A New Day

Weeks passed by with no big action from both the Emperor and his family. However, these weeks were also not helpful for growing The White Rose as her schedule was filled with balls and other society parties which were mostly a waste of time as she had to still put on the façade of being innocent and easily taken advantage of. Finally, the day had arrived for her to leave for Theron and she woke up early as the sun's first rays came into her room. As she dressed in travel clothes of a simple dress and large sun hat, she realized how much had changed since she had come back in time.

In her last life, she had been filled with dread and nervousness at leaving her home for the first time. However, now, although she was nervous, she might not succeed in her plan and sad that she would be leaving once more, she also felt confident that she could change the future. She was no longer the helpless person who she had previously been but someone who believed in themself, and someone who was prepared. She grabbed her bags that had been sitting in the closet since the day she had packed them, the day she had returned, and skipped out the door.

Already standing at the door was Louise, also holding her bags. They walked together towards a comfortable carriage where there were a single knight and a maid who Arabella had picked to bring along. This was not fit for a Duchess and someone who was supposed to be like a daughter to the Emperor, it was not even fit for a Lady which was the lowest nobility rank. If Arabella was to be going instead of her, the entire guard would probably be deployed along with many carriages filled with maids and luggage. It was comical to think of the difference between the Emperor and Crown Prince's love for her and Arabella.

Yet in this life, she no longer longed for their love, she would make them want her and beg her. Besides, having less of an escort would allow her to have more freedom to get The White Rose started and to gain more power. No one had even come to see her off, not Arabella nor her father, not the Crown Prince not even the other ladies who claimed to be her friends and loyal supporters. They were likely spies anyways but it still stung a little bit to see no one seeing her off.

They got into the carriage where the atmosphere was quite awkward as they had never even met this maid who was likely someone just taking information for Arabella. Knowing this, she tried to become friendly with the maid.

"Hi! What's your name?"

At Clarimond's question, the maid brightened, "My name is Daisy. It's nice to meet you, Miss."

Over the course of the next hour, where they were trying to get to their first stop which was a small inn near the outskirts of the capital, Daisy tried to get closer and closer to Clarimond. It was clear to everyone that she was trying to get information from Clarimond and ensure that she did not form any other close relationships. They finally arrived at a small inn lightly dusted in the winter's last snow.