Page 97 of The Fifth Life of Alicia
But a gift? What could it be?
I pulled my stationery towards me and wrote out a reply to her. How did letters travel between here and the capital so quickly? It’d only been three days since I’d sent her letter, so surely there had to be magic involved somehow.
I finished up the letter and tucked it into an envelope before addressing it to her and setting it aside. However it got there, it seemed to be super-fast, so with any luck, she’d receive it before we arrived at the Imperial Palace.
I couldn’t deny that her letter had brought me a lot of joy. Hearing that my stepmother and Sophia were suffering because of their own actions was the perfect kind of karma, and I just knew that Sophia would be struggling with the lessons.
She’d hated them when we were children, and my stepmother had indulged her, allowing her to skip them in favour of socialising. There’d been a time where, in my inherited memories, the previous soul had resented it—as a young girl, she’d wanted to have fun, too.
Now, the strict education that she’d gone through was benefitting me. Her, too, in a roundabout way, because our combined knowledge of two worlds and two lives was making a difference in this life.
It was almost redeeming Alicia’s name.
With my response to Vivi done, I picked up the next letter on my pile. The seal was that of House Evsea, and my tummy tingled a little.
After all, this was the viscountess’ response to my request for her to host the ball here at the castle.
Dear Lady Alicia,
I was thrilled to receive your response to my letter so quickly. I pray you that you are not offended by the fact I failed to greet you after your presentation.
The offer to host the ball at Stein Castle is most welcome. I am quite overwhelmed to be granted such an honour—the Grand Duke has hosted only two balls since he arrived in Stein and admitted his lack of interest in such events, so he must have great affection for you to be so insistent upon being involved in this way.
I showed my husband your letter, and he was quite shocked to hear that His Highness has a jealous streak—who knew?! If you don’t mind me saying so, he’s never shown such a side of him, so this was somewhat of a surprise. Although I am quite glad to hear it, in a strange way. Sometimes, the Grand Duke can seem almost otherworldly, so this makes him seem a little more human in my eyes.
In any case, I humbly accept your offer and thank you most kindly for allowing me to be a part of your formal introduction to Stein’s high society. I have already confirmed with the Grand Duke that the date of the ball is to be the sixth of the following month, and I will co-ordinate with Sir Edward Arkwright as soon as possible.
I understand that you are heading to the capital of the Sada Empire for the annual Spring Hunt, but it would be my pleasure to invite you to tea so that we may become better acquainted once you return.
Please be aware of the enclosed invitation for your family, the honourable House Vermillion. It would be an honour for us all if they were to attend your welcome ball, and I humbly request that you pass along the invitation when you see them in the capital.
With great hope that we may meet soon,
Your friend,
Viscountess Elena Evsea
P.S. – If you haven’t heard, your policy framework has been accepted by the five houses you chose to head the committee. Emergency funding is being organised for the residents of Baldor Village as I write this, and we will work diligently until Your Ladyship returns from the capital and we can meet again. Word has spread of your contribution amongst the people, so your debut cannot come soon enough. Congratulations, Lady Alicia. Stein will be a better place for having you as the Grand Duchess.
I pressed her letter to my face to hide my smile.
They liked my policy.
They’d accepted my policy.
They were distributing funds based on my work! What I’d done was going to help people.
I dropped the letter and pressed my hand to my mouth to quell the emotion that was rising within me.
It was fine. It was okay. I was all right.
I needed to respond to her sooner rather than later, so I tucked away all those feelings and responded that we would indeed have tea on my return so we could become friends.
A friend.
Was I really making a friend here?
I was. After all, she’d signed her letter off with, ‘Your friend.’
