Heroine On Strike

‘Finally, she’s starting to ease up around me.’ Dayson was starting to become nervous as it seemed like none of his efforts could make Ella comfortable up until now. Maybe it was time for him to share his thoughts. He was sure that she had no one around her who would say such a thing and that she was waiting for such words. What he was going to say was sure to win her heart.

“This party sure is filled with greedy women,” commented Dayson.

“What?” Surprised by his unexpected words, Ella turned to look at Dayson. He was looking coldly at all the women around the room. There was this distinct hatred directed to other women in him, which contrasted with his happy attitude towards Ella.

‘What’s up with him?’ Unable to hide her surprise, Ella gave Dayson an astonished look. In return, he gave her a reassuring smile. Now, she wasn’t sure which was the real Dayson.

“Don’t be like her majesty,” said Dayson.

“Pardon?”

Ella couldn’t comprehend the meaning of such words for a second and looked at Dayson. She then realized that the current empress was from the Winsroll family. The empress and the Duchess of Winsroll were close friends that many believed that Dayson would have been Cladis’s close friends instead of Ethan if Dayson was younger. The book never went into detail on stories like these.

A long time ago, when Cladis was born, the empress fought with the emperor on how to raise their son. Eventually, the empress gave up as she had more important matters to argue with the emperor. As a result, the empress, who was exhausted on the matter, decided to love Dayson as a substitute for her son.

Dayson was the empress’s beloved son, who she loves more than her real son. Many knew that the empress treated her nephew more like a son. As such, Dayson had witnessed his aunt’s lonely marriage his entire life.

Soon Ella realized what he was trying to say. He was saying she shouldn’t wither away in such loneliness, which meant he was aware of the affair. Her efforts to understand him had failed. She tried to hide her bitter smile and remain calm as she replied, “I will try my best. Thank you for your concern.”

She imagined herself announcing that she is trying to prevent her marriage to the crown prince, which would surely shock this man. But she couldn’t let the host of this party end up in that kind of state, so she calmed herself. Because she still had to act like the future crown princess, she couldn’t show her defiance in public.

“Just let me know anytime if you need help. If it’s you, I’ll always lend a hand,” said Dayson.

Confused, she was unable to understand what he was implying. His words seemed to have other meanings to simply consider them as words of consolation. Trying to grasp his intentions, Ella thought, ‘Help? Why would I need his help instead of my family’s?’ Although the chance of that happening was low, he said he will always be ready to help her. Why? She didn’t have an answer to that and held back on her answer.

Although she was calmly smiling, Dayson could tell that she was holding back. He wasn’t sure where her thoughts were leading her to, but he was sure it wasn’t bad for him. This was enough for today. “You don’t need to think too much about it. I’m just offering my assistance. If you feel that you have no one on your side, you can come to me.”

His words seemed to have clarified what his intentions were. Maybe he was implying that if Ella’s family prevented her from trying to stop her marriage, then Dayson was going to help her. It seemed a bit far-fetched, but this was the only instance where one would think her family wasn’t on her side. Her family, however, did strangely sided with her in this situation.

She looked at Dayson curiously. In the original book, his character only appeared as the host of this specific party and never appeared again. His name was mentioned many times toward the end of the book when the empress and Cladis clashed with each other, but that was about it.

He offered her his hand. Unlike the novel, Ella felt that he was going to appear again. Most of these changes were happening because of Clara, so this wasn’t unexpected. “I’m not sure why you’re so concerned, but thank you for your generosity.”

Even though she now knew what his goal was, she still took a step back. Ella couldn’t accept this man, whom she had just met for the first time. Besides, Dayson didn’t appear much in the book, so she wasn’t sure what kind of man he was. In addition, the way he acted today concerned her.

“Thank you for not pushing me away,” said Dayson. He actually liked how Ella was being cautious around him, so he took a step closer to her. Uncomfortable by this, she took a step back.

Then the music ended, which relieved Ella as she was able to get away from him. Dayson, however, lightly kissed her hand, turned to the entrance, and mentioned, “Oh, and there is the fiancée candidate that I do not wish to see, as much as you don’t want to see yours, my lady. If you’ll excuse me, I’ll have to welcome her. I truly meant everything I said today. Please remember that I will be waiting for you at any time.”

The most important guest of today’s party arrived right when the music ended. It was the daughter of the emperor’s third wife, the seventh princess, Lilliere, and the Crown Prince Cladis, who were entering the party.

<To be Continued in Vol. 2>