Who made me Penelope Judith?

9. One year later

In the span of one year my life has been different.

Roselia, dear annoying little thing, has now slightly improved her behavior. Slightly, I had said.

It all started at the 'banquet'. Actually no it started before that. The week before the said occasion, she barged into my room, yelling that she'd be the one wearing a green dress. I automatically agreed, because why not. I had an awful fashion sense and I didn't really care of what she wore. Anyway, green looked good on both of us and I didn't understand why we couldn't just both wear the same color but whatever.

Apparently there was some sort of understanding between the original Penelope and Roselia that the two would never wear the same color to an event because matching should only be between couples. Technically Roselia expected me to angrily debate with her on who'd wear a green dress. She was disappointed when I didn't. She even burst into tears, saying that I've changed too much, that I'm not like before, that I'm giving up too easily and that I'm letting her win every single fight. She said it's disturbing to her since I am now completely different, nothing like how Penelope was and how their mother also was.

Since she technically wanted me to snap at her, I did. I explained that I'm allowed to act how I wanted to act and that I'm allowed to change my decisions and behavior whenever I want. After all, this is my life (well eh actually no but whatever) and I'm allowed to do what I want with it. I concluded with: 'Green looks better on you anyway.' A lie.

After that I somehow got along better with Roselia. She came to accept the unfortunate fact that people change, for better or worse. She stopped questioning my actions when they were 'not like before'. She stopped bothering me too since at the end I didn't really give her any more attention then before. I barely react when she provokes me into scolding her.

Anyway she stopped complaining about everything. Thank the lord.

As for the two beauties (brothers, I meant brothers) in the Emerald palace, Claude and Anastacius, their relationship seemed more and more distant each time I visit. After that last time where I introduced Uno to them, they seemed to have reconciled, but afterwards, things just get more tense and more tense. It was just a year but Anastacius was no longer all: This is my brother, hurt him and I will kill you and your whole family. Now he's more of a 'He's gonna defend himself ' type. I really despise the soul of Aeternitas in him, although I know Aeternitas isn't 100% of the reasons Anastacius is changing. Still I like to blame everything on him.

From the book, it was stated that Anastacius's evilness started with the Empress's pressure and Aeternitas's influence. As a daughter of a count whose only link to the royals was her engagement to the second illegitimate prince, I couldn't do anything against a malevolent soul and the most powerful woman of the empire.

Despite reincarnating this way, I can't change much of the original storyline unlike Athanasia. The original background story won't change much. I can't help Claude. Anastacius will still become evil. And Claude's mother, Adriana, who I've come to really appreciate, will still die. I just can't change the story. It's out of my reach, and it pisses me off.

At first I had thought that Adriana's poor health may have been due to a disease that maybe I've heard of from my old world. I was thinking perhaps it was the Sida (HIV Human immunodeficiency virus) since the symptoms of her illness were fitting in with it, but I thought about it some more, and it couldn't be it. The first evidence being that Claude and maybe even the emperor would've contracted the disease too and it isn't the case.

Her illness is one I don't know how to cure or slow down. In fact Adriana should've died like Diana did, because the baby they gave birth to had too much mana or...Well something like that. I understand it was due to the fact that their offspring had too much mana, that was all. (As an 8 years old, Claude didn't give me a very detailed explanation.) I also discovered that Claude blamed himself for it, which is ridiculous.