Rumours flooded high society as February faded into March, and the novel continued to progress, with Catherine’s next encounter and one of the most anticipated events of the year quickly approaching: Princess Elizabeth’s birthday ball.

In the original, this was when Catherine danced with Prince Oscar for the first time. Since that had already happened, I didn’t know exactly what to expect, just that I absolutely had to prevent their relationship from developing further. Thus, I arranged an entire line of other ladies for my fiance to dance with, and once I was done with another business that had to be taken care of I intended to never leave his side.

“Good evening, Your Highness.”

A royal birthday required some sort of celebration, and it was basically tradition for an unengaged royal to host a ball, as much as the princess in question may despise the very notion. Immediately, she was greeted by her brother and his lovely fiancee, as the highest ranking couple in attendance.

“Oh, it’s you.”

On her seventeenth birthday, Princess Elizabeth scowled at me with disdain. One would expect that after so many years, she would’ve finally learned manners, but she was simply too stupid. Unlike me, she took pride in her clean conscience, of all things, and didn’t face the risk of losing everything to a certain female lead.

In defiance and protest of society, her auburn hair was cropped very short, and her dress was a statement. From the material, accessories, and design, it was without doubt a commoner’s garment. Maybe expensive for a middle class family, but less than a day’s expense for any noble. Utterly unbecoming of a princess and a disgrace to our kingdom.

“Happy birthday, Sister.”

Oscar stood by me, with the regal, slight smile he reserved for formal occasions. In the novel, the relationship between them was fairly close, but I felt I had changed that. Elizabeth softened a little for him, but still glared at us with hostility. By association, I had tainted her brother with my corrupt practices. At least this meant she would have less of an influence on my prince even if she ended up being on Catherine’s side, as written, though it was the very thing I was going to try and prevent.

“Thank you, Brother. But now, I have to go. I don’t like being in the presence of filth.”

Elizabeth looked directly at me, and I returned a smile. Very well, so this was how it was going to be. As the music for the first dance began, she turned and strode right out of the room, inciting a round of startled gasps and whispers.

I deposited my fiance with the nearest reliable lady and followed after her, through numerous turns and hallways, and finally into a small empty sitting room. She was stretched out on the couch, her shoes kicked off and her feet up on the armrest. Books and snacks were on the table, clearly prepared beforehand. She groaned and rolled her eyes as I glided in gracefully and sat down in a chair beside her.

“What a nice hole you have, Your Highness. A good thing it’s so private, lest our people be distressed knowing their princess was living like a rat.”

“Better than knowing their future queen is thoroughly an actual rat. You may be good at disguises, but the truth never stays hidden, not when there’s so much scum.”

“Oh? We’ll see about that.”

I caught myself before I returned an insult and questioned my life choices. Why must I do this? Surely, I was good enough by myself to not need her support in taking down Catherine? How could I possibly ask my pride to suffer that much?

Alas, my many nights of contemplation had reached a clear verdict. Fighting a scheming baron potentially allied with the royal family instead of my expectation of a white lotus female lead at best meant I needed all the support I could get, and the princess was almost as popular as me among commoners, perhaps because she actually cared about them.

“You know, Your Highness, we’ve both matured considerably, haven’t we? Why, I can’t remember the last time we’ve had such a squabble.”

At one point, some years ago, I stopped going to her tea parties. It just wasn’t worth the time when I had so much work to do, and I couldn’t risk my reputation. And since part of her rebellion against society involved not attending any social events, our lives stopped overlapping, we rarely saw each other. It was for the best, like a truce.

“No, because it’s pointless to try and explain why society is horrid to an imbecile that thrives on its rules and mindlessly slaves for it. Honestly, I pity your idiocy. Well, not really, but still.”

“It’s truly depressing when a member of the royal family has brain damage. If you had any logic at all behind your reasoning, we wouldn’t be doing this.”

Elizabeth held up a hand and sat up. She cocked her head, sneering.

“Fine, fine! I have nothing better to do anyways. Want to hear a story?”

“Not particularly, given that I heavily doubt your taste and ability to read.”

“It’s a real story, and unfortunately life isn’t according to taste. When I was four or so, we visited a city. I was bored, so I bothered my nanny until she agreed to take me out to see the streets with a few knights. There was a commotion, and while they were distracted, I snuck off.”

I vaguely recalled hearing something about this, but I had no idea where it was going.

“I wandered around and ended up in the poor districts. People were dirty, unlike anything I was used to, and I thought it was terrifying they lived like that. I got hungry, so I went into someone’s house and asked for food. They gave me a little water, but told me they had nothing to eat. I remember I was so confused on how that was possible.”

She met my eyes. I made no comment.

“A whole crowd of knights came and found me. My nanny was crying and saying how I was kidnapped, and she was a small noble, so they all believed her. She got fired for incompetence, but she wasn’t charged, and I went back to my life. The family was imprisoned, and there was even talk of executing them, but regardless they died before I found out.”

We sat there for a second. Then, she glanced up at me, eyes wide and furious.

“Why is my life worth more than theirs? We’re all humans, with families and feelings. Why is society allowed to dictate who’s more important, based on blood and birth alone? Certainly, that kind woman who fed me water was a thousand times more deserving of life than the likes of you.”

I shook my head and laughed. With this level of ludicrosity, I would be ashamed to have her as an in-law.

“If you’re so moronic you actually think that, then the actual tragedy here is all the tax money of those poor starving families wasted on your education. Look at me. All the people in my grand duchy that live happily and everyone the temple was able to help because of me. Only I can do that, not any random peasant woman. We were born to rule, Your Highness. Except you, obviously.”

Elizabeth slammed her fist down on the table, blazing with anger.

“Why? What have you done in the slightest to deserve that privilege?!”

“My family, of course! For centuries, they worked hard and earned us our honour.”

“You are incomprehensible! It’s not my problem if you’re too stupid to understand why it’s unfair to have power simply because you were born into a family, as any ordinary person! Worse than ordinary, in some cases, like you.”

I sighed, exasperated. A tiny part of me, the democrat from my past life, suggested that perhaps she had a point. I had considered changes, once I became queen, but I needed the support of the nobility for now. To actually make an impact, I must be in a position to do so first.

“Well, what are you going to do about it? What exactly have you accomplished, other than humiliating yourself?”

“I’ve stood up. If enough people band together, the voice of change will be heard. We’ll bring a new age, free from your exploitation and injustice, where all is equal.”

“That’s treason, you foolish little socialist. You can’t do shit with a crowd of powerless peasants. If you actually wanted to help, you would look at it from a leader’s point of view. Gain enough influence to make your own impacts instead of demanding it from those that’ll forcefully suppress you, if they have to. Right now, you’re just a nuisance no one cares about, a fly that won’t go away but will be squashed easily if you buzz too much.”

I triumphed in knowing this was no longer a divergence in politics, but a difference in methods caused by a gap in intelligence. Whatever Elizabeth wanted to achieve, her way was ineffective compared to mine. Yet she met my gaze and held her head tall.

“I refuse to play by their rules. The system will never let peasants win, so I must break it entirely. No matter how difficult it may be, I will persist. Not for me, but for them.”

“Ridiculous! You’ll bring nothing but chaos, even if you manage that much. It’s your selfish pride, too stubborn to lower yourself and do the dirty work you need to reach your perfect world.”

I leaned forward, lowering my voice to be absolutely hypnotising. With all the charm I could muster, I stared into her bright golden eyes, at her soul.

“But don’t worry, I can do it all for you. I will change things, once I become queen, because I’ll have the power to really do so. It’s what you should’ve done all along, with me and your brother, together. Your Highness, will you stand by us?”

For a moment, she didn’t reply. Slowly, she shook her head and leaned back, laughing.

“Ah, so this is why you’re here! A little power struggle, is it? Must be serious, for you to be so desperate. And here I was, thinking maybe you gave a shit about commoners. I should’ve seen this coming. Indeed, you never cease to surprise me with how shameless you are.”

“See, that’s your pride again. Why do my intentions matter? If you want to succeed, shouldn’t you use everything at your disposal?”

“It may not, to someone as unscrupulous as you, but fortunately, I have morals. When I bring victory, it will be with rightful means. Besides, I know you well enough to know that you only care about yourself, so I don’t trust a word you say.”

I stared at this utter lunatic. What an inconvenient thing morals must be! As a last attempt, I tried another angle.

“Your Highness, please. I’m trying to make peace here. Soon, I’ll be married to your brother-”

“And I’ll have you know I’ve been trying and will continue to try my best to talk him out of this completely absurd situation. I don’t know how you’ve managed to make him so preposterously infatuated with you, but you can be the queen of this kingdom over my dead body.”

I was about to retort with a borderline threat when I processed what she just said, so laughable my mind almost ignored it. Prince Oscar Stoneshire, the male lead cold as ice, was infatuated with me? Huh?

Unwillingly, my heart skipped a beat. They did say siblings knew each other best, and I could always tell how much Damian liked a girl through the way he acted around her. With the genuine disgust in her expression, could it be true? I had to test what she knew.

“Sadly for you, he’s in love with me, and nothing can change that!”

I wore my most confident smile, and she just sat there, staring at me contemptuously but not refuting my delusional statement. As much as she might not like it, she thought my words were realistic enough to accept as fact. What the actual hell?

“If you have nothing else to say, leave. We’ll be mature and stay out of each other’s way, like now, but I’ll die before I help you with anything, and I’m sure my brother will regain his wits soon enough. You’re not even that pretty, and he’s not shallow anyways.”

“I have no great affection for your face either, Your Highness. I wish you the happiest seventeenth year, and that you grow to look less like a vermin, lest someone decides to do the world a favour and exterminate you.”

Elizabeth showed me a finger as I elegantly left the room. I wasn’t particularly upset with this failure, as in the end she was too stubborn and foolish to be a useful ally. Some people would never change. Still, she gave me information I needed time to process.

My methods may be unscrupulous, but they worked. Ultimately, I would be the winner.