Heroine On Strike

Similar to his father, Evan was a highly intellectual man. Unfortunately, he was by no means athletic. The only fights that he has ever won were those against Ella. Unlike him, his two younger brothers were born to be warriors like their mother’s family. If Evan wasn’t the heir to the family, he might have been beaten by his brothers a long time ago. Many times in the past, this was proven to be true. Evan and the second son, Eric, frequently fought each other. Every fight ended with Eric’s victory. Ella, on the other hand, inherited both talents from her parents. Although she wasn’t allowed to learn any sword fighting techniques, she quickly learned some just by playing with Eric. 

‘Ella’s learning martial arts from Eric?’ Just the thought of that made Evan go pale. If that were to happen, then everyone was sure to know why she made that decision.

“Well, Ella. You’re a lady of the Constance family. Maybe you should focus on training your intellectual prowess? Oh, I almost forgot! I have a gift for you. Will you wait for me in the drawing room?” Then, Evan scurried away. Watching him run away made Ella burst into laughter.

“You mustn’t be serious, my lady.”

“About what?”

“That you’re going to end your dieting! On top of that, you’re going to do some martial arts training?”

Whenever she made a decision, Ella was the type to follow through with it. Her decision made Maylin shocked. She became apologetic for making Maylin worry, so she hugged her with a warm smile and replied, “Oh, silly. Muscles don’t suit my beautiful arms. Don’t you agree? Besides, Eric’s away from the estate. You can’t get any training from him anyway. I was just trying to scare Evan.”

Her bluff worked with Evan. For some reason, his intelligence never seemed to appear whenever his siblings were present. Maylin seemed relieved as she listened to Ella. That was until she realized what Ella didn’t mention, “So, you aren’t going to diet then?”

Maylin sure was a skilled maid. Ella ignored her question, grabbed Maylin’s arm as they walked to Evan’s drawing room, and mentioned, “Come to think of it, I think Evan’s right. There’s no point trying to lose weight. I’m going to marry the crown prince anyways. It’s an order from his majesty, so there’s no turning back. Besides, I’m the only one in this entire empire who’s fit to be his wife. Don’t you agree?”

Although it was an arrogant claim, it was the truth. Out of the four duke families, Constance and Drolin were the only ones to have a daughter. The Drolin family received its duke title two generations ago. There were also terrible rumors about Duke Drolin’s reputation. On the other hand, the Constance family has existed since the founding of the empire. Compared to the Constance family, the Drolin family was no match for them. Not only that, Aileena Drolin was known for her terrible personality. It was only natural that the emperor chose Luciella. Many considered Ella to be the future empress. The only way for that decision to be overturned was if something dire were to happen in the future.

“But don’t you still want to look good for his highness, the prince?”

Ella stopped for a second at her words. Luciella fell in love with Cladis the moment she laid her eyes on him. Love was the reason why a tomboy like herself became so gentle. When she was eight years old, she met the eleven-year-old Cladis. He was gentle and kind, unlike her prankster brothers, and she fell in love with him on the spot. Since then, she went to the palace to meet him once a month until he left for the National Academy. 

While he was away, Luciella cried and promised to become a lady fitting for him. At the time, she was only 13 years old. Luciella kept her promise and did her best to make herself worthy. Finally, she was worthy and beautiful enough for the prince. In honor of her hard work, Cladis decided to have his return party at her debutante. It was only natural for Luciella to go on a stricter diet before the upcoming party. She wanted to look perfect. That was the beginning of her two-month-long diet. 

Memories of Luciella’s efforts from the past three years caused Ella to change her mind. She decided she couldn’t waste Luciella’s efforts. ‘I don’t have the right to ignore that,’ Ella thought as she let out a long sigh. She had no choice but to say goodbye to the tasty desserts. “Right… I have to look perfect. I guess, I can’t completely quit.” 

Just like that, she returned back to dieting. Her footsteps were slow from disappointment. Maylin held Ella’s hand and softly said, “His highness will be mesmerized when he sees you. He’ll say, ‘I’ve never seen a girl as beautiful as you.’ He’s going to treat you like a woman when he sees you, my lady.”

Those words were probably enough to soothe Luciella, but Ella didn’t feel reassured at all. She knew it was going to all happen anyway. Ella was unimpressed by Maylin’s words.

“I was going to keep this a secret until it was the right moment, but I suppose I can let you know ahead of time. Chef Kooke promised to make you the best late-night snack after the party. Until then, just hang in there, my lady!” whispered Maylin as she drew closer to Ella.

‘A snack? Dessert made by Chef Kooke, which I couldn’t eat for the past month?’ Ella remembered reading about those desserts back when she was still Ranhee. The thought of eating those delicious desserts made Ella excited. She was so excited that she had to remind herself to stay calm. As she tried to calm herself, Ella made an additional request for Chef Kooke.

“Tell him that I want an extra-large lemon tart with a huge jar of his homemade marmalade. I won’t consider it the best unless that’s included.”

“Of course, my lady. But you shouldn’t eat all that marmalade all at once.”

“I know.”

As she walked, she flapped her arms in excitement. Although it wasn’t lady-like at all, Maylin for once decided to let this one go. Ella looked too lovely to be stopped by her.