Chapter 27
At that moment, a look of pity briefly crossed Joanna’s face.
From that expression, Erika had already read the rejection.
Seeing the girl’s face fall in disappointment, Joanna quickly composed herself, startled by her own reaction.
It had already been a week since Erika arrived at the Grand Duchy of Acliff.
During that time, she had conveyed through Madam Alma and Vincent her desire to meet Felix Acliff, Sebastian’s father.
But there was no response from the Grand Duke.
Repeated silent refusals.
Because of that, Erika couldn’t help but feel increasingly dejected.
‘I wonder when I’ll finally be able to meet him.’
Perhaps no one knew.
Yet Erika didn’t give up and continued to send messages to Felix every morning.
Of course, she never received a reply—not even once.
Joanna tried to choose her words carefully so as not to hurt Erika.
But there was nothing she could say aloud.
“The Grand Duke must be terribly busy. Maybe he just forgot.”
Any excuse she could think of sounded terribly poor, even to herself.
‘I’ve already used every excuse I could think of…’
And still, the Grand Duke hadn’t sent any reply to Erika’s request.
He hadn’t even passed along a message through Vincent—something like “Don’t concern yourself,” or “I’ll see you soon.”
To anyone unaware of the circumstances, it would look very much like Felix was deliberately ignoring Erika’s existence.
And there was no way this clever little lady hadn’t picked up on that.
‘Why won’t His Grace see her?’
At the very least, couldn’t he accept a greeting?
Joanna just couldn’t understand.
As her maid remained silent for a long time, Erika instead wore a look of guilt.
She knew very well that if someone in power didn’t give permission, servants couldn’t do anything.
She also understood that her repeated requests, which had no chance of success, were weighing on Joanna emotionally.
‘But… I don’t want to give up like this.’
This was the first thing Erika truly wanted to do at the Acliff estate.
She felt that if she could just take this first step properly, everything that followed would flow smoothly. So she didn’t want to give up, no matter how many times she was turned away.
As if to steady her weakening heart, Erika took a deliberate deep breath.
As strength returned to her body, she felt her wavering resolve regain focus.
“Oh! Joanna, wait a second.”
As if suddenly remembering something, the girl went over to her desk.
She picked something up and returned to Joanna.
It was a small card.
After fiddling with it for a moment in her hand, Erika suddenly held it out to Joanna.
“I think he might be a little less busy today. So… do you think you could give him this too?”
“Oh my! Did you make this yourself?”
Joanna looked back and forth between the card and Erika with wide eyes.
“Um… it’s not much, really,” Erika replied shyly, trailing off.
On the handmade card was a short self-introduction and her impressions of the Grand Duchy of Acliff.
Whether the Grand Duke would read it or not was unknown…
Still, Erika wrote it with the hope that if, by any chance, he did read it, maybe he’d feel inclined to meet her.
She even drew little illustrations of things she had encountered around the estate—like birds and the Acliff warhorses.
After decorating the card, she worried it might look too crude, but she didn’t redo it.
‘He might just throw it away without even reading it.’
Joanna gazed at Erika like a proud older sister would and nodded.
“Yes, I’ll do that.”
She received the card with a respectful attitude.
“What will you do today?”
Erika thought for a moment.
She hadn’t made any specific plans.
Sebastian had said she could do whatever she liked, but that made it even harder to decide.
But staying in her room all day didn’t feel right either.
In the end, Erika thought of the one outdoor place where there were usually no people.
It was also the place where she felt most comfortable.
“I think I’ll just visit the stables.”
“Again?”
Joanna laughed.
“You must really love animals, young lady. Well, the animals certainly seem to love you, too.”
Joanna gestured with her eyes toward Erika’s shoulders.
That’s when Erika realized that two small creatures were quietly perched on her shoulders.
She had called Joanna while the window was open earlier, and it seemed the birds had flown into the room to follow her.
Looking back and forth at the birds resting on her shoulders, Erika blushed.
“Maybe… it’s because I’m gentle with them?”
“Nah. Being gentle doesn’t usually make animals this affectionate. Look at this—they even peck me.”
Joanna extended a finger to touch one of the birds and immediately got pecked on the fingertip, putting on a pretend pout.
“If you need anything, please don’t hesitate to let me know.”
“I will.”
“Then I’ll go deliver this card and your message to His Grace!”
“Thanks, Joanna. I’m counting on you.”
Erika saw Joanna off with a smile, but as soon as the door closed, her face relaxed and her expression drooped.
“Phew…”
A deep sigh, far too heavy for someone her age, escaped her lips, and her shoulders sagged.
She knew Joanna was worried about her.
“His Grace must really dislike me, huh?”
Her voice came out somberly.
She understood in her head.
The Grand Duke probably saw her as someone from the Blanche family, and it wasn’t strange for him to dislike her for that.
‘But I’m not going to bring any harm to the Acliff family.’
Suppressing the sighs that threatened to escape again, Erika chewed her lip.
Being alone again made her mood sink, but she shook her head vigorously to brush it off.
“I think… it’d be a waste to stay inside all day.”
Erika’s gaze turned to the sky outside the window again.
The weather was too nice to ignore.
After a brief hesitation, the girl turned away from the window.
* * *
“Good day, young lady.”
Walter, the stablemaster, greeted her with a warm smile.
He was in his late fifties and lived in the village with a grandson about Erika’s age.
Perhaps because he knew how to handle children, Erika quickly opened up to him.
“Hello, Mr. Walter.”
Erika responded brightly.
But a faint blush tinged her cheeks.
She still felt embarrassed every time the knights and staff called her “young lady.”
She simply couldn’t get used to the unfamiliar title.
That made her all the more adorable, and Walter chuckled heartily.
Erika stepped closer and stated her reason for coming.
“I wanted to see the warhorses.”
“Hoho. It seems they’ve really taken a liking to you.”
Walter handed her a jar of sugar cubes.
Erika accepted it with a grateful look.
The horses had already begun to stir the moment she entered.
She looked at them affectionately.
“They’re all such sweet creatures. And so gentle, too.”
“You’re the only one I’ve heard call Acliff warhorses ‘gentle,’ young lady.”
Walter chuckled and followed quietly behind her.
Even if the warhorses behaved gently toward Erika, their true nature could show at any moment.
To guard against unexpected danger, Walter always stayed close when Erika gave them treats.
“Ah! That tickles.”
Erika walked around the stable, placing one sugar cube on her palm at a time.
The warhorses gobbled up the treats and acted playfully toward her.
They rubbed their large heads against her small hands, asking for pets, and even made happy snorting sounds when their eyes met hers.
Surrounded by their affection, Erika’s face bloomed with a bright smile.
By the time she had fed all the horses, her hands were completely covered in horse slobber.
“You’ll need to wash your hands.”
Walter led her over to the water pump.
He pumped it a few times, and soon cool water gushed out.
Erika washed her hands with a splash in the clear stream.
“Thank you, Mr. Walter.”
As she did so, a squirrel came down from a nearby tree and tilted its head at her feet.
“Hello there.”
Erika greeted it warmly, and the squirrel scampered up her body.
Watching this, Walter commented,
“Animals really seem to be drawn to you, young lady.”
Erika paused and looked straight at him.
Not this again…
