Chapter 19 - An Invitation

“I instructed the servants to catch the rats, but none have been caught yet,” Madam Perez carefully spoke again.

Regis closed his eyes and purposely enhanced his senses to detect every living being in this mansion. Even his daughter, who was now in her room, was accounted for. When he couldn’t detect any signs of the small beast, Regis opened his eyes and sighed softly. ‘That’s because there aren’t any rats.’

The housekeeper grumbled, unaware of the situation at hand. “Not only are the girls afraid, but Lady Floyen is also anxious about the rats,” she said. 

He flinched. ‘She’s anxious?’

“Get Derrick,” the duke immediately commanded. 

A moment later, the butler entered the room. “I heard you called, Master.”

The duke looked at his butler with a serious expression. “Derrick.”

“Yes?” 

“I need your guidance.”

Derrick widened his eyes upon hearing his request. ‘Master is asking me for guidance…?’

This was a first. It was natural for his master to handle matters by himself.

‘What on earth is going on?’ Derrick nervously waited for his master to speak.

“Where do rats usually hide?”

Derrick wasn’t sure if he heard correctly. He looked at his master with trembling eyes and asked, “Rats?”

The duke sighed at Derrick’s nervous tone. “Never mind that. It was a slip of the tongue. How’s the progress of Jubelian’s list of prospective marriage partners?”

Derrick was worried that his master had become ill due to the amount of work he had to do, so he was relieved by this question. “Ah, yes. I’m still searching and considering all aspects, such as family background, appearance, wealth, and fame. The list will probably be completed by today.”

“Alright.”

Fortunately, his master looked content. Derrick sighed in relief, then reported something that he had been hesitating to disclose for a while. “Also… Sir Mikhail sent another letter.”

The moment he mentioned that name, the duke’s expression changed. “What did he write?”

Although Derrick had nothing to do with this matter, he was frightened by the duke’s tone. “He is still urging for an answer. He dismissed Lady Floyen’s actions as a ploy to get his attention.”

“I see.” The duke was expressionless as usual, but his eyes turned icy and his aura, hostile.

Derrick merely watched him. ‘Master is really angry. To be fair, I would be angry if I were him as well.’

Mikhail had gone too far, even in his eyes. Although Jubelian had treated him like that before, there was no reason for him to insult her personality. A moment later, the duke rose from his seat. Derrick became nervous as he approached him.

‘Does he want to read the letter himself?’ Derrick tried to guess his master’s intentions and extended the letter, but the duke ignored him.

‘Huh? What is he doing?’ Derrick was about to turn around when he heard a soft voice.

“Burn it.”

When he turned around, his master had already left. 

* * *

“I heard that a rat was caught, Lady Floyen.”

“Really?”

“Yes, only one was trapped! There weren’t any more… so I guess that one came into the house by accident!” Sella’s excited voice comforted me.

‘Good. Now the house is safe.’ I was smiling with relief when Merilyn delivered a letter on the silver tray.

“This is addressed to you, Lady Floyen.”

It was the first reply I received after sending a batch of letters. Although it was probably a standard reply, I needed to read it to determine the usual reaction I would receive from communicating with other people. I picked up the letter and saw a rose on the seal. ‘It was sent by Count Arlo?’

Count Arlo had a close relationship with my father, so I had a relatively good relationship with his daughter. More accurately, I had a relatively good relationship with her at this point of the novel.

‘Is this a reply to the letter I sent them?’ I opened the letter with excitement and was surprised to see what was inside. ‘An invitation!’

When I opened it, there was a long letter written with a girl’s cute handwriting. The sender was Rose, the youngest daughter of the family. She was known as a friendly and lively lady in the social scene. In the novel, she became close friends with the royal princess and contributed to my downfall. 

‘Shall I see what she wrote?’ I began reading the letter, a bit concerned that she might have written sarcastic remarks in response.

‘Hm?’ In the letter, Rose asked about how I was doing and talked a bit about herself. She also said it would be great if I could come to her upcoming birthday banquet.

‘I see. She wants to know whether I’ve recovered and can attend the banquet that will be held three weeks later.’ This was good news since I was a loner in the social world. I had no reason to decline her invitation.

“Could you bring me some papers and a pen, Merilyn?”

She quickly brought me the required materials. I frowned slightly when I saw the yellowish paper and black ink in front of me. ‘They look very dull.’

She had invited me to her birthday banquet, so I didn’t want to reply with a half-hearted letter. It might be beneficial for me to develop friendly relations with her since she was going to be acquainted with the royal princess in the future. I wanted to avoid my death at all costs. 

‘I wonder what she likes.’ I suddenly recalled all the times I had seen her. Although it was only at a distance, I remembered that she enjoyed wearing pretty clothes. I could even tell from her beautiful handwriting that she cared a lot about appearances. 

When I knew what to do, I called the maids. “Sella, please bring some flowers from the garden. Julia, please bring some lace and ribbons.”

After a while, the materials arrived. “Here are the things you requested, Lady Floyen.”

It was time to show off my penpal skills. 

“L-Lady Floyen…!” The maids were appalled by what I was doing, but I didn’t care.