Chapter 19. The Assigned Mission

“Why furniture?”

El, who had been staring blankly at Irina, asked after tightly closing her eyes and then opening them again.

She understood the need to buy clothes, but wondered why she needed to choose furniture.

“Because we need to decorate your room.”

Michaela answered instead of Irina.

El turned her gaze and looked at Michaela with eyes full of bewilderment.

“But the room I’m staying in now is already splendid. Won’t I continue staying there?”

“That’s a guest room. Now that you’ve officially become part of our family, you should have a real room of your own.”

“Ah.”

“By the way, this is your room.”

“What?!”

El’s bottom lifted slightly in surprise.

It was easily twice the size of the room she was currently staying in.

To exaggerate a little, it seemed like one might get lost inside the room.

El scanned the room with wide eyes.

In the middle of the ceiling painting depicting frolicking angels hung a large chandelier, and the cream-colored walls bathed in the soft chandelier light emitted a warm glow.

The furniture placed in the room’s gentle atmosphere had elegant lines, and the light lemon-colored fabric scattered throughout added a fresh feeling.

‘It’s already pretty enough.’

El couldn’t understand what more they planned to do with a room that was already so magnificently decorated.

‘Surely they don’t intend to replace all the furniture here…… do they?’

She should have been certain they wouldn’t, but somehow she couldn’t be.

“It’s already incredibly beautiful. I don’t see anything more to decorate.”

“Since this is where you’ll be staying, wouldn’t it be good to reflect your taste?”

El became troubled by Michaela’s answer.

Having never had the luxury of personal taste in her life, she didn’t know how to handle such situations. It seemed adapting to the ducal household would take quite some time.

However, El had no intention of giving in easily.

She mustered her strength, determined to work harder to adapt as quickly as possible.

Life in the ducal mansion was overwhelming with everything being so magnificent, but she couldn’t let the Mosteros family lose face because of her lower standards.

El firmly resolved to wash away traces of her past and become a member of the ducal family, trying hard to keep her eyes bright and clear.

“I’ll take a good look.”

El showed her determination by clenching both fists.

Michaela burst into a delighted laugh at El’s adorable behavior, something she had never seen even when raising Rapellian or the twins. She gestured to Irina.

“Bring what we prepared.”

“As you instructed earlier, I had small models made. You can arrange and change them according to the young lady’s wishes, so please take your time and experiment freely.”

Various types of furniture models were placed before El.

Even though they were just models, they were so luxurious that El involuntarily swallowed.

‘This is…… even harder than clothes.’

Everything was dizzyingly stylish and beautiful, making it difficult to decide what to choose.

She also didn’t know which ones would suit the ducal family.

With clothes, she thought she could somehow muddle through, but being asked to personally arrange furniture seemed to call for honesty.

El put down the couch model she had been fiddling with and revealed her true feelings.

“Actually, I’m not sure.”

“About what?”

“About my taste.”

“Ah.”

Michaela let out a small sigh.

Her face suggested she was wondering why she hadn’t thought of this.

“I also don’t know what would suit me. Do I really have to choose?”

“Furniture is different from clothes or accessories that can be changed frequently. Since it will be part of your daily life, it’s important to choose something you won’t tire of.”

“Then what should I do? I really don’t know.”

“No need to worry. You can discover your taste as you go. Today, just get a general idea of what’s available, and we’ll set a date to go out and see things in person. The more you experience and encounter, the better.”

As soon as Michaela finished speaking, Irina quickly moved to coordinate schedules with the furniture designer.

Michaela thought the box containing the furniture models looked just like a dollhouse and casually considered having dolls made for El as well.

El, left awkwardly among these people, wondered if this was really alright.

‘What should I do in return for receiving such nice things?’

El couldn’t even estimate how much money had been spent on her just today.

Though she didn’t know exactly, it surely wasn’t an amount she could count on her fingers.

If that was the case, she should provide value equivalent to that amount, but El was worried about how to do so.

Eventually, El just rolled her eyes around and timidly tugged at Michaela’s sleeve.

“Hmm? Is there something you need?”

“It’s not that…… What should I do?”

“What do you mean, what should you do?”

Michaela tilted her head sideways and caressed El’s chin.

Until just recently, El would have flinched whenever someone raised a hand toward her and would have been quick to curl up her body, but now she accepted the touch of others quite naturally.

Without rejecting Michaela’s touch, El expressed what she could do.

“I can do many things. I’m quick on my feet, so I’m good at running errands. When I was very young, I lived in the south for a while and did kitchen chores there. And also……”

El vaguely felt she needed to prove her usefulness.

This feeling wrapped around El’s neck like an obsession.

Since she could only belong somewhere and survive by proving her worth, this was an extremely important issue for El.

El anxiously pondered repeatedly how to effectively prove that she was a valuable existence. She especially didn’t want her presence to be a detriment to the Mosteros family.

That’s when Michaela gave a very straightforward answer.

“There’s nothing for you to do.”

El was confused by this unexpected response.

“Then, then…… I’d just be idly freeloading.”

“That’s what children are supposed to do. Sleep well, eat well, play well, and grow well. Haven’t you seen what the twins do yet?”

Michaela shrugged her shoulders.

“Still……”

“Lounge around and play. Sleep as much as you want when you’re sleepy, eat as much as you want when you’re hungry—that’s how you grow well. Once you’re fully recovered, join the twins when they’re running around playing.”

“Is that really all I need to do?”

“Yes. Of course.”

“I don’t have to work?”

“What are you saying? Children don’t work. Play. Play joyfully.”

Michaela spoke as if it were completely natural and unremarkable while tapping El’s cheeks.

El, who had never played since she began walking and talking, could hardly believe this. She wondered if she had misheard because of her head injury.

She couldn’t feel at ease about whether this was really acceptable.

Though El tried not to, her anxious state of mind manifested in picking at her fingertips.

She had countless times resolved to wash away her past and become a proper member of the ducal family, but memories from the past would unexpectedly pop up and interfere with El like this.

‘Is even this too overwhelming for me still?’

Michaela noticed El’s busy hands and fell into brief contemplation.

Eventually, Michaela came up with a solution for El, who was inevitably still busy reading the room and would need time to adapt to the new environment.

“Ah, but you should understand the value of labor. Each child in our family has one duty assigned to them.”

At Michaela’s words, El stopped picking at her hands and looked at her with expectant eyes.

Michaela felt like clutching her heart at El’s bright, clear eyes.

‘Ah, so cute.’

Michaela wanted to plant a kiss on El’s cheek right away but restrained herself, worried it might startle El, and pretended to be a solemn adult.

“Your task is…”

“Yes!”

“To disturb Rapel.”

El was dumbfounded by her cheerful tone, which completely contradicted the content of their conversation.

She just blinked her eyes, not knowing what to say.

“He’s in charge of this territory’s affairs. It’s good that he works hard, but he overdoes it. When you think about it, he’s still a child too…… He needs to be refreshed occasionally. Go and disrupt Rapel’s work.”

Michaela finished speaking with a fresh smile.

El couldn’t immediately respond to her serene smile.

It was something El had never imagined and, in a way, made her question if it was really okay to do such a thing, so she found it difficult to step forward readily.

‘To disturb him.’

This felt like being assigned an incredibly significant task in so many ways.

Not to help him concentrate better, but to disturb him!

El stared at Michaela, uncertain if this was right or permissible.

‘Is she joking?’

It was a reasonable doubt. However, she didn’t dare voice this suspicion.

But Michaela skillfully read what El was thinking.

“I’m serious. Visit him at appropriate times, eat snacks together, and go for walks. This is your mission.”

“Is that really okay?”

“Of course. It’s an order from the head of the Mosteros family.”

“Then I’ll really try my best.”

Without knowing what consequences this task would bring, El firmly strengthened her resolve and determination.

⁕⁕⁕

El’s morning started quite early.

She jumped up before dawn and rushed to the bathroom.

Though she hadn’t yet learned to walk elegantly, no one scolded her.

El twisted the faucet as she had seen before, dampened her face, and rolled the fragrant, soft soap in her palm.

“Mmmmm.”

With the fluffy bubbles and the fragrance stimulating her sense of smell, El’s cheeks rose pleasantly, and a humming tune naturally flowed from her.

After washing her face until it made squeaky-clean sounds, El stared intently at the mirror.

The mirror reflected a girl full of smiles.

The bandage that had been wrapped around her head because of her ear was removed, but a dark red bruise still remained on her left cheek.

Despite this, she kept smiling.

Even the water droplet hanging from the tip of her chin falling into the sink made her feel good.

El smiled brightly, showing her teeth, wiped off the moisture, and then left the bathroom and crossed the room.

Click, she opened the wardrobe door, took out clothes that Jane had neatly arranged, removed her pajamas, and changed into indoor clothes.

El turned her body this way and that in front of the mirror several times.

The ready-made clothes didn’t fit her perfectly, but that didn’t matter at all.

“Oh? Miss, you’re already awake?”

“What? Ah, yes.”

El’s shoulders flinched at the unfamiliar term.

Her hands and feet still felt ticklish.

“You could have slept more.”

“I have a mission.”

Jane, who had come in to check if the fire in the stove had gone out, knelt in front of El to lower her posture.

“My, you’ve already washed your face. I was going to help you. And help you change clothes too.”

“I can do it by myself.”

“Still, you should get used to being served. But what mission?”

“Yes. I have a mission.”

El walked to the bedside and took out a paper she had kept in the nightstand drawer.

It contained a pictorial schedule of Rapellian’s daily routine. At this time, he would be doing physical training.

“I want to go here.”