The Duke's Daughter's Third Life

Chapter 69

Leon had a slight smile resting on his lips as he nodded, "Thank you."

He carefully let her feet touch the ground before he held out a small, nicely wrapped gift, turned to her, and said, "And happy eleventh birthday."

Aeliana stared at the gift before sheepishly rubbing the tip of her nose. "Right. Today's my birthday and mother's anniversary."

Leon raised an eyebrow, "You forgot your own birthday?"

"I never checked the calendar, and I have been staying in Dad's office most of the time."

He sighed and pinched her cheek, not pleased to hear that.

"You don't need to overdo it. I already told you before."

"I know, I know, but I couldn't help it," she answered as Leon pinched and wiggled her cheek.

She pouted as she massaged her cheek, "Hmph, where are the others?"

Leon reached into his pockets and casually responded, "They're still at the academy, they're busy studying for exams."

He squinted, "Speaking of that...have you been taking your studies seriously?"

Aeliana averted her eyes and quietly whistled to a tune before exclaiming loudly, "Wow! The skies look really good today! The clouds are so pretty, don't you think so brother?"

He rolled his eyes at her antics and ruffled her head, "I'm here now, so it's time for you to focus on your studies, understood?"

She shrunk and nodded, mumbling, "Yes brother.."

He hummed at her answer and removed his hand. He pointed at the gift in her hand and said, "Open it."

Aeliana brought her focus onto the gift and unwrapped it. Opening it, a pair of earrings in the shape of a flower rested there. She let out a quiet 'woah' as she picked it out from the box, placing it close to her earlobe.

"Do you think it will suit me?" she asked Leon, bringing her gaze over to him.

He nodded, his eyes moving from the earrings to her face, "Of course." he answered.

She smiled and placed it back inside the box. Holding it tightly in her hands, she beamed with joy,

"Thank you, I love it!"

Leon had a pleased look on his face before he turned his heel and began walking. Aeliana scrambled to put the gift away and hurriedly ran after him.

Leon temporarily took over as Duke and began taking care of everything from the moment he returned to the duchy. Because of that, Aeliana didn't need to do any more work.

But that meant she had to study more and harder to pass the academy's entrance exam. As Henri continued teaching her new topics that weren't just magic-focused, she internally cried to herself as he piled more and more study materials onto her plate.

'Just when I thought I could spend time with my friends...! ' she sobbed in her heart, her hand, writing away.

Zeru had been secretly using teleportation, visiting her at random times. Once, she had just finished having a meal with her brothers when she opened her door. She found Zeru sitting on the couch, flipping through his book. Another time, he almost visited when she was about to bathe, which caused him to forcefully kneel on the ground with his arms up as she thoroughly reprimanded him.

There was a bump on his head, done by Aeliana, as he had sworn he would only come during lunch hours.

Today was no different. She had finished her lessons with Henri and Madam, and was heading back to her room to take a short break before needing to study once again. She heaved a heavy sigh as Flora walked beside her.