She heaved a breath to calm her nerves. When Elaine interrupted today's meeting, she considered several alternative excuses to give Gerard. After picking the most acceptable reason, she repeatedly rehearsed it in her mind during the return journey. She had prepared for this moment, Elaine reminded herself. Retreating was not an option.
"I have no desire to be an idle doll, Father," she said, inducing a cocked brow from the Duke. "If I am to assist His Highness in his ascension to the throne, I must be involved with the current affairs."
"How would you define your involvement?" he inquired, eyes narrowing.
"Please allow my participation in your ventures," Elaine stated, hands clasped together, controlling the pulsing inside her chest. "I am no longer an ignorant child, Father. I understand my obligation to the House of Croix. Rather than delegating your important affairs to an unreliable outsider like Viscount Marius, should you not trust your flesh and blood more?"
"Unreliable outsider," the Duke repeated as if contemplating her words. "And that is your reason for executing him?"
"I surmise Yusef had already reported the situation at the Ynones Tavern to you. It is the Viscount who wronged me first. As the future Crown Princess and a Duke's daughter, I cannot let him offend me without consequence," she said, presenting her rehearsed excuse. "A volatile individual like him would produce troubles for us in the future."
"You provide a tempting offer, Daughter," Gerard commented, a mocking smile tugging at his lips. "I applaud your conviction. However, what proves you worthy of my confidence besides your unsubstantiated statements?"
"I have learned from you and am capable of replicating your wisdom," Elaine claimed, silver eyes steeled with determination. "I implore you, Father, for an opportunity to prove my worth."
The Duke slipped into a pensive silence. His icy cast watched Elaine, gauging information from her expression. Despite the tension rising in her body, she strained not to evade his scrutinized gaze. Her path ahead rested on the current moment, and she needed to evidence her resoluteness. Her hands squeezed each other, bracing for Estella's father's decision.
"This is your choice. Do not regret it in the future," Gerard finally said, lifting the sharp pressure slicing through the atmosphere.
"I will not," Elaine answered without hesitation. Yet, despite her confident appearance, the knotting in her stomach told a different story.
The Duke rose from his seat, neither accepted nor refused her proposal, and dismissed her. He then returned to the bookshelves, reading another volume from its collection. Elaine stared at him in confusion, wanting to inquire about his decision. However, his command was absolute, and she had no choice but to obey. Today's engagement seemed like a failure. Elaine must find another opportunity to re-approach the subject and persuade him. Before she passed the threshold, Gerard's voice again sounded behind her. "You will receive a notification when your assistance is required."
Elaine's face brightened, though she controlled the excitement in her voice. "Thank you, Father," she said and exited his study.
When she returned to Estella's manor, Elaine immediately made a beeline to her antechamber and dismissed all the servants. She then marched to the writing desk and opened its secret compartment, pulling out her journal. After analyzing the festival's events, Elaine's instinct alerted her that the meeting with the Léonas First Prince was not another of the Duke's ordinary business ventures. She scoured her notes on the book's original plot, seeking a thread connecting today and the future. Her search halted when she found the pages contained an event she had circled in red ink, a vital plot point sealing the fate of the House of Croix, herself included. Suddenly, like the last piece of the jigsaw fitting into an elaborate puzzle, the fog cleared from Elaine's mind. Shivers ran down her body as she flipped through the pages, absorbing the contents she had previously transcribed.
The under-market prices, the isolated location, and the weapons exchange… Everything in the contract now made sense.
Gerard is preparing for a coup.
The realization struck Elaine like lightning. She did not expect to stumble on one of the most significant events in the storyline while investigating an unrelated incident from the Croix estate. Perhaps the cogwheels of fate, omnipotence and inescapable, were pushing her toward the destined path all along.
Shortly after Estella's nineteenth birthday, the Crown Prince's failed coup would ruin the House of Croix and its allies. The Third Prince and the male protagonist discovered the treacherous scheme and planted a trap to capture all the traitors and co-conspirators. Ultimately, they squashed the rebellion, and Alexander replaced his older brother as the Crown Prince.
The book implied the Duke of Geris' collusion in the scheme, yet it never delved into the extent of his involvement. When reading the story in her original world, Elaine always perceived the insurgency as a panicked last resort from the Crown Prince and Gerard after the Third Prince and the House of d'Amboise almost completely eroded their positions within the Étoile court. However, the revelation punctured Elaine's initial impression of Estella's father's role in the event and revealed a deeper layer within the surface plot. Instead of a rebellion conceived out of desperation, the Duke had been plotting the affair since before the main story began.
But why would the Duke want to stage a coup so early in the present timeline? He had already solidified power and status within the Étoile's aristocrats and his faction. To Elaine's knowledge, the erosion of the House of Croix's influences would not happen until another three years. He currently had no reason to feel threatened.
"How curious," Elaine mumbled. She closed her journal and lifted her head, staring contemplatingly into the antechamber ceiling.
