Episode 12
“Ugh.”
The next day, I was standing in the middle of the hallway, stretching my arms wide. As I did, someone approached me.
It was Dennis.
“Rize.”
“Huh? Big brother, is class already over?”
“No, Mom asked me to give you this.”
I carefully took the black envelope from Dennis. It didn’t have the family seal, but I knew exactly who it was from.
“Thanks, big brother! I’ll go read the letter now!”
Without waiting for a response, I ran to my room.
“Ena, open the letter for me!”
Once I got to my room, I called for Ena, and without questioning, she gave me the letter. The handwriting was a little messy.
The letter read:
To Rize,
Hello, Rize,
I didn’t expect to hear back, but I was so happy to get your letter the next day.
It seems like there are a lot of people in the city because the Spring Festival is coming up. Would you like to go watch it with me? If we go to the festival street, we’ll see some amazing things. If you’d like to, let me know in your reply.
You say you can’t meet me in three days? That’s too bad, but I understand. I’ll come by on Wednesday instead of Sunday.
By the way, do you think the Duchess will like me? I’m really worried, and I can’t sleep thinking about it. I’m considering giving her flowers as a thank-you gift. Do you think she likes flowers? If not, I’ll think of something else.
I’ll finish this letter here, waiting for Wednesday. Stay healthy, Rize.
Leon
I put the letter down on the desk and looked at Ena.
“Ena, do we have any of that ribbon letter paper left?”
“Yes. Should I get it for you?”
I nodded, and Ena quickly brought the pink ribbon, letter paper, and my personal fountain pen. It didn’t take me long to write the reply, but it was hard to decide what to say since there was so much to write.
My hand started to hurt after a while, and I mumbled the words as I wrote.
My reply read:
I think “Mimosa trees” would be better than flowers. I know my mom loves them because she was proposed to under a tree full of them. The flower language means all sorrow disappears. That’s what my dad said when he proposed to my mom, “Because of you, all my sorrow disappears.” Wow, I’m talking about my parents’ proposal. Why did I bring this up? Anyway…
Don’t feel pressured, just come over and enjoy the Spring Festival with me, and let’s eat cotton candy together.
I put the pen down and sighed.
“Miss, have you finished writing?”
“Yeah, but it feels like something’s missing.”
“Why? I think it sounds good from what I heard.”
I put my finger on my chin, thinking, and sighed again.
“Hmmm… I don’t know, it just doesn’t have that emotional spark, you know?”
Ena looked serious as she replied, “Can I take a quick look? I’ll tell you if anything needs changing.”
“Sure, here.”
Ena took the letter and seemed to examine it carefully.
“I don’t think anything is missing. You already mentioned the change in the breakfast date…”
She decided that it was good to send it as is. So, I folded the two pages and sealed them with the wax, pressing the family seal onto it.
I smiled as I sealed the envelope.
“Every time I seal it, it feels so exciting.”
“Hehe. Would you like me to bring more envelopes?”
“Nope! Let’s just enjoy this one-time excitement. Ena, make sure Dad doesn’t see it!”
“Well, that’s out of my hands, miss.”
I chuckled, knowing that my parents respected me deeply. I handed the envelope to Ena with a big smile.
The next morning, as I was getting ready for the Spring Festival banquet, I read Leon’s letter again:
“I’ll bring the Mimosa tree on Wednesday. It’s heavier than I expected, so I might need some help, but I’ll try to keep it low-key. Thanks for letting me know, Rize.”
Even if I had been reincarnated, Leon’s writing was way too mature for his age. I figured he’d had an intense education since he was little.
‘Ugh. The more I think about it, the more it annoys me.’
I tried to calm myself and looked at my reflection in the mirror.
I looked really cute and perfect.
The forsythia-colored dress that reached my knees had lace on the wrists and hem, and the flower-shaped gem on the chest made my face stand out.
Plus, the tiara Hilet gave me could only be worn by royalty, making me feel extra special.
So cool. The best.
Mom smiled as she cupped my face.
“Our daughter looks beautiful today.”
Blushing, I mumbled, “Mom, you’re exaggerating…”
“Hmm, you do kind of look like a fish…”
“Mom!”
I jumped out of her embrace and protested loudly.
“How can a beautiful fish look like that!”
Mom laughed and pointed at me.
“There it is!”
“Ah, shoot!”
“Shoot?”
“I want a watermelon that doesn’t exist! Love you!”
I quickly covered my mouth with my hands.
Mom gave me a playful tap on the nose.
“Shall we go?”
“Are we going early?”
“Yes, the banquet starts in the evening, right?”
“Right.”
“We’ll go see the Prince before that.”
“The Prince?”
“Yeah. You don’t remember him from when you were younger, but you’ve met him once.”
“Oh…”
What is she talking about? I remember everything.
But I couldn’t say that, so I just shut my mouth. Honestly, I didn’t want to see him or remember anything about him. The mere thought of him made my blood pressure rise.
As we went down the stairs, I quickly realized that I could forget about the Prince when I saw a well-dressed man waiting with my mom.
“Mom, Rize,” Dennis called, running over to greet us.
Mom smiled warmly at Dennis.
“Wow, Dennis, you look so handsome!”
Dennis was dressed in a navy blue suit, looking sharp, and his hair was slicked back just like Hiden’s. He looked even more handsome than usual.
“Dad-” I hopped out of Mom’s arms and ran to Dad.
He immediately lifted me.
“My princess, are you tired?”
“No, I’m fine. What about you, Dad?”
“I’m tired…”
“Wow! You’ve had so much work recently, haven’t you? Why don’t you take a nap in the carriage?”
“If I nap in the carriage, the real problem won’t go away.”
“Huh? What’s the problem?”
“The problem is my princess is too pretty. I’m worried that other people will fall for her.”
I felt like I’d just been insulted.
I reluctantly hugged Dad, still not sure how to respond.
“Dad, should I be hugging you like this? My clothes will get ruined.”
“If anyone complains about my clothes, what will they do?”
It was such a cocky thing to say… but why does it sound so cool when Dad says it?
Right then, Mom clapped her hands.
“Is everything ready? We need to leave now if we want to make it on time.”
With Mom’s prompt, the servants lined up to send us off. Carmen, as the head servant, gave his usual farewell.
“We’ll see you in the morning.”
“Carmen, don’t wait up. Get some rest.”
“Yes, understood.”
We all knew Carmen wouldn’t sleep until we came back.
Finally, we got into the carriage.
“Where’s Grandpa?”
“He went to pick up Grandma.”
“Grandma’s here?!”
“Yes, she arrived this morning.”
“Yay! I missed Grandma so much!”
Dennis seemed just as excited as I was to see Grandma Shailos after so long.
As we drove towards the palace, the royal palace slowly came into view.
The Nehiris’ family’s carriage passed through without any checks, and we safely reached the front of the palace.
Inside the palace, before the banquet began, we arrived at the Emperor’s private reception room.
Emperor Seriton approached, his cape fluttering dramatically. I looked at him with dull eyes.
“My princess!!!”
Ugh. He looked just like an Emperor with his fancy clothes.
‘Ugh, so flashy.’
Everyone was gathered in the room, except Hilet and Grandma Shailos. I pushed past the overwhelming Seriton and moved to the side. As I looked over the royal family members’ outfits, I couldn’t help but think:
‘Everyone, your taxes are being spent right now…!’
But of course, I knew that Seriton and Empress Dione weren’t wasteful with the people’s money, especially not the nobles.
