At first, when Isabel saw Queen Sophia, she felt genuinely happy.
It wasn't because of some utilitarian thought like, This ritual will be easy to get through this time... She was simply happy to have the chance to see her deceased Grandmother again. It was much like feeling delighted upon seeing an acquaintance or classmate in the newspaper.
Moreover, Isabel noticed that the introductory scenario had said this was the "declaration of the Avalon Kingdom's destruction," and that it would happen in the near future. So it would have some value as a reference... As the Queen of Avalon, Isabel had no choice but to take this Promotion Ritual seriously.
Perhaps she could obtain some information from it and help the real Avalon avoid that future.
But soon, Isabel saw her own timid and weak appearance.
She couldn't help feeling embarrassed, wishing she could strip that version of herself away and take her place. It was also the first time she had clearly seen how immature she had once been, from an observer's perspective.
But afterward, when Isabel realized that Queen Sophia was arranging a Marriage Alliance for "herself," the smile vanished from her face.
—I'm someone you can just give away? Anger and resistance immediately sprouted in Isabel's heart, and her hostility toward the Stibium Queen and Prince instantly reached its peak.
Isabel made up her mind then: even if it was only a dream, she would never continue playing along like that.
But right afterward, she saw her Grandmother poisoned to death by Minister Drost, herself framed and falsely accused, the contemptuous face of that vicious woman from Stibium, and the knights of the Round Table Hall slaughtering one another...
When Isabel awoke, she instinctively clenched her fists. Her entire body trembled uncontrollably.
It wasn't from fear, but