Episode 15: The Princess’s Invitation
Early the next morning, after finishing her preparations, Ella noticed a dark reddish stain at the hem of the Duke’s shirt and asked,
“Where did this come from? It was clean just yesterday…”
“Well… hmm. Come on, let’s get going.”
The Duke awkwardly cleared his throat at Ella’s question, hurriedly put on his coat, and stepped outside.
When Ella and the Duke returned safely to the ducal estate, the head maid and the butler rushed out to greet them. The Duke casually handed his horse over to the butler and immediately disappeared into his room. Once he was gone, the head maid anxiously asked after Ella’s sibling.
“Ella! Your brother—did you find him?”
“Yes. Thanks to the Duke, I found him.”
The butler had many questions about how the Duke managed to find Ella’s brother, but since Ella had just returned from a harrowing ordeal, he stayed silent and simply nodded.
“Oh thank goodness… truly… I was so worried…”
Knowing Ella’s story—how she came to the ducal estate to support her three younger siblings after losing her parents—the head maid let out a breath of relief and tightly hugged her.
“You must be exhausted. Go unpack and get some rest.”
The butler patted Ella’s back as he spoke.
“Thank you.”
Only after returning to her room did Ella finally relax, the tension melting away and fatigue washing over her. She felt like she could fall asleep right then, but she needed to eat quickly and check whether any work had piled up while she was gone, so she changed clothes and hurried down to the dining hall.
When she arrived, the head maid had already informed the kitchen, and the head chef brought out a special dish just for her.
“Ella! You worked so hard. Here—this is a dessert I made especially for you. Consider it a little celebration cake.”
On the small plate was a palm-sized little cake. It was a simple fresh-cream cake with no fancy decorations, but the chef’s thoughtfulness made Ella smile brightly as she thanked him.
“Thank you. It’s really delicious.”
Feeling better after the sweet cake, Ella picked up the thick stack of reports the butler had given her and headed to the Duke’s office. Since she’d been gone several days unexpectedly, there was a mountain of reports waiting for her.
“My lord, this is the tenancy report for the territory.”
The Duke carefully examined the neatly organized report, then turned his gaze to Ella as she tidied the room. Sensing his eyes on her, Ella set down her cleaning tools.
“Is… there something you’d like to say?”
“Don’t you want to study?”
Now that Ella’s siblings were going to school, the Duke wondered if perhaps she too might want the opportunity.
“No… I don’t really have anything I want to be yet.”
Her younger brothers wanted to become knights and loved swordsmanship, and her sister Marie wanted to become a fashion designer. They all had dreams—but Ella, who had raised them in place of their parents, had never had room to dream for herself.
“I see. Well, if you ever decide you want to learn something, tell me. I’ll support you.”
Ella hesitated—this was the question she had kept in her heart, unsure whether to ask.
“Why… why are you so good to me? It feels too much, considering all I do is serve you.”
The Duke, who had turned back to the reports, was caught completely off guard. His pen slipped from his hand.
“You saved my life, and you helped my brother. And now you’re even sending my siblings to school. Why? You say it’s goodwill, but I just can’t understand.”
“That’s… Ella… I…”
The Duke met her clear, honest gaze and began to speak—when a knock shattered the tense atmosphere.
“My lord, a messenger from the imperial palace has arrived.”
Letting out a long breath, the Duke told the butler to let him in and dismissed Ella.
“Impeccable timing, butler.”
The Duke leaned back in his chair, still shaken by Ella’s sudden question, as the butler entered.
“Shall I ask the messenger to wait, my lord?”
“No. Send them in now.”
“Yes, sir.”
The butler led the messenger into the office.
“Greetings, my lord. I am Veronica, lady-in-waiting to Her Highness the Princess. Her Highness asks that I deliver this letter to you.”
The Duke took the letter and read it immediately. It contained the schedule for a palace party and a note written by the Princess herself.
*Duke, I’m hosting a small party for my birthday. I would like you and Ella to attend together. I do hope you will come.*
The Duke felt an inexplicable sense of unease at the Princess inviting not only him, but Ella as well. He crumpled the letter tightly in his hand.
“My lord, Her Highness requests confirmation of your attendance.”
He had no valid excuse to refuse an official imperial invitation, so he reluctantly agreed and sent the messenger back.
After thinking for a moment, he called for Ella and informed her of the invitation.
“Ella, Her Highness the Princess has invited you and me to her birthday party.”
“…What?”
Ella was completely stunned. She’d heard rumors that sometimes commoners were invited to noble or royal events, but she had never imagined she would be one of them. Her mind went blank.
“Do… I have to go?”
Feeling overwhelmed, she asked the Duke, but he shook his head. As the only commoner there, the nobles’ attention would surely be uncomfortable.
“I cannot refuse an official imperial invitation without a proper reason.”
“But—I don’t have a dress, and I don’t know noble etiquette…”
The Duke considered her words for a moment, then smiled.
“I’ll help you.”
—
The Duke called the butler and ordered him to summon a dress designer to the estate.
“A dress, sir? A woman’s dress?”
The butler, baffled by the unusual request—especially in a ducal house with no mistress—asked again.
“Yes. As soon as possible.”
The butler was bewildered; since there was no duchess, a dress designer had never once been invited to the estate.
“…Understood.”
Knowing no boutiques himself, the butler left the office, muttering,
“A dress? All of a sudden? For whom?”
Unable to guess the intended recipient, he contacted a friendly butler from a count’s household and learned of the most popular boutique in the capital.
The next day, the Céleston Boutique designer arrived at the ducal estate, carrying thick fabric sample books and sketchbooks. With a mix of excitement and curiosity at visiting the ducal mansion, she entered the reception room.
“My lord, I’m the designer from Céleston Boutique.”
Assistants followed behind her, their arms full of the latest fashionable dresses from the capital.
“Butler, bring Ella.”
Only then did the butler realize who the dress was for. Bursting with curiosity about why the Duke was suddenly having a dress tailored for Ella, he rushed to find her.
Ella was speaking with a scribe on the first floor when the butler appeared.
“Ella! The Duke is looking for you. And… come here for a moment.”
Barely acknowledging the scribe, the butler pulled Ella into the secluded stairwell corner.
“Ella—the Duke called a designer! And he’s asking for you. Is it… is it to make *your* dress?”
“Oh. Yes, probably.”
“What? Why? What happened?”
Unable to contain his curiosity, the butler pressed her.
“Well… when the Duke helped me search for my brother, we happened to run into Her Highness the Princess. For some reason, she invited both the Duke and me to her birthday party.”
“I see…”
The butler finally understood and nodded.
“…Wait. You were invited to the Princess’s party?”
“Ah—yes.”
The butler’s eyes widened in disbelief. A maid attending a royal palace party by the Princess’s personal invitation was unheard of.
“What on earth happened for you to end up going to a palace party?”
Expecting a dramatic story, he asked, but Ella shook her head.
“Nothing special. We just happened to cross paths briefly. I really don’t know why she invited me.”
“Really? Hmm… Ah! Ella, go to the reception room. The designer is here.”
“Yes.”
Ella bowed and headed for the reception room.
“You called for me, my lord?”
As she entered, the first thing she saw were the dazzling dresses filling the entire room.
