The Grand Duke’s Little Lady - Chapter 107
“Use it. If you don’t, I’ll break everything.”
Oh no, this isn’t good, anyway.
As about half of the food disappeared, desserts arrived.
A raspberry cream-filled Charlotte cake, a rich chocolate fondant, an opera cake, and cheese fondue were served.
Among them, what caught Ariel’s attention the most was the strawberry cheesecake soufflé.
Soufflés were delicate desserts that could easily collapse if mishandled, but the soufflé made by the Lakatyel chef was perfect.
The soufflé puffed up shyly outside the mold and melted away as soon as it was put into the mouth.
And finally, the cake celebrating Ariel’s birthday was brought out.
It was a dreamlike sugar cake covered with pink cream.
Susan inserted candles corresponding to Ariel’s age into the cake.
The flames flickered on the candles.
“Make a wish, little mistress.”
“Wish! Wish!”
Hector enthusiastically urged her to make a wish.
Ariel looked around at the people gathered to celebrate her birthday.
Her heart warmed and tingled.
Ariel had never properly celebrated her birthday before.
She had never received birthday wishes or thrown a party.
No one had blessed her birth.
But today’s birthday was completely different from last year’s.
How sad and lonely she had been last year.
Having just returned from death, everything was unfamiliar, and she was afraid of being trapped in the attic of the duchy again.
And at that time, she was determined to risk her life relying solely on memories from the future.
Ariel was truly happy now.
Please let this happiness last.
Before the candles melted away, she whispered to Lucian.
“Lucian. Tell me your wish. I’ll make it come true.”
Ariel winked at Lucian.
She wanted to wink but ended up just closing and opening her eyes one after the other.
“These days, my wishes seem to come true quite well.”
Escape from the duchy, the desire to live differently, and the wish to meet the dark-eyed man had all come true.
Seeing Ariel awkwardly blinking instead of winking, Lucian’s lips curved slowly as if finding her cute.
Resting his chin in his hand, Lucian, who had been silently watching her for a while, responded coyly.
“Then make a wish.”
“…?”
“Pray that I won’t end up swallowing you whole.”
Ariel widened her eyes for a moment and then glanced at him.
Anyway, there’s no need to be serious.
He was serious when he said it.
She then blew out the birthday candles.
Loud applause and fireworks filled the air.
Lucian leaned in and gently pressed his lips against Ariel’s forehead.
Blushing, Ariel smiled widely.
“It’s the best birthday ever.”
At this moment, no painful memories from the past could take away Ariel’s happiness.
Not even the fact that she was the bride of a dragon could diminish this warmth.
And so, Ariel spent her first birthday at the ducal palace.
Now she had six more birthdays to go.
* * *
Four years later.
In the warm spring, the back of a girl strolling through the garden passed between the smooth azalea bushes.
“Little mistress!”
At the call of someone, the girl turned around with a parasol in her hand.
Her waist-length scarlet hair fluttered in the wind, revealing her face.
With a petite face, snow-white skin like white snow, and a translucent complexion.
Scarlet red hair flowed behind her like jewels, contrasting with her white ears that seemed to shimmer like pearls.
It was Ariel, who had just turned fourteen.
Susan, calling out to her, momentarily lost her mind at Ariel’s lovely appearance bathed in the spring sunlight.
Time had flown by quickly, and Ariel was now experiencing her fourth spring at the ducal palace.
After turning fourteen, she had changed quite a bit.
Having shed her childishness and become a young girl, it was clear to see what kind of woman Ariel would grow into.
Her once short and cute fingers and soft, pudding-like arms had transformed into delicate and slender ones that seemed like they could break at any moment.
Due to Ariel’s considerable mana reserves as a mage, her body couldn’t easily gain weight.
Her arms were slender enough for Diana, to grasp with her thumb and index finger, and her wrists were so fragile that they seemed to be made of cotton or flower seeds.
From an appearance standpoint, the term “fragile” perfectly suited her.
“Fragile” was a nickname wizards used to refer to those with weak physical strength, and Ariel seemed fragile, like a delicate glass figurine.
And Ariel was one of the few girls in the world who couldn’t sleep at night because of the sadness she felt about her thin and fragile body.
The reason she was so miserable was because of the difference between her and Lucian.
“Susan, how much did I grow this month?”
Susan laughed and measured Ariel’s height again.
The adorable young mistress was eager to surpass the height she had when she was twelve.
Although Ariel was now the same age as Lucian when they first met, she was still much smaller than he was back then.
Checking her height, Ariel let out a shallow sigh.
“At this rate, I won’t be able to avoid being called ‘shorty’ again next time…”
“Madam, the Young master happens to be particularly tall.”
After consoling her carefully, Susan left to fetch snacks, leaving Ariel alone in the room.
Her mournful gaze turned to the height markings on the wall.
‘I wonder how much Lucian has grown…’
Since her visit to him in the winter when she was ten, Lucian had only returned home about once a year.
Having spent four years at the academy, Lucian was now eighteen years old.
He had already reached the age of adulthood.
For females, adulthood was at seventeen, and for males, it was at eighteen.
Ariel pondered whether she should prepare some sort of gift for him to commemorate his official adulthood.
‘Come to think of it, there are a lot of events this year.’
The social scene in the capital was buzzing with excitement due to the various events planned for the year.
There were rumors of a large-scale ball to find a match for Prince Dietrich, and this year’s imperial hunting competition, which was held annually in the frontier, was rumored to take place on the estate of the Lacartel family.
‘It’s not just a rumor.’
It was true that this year’s imperial hunting competition would be held on the estate of the Grand Duke in the north.
The competition was scheduled for the summer.
Until then, the young aristocrats of the capital would exchange handkerchiefs or seek out hunting partners, igniting the spring ball.
High-class ladies might even set their sights on becoming the crown princess.
Prince Dietrich, who had grown up magnificently, was enough to make the hearts of many girls flutter.
There were rumors that the emperor would gather princesses from various kingdoms under the empire for his eldest son and heir.
Ariel had no interest in receiving a magnificent catch at the hunting competition or who would be designated as the crown princess at the grand ball.
‘These are matters that don’t concern me much.’
After learning about Lacartel’s true identity, Ariel finally understood the meaning behind the warnings Dietrich had given her.
She didn’t pay any attention to it, but the fact remained that Lucian’s true identity was extremely dangerous.
‘I feel like I know why you were so worried.’
Along with that, she could understand why Dietrich was curious about her.
In his eyes, Ariel must have looked like a baby rabbit wandering cluelessly in a cage with giant lions.
But knowing Lucian’s secret didn’t make her want to run away from here at all.
If they were truly family, she wouldn’t run away just because the other person had a dark secret.
‘Still, for him to worry about me like this, His Highness the Crown Prince must be a good leader.’
Ariel felt grateful to Dietrich.
But that didn’t mean she suddenly became interested in becoming the crown princess.
‘A good person will end up with another good person.’
She was only thinking about how she could handle the upcoming hunting competition at the Grand Duke’s estate.
As the only young mistress in the household, even though she was young, she had responsibilities.
Apart from worries about the imperial hunting competition and her slow-growing height, Ariel didn’t have much to worry about.
But lately, things were a bit strange.
Ariel gently placed her hand over the part where her heart was.
Outside the window, she could see flower petals fluttering in the breeze.
‘For some reason, my heart feels fluttery…’
Since the change of season, this area had been throbbing inexplicably from time to time.
The warmer and sweeter the scent of spring became, the more pronounced it was.
As she searched for the reason, she glanced at the calendar.
‘Is it finally approaching?’
Being fourteen was significant for Ariel.
For noble young ladies, turning fourteen was an age filled with excitement and sleepless nights as they prepared to debut in society.
But Ariel, who had already successfully debuted at the age of ten, didn’t feel the same excitement as other young ladies for the same reason.
In her past, she had been sold into the hands of villains at the age of fourteen.
Her own father and stepmother had taken money from the villains and sold her off, leading Ariel from the miserable marquisate to an even more dreadful hell.
Now, the year of that event was upon her.
‘Maybe my heart is racing because of that. Because I’m worried…’
If not, there was no reason for her heart to flutter like this as soon as spring arrived.
Thump thump.
“Miss, I’ll come in.”
Quickly erasing her serious expression, Ariel opened the door and smiled widely at the tray Susan brought in.
“Oh, daisy fritters and salty biscuits.”
“You should eat a lot so you can grow quickly.”
Ariel grinned and picked up her fork.
The fried daisy petals lightly coated with diluted ice water batter were a fragrant delicacy.
“Yeah, I should eat a lot.”
The immediate goal in front of her was catching up to Lucian’s height when he was twelve.
Ariel’s changes weren’t just superficial.
Her magical skills had grown tremendously during this time.
Especially her elemental magic had reached a level close to perfection.
Even in the past, Ariel had become the strongest offensive magician in the magician group at the age of fourteen.
Even when she hadn’t learned magic for a year, she was at that level, so it was only natural for her to improve significantly after studying under the grand sorcerer for four years.
Although she was still learning other types of magic – alchemy and teleportation, for example – her elemental magic had become outstanding enough for Bruno to acknowledge.
Not only her, but her study partner, Heath, had also grown frighteningly.
After Ariel revealed Lucian’s identity on her eleventh birthday, Heath poured more effort into studying magic.
Bruno, who had been troubled by Heath’s talent but subtly hesitant nature, was now pleased.
Heath’s appearance had changed a lot during this time too.
Between his suddenly grown height and his not-yet-shed baby face, there was still some awkwardness.
His cute face had become quite refined, and if he dressed well, he would look like a nobleman that society girls would swoon over.
‘But he’s so shy, he hardly ever steps out in front of girls.’
Going through puberty had lowered Heath’s voice and strengthened his grip.
So when he was with Ariel, it became natural for Heath to take out or carry heavy things since he was taller and stronger.
Ariel couldn’t help but envy Heath, who, despite being a mage just like her, grew tall and strong.
‘But lately, Heath seemed to have some worries.’
Lately, he seemed a bit gloomy.
He didn’t joke around much and often wanted to be alone.
Moreover, it was unusual for him to look at flowers blooming in spring and then at Ariel with a wistful expression, something he didn’t do before.
Even when asked why, he would just disappear with a ‘you wouldn’t understand’ expression.
‘But still, it’s reassuring that he snaps back at me just like the old Heath whenever I tease him.’
To Ariel, Heath was still like a little brother.
Maybe he didn’t even know he had some kind of illness that typically appeared in ordinary humans around the age of fifteen.
As Ariel thought about Heath, something else came to mind.