As dawn comes, Sofia is crouching by the fireplace, watching as her aunt`s diary goes up in flames. She was just like me. Her aunt, like her, had been groomed into a bride for the Royal family. First by the late Duke then later, by Miguel once he inherited the title. 

According to the diary, Monica was obsessed with Rafael. She used any opportunity she could get to approach him. The diary was filled with her high remarks of him, appreciating, from his looks to his personality. It was shocking, taking his older counterpart from Sofia`s time, she couldn`t understand her aunt's love for him. Maybe, from her simple early hope of leaving House Oliveira through her marriage to the prince, it evolved into this compulsion. 

Monica didn't seem to have a positive relationship with Lady Ana. Monica noted she seemed suspiciously close to the Prince. Regardless of how things used to be, Sofia was still determined to go through with the royal marriage, she could not permit those two to get together. She would prevent Lady Ana from becoming Queen and guarantee that Gabriel were to never be conceived.

In the Diary, Monica also recorded her thoughts on Alicia. She detested her, finding Alicia`s cheerful personality off putting and her being Ana`s sister didn't help. Sofia could objectively relate with that. She would have found it hard to like her if Alicia weren't her mother. 

Extrapolating from the diary, Sofia concluded that, overall, Monica at her core was a lonely bitter person. She didn`t had any friends, Monica kept a superficial relationship with the few ladies who weren't openly hostile towards her. And, following the Duke`s instruction, she kept the gentleman of aristocracy at arms length, not to displease the royals. And now, she disappeared after suffering a carriage accident. Given that in Sofia`s time, Monica was never found, there were only two conclusions she could come up with. Either she died in the accident, or took the opportunity to run away. Let's hope she survived and is living happily somewhere.

For the rest of her convalescence, Sofia spent her time connecting with Alicia and preparing to impersonate Monica in high society.

*

Sofia looked at herself in the mirror, she was finally back to her old self. Her skin was smooth, the hair was nice and she had her nails done. Sofia raised her chin to look at her neck. The rope bruising had left her with some light scarring, fortunately it was faint enough and hard to tell what from. 

Now that Sofia had recovered, Alicia was hosting a garden tea party. It was Sofia`s first social gathering impersonating Monica. It was a stressful situation, but the former Princess Consort was experienced in managing her nerves. The maids helped her to put on a dress that covered her neck. 

Sofia joined Alicia to greet the guests as they arrived. The Duchess seemed to be excited to host an event with her new friend. Sofia, for her part, looked forward to watching her mother in a social situation. Greeting the guests went smoothly for the most part, until Lady Ana arrived. 

“H-hi Ana.” Alicia greeted her younger sister awkwardly. 

“Hello Alicia. And I see Lady Monica is with you.” She turns to Sofia.

“Greetings Lady Ana.” is Sofia`s response. Now that all guests are in attendance they all sit at the tea tables in the garden. Lady Ana, being the highest ranking lady in attendance after the hosts, is the one to sit closest to the Duchess and Sofia.

“So, Lady Monica, you haven't been attending social events. You are in good health, I trust?" Ana is the first to inquire about Monica`s recent seclusion.

“Oh, she was just busy, teaching me how to take care of the estate.” Alicia comes up with an excuse on the spot. “I`m new at being a duchess after all.”

“Is that so?” Lady Ana partially covers her face with her fan.

The rest of the gathering proceeds with no issue. Later, Alicia and Sofia have dinner with Miguel.

“Oh, Your Grace! It was wonderful hosting a tea party with Mo-Lady Monica” Alicia smiles.

“No problems then?” the Duke asks.

“I might not have my memory, but I believe I will be able to manage to keep up with your expectations.” Sofia responds.

“You better.”

“E-everyone was very friendly. There is nothing to worry about.” the Duchess reassures. Miguel glances at her and returns to eat. For the rest of the meal Alicia makes light conversation, Sofia engages with the discussion and Miguel eats in silence.

Once Sofia retires to her chambers, she thinks back on the event. The friendliness of the ladies in attendance which Alicia spoke about, were clearly a front they put on to please the Duchess. Their empty smiles and fake flattery were highly noticeable to the former Princess Consort. Alicia was truly naive. How did a duchess and daughter of a marquess turn out like this? Sofia was once again reinforced in her determination to watch after Alicia. 

*

Another day, the Duke calls Sofia to his office.

“We received a letter from the palace.” Miguel waves an open letter, “It is addressed to you.”

“I see your Grace has already opened it.” Sofia comments.

“But of course I did. As the head of House Oliveira it is my duty to watch after all of its members.” the Duke shrugs. 

Ha, this man has always been like this. Sofia scoffs internally. “So, what is it about?” she asks.

“You have been invited to be Prince Rafael`s partner in his upcoming birthday ball.” Miguel informs.

“Very well.”

“Do not bring shame to my House.” He flicks his hand, dismissing Sofia.

On the day of the ball, Sofia wore a purple dress sent by the royal family. 

“Oh, My Lady. You look wonderful in this dress.” a maid complimented.

“Yes! The Prince will be bedazzled by your beauty.” another one added.

“We will see.” Sofia comments. The time has come for her to meet her aunt`s fiance for the first time. Despite their official engagement, she was not worried, Sofia believed it was unlikely that Prince Rafael of all people would be able to realize she wasn`t Monica.

Sofia walks out of the manor to a carriage sent from the Palace. Waiting by the carriage is a tall man wearing a purple attire. His hair is red and eyes are blue. He is younger than in Sofia`s memories but she quickly recognises him, Prince Rafael has come to pick his fiancee up.

“Greetings, Your Highness.” Sofia curtsy.

“Yeah, yeah.” the Prince waves her off, “Lets just get going.”

“Very well.” Sofia boards the carriage following Prince Rafael and it takes off. 

After a few minutes, the Prince is the first to break silence. “You are unusually quiet.”

Sofia had thought about how to approach her impersonation of Monica when with her aunt`s beloved prince. Despite planning to maintain the engagement, she wasn't keen on playing the part of the obsessed fiancee. It wasn`t the Prince`s heart she was after, her goal was to simply stop him from marrying Lady Ana and, for that, Love was unnecessary, she needed only to avoid giving the royal family reason to break the engagement.

“Just enjoying the ride, that's all.” 

“...” the Prince doesn`t seem to be convinced by Sofia`s answer. A couple of moments pass with them staring at each other. “Pfft, so that`s what it is.”

“Pardon?” Sofia is puzzled by Prince Rafael`s reaction.

“Trying a new approach, I see.” he mumbles.

“What was that?” She asks not having heard his last comment.

“Oh, it is nothing.” he waves her off.  

After a tortuously quiet carriage ride, they arrive at the palace. Being the focus of the ball, Prince Rafael is to be the last to enter, so by the time the two of them reach the ballroom doors all the guests were already in attendance.

“Come on then.” the Prince offers his hand to Sofia, after removing his gloves. Once the doors open, the two enter the ballroom hand in hand.

“Announcing his highness, Prince Rafael and Lady Monica Oliveira!” a servant shouts.

On cue, the guests clap and cheer for the Prince. Due to the King`s poor health and the passing of the Queen two years prior, Prince Rafael is the only Royal present at the ball and Sofia, as the stand-in for his fiancee, is to stand beside the Prince as he greets the guests. Now that the entrance is done, it is time for the individual felicitations from the noble houses. The first to congratulate the prince are the Duke and Duchess Oliveira. After greeting the prince, Miguel glares at Sofia, a silent warning for her to behave properly. Following is Marquess Garcia and his daughter, Lady Ana. 

“Congratulations, your Highness.” the Marquess Bows and Lady Ana curtsy. Her brown hair is tied in an updo and she is adorned with an amethyst necklace drawing focus to the low neckline of her blue dress.

“Thank you for attending my birthday celebration.” the Prince kisses Lady Ana`s hand, his eyes locked at her necklace. The Lady glances at Sofia with a smirk.

 After the Marquis, comes the Counts and other Houses. Once all the greetings are done is time for the first dance. 

“Well, I suppose it is time.” the Prince reaches out his hand for Sofia. He holds her close as they move. As soon as the song ends she separates herself from his grasp. “What a pity.” Prince Rafael complains.

While the dance floor fills, Sofia steps aside and grabs a drink. She watches the dancers as she drinks. The Prince on the other hand is joined by Lady Ana for the second dance. What is his deal, she wonders. The Prince treats Monica coldly while obviously favoring Lady Ana, but at the same time, he is all handsy. He was very much attracted to Sofia as they danced.   

As Sofia is drinking she notices the glare of Lady Ana, who glances at her every time the Prince has his back to Sofia. Tired from the pointless competition, Sofia takes a new glass and makes her way to an empty balcony. 

Once alone at the balcony, Sofia sighs and takes in the fresh air. How tiring it all was, she was once again wearing uncomfortable shoes and an extravagant dress for an unfaithful partner. In Sofia`s time as the Princess consort, her marriage with Prince Gabriel was a loveless ordeal, they married each other in accordance with their parents decision. The conflict between them stemmed from the Prince`s carelessness in his affairs, damaging his wife`s honor and social standing. Sofia couldn't help but wonder how miserable the enamored Monica would be married to Prince Rafael.

Sofia hears a noise, she turns to the side, someone is entering the balcony neighboring the one she is at. It seems to be a couple, from the distance it is difficult to tell their identity right away. As Sofia looks at them, the couple embrace into a kiss, apparently not noticing her presence in the other balcony. As the kiss happens, Sofia realizes who they are, it is Prince Rafael and Ana, Of course. It is when Sofia is momentarily stunned by the sudden scene, that the kissing Prince notices her presence. As he locks eyes with Sofia he winks at her provocatively all the while kissing Lady Ana. Freed from her daze, Sofia decides for a nonchalant approach for her predicament. So, she just simply raises her glass to the provoking Prince before releasing its contents to the balcony floor, maintaining her glare in Prince Rafael.

With her glass empty, Sofia takes her leave off the balcony. Just as she reenters the ballroom, Sofia bumps into a gentleman and stumbles down.

“Ah.” the man lets out as he catches Sofia by the waist, stopping her from falling to the floor. As Sofia is held, she feels his well trained muscles against her. 

“T-thank you.” Sofia looks up at the man. His black hair is tied back in a low ponytail and he wears an eyepatch covering his left eye. The gentleman gazes back at her, his eye is light brown. Sofia thinks to herself how handsome he is and, then, realizes that she is still in his arms.

“Um” Sofia readjusts her footing and shifts her weight away from the man, who releases her.

“Once again thank you.”

“...No problem at all, my Lady. It was partially my fault." he bows and kisses Sofia`s hand. “Have you been well?”

“Oh, yes. Perfectly healthy.”

“Is that so? No lasting injuries then?” With that question, Sofia realizes this man, she does not recognize, is someone who knows of her aunt's accident, who could he be? The Duke went through great effort to keep it a secret.

As Sofia is shocked, the gentleman offers his hand, “Would my Lady give me the honor of this dance?”

“...Yes.” wanting to learn more about the mysterious man, Sofia takes his hand and they join the ballroom dance. 

“By the way, what was your name again?” Sofia asks, as the two of them dance.

“...How hurtful, my Lady! You forgot my name?” He plays.

“There are so many nobles, how am I to remember everyone`s names?” She justifies.

“But not even, little old me?”

“Ugh, won't you forgive my blunder?” Sofia decides to pout, “I`m sorry.”

“All right, my Lady.” he laughs “I`m Sir Tiago Alves.” and then he gazes down at her, “do you remember now?”

Sir Tiago Alves, in Sofia`s time he was Count Alves' late second son, who died mysteriously. Was Sir Tiago someone who Monica knew personally, would she have recognised him? There was no mention of him in the diary. 

What was Sofia to do? It didn't seem like pretending to remember Sir Tiago would work. Perhaps it would be best to keep her distance from him. “Well, no. I do not remember you. Perhaps you have a forgettable face?”

“Ha, Is that so?” he smiles.

“Y-yes. Oh look, the song has ended.” Sofia separates herself from him, “bye bye Sir Tiago.” She turns away from him and makes her way to a chatting group of ladies.

“How strange." Sir Tiago comments to himself grinning.