The hated voice belonging to Lilith finally brought the dreaded words. With a big smile and spring of laughter, Lilith announced,

"Congratulations, lady Evelina! I heard news of the failed engagement between you and the young master of the Casspan family. I was shocked to hear, you must've been utterly devastated. Thus I came up with this, the perfect present to cheer you up. Remember sir Rulias? You and him get along quite well, right? That's why I'm happy to announce here, at this moment that we have graciously bestowed you two an engagement with each other!"

…

What?

Evelina was lost for words. She knew what would be said would definitely not be favorable towards her, but she was still shocked. Her pupils shrunk into a small dog. The white and soft palm gripped itself tightly. The cleanly cut nails dug into the skin. Though painful, it still couldn't pull Evelina out of her clouded mind. A rush of thoughts and outcomes came into her mind. What to say, what to do, and how to adapt to this situation. But no matter whatever route she would take, it will only lead her into a darker and deeper abyss. All she could do was stare at the woman above her with a lost expression.

The richly dressed woman analyzed the lady kneeling below her that was clearly too stunned to think clearly. That expression, the trembling lips, and eyes that were starting to red, it all made her so... A strange thrill entered her heart that caused it to beat rapidly. For a moment, she didn't know what to name this feeling. Oh yes, it's satisfaction and excitement. It seems so strange yet familiar. She could only ever feel this type of thrill when facing Evelina's pretty face that is filled with disguised hatred, anger, frustrations, and fear.

'Hm… making someone you deeply despise afraid of you really is enjoyable. Now I'm growing closer to understanding you, Eve.' Lilith thought quietly.

"Gift? Is this supposed to be your gift!?" For a moment, Evelina appeared to have broken out of the timid and innocent role she loves to play and revealed her true emotions.

The entire hall seemed to have paused. The quiet yet loud whispers of those excited onlookers stopped, but their gaze pointed towards Evelina didn't go away. They stared at her with shock and… disgust.

As if nothing happened, Evelina returned to her role frighteningly quickly. She composed herself and the frown on her face quickly transformed into a sweet smile. Her voice that was fiercely raised just a while ago softened into a gentle and pleasing tone. As if with no difficulty at all, Evelina locked eyes with Lilith and said, "Well then… Thank you, your highness. I'm so glad to see how benevolent and generous our new princess is. This humble one is very grateful. I'm so happy. So happy that I can't bear to stay here much longer. I believe it's best if I return home to deal with my excitement. Please excuse me."

"Oho… Of course. You must be exhausted from kneeling for so long. Go, rest. From tonight onwards, your days will be very eventful as I predict." Lilith grinned with delight.

Eveline didn't wait for anything else and left as soon as Lilith stopped speaking. The air around her was strange, eerie yet calming. She didn't look back. She didn't dare look back to see what expression was on her father's face. The crowd still wasn't able to break out of their trance. It took Harper's gentle and reassuring words to return the hall to it's lively and seemingly peaceful state. But many still can't get what had just occurred out of their minds.

"I wonder what will happen after this day…"

"If it were before, the Aurabella family will definitely feel honored and be extremely delighted by this gift. But now the Skyler family is simply just not as prosperous as before…"

"Sir Rulias and Lady Evelina did have quite an ambiguous relationship even when Lady Evelina was engaged to sir Chase. Perhaps they had it coming."

"Hm. Princess Lilith's words are confusing to me. Did she really want to mend her and lady Evelina's relationship, or did she do this with an ulterior motive?"

"It doesn't matter. No matter what was truly on the two princesses's minds is unknown to us. All we know is that… Lady Evelina's days are about to get even darker."

"Huh… It stuns me slightly knowing that it was only a few months ago she was still the most cherished flower of the empire."

With a small smile, LIlith carefully listened as she quietly stood by herself in a corner. The decaying reputation of Evelina is really a sight she loves to admire. Lilith's thoughts were interrupted by a cute childish voice.

"Big sister Lilith! Wasn't it cool? Oh, that girl's face of horror was absolutely amazing! Hah! She didn't even see it coming!" Elizabeth cackled.

"Yes, yes, it was cool. Thank you for helping me out, Lizzie." Lilith gently stroked the top of Elizabeth's head.

"Um, Lizzie… You don't think mother and father will be mad over this? You didn't even ask for their permission when you decided to do this…" Leo spoke out with an uncomfortable expression.

"It's fine! After all, I am their favorite little princess! They won't punish me and they don't seem to really care about the Skyler family anymore anyway."

"Wha- Favorite? What do you mean by favorite!?" Leon pouted.

"Well, it's pretty clear, Leon. I think every parent would prefer a cute girl like me than a weird bug-loving kid like you." Elizabeth boasted as she poked fun at her big brother. As the two caught themselves in another one of their usual bickers, Lilith silently watched the two with a leisurely smile.

At the other side of the crowded room, a group was formed with multiple of the Aurabella family members and none of them wore any happy faces. Though they all had different thoughts, the topic being discussed was all the same.

Rulias had a complicated expression as he listened to his mother, Viscountess Aurabella, discussing with the other elders. An engagement with a Duke's daughter was something rare for a viscount family. They were supposed to be happy and joyful at the news, but in this situation they simply couldn't. It was clear to them that this engagement was a trap and a deliberate scheme to trample them. Everyone knows that the Skyler family is currently in decline and that their influence was withering rapidly.

Though most of the Aurabella family members disagreed with the engagement, Rulias felt a mix of emotions. He knew being engaged to the daughter of the Skyler family was no longer an honor but instead a burden, yet he still felt quite happy. Though Evelina's true nature had come into question multiple times and even been confirmed in the eyes of many, he still chose to believe her. He was by her side for a long time. How could he just let some opinions sway him just like that? However it was not merely Evelina's gentle and soft character that attracted him, but of course her rare beauty. Sweet, pure, but also simple. No matter how wilted her standing is, her beauty has not faded away.

"Mother, we shouldn't be thinking like this. Although the Skyler family isn't very prosperous, it's still a Duke family. Because of the incident, most families didn't even want to associate with us, this is already good!" Rulias interrupted the discussion. Viscountess Aurabella glared at her son and deeply wished to scold him right then and there! Does her son not realize that not only was this a disadvantageous marriage but also a humiliating one at that! The first and second princesses were slapping their family right in the face! It was obvious this was because of the last incident involving her son and the then lady Angelina…

"Quiet! You dare speak right now? Didn't your mother warn you to keep a safe distance from lady Evelina? Now look what trouble you got us in!" The Viscountess berated.

"I…" Rulias didn't know how to respond.

***************

Though the celebration went on, the Skyler family returned very quickly. Of course this was all due to that certain surprise announcement. When the four arrived back at their home, it was silent. The servants were too scared to speak and the estate's masters simply left without a word or order. The once grand and richly decorated mansion looked almost empty. They had to sell off many of the valuables thus leaving many areas looking sad and bare.

Inside her room, Evelina laid on her bed alone after ordering for all the servants to leave. What was the meaning of trying anymore? There was nothing she could do. She held no power and no one would give it to her. A suffocating feeling spread through her heart as she clenched her fists and cursed silently. What was the point!? She was just a doll for those people to target now. The activities that gave her entertainment and joy, now she could no longer do. Her recent days were just gloomy and lonely. She no longer had anything to look forward to or work for. Because it was all just meaningless. Everything was ruined and she had already accepted that there was no way out for her.

The sound of her door opening startled her.

Evelina sat up and shouted, "Didn't I say not to enter!?"

Lia came inside. She seemed completely unafraid of Evelina's scream. Evelina noticed her strangeness immediately. She was about to repeat her words when Lia boldly sat beside her on her own bed!

"What… How dare you! Get up and leave now!" Though Evelina was visibly appalled and displeased, Lia didn't listen. Instead Lia looked straight at her and smiled provokingly. Her expression shocked Evelina but her words did so more.

"Evelina, what makes you think you can order me to leave or not?" Lia laughed. Evelina was speechless, her eyes became red with fury as she glared madly at Lia. But her crazy apparence only fueled Lia's laughter.

"Are you insane!?"

"No, Lady Evelina. But I think you have. You see, you can't order me around anymore. The head maid has got my back and she told me that as long as I listen to her, I will be forgiven by the second princess!"

"Do you not realize that I can make you lose your job right now?" Evelina was overwhelmed with disgust and irritation. What makes this little maid think that she can talk to her like this!?

"But you really can't. The estate is desperate for servants after many had chosen to leave for fear of facing the Duke's fury. The Duke can't afford to lose any more servants, thus he can't even afford to lose a little maid like me." Lia said with a smug grin on her face as she went over to Evelina's vanity table. Evelina looked as if she was about to explode with anger, her fists were trembling and as she raised her hand, Lia said something else.

"Don't try to kill me. The head maid knows I am here and if I don't show up anytime soon, she will know what you did. She can report to the second princess and that certainly won't be good for you now would it?"

*************

That night, Lilith left her room for her palace's garden. As Charles was an emperor, he had little free time and when he did have free time, it was usually at night. Lilith strictly told her palace's servants not to spread rumors. Thanks to her generously giving rewards, they actually kept quiet. Before, Charles made Serena give Lilith a letter stating how he'll be waiting for her in the gardens at midnight. If he wasn't close to her, she definitely wouldn't be willing to go out at such a time…

In the garden, a man waved to Lilith as she made her way to him. They found a wooden bench to sit on. With the silence that came with night, they could only whisper to not accidentally be overheard by someone.

"I heard of what you did." Charles said.

"Oh? What did you think? Pretty clever of me, right?" Lilith laughed as quietly as she could. She was in a good mood today and couldn't help but have a proud grin on her face.

"Yes, my Lily is very clever." He chuckled at her smug appearance. But then he paused before falling into silence. Confused, Lilith asked him what was wrong. He looked at her before sighing, "I just hope you wouldn't take it too far."

"What do you mean?" The young woman frowned. Her good mood disappeared. "Are you still thinking that I'm being extreme? I don't think you realized how painful it was to be shunned by everyone and to feel the agonizing feeling of your flesh burning off." Her past was still shameful in her eyes. Foolishly fighting with Evelina without knowing the whole picture, and even losing her life out of it. Aside from pain, it was deep embarrassment. Now he's telling her that she's going too far? Wasn't he on her side?

"Lily, don't say that. What happened to you was horrible and it hurt me too. I just don't want you to go insane over this." He whispered gently, hoping what he was about to say wouldn't enrage the tiger beside him.

"If Evelina could ruin my life, I could also ruin her's. Isn't it fair that way?" Lilith wasn't willing to back down.

"So you want to be the same as her?" After his words fell, even through the dark, he saw as her frown deepened and her body stiffened. She was visibly enraged now…