Cinderella Rebirth //hiatus

Chapter 16

Ella sat down on the chair beside her father. Her face was void of any expression she shouldn't have. Her bearing was majestic yet aloof at the same time. In front of Ella and her father was a palace messenger leisurely sipping tea.

The clock ticked away.

"Thank you for your hospitality." The palace messenger smiled, gracefully placing the empty cup down. "But I have to finish my work soon and won't have a time to spend much longer." When the messenger said this, the father-daughter pair both silently gazed at the empty cup on the table. Beside the cup was an empty snack plate. Their gazes met and they rectracted it to smile to the messenger.

Thomas' status was not noble. But he was a filthy rich merchant, with a powerful connection and network bases that even the royals couldn't compare to. That was why the kingdom still treated Thomas politely. 

"Please do tell us your message, Sire," Thomas smiled and beckoned him to speak, "we won't detain your presence here much longer."

"Yes, yes, I'm busy." The messenger caressed his round stomach. "I'll hand the royal decree to you now. You may kneel."

"Decree?" Thomas was flabbergasted.

"Yes, a decree." He yawned. "If it was just some puny announcement, there is absolutely no need for us, the noble messengers, to knock on your doors. You may kneel, Mr Leravinn, Miss."

They both rose from their seats and knelt down. The messenger held out a piece of paper and read the content out loud.

"...for all over the country. The yet unwedded girls shall be expected in the ball and have the Crown Prince take a look of them. The honor...." The messenger kept blabbing while Ella's expression turned dark. "..fulfil an obligation. The future of the country..."

The clock ticked away.

"You may rise, receive the decree." The messenger stuck his hand out. Thomas humbly stood up and took the decree with both of his hands. Ella followed him suit in bowing.

"Now this noble messenger's job is done here. I'm leaving."

"Kath, Lily, send the noble messenger out." Thomas smiled. He didn't want to waste his time any longer with this fatso. As a good host, when a guest from the palace was leaving, he should have send the guest personally. But on a silent agreement with his daughter, he refused to attend that guy any much longer than he already had.

The messenger strode off, attended by the maids. Thomas followed him with his hazel eyes until he was out of the room. When the messenger was nowhere in sight, Thomas flipped his body so suddenly, facing Ella. 

"What?" Ella placed her hand on her chest. Thomas' sudden move had surprised her. When Thomas said nothing but continued to eye her silently, Ella asked again. "Papa, what's wrong?"

"Don't ask me." Thomas retorted dryly. "This decree," he threw the scroll to the table, "is meant to be obeyed. Is the Crown Prince that desperate to find a consort?"

Ella didn't say anything, so Thomas continued. "Then it means that everyone can be the Crown Princess," he burned his daughter's face to his mind, "and this also means that you have to come to the ball."

"And I, Thomas Alexe Leravinn, don't believe that there's anyone that can be matched up with my daughter!" Thomas stuck his chest out. He was a proud dad.

Ella smiled wryly in front of her father. But in her mind, the long-lost plan was being calculated. The ball would be held in a week. She didn't want to see his face, but she'd love to torture him a living hell. Playing with him would be disgusting, but to paint his figure on a canvas in a shameful pose, with his own scarlet blood, would be satisfying. On her wry smile, a glint of frost surfaced.

"Oh yeah," Ella was snapped back to reality, "what are you doing these past days in Arnold's?" Thomas' words held a hint of interrogation. It was true that Arnold was Ella's beloved uncle since he pampered the young Ella so much, but Ella had never went to Arnold's for a long interval. Spending the night was even more unheard of.

"I'm studying. Practicing."

"Studying what?"

Ella answered in her heart. Magic. But outside she only replied indifferently. "Nothing much. Importance of life. Cooking skills. Reading Mama's old books."

What could Thomas do to his teenage daughter? He could only gave his consent, a little bit unwillingly. He really wanted to be with his daughter in the little time he had left. But he couldn't possibly say that to Ella, right?

So in the rest of the day, Ella, who was not aware of her father's thinking, continued to dilly dally. She sneaked out of the manor, accompanying the maids' shopping, much to their objections. When the group passed by a cloth store, it was bustling with excitement. The ball that was going to determine the crown princess was now the attention of many. All unwedded girls! That meant every female youths got the chance to equally compete for the position, regardless of education or status. All would be equal until one of them legally won the Crown Prince's interest.

Ella watched this scene in disdain. She remembered at one time, when she was practically begging to go to the ball. She sewed her dress from her stepsisters' unwanted, shredded clothes and made it in all the way possible to look good. Who would have thought when she gained his attention, a fox scheming seductress would steal him and brainwashed him, turning him to a monster that would even kill his own child without even batting an eye.

But as Ella was going deeper, drowning in her hate almost to the point of no return, a bright voice pulled her up.

"Are you going personally to shop for some dresses, too?"

And in a way that voice sounded oddly hurt.