Chapter 37
The locals called this place the Dawn Manor.
There was the Winter Manor and now the Dawn Manor.
I wonder if the others have pretty names too?
The Grand Duke Ashinov family supposedly kept several villas outside the capital as well. I imagined each one had its own elegant title.
“If you need anything, just pull this cord at any time,”
the maid who guided me to my room in the Dawn Manor said politely, explaining the facilities.
Even though the family didn’t live here every day, a full staff worked year-round so the house would always be ready for a sudden visit from the capital. Of course, there wasn’t a personal attendant like Marina assigned to wait on me.
“As expected, you already have a mountain of invitations, my lady,”
Marina said. A tray she carried was stacked with envelopes.
“I only just arrived—how could these letters already be here?”
“You may have arrived today, but the rumor that the Grand Duke Ashinov was coming to the capital with his granddaughter must have spread long ago.”
“So they sent the invitations in advance.”
“They probably thought the earlier they sent them, the more likely you would attend.”
Marina set the heavy tray down with a smile, and the letters tumbled over each other.
“I’m sure the young masters also received an avalanche of invitations.
But of course, the star of this social season is you, my lady.”
The star of the social season…
Embarrassing, but not wrong.
After all, the granddaughter of the Grand Duke of Ashinov—second only to the imperial princess among noble young ladies—was making her debut in society.
And she’d been a girl who, until recently, the Grand Duke hadn’t even known existed, one who grew up among commoners.
No wonder everyone’s curious.
And only a short while ago, I’d been officially named the Grand Duke’s heir.
If it were me, I’d be curious too.
I could already picture the exhausting days ahead. With a sigh, I picked up one of the envelopes.
“Should I accept any of these invitations?”
“You can decline. You don’t know these people yet; they just sent them on the off-chance.”
“Then I’ll refuse them all. Do I need to reply?”
“They probably aren’t expecting an answer.”
“Then I’ll just ignore them.”
“Yes, my lady.”
I had no intention of forcing myself into tiresome small talk with strangers.
My real goal is to enjoy the upcoming events,
and the Melovin auction is just a bonus.
The imperial gala was still some time away, but first came the Founding Festival held in the capital. People from all over the empire would gather for celebrations and all kinds of festivities.
Sounds fun. But will they let me go?
Grandfather would probably forbid it outright, and Sishe would just brush me off as bothersome.
Maybe I can coax Theon.
Good. Target acquired!
Marina, who knew how eager I was for the festival, slipped me a secret tip: there’d be a wonderful performance in the square tonight.
I’d been planning to lure Theon into coming along—but the rabbit hopped into the snare on its own.
“What? Why are you staring at me like that?”
Before I could even visit his room, Theon came looking for me.
“Theon,” I said, my eyes sparkling.
He read my intent immediately, stepping back in alarm.
“W-what? Why are you calling me so sweetly? Did you eat something weird?”
“I’m always sweet.”
“Ha! You think I don’t know how you and Sishe look down on me?”
He pouted and ruffled my hair with both hands.
I didn’t bother fixing the mess. Instead I grabbed the hem of his trousers and hung on.
“There’s a performance in the square tonight—plays, songs, dancing.”
“So?”
“Let’s go watch!”
“Grandfather will never allow that.”
I’d expected that answer.
“Theon,” I sighed, tugging on his pants,
“are you the kind of person who can’t do anything without Grandfather’s permission?”
“Uh… well… no?”
“You’re an adult now. Shouldn’t you make decisions like that on your own?”
“I… guess… maybe…”
“Exactly! A mature adult should! Don’t you agree? Hm?”
“Why do I feel like I’m getting scolded all of a sudden?”
My words poured out in a torrent, and Theon blinked, dazed.
“I’m not scolding you. I’m saying it’s time you lived independently!”
“I am independent.”
He was more stubborn than I’d expected.
Then it’s time for the final weapon.
Dropping the pleading act, I crossed my arms and stood with a tilt of my head.
“Theon.”
“W-what now?”
He actually flinched.
“Remember the Senate meeting? I let it slide when you spelled your name with your butt instead of calling you out.”
“Uh… that…”
“I could have demanded a forfeit, but I spared your pride and dignity.”
“Well… that’s true, but—”
“And yet you can’t grant me this tiny request? Just a little secret outing?”
“Such pathetic tricks…”
Someone pressed a firm hand on my head from behind.
“Since when does sneaking out count as a ‘little’ request? This isn’t the backwoods. Do you know how dangerous the capital is?”
I didn’t need to look. Sishe.
“You know nothing about the city, yet you’re tempting a certain foolish rabbit into escaping the manor?”
Theon bristled.
“Who are you calling a foolish rabbit?”
“I never said who. If a foolish rabbit thinks it’s about him, well…”
Sishe shrugged nonchalantly. Theon blinked, then realized what it meant and shouted,
“Hey! So you did mean me!”
Argh!
Because of Sishe, I’d almost had the rabbit in my grasp.
I shot Sishe a glare, but he simply stretched out my cheek.
“Give it up. No is no.”
“But—”
“If you really want to go, get Grandfather’s permission. Maybe he’ll agree if I—and the ‘fool’—go with you.”
His unexpected offer made my eyes widen. I grabbed the hand pulling my cheek.
“You’d come too, Sishe?”
“Before you ask that, maybe get the Grand Duke’s approval first.”
“If I tell him both of you will escort me, he’ll definitely allow it.”
A Sword Master and a Mage-Tower sage—two bodyguards more than sufficient for any outing.
Who could refuse?
And Hedin will certainly volunteer as well…
It was practically settled.
Grandfather hesitated a little but ultimately granted permission.
Having Sishe along clearly tipped the balance.
He must have been surprised that Sishe agreed.
Sishe was never the type to join such events.
While I bustled about preparing, Hedin quietly excused himself.
“Hedin, you’re not coming?”
“I’d only get in the way of some family bonding. With the two of them accompanying you, I’m not worried.”
“It’s nothing like that—come with us!”
“Hmm… those two don’t seem to think so,”
he said with an awkward smile, scratching his cheek.
Did Theon and Sishe tell him something?
Maybe they wanted to keep our group small so we wouldn’t attract attention.
I accepted that and nodded.
Because Theon and Sishe were both so recognizable, we had to wait until full dark to leave the manor.
They each pulled a hood low over their faces—a necessity for them.
My own outfit was less conspicuous, but…
“Why only us? You wear one too!”
Theon grumbled that it wasn’t fair for them to look like thieves alone and tugged a hood over my head as well.
That was definitely a mistake.
The moment we stepped onto the bustling festival street, we became “three suspicious figures in hoods,” drawing stares of a very different kind.
