Chapter 4.5

It was Rozelia.

She and Rozelia made eye contact as Rozelia was walking over.

And for some reason, Rozelia was alone.

As far as Ellie knew, Rozelia was always popular and rarely went anywhere by herself.

Rozelia, upon spotting Ellie, hesitated, bit her lip hard, and quickly turned away.

‘What’s with her?’

Ellie tilted her head in confusion.

In the original story, Rozelia was kind and gentle to everyone.

In fact, at the last tea party, Rozelia had been exactly as Ellie remembered from the original.

But just now, Rozelia had no trace of a smile and looked rather displeased.

Ellie stared at the spot where Rozelia had disappeared, when Mother’s voice came from behind.

“Ellie, what are you looking at?”

“Oh, nothing. Let’s go.”

Mother tilted her head and got into the carriage first.

Ellie turned to Tiahren and spoke.

“Then, we’ll be off.”

“Yes! Take care on your way!”

Tiahren bowed at a ninety-degree angle.

Feeling awkward at the excessive politeness, Ellie hurriedly got into the carriage, worried that Tiahren would keep bowing until she left.

On the way back to the mansion, Ellie thought deeply.

No matter how much she considered it, she couldn’t figure out why Rozelia had looked at her that way.

“Ellie, what are you thinking about so hard?”

“Huh?”

“You’re not thinking of calling off the wedding, are you?”

Startled by the sudden question, Ellie blinked.

“What do you mean all of a sudden?”

“Your expression was so serious.”

Ellie touched her face and replied,

“It’s nothing like that, so don’t worry.”

“Really? That’s a relief.”

Mother’s anxious expression brightened.

Ellie decided it was best to put thoughts of Rozelia aside for now.

They weren’t close anyway, and the last tea party was the only time she’d seen her.

But the very next day, Ellie received a letter.

“Who’s it from?”

“It says Rozelia Azenne.”

“Huh…”

A letter from Rozelia?

Ellie took the letter from Roni with a puzzled look.

Sure enough, the sender’s name was clearly written as Rozelia Azenne.

‘As far as I remember, the original Ellie was just a minor villain, so she never really interacted with Rozelia.’

Finding it odd, Ellie opened the letter and read its contents.

It was a short greeting, and a request to meet at the café ‘Schwart’ around 2 o’clock tomorrow.

That was it.

“That’s it? This?”

Even the letter felt cold, which left Ellie perplexed.

She was confused, but curious about what Rozelia wanted to say.

After a moment’s thought, she sent a reply agreeing to meet.

She already had plans to meet Feroza, so she needed to get ready for their date.

Today, they were going to a concert by a famous pianist.

“As neat as possible…”

Ellie wanted to wear a dress by Tiahren, but since she had only ordered yesterday, it hadn’t arrived yet.

Feeling a bit disappointed, she was picking out another dress when suddenly there was a knock at the door.

Roni, who was helping her get ready, tilted her head and opened the door.

“What is it?”

“The dress you ordered has arrived, Miss.”

“The dress? Already?”

“Yes.”

The maid who came to deliver the news nodded.

“And the Madam brought it herself.”

“Show her to the parlor. I’ll be right down.”

Ellie quickly threw on any dress and hurried to the parlor.

Inside, Tiahren was sitting on the sofa.

Next to the sofa, several dresses were hanging on a rack.

“My goodness, Tiahren!”

“Oh, you’re here?”

Tiahren stood up with a bright smile.

Ellie looked at her with a dazed expression and approached her.

“The maid said you brought the finished dresses.”

“Yes. But I couldn’t finish them all; I only completed a few. Honestly, I wanted to show them to you as soon as possible… so I came without even contacting you. I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright.”

Ellie studied Tiahren’s face closely and saw that her dark circles were deeply set.

Worried, Ellie asked,

“You didn’t stay up all night, did you?”

“Haha…….”

Tiahren smiled awkwardly, avoiding the question.

Realizing that she had indeed stayed up all night, Ellie exclaimed in shock,

“My goodness, how could you work without sleeping! What if you make yourself sick?”

“But… you trusted me and placed such a big order, so I wanted to meet your expectations quickly.”

“Still, your health is the most important, so you can take your time making them. As long as the wedding dress is ready on time, it’s fine.”

“Yes.”

Tiahren nodded.

Anyway, since Ellie was planning to go out today, it worked out well.

“I actually have a date today. Wearing a new dress would be perfect.”

“Really? That makes me so happy…….”

“I’m going to a pianist’s concert today. Could you pick one for me?”

“Oh, yes!”

Tiahren hurriedly looked through the dresses.

After a moment, she examined them seriously and pulled one out to show Ellie.

“How about this one?”

The light blue dress had embroidery instead of jewels at the hem.

It was just right for Ellie, who was looking for something neat.

She smiled brightly and accepted the dress.

“It’s perfect. Thank you, Tiahren.”

“It’s nothing. Um, and you can call me Tia… if you’d like.”

Tiahren glanced at Ellie, her voice shy.

Ellie’s eyes widened at that.

“…Isn’t that a nickname?”

“Yes, it is.”

“And you’re letting me call you that?”

“Yes! You’re the only one who believed in me.”

Ellie was even more surprised.

Those very words were what Tiahren had said to Rozelia.

But now, the recipient had changed from Rozelia to Ellie.

‘Is this… a good thing?’

Feeling uncertain, Ellie decided it didn’t matter and nodded.

“Alright, Tia.”

“Yes……!”

Tiahren’s eyes sparkled.

Ellie pulled the bell cord to tidy up the dresses.

“You called, Miss?”

“Please move these dresses to my room and organize them. And could you prepare some light refreshments?”

“Yes, Miss.”

After giving those instructions, Ellie turned to Tiahren.

“Tia, it must have been hard bringing all these dresses here by yourself. Rest as much as you want before you go.”

“What? But, with you not at home, Young Lady, how could I…!”

“It’s fine. Oh, and don’t call me ‘Young Lady’ so formally, just call me Ellie.”

“What?!”

Tiahren cried out.

She waved her hands and said,

“I can’t! You’ll be the Grand Duchess one day—how can I call you by your name?”

“Oh, come on. It’s fine, so just call me by my name.”

Tiahren hesitated, but after Ellie urged her, she finally called her name in a voice as small as a whisper.

“E-Ellie…….”

“Well done. Next time we meet, call me that!”

Ellie wanted to talk with her more, but unfortunately, it was really time to get ready.

After giving Tiahren a final hug, she hurried up to her room.

She handed the dresses to Roni, who had followed her.

“Since the dress isn’t flashy, I’ll keep the makeup as light as possible.”

“Yes.”

Time was tight, so Roni worked as quickly as she could.

She finished Ellie’s makeup in no time and did her hair simply.

Ellie then changed into the dress she had received from Tiahren, and with small earrings and a necklace, she was done.

“Roni, how do I look?”

“You look beautiful, Miss.”

Roni smiled brightly.

“Thank you, Roni.”

“Have a safe trip, Miss!”

Ellie hurried outside.

Feroza was already there, waiting for her.

“Feroza!”

“Ellie.”

He opened his arms toward her.

After hesitating for a moment, Ellie ran to him and hugged him tightly.

“Sorry. Did you wait long?”

“No.”

Feroza let her go and looked her over.

Worried that something might be off, Ellie flinched, but then he spoke.

“That’s a dress I haven’t seen before. Is it new?”

“Oh, yes. I ordered it along with the wedding dress.”

“It suits you well. You look so pretty.”

Feroza pressed a quick kiss to her forehead.

Ellie was embarrassed, worrying someone might have seen, but she didn’t have the courage to look around.

“Um, let’s go quickly.”

“Yes.”

With Feroza’s escort, she got into the carriage.

He now naturally took the seat beside her.

As the carriage started, he took her hand.

“I want to give you a dress as a gift too, Ellie.”

“You already have.”

“It’s been quite a while, hasn’t it? I want to give you a dress that suits you best.”

“Hmmm…….”

Even if Ellie told him it wasn’t necessary, Feroza would insist on giving her a gift.

So she thought it was better to just accept and nodded.

“Alright.”

“Really? Then let’s go to the boutique together tomorrow.”

“Oh, I don’t think I can tomorrow.”

“Why not?”

Feroza tilted his head.

“Well… I’m meeting Lady Azenne.”

“Lady Azenne?”

He frowned slightly.