Chapter 23
He must be worried about the atrocities he committed at dinner.
I sat at the foot of the bed while slightly crumpling my nose.
“Today, you did a lot of comndable things, so I’ll let you go. But this shouldn’t happen again. Unfortunately, sweet potatoes and onions are not allowed to touch my tongue. They’re not good food.”
Aedis seed like he had a lot of things to say, but he decided against saying anything.
***
The day of departure was just one day away. Gilbert was dead quiet, and I still had work to do.
I wrote a letter to invite Monica Elaine to the Grand Duke’s Estate formally. I requested her to co today since the ti was right, and Monica stord in less than an hour after I sent the letter.
It was almost like she knew I’d call her today.
She must have been preparing to go out, even before receiving my letter.
I didn’t say anything that would hurt her too much.
“I’m sorry, Monica. I can’t attend the birthday party.”
“…..”
Imdiately, Monica’s complexion turned cold.
I held out a pink star diamond necklace and earrings without waiting for Monica to open her mouth. This was sothing Monica always wanted to have.
“I wanted to give you a gift in person as an apology. Will you accept it?”
“…..”
Monica’s lips trembled. It wasn’t hard to tell she was unhappy with the way things we were unfolding.
“Don’t you like it? How about this one?” I asked, cocking my head to the side.
This ti, I showed her a small but aningful statue filled with gold.
“I’ve already told you the only thing that I want. I don’t need anything else,” Monica said ferociously. Her face made it seem like she wanted to throw the golden statue away but was holding it in.
Monica didn’t even look at the gifts I gave her. She clenched her fists and expressed her anger.
Oh, that’s how it is.
“I know what you ant. There’s one last gift that I haven’t taken out yet, but I don’t think the result will change even if I show it to you.”
“Huh,” Monica snorted.
I raised my hand. “Sarah, take it all away.”
Sarah approached. Monica’s eyes went wide open as if she wasn’t expect anything like this.
“Co on, hold on. Are you going to throw it all away?”
“They were prepared for you, but since you don’t like them, they’re useless.”
Monica fixated her gaze on the set of jewelry and the gold statue that Sarah was about to throw away at any ti now. Her expression was complex as if she were bearing all the troubles of the world alone.
“What is your last gift?” Monica asked with a deep sigh.
“My favorite doll.”
“What… What?”
Eventually, Monica’s expression beca out of her control as she vigorously rubbed her ears. She thought she heard wrong, but no, there was nothing wrong with her ears.
I opened the package hidden under the table and showed Monica the contents. It was a teddy bear with a cute black nose.
I grabbed the bear’s paw and gently shook it, making the doll greet Monica. It looked like it was saying hello.
Unexpectedly, a smile ford on her lips as I played with the doll.
“It’s pretty old, right? When I was young, I never let it go from my arms. He’s a very precious friend to . So I tried to bring it to the North. But it might be too poor of a gift to give to you…”
“Please.”
“…”
“Give it to right now. If you give it to , I’ll forgive you for not attending the birthday party.”
Monica’s was determined, and her face lacked a joking smile. She was serious.
Whether I was looking to run away or not, Monica felt threatened. She got up from her seat, eyes sparkling, and reached out her hand.
Hey, what is this?
She refused the jewelry and expensive ornants she liked so much and wanted soone else’s doll.
This doll was sothing I genuinely had since I was young. And, of course, it was rather odd to give it as a birthday present.
“Hurry up!”
I handed over the doll, but the shock still lingered.
“Monica, didn’t you hate ?”
“What are you talking about? I don’t hate you. I don’t dislike you, either,” Monica said, hugging my favorite doll tightly.
No, your words and actions are entirely contradictory.
In Esralda’s Crescent Moon, Monica Elaine was a villain. Gilbert once said she would have killed Maevia. Everything about Maevia got on her nerves, so she can’t stand it.
Before having an affair with Gilbert, Monica hated Maevia. But now, Monica seed much different than how she was supposed to act.
I had never seen Monica smile that much.
Was it because I was a different Maevia than the one in the novel?
Of course, it wasn’t like everyone had been affected by my behavior. Right now, parents still took care of their children as they had done before.
Even the crown prince didn’t shave his head and fan the noble lady for two hours. But, it seed as though Monica was beyond my expectations.
In the novel, Monica hated the existence of Maevia Morgana herself, so I didn’t put much effort into Monica.
If there was an apparent reason for soone’s dislike, I could fix it. But I couldn’t do much if soone just didn’t like .
Trying to improve my relationships had beco apart of my unconscious daily routine. I always tried to take the upper hand in the argunts that ca my way.
Still, Monica certainly wouldn’t bother as badly as she did in the novel, so I thought it would be okay if she wasn’t next to Gilbert.
But the result is rather…
“Monica, what do you like so much about ?”
Monica, still excited, squeezed the teddy bear’s cheeks, which was stuffed with fresh cotton. “First of all, Maevia, no matter how angry you are, you hardly ever raise your voice. I wish I could ignore it, but you never yelled at . You welcod even if I was crappy.”
Monica looked a bit embarrassed for a mont and then hurriedly blurted, “In fact, that’s why I thought Maevia wanted to be friends with . But you treated Charles, who you had only t once, similarly to , whom you t ten tis already. Rember the Harvest Festival party? You couldn’t find a partner, but you paired up with him.”
Suddenly Monica cried. “It turned out I was being treated similarly to Charles, which ant that even though I’ve been bothering you so far, Maevia wasn’t interested in at all. I wasn’t a friend, nor an enemy, nor anything.”
“If you’re dissatisfied with my behavior, will you hate ?”
When asked seriously, Monica quickly hid the doll behind her back.
“No, no, that’s not it! I got your favorite doll, but I hate it! I’m going to change it. Oh, but don’t get wrong. You were so indifferent to , so I wanted to draw so attention. It wasn’t because I liked you.”
“…..”
I nearly sighed, but I managed to withhold it.
Good job, Maevia. Murder is bad.
As I swallowed my sigh, Monica muttered in a less powerful voice, “And Maevia, honestly, you don’t even like . Sotis it feels like you’re looking at like I’m nothing more than a stone on your feet.”
Hey, be glad I don’t despise you.
“I have a conscience, and I look back on my past actions. Do you rember what I said when we first t? I said that picking cherry water on your greedy red hair will turn it to my hair color.”
Monica had flaming red hair. On the other hand, my hair was pignted like pink leaves.
We clashed from our first eting, although it wasn’t ntioned in the novel. Monica said that she was offended because my hair looked like I was copying her. She used all kinds of verbal abuse until we got separated. Charles couldn’t stand it, so he tried to intervene.
Morgana, Elaine, and Morgoz are the swords of the empire aid at the imperial family. Since the three families were closely related and often called together, the successors, Monica, and Charles also naturally t.
What started as a light afternoon tea party beca a regular eting.
Monica’s poison also beca more diverse day by day. Monica changed the target to Charles if I responded insensitively. I rember that Charles began to be more careful after she suffered from hair loss due to stress.
Fortunately, from ti to ti, Charles was in the south more rather than in the capital.
There was more ti to practice the sword.
So the eting was disbanded, but Monica suddenly ca to the Marquis of Morgana.
There were many tis she criticized as blindly as before, and there were tis when her eyes seed to be blowing fire, although she was simply sipping tea.
That was all to draw attention. It was absurd that I had no idea.
“Did you rember…?”
Monica looked at with a burning face.
This is serious. There is no way to fix it.
I stood up, so she would stop talking.
“What’s the point of arguing about the past now? That’s enough, the next ti we et, I’d like you to call ‘Grand Duchess’. The marriage has already been established on paper.”
I don’t know why, but this ti, Monica was shocked.
“But what about the wedding? What about the vows? You haven’t announced the marriage in front of the nobles yet.”
“I skipped it.”
“You can’t do that!”
“Monica.”
As I got up, I approached Monica.
She gently overlapped my hands with hers.
“Think of that doll as and cherish it until we et again. Can I trust you?”
Monica didn’t shake my hand even though she flinched. Soon a small answer ca back. “Well… Of course.”
Are you shy now?
“…Good.”
When I leave the capital, I have to bury my bones in the north.
Reviews
All reviews (0)