Ariel never wore a formal dress, except for the beige lace dress that she wore when she went to the Marquis on the first day.
She always only wore one-piece dresses for young girls.
It was very hectic to wear a formal dress with a corset, petticoat, pannier, and outer layered dress anyway.
"But I like all the fabrics that Helen brings me."
Helen brought Ariel clean, various colored fabrics that"ll make her pretty red hair and white skin stand out.
After hearing Helen"s explanation, Ariel found herself in a flower-patterned dress.
The elaborate and colorful lace decorations fit Ariel perfectly.
At the same time, she had a pretty aura that could overwhelm everyone around her even if she leaves her hair without any decoration.
Helen couldn"t miss this young muse that inspired her.
“I think a few dresses and a few indoor party-dresses to wear when you invite guests would be enough.”
Helen advised carefully. Ariel still hadn"t made her social debut yet, so she didn"t make a dress for a ball or a banquet.
Mathius let her take Ariel"s measurements and ordered some clothes.
“Then, what would you like to do with the Princess"s accessories? It would be nice to look at some ready-made ones, but I don"t think there are any ready-made accessories for young ladies yet.”
Mathius who"s sitting in a straight posture while watching Ariel decide on her dress, spoke and rubbed his forehead briefly.
“I"ll leave the jewelry to you. Go to the Grand Duke"s residence next time. I"ll also call a good craftsman. Use it to design and make something suitable for Ariel.”
(t/n: this is a bit confusing. I might edit this later.)
“Yes, Grand Duke.”
“Make sure my child doesn"t wear the same thing as others.”
“I"ll keep that in mind.”
Ariel who was already feeling a little tired got into the carriage going back home.
“I think clothes are difficult.”
Mathius looked at Ariel and replied in a light tone.
“You don"t need to worry about your clothes that much. In fact, no one would dare speak ill of you even if you wear anything at any banquet hall. If there"s one, we can get rid of them.”
"What kind of mindset does this man have?"
But since he is Lucian"s wife, she didn"t want to embarra.s.s him while she was living as the Lady of the house.
Plus finding something that suits her was more fun than she thought.
Ariel leaned heavily against the back of the carriage.
"The outing was fun, but…"
"It feels good to think that I"m going back to my comfortable home."
Then a sudden accident happened.
Ariel was looking outside the window.
Ariel found the scenery of the rural area on their way back better than the streets of the capital.
The flowers in the road, the sweet scent of acacia, and a haze blooming far away.
"How nice… "
Ariel had never got to enjoy spring in her previous life.
The only memory she had of spring while living in the attic was the relief that winter had pa.s.sed and the s.h.i.+vering cold stop, and after being sold to [Him], all she could focus on was throwing-up blood because of magic that"s why she didn"t know how the season went.
The first spring of Ariel"s life at the age of ten was the spring of her life.
Ariel who was enjoying the warm spring temperature pressed her soft cheeks against the window.
It was then.
"Huh?"
"What"s wrong with that?"
Ariel"s eyes looking out the window caught something strange.
The movement of the carriage running on the opposite road was unusual.
On the surface, it just seemed like a fast carriage, but for Ariel who was a former high-cla.s.s wizard, it felt strange. Something was definitely wrong.
"It seems that it"s being controlled by something… "
The carriage was luxurious as if a fairly high aristocrat were riding it.
Ariel checked to see if there was a person inside.
"There"s a girl inside!"
A girl who had purple hair with a frightened look on her face looked desperate as if she was asking for help.
At that moment, the carriage began to run out of the bridge where the river flowed.
"No!"
She didn"t even have time to call Mathius.
Ariel unknowingly released mana. A light flashed before their eyes.
She could feel the flow of air flowing backward.
“Huuk… “
Ariel felt a splitting pain all over her body.
The mana seemed to squeeze her small body. Ariel gasped painfully.
"It hurts. It"s killing me."
Ariel was in pain, but she didn"t take her eyes off the carriage.
Fortunately, the carriage with the purple-haired girl didn"t seem to have crashed.
Only did Ariel remembered her promise to Lucian as the tension started to ease.
"Ah. Lucian told me… not to use magic."
Her vision started to turn black.
“Ariella!”
And the last thing she heard before she completely loses consciousness was Mathius calling her name.
Everything happened in a matter of seconds.
Ariel found a strange carriage, paused, and a huge light burst just before the carriage rushed into the railing of the bridge.
Of the people there, the only one who saw the situation properly was Grand Duke Mathius.
Ariel"s mana stopped the uncontrollably running carriage and covered it with a protective s.h.i.+eld to prevent it from being overturned.
However, as the strong force exploded, everything around it was devastated.
The trees were uprooted and turned upside down, and the river under the bridge soared into a sea of water on the bridge.
The street was overturned by the unprecedented situation. However, only a little girl fell helplessly in Mathius"s sight.
“Ariella!”
He held Ariel"s body so it wouldn"t hit the floor of the carriage.
He pushed the coachman out of his misery and cut off the link between the carriage and the horse with a sword.
Mathius climbed the horse, holding Ariel tightly.
“Hiya!”
When he hit the reins hard, the horse, which felt threatened by the predator, began to run like it has wings on its feet.
Mathius went straight back to the Grand Duke"s residence and jumped off with Ariel in his arms.
“Bruno! Bring Bruno and the doctor!”
Susan and Allen"s faces turned pale when they saw the little Ariel hanging on the arms of their master who suddenly returned.
Susan immediately called in the female doctor Miller and Allen called Bruno.
Mathius told Bruno about what happened on the bridge after he had Miller"s check-up.
“Her mana suddenly blew up. Everything around a 10-meter radius is turned over.”
Bruno looked closely at the still unconscious Ariel, whose lips were pale.
He placed a hand on Ariel"s forehead to read her mana flow but the former Head Wizard face darkened.
The girl Ariel saved is named Diana Monica.
She was the only child of Duke Monica.
Diana decided to go out to look around for a trendy hair decoration for her spring ball dress, but she couldn"t buy anything and was on her way back.
However, the speed of the carriage that was running on the road suddenly began to increase.
She was scared so she shouted at the coachman to slow down, but she couldn"t hear any answer.
"I should"ve brought my escort out."
It was supposed to be a quick spring outing and she had been tired of bringing escorts everywhere so she decided to leave them for today but her carelessness bit her back.
What an immature act it was. She put herself in danger.
Diana was raised as a Duke"s daughter ever since she was a child, so she was a smart girl who didn"t panic at most things.
She even received an education in preparation for kidnapping and intimidation, like a princess.
But something didn"t feel right about this incident.
If they were kidnappers, they wouldn"t run dangerously as they are now. They would have secured her safely and tried to get ransom, but this situation is…
"It"s like they"re trying to kill me…!"
Diana fearfully grabbed the handle in the carriage as hard as she could.
In a short moment, she looked at the window of the carriage pa.s.sing by from the other side and asked for help.
But she didn"t see anyone in the window. It was closed.
"Please save me… anyone please. "
Diana prayed earnestly inside and shouted.
And just before the uncontrollable carriage hit the bridge and fell.
It happened.
The carriage stopped as the dazzling light spread out.
Diana fell inside the wobbly carriage.
Then, the river that was flowing under the bridge soared and spilled over the road.
Diana didn"t die.
"Maybe G.o.d listened to my prayer."
Found at the scene, she was soon taken to Duke Monica.
When Duke Monica heard that her only treasured daughter, had been in a carriage accident, stumbled back, and when he heard that the person who saved his daughter was Grand Duke Lacartel, he stumbled one more time.
And as soon as his daughter woke up safely, he came straight to the Grand Duke"s residence.
Originally, it was very disrespectful to visit the Grand Duchy without a formal invitation.
However, he couldn"t help but thank his daughter"s benefactor.
A high-ranking aristocrat of the Empire, he was only able to be guided into the Grand Duchy for a long time.
“Your Highness, the Grand Duke. The Monica family has been greatly indebted in you.”
Duke Monica bowed before Grand Duke Mathius.
The Grand Duke"s cold gaze turned to his face.
“I"m afraid, I"m not the one you should be indebted to.”
“Pardon?”
“If it were me, I would have let your daughter die under that carriage.”
The Grand Duke pressed down on his temple as if he were suppressing his anger.
“The Princess was riding in the carriage I was riding. Your daughter was saved by the child.”
“Ha, but I heard that the Princess is very young…How could that happen?”
“Because she"s the one who got hurt instead.”
The duke swallowed his breath.
“H-how is t-the Princess….?”
“She hasn"t woken up yet.”
“……I"m ashamed of myself.”
A low, commanding voice fell on the Duke of Monica.
“Duke Monica, now you have a job to do.”
The Duke trembled and made eye contact with the Grand Duke.
Mathius said fiercely, twisting his mouth.
“Find the person who caused the carriage accident. Take then in front of me, whether it"s a family rival or a political opponent.”
“I understand.”
“You"ll pay for this later.”
After finis.h.i.+ng the work, Mathius gave a b.l.o.o.d.y command.
“You"re dismissed.”
Turning frozen cold, he added a word.
“Again. I won"t sit back and let this thing go.”
The middle-aged Duke Monica retreated without saying a word.
He felt so much pressure from the Grand Duke that he could not breathe until I left the office.
“Princess Ariella….”
Returning to his residence, Duke Monica whispered the name of the benefactor who saved his daughter"s life.