"Ellen, how come you haven't been answering my letters? You didn't even come to visit!"
"Maybe Lady Ellen was busy? I heard her schedule was always full. Oh! Lady Ellen is so hardworking! Daddy only gave me a few classes so I could have lots of free time. I'm a bit jealous.."
Ellendise ignored the two little kids behind her and was busy looking at her schedule.
Both Valrug and Letia were still awkward with each other. Valrug was too prideful and arrogant. Letia was too innocent and didn't understand where his dislike was coming from.
Ellendise was the only one glueing these two together despite being total opposites.
"Ellen, I've made the toy you wanted. Quickly, give me another blueprint. "
"Lady Ellen, if you're busy then I have a lot of free time so I'm very willing to help you."
Valrug made a face. "Huh?! You? What can a dumb little girl do to help Ellen?"
Letia's frowned. "That's so mean... Daddy has never called me dumb before. What did I do? I just want to help Lady Ellen.."
Valrug made a loud 'harumph' and turned away.
"Little girls like you should just stay at home and play dolls. Don't bother Ellen."
"But...but..Lady Ellen and I are friends. She said I'm free to visit anytime. And what's wrong with playing dolls..? You don't have a doll at home? I have a lot so I can give some to you.."
Valrug paled. "What would I do with those things? They're for girls!"
"Woo...Don't shout at me...Don't be mean...woo.."
Ellendise stood up, her brows furrowing as she turned around to see a crying Letia and Valrug's face that was slightly panicky.
"I don't know why she cried b..but I just said the truth!" Valrug quickly defended himself when he saw Ellendise's gaze on him.
"Woo...Lady Ellen, I'm sorryyy..! I don't know what I did but he suddenly raised his voice...hic..Even Daddy has never shouted at me..wooo.."
Valrug paled when Letia began to sob louder. He didn't shout that loudly! He was a bit miffed that this crybaby was making him look bad infront of his cousin.
"I was just telling you not to bother Ellen. She's busy and it's not like you can help her with anything. "
Ellendise raised a brow. This little guy was really arrogant. Even after being bullied by her, he can still raise his chin and look down on someone.
"Lady Ellen..!"
"There..there.." Ellendise patted the little girl's head softly while giving Valrug an indifferent stare.
"He..y! What did I do? Don't look at me like that..!" Valrug was beet red, not liking the accusing stare directed to him.
"You should know by now that we aren't like the kids of our age. We are smarter thus we should be more understanding towards them. With the way you speak and act, no girl is going to like you. You'll grow up old and alone."
"So mean...You're too mean!" Valrug looked at her with a face that said she was betraying him. He even looked at Letia like she was his rival.
"Oh? You were also very mean towards Letia." Ellendise gestured to the girl's crying face. Her adorable cheeks were red and there were tears rolling down her chin.
"Look at her. Tch. Tch. Dearest cousin, as a boy, you shouldn't be bullying a girl. What would other people say?"
"But..but.."
"Not buts. Apologize now. I know you mean well but you shouldn't have raised your voice. If you were in her shoes, would it be okay to just let someone else shout at you when you only want to help a friend?"
Seeing that the little guy was still going protest, Ellendise pinched his cheek.
"Ah! Ah! Don't!"
"Little baddie, don't bully Letia again or I'll bully you back. "
When she released him, there was a faint sign of tears on his eyes.
"How come you're siding with her!?"
"Because she's a girl."
"But I'm your cousin!"
Ellendise started to laugh. "It's precisely because you are my cousin that you need to learn some manners."
"Ugh..." Valrug wasn't able to rebuke but he still felt like he was wronged and so he could only bite his lip and try not to cry.
"Are you crying?"
Valrug slapped her hand. "No, I'm not!"
Ellendise began to laugh. "Look at you, you're still a baby. It's okay to cry. It's only the three of us in the room. I promise that Letia and I won't tell a word to anyone. Right, Letia?"
"Mm.." Letia nodded silently. Although she had stopped crying because Ellendise was comforting her, there were still tear tracks on her face.
"You two are conspiring against me!"
"Valrug, come here and wipe her tears. You have a handkerchief, don't you? I forgot mine."
"No way!" The boy was quick to refuse her request and he petulantly crossed his arms to emphasize his stand.
"Valrug.." Ellendise said in a much softer tone. Sure enough, you need a lot of patience when dealing with a stubborn kid.
Valrug frowned when he heard her plead softly. He was a bit hesitant so he glanced at Letia who he thought was a dumb girl.
The ten year old's face was a little red from crying. Her pretty black eyes were glistening with tears. Her lips were curled downwards and her small button nose was also slightly red. When he looked at her, she would lower her head and subconsciously grasp Ellendise's sleeve.
Valrug felt displeased. He ended up taking out his handkerchief and wiping her tears, rubbing a bit too harshly. Then he grabbed her hand and separated her from Ellendise.
"You're already ten. Stop being a baby anymore. Tears won't always resolve everything. You have to work hard if you want to be acknowledged by people, you understand?"
When she shrunk away, Valrug felt her chest stiffen. Ellendise gave him a dirty look as if she was telling him that he was making the situation worse.
Valrug sighed and spoke softly this time.
"Listen, you have to study hard and toughen up.. Otherwise, people will be able to bully you easily. We can't let that happen so you have to learn how to fight back, okay?"
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