Heroine On Strike

Ella would have been happy for anyone to come to her rescue, and the person who came for her was the focus of this party, the eldest son of the Winsroll family, Dayson Winsroll. Tonight, he was going to become a count.

“It is my pleasure, Count Willan,” said Ella.

“I’m not a count yet, my lady. But it sure is good to hear that from you.”

Dayson then loudly laughed as he smiled. He then offered a hand to escort her. In terms of popularity among women in the empire, he was second to Cladis. As such, his invitation to dance surprised many at the party. Compared to Cladis, his looks were average. Being only 21 years old and the likely successor to the duke, he was a worthy marriage candidate. Besides, while being considered a successor among his brothers, he was well known for his gentle nature. Not only that, he distanced himself from the ladies and only hung around with young noblemen, which aroused many women’s interest.

Today, he was no longer a successor candidate but the chosen successor to the family, which made his popularity grow to its peak. And that Dayson, for the first time, approached a girl.

Many people thought, ‘What makes that lady so special that she can take the crown prince and the successor of a duke’s family?’ Envious and jealous looks toward Ella filled the entire room.

“Shall we?” asked Dayson.

“Of course.”

Ella held his hand and stood up. It was just as Mrs. Weshill had gossiped to her about, Dayson was a gentleman from the way he escorted her. Not only that, his smile wasn’t awkward. She was satisfied with his gentle escort and looked at him. The way she smiled and looked at him made his heart race.

‘Count Willan.’ Dayson thought about the special title that Ella used to call him. The Winsroll family had an old tradition where the chosen successor wasn’t always the eldest male child in the family.

One must be a Willan before becoming a Winsroll. After the first Duke Winsroll helped Emperor Lucas in finding the Empire, the rule was never broken. As such, Dayson had to compete with his brothers to become the successor. Some believed that he had an advantage because he was the firstborn, but in reality, he was forced to put in more effort and sacrifice a lot because of it.

‘I could have become a successor easily if I was born into another family,’ thought Dayson as he remembered Evan, who became a successor effortlessly and still hadn’t attended his special party. ‘’b*stard.’ At first, he tried to become close with Evan as he was Ella’s brother. Evan, however, was always cocky around him and went against everything he did. Not only that, he was jealous of Evan, who became the successor of his family the moment he was born.

Shaking those thoughts away in his mind and smiling, Dayson thought, ‘I shouldn’t be thinking about that b*stard on a special day like this. I am now the proud Count Willan from now on.’ Then he looked at Ella, who was still holding onto his hand. Just looking at her made him feel proud. It felt like his hard work had finally paid off. Because Evan wasn’t there, it was even more perfect.

Ella, on the other hand, had a weird feeling which was different from how she felt about Dayson’s attitude from moments ago. As she stood across from him at the dance floor, she couldn’t hold back her discomfort and commented, “You seem very happy.”

“Of course, I am, my lady. Today is like a dream, and I also have you by my side,” replied Dayson, who smiled as if he was truly happy.

Under normal circumstances, Ella would have congratulated him and smiled instead of having a cynical smile that she was trying hard to hide. She wasn’t sure what his intention was by smiling so happily in front of the victim of the most famous affair in the capital. She wondered, ‘Is he trying to make me mad?’ He should know how to behave in front of such a person. Instead, he wasn’t holding back his emotions.

Contrary to Ella’s thoughts, Dayson wasn’t in a situation where he could think to that degree. He could not resist the urge to smile, seeing beautiful Ella following his lead to spin with a mesmerizing smile only to fall into his embrace. ‘She is the future crown princess yet, but that will soon change.’

The prince’s affair wasn’t a secret. The rumors spread fast through the entire capital and eventually reached the entire empire. As a result, Dayson thought he had a chance. He tried hard to hold his excitement at bay by maintaining a gentle smile on his face. Because he wanted to look like a gentleman to Ella, he tried his best to act like the perfect man.

Ella, however, noticed Dayson’s overflowing happiness, which made her uncomfortable instead. No one noticed anything strange with his behavior. After all, he was bound to be excited since he was going to be named the successor today. It took quite a while for her to accept that, ‘Yeah. Maybe he doesn’t know about that rumor. Maybe that’s why.’

It wasn’t long ago when his brother, who was in tight competition with Dayson, had suddenly passed away in an accident. Perhaps that was why he didn’t pay much attention to the rumors. Aware of that, Ella tried to ease her discomfort. It kind of worked and allowed her to comfortably fake a smile on her face.