Saving The Villainous Monster From The Male Lead-Chapter 104 - 103: The Blue Dress

The winter that had been giving hints of its arrival for days had finally arrived. This time it is a very cold one. Eleanore was wishing to God, to not let it snow yet. For then she might have to rush back in to grab a winter coat, she had forgotten to wear.

The sky had lost its color and the tint in the atmosphere had turned blue. It looked beautiful. The atmosphere, the air and the chillness she was feeling in her body. Winter has, after all, always been her favourite weather.

Today, Eleanore was eagerly waiting at her gate, in a thick shawl, covering her whole body. She was there to welcome the most awaited guest of hers. The day they returned from the Baroness Dress Making Shop, she had sent out a letter to her dear Friend.

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Dear My Best Friend,

Stella.

Please, don’t get angry at me for sending my brother instead of myself. I was just too mad to find out that he had said those words to you. I couldn’t bear the fact that he acted so rudely with you and thus had to send him there to beg for forgiveness, if the need be. Also, I would like to ask for an apology on his behalf. Please, don’t take it to heart. My brother is a fool. All men are.

Anyways, I am writing this letter to invite you to my mansion for tea. You might not want to come, for I believe you are still a bit angry, if not a lot. Still, just to remind you, I am also your client, and you have a dress to deliver. That dress is the one I am going to wear at the upcoming Founding Day ball.

The ball will take place at the end of next week, on the fifteenth of this month. And just to let you know, I will not accept that dress from anyone else, unless you are the one delivering it. So, I hope to see you on Monday, next week.

With Love,

Eleanore Sinclair.

Ps: I am not joking.

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Of course, Stella didn’t take that letter very well. Her response letter arrived with some gibberish words and threats and at the end agreeing to meet on the assigned date.

Eleanore couldn’t hold her laughter when she read that letter. Just to feel that joy and laughter again, she would take that letter out, almost every day and read it again. She had plans to safely keep it in a beautiful box, so that she could read that letter, again when she might need to force a laugh out of her.

A wooden carriage, painted pink, with not much design carved on it, pulled over near the gate. It turned into the lands of Sinclair mansion, when the gates swung open for it. A knight jumped out from the front seat, to open the door and then helped his mistress down.

Stella looked refreshed. She was no longer wearing that tired, frustrated and annoyed expression like always. Instead, her face looked calm. It was for the first time that Eleanore had seen her in a calm demeanor.

"You got yourself a knight." Eleanore blurts out in surprise, as she sees the knight loosening the rope behind the carriage that tied two huge boxes.

"I am a Baroness, after all." She said adjusting her gown.

Eleanore looked at her with excitement, her hands barely holding itself together, as she tried to restrict them from pouncing on Stella, to hug her. Stella saw it and opened her arms for her. It was a gesture giving her permission to hug. With great energy and joy, she jumped on Stella to hug her.

"You do not need my permission to hug me. We are friends." She says, as she rubs her palm on Eleanore’s back. Happy to finally see her after more than a week.

"I missed you." She says, feeling a strange comfort in her embrace.

"I missed you, too."

Seconds later, she pulls back.

"Let’s go, I have prepared a nice table on my balcony for you." She said, locking her arm around Stella’s.

"I am not here for tea. I am here to deliver the dresses."

"No, you are here for tea. I wrote it clearly in the letter." Eleanore explains.

"Oh! Don’t even talk about that letter. I hate that thing." She glares at the entrance of the mansion.

"Really? That’s possible." She took a pause, before speaking again. "However, I loved your letter. You won’t believe it, but I have kept it safe, to read it whenever I want to laugh." She chuckles.

"Was that letter even funny?" Stella slapped her head in amusement.

"It was."

They were already in her room and the table in the balcony was also well prepared. Marina was already waiting for them there with the rose tea. One that Stella likes.

Once they were seated, she served the tea to them.

"Pleasure to meet you, Baroness." She greets Stella, who smiles brightly for her, picking up the cup and sipping the tea from it.

"This is indeed the sweetest tea I’ve ever tasted." She turned to Marina. "Thank you, Marina."

Marina nods and leaves the room, for them to chat freely.

"So, did you tell your brother to come to my shop?" She asks, taking another sip of that tea.

"Yes." Eleanore smiles.

"And did you also tell him everything that happened in that cursed mansion?"

"Yes."

Stella slammed her cup in its saucer. "For real?"

"Yesh. Well, I was too angry at him and it all just blurted out of my mouth." Eleanore felt embarrassed.

"Then— um— did you also tell him about the confinement?"

"I’m sorry."

"Shit!" She caught her temples, as they started hurting suddenly on hearing that. "Why would you tell him about that too?"

"I told you. I was too overwhelmed with emotions." She reaches to her palm and squeezes it tightly. "Don’t worry. I know him. He won’t even mention it."

"Why on earth did you even tell him anything at all?"

"Well, because he had no right to talk to you like that. That’s unacceptable. You are my saviour." She says in a firm voice.

"So are you."

They both melted at each other’s words, and they continued chatting for another hour until it was time for Stella to leave.

"So, you know. I hate the pink walls in my room. If I could, I would want them light lavender colored." Eleanore spoke up.

At the foot of the long Staircase, stood Hael nervously waiting for Stella to come. It had been more than ten minutes, now. Eleanore had said they would be out in about an hour and he has been waiting since. But they didn’t come.

The clock struck six and he heard the tapping sounds of heels from above. Stella stopped at the start of the staircase when she saw Hael. Her gaze turned to Eleanore, who nodded in return.

"He’s been begging to meet you. I couldn’t do anything." She speaks. "You should probably confess." Saying that she returns back to her room.

Stella gulps, as she ponders on her friend’s advice and takes a few steps down. Hael’s heartbeat increased with every step she took, until she was standing in front of him already. That’s when he could hear his heart racing till his ears and feared that Stella might hear it too.

"Umm—" Stella began, thinking about what to say. Debating with herself all the way down yet couldn’t find words. "I forgive you." She speaks.

Stella didn’t want to bring that thing up, but it just slipped out of her mouth, as she pushed her brain to utter something, anything.

"Thank you, Baroness." He smiles. "I will never make a mistake like that again."

Stella smiled back and caught a piece of her clothing, fidgeting with it. Hael notices her bright platinum hair, shining under the torches that were just lit. They looked mesmerizing. An image he might never forget, as she saw her small face from above. It looked cute.

He turned around and picked up the box from the corner that Stella had delivered. Stella looked at him confused, as he opened those boxes and picked the blue dress, then walked back to her.

"I ordered this for you. The color matches your eyes." His gaze travelled from the dress to her. "I know, you can make a dress for yourself, but I still wanted to give this to you."

"Is this an apology gift or something?" She asks, bending her neck a little, to be able to read his pink eyes.

"No, It’s a proposal." He speaks.

Stella’s cheeks turn red, on hearing that. A proposal.

He said it’s a proposal.

A proposal.

That was the only thing going on in her head.

"I would like you to accompany me as my partner for the Founding Day ceremony." He says.

Stella’s smile drops. Her excitement shattered and Hael noticed it.

"What? Do you not want to? Did I make a mistake?" He scratched his head. "Umm— If you don’t want to, it’s fine."

Her face rose again, with a smile. This is a good start, it’s not half bad.

"No, I would love to be your partner." Stella accepts the gift.

Hael extends his arm to her, facing the exit. "May I escort you back to your carriage, my lady?" He asks. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

Stella nods and locks her arm in his.