Heroine On Strike

Ella was about to cry at his firm declaration. Although the book was interesting, there was still something about it that she wouldn’t dare to read without the help of Jersone. Luciella’s memory was quite clear. It was Viscount Jersone’s lectures that were interesting and not the books. Even when Ella came out of the room, she couldn’t take her eyes off of the thick book in Smila’s hands. Then a charming young man approached Ella.

The man had faint purple-colored hair like Duke Constance and teal-colored eyes that resembled the duke and the duchess. The young man was waiting for Ella with both arms wide open. Ella immediately recognized him. 

Act. 2 Wristlet Corsage and Boutonniere of Destiny

“Brother!”

Ella smiled brightly as she saw Evan for the first time in a while and ran into his embrace. Ranhee never saw him before today, but Luciella hadn’t seen him in over a month. Her body had once again moved ahead of her thoughts. Evan held Ella up in the air and spun her, and then hugged her. Ella’s warm welcome delighted him. He felt like he was finally home at last. When he held her up, Evan noticed Ella had lost some weight since the last time he saw her. This worried him a lot.

“My sister, I know it’s a once-in-a-lifetime party, but aren’t you going too far for it? My heart’s broken from all the weight you have lost in just a month,” said Evan with a worried look.

Evan’s loved-filled worried look urged her to give up trying to lose weight and on wearing the corset. Instead, Ella wanted to dive into a big feast with her brother. But that wasn’t an option.

“Oh, brother. It’s been three years since I’ve met him! I want to look great. The other girls from the capital are on a much stricter diet than I am. I’ve only started dieting recently. The world of women is much more complicated than you think.”  

Evan laughed at Ella’s lecture on womanhood as though she was a grown woman. It only felt like yesterday that Ella was still a young girl who followed her brother around everywhere. He was proud to see Ella all grown up. Part of Evan didn’t want to see Ella grow up and leave the household. Suddenly, Evan’s expression changed. Ella suddenly saw the world upside down.

“Ah! Brother!”

Evan locked Ella’s head using his arm. Ella never expected an attack from Evan at such a time, and she screamed.

‘This man’s crazy! A 24-year-old man shouldn’t be doing something like that to his 16-year-old sister!’ thought Ella, but those words only remained in her head. Instead, all she could do was try to escape his grip while also trying to persuade him to stop. The warm greeting from her brother was rapidly becoming a wrestling match. As Ella tried to escape from Evan’s iron grip, Smila placed the thick book in her arms onto the floor and ran away. There was only one person who could resolve this situation.

Ella looked around to call for help but all of those working within the house already disappeared the moment this occurred. Although it wasn’t a common sight to see in an ordinary noble house, this was a common occurrence in the Constance household. The best way to react to this was to run away and not watch. This was a disaster for Ella.

“You’re still too young to try to act like a grownup. Come back when you’re older.”

“In three months, I will be a formal lady!”

“And that still doesn’t make you a grownup.”

“I just need one more year then!”

“Don’t you think one year is a long time?”

Evan laughed as Ella argued back at every word he said. The strange, grownup-like lady finally looked like his sister. His satisfied smile, however, had to move aside pretty soon.

“My god, young master! Young lady! What’s up with you two?” shouted Maylin as she ran up to them.

Evan flinched as Maylin yelled at them and immediately released Ella. He pretended as nothing had happened. Maylin cared for Evan until Ella was born, so Evan was obedient towards Maylin. Ella slumped down as she was freed from her evil brother’s grip and panted. She wouldn’t have gone down easily like this if it weren’t for her month-long diet. She simply had no energy to fight back. Ella, at this point, had a dilemma. She wasn’t sure whether or not she should continue to lose weight or build her energy up to save herself from any potential danger. When Ella had read about this scene from the novel, she thought that Luciella and Evan were really close, but it was like a threat when she experienced it first-hand.

‘I’m going to pay you back for sure!’ Ella thought as she promised to get revenge. Now she understood wholeheartedly why Luciella promised to get revenge in the book. ‘Ella… so you got through all this. I’m so proud that you were already such a perfect lady even with a brother like this.’

To think that such a perfect lady had such a back story. It was a time of suffering and pain that could not be read without tears. Ella promised to get revenge for Luciella’s sake. At the moment, she had no power. ‘Maybe I should start eating again?’

Maylin came in with a furious look and hid Ella behind her back. Ella instinctively held Maylin’s arm with eyes filled with tears. Maylin’s face became even more furious.