gonna pay you back. I’m not going to let you get away with it if you really die »

« I have a lot to argue about. I didn’t get a proper apology from you from being indecent »...


A doctor finally came and performed surgeries in order to remove the arrowheads. He was not in danger anymore but was still sleeping.


Hurelbad soon came to Elena’s side. He looked at Len while feeling guilty.

‘It’s because of me. I should have stood beside you’.. The situation was inevitable, but if it wasn’t for Len, Hurelbad could never forgive himself if Elena died.

.

.

.

Elena investigate about the fire, and the analysis showed that the fire was started inside the mansion by one of her employee who was threatened by the Grand Duke. He tried to atone for his crime by burning himself to death. Elena despised the Grand Duke for his cowardice.

Nonetheless, she asked to burry the man in the Church and sent money for his wife and his daughter.


Ciel later came to the Salon, through the window frame (yes he sneaked out )

He comforted Elena and informed her that the one who tried to shoot her was a knight from the Grand Duke house. He was also sorry for coming late and for failing to capture him alive.

But Elena was relieved and thanked him. If Ciel didn’t stop him in time, many people, as well as Len, might have been killed.


She continued to nurse Len for 4 days straight. And finally after the 4th day, Len’s fingers began to move, but he was still unconcious.

.

.

.

Meanwhile, the Grand Duke was eating when he heard about the failed assassination and the failed fire because of a water system. The assassin also died.

He was surprised when Len’s name popped up, and was even more shocked when he heard that he threw himself to protect L.

« The woman, L. The more you know about her, the greater she is. She insulted Veronica and she got the ability to subdue Len. Ah! Should I say that Leabrick’s mistakes were also her work? » (it was your fault to mess with our Elena but oh well )

The Grand Duke finally recognized L as a great woman, and considered his people as incompetent compared to her lol.

He ordered Veronica to not act independently anymore.



Back to Veronica. Not only she was frustrated because of her father’s order, but moreover she received an invitation from L for the opening of the Basilica Veronica took it as an insult since It « coincidentally » overlapped with her Noblesse Street opening day.

« L, I’m gonna crush her bones and flesh out to kill her, she will take off her mask on the last day, doesn’t she? »

« yes. » nodded Ashela

« Then I’ll have to go even more. I think L’s rotten face will make me feel better » (I personally think that your personality is rotten ).

As she was Veronica, she didn’t listen to her father and still decided to act alone again.

Spoiler: Elena’s next move

As Len was still unconscious, Elena determinedly spread a rumor saying that he was dead in order to see how the Grand Duke would react.

As the Grand Duke was planning to swallow the Bastache (Len’s family), the rumor would put the family into chaos and delayed his plan. → her objective was to ultimately protect the Bastache family.

Spoiler: What was Leabrick doing in the mean time?

Underground prison in the safe house.

There was not a speck of sunlight, so Leabrick laid curled up like a gumbel.

Her eyes were half relaxed about what she was thinking.


"Where did it start? What I missed was......" Leabrick's fingers drew a line along the floor. As the lines that looked like graffiti overlapped, LiaBrick's eyes gradually became clear.


"Maybe?" Liv sprang to her feet for something to point at. The deposited eyes were lively and the thought was quickly reversed.

"Yes, that makes sense. Then from the beginning......." Leabrick swallowed dry saliva and blurted the back of the story. Then muttered in an incredible tone.


"That fake was L."

Her voice was full of conviction. It was a conclusion that came out after agonizing over it hundreds or thousands of times.

"But when the hell did you create that identity? You didn't even have any connection to the empire?"


The conviction of a moment ago was overshadowed by a logical wall. Nevertheless, Leabrick did not stop from thinking

« The Academic! »


That was the only time. The time when Leabrick can take her eyes off Elena.


"That means... ...you've been preparing to bring down the Grand Park since the moment you came to it?" "Even your parents too."

"It wasn't because of his face that she appointed Hurelbad. He's strong. Much stronger than Lord Lorentz. You knew that," She got goose bumps on her forearm and her hair stood up.


"She wasn't a woman I could handle from the beginning."


She knew Elena was superior to him, but could not admit it. It was her last pride to dominate the country. However, Elena was a creepy scary woman. Her smile, her tears, her stupidity, her vanity... Everything Leabrick had seen was fake. She deceived her from head to toe.


Leabrick bit her lips hard. The fishy taste of blood hovered in my mouth.


"It's not too late yet. I can use my hands now. I must kill her. Otherwise... » Liabrick swallowed dry saliva. "The great Duke going to be eaten. »


Even if you believed that the Empire was going to collapse, you coudn't easily believe that the Grand Duke, which is called the Empire Sky, was going down. But that was all the reality.


It was time to worry about the safety of the Grand Park. The last bastion could not be trusted to be Elena's opponent, even the Grand Duke of Frances.


"Security! Get Attil right now. The life and death of the Grand Duke is at stake!" Leabrick grabbed the iron bars and screamed at the entrance to the underground prison.

She wanted to prove her worth by taking Elena's breath away and surviving, not by petty loyalty.

« Shut up »

« Before I rip that mouth off. »

« Are you crazy? You must have forgotten your situation, but you're done. You think the Grand Duke will pardonne you?"


The prisoners sarcastically insulted Leabrick. But Leabrick ignored them.


The guard in charge of the underground prison is the one that Attil (Attil was someone who was always on the Grand Duke side) planted.

Attil, who still followed Leabrick, was self-evident to put everything aside at her call.

« You have to come quickly. If it's too late, there might be no turning back. »

Leabrick, who Didn’t know what was going on outside, became anxious. The nervousness was added to her anxiety because if the Grand Duke were to fall, she would lose even her last chance to make a comeback. (Really she still thought about making a comeback )

Spoiler: THE SHOWDOWN

Noblesse Street and Basilica’s opening day.

Len was still unconscious and Elena kept on visiting him whenever she could.


Ciel intensely monitored Elena in Len’s stead and watched over the Salon and Grand Duke family movements.

Two days ago, suspicious movements were detected on such surveillance networks.

He witnessed the entrance of the Grand Duke’s people to the champagne storage warehouse, which was supposed to be supplied to L’ salons for the closing banquet.


The draft was prudent. Rather than making a hasty move, he focused on figuring out their ulterior motives.

Then He took the champagne and examined it, and found that they had put a thin injection in the cap and put in the poison that was close to lethal dose.


Ciel was astounded. This was a mass murder. It was a one-sided massacre that killed not only Elena but also visitors indiscriminately.

In the seriousness of the situation, Ciel put everything aside and contacted Elena.

When Elena, who had heard about it, looked serious and said that she would change the supplier's location, but Ciel just shook his head.

"You said. You need to know how to turn crisis into opportunity. This can work, can you follow my plan?"

Ciel was no longer intimidated. He asked the imperial family to keep the champagne secret until just before the closing banquet, under the pretext of a cultural commendation.

It was to buy time for investigation.


Eventually, with Elena's cooperation, Ciel succeeded in securing evidence that the Grand Park was behind the poisoning.

.

.

.


At the opening day, the Noblesse Street greeted quite many people, but the number soon dropped down, as people preferred L’s Basilica.

Even Veronica admitted that her street was a failure.

She kept on ruminating L’s names and insulted her (I mean, as aways )

.

.

In the Imperial Palace, Emperor Richard was discussing with Ciel about giving L a medal

« A cultural medal? Is it an excuse in order to meet her? »

« As expected, I cannot hide from my son »

.

.

Finally, the last day of the opening ceremony. Veronica came to the Basilica, as happy as she knew she had put poison in the champagne



« Hello, ladies and gentlemen. It's L."

Elena smiled seductively and with a dignified smile, which people could not help but be fascinated at once, regardless of age or sex.

Her gaze was on the only unmasked visitor in the crowd of hundreds. Veronica von Friedrich, a woman who was heavily exposed to the eye. She had a deep make-up and looked vulgar

« Excuse me, Princess Veronica. »

« Oh, my God. »

« You're coming back after all that fuss. What are you thinking? »

« I know. Why is she here again? I hope you don't pour cold water on me like last time. »


The eyes of visitors conscious of Veronica's presence were not good.

The act of ignoring Salon's rule that masks must be worn and being arbitrary with her status made everyone frown.


Elena walked out of the stairs with a haughty but graceful gait.

"Thank you so much for coming to see us on the occasion of the opening of Basilica. Recently, a small accident at the main building caused me to be nervous, but thanks to you, I was relieved."


Elena's cold gaze was not far from Veronica while leading the atmosphere with a soft voice and a smile.

‘I know you're the one who started the fire. So be careful. I'm after you.‘


But Veronica laughed at her whether she was brazen or innocent. Like what could she do to her.


The smile on Elena's face deepened.

"There's another person who made me feel happier today, as happy as I can count it as in my life's hand. The most noble and beautiful person in the Empire visited the salon to celebrate the opening of the Basilica. Please give her a round of applause, Princess Veronica."


Visitors applauded Elena's introduction. The occasional clapping of applause and lukewarm responses made her less welcome.

Elena's introduction of Veronica, even though she knew it clearly, was to indirectly criticize her disregard for the Salon’s rules and use it as a means to raise Salon's status.


Veronica, standing at the landing without even asking Elena's permission, laughed.

"You must be nervous?"

Elena laughed at Veronica's provocation. "No way. I'm rather looking forward to it."


'Excited? What kind of accident would your princess have? Will they be able to smile even if they see what I prepared?’


Elena and Veronica, who were facing each other on the stairs, smiled at each other. It was a malicious smile, concealing the knives that would stab each other in the back.

"I've been invited, so I'll give you a toast for courtesy." Elena backed away as if she wanted to.


Veronica looked down at the crowd and lifted her plump lips.

"I'll let you know in advance in case everyone gets it wrong. I came here with the invitation of L. L sent me a gesture of reconciliation, and I responded. There is no old feeling left in our history."


Visitors were excited by Veronica's shocking declaration. It was the worst relationship between the two women in the capital.

Considering the rivalry between Noblesse Street, Salon and Basilica, it should have been seen as a feud that could not be closer.


"I hope L and Salon will have endless glory."

After finishing the extremely normal congratulatory speech, Veronica turned and went down the stairs. As Veronica went down the stairs, she turned her head and looked up at Elena standing on the steps, giving her a meaningful smile.

It was a smile that made people chew.

Elena went ahead with her next schedule, as Veronica is the only one who could care about her.


"Thank you, Your Highness Veronica, for making such a difficult step. Ladies and gentlemen, why don't we all celebrate today?"


The maids, who were assigned to help the banquet, went around with champagne to fill the visitors' Flute glasses. Elena was also handed a glass. The colour of the champagne, which had a wonderful aroma, was as brilliant as ever.


"For the infinite glory of the VIPs and salons who have made this occasion shine."

"For the sake of!"


The VIPs sang along with Elena's lead, taking champagne to their mouths simultaneously and wet their throats.



"Ah!" There was an uncontrollable glee over Veronica's whole body blobdevil:), watching Elena savor champagne. It was thrilling enough to penetrate the spine. "Oh, I'm nervous,"


It's about time. The poison, obtained from a shortage of grasslands, would reveal its toxicity as soon as it is absorbed into the body. Even in a small amount, the stomach fluid is inverted to the pain of burning the five organs, and the head would spin. Then they struggled in pain and die slowly.


"I have a hunch that it will be the best day of my life."


Veronica's eyes did not fall from L. Just a little while. Just imagining L struggling with her eyes turned upside down was insanely fantastic.


The visitors were a bonus.

« Dog and pig. It's killing them all. » It will be up to Elena and Salon, who organized the banquet anyway.


Of course, it's the premise of survival. Time had passed. Perhaps due to expectations, she felt as slow as a second.

Veronica's heartbeat slowly subsided. The excited expression also hardened.

'The poison must have spread all over your body already.' Should it be filled with cries of pain for help?


It was time for Veronica to be embarrassed because there was no expected response.


"The crystal champagne I just received from you was given by the imperial family."

"What?" Veronica's eyes shook.


Obviously, the champagne for today's banquet was supposed to be supplied by an outside company. Champagne from the imperial family all of a sudden. She had never heard of it.


"I received a commendation for my contribution to cultural development because of the overlapping events."

There was a lot of applause here and there. Elena returned a light bow.


"Thank you, Crystal Champagne, a precious wine that you can't get with money. I wanted to share it with you. It's all thanks to you that I can be who I am now."


Veronica's expression has turned as scary as the devil. There was no one coming close, but I was reluctant to even get close.


"Yi.......Yi!" Veronica, whose eyes were turned upside down, was on the verge of an accident at any moment. When the perfectly prepared plan went up in smoke, She could not controlled herself.


Anger captured the whole body and expressed hatred toward Elena.


But there was something more unbearable. It was that L's face. As if she knew everything, the lines of her eyes looking down at her with ease scratched her nerves to the point where she wanted to dig her eyes.


"You took it too far," a man said. Veronica's head turned, knowing exactly that it was meant for her.


The classy elegance that can't be hidden even though it is covered with pure white tailcoat, dark black hair, and golden eagle mask.

Veronica recognized at a glance the identity of a man with a quick, eye-catching figure.

"You... ...Ciel?"

"I remember never allowing you to call me by my name."

There was a blatant displeasure in Ciel’s voice. "You did it,"

Veronica glared venomously. Her fierce and cold eyes were as vicious as to bite off even the neck of Ciel, the crown prince of the empire.



« I want to ask you one thing. Did Grand Duke Franche agree to this reckless and absurd plan? »

« Oh, I don't know why You’re curious about that. You've lost your dignity and you're blind to L. »

« Answer the question. » Veronica flinched at the low-lying Ciel voice. « You'd better say it. »


Like a rope, the tie-up was stifling to live, and its shoulders crouched.

'Is this the Crown Prince?'

Veronica was confused with this man in front of her. There was no image of a gentleman who was polite, if not friendly.

The youthful glances and violence in the words were harsh enough to make even Veronica flinch and intimidate.

"I'm holding back what I want to kill right now."