Last Chance [Extra #2]

Part 19

It didn't take long for Edgar and Celosia to come back. After the short break, they set off straight to the Heroux manor, only to receive disturbing news from the Count.

Grand Duke Vautour was looking for Elena. He went as far as sending her an invitation to his palace.

It felt like a summon more than an invitation, to be truthful, so the whole Heroux family felt incredibly anxious about it. What could the Grand Duke possibly want from Elena when he hadn't even met her? Or had he? Was there something Elena, or rather Celosia, hadn't told them? Maybe she knew the Grand Duke but simply didn't tell them?

The possibility that Celosia was close with someone as monstrous as the Grand Duke Vautour sent a shiver down the Count's spine.

He was not fond of the man. To him, the Grand Duke was a cruel warmonger, and he did not deserve anything but a guillotine.

Knowing that he was looking for Elena was beyond terrifying.

Celosia, however, was surprisingly calm about it. She didn't react to the news the way the Count expected her to, and simply asked to see the invitation.

She didn't feel scared of the Duke, but she was angry about the Count and Countess opening her letter. If it was addressed to her, they had no right to see what was inside, no matter how curious they were. It was a matter of discretion and respecting her privacy. Celosia hated it when people poked their noses into her business.

And what was worse, the Grand Duke wanted to see her the very next day. Meeting him when Celosia was in a bad mood was not a good idea, however, there was no reason for her to refuse to see the man. He was of a much higher standing than her, so it would be discourteous of her to not accept his invitation. Especially since he asked to see her so nicely.

It took a while to prepare for the meeting, mostly because the Countess and the maids fretted over Celosia's lacking wardrobe. Celosia saw nothing wrong with wearing a modest dress to see the Grand Duke, but the Countess was adamant that she should wear something fancy and elegant. She didn't want the Duke to think lowly of the Heroux family despite their reputation. Perhaps, if the meeting went well, the Duke would look favorably upon the Herouxes and possibly help them regain their position in the high society.

The Count and the Countess had completely different attitude when it came to the Grand Duke. The Count was terrified of the man and wanted nothing to do with him, and the Countess wanted him to support her family. It was confusing and bewildering at the same time, and Celosia found it hard to pick a side.

Until Edgar told her to just do as she wished. She didn't have to do as his parents asked, no matter how much they pressured her. She was older and wiser than them, so there was no reason for her to be obedient. In fact, it was odd to him that she even entertained such thought. For someone who supposedly lived for a thousand years, if his theory about her was right, and leading over a hundred different lives, she was shockingly kind and polite. He surmised it was either because she was genuinely gentle at heart, or she simply grew so numb to everything after living for so long she no longer cared about such trivialities.

It was more likely that it was the latter.

How could one live for a thousand years and remain gentle and kind, right?

In the end, Celosia gave in to the Countess and wore the dress the latter chose for her. It was an incredibly fancy outfit, something Celosia was not used to wearing in her previous lives, and oddly, the first thought that hit her when she saw the extravagant piece of fabric was whether the Countess had already emptied the gold chest she so painstakingly filled. It wouldn't surprise her.