Estella knocked on the door of her father's study.
It was the second time. This was the same door she had knocked on when she asked him to reconsider her engagement. The wood on the door still had the same heavy feel, but the matter she was bringing up this time wasn't one of her own.
"Come in."
Duke Viktor's voice came through the door.
The study was as orderly as before. Bookshelves lined one wall. A heavy desk. The smell of ink. Morning light streamed in through the window and illuminated the bundle of letters.
Viktor sat behind the desk and looked at Estella. His eyes were gentle, but Estella knew that his scales of justice as head of a ducal house were hiding deep within them.
"Have a seat."
She sat down on the chair and straightened her back.
"Father. There is something I wish to bring to your attention regarding the Elbach Company."
Viktor's expression did not change. He waited quietly, as if urging her to continue.
Estella accurately relayed the information she had obtained from Leonhardt. She told him that the Elbach Company had been lending money to several lower noble families. That he had applied for royal purveyor certification. That the company was run by Mille's biological father. And that House Forster was among the borrowers.
Viktor listened in silence. He did not interrupt once until Estella had finished speaking.
"The source of this information falls within the scope of documents accessible to His Highness Leonhardt in his capacity as an administrative aide. I did not investigate this on my own."
She added. Disclosing the source of information was standard protocol when reporting to the head of the ducal house.
Viktor set down his pen and folded his hands on the desk.
"House Forster, you say."
He reacted to the name. Just as Estella had expected.
"I heard they were struggling with managing their fief. I didn't know they had borrowed from a merchant house, but it is not surprising."
Viktor turned his gaze to the window.
"Estella. I appreciate you bringing this to my attention, but from here on..."
"It is your domain, Father." Estella said it first.
Viktor's brow twitched slightly. It wasn't a surprise. He was weighing his daughter's words.
"Dealing with a merchant house's schemes should be handled under the judgement and authority of the head of the ducal house. If I were to intervene, then the duke's daughter would be directly opposing a merchant. That would reflect poorly on both the dignity of the ducal house and my own standing."
"You arrived at that conclusion on your own?"
"Yes."
Viktor stared at his daughter's face for a long time.
"Alright. I will do a credit check on them. It'll be a private check run by our own merchants. It'll be carried out in a way that won't reveal the ducal house's direct involvement."
Estella bowed deeply.
"And one more thing."
Viktor's voice softened slightly.
"Your engagement will be placed on the Royal Council's agenda. You will receive notice shortly."
Estella's hands shifted slightly on her lap.
It's here.
Her engagement to Alvin. The trouble that had begun in the garden is finally beginning to move forward through proper channels.
"My mind has not changed."
"I am aware but you'll need to tell that to the council. It must not appear that the ducal house is breaking the engagement against your wishes. You must state that this was your decision."
"Yes, Father."
Viktor nodded.
Estella sensed both the approval of the head of the ducal house and the trust of a father in that single nod.
She returned to the academy that afternoon.
She sipped the tea brewed by her lady-in-waiting and reflected on the decisions she had made.
She concluded that the company's schemes were her father's domain and entrusted it to him and began preparing to address her engagement matter in her own words.
She was delegating.
She would have shouldered everything alone in her past life. She was the only one at the counter. She was the only one who received the complaints, handled them, dealt with her frustrations and put on a smile the next morning. She was bad at asking for help. She believed that asking for help was an admission of her own incompetence.
Things were different now.
She had entrusted the merchant matter to her father. She had made use of Leonhardt's information. She acknowledged each person's domain and focused on her own. That was not weakness; she was using her available resources appropriately.
She didn't have to shoulder everything alone.
This awareness firmly lodged itself within her. This was something she didn't have in her past life.
Estella took a sip of tea. The warm liquid slid down her throat. This emotion was still too fleeting to be called reassurance, but it was close to having one's feet on the ground.
The Royal Council session about her engagement. She would have to express everything in her own words.
There was no need to cry. No need to put on a show. She just needed to honestly express what she wanted and why she wanted it.
Estella placed her teacup down and looked out the window.
She couldn't just be protected.
The resolve she had steeled on that day in her father's study, when she had consulted him about her engagement. That resolve was now about to advance to its next stage. She would choose her own stance; not out of defence but out of her own choice.
Three days later, her lady-in-waiting brought her a letter.
An official notice from the Royal Council. The date for the engagement review proceedings was ten days from now.
Estella opened the letter, confirmed the date, and quietly folded it.
During the exchange of administrative documents that day, Leonhardt briefly asked her, "Have you been informed about the date for the proceedings?"
"Yes. It is ten days from now."
"There's something I should tell you."
Leonhardt lowered his voice as he handed over the documents.
"I don't know how my brother will react during the proceedings."
Estella's fingers paused over the documents.
"It was my brother who wanted to annul the engagement, but I don't know how he will react because of his pride now that you've brought it up. I can't tell if he will agree to it or object to it."
Leonhardt's voice was flat; the emotionless tone he used when speaking of his brother. But behind that flatness was a coldness that hinted at the rift between them.
"My brother is a man who acts based on emotion. He makes decisions that can't be predicted by logic. Be prepared."
She had heard the same words before the hearing and Leonhardt's warning had been correct.
"Thank you for the advice, Your Highness."
"It's not advice. I am stating a fact."
A curt reply. The usual Leonhardt.
Estella took the documents, gave a curtsy, and left.
Back in her room, she unfolded the letter once more.
Ten days later.
How would Alvin react? Will he agree? Or will he object?
He wasn't a bad person. He was just naive and let his emotions get the better of him, but among those emotions was his pride as the Crown Prince. Having his engagement annulled meant he was being rejected.
How would this affect his pride?
She couldn't come up with an answer no matter how much she thought about it. As Leonhardt had said, the actions of a man who acted based on emotion could not be predicted by logic.
So she would prepare rather than try to predict his actions.
Estella sat down at her writing desk and began drafting the words she would deliver at the Royal Council.
Her will. Her reasons. Her words.
She would not cry. She would not act. She would simply choose words that are true.
Estella let out a sigh as she ran the quill across the paper.
This is my problem.
She had entrusted her father's affairs to him. Leonhardt and her father were handling the company's schemes.
She, alone, decided the outcome of her engagement.
She stopped writing for a second and then started again.
Outside the window, the sun was beginning to rise high in the sky.