With that thought, Lizzy boarded the carriage heading to the palace, filled with bright expectations and hopes.
However, those sparkling feelings shattered the moment she laid eyes on the Empress.
“Are you Lizzy Abercorn?”
The woman with red hair, strikingly similar to Aaron’s, had an impression that was completely different from her second son—she appeared very cold and emotionless.
With skin as pale as snow and sharply slanted eyes, her gaunt figure exuded a sensitive atmosphere.
“I had thought you were very young since you caused quite a stir at the debutante ball, but it seems you are a grown woman.”
Lizzy blinked in surprise.
She had not expected the Empress to point out her mistake and evaluate her from the very first sentence. Moreover, the green eyes that looked at her were as cold as if they were gazing at a stone lying by the roadside.
“Is it true that you are the same age as Ariella Abercorn? That girl didn’t seem so immature.”
To mention her former fiancée and compare them.
“Yes, Your Majesty. To be precise, Lady Lizzy is indeed the real Ariella Abercorn, so they must be the same age.”
“Ah, I thought so. The circumstances of the Abercorn family are indeed quite complicated.”
Tsk, tsk, as the Empress clicked her tongue while conversing with her maid, Lizzy bit her lip. It felt as if she had been hit repeatedly without even being able to prepare a defense.
Suddenly, memories of the past surfaced.
A woman, old enough to be her mother, had grabbed her young shoulders and spoken incomprehensible words.
The hateful voice that had poured out the anger and sorrow she couldn’t express to her husband.
“Listen well, Lizzy. I will tell you a very precious piece of information! When you grow up and want to get married, put everything else aside and check your in-laws first! If your future mother-in-law has a nasty temperament, your life will be thrown into the gutter! Do you understand, you foolish girl? Don’t listen to your husband’s claims that his mother is not like that!”
Lizzy erased the past images that floated in her mind. She also tried hard to ignore the ominous intuition that warned her.
The saying that if you meet the wrong mother-in-law, your life will be thrown into a cesspool was only applicable to those kinds of people; it had nothing to do with her, who would surely become a respectable member of the royal family. She reassured herself with that conviction.
She had already anticipated that the Empress would not welcome her warmly. Therefore, she could not afford to show any weakness.
“Ariella of Abercorn greets Your Imperial Majesty, the Empress. It is a great honor to be invited here, Your Majesty.”
Lizzy folded her large eyes gracefully and greeted her with a bright smile.
No matter how hard she tried to appear elegant, she would never measure up to the girl who had grown up as a princess her whole life.
So instead of pretending to be elegantly poised, it would be better to maintain the minimum etiquette and show her specialty of being harmless and lovely.
She made that judgment, and it was precisely effective.
“Um, this is something I brought for Your Majesty. Although it may not meet Your Majesty’s excellent taste… I have prepared the best I could. I hope it pleases Your Majesty.”
Lizzy shyly chuckled and handed the elegantly wrapped gift to the Empress’s maid.
Empress Genevieve and the maid exchanged subtle glances. It seemed to signal that the new daughter-in-law was not as bad as they had thought.
“Very well, Lizzy. I will accept it.”
However, that did not mean the Empress would immediately change her attitude.
She gestured for the gift to be set aside without even unwrapping it. Considering the sheer number of gifts that arrived daily, it was a very rude attitude.
Moreover, she called Lizzy ‘Lizzy.’ Even though Lizzy had introduced herself as ‘Ariella of Abercorn’ to the Empress.
It was clear that ‘Lizzy’ was not a term of endearment. Empress Genevieve was subtly indicating something.
That she did not yet consider you her true daughter-in-law, Ariella of Abercorn.
‘How dare I fall to the status of a backroom old woman when I become Empress…!’
Lizzy smiled brightly, but inwardly she gritted her teeth. If her heart had its way, she would have liked to strangle her with the string used to wrap the gift.
‘It’s ridiculous to talk about Abercorn’s circumstances. If we’re going to argue, the royal family is the one that’s more of a mess!’
It was indeed true. The Duke of Abercorn was the worst of the worst, but at least he did not have a mistress. This was true both when the Duchess was alive and even after she had passed away.
