Chapter 2.6

“Ugh…”

Ellie woke from a nightmare of being bullied, feeling sticky and anything but refreshed.

Having such a nightmare was the worst, and it felt almost prophetic.

She struggled to sit up, and just then, the door opened a crack and Roni peeked in.

Seeing Ellie awake, Roni entered with a bright expression.

But she was carrying something.

“Roni, what’s that…?”

“They’re all invitations for you, Miss!”

Roni replied cheerfully.

Ellie stared in shock at the pile of letters in Roni’s arms.

“All of these are invitations?”

“Yes!”

Roni dumped the invitations onto the table.

Ellie got out of bed and examined them one by one.

“Tea party invitations, birthday party invitations… Why are there so many?”

“Well, you’re the future Grand Duchess, Miss.”

Ellie squeezed her eyes shut, not wanting to believe it.

“Take your time looking through them. I’ll be back with your wash water.”

“Mm…”

After Roni left, Ellie let out a deep sigh.

There was no way she could respond to all these invitations, and even writing rejection letters would be a chore.

“It would be good to attend at least one event…”

The problem was, she didn’t know which one would be best.

Then, one name on an invitation caught her eye.

“This person…”

It was a name she’d never seen before, but it felt familiar.

She stared at the invitation, thinking hard.

She thought about it while washing up, while changing clothes, and while fixing her hair.

And on her way to the dining room, she finally remembered who it was.

“That’s right! The heroine’s friend!”

How could she have forgotten?

As the heroine’s friend, she was known for her good nature and lively personality.

Ellie almost inhaled her breakfast in her excitement.

Her mother tried to talk to her, but she made an excuse about being busy and hurried back to her room.

She picked up the envelope she’d set aside earlier and checked the name again.

“Diena Rokcheta… That’s definitely it.”

Without hesitation, she tore open the envelope and read the contents.

There was nothing particularly special.

It simply said that she was hosting a tea party and hoped Ellie would attend to build friendship.

After some thought, Ellie decided to go to this tea party.

Since it was the heroine’s friend, the heroine herself would surely attend.

If she hadn’t seen the heroine at the festival, she might see her there.

She immediately pulled the bell cord and called for Roni.

“Miss, did you call?”

“I want to reply to this invitation…”

“I’ll bring you pen and stationery right away.”

Roni bowed and quickly left the room.

Ellie wrote her reply on the stationery Roni brought, then began writing rejection letters to the other invitations.

Writing so many by hand was exhausting.

After a long while, she finally finished all the rejection letters.

“It’s finally over…”

She called Roni to take them all away, then staggered over and collapsed onto her bed.

Then she remembered she needed to send a letter to Feroza too, to say they should be engaged first, not married.

But she was too tired to get up again right now.

“I’ll send it in the afternoon…”

For now, she needed to rest and regain her energy.

She pulled the blanket over herself and closed her eyes.

She was sleeping soundly when someone started shaking her awake.

“Miss, Miss!”

“Mm…”

“Please wake up, Miss. The Grand Duke is here!”

Her mind was hazy, but Ellie’s eyes flew open at Roni’s words.

She sat up abruptly, and Roni looked at her with a highly excited expression.

“Who did you say came?”

“Grand Duke Calliet!”

“R-right now?”

“Yes!”

Roni nodded vigorously.

She was flustered by such an unannounced visit.

“Anyway, Miss, you need to get ready quickly.”

“Uh, okay.”

Guided by Roni’s hand, Ellie got out of bed.

Her hair, tousled from sleep, was brushed again, and her wrinkled dress was changed.

In an instant, her disheveled appearance was gone.

“Where is the Grand Duke?”

“In the drawing room.”

“Then set up a spot in the rear garden.”

“Yes!”

Roni nodded energetically.

Ellie turned toward the drawing room and parted ways with Roni.

As she was about to knock on the door, she heard voices from inside.

Listening closely, she realized it was her mother’s voice and, startled, she burst open the door.

“Oh ho, so about Ellie— Oh my, goodness!”

Her mother, who had been chatting and laughing, widened her eyes in surprise upon seeing Ellie.

“Mother, why are you… here?”

“Oh, dear. It’s my job to greet the mansion’s guests, isn’t it?”

Ellie glanced at Feroza’s face.

His expression was calm and seemed fine, but she couldn’t be sure it wasn’t just a mask.

She strode confidently into the drawing room.

“You can go now, Mother.”

“All right, I will.”

Contrary to Ellie’s expectation that her mother would insist on chatting more, she immediately stood up.

Then, turning to Feroza, she said,

“Then, please consider what I mentioned earlier in a positive light, Your Grace.”

Feroza just smiled softly without replying.

After her mother left the drawing room, Ellie quickly sat down beside him.

“Your Grace.”

“Yes, Ellie.”

“What did my mother say? What did she want you to consider positively?”

“Ah… It’s nothing important.”

Feroza shook his head slightly.

His evasiveness only made her more suspicious.

“Tell me, quickly.”

“Hmm…”

“Hurry, please? Okay?”

Ellie leaned in a bit closer, gazing at him.

Attacked by her sparkling eyes, Feroza flinched and let out a soft sigh.

“If you look at me so cutely, I can’t help but tell you.”

“So, what did she say?”

“She asked for a diamond mine if I marry you.”

“What?!”

The sheer materialism of that request made Ellie’s face burn with embarrassment.

It wasn’t as if she was being traded, but to ask outright for a diamond mine…

When she widened her eyes, Feroza spoke.

“Ellie, your eyes are huge. They look like they’ll fall out.”

“…Please just ignore what my mother said. You don’t have to give anything like that.”

She sighed inwardly.

Feroza shrugged and replied,

“Even if I gave away a diamond mine, it wouldn’t hurt me. I actually thought it would make a pretty decent wedding gift.”

“You really don’t have to. I mean it.”

“If you say so.”

Feroza nodded slowly.

Was this just how things worked here, that people asked so boldly?

Of course, as Feroza said, giving away a diamond mine wouldn’t really affect him.

His wealth was beyond imagination.

‘But even so…’

It was just embarrassing.

She shook her head quickly to clear her thoughts and changed the subject.

“By the way, why did you come?”

“Because I wanted to see you.”

“…But we just saw each other yesterday? And we even slept together.”

“I still wanted to see you again.”

Feroza looked at her as if he saw no problem with that.

Ellie stared at him, bewildered.

“So, you’re going to come every time you want to see me?”

“Is that not allowed?”

“It’s a bit much to show up suddenly. I had to rush to get ready after waking up…”

If only there were cell phones here, she could at least message him.

At her words, Feroza smiled, as if he’d expected her to say that.

“That’s why I have something for you.”

“Another gift? You really don’t have to keep giving me things.”

It wasn’t that she disliked gifts, but her conscience pricked at accepting so many.

Feroza hesitated for a moment before speaking.

“You could call it a gift… but it’s something we both need.”

“What is it?”

“This.”

He rummaged in his coat and took out a pendant, holding it out to her.

She accepted it absentmindedly and examined it. It looked like an ordinary pendant.

“What is this? It’s just a pendant…”

“Open it.”

Without thinking, Ellie opened the pendant.

Inside, she saw a red gem and her eyes widened.

“What is this…?”

“It’s a communication stone.”

“A communication stone?”

“Yes. We can hear each other’s voices through it.”

So something like this existed here.

She felt a sense of wonder.

“When you want to see me or suddenly want to visit, you can use this to contact me first.”

“So you’re saying you’ll come see me openly and legally now?”

Feroza just smiled in response.

Ellie fiddled with the pendant.

A well-cut communication stone like this could be worn around her neck and no one would notice.

“Always carry it when you go out. Just in case.”

“I don’t think anything dangerous will happen.”

“Still.”

She was about to say it was fine, but then remembered how, in the story, a villainess had orchestrated a kidnapping. She nodded.

“All right.”

With this, things might be a bit safer.

At that moment, there was a knock, and the drawing room door opened slightly.

“Miss, everything is ready.”

“Thank you.”

It was Roni.

At her words, Feroza looked at Ellie with a puzzled expression.

“What’s ready?”

“You’re not just going to leave after coming all this way, are you?”

She snapped a little, embarrassed, and he chuckled softly.

“Oh, really. Ellie.”

“What?”

“You’re just too cute and lovely.”

Suddenly, he pulled her into a tight hug.

Startled, she tried to push him away, but hesitated and stopped.

Her heart pounded strangely.

As soon as Feroza released his arms, Ellie sprang to her feet.

“Let’s go.”

“All right.”

Feroza stood up and offered his arm to her.

Here, it was considered escorting, but it still felt awkward to her.

Still, she didn’t let it show, slipped her arm through his, and headed for the rear garden.