Chapter 3
Ellie, who visited Duke Rufus’ office, accepted the portrait he was handed to her with a nervous expression. It was a portrait of a woman with silver hair and blue eyes.
Fortunately, she didn’t seem very much like her transformed appearance when she looked in the mirror.
“The painter was not good at it.”
Duke Rufus murmured in an annoyed voice.
“Find some of the best painters in the empire.”
“Yes.”
Trying not to show signs of nervousness, Ellie took straight notes of what he was saying.
“Did you hear of a woman breaking into my bedroom?”
Because she couldn’t say that it was her, Ellie quietly nodded her head.
“In this portrait, the only things that are the same are the hair and eye color.”
She also agreed with him.
“She seemed to know me quite well. Gather information about women with silver hair and blue eyes among those I have contact with.”
He was more excited about this than she expected. He looked annoyed that the woman had disappeared twice right before his eyes.
I’m sorry, but I can’t tell the truth. If I do, I may be mistaken for a witch and be executed immediately.
She was also frustrated. She didn’t know yet why she kept coming to his bedroom when she was sleeping.
She suspected it was because of the ‘fairy potion’, but honestly, she didn’t fully understand. Then it really means that fairies exist in this world……
So, are all the ridiculous adventure stories her father told her true?
“Are you listening?”
Ellie, lost in thought for a moment, hurriedly nodded her head.
“Yes, Duke.”
“Then, please.”
“All right.”
Ellie answered Duke Rufus calmly.
“Your eyes are red.”
Just as she was about to say goodbye and take a step back, Duke Rufus asked her as if he had been observing her all along. Ellie, bewildered in an instant, bowed her head in a hurry.
“Oh, it’s nothing. It’s because I couldn’t sleep well. Then I’ll excuse myself.”
Her conscience was pricked, making it uncomfortable for her to make eye contact with him. Ellie saluted him and left Duke Rufus’ office.
She was more tired now. She wanted to close her eyes, even for a moment. Ellie walked in despair as she rubbed the corners of her red eyes.
***
Eventually, Ellie gave up at lunch and laid her head on her desk. Would a nap be okay? With that in mind, she fell asleep.
“No.”
Looking around the now familiar bedroom of Duke Rufus, Ellie sighed.
She was lucky that it was daytime. Duke Rufus will never come to his bedroom. As she looked around the bedroom, she saw a portrait lying on the table.
It was a painting that closely resembled the one she had received. Perhaps he was going to compare her when she appeared.
Standing in front of the mirror with the portrait, Ellie frowned. There’s really no resemblance except for the color of her hair and blue eyes.
Whether it was Duke Rufus’ expressive ability or poor artist skills, she could not tell.
“It really doesn’t look alike.”
“I think so too.”
Ellie, who was muttering, was startled by Duke Rufus’ voice behind her.
She thought Duke Rufus would never come to his bedroom during the day, but what the hell happened?
“I hadn’t slept for two days, so I came here to rest for a while, and an uninvited guest has been coming since broad daylight.”
It must have been the same for him that he hadn’t slept for two days.
I felt sorry for him who was unintentionally suffering because of me.
“I’m really sorry.”
“I wonder why you keep repeating the things you’re sorry for.”
Duke Rufus’ face also looked quite tired.
“I think I told you yesterday, it’s not something I can do according to my will.”
“Then you’ve been sleeping since broad daylight, too?”
“I couldn’t sleep last night either. Please know that I work really hard to stay awake.”
He seems to believe a little that I come here when I sleep.
“Looks like you still don’t want to give up on that nonsense.”
No, he still couldn’t believe it. Even if it were me, I couldn’t easily believe that nonsense either.
“It’s understandable that you don’t believe it. But can I tell you one more story that you can’t believe?”
He sat down on the sofa without saying a word. He still doesn’t like it, but he seems willing to listen. Given his personality, he would have immediately refused at once if he really didn’t want to hear about it.
“This is not what I really look like.”
He smirked as if it was ridiculous.
“What?”
“I just wanted to let you know.”
He was a man who terribly hated wasting money and time.
I’m sorry to bother you like this already, but I didn’t want to add anything else I’m sorry for.
“I’m worried you might be wasting your time for no reason.”
“You’re thinking of me too.”
Ellie smiled awkwardly at his sarcastic remark.
“I really don’t want to bother you either. Who wants to annoy the person they like?”
Seeing Duke Rufus’ sharp gaze, Ellie quickly bit her lip.
What the hell did I just say?
I confessed my feelings out of frustration.
“Do you like me?”
“Well……”
She felt someone shaking her shoulder. When she opened her eyes, she saw Arthur’s dark green eyes looking at her worriedly.
“Ellie, are you okay?”
Arthur, who returned from lunch, seems to have woken her up because he was worried. It was rather fortunate.
Why did I tell Duke Rufus that I like him?
Since I am in a different appearance from my original, it seems that I have been careless without realizing it. But at the same time, I felt relieved.
It was a feeling she hadn’t uttered in five years. She thought it would be a one-sided love that she would never reveal to anyone in her entire life, but after she said that, she felt a little relieved.
“Ellie?”
She heard Arthur calling her again.
“I am fine. I think my condition got better after a little sleep.”
This was true. Miraculously, her headache went away a little. The pain in her eyes from the lack of sleep had also subsided a lot.
“That’s a relief. I didn’t wake you up, did I? Do you need more sleep?”
“No. Rather, thank you for waking me up.”
Thanks to Arthur, the crisis she was in just a moment ago had been over. Arthur smiled and handed her a sandwich.
“Eat this. You skipped lunch because you were tired, right?”
Ellie was grateful for Arthur’s consideration. He was a bit talkative, but a friendly and warm boss.
“Thank you. I will eat well.”
Is Duke Rufus sleeping now? Ellie was worried about Duke Rufus, who couldn’t sleep well for two days because of her.
She had to find a way. It would be nice to find a clue about the ‘fairy potion’ first.
It was then. Suddenly, she remembered the diary she wrote when she was little.
She remembered writing down the mysterious stories her father told her in her diary. Maybe there is a story related to fairies.
She wanted to know what kind of potion she drank. She lost contact with her father, who was on an adventure, so now she had no choice but to count on the diary.
***
When Ellie came home from work, she went straight up to the attic. When she was a child, all of her belongings were kept in the attic.
She found her diary in a large box in the corner of the attic. She dusted it off and carefully opened it.
There were a lot of really nonsensical stories written there, such as the story of a giant, the story of a dragon playing in the form of a human, the story of a witch living in the Black Forest, and the story of a mermaid living in the eastern sea.
She was hurriedly flipping through her diary, and finally, she found a story about a fairy.
The night fairies live in the Green Forest.
The fairies make a special potion by collecting clear dew on the grass all night long.
It takes ten years to make the potion.
If you drink the potion, you will have a very special dream.
My father said: when you fall asleep, you can go to the side of your loved one in the appearance of a fairy.
When I said I wanted the potion for my birthday later, my father said he would definitely get it for me.
If I drink that potion, even if my father goes on an adventure far away, will I be able to see him in my dreams every day?
I want to get the fairy potion as a gift as soon as possible.
Memories I had completely forgotten came to mind.
I vaguely remembered talking to my father about the ‘fairy potion’ when I was young. My heart was pounding.
Ellie gradually did not believe what her father said as she grew up. Only resentment for her father, who left her alone and went on an adventure for a long time, increased.
Then naturally, she lived forgetting that promise. But it seems that her father has not forgotten.
She now understands why she comes to Duke Rufus’ bedroom when she sleeps.
Ellie Miller, who longed for her father, whom she did not see often, was gone. As she grew up, the space in her heart for her father wasn’t as big as it used to be.
In the meantime, when she got to know Duke Rufus, she began her long one-sided love.
The reason she goes to Duke Rufus’ bedroom when she sleeps is that she has a crush on him.
She sighed. Maybe this ridiculous thing would end only when she stopped liking Duke Rufus, she thought.
Even though she knew the answer, she was not at ease. She knew that she had to give up someday.
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If she works hard, will she be able to give up on her feelings?
Ellie sighed again and came down from the attic with her diary. After showering and lying in bed, Ellie looked at the clock, it was almost midnight.
She couldn’t take it any longer and closed her eyes. In an instant, drowsiness came. And as expected, she opened her eyes on the Duke of Rufus’ bed.
Fortunately, he was asleep. He said he hadn’t slept properly for two days, so he must have been very tired.
But why is the light always on?