(SATVC) Chapter 25

“Bell, I had so much fun today. I’ll invite you to the Duke’s residence next time.”

“Really? It’s a promise! And… Can I send you a letter?”

Bella, delighted with the invitation to go to the duke’s residence, hesitated for a moment and then asked if she could send a letter. 

“Of course. You’re welcome at any time.”

The number of pen pals is increasing. 

The word ‘letter’ reminded me of Sirius’ face, but I quickly erased it from my mind. 

‘Sirius isn’t a pen pal, since I haven’t even gotten one letter yet.’ 

It seemed like he was going to send it right away.

“I’ll see you then too, at the foundation festival.”

The shameless Grandwin, who didn’t even care about Erial’s wrinkled expression, kept talking about his sister and spoke informally.

“Haha, yes. Lady Bella, thank you for inviting me today.”

Erial, who quickly gave up thinking that there was no point in fighting Grandwin, thanked only Bella.

‘Surprisingly, they might get along well.’

Erial doesn’t have any friends yet.

I returned to the Ardentine duchy, anticipating how their relationship would change. Ariel, who came back earlier than us, asked me what had happened as soon as I got off the carriage.

I got goosebumps from Grandwin, who is obsessed with his sister, and made a new pen pal. I hesitated on how to explain this, but before I could even open my mouth, Erial started talking.

‘I have to stand still.’

They say that if you stay still, you’ll be halfway there.

And 90% of the story from Erial’s mouth was cursing Grandwin. Ariel quietly listened to his story and was furious at the part where Bella called me sister.

“Sister! You made a new younger sister while I was away. I should have gone too.”

Erial and Ariel were both jealous of the Kailen siblings. I had to listen to them cursing the siblings throughout dinner. 

I felt bad about this. I swallowed my thoughts and smiled awkwardly. 

In a way, today passed peacefully and, thankfully, the twins’ jealousy didn’t last but for a day or two..

***

The Aslande Empire, which has been around for a millennia, marks the New Year from the date of its founding. So, today is January 1st on the imperial calendar!

‘Yet, I don’t say happy new year…’

Despite the cold weather, the imperial capital has been lively since the morning. It was because people from commoners to nobles were busy enjoying the festival in celebration of the founding day.

The National Foundation Festival lasts for a week. The capital was overcrowded with wandering bands and busy merchants that traveled in from afar. The festival overflowed with children eager to see rare attractions and street vendors.

The streets were decorated with white ribbons in accordance with the founding customs. Silver is the color that passes down to the Imperial family from generation to generation and symbolizes light. Silver was easy for the nobility to obtain, but it was too expensive for the commoners, so it became a tradition to use white instead of silver.

The dukedom was also busy since the morning.

The servants were busy decorating the table cloths with silver embroideries and the hallways with glass sun decorations. The Duke and the twins had a lot to prepare for tonight’s Founding Day party. 

In the bustling atmosphere, I was troubled by a slightly different problem.

‘I don’t think Sirius is going to the party, so where should we meet?’

The clothes I had hidden under my pillow for a while were crumpled and I couldn’t just return them. Eventually, I carefully called the maid who gave me chocolate last time and asked her to do the laundry. Now the clean clothes are sitting on one side of my dressing room.

‘If my uncle had seen me while I was carrying it, he would have asked what it was.’

The hawk-eyed duke wouldn’t let it go.

It was difficult to keep them on hand, but after thinking about it for a long time, I came up with a good idea!

‘Let’s wrap it as if it were a gift.’

If I say it’s a gift to Kanarin, both the Duke and the twins will move on without saying much. I was proud of my idea and found the box and ribbon.

‘Wait. What if the twins ask Kana what she got as a gift?’

The twins were more than likely to ask.

There is nothing I can do. I should prepare a gift for Kanarin, but what should I give her? 

After solving the problem, a new problem appeared. After crossing my arms and thinking about the gift, I concluded that I should leave it alone for now.

‘Since it’s a festival today, there will be a lot of merchants, so I’ll just buy some small accessories.’

There are very few gifts that are small enough to hide in a dress. Among them, the most meaningful gift is jewelry. 

“I’ll have to ask Kanarin for a separate request and tell her that I got it with sweets.”

They would obviously notice the difference of size between outerwear and accessories. They would probably find it strange to hear if it were only earrings or jeweled rings in a large box.

“Lady, you have to get ready.”

“Chelsea, I’m a little tired, but I’ll get ready after lunch.”

“Are you not feeling well? Should I call a doctor?”

“No. It’s not like that, I couldn’t sleep last night, so I wanted to sleep a little more.”

“Okay. Then I’ll come back to wake you up at lunch.”

On the day of the party, I had to be prepared for everything from a morning bath, to massage, and so on, but I put it off on the excuse that I had trouble sleeping. Chelsea, who knew I was too lazy, stepped down without doubting my excuse.

‘Okay. I’ve got time.’

I took out the clothes I had hidden in the bottom drawer of my desk drawer– plain clothes made of rough material.

No matter how much I lived in the duchy and didn’t go out, I never skipped the founding festival.  As a child, I couldn’t suppress the curiosity of the twins. I went out with the knights at first, and the next year, the twins prepared plain clothes and begged me to secretly escape.

‘I thought I wouldn’t be able to go this year because I had to attend the founding party.’

Somehow, I ended up going out alone. I quickly changed my clothes and headed to the door where the servants exited so that the maids wouldn’t notice. Of course, there was a guard at the back door. My destination was not the back door.

‘Ten steps from here.’

The duke’s secret passage.

From the words of the twins, it is said that it is a passage that is only passed down to direct descendants. I don’t know if it’s for emergencies or for entertainment, but there is a statue on the way to the back door, and if you walk ten steps from there, you will find the secret passage.

“Woof woof!”

“Shh!”

Bam, who was running around in the backyard, sniffed me like a ghost and ran to me.

I hurriedly made a gesture to be quiet with my index finger. He startled me but I was more afraid that I might draw people’s attention. Fortunately, Bam sat in place panting, as if he understood.

“Good boy. I’m going out, so you have to be quiet.”

“Kking!”

I stroked his head and turned around, but Bam bit my skirt and wouldn’t let it go.

Are you saying you want to go with me?

I was troubled. Connecting with Sirius through magic was uncomfortable, but there was a bigger problem than that.

‘I don’t even have a leash, how can I bring him?’

There was no leash because we had to leave him in a backyard wide enough so there was no need to take a walk. Plus, it’s the festival season, so it’ll be even more crowded.

“Bam, I want to take you, but I can’t because I don’t have a leash. I’ll be back soon, so can’t you let me go?”

“Kkiing, kkiing.”

Bam didn’t let me go. Rather, he began to whine more severely. My worries were short. No, I didn’t even have time to think. The allotted time was only before lunchtime. No matter how close it was to the shopping street, it took more than 30 minutes without a carriage.

“You have to be quiet.”

“Woof!”

I sighed and untied the ribbon that tied my hair.

It was just in case. Even if it falls off, if I tie a ribbon around his neck, they’ll think I’m his owner.

‘You’re really smart. You didn’t feel it, did you?’

I looked down at Bam in my arms with a slightly suspicious look. Bam looked at me with innocent eyes and acted cute by rubbing his face. It seemed like he knew well that I was weak at him being cute. 

Heh, I can’t help it because you’re cute.

I continued the steps that I stopped for a while because of Bam.

A secret passage ten steps away from the statue. It was a place that looked like an ordinary wall with some apparition magic on it. I walked toward the wall without hesitation.

‘It’s always fascinating whenever I see it.’

The wall rumbled as I passed, then quieted down as if nothing had happened.

‘Let’s move quickly. I’m behind schedule because of Bam.’

I held Bam and diligently teased his paws. I thought 3 hours would be enough, but as I scuffled with Bam, time became a little tight. It takes about an hour to go down and up, so if I choose a gift quickly, I can go back in time for lunch.

“Try rare fruits from the East!”

“It’s not an opportunity that comes often. Only once a year! The Filin Wanderers, which can only be seen during the founding festival, are back!”

“Lady, take a look around here!”

The closer I got to the street, the more people there were. The streets, overflowing with spectators and merchants, were much more lively than usual.

“You have to stay still.”

I was worried that Bam would be startled, as it was his first time seeing such a large crowd. However, contrary to my worries, Bam looked fine. I forgot he wasn’t an ordinary puppy. I stopped thinking about Bam and moved passed the solicitors and towards the street vendors with many miscellaneous goods.

Street vendors with white tents lined up throughout the street. As the merchant said, there were a variety of items, ranging from accessories from the eastern continent, which is rare to see, to household items commonly found in the Empire.

‘I want to buy orange or red ones.’

I went around looking for accessories that would suit her. Bam, who I was holding in my arms, was heavy, but I was grateful that he was staying still.

“Woof, woof.”

“What’s wrong? Hungry?”

“Mmm. Woof!”

I’m sorry, but I have no idea what you want to say.

As soon as I thought it was fortunate that he was calm, Bam wiggled with his front paws. 

Are you asking me to put you down? 

However, there were so many people that the moment I put down Bam, I felt like I was going to be swept away by the crowd. I tried to comfort Bam, who was struggling in my arms and hugged him.

“Sernia?”

Then I heard a voice calling me from behind.

Was there anyone who would call me in a market like this? I turned around, thinking about my small circle, and there was an unexpected person standing there.

“Crown Prince?”

“Hey. No matter how clueless you are, isn’t it too much to say that here?”

Helios approached with a smirk.

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