บท 3: Preparations for the Engagement

The group entered the castle, and Celesia, accompanied by her maid and Lorin, went to her room. Meanwhile, Leo and his wife headed to his office to discuss the details.

Leo recounted everything that had transpired between him and the Emperor.

"Did all this happen suddenly?" Elena asked in astonishment.

Leo held his wife's hand, saying, "I rely on you to make the preparations for the engagement party. Celesia may be good, but she still lacks a lot, so please select teachers to educate her."

Elena smiled, saying, "I appreciate your trust in me, so don't worry, I'll do my best to make this event wonderful."

"Thank you." Leo felt reassured and left to attend to some business, while the duchess began searching for excellent teachers to educate Celesia and prepare her for the engagement.

Meanwhile, Celesia reached her room, opened the door, and was surprised by its familiar look.

"It stayed just as I left it!" Her eyes gleamed as she saw a vision of her mother smiling, "Welcome back home."

Celesia was filled with nostalgic feelings and smiled. She entered the room, and the vision of her mother slowly faded.

"The past is a book to learn from, not chains to stop me from moving forward." This phrase crossed her mind as she touched every corner of her room with a deep, longing gaze.

Lorin watched her from the doorway, with the maid beside her whispering, "It's best to leave her alone for a while."

"You're right," Lorin replied, and they quietly left the room, leaving Celesia alone.

About two hours passed, and it was time for dinner.

The maid knocked on the door, "Excuse me, miss, it's time for dinner. Please come down."

"Alright, I'll be there shortly," Celesia replied.

After getting dressed and ready, Celesia went down to the dining hall. Her father, his wife, and Lorin were already waiting at the table.

"Good evening, everyone," Celesia said warmly.

"Good evening, please have a seat," Elena replied.

Celesia sat down in her place next to Lorin, feeling excited, while Elena looked at them calmly.

"Alright, let's start eating," Leo said.

As they began eating, Elena looked at Celesia and said, "You need to be prepared, as tomorrow, teachers of noble life essentials will come to teach you."

"Oh... alright, I'll be ready," Celesia replied, surprised.

"You must put in effort in learning because we only have two weeks until the engagement," Leo said seriously.

"Yes, I know that," Celesia replied with cold eyes. She quickly finished her meal and left immediately.

Elena looked at Leo, saying, "You should talk to her gently, not order her around like a servant."

"I treat her with a kindness she doesn't even deserve, don't you see?" he replied coldly.

Silence filled the room, and everyone left after finishing their meal.

The morning came quickly, and Celesia woke up to the sound of birds. The maid came to prepare her for this busy day. She had breakfast and was now ready to start her lessons with the teachers. Royal protocols, etiquette, arts, history, politics... The lessons followed one after another until evening.

Celesia lay on her bed, exhausted, muttering in annoyance, "This is harder than I thought. Even fighting monsters wasn't this tiring."

She looked at her hand and clenched it, saying determinedly, "I can't do this for two weeks, but there's no other choice. Enough useless thinking, I need to prepare for the coming days."

She took a deep breath, trying to find the strength within her that she knew she had. The new challenges weren't what scared her; she knew she had to adapt quickly and prove her worth.

She began planning her schedule for the upcoming days, prioritizing the areas she needed to focus on.

The next day, Celesia woke up early and decided to start her day with physical exercises to prepare herself for a day full of learning. When she entered the study hall, she was ready to face any challenge, determined to be the best at everything she learned.

As the days passed, Celesia adapted to the intensive schedule and began to see improvements in her skills and knowledge. She was learning quickly and gaining new confidence in herself.

"She's amazing!" This is what most of the teachers told the Archduke.

She continued working diligently until the last day before the engagement arrived. The most famous designers in the empire, at the royal family's request, came to prepare her engagement dress.

"Oh... Your Highness, you are so adorable! Everything suits you so well that it's hard for us to choose the right dress," one of the designers said enthusiastically.

"Of course, because my sister is very beautiful," Lorin shared the same enthusiasm.

"All I want is a comfortable and simple dress," Celesia said wearily.

"Impossible!" Lorin and the designer interrupted.

"This is the engagement of the Crown Prince and the Princess, so it's like a national event, and you want just a simple dress!" the designer said seriously and determinedly.

"Don't worry, we'll make you the most beautiful princess history has ever seen, so please cooperate with us."

The dress preparation took several hours, while the servants were busy preparing the decorations under the duchess's supervision.

Evening came quickly, and the preparations for the palace for the engagement tomorrow were finally finished, as well as the dress. It was a beautiful blue dress adorned with crystal stones that sparkled like stars in the night. It was described as a "galaxy dress" with beautiful white pearl accessories.

"My lady, you are undoubtedly the most beautiful. You look like a doll," the designer expressed great admiration, and Lorin and the maids shared the same sentiment.

"Ah... finally, we're done," Celesia sighed from exhaustion, looking at herself in the mirror, amazed at how beautiful the dress looked on her.

"It's really gorgeous. Thank you all," Celesia smiled, expressing her gratitude.

Everyone was delighted with her words and left the room after finishing.

Celesia lay on the bed after having dinner, thinking about tomorrow as she stared at the ceiling deeply. She wasn't the only one thinking about it; Henry was also gazing at the sky, contemplating the next day. Surely, excitement was keeping them both awake. Just a few hours separate them from the start of a new day, a day that will change the course of many lives.