Year 1705
Elira stirred awake from her sleep. She had turned 15 years old recently, but she could immediately tell straight from the get-go that something weird had happened.
Elira was now permitted to take showers daily. Her hair finally began to receive the treatment it deserved, and after a month of being washed and cleaned properly, it had returned to its original glory.
Her skin also returned to its original fair color, and Elira had received a large, tall mirror. She didn't know what exactly happened, but she was liking everything that was happening.
Two knocks came at the door. This was the best part of her day.
"Food..."
The door creaked open as a large grumble came out from Elira's stomach.
[Ah! Oh no!]
Elira tightened her abs, expecting a kick that never came. She looked up. Unfortunately, it wasn't Mara; this meant that Mara still hadn't forgiven her, and Elira had just gotten lucky for once. It was one of the new maids. Perhaps Mara was busy. The new maid dropped off the food and left.
The real highlight of this encounter was not the maid, though; it was the food. One fully cooked chicken leg, all for Elira.
[I'm so happy... I could live like this forever...]
The meal was gone within mere moments, and Elira crawled up onto her bed, placing her hand on her stomach.
[Yum...]
But the door swung open once more. This time, it was her brother.
"Brother?"
"Shut up."
Rian forcefully grabbed her by the hair, pulling her onto the ground and out of her room.
"N-not my hair! I don't want to cut it again! Please don't cut it!"
"Cut it? Hah... thanks for the idea, bitch."
[No... I should have just kept my mouth quiet... Then why is he pulling- ow!]
Rian opened the door in front of him, throwing Elira onto the ground. She sniffled as she stood up, watching him close the door on her. As she turned around, she saw Mara, holding a whip in one hand and chalk in the other.
"M-miss Mara?"
"Sit."
"Yes."
For once in her life, Mara had not beaten Elira the moment she had seen her. But instead, she had taught her noble skills and history for the following 3 hours. It wasn't all sunshine and rainbows, though. At the end of each class, Elira was given a test.
[What house is in the Northern Highlands? Um... I'm not sure yet... I need to review that...]
Elira looked up, noticing the demonic gaze of Mara.
[Let's just go to the next question...]
Elira shuddered but kept answering the questions on the test paper. By the end, Elira had only gotten 5 questions right out of 20.
"Stand up," Mara commanded.
"W-why? Did I do well...?"
For the ensuing hour, Elira was beaten so badly to the point she was half-alive. At some point, she couldn't speak anymore and could only make soft whimpers.
She never got a question wrong again.
The lessons continued for the next 3 years. Elira wouldn't find out why until a year after this first lesson.
"Under orders from King Vernon Solaris, Lady Elira Veylen will marry Lord Aric Dreyos," the note on the Duke's desk read.
It was a clear ploy by the King to weaken House Dreyos and keep them in check by merging two rival families and bringing about internal chaos. On the other hand, it was to keep the Veylen Duchy close, since he had already known how much they detested Elira.
But only one thought was in Elira's head when she learned of this.
"I get to leave...?"