Chapter 7

VOL . 2 CHAPTER 07: THE INVASION OF A DUKES DAUGHTER

Eleanora invaded the Dolknes residence in the royal capital . Her early visit threw me off, even Patrick was surprised . But between us, the one who surprised the most probably was Prince Edwin .

Patrick led Prince Edwin outside the parlor in a hurry .

Uh-oh! Do you think Miss Eleanora saw the dragon too?

Your Highness, please follow me to the room next door . Yumiela, Im going to get some more details from His Highness . Please deal with Miss Eleanora .

Eh, I dont want to . Before I had the chance to refuse, they already left me alone in the parlor .

When I gave running away a careful thought, the door opened vigorously revealing Eleanoras figure . With so much effort that had just taken place, it was a relief knowing that they didnt bump into each other .

Its been a while! Ive finally come to visit you Yumiela-san .

Yeah, its been a while . If you had let us know about your visit in advance, I would have prepared a more proper reception .

Well, were you really looking forward to my visit?

Of course .

I told her to let me know whenever she planned to visit in advance in a roundabout way, but I dont think she understood .

From what I saw, she did this multiple times when we were still in the academy . Its not like shes gone out of the way to ignore what I said, its just that she really didnt get it .

Quickly changing the topic, I asked what her reason to visit was .

So, what can I do for you? Youre coming to visit all of a sudden, is there anything important you want to talk about?

Something important? You dont need a reason to visit your friends house, right?

Right .

Friend it sounds sweet, but I wont be fooled . This is Eleanora Hillrose, she comes from the dukes household whose father is coincidentally the leader of the extremists faction .

Even if shes a nice person who liked me for her own self-interest, I was holding myself back when getting along with her .

Hmm, lets just change the topic to Prince Edwin, the sooner we talked about him the sooner she will leave .

How is it going with His Highness these days?

Will you listen to me about it?! I think I made a mistake, I dont mind telling you the story .

She quickly recovered herself even though I could clearly see the sparks in her eyes . She carried herself like she was looking down on others .

Judging by her reaction, shes ready to tell her story from the beginning .

And I replied without showing any emotion .

Lets hear it, you can start when you feel comfortable .

It cant be helped! This is something!

Alright, please tell me quickly so you can go back home .

When she starts telling her story, she did it in her high-pitched voice .

Where should I start? Ill just start from the beginning, I met with Edwin-sama

Ive heard that story more than 10 times . What about the latest story, what happened since we graduated from the academy?

I could just let her say whatever she had to say and quietly listen, it had been a while since she had gathered some information . It would be a win-win if I could get a little insight about the current situation in the capital and Duke Hillroses thoughts .

Without bothering to ask for more details, Eleanora will tell me the details on her own .

But then her expression turned dim, like she was hesitant to say something .

The latest huh?

Yeah, the recent one .

It is rare for her to look so uncomfortable talking about something . Especially if the topic was about the prince who she liked so much .

Shortly afterward Eleanora began to speak bit by bit .

Ever since I graduated from the academy, everyone around me has been telling me this is my chance right now . That this is a good chance for me to be Edwin-samas girlfriend and that we could marry later on . But, Edwin-sama lost someone he held dear a year ago and I dont wanna take advantage of something like that

She was worried about Alicia who used to call her names in the past . She understood that Prince Edwin liked Alicia .

Nevertheless, she liked the prince, too . Eleanora was wondering what she should do because everyone around her kept pushing her .

It was easy to imagine Eleanoras followers saying stuff and leading her on .

Inherently, Eleanora is a kind and good person . A little maybe a little? But she still has that condescending attitude though .

Based on my experience interacting with her in the academy I figured it was her followers that instigated the bullying towards Alicia in the past . Thats how I know her behavior didnt come from ill intention and how easy it was to believe people around us .

Okay, I understand your point but who told you that this is a good chance for you to make a move on him?

Um all of my friends said that .

Everyone in Eleanoras friend circle were the daughters of someone from the extremists faction . I wont be surprised if the extremists used her as a pawn in the political strife .

And her father, Duke Hillrose, is no exception .

How about your family? What did the duke say?

Father is telling me not to get closer to Edwin-sama . I think we should take a small break .

Huh? The duke said that?

When the second prince inherits the throne, Eleanora could be the queen . I was pretty confident that Duke Hillrose will go with that plan . But why did he try to stop that plan?

I only met the duke once during the ceremony after the Demon King subjugation . He gave me a brief acknowledgment and said nothing else . So I have no idea about the Dukes character at all .

As I started to get lost in thought, Eleanora added .

What do you think, Yumiela? Do you think I should keep my contact with Edwin-sama?

Okay, why dont you follow what Duke Hillrose said and then you can decide for yourself?

Then, Ill do as you said! And its getting harder not to look sad in front of Edwin-sama! I dont want to be a bother!

I thought she was annoying whenever she did that in the past, but now she has started thinking for herself .

But there is one thing that I dont understand .

Arent you making your decision too quickly?

If Yumiela-san said so, Id never doubt it!

I dont want someone to trust me that much . Rather, its really easy to listen to the people you arent close with and it makes one hell of trouble like the situation right now .

Im not sure you should put that much faith in what I say .

How should I say this compared to others, Yumiela-san is really blunt? And you dont have the habit of telling people not to trust themselves, right?

No, but saying those things is inappropriate, you know .

If nothing else, keeping her away from the prince is a nice added bonus, so Ill keep quiet . Then Eleanora continued .

And Yumiela-san has the same feeling as my older brother! Even though it doesnt look much at the first glance but if you pay close attention to it, I can see how expressive you are!

Are my expressions really that unusual?

Mhm, not at all!

People have been calling me expressionless and yet But didnt Patrick say the same thing, too? Then, the way she views me is the same as Patrick lets not talk about this .

So, Eleanora-samas older brothers facial expression rarely changes .

Hes always smiling, even when hes angry .

I see .

This kinda reminds me of Headmaster Ronald, whos always smiling . And his smile makes him look kinda shady . I dont like that the Duke houses heir has that kind of smile .

Still, I dont think she should put her faith in me just because Im similar to her brother . From what Ive heard, he seems to be a bit fishy .

She then grabbed my hands and tightly grasped it and said .

Thats why I was so happy when Yumiela-san said the marriage between me and Edwin-sama was a sure thing .

Ah, I think I remember saying that .

I remember jokingly saying that to butter her up I didnt know that she took that seriously . What do I do?

After that, she seemed content to talk about the princes positive features for a moment .

She took a breath and continued in a hushed voice .

And what about Yumiela-san?

Me? What do you mean?

Im talking about your relationship with Patrick-sama .

We just got officially engaged the other day .

Its a bit embarrassing to say it out loud but Im not hiding it either . Eleanora smiled like a blooming flower .

Congratulations! Im so happy for you!

Thanks .

So, when is the wedding?

I looked at Eleanora who was happy for my engagement . I felt a little guilty when I remembered that I kept avoiding her while I was at the academy and now that we have graduated Im still trying to keep my distance .

But if you ask whether we are going to get along well in the future, Im having a hard time deciding . One thing that I hate the most is when people keep their distance because of my familys social standing .

Were still undecided regarding the date of the wedding .

Then, you havent picked your dress yet? I can help you to pick one!

Hey, is it okay to skip a hundred steps of preparation and just attend the ceremony? But isnt it strange for her to participate in the preparation stages?

I feel like a fool for taking it seriously . I have a feeling like no matter how much I refuse, shes going to keep pushing . Our current distance is just right .

I can choose the dress by myself . I mean, is the dress really necessary?

Of course, it is! Yumiela-san youre missing the important part!

Eh?!

I never expected the day when she would call me out for missing the point would come .

And I know that I need a dress for my wedding . But Im talking about the need for the wedding itself . Patrick and her need to stop assuming that the wedding will be held .

Honestly, is a wedding necessary?

Haa, Yumiela-san, you really I feel bad for Patrick-sama . Having a beautiful ceremony is necessary for marriage, you know?

With an exaggerated sigh, Eleanora begins to talk about the wedding passionately . Sigh, its another long rant .

Oh, and you can wear as many as you want with dress change!

Eleanora-sama, its time

Oh my, am I talking too much? Ill come again later .

Feeling satisfied after giving me a speech about the wedding, Eleanora left without a fuss .

Shes going to come back, huh .

Lets go outside tomorrow .

Not long after Eleanora left the residence, exhaustion came over me as I leaned on the sofa . Patrick and the prince, the two traitors who left me to deal with her soon returned to the parlor .

When Patrick looked at me, who is more expressionless than ever, he asked with a voice full of concern .

Im sorry, Yumiela . Are you tired? What did Eleanora-sama say?

Shes going to refrain herself from making advances toward His Highness for a while .

From Prince Edwins point of view, this is good news . But Im still not happy about him coming to my house .

Looking surprised than happy, Prince Edwin said .

That Miss Eleanora? How did you do it?

Im not doing anything in particular . Oh, do you know anything about her brother? What kinda person is he? She told me that I was like her brother .

Miss Eleanoras brother? Wasnt she an only child?

Eh? Prince Edwin doesnt know?

That cant be true . Both of them are nobles living in the royal capital, moreover they come from the royal family and the duke house . Its impossible that they have never met, much less not knowing he even existed