At the resting place, Eleanor sat with her stepmother and the queen. The three of them sat together while enjoying tea where Eleanor just sat silently listening to the conversation from her mother and the Queen.
She didn't have anyone to talk to, which was why she was just quietly drinking her tea and enjoying the cupcake that had been in her hand. Noticing Eleanor's silence, the queen, Queen Magdalena, invited her to speak.
"Hello Eleanor, I heard that you love painting as much as Celestial. Did Celestial teach you?"
She raised her head and nodded slowly. "That's right, Celestial taught me to paint the first time. I am very grateful to her," she replied.
Magdalena smiled as she continued to engage Eleanor in conversation about some of the things she went through after becoming part of the Damanor family. Her voice and eyes were so gentle that Eleanor was amazed and liked the queen for being so kind to her.
Unlike her own stepmother Vanessa, who was cold and strict with her.
"Are you enjoying your time with your new family?" she asked.
"Yes, I'm really enjoying it, they're very nice to me and treat me well too. I don't know what I would have been like if they hadn't adopted me," Eleanor replied, which wasn't entirely true.
Because although they treated her well, their cold attitude sometimes made her feel very sad.
The queen nodded her head in understanding, and she said that she was sorry for what had happened to Eleanor's biological family. She regretted what had happened and hoped that Eleanor would be fine.
"I know madam Vanessa well, she is a very kind and understanding mother. I'm sure you will be happy with her. Your father Henry is also a good man. You will feel very lucky that they adopted you."
The girl could only smile when she heard that without being able to say what really happened. Although she did feel lucky after so many noble families rejected her.
Especially after they found out about her being the descendant of a woman named Abelia.
"Oh I'm taking very good care of her, you don't have to worry about that, Your Majesty. I treat Eleanor the same as all my children," Vanessa said, smiling at Magdalena.
Of course, Magdalena could only believe that because she had known Vanessa for a long time even before Vanessa married Henry. That's why she had no doubts about her friend's kindness, and felt that what she was doing must be a good thing.
"Then how about finding a partner for you? Have you found a noble who might catch your eye or could he be interested in you," Magdalena asked again because she felt that maybe then Eleanor wouldn't be lonely and she would have someone nearby just like Celestial and Moran.
When she was just about to open her mouth, she answered the queen's question. Vanessa immediately cut her off by saying that Eleanor was too young to get a partner.
"Really? How old are you now?"
"I'm currently 19 years old," she replied with a slightly downcast face.
"19 years old? Oh it turns out that you are 2 years younger than Celestial. No wonder she treats you like her own little sister." Magdalena touched Eleanor's chin and raised it slightly.
Her blue eyes gazed into Magdalena's eyes which were met with that gentle gaze again and also a smile on her face.
"But your face is so beautiful and your eyes so gentle. I'm sure many of the nobles will like you and want to be your mate. But you must wait until you are 20 years old for that. Do you understand?" she asked, continuing her previous remark while lightly touching Eleanor's nose with her finger.
Eleanor's heart was beating very fast when Magdalena said that. She felt so excited and also happy because this was the first time she had really been treated so well by someone she had even met for the first time.
Yes, she had been with the Damanor family for almost 7 months. But she had never met any other royal members other than Moran, who often came to the mansion to meet Celestial.
'It turns out that the queen is very kind to me. She's being so gentle that she's even better than my own stepmother,' he thought at the time.
"Seeing you like this makes me want to have another daughter. My daughter Cecilia is too busy to train the royal troops. She's not as gentle and sweet as you but she's very firm and brave," Magdalena said.
"She's probably carried away by her three older brothers, so Princess Cecilia must not want to be outdone by them," Vanessa commented as she feared that since she was a little girl, Cecilia loved doing things that boys did.
Cecilia's mother laughed, what Vanessa said was true. Although sometimes she wished she could spend time drinking tea or other things that a daugther used to do together with her mother.
"But I remember, after Moran marries Celestial later I will get a daughter from you. I'm sure I can spend time with Celestial like I've dreamed of all this time," she said.
Vanessa smiled knowing that her daughter was in good hands and that her future mother-in-law liked her.
"My daughter will not disappoint you, she also loves drinking tea and spending time with me. I'm sure you'll have a good time with her," said the duchess.
But at the same time, Eleanor thought how lucky Celestial was to have all that. She was treated well and loved by her own family, she had a handsome fiancé who also loved her and was loyal to her like Moran.
'And she will also have a mother-in-law who is eager to spend time with her. Why is it that Celestial is so lucky and I have the opposite fate?' Eleanor thought as she squeezed her dress again as they continued to praise Celestial in front of her.
She wondered what was wrong with her and what she lacked to make everyone love Celestial more than her.
She also wanted more attention from her own family, she also wanted a fiancé who was loyal and loved her, and she also wanted to spend time with a mother-in-law like Magdalena who was so kind and gentle.
'Can I have what Celestial also has?'
At that very moment, someone kept watching the two of them drinking tea together and especially Eleanor who was silent while squeezing her dress.
The person smiled, as if it was the scene that was expected.
"Things will get even more fun after this."