Chapter Twenty-Two
The Lady’s Knight
My dearest Allie,
I’m so glad to have received your letter.
You’ve been on my mind ever since we parted ways at the Velian Boutique that day, but I didn’t want to trouble you while you were settling in.
I know the other ladies feel the same—we met this morning for tea, and they asked me to tell you how much they’re looking forward to seeing you in a few days.
I’m so happy to hear that you’re adjusting well and that the Grand Duke is treating you kindly!
I admit I did have my reservations, especially after hearing your thoughts about the engagement, but I’m pleased to find out that my concerns have thus far been unfounded.
Leon was, of course, rather upset when the discussion between our families was cancelled.
I think he’d taken a liking to you. Alas, he will survive.
There isn’t much news to report here in the capital that you won’t hear after you arrive, but I did hear from my mother that Marchioness Vermillion and Lady Sophia are having some difficulties in their relationship.
It appears that the marchioness has blamed the invitation scandal on Lady Sophia, although she’s not fooling anyone.
Gossip spreads easily between the servants, and many of those at the Vermillion estate know the marchioness was the one handling all your letters, so the nobles all know this, too.
The marquess has reportedly withdrawn Lady Sophia from high society and is making her retake lessons.
According to my father, he’s also demanded that the marchioness cease her search for an engagement until he deems her education suitable.
All in all, the Vermillions are quite the hot topic recently, and many are eagerly anticipating the debut of yourself and the Grand Duke as a couple at the hunt.
If this letter reaches you before you leave Stein, do let me know where you’ll be staying.
I have a gift for you that will make our communication easier.
With love,
Vivi
I traced my fingers over her name and smiled.
Gosh, I missed my friends.
It seemed so cruel that I’d made such wonderful friends so soon before I’d had to leave the capital. Maybe it was because they were my first friends since I’d come to this world, but the ache I felt when I thought about them all was relentless.
But a gift? What could it be?
I pulled my stationery towards me and wrote out a reply to her. How did letters travel between here and the capital so quickly? It’d only been three days since I’d sent her letter, so surely there had to be magic involved somehow.
I finished up the letter and tucked it into an envelope before addressing it to her and setting it aside. However it got there, it seemed to be super-fast, so with any luck, she’d receive it before we arrived at the Imperial Palace.
I couldn’t deny that her letter had brought me a lot of joy. Hearing that my stepmother and Sophia were suffering because of their own actions was the perfect kind of karma, and I just knew that Sophia would be struggling with the lessons.
She’d hated them when we were children, and my stepmother had indulged her, allowing her to skip them in favour of socialising. There’d been a time where, in my inherited memories, the previous soul had resented it—as a young girl, she’d wanted to have fun, too.
Now, the strict education that she’d gone through was benefitting me. Her, too, in a roundabout way, because our combined knowledge of two worlds and two lives was making a difference in this life.
It was almost redeeming Alicia’s name.
With my response to Vivi done, I picked up the next letter on my pile. The seal was that of House Evsea, and my tummy tingled a little.
After all, this was the viscountess’ response to my request for her to host the ball here at the castle.
Dear Lady Alicia,
I was thrilled to receive your response to my letter so quickly. I pray you that you are not offended by the fact I failed to greet you after your presentation.
The offer to host the ball at Stein Castle is most welcome.
I am quite overwhelmed to be granted such an honour—the Grand Duke has hosted only two balls since he arrived in Stein and admitted his lack of interest in such events, so he must have great affection for you to be so insistent upon being involved in this way.
I showed my husband your letter, and he was quite shocked to hear that His Highness has a jealous streak—who knew?
! If you don’t mind me saying so, he’s never shown such a side of him, so this was somewhat of a surprise.
Although I am quite glad to hear it, in a strange way.
Sometimes, the Grand Duke can seem almost otherworldly, so this makes him seem a little more human in my eyes.
In any case, I humbly accept your offer and thank you most kindly for allowing me to be a part of your formal introduction to Stein’s high society.
I have already confirmed with the Grand Duke that the date of the ball is to be the sixth of the following month, and I will co-ordinate with Sir Edward Arkwright as soon as possible.
I understand that you are heading to the capital of the Sada Empire for the annual Spring Hunt, but it would be my pleasure to invite you to tea so that we may become better acquainted once you return.
Please be aware of the enclosed invitation for your family, the honourable House Vermillion. It would be an honour for us all if they were to attend your welcome ball, and I humbly request that you pass along the invitation when you see them in the capital.
With great hope that we may meet soon,
Your friend,
Viscountess Elena Evsea
P.S. – If you haven’t heard, your policy framework has been accepted by the five houses you chose to head the committee.
Emergency funding is being organised for the residents of Baldor Village as I write this, and we will work diligently until Your Ladyship returns from the capital and we can meet again.
Word has spread of your contribution amongst the people, so your debut cannot come soon enough.
Congratulations, Lady Alicia. Stein will be a better place for having you as the Grand Duchess.
I pressed her letter to my face to hide my smile.
They liked my policy.
They’d accepted my policy.
They were distributing funds based on my work! What I’d done was going to help people.
I dropped the letter and pressed my hand to my mouth to quell the emotion that was rising within me.
It was fine. It was okay. I was all right.
I needed to respond to her sooner rather than later, so I tucked away all those feelings and responded that we would indeed have tea on my return so we could become friends.
A friend.
Was I really making a friend here?
I was. After all, she’d signed her letter off with, ‘Your friend.’
Given her request that I deliver an invitation to my father, I had no choice but to write to him ahead of time and request that we meet.
I reached for another sheet of writing paper before pausing, letting my fingers hover over it. He hadn’t written to me at all, and I didn’t think he would have the same reasoning as my friends did. He likely didn’t care to, given how easily he’d sold me off for a trade deal.
But it would seem wrong if I didn’t seek an audience with my father on my first return to the capital, and I did need to notify him of the welcome ball. Not to mention that I kind of wanted to find out for myself exactly what was happening in the family, so I had no choice.
I blew out a long breath and pulled a sheet towards me, bracing myself for the chaos I knew this meeting would cause.
Dearest Father,
Forgive my lack of letters since arriving here in Stein.
I have been exceptionally busy settling in, getting to know the Grand Duke, and have even spearheaded the creation of an aid policy for the victims of monster attacks across the Grand Duchy.
It’s been graciously welcomed by the nobles here, and I am most looking forward to working with them to refine and implement it.
As you’re aware, His Highness and I will be returning to the capital for the Royal Hunt in a few days.
I would consider it a great honour if you were to make time for the two of us to meet for tea during our visit.
I apologise for the short notice, but it would be wonderful to spend some time with you.
We will be staying at the Rose Palace and Rose Villa for the duration of our trip. I’m unsure whether your response would reach me prior to our departure, so please direct your correspondence there.
Please also keep your diary open for the sixth day of the next month.
Viscountess Evsea, one of the nobles assisting with my aid policy and purveyor of the Evsea wine you enjoy, will be hosting a ball at Stein Castle in my honour.
As the event is to welcome me as the Grand Duchess, she has kindly bestowed me with an invitation for House Vermillion to attend. I will bring it with me to the capital.
With love,
Your daughter, Alicia
I tucked his letter away and addressed it, adding the third and final letter of today to the pile.
I’d get to the others later. Word had spread amongst the nobles of my policy, and many of the letters I was receiving consisted of invitations to events.
It seemed as though every noblewoman in Stein wanted me to attend their event, although I suspected it was for the bragging rights of being the first to have me.
It was exhausting—and the ones I saw weren’t even all of them. Bella, Annie, and Lydia were sorting them daily and only giving me the letters from the most important ladies to personally reply to while they handled the rest.
Three knocks echoed at my door, followed by Sir Hayes’ voice creeping through the door. “Lady Alicia, are you in there?”
“Yes. You may enter.”
He opened the door and bowed his head. “I’ve come to introduce you to your personal knight, my lady.”
“Are you liable to have your head used as a football, Sir Hayes?”