Chapter 29.1 – Lie

A few days after returning from the lake, a gift wrapped in bright yellow cloth arrived from the Dukedom, along with a letter.

<To Elia. I picked out books from the ducal library because I thought two from the bookstore might not be enough.>

The letter was very short, but the care for Elia, who had left the bookstore with only two books, was clear.

Elia pressed her nose to the letter, which seemed to smell nice, then lay on her bed and looked up at it.

‘This is nice. Really nice.’

She lay on the bed and read the short line over and over.

The words “To Elia” sounded like Edmund’s voice, and “I picked out books” made her imagine Edmund personally searching the library for books for her.

‘It’s nice. But I wish he’d written that he missed me too. I know it’s greedy, but it would have been perfect with just that one line.’

Edmund always seemed about to come closer, but whenever Elia waited, he drifted away. Because of this, Elia always felt like a child waiting for the waves.

She’d take off her favorite shoes and lift her skirt, waiting, only for the wave that came with white bubbles to stop just short and retreat.

‘Why? Is it because I’m young? Or because he’s known me since I was little?’

Even though he said he liked her, Edmund’s way of closing the distance made Elia worry.

She’d look in the mirror and think, ‘I’m good enough, aren’t I?’ but then remember Edmund’s handsome face and feel down again. She’d line up all her presents—music box, letter, books—and wonder about her feelings, then collapse with a headache.

Repeating the same thing over and over, Elia finally ran out of patience.

‘Why am I worrying? I should just go! If I see him, I’ll know! Is it just my imagination, or does Eddie really want to keep his distance?’

Elia jumped up from her bed, where she’d been lying all afternoon, and tore apart her room looking for stationery.

“Where is it? I’m sure… Ah, I tucked a sheet in here.”

Daisy, who had been reading nearby, couldn’t help but comment.

“You’re busy. Should I help?”

“Oh, uh, no. Don’t mind me, just read. Is it good?”

“It was so-so at first, but it gets interesting in the middle. The part where the protagonist is torn between three people.”

Daisy was reading the thick novel Elia had bought at the bookstore. Elia had recommended it, knowing it was Daisy’s taste, and she’d already gotten past the middle since yesterday.

“That’s where I got a headache. The protagonist is way too diligent. Three at once? I’d get confused and call them the wrong names.”

“Doesn’t it all get sorted out in the end? The guy with black hair already lost points. I think the man with ‘silver hair like wildflowers bathed in spring sunlight’ will win her love. What do you think? You finished it, right?”

“Hm.”

“What do you mean?”

“It means, ‘It’s no fun if you tell me in advance.’ Have you seen the pen I was using yesterday?”

“Are you writing a letter?”

“Yes, to Eddie… I want to write that I want to visit.”

“Oh my. Hold on a second. There’s some new stationery I bought, use that.”

Daisy tossed aside the book she’d been enjoying and fetched the stationery and pen.

Elia tried to act like she wasn’t embarrassed writing a letter in front of Daisy, but in the end, she covered the paper with her arms, blushing.

“Then I’ll just go back to my book.”

“Yeah. Please do.”

After shooing Daisy back into her boring novel, Elia finally picked up the pen, but was immediately stumped about how to start.

“My lady, do you want help?”

“You’ll help?”

“I’ll give you an example. For reference. Ahem. ‘Your message made my heart flutter, so today I gazed at your letter all day, not even noticing my 57-gold loungewear getting wrinkled.’”

“What? This loungewear cost 57 gold?”

Elia looked down at her clothes in shock. The fabric did look nice, but over 50 gold? That was more than a servant’s monthly wage.

“I may have exaggerated a little. I couldn’t say I bought it for 5 gold.”

“I’m absolutely not going to write what you suggested. Why inflate the price?”

“To make a good impression, you need tricks. At times like this, clothes and accessories are most useful. A person wearing ordinary glasses won’t draw attention, but someone with gold-plated glasses will…”

“Why are you quoting ‘Intuitive Theory of Human Observation’ for a letter? And even if I wore a 500-gold outfit, Eddie would know I’m poor anyway.”

“My lady, why do you say you’re poor? Your assets are just temporarily frozen.”

Daisy, who’d objected to Elia’s phrasing, added a comment, feeling uneasy.

“Well, in the long term…”

“Including frozen assets as immediately disposable is marriage fraud.”

Their little debate didn’t reach a conclusion, so they settled on a vague agreement: ‘You’re right, I’m right, but I think I’m a bit more right,’ and went back to their own tasks.

Daisy sighed repeatedly as the silver-haired supporting character she liked was harshly rejected by the protagonist, while Elia, writing her letter, also sighed as she read what she’d written.

‘If Eddie reads this, he’ll treat me like a child.’

On the stationery were words like, ‘I miss you, can I come see you?’—a childish plea.

Of course, Elia wrote with proper etiquette for nobles, avoiding direct phrases like ‘I want to go!’ but still felt it was lacking.

‘Letters are so uncomfortable. Even if I want to send one, it’s hard to write, and waiting for a reply is t*rture.’

Just as Elia complained, it took two full days for the reply to arrive. This time, it was delayed because she’d given it to Eugene to deliver.

“What, am I not busy? The knights are all busy and you think I’m just loafing around?”

“You were just supposed to give it while at the palace. So, did you deliver it? Did you give it today?”

“If you annoy me, I’ll refuse to give you the reply.”

Her brother, swamped with work, didn’t care, but couldn’t risk not delivering the reply to his sister’s fiancé.

The reply Elia received from the Duke was written on the spot.

“He wrote it right there? That fast? It took me three hours to write mine.”

“That’s because you keep piling up useless thoughts in your head.”

No matter how much Eugene nagged, Elia was already absorbed in the reply in her hand.

She sat on the office sofa, trembling as she opened the envelope. On the plain white paper, her nickname was written in neat handwriting.

“…Eugene. I’m busy next Tuesday. Something came up.”

“What? Someone from the merchant group was supposed to come that day!”

“Sorry. Next time. Next time! Daisy! Look, I got a reply, I can go! He said I can go!”

“Elly!”

Elia had volunteered to help with work, so Eugene had gathered all the merchant contacts for Tuesday. He shouted in frustration.

“Hey! I trusted you and set everything up, and now you’re backing out!”

Eugene chased after Elia, who had already dashed out of the office and up the stairs.

He caught her on the fourth floor, where she played the pity card until he got a firm promise she’d help on Monday.

“Isn’t it hard to change the date? I’ll just help you.”

“No way. Absolutely not. Seeing her so excited makes me want to make her work on Monday just out of spite!”

“You’re jealous.”

“Wouldn’t you be? It’s like I’m the only one not dating in the world!”