TMDPM 16

Episode 16: Subtle Feelings

“I called you because we need to start by preparing the dress you’ll wear to Her Highness the Princess’s birthday party.”

The duke, seated on the parlor sofa with his eyes fixed on some documents, spoke to Ella.

“Ah…”

Ella looked at the many dresses displayed before her and let out a complicated sigh instead of the delighted squeal most women would give.

“I can just wear ready-made clothing, Your Grace.”

Feeling burdened by the thought of wearing a custom dress like the nobles, Ella suggested she would just wear something off the rack, but the duke shook his head.

“No.”

At his firm refusal, Ella had no choice but to walk over to the designer and start getting her measurements taken.

“Oh my, such fair skin, such a slim waist… and your décolletage line is absolutely lovely. Now, let’s try on a few dresses and decide on a design.”

The designer, admiring Ella as she measured her, instructed several assistants to bring out dresses that might suit her.
Ella went into a small room connected to the parlor, where the assistants tightened the corset mercilessly, making her wonder if she might suffocate to death. After putting on the corset and dress, she stepped back into the parlor.

“You look so beautiful. Truly elegant.”

The designer beamed as she praised Ella. Even in a simple maid’s uniform, Ella’s neat appearance had been lovely, but now in a green dress matching her eye color, she looked like an elegant noblewoman.

When Ella appeared in the dress, the duke finally lifted his gaze from the documents to look at her. Sunlight streamed through the window, turning Ella’s brown hair into a soft golden shimmer, and her always-clear green eyes were more beautiful than ever.

The glossy satin dress fit her body snugly, emphasizing her slender figure and stirring an instinctive desire to protect her.
The duke subconsciously swallowed hard; the tips of his ears reddened as he abruptly rose to his feet.

“It’s good. Cost is no issue—have it made as quickly as possible and bring it to me.”

He hurriedly gathered his documents and rushed out of the parlor, as if afraid someone might notice his red ears.

“Um… shall we continue then?”

Once the duke left, the designer pointed to the dresses filling the room and spoke cheerfully to Ella.
Ella thought the designer’s sparkling eyes were far more terrifying than the duke’s cold gaze and was dragged back to try on several more dresses.

After trying on about five more, the designer concluded that the first dress suited her best and recommended it. Ella, too exhausted to argue, simply nodded.

—

“My lord, this is the report from the territory administrator. Because of the frequent rains this year, tenant farmers suffered great damage and are requesting tax reductions. And this is the reserve budget ledger for the remainder of the year, which I thought you might need.”

The duke reviewed the neatly organized report and the additional budget ledger Ella had brought.

Acting as his temporary aide, Ella quickly grasped the workflow and handled the duties far faster and more perfectly than any previous aide.
She even accounted for emergency funds set aside for unexpected expenses and submitted the reports with those considerations included. The duke, satisfied, stamped his seal approving the tax reduction request and handed the documents back to her.

“Take the request to the secretary. Tell him to investigate the tenant farmers’ situation in detail and send me another report. And if needed, distribute relief grain. How much wheat do we have stored?”

“Yes, with last year’s good harvest, the storage warehouses have enough wheat to give each household about ten pounds. And I already requested a follow-up report on crop damage—it should arrive by mail tomorrow.”

Ella had already checked the wheat reserves to prepare for possible famine among the tenant farmers, so she responded immediately.
The duke nodded with a satisfied smile. As they processed the rest of the reports together, the butler knocked.

“My lord, the dress from the atelier has arrived.”

The duke closed the report he’d been reviewing and dismissed Ella before calling the butler inside.

“It’s finished?”

“Yes. And this also just arrived from the jeweler.”

The butler carefully placed a diamond necklace on the duke’s desk.

It was a custom-made necklace the duke had personally ordered from a jeweler in the capital a week ago. After seeing the sketch of Ella’s finalized dress—with its pronounced décolletage—he’d commissioned a necklace that would match it perfectly.
As he set the jewelry down, the butler became certain of the suspicion he’d developed when the duke had summoned the dress designer a week earlier.

He used to believe the duke paid Ella special attention merely because she served him well and flawlessly did the work of a deputy aide.

But when the duke personally rode all the way to Ella’s hometown to rescue her younger brother, he began to suspect that perhaps the duke harbored feelings for her.
And now, seeing a custom-made necklace intended solely for Ella, his suspicion hardened into certainty.

The duke’s personality improving because Ella was around was a good thing—but if their relationship grew deeper, the only one who would be hurt in the end would be Ella.

‘I hope Ella doesn’t end up wounded…’

The butler had seen many nobles take commoners as lovers, and he knew well how such stories ended.

Most were ruined by the legitimate wife, or if lucky enough to bear children unnoticed, the children were taken away by the noble family and the mothers left with little more than minimum support. The butler, hoping the beautiful and clever Ella would not suffer the same fate, quietly left the office.

—

That evening, after dinner, the duke summoned Ella to the parlor. When she entered, he straightened up from where he’d been lounging on the sofa.

“Ella, from tonight on, we’ll practice dancing in the evenings. Come here.”

Ella had assumed his promise to teach her the dances and etiquette required for imperial parties meant he would hire a tutor. When she realized he intended to teach her himself, she hesitated in surprise. Forcing down her nervousness, she slowly approached him.

“Place your right hand on mine, and your left hand on my shoulder.”

Stiff with tension, Ella placed her hands where he instructed.
The duke, who normally hated being touched without permission, was now allowing her to touch him. This stirred strange, subtle feelings within her.

“Come closer. Closer.”

When Ella hesitated, unable to step nearer, the duke placed his hand around her waist, drawing her close until their bodies met. Startled by the sudden closeness, Ella inhaled sharply, and the duke whispered by her ear:

“Don’t be nervous. Breathe slowly. Just follow my lead.”

Contrary to his usual fierce demeanor, his guiding movements were slow and gentle.
Ella’s tense body gradually relaxed on its own, naturally falling into step with his lead.

“Forward, just a little… and back to place… then half a step left… and from there, one step forward…”

His deep, pleasant voice resonated by her ear.

Though he hadn’t trained properly since returning from the battlefield, the duke’s body was toned with lean muscle from years as a knight. Wearing only a thin shirt, with their bodies so close, Ella couldn’t help but feel every line of his solid physique as they danced.

Practicing alone with him in the parlor made Ella’s heart race wildly. She reminded herself over and over not to feel anything toward him, who was unusually gentle only toward her, but her pounding heart refused to calm.

“You’re quite sharp. You’ve learned the steps already.”

He praised her sincerely when he noticed how naturally she followed his lead. Embarrassed, Ella lowered her head silently, worried her face might be flushed.

“Well then, go rest for now.”

Seeing the sunset outside the window, he let go of her hand. Ella returned to her room, feeling unexpectedly reluctant to let go of his large, rough hand.

—

After several days of intense etiquette and dance lessons from the duke, Ella prepared early in the morning with Anna’s help for the princess’s birthday party.

“I’m so jealous. Ella, you have to tell me everything about the party when you get back!”

Anna chattered nonstop as she curled Ella’s hair with a heated iron. It took a long while, but once she finally pinned the neat updo in place, she wiped the sweat from her forehead.

Unlike the excited Anna, who enjoyed helping Ella get dressed, the head maid gave Ella a worried warning as she smoothed the wrinkles from the dress.

“Ella, I’m worried. A commoner attending an imperial party… the nobles might look down on you or pick on you.”

“There’s nothing I can do about it. Don’t worry too much—His Grace is going with me. Nothing will happen, right?”

Anna was rummaging through hair accessories when she shook her head.

“But isn’t going with the duke the bigger problem? Didn’t they say he once stabbed someone’s hand with a fork for spilling wine?”

“Haa…”

Ella sighed softly, and the head maid shot Anna a warning look before patting Ella’s shoulder comfortingly.

“But he’s been much milder lately. It’ll be alright. Don’t worry too much.”

“True! He doesn’t yell as much these days, and he hardly gets angry. I’m sure it’ll be fun.”

Anna envied Ella for getting to wear a beautiful dress and attend the imperial party, but considering Ella was the only commoner among strict nobles—plus she had to attend with the frightening duke—she wondered if staying at the mansion might be better.
Still, wanting to comfort Ella, Anna chimed in with the head maid.