Shadow Queen

Chapter 35

“Don’t blame yourself. Growing up is always accompanied by pain.”

Elena consoled Raphael who stared at her.

“I feel embarra.s.sed every time. You’re definitely younger than me, but you feel like a mature adult.”

“Does that mean I look old, sir?”

Elena responded playfully like a freshman entering an academic inst.i.tution. For Elena, Raphael was the only person who had no ill feelings in her previous life. Raphael was also a friendly person. In her previous life, she felt comfortable talking to him, but she still felt the same way. While talking with him, she was able to relax for a while.

“It’s the first time I’ve been so awkward that I’m a senior. So I guess I can’t talk.”

“Your excuse is too grand. You’re doing this on purpose to make me uncomfortable, aren’t you?

It was time for them to exchange jokes and put down his agony.

Tak tak tak.

There was a loud noise of shoes in the hallway beyond the door. The small sound, which was not heard well at first, grew louder and louder, and soon it stopped.

“Raphael, are you in there?”

Surprised by the faint girl’s voice outside the studio, Elena looked at Raphael as if she was asking who she was.

“She’s my friend. She came without further notice. Uh. Come in.”

When Raphael raised his voice, a girl with long straight hair squeezed into the crack of the door.

“I told you to do some cleaning up… Oh? You have a guest?”

Raphael’s friend was his senior. It was time for Elena to get up from her chair because she felt like she had to say h.e.l.lo with good manners.

“…!”

Elena’s face turned white the moment she faced the woman in front of her. It was a shocking reunion that went beyond surprise to almost astonishment.

“Uh. This is Miss Lucia. My mentor and advisor.”

“Mentor? I guess you’re a great person for the professor to say that?”

The girl reached out her hand looking at Elena with a curious look.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Cecilia.”

Elena couldn’t take her eyes off her lively smile. She remembered that smile that made her feel better just by looking at it.

‘Why are you here. Why…’

A n.o.ble woman who never lost her good faith in all kinds of persecutions and times. A rival who looked good in the position of the national mother.

‘Why are you here, empress.’

Bad luck is bad luck. Elena didn’t expect the knot and ring to continue this way in her dreams. She didn’t know that it was a reunion disguised as a coincidence.

“If you don’t hold this hand, I’ll be a little embarra.s.sed.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I’m Lucia.”

Elena shook hands with her as Cecilia smiled awkwardly.

“Are you a freshman?”

“Yes.”

“Freshman. That’s a word that makes my heart flutter. I used to be as fresh as Miss Lucia. I envy you.”

Cecilia led the way flexibly in an atmosphere that could become awkward, based on her unique bright energy.

‘You always did that. Even though you are an aristocrat, your impeccable att.i.tude made people stay by your side. Even Your Majesty.’

When she recalled the past, Elena was heartbroken. She still hated Cecilia in front of her eyes for taking all of her madly craving affection. Even if she tried not to care about it, saying it was useless, the feelings of that time, which burst out, couldn’t go away easily.

“You’re too greedy, Cecilia.”

“Pf, why is our lovely freshman hanging out with that kind of truth? He’s such a freak.”

“I can hear you.”

Cecilia smiled.

“Anyways, tell me. What kind of relationship do you have?”

“I told you. She’s my advisor and mentor.”

“Really?”

Cecilia’s eyes were filled with surprise when she turned her head and looked at Elena.

“Oh. She’s guiding me by the theory of vision, knowledge, and techniques.”

“Wow! You mean you’re a better genius to teach a genius like him? That’s great.”

Cecilia was genuinely impressed. It was her nature to truly treat people without a lie.

‘You’re a good person who I can’t even imitate.’

Perhaps due to her nature, Cecilia had fallen out of society. Her nature of dealing with people without fault and dignity was subdued as a fox trying to seduce men from society’s young people. It was the opposite of Elena, who was called the “flower of society” and dominated society.

“How do you two know each other?”

“Us?”

Cecilia shrugged her shoulders and smiled openly at Raphael.

“I fell in love at first sight.”

“… You fell in love with him?”

“Yes. Oh, you didn’t misunderstand, did you? What I fell in love with was Raphael’s painting. He drew it so well. So I unilaterally begged him to be my friend.”

Cecilia is a n.o.bleman. Raphael was known to have come from a fallen n.o.bleman, but his current status was a commoner. Despite the apparent difference in status, Cecilia quickly knocked him as a friend, and Raphael responded.

‘I’ve forgotten. After graduation, Raphael was sponsored by Count Willem. I didn’t know there was such a connection between the two.’

Count Willem was Cecilia’s family. Although it is said that the castle was not the same as before, it was a prestigious empire with tradition and a framework. Perhaps the relationship at this time became a fuse and Raphael was sponsored by the Count.

Elena bit her lips tightly. There was already a strong relationship and trust between Cecilia and Raphael. This was also bad news for Elena. She shouldn’t be a sponsor like she was in the past.

Raphael was essential for Elena’s revenge. Not only his timeless works, but his presence alone has a huge influence. To do so, Raphael should be sponsored by Elena, not by Count Willem.

“You didn’t eat breakfast, did you?”

“Yes.”

“I thought so, so I bought a sandwich. I’ve bought enough, so let’s have some with Lucia.”

Cecilia was even aware of Raphael’s habit of skipping meals because he was stuck in the studio. In other words, the two were closer than Elena thought.

“Have a seat.”

“Let’s eat together, but not with specifications. Cecilia doesn’t do well with narrow food.”

“Can you tell me again whether it’s a compliment or a rebuke?”

“…”

Elena felt uncomfortable as she saw the two quarreling. But she wasn’t simple enough to express it. Rather, she picked up a sandwich with a cheerful and lively smile peculiar to a freshman.

“Then I’ll eat the sandwich well, senior.”

That day, Elena felt bloated and indigestion all day.

***

There is a saying that money is what makes the world run. When she put extra money on the guild, they gathered the information with enthusiasm. She also tried to find out more about the relationship between the people listed on the list. Elena smiled satisfactorily as she looked at the thick personal details on her desk in the archives.

“The quality of information is better than I thought.”

“I heard the Guild paid particular attention and said they’d like to keep the deal going.”

From the guild’s point of view, the background investigation was a fairly profitable quest. As it was illegal, the cost of the request was high, and more than anything else, there was less human loss compared to security, escort, and subjugation.

“I’m sure you hid my ident.i.ty?”

“This request won’t mention the princess.”

Just like telling the left hand not to know what the right hand did, Elena instructed everything to proceed in secret. In that context, May, who infiltrated the Grand Duchy and deceived others for several years, was the right person to complete the mission.

“Well, shall we take a look? Lock the record room door.”

As soon as the lock was on, Elena shifted her eyes to thickly stacked personal details. She read every single word in vain. Elena, who could not move directly, had no choice but to judge based on the type written here.

‘Randol. The architect of the Renaissance.’

Only art known as jewelry work and sculpture will be transformed into architecture a few years later to build the Santa Maria Cathedral, which will remain in the history of the empire. He was also the first architect to include clear and orderly harmony in a building, emphasizing mathematical proportion and harmony, not complex and decorative architecture.

‘He made his name as an architect, but that’s only a few years away. Now he’s just a poor breadwinner who lives by carving.’

According to his personal details, he became the father of two children after having an accident with his wife, who was a childhood friend. It was written that he couldn’t give up his livelihood in the presence of his children, so he was carving and barely making ends meet.

A rare architect who is out of the world’s sight. Elena had the capacity to reach out to him.

‘Let’s give him the dream of being in a family and an architect, let’s help him catch two rabbits.’

Based on his personal details, he wrote down what he needed most in his life and handed it over. Next up was Christina Marinus.

‘Revolutionary designer.’

She was a designer who had made such a historical milestone that it is said that the costumes of the empire were worn before and after her appearance. Beyond the static fabric of silk, a new dyeing technology was introduced to import, produce, and introduce fabrics such as satin, tapra, and chiffon. In addition, the cla.s.sic aristocratic costumes that were worn largely and in a bulky manner that did not fit the body were drastically discarded, and a close-fitting costume was made to stand out the natural beauty of the human body. Elena also enjoyed wearing her mermaid dress, so what more explanation was needed.

‘Because of usury being brought to light … It seems like the aftermath of the business failure was quite large.’

If you go too far ahead, you will be ostracized. She set up a shop in debt with confidence of success, but was shunned and ruined by the aristocrats for deviating from popular material and style. After meeting her future husband, he canceled her debt and did not try again with full support. There would have been no revolutionary designer Christina if she hadn’t met her husband.

‘I just need to pay the debt.’

Elena didn’t consider a single person on her personal statement to be wasted. All of these are masters representing the times in their respective fields.

‘You’re being treated as a pseudonym? You have to. Because science is an unfamiliar subject.’

Camille invented the telescope because he wanted to see the stars and the moon up close. The telescope, using light refraction, had a great effect both scientifically and militarily. He also develops microscopes.

‘Huh, I can’t believe you’re asking him to be a priest over a son like this. I need to persuade his parents.’

This is possible because their faith was closer than astronomy and science.

‘Centonio needs to keep his ears from being eaten.’