We send off Jasmine back to the Vanderwale estate after the tea party fiasco.
Uh, I wonder what I'll tell my mother about this.
Whatever, doesn't matter. I befriended the main character! Jasmine de Vanderwale! The sweet and lovable person that's soon to be the Empress.
"Yeah!" I unconsciously shout out loud and jump on one leg with raising my arm, like in those 90s movies when they end it in a freeze frame.
Felya smacks my arm with her closed fan. "How unladylike."
I glare at her, "What the...?"
After staring at each other with murderous stares, she starts to laugh.
"I'm kidding. I missed you so much, Nera." Felya pulls me into a big hug tightly. I lightly gasp because I didn't expect her to be this strong, able to pull me so easily.
I guess all the sword training pulled off?
I return the hug. staying for a few more seconds then backing away. Afterward, we start to walk back inside the mansion.
"I was so worried when I heard you fell from your horse. I didn't expect it to be such a big injury that it made you miss your Knight's Exam. You've always talked about that whenever you trained with me."
Big injury, huh? That was the official statement sent to the castle but by the time the Knight's Exam started, I was already physically okay.
My mind was too occupied with finding out how my memories came back that I forgot that it was December. What an idiot, it was just last month too! I mentally sigh.
I can't bring back time anyway, so I should just accept my fault.
"Yeah, I'll go to this year's though. Don't worry." I grin at her and she gives back a small smile.
"That's good to hear then," She sighs out of relief. "I'll be staying here for a month. I requested this from my father since we haven't seen each other for a long time."
"Nice!"
"It's to celebrate your birthday too," She scrunches her nose and giggles. "Let's go out on a date. I'll buy you anything you want."
"Anything--?"
"Except for weapons. You already have enough of those here in this place."
"I wasn't gonna ask for weapons though."
"Liar."
"I was gonna ask for books."
Felya stopped in her tracks, stare piercing through my head.
"Are you really okay?" Felya's voice was slightly shaking and her eyes were watery.
Sigh. It's the same reaction from my other family members.
"Yeah, I'm asking for romance books." I put my tongue out and continued walking, she soon followed.
"Oh, romance books... When have you liked to read?"
"Just recently. Since I had to recover, I couldn't move around too much so I went ahead and read some books."
Not really a lie since this is what happened to me as Jessica, but I still felt guilty to say this to my dearest cousin and best friend. She nodded and accepted my reason.
"Well, in that case, I have a few suggestions! Let's go to the capital's finest bookstore."
"Yeah, thanks."
Felya is a huge bookworm. Since women are to be expected to be intelligent, she was drowned in books since she was young, and eventually, she grew to like them. I guessed that she would at least know a few romance books, and fortunately for me, she does!
Just in time for dinner, we arrived inside the dining room. I glanced around seeing my father and my brothers, Noel and Noah, weren't around. They must still be busy with work at the castle.
It was just my mother, me, and Felya.
"Where's Uncle?" Felya asked my mother as she sat down.
"Oh, he went back to the castle right after you greeted him. He just came back to get a few things and since you were here, he wanted to ask how the Ountry family was."
How considerate of father, I smiled.
We continued on with a few talks while having dinner then the tea party topic came in.
"So, how was the party, Nera?" My mother gently asked.
I smiled widely to calm her down a bit before I could say the results.
"It ended pretty badly."
"What?"
Felya raised her hand, to get her permission to speak and my mother gave it,
"Aunt Peryani, it wasn't her fault."
"Yeah..."
"I wasn't going to get mad. I was just surprised. You planned it well, didn't you?"
I nodded to her warm words and then frowned,
"But something happened..." I explained what occurred at the tea party before I ended it.
Afterward, I glanced at my mother showing an intimidating grin on her face which made Felya and I grow goosebumps all over our bodies. This wasn't on the same level as how Felya smiled earlier when she told me not to get angry during the tea party. Oh, it was much more threatening... I'd know.
"Oh, a lady from a Baron's household dares to talk down to a Duke's daughter like that? In a Marquess' daughter's party too. How bold of her."
If looks could kill, she would've done so.
"Don't worry about that, my dear. I'll take care of that. Just focus on your Knight's Exam."
"Yes, mother." I immediately answered. She isn't even using aura yet she is able to pressure me like this. Ah, how scary, truly the most powerful person in the Ponterise family.
With that, we ended dinner and went to rest.
Lying down my bed, I suddenly thought about how Jasmine is treated in this world.
It is indeed rare for a noble family to adopt a commoner child, an orphan at that, so it isn't a surprise as to how Jasmine is bullied among the noble society.
But officially, she is still the daughter of the Duke.
I wonder why the Duke in the novel didn't do anything about this. Did he not know?
Hm, knowing Jasmine, with her timid personality, I think she wouldn't tell the Duke and her brother about her troubles because she'd feel guilty about troubling her adoptive family.
Maybe that's it...
I'm missing something vital here...
I groaned and cursed my shitty memory as Jessica. My memories as Jessica came back but of course, it was as how Jessica remembered everything before she died.
I'll probably get to remember it soon enough, so I closed my eyes and tried to go to sleep.
Duke Vanderwale...
Dying...?
...!
"What the hell! How could I have forgotten that the Duke died in the novel?!"