Heroine On Strike

It was late at night when Ella woke up in her bed at home. For a moment, she didn’t know how she returned, but then remembered she heard Xyle talking while she was asleep. He ordered others to be quiet to not wake her up. Then he held her up as he refused Benjamin’s offer to help.

Ella then remembered she hadn’t heard his response to her question yet. Was he going to be her man, or not? The answer was most likely no.

‘The man who knows the secrets of this world…’ She thought about the person who held that title. It was perhaps a title more burdensome than the emperor. The man with such a burden favored someone… It was obviously an important matter.

‘I was too foolish to try to win him over.’ No matter what, she still needed his help to overcome the difficulties awaiting her. This world was deviating from the world described in the book. Things were changing on their own. Luciella would pull through this, but Ranhee couldn’t. She lacked the common sense needed for this world. For example, the way she claimed that she wouldn’t become the crown princess wasn’t normal in this world.

Ella was sure that she wouldn’t forgive herself if her actions harmed her family. She needed someone to guide her on how to live in this world. In her current position, she couldn’t think about Xyle’s predicament. He refused to reveal why she was brought to this world even when he was starting to have feelings for her. In the end, he was going to be fine on his own. Although it was selfish of her to do this, she had no choice.

She then realized that not everything changed because she came here. What mattered most was ultimately herself. The reason she worried about the duke’s family was because of herself. She felt doomed. As Ella sighed deeply in self-pity, someone knocked on her bedroom door.

“My lady? Are you awake?” It was Maylin.

She took a trip outside after breakfast, but it was now time for dinner. Lots had happened. She learned a lot of things, but it also felt like nothing had happened. Ella then took the seal out from the small pouch she used when she went out. At least she received the seal, making her visit worthwhile.

Ella relieved her uneasiness with the seal and allowed Maylin to enter. Maylin entered with the other maids. They helped Ella to change into lighter clothes, so that she could get down to the dining room for dinner.

By the time she had finished changing, the duke, duchess, and Ethan were already sitting at the dining table.

“Ethan?” Surprised, Ella sat next to Ethan. She thought he would return by tomorrow at the earliest, so it was good to see him back so early. Ethan looked at Ella with a complicated expression on his face and smiled.

“Are you awake now?” Ethan asked.

“Yes. When did you come back?”

“Not long after you left. Let’s have tea after dinner. I’m sure you have some questions for me, and I have something to give to you.”

“Of course.”

There were some questions she wanted to ask him. Just because she read through the information he had given to her, it didn’t mean she knew everything. If Ethan was aware of all this, why didn’t he do anything to stop it? What was going on? Those were the questions she had for her brother. Why did he leave Clara alone while she was ruining everything? That was the question she was dying to ask as they sat down on the couch in the tea room.

“Why did you let Lady Mellin get so close to his highness? Haven’t you heard what she said about me?” Ella irritably asked.

Ethan let out a long sigh once he heard the question. He had been thinking about the same question himself and couldn’t figure out how to respond to it. After returning home and hearing about Ella’s decision, he contemplated if he had made the right choice.

He also wasn’t sure if he should give the thing he had brought for Ella. It wasn’t until Evan had given him a document that recorded Clara’s every move that he made his decision. So, Ethan took out a box that he had left in the tea room and laid it in front of Ella.

“What is this?” asked Ella.

“It is a present that his highness prepared for you a while ago.”

Confused, she replied, “What?”

“He wanted to keep it a secret, but I figured you should know. I didn’t tell his highness that I would be bringing this home.”

Ella then opened the box and was lost for words. There was a one and a half feet tall doll inside with beautiful purple hair just like hers. The doll was wearing a dress that resembled the one she wore when she said farewell to Cladis before he went to the Academy. There was also a beautifully embroidered leather ball inside. It was the perfect size for a ball game that Ella used to love when she was young. Next to it was a beautifully crafted pen that was purple which matched the theme of the gifts.

‘He prepared all this for me?’