Chapter 3.4

“Mm…”  

Something poked at her cheek.  

Thinking it might be a bug, Ellie waved her hand in the air.  

“Ellie.”  

This time, she heard her name.  

It was a pleasant voice.  

A soft, gentle voice anyone would fall for.  

“We’ve arrived.”  

“…Mm.”  

“It’s time to wake up.”  

I had to get up?  

Ellie tried to open her eyes, but it felt as if a heavy weight was pressing down on them.

Just then, something slipped under her dress and began to gently stroke her thigh.  

“Ellie, if you don’t get up, I’m going to make love to you right here.”  

“…What?!”  

The eyes that wouldn’t open before snapped wide at those words.  

When she lifted her head and looked beside her, Feroza was gazing at her with a disappointed expression.  

“Earlier, you just waved your hand at me like I was a bother, but now you’re wide awake.”  

“Wouldn’t anyone wake up after hearing something like that?”  

Her voice was still husky from sleep, so she cleared her throat a couple of times.

“That’s a shame. I wanted to try it in the carriage, too.”  

“Are you some kind of pervert?”  

“Only for you, Ellie.”  

Ellie shook her head in disbelief.  

Feroza chuckled and spoke again.  

“Anyway, we’ve arrived, so let’s get out.”  

“Ah, yes.”  

She quickly straightened her dress and exited the carriage.

They had arrived at a high-class restaurant.  

It was so popular that even if you tried to make a reservation now, you’d have to wait months for a table.  

“Wow, you managed to book this place?”  

“I got lucky.”  

Ellie was sure he’d used his status to move up the waiting list.  

She narrowed her eyes and asked,  

“You didn’t… threaten anyone, did you?”  

“Of course not. Ellie, what kind of person do you think I am?”  

Feroza traced the corner of his eye with his finger, pretending to be hurt.  

She knew he was faking it, but seeing him act like that made her flustered.  

Ellie hurriedly opened her mouth, stumbling over her words.  

“No, um, I was just joking! I was teasing, but I’m sorry if I upset you…”  

She glanced up nervously to check his expression.  

He seemed a bit surprised that she would say something like that.  

After a few seconds, he finally spoke.  

“I’m not upset at all, so don’t worry. But I apologize if I startled you.”  

“No! I’m fine too.”  

Ellie pointed toward the restaurant entrance with her finger.  

“Let’s go in.”  

“Yes.”

They entered the restaurant side by side.  

As soon as they walked in, everyone’s eyes turned to Ellie.  

Since there were only a few tables, the attention felt even more direct.  

She didn’t like being the center of attention like this, so she bit her lip.

But almost immediately, as if a swarm of bugs had scattered, the gazes dispersed.  

Startled, Ellie looked around and saw that people were all looking elsewhere.  

She glanced at Feroza, who was just smiling playfully.  

“Ellie, what’s wrong? Do you not like the restaurant?”  

“No, it’s not that. It’s just…”  

“Yes?”  

“No, it’s nothing.”  

Ellie just smiled and brushed it off.  

She was curious what kind of look Feroza had given the others, but decided to let it go.

The table Feroza had reserved was by the window on the second floor.  

“Is this spot okay?”  

“Yes, I like it.”  

With a window, it didn’t feel stuffy at all.

The steak they ordered arrived quickly.  

As expected for such a popular place, the food was excellent.  

“No wonder it’s so hard to get a reservation.”  

“Does it suit your taste?”  

“Yes. It’s delicious.”  

Ellie nodded and took a sip of wine.  

The sweet yet slightly bitter wine was just to her liking.  

“If you’d like more, feel free to order anything.”  

“I’m not someone who eats that much, you know?”  

Feroza just smiled in response.

After a satisfying dinner, they stepped outside the restaurant.  

Thanks to the perfect amount of wine, Ellie found herself smiling softly.  

Feroza looked at her with concern, holding her arm.  

“Ellie, you’re not drunk, are you?”  

“I’m not drunk. Just… pleasantly tipsy.”  

“Hmm…”  

“And you’re taking me home anyway, right?”  

She shrugged, and he shook his head with a helpless smile.  

“All right, just be careful getting in.”  

“Okay.”

Ellie took Feroza’s hand and climbed into the carriage.  

On the way home, she hummed a little tune.  

Feroza listened quietly for a while before asking,  

“What song is that?”  

“Just something I made up.”  

“It sounds nice.”  

“You’d probably say it sounded nice even if I was just yelling.”  

“Busted.”  

Feroza snickered.  

Ellie looked at him and laughed out loud.  

She liked having silly conversations like this.

The mansion wasn’t far from the restaurant, so they arrived quickly.  

Soon, the carriage slowed to a stop.  

“We’re here.”  

Ellie straightened her dress.  

She took his hand and stepped out of the carriage, seeing the familiar mansion before her.  

She turned to look at Feroza.  

“Today was fun, Feroza.”  

“Rest well, Ellie.”  

He leaned in and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.

While she hesitated, wondering if she should respond, Feroza had already climbed back into the carriage.  

In the end, all she could do was wave at him.  

After the carriage left, Ellie yawned softly and entered the mansion.

But as soon as she stepped inside, someone rushed over and grabbed her shoulder tightly.  

“Ellie!”  

“Whoa!”  

It was her mother.  

Any lingering tipsiness vanished, and she snapped to attention.  

When Ellie looked up with wide eyes, her mother spoke.

“Did you set the wedding date?”

“Ah…”

Ellie let out a deep sigh.  

“I forgot.”

“My goodness, how could you forget something like that! You’re going to be the death of me!”  

“I’ll ask next time.”  

Wanting nothing more than to rest, Ellie answered halfheartedly and climbed the stairs.  

Her mother muttered something behind her, but Ellie didn’t catch it.  

Not that she wanted to ask her to repeat herself, either.  

To be honest, she just didn’t have the mental strength to have another conversation with her mother right now.

“Haa…”

“You’re back, Miss”

At some point, Roni had followed her.  

Roni glanced down the stairs and whispered,  

“Madam has been waiting for you since dinner.”  

“Mother?”  

“Yes.”  

“I wish she’d let me handle things myself, now that I’m an adult.”  

Ellie felt she would have to speak firmly to her mother soon.  

Otherwise, no matter what she did with Feroza, her mother’s interference would never end.

With Roni’s help, Ellie changed out of her dress and washed up.  

“Ah, that feels good.”  

She flopped onto the bed, and Roni quickly tidied up the covers.

“You’ll sleep like this?”  

“Yeah, I’m tired.”  

“Good night, Miss.”  

Roni tucked the blanket around her properly, turned off the lights, and left the room.

* * *

After that, Ellie met with Feroza several more times.  

And she had no choice but to admit it.

‘I like Feroza…’

She liked Feroza.  

There was no need for him to meet her ten times.

The more often Ellie met with Feroza, the stronger her feelings grew.  

In truth, at this point in time, Feroza should have been meeting the heroine, Rozelia, and falling in love.  

But instead of meeting Rozelia, he seemed too busy meeting Ellie—even skipping other parties.  

Not knowing what to do, Ellie bit her lips in frustration, when suddenly the communication stone rang.  

She hurried to answer, and Feroza’s voice came through.

-Ellie.

“What’s the matter?”

-A letter just arrived from the Archenna Marquisate, and I wondered if you already knew.

“A letter?”

She had no idea.

“Who sent it?”

-Your mother.

“…What did it say?”

-It’s about setting a wedding date.

Ellie let out a deep sigh inwardly.  

Her mother kept asking if she had set a wedding date, and Ellie had tried to avoid the question, pretending not to know. In the end, it seemed her mother had sent a letter directly to Feroza.

-What should we do?

“…Feroza, you reply however you want.”

-Part of me wants to send back that I’d like to get married tomorrow.

“You can’t do that!”

She hadn’t even properly confessed her feelings yet; she couldn’t just rush into marriage.  

As Ellie shouted, she heard Feroza laugh on the other end of the communication stone.

-I’ll reply that I don’t want to make a hasty decision.

“All right.”

-I’ll contact you again later.

With that, the call ended.

Ellie put down the communication stone and jumped up from her seat.  

She was going to settle things with her mother once and for all.  

She headed straight to the garden, where her mother was.

“Mother!”

Her mother, who was drinking tea alone in the garden, turned her head sharply at Ellie’s voice.

“Ellie?”

“Mother, did you contact His Grace the Grand Duke?”

“What?”

“About setting a wedding date.”

At her words, her mother replied with a look as if she didn’t see the problem.

“Yes, so what?”

“What do you mean, so what!”

“You kept dragging your feet, so I did it for you. Why are you so upset?”

“I’m not dragging my feet, I’m being careful. Marriage isn’t a decision to be made lightly.”

Ellie frowned and clenched her fists tightly.

“I’m an adult. I’m far past the age for you to be making decisions for me.”

“Then you should’ve done it before I did!”

“I’ll handle it myself! No matter when it is, I’ll marry His Grace the Grand Duke! So please, stop interfering. All right?”

Frustrated, Ellie shouted, and her mother’s eyes widened.

“If you contact His Grace even one more time without asking me, I’ll just declare I’m never getting married!”

“Ellie!”

“You know I mean what I say, right?”

Ellie turned on her heel.  

Behind her, she could hear her mother grumbling about how much she’d changed.  

With this, at least for now, her mother wouldn’t meddle in her marriage any further.

Since she had boldly told her mother she would marry Feroza, Ellie resolved to win his heart for real.  

Rozelia still lingered in her mind, but they hadn’t even met yet, and it was certain that Feroza liked Ellie.  

She also thought that if she publicly announced she was married, she could nip any budding feelings between Rozelia and Feroza in the bud.

Ellie hurried up to her room and contacted Feroza with the communication stone.

-Yes, Ellie.

“Can I come over now?”

-Huh?

“I’m coming right now. Wait for me!”

Without waiting for his answer, Ellie cut the connection.  

She quickly got ready and headed to Feroza.

The closer she got to him, the more her heart pounded.

But there was an unfamiliar carriage in front of the Grand Ducal residence.

“What’s this?”

Did Feroza have a guest?

It occurred to her, a bit too late, that maybe she should turn back.  

As she hesitated, the door opened and Feroza stepped out.

Ellie’s face, which had been smiling brightly at him, froze as soon as she saw the person who followed him out.

-To be continued in Volume 2-