February 5th, 1708
It had been a week since Elira came to the Duchy of Dreyos, and it was just now that all of the new experiences she was facing no longer felt "new."
"Lily?"
"Yes, Madam Elira?"
"Is there anything I can start doing? It's just that I'm beginning to feel something of a... how do I say it...?"
"You're beginning to feel like a bum?"
"Yes! Exactly!" Elira responded, excited for seemingly no reason. "I can't even talk to anyone here because they all avoid me, so I want to try and find something to do. Do you think you could give me suggestions?"
"Well, Miss, you could start embroidery," Lily says as she takes out a box of needles.
"O-oh... Um... t-that's okay... I'm good... no need for that. C-could you put that back?" Elira was trembling, much more than she thought she was. Lily took notice almost immediately, setting the box aside.
"Hmm... I could ask the butler, Barand. I'll be right back, my lady." Lily stepped outside of the room, while Elira went to the bathroom, washing her hands as she coughed into the sink.
10 years ago, when she was 8 years old, Elira had gotten in trouble. Mara had taken her down to the basement as punishment, heating needles until they were red hot, and she then used them to draw on Elira's skin. Ever since then, Elira couldn't stand the sight of needles.
Even now, Elira was trying to splash water on her body to cool the burning feeling she had felt for hours on that night 10 years ago.
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Lily walked through the halls, spotting Barand coming out of a room.
"Ah! Butler! The young lady was looking for some work to do. Could you suggest anything?"
"Who, Serenya? Why should we make her work?"
"N-no, you fool! The young lady I serve! Lady Elira???"
"Oh, right... um... Why don't you go ask if the duchess needs help with her paperwork? I've noticed that her hands have become shakier by the day. She could do with less handwork."
"Alright. Thank you, Barand."
"Anytime, Lily."
The brown haired maid walked away, sighing as she already began to imagine all the ways this could go wrong, but there was nothing better that she could think of.
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Lily returned to Elira, letting her know of the possible opportunity.
"Seriously? Of course, I'll do it! Isn't this the perfect way to get closer to my In-laws?" Elira looked eagerly at Lily, expecting a response.
"Yes. It is," She responded flatly.
"Ah! Let's go then! Come on!" Elira giggled as she grabbed Lily's hand, pulling her into the hallway and briskly walking to the Duchess's office. She knocked 3 times.
"Come in. Who is it?" A voice came from within, resembling the Duchess's voice.
"It's me, Elira," She said as she walked through the door, Lily coming in from behind her as well.
"Oh! Please sit! We haven't gotten privately introduced like this yet, so please just call me mother," The Duchess gave a warm smile as they both sat down on the couch. Lily noticed the situation and left.
"Are you sure? Um... Mother...?" Elira's cheeks flared as she spoke the words, having never said them before. "Mother... I'll call you that," She muttered through giggles.
The Duchess only looked at Elira with a warm smile while she giggled and accommodated the words in her mouth.
"Ah... that leads me to why I came here..." Elira turned her body to face the Duchess. "May I help you with your paperwork from now on?"
The Duchess blinked twice. "Oh? Um..." She looked down at her hands, shaking slightly, and back at Elira, squinting as though trying to look past her eyes and into her mind. "Of course."
She took Elira's hands into hers, as they both broke out into a small laughter.
"In fact, you can start right now. I want you to get familiar with these tasks. Maybe read a book or two this evening. For now, I'll translate all this formal document text into normal words, and you can give me a second opinion while giving me company," The Duchess explained.
For the rest of the day, the two did exactly that. Once the clock had struck 6 PM, they both left the office, and Elira headed straight to the in-house library.
For around 30 minutes, she began collecting books on economics and finances and took them back to her room afterwards. She began reading, and by 8 PM, she had already finished a book on household management.
And just like that, Elira's spark for her love of reading was ignited. To her, reading was everything that was missing from her life, besides love. She could now take in all the information she wanted without the fear of getting beaten by Mara or the fear that there would always be someone waiting to test her on it.
She could just read and gain all the information she wanted, and she would never be tested on it unless she herself chose to be tested on it.
It was perfect.
After Dinner, where nothing about her new arrangement with the Duchess was brought up, Elira headed back to her room, getting lost in her books once more.
That night, she slept at around 3 AM.