"Evelina! Are you insane!? What has gotten into you! Do you know what you've done!?" As the duke raised his arm, Beatrice knew what was about to come next. She didn't know how or why but it was like her legs had a mind of its own. Without too much thought, Beatrice stepped in between her daughter and husband, taking the slap for Evelina. She just knew, knew that she can't merely stand aside like a coward anymore!

Evelina slowly raised her head and stared dumbfoundedly at the mother she despised for so long. Her pupils shrank and her body was trembling.

After receiving such a hard hit, Beatrice sighed in relief. She did it. She finally did it. Yes, she did feel scared and she still does. But there was a strange sense of accomplishment in her heart mixed with the terror.

The duke however, was the most stunned out of everyone else present. This weak and fragile woman actually dared to meddle in his matters!? Who does she think she is!? Beatrice's actions only enraged his anger further and this anger was about to burst out.

"You b*tch!" He cursed as he pulled her silver locks with immense strength and threw her to the ground. She didn't scream, she didn't beg for mercy like before, she just endured the pain and kept her silence. On the ground, the stunning beauty was stained with dirt and her hair was turned into a mess. There were a few sharp stones hidden in the dirt, which caused a few scratches to appear on her previously fair white skin.

"Father! Stop!" Alex pleaded as he saw his father raise his foot to kick the women. But his father was never a man who would listen to others when in the fit of rage. Without hesitation, the father punched his own son, causing him a bruise to appear. Evelina watched the scene before her in a daze. She knew this would happen and she had already prepared herself but things really didn't go as expected. The scene played for a few but painful minutes until the duke managed to calm himself down and took them home.

As the carriage set off for the Skyler estate, a figure emerged from behind a large three. It was a slender young woman with long silky brown hair and a sweet face. Her eyes were hollow but also filled with pity. However she didn't seem surprised. Harper waited until the carriage disappeared into the distance before slowly returning to the lively ballroom.

***********

The people inside were oblivious to what had happened. They all cheered as they danced around the ballroom, laughing and chatting. But the one most happy is clearly the new princess that was currently being flooded with praises.

"Congratulations, lady Angelina! Or should I say... Your highness, Princess Lilith."

"The gown is amazing! Your highness looks gorgeous wearing it!"

"Oh, you flatter me...!" Lilith laughed. For a brief moment, she saw Harper's figure amongst the crowd before losing sight of her. After a short second, she turned away, only to find Harper right in front of her. The girl smiled before curtsying respectfully.

"Lady Harper, you moved so fast, I was frightened!" Alice jumped in shock.

"Calm down, Alice. Really, you're too easily scared! Toughen up a bit!" Rienne sighed but her gaze was encouraging. Alice looked at her and smiled energetically.

"Your right! I need to get stronger! I won't let lady Evelina be able to control me any longer!" Alice stated firmly, her eyes shining with confidence and determination.

"Speaking of lady Evelina... She really made a fool of herself didn't she?" With her words, Arianna changed the topic to Evelina easily, causing the noble ladies to remember her recent foolish behavior and ridicule her.

"Hm, and to think I used to admire her greatly... Such a shame."

"I always had a faint suspicion against her but I didn't have much proof so I forgot about it. Now it seems I should've trusted my instincts long ago..."

"I never could've guessed such a beautiful face hid such a hideous personality!"

"Did you hear the words Lady Evelina said to sir Alex? I was incredibly shocked! They always appeared so harmonious when together, to think lady Evelina actually thought that way of her own brother!"

"I sympathize with him, he genuinely looked to care for her. The look in his eyes was always so tender and gentle when the two spoke. But then those gentle eyes were shattered by her hurtful words."

"The Skyler family is really not doing well these days..."

Arianna secretly locked eyes with Lilith and shot her a sly little wink. Lilith was amused and nodded as a response. But then she felt a touch and saw that Alice had hugged her arm tightly while looking at Arianna warily. Arianna raised her brows at her and grinned amusingly.

"Don't you think Duchess Skyler is quite pitiful?" Harper finally spoke.

Lilith understood what she was trying to do and decided to help her. "Indeed, my mother has not been very happy all these years... That former father of mine doesn't really treat her well..."

"Now that I think of it, her grace has always been very quiet when appearing beside Duke Skyler..." One of the nobles said.

"The Duchess is so pitiful... Her family isn't doing well and now the Skyler family is about to go downhill as well..." Alice sighed.

"Hmph, out of all the ones in that family, Duchess Skyler is probably the most decent and likable." Rienne stated. After finishing her words, she realized something and turned to Lilith. "Of course you're the best that has ever come out of that family, Princess Lilith! You're my favourite!"

"Ah, I remember Duchess Skyler's younger days... She was and still is a beautiful woman. But she has definitely lost that pretty and youthful charm of the past..."

"The duchess was such a social butterfly in the past, now she doesn't attend events or socialize all that much..."

As the group broke into a discussion about Beatrice's past, Lilith grew thirsty and she retreated from the crowd to fetch herself a drink. Once getting her hands on a beverage, she was tapped on the shoulder and a familiar muscular voice greeted her ears.

"Lily, so sorry I was late. Something came up and I had to solve it. It took some time but I'm here now." Charles smiled awkwardly. Thankfully, unlike the first few times he attended the events after arriving in the Sainthall Empire, no one really made too much of a fuss for his presence. Most have become used to him popping in and out. But it still did not stop a few curios and confused gazes to land on the two. Many were puzzled at the reason why the young foreign emperor would always approach the now Princess Lilith.

"It's alright, I'm thankful you could come. You must be a busy man, having you here in such difficult times is my fortune." Lilith laughed, clearly in a good mood. Charles's eyes brightened after seeing that she wasn't displeased and the uneasiness in his heart quickly disappeared.

Charles noticed that the next song was about to be played and he reached out his hand to the beauty. With a smile, he offered, "Would your highness grant me the honor of a dance?"

Lilith's ego was boosted with the 'your highness', of course she was pleased. She pretended to think about it before placing her fair palm on his. "Hm, I'll allow it." She said with an arrogant but playful look.

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

The day passed quickly and in a blink of an eye, a month has already passed since the second Princess's official crowning. Things were going great for some but not so good for others. After her crowning, the shops Lilith owns grew more popular with each passing day. The amount of profit and customers skyrocketed. Lilith was practically swimming in money. And because the shops were doing even more well than they already were, Arianna's name and skill too spread.

As for Rienne and Alice, they had quite the fun spreading gossip about Evelina with the help of others and the best part was that, this time, no one chose to rebuke them or defend Evelina. This is how the nobility keep their standing, they pick a side and once that side is beginning to falter, they jump on a more stable-looking side to avoid being dragged down. The clever ones are the ones that hold the ability to switch sides when the time is right. The fools are the ones that choose to stubbornly hold onto one thing and follow it to the ends of the earth.

The Skyler family wasn't doing well at all. They had lost almost all their past prestige and greatness. Because most are already aware of the cold relationship between Lilith and the Skyler family, no one dared to work with them. The hostility between the second princess and the Skyler family was confirmed by the emperor and empress showing increasing indifference to Duke Skyler. There was even a rumor spreading that a divorce was in the works, but no one was sure. Not only were the businesses owned by the Skyler family suffering, their influence over the empire was also being suppressed by the emperor. Truly a shame... Once the strongest and wealthiest family in the empire, how did they turn into this?

It wasn't only the Skyler family that was struggling, the Ordelines , Beatrice's family, were too. Because of their close ties with Duke Skyler, who was not-so favored by the imperial family, they weren't doing well either. The current head of the family was Beatrice's older brother, he tried to get in touch with Beatrice but she wasn't responding to any of the letters he had sent. He even had sent over a few of his closest servants to the Skyler estate, only to find out that the Skyler family was 'not receiving guests at the moment'.

The two families were really in chaos.

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

The Skyler mansion has never been so... quiet and uneventful before. It used to exude a noble and regal charm when one would pass the halls that were lit with beautiful lights, what happened to that? Those brightly lit halls are now left dim, the usually busy servants were quiet as statues, and the air surrounding the estate was really ghostly...

The only sounds that would sometimes break this chilling silence was the sound of porcelains breaking in either the master's study, or the eldest miss's chambers.

Inside her room, Evelina's pitiful figure was shrouded in darkness. This Evelina looked very much different from the past. Her bright eyes that used to hold so much charm was now dark and gloomy. Her pretty long blonde locks had lost their softness and saturation due to not being maintained properly. Her kept up hair has become an unkempt and disheveled one. Her bewitching appearance no longer appeared as enchanting as before after it had lost its spirit.

She couldn't understand, what happened to her family? How could everything just start crumbling down after one day? Once a respected family was now on the verge of breaking. She, once named to be the number one beauty of the empire, is now being called a fool...

However, at least Evelina was still holding on. She still hasn't given up. She would occasionally go to the shops downtown or some small events to try to rebuild her reputation, but she didn't expect for those people who used to worship her like mindless dogs, to now not even give her the slightest bit of attention. Lia, on the other hand, has already begun to crack. If the master was suffering, how could the servant not as well? She was kneeling on the floor as she wept, waiting for some way her 'clever master' could fix the mess they're caught up in. But that order never came. She just kept weeping as she heard Evelina hum a familiar tune dazedly.

Eveline didn't think it could get any worse, but she had let what should've been a worry slip through her chaos-filled mind, and this worry was about to come knocking at her door.

The maids of the mansion didn't dare disturb their lady Evelina and only slipped a letter in through the crack of the door. Seeing the letter, Lia reached out to grab it and held back her tears as she handed it to Evelina. Evelina mindlessly took the letter and opened it roughly. The contents inside were really going to drive her mad.

[ Lady Evelina Van Skyler, we are sorry to inform you that your engagement to our family's young master, Chase Casspan, is broken. This engagement was meant to be advantageous for both families, however due to many unfortunate reasons, this doesn't seem to be the case.]