Hera immediately arranged a residence where Eliana could stay.
However, if she were to sponsor Eliana personally, it could arouse Velkirei’s suspicion. Therefore, she arranged for Eliana to appear publicly as though she were being supported by another noble.
Thus, from that very day, Eliana officially began residing in the castle of Marquis Demeter under his sponsorship.
Of course, her final destination was the Imperial Palace.
In other words, Demeter Castle was practically nothing more than a residence for preliminary education before she entered the palace.
The Demeter family had produced Holy Knights for generations, but the current marquis had received a divine revelation in childhood and had become the Pope, surpassing even the next papal candidate.
At present he was outside the capital exterminating magical beasts, leaving his seat vacant.
Since Marquis Demeter had never appeared in the original story, he seemed to be nothing more than a passing cameo.
"Because I met Hera earlier than in the original story, I must have ended up staying in his castle… Still, it seems a distortion of this level doesn’t affect the original plot very much."
Finn believed that Demeter had personally decided to sponsor Eliana.
Moreover, hearing that Eliana would enter the Imperial Palace thanks to his help made her as happy as if it were her own matter.
Because Fon had told her to keep the meeting with Hera secret, Eliana had not revealed the truth to Finn.
After Eliana moved to Demeter Castle, Finn immediately quit her work at Mushe Castle and followed Eliana.
"Can you really quit your job that easily?"
"My lady isn’t even there anymore, so what’s the point of staying in that house?"
"You seem to like me a little too much."
"Then does my lady not like me?"
"I do like you."
"Then what’s the problem? I like my lady, and my lady likes me. Of course I should follow you."
"…That’s impressive."
When Eliana gazed at Finn with a deeply moved expression, Finn puffed out her chest proudly, gesturing as if to say that Eliana could rely entirely on her.
From that very day, Eliana began preparing to enter the Imperial Palace.
The instructors Hera had sent began teaching her in detail about imperial etiquette and the Emperor’s personal preferences.
Understanding imperial etiquette was one thing, but the fact that they were even informing her about the Emperor’s tastes suggested that Hera intended for her to deliberately seduce Velkirei.
Of course, Eliana welcomed it.
Since she knew almost nothing about the hidden mastermind, learning even small preferences in advance would greatly help her survive.
The day before she was scheduled to enter the Imperial Palace.
Fon had occasionally come to check on her, but even those visits had recently grown infrequent.
The Empress Dowager had already prepared the entire stage in advance, so all Eliana had to do was step onto it.
"I’m nervous."
"I’m sad, my lady."
At Eliana’s murmur, Finn replied in a dejected tone.
When Eliana looked at her in confusion, Finn continued.
"I thought I’d be able to go with you…"
"Hm? What do you mean? Weren’t you coming to the palace with me?"
When Eliana asked in surprise, Finn slowly shook her head.
"Commoners aren’t allowed to enter the Imperial Palace."
"Ah."
Only then did Eliana realize the difference in status between herself and Finn.
This world possessed a strict social hierarchy, and the gap between Eliana, a noble, and Finn, a commoner, was enormous.
Because Finn was the one person Eliana felt most at ease speaking with in this world, the strength drained from her body.
"…Of course, the person she cares about isn’t me but Eliana Mushe."
If they continued staying together like this, Finn might eventually notice that Eliana had changed.
No matter how reluctant she felt, it might be better for them to part ways here.
When Eliana remained silent, Finn clenched her fist and spoke.
"I’ll find a way for us to stay together somehow."
"No, you don’t have to push yourself."
"No. I will definitely find one. So until then, please don’t forget me."
"Of course not. How could I ever forget you?"
Eliana replied with a bitter smile.
That night she had to soothe Finn, who kept whining and clinging to her, talking through the night to calm the tension that kept them both from sleeping.
The next day, as promised, a carriage bearing the imperial crest arrived at Demeter Castle.
A stern looking woman stepped down from the carriage.
Judging by her attire, she appeared to be the head maid.
Considering that most of the maids in the Imperial Palace were nobles, she too was likely a noble.
As expected, the woman introduced herself with an extremely haughty expression.
"I am Sophia Moore, the head maid. Are you Eliana Mushe?"
The guess had been correct. The Moore family was a marquis house known to be more capable than the Mushe family.
"Yes, that is correct, Head Maid. It is an honor to meet you."
"I have heard about you from Her Majesty the Empress Dowager. Climb into the carriage quickly before we are late."
The head maid stepped aside from the carriage door.
Since she had personally come to escort Eliana on Hera’s orders, the head maid seemed to function almost like Hera’s personal secretary.
"Please stay healthy, my lady."
"Take care, Finn."
After giving Finn, who was pressing a handkerchief to her tearful eyes, one tight embrace, Eliana climbed into the carriage.
When the head maid followed her inside and gave a signal, the carriage immediately began moving.
With the clatter of horseshoes, the carriage rattled forward.
As it ran along the main road, its speed gradually increased.
Then it happened.
Suddenly feeling a sharp pain in her heart, Eliana bent forward as if collapsing and clutched her chest.
Sophia looked at the suddenly crumpling Eliana in confusion and called out to her.
"Miss Eliana?"
"…Ugh."
Eliana groaned without managing to answer.
Her head suddenly began to ring and a wave of nausea surged through her.
It felt completely different from ordinary motion sickness.
At that moment, a familiar sound mixed into the noise of the horses’ hooves.
The sound of tires rolling, something that could not possibly be heard here.
Then came the blaring sound of a car horn stabbing at her ears.
Her whole body trembled as her consciousness blurred.
Sophia grabbed Eliana’s pale arm.
"What is wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"
"N nothing…"
Eliana barely forced the words out before opening the window and gulping down air.
It had been fine when she rode in a carriage with Fon before, so this was strange.
If it were merely tension, it would not have felt this terrifying.
"Perhaps… it’s because of the speed."
When she had gone to meet Hera with Fon, the carriage had been moving through crowded streets, so it had not been fast.
That was probably why she had not felt it then.
Now that she was riding a carriage speeding down an open road, the sensation overlapped with the memory of the bus accident and became unbearable.
Eliana desperately tried to ignore the hallucinated sounds.
Trauma was more frightening than she had expected.
Once she began to think of the carriage as similar to a bus, the fear only grew without end.
Until the carriage reached the Imperial Palace, Eliana kept her face leaned out of the window, struggling to steady her breathing.
She could not even bring herself to ask them to stop, barely managing to say that the speed was too fast.
Sophia ordered the driver to slow down, but the pounding in Eliana’s chest refused to calm.
Sophia Moore merely clicked her tongue, apparently thinking that Eliana was overreacting.
Only after the carriage came to a complete stop did Eliana’s racing heart finally settle.
As soon as they arrived in the reception room, Sophia handed Eliana a glass of cold water.
Eliana finally washed away the lingering agitation with the cold drink.
Sophia, who had been watching her with obvious dissatisfaction, scolded her.
"You have ridden in a carriage before… yet you suffer from motion sickness so dramatically."
"Ha ha. I suppose my stomach was startled since I rarely leave the castle."
Having regained a little composure, Eliana forced an awkward smile.
"If you are this fragile, how will you properly serve His Majesty the Emperor?"
"My apologies, Head Maid."
When Eliana bowed politely in apology, Sophia clicked her tongue again.
It must have seemed absurd that someone could be this exhausted after riding in a single carriage.
Eliana herself was equally bewildered.
For the time being, it seemed she would need to be careful about traveling by carriage.
"I will inform Her Majesty the Empress Dowager of your arrival. Rest for a moment."
"Yes, Head Maid."
Eliana nodded weakly.
Click.
After the head maid left, Eliana finally looked around the room.
The reception chamber inside the Imperial Palace was incomparably larger and more magnificent than the one at Mushe Castle.
Every piece of furniture was gilded, and sparkling jewels were neatly embedded into their surfaces.
Fresh flowers arranged in a vase added brightness, while the carpet spread across the floor gave the room an elegant atmosphere.
Staring at the reception room that looked like a film set, Eliana’s mouth fell open.
Only then did it truly sink in that she had transmigrated into the era of an empire.
Not long after she had begun looking around curiously, the door of the reception room opened.
Turning her gaze naturally, she met the eyes of Hera, who entered wearing a splendid dress.
Eliana quickly stood and slightly lifted the hem of her dress in greeting.
"I greet Her Majesty the Empress Dowager, the flower of the Empire."
"I heard you suffered from severe motion sickness. Are you feeling better now?"
It seemed Sophia had already reported the matter.
Eliana nodded shyly and expressed her gratitude.
"Thanks to Your Majesty’s concern, I feel much better."
"That is a relief."
The Empress Dowager smiled gracefully and sat in the seat opposite Eliana.
Another maid immediately stepped forward and poured tea.
Just as Hera lifted the teacup to drink—
The cat that had been trailing behind her suddenly leaped onto her lap.
Crash!
"Ah!"
"Your Majesty! Are you alright?!"
Hera clutched her wrist and groaned.
The tea she had been holding had spilled over her hand.
Startled, the cat shrieked and fled, while Hera’s hand had already turned red.
Sophia quickly brought a cool wet cloth and pressed it against Hera’s reddened hand.
"That will do."
However, Hera soon brushed the cloth aside and dismissed Sophia.
Sensing something unusual in Hera’s demeanor, Sophia immediately became tense.
Hera spoke in a calm voice.
"Sophia, bring that."