Die beautiful

I was distraught; I was not even sure how I returned to my room, but I did. My mind was occupied with thoughts of what happened last night, and what kind of spawn of evil was the family I was thrust into.

At first, my first thought was to run away as soon as possible. However…

"My lady? You're up early!" Tani's voice snapped me out of my thoughts, making me raise my gaze to her. Her eyes dilated upon seeing my face and the bag under my eyes. 

"My lady, have you stayed up all night?" she asked, rushing to the side of the bed. Her entire face screamed her genuine worry; how sweet of her.

"Prepare me water to wash my face and clothes to change into, Tani. Pick the prettiest one." I ordered, seeing her brows furrow in confusion. 

"My lady, are you that excited about today's banquet, so you stayed up all night?"

Oh… today was the banquet. Silly me. I forgot. "Yes, Tani. I am so excited I couldn't sleep." 

"My lady." Tani let out a sigh, her lips parting, but no complaints went out. "Wait for me here, my lady. I will prepare you a bath."

As I watched her scurry away, a shallow breath slipped past my lips. I didn't mean to lie to her, but I didn't have the energy to deal with her nagging and inquiries. I might lash out at her and make my adorable Tani cry.

"Augustus…" I whispered under my breath, recalling the cunning glints that were flickering across his eyes last night. "I'm not the type to back away."

It was a mistake to think I had to flee last night. That was not the person who had the power to choose who would sit on the throne. 

'Being Marsella and living this uneventful life had made me start to think just like her.' I murmured in my head, the side of my lips curling up into a smirk. 'But in this estate, these people… Marsella was just their mere entertainment.'

"But I am not her." I took a deep breath, stretching my arms up as my back arched. "I am not the show… I am the one who enjoys the show."

*****

I literally spent the entire morning dolling up. Tani was the best. Her service was just like how my lady-in-waiting treated me in my previous life. Their only difference was that Tani was like a breath of fresh air. 

"My lady, you're so pretty." Tani's eyes sparkled, holding the comb close to her chest.

Well, Marsella inherited her good genes from her father. I stared at this face in the mirror, tilting my head from side to side. 

"Tani, have you heard about a missing servant?" I inquired, a little curious how they covered up last night's crime.

"Missing servant?" Tani cocked her head to the side.

"I mean, did a servant go on a vacation?" 

"There are maids who went back to their hometowns for vacation. There are also maids who resigned and others were stationed to the Marquess other estates." Tani explained.

So my guess was correct.

The reason most of the servants in here were replaced and barely anyone knew me was because they'd either become midnight snacks, or were stationed to other Ross estates. No one would suspect the Ross Family if they said it like that.

"Why did you ask, my lady? Did I do something wrong?" asked Tani, snapping me out of my thoughts. Did she think I was planning on replacing her?

"Oh, Tani, don't jump to a silly conclusion. I am simply curious why I don't see the old servants in here." I glanced up, catching Tani's eyes in the mirror. "I'm not thinking of replacing you. The only good thing in here is this face and you, after all."

"My lady?" she blushed although that seemed confused her.

I turned around and stood up, facing her squarely. "Tani, please don't change. This world is a better place with you in it."

"My lady…" Tani's face flushed in beet red, making me want to pinch her chubby cheek as I could read her thoughts just by looking at her. People like her were hard to come by.

"Did the Marquess invite me to our family lunch?" I asked, diverting the subject as I turned around to look at myself once again.

"Yes, my lady. Did you dress up for that?" 

A smile appeared on my face. "Of course. Why would I doll up if not for that?"

I thought my expression was sweet, but Tani's expression told me she was scared. How could I tell her I dolled up because I'd rather die beautifully? That would make her cry.

"I'll go and meet my beloved family. Thank you for covering the dark circles around my eyes, Tani." I patted Tani's shoulder lightly before lifting my skirt, heading to meet my damn family.

*****

To my surprise, Augustus and Yves were already in the dining hall. As usual, Yves waved at me as we're food buddies now. Marquess Ross and his wife and the rest of his children weren't here as well. I took the seat farthest from the head seat; a chair that would only make one feel like an outsider. Well, I was an outsider, since I don't think I was the same as them.

"You are, err…" My eyes panned up towards Yves as he studied me. "… you look like you dressed up today, Ella."

'Because I did. Can't you just tell how pretty your sister is today?' was the immediate answer in my head. But I just smiled weakly, tucking the little strands of hair behind my ear.

"I'm meeting my fiance today, so I don't want to bring disgrace to our family." My answer obviously made Yves frown, which I had expected. He strongly opposed this marriage, after all.

"Right. It's today." He grumbled, and I chuckled softly.

I snuck a look at the arrogant Augustus and smirked at him briefly when our eyes met. His pupils dilated a little, but then smirked in amusement. 

'Oh, brother. Did you expect I will cower in fear just as you wished?' I peeled my eyes away from him, gazing at my fingers that were tapping nonchalantly against the table. Augustus' eyes were still on me, and I let him marvel at my beauty.

"You look beautiful today, Marsella." Augustus voiced out. He finally noticed, as expected, he could read expressions if I showed him.

My brows arched as I set my eyes on him. "You noticed? Thank you, Brother," stressing our damn relationship, and he surprisingly didn't correct me.

"I always notice." He picked up a glass of water, eyes on me. "And no need to thank me. I'm stating what I've only seen."

"What you've only seen…" My eyes narrowed, smiling at him as I held back on mentioning what I've seen last night. "… is that so?"

Yves darted his eyes from me to Augustus, taken aback at the fact Augustus and I were having a conversation. "Since when did you two had grown close?" 

Augustus quirked a brow, casting Yves a side-eye. "Since last night."

"Last night… was unexpected, but it made me and big brother close." I backed him up with a sweet chuckle, staring at Yves, who was obviously happy with it. 

'Now, what are you going to do, Yves? This is your chance to prove that we can be allies.'