The Price Is Your Everything

It was the season when the trees in the courtyard had withered to a sandy color and the cold wind blew fiercely.

Thin branches were adorned with red flowers to commemorate the Resurrection Day, and students were discussing their winter break plans with excited faces.

"What should I wear on Resurrection Day?"

The winter break, which was given before and after Resurrection Day, was short, but it was long enough for most children to visit their homes. Diane had been begging Nellis to spend the winter break at her house, and Nellis had eventually agreed after a few refusals.

Anyway, Nellis hadn't planned to return to her hometown this winter, so it was a good opportunity to explore the social scene in advance.

"I only have one good dress to wear on Resurrection Day."

"Then let's get a new one! We'll have a party for a week, so we can't wear the same clothes every day, right?"

But every time Diane said this, expecting the winter break and Resurrection Day, Nellis found it amusing.

As a princess, Nellis had used expensive things to the point of boredom, so she didn't even feel greedy for ordinary things that children used. It was fortunate that she didn't have much money to spend now.

But Diane was born into a wealthy family and was at an age where she was full of curiosity, so she bought all sorts of things, including clothes.

"I don't have the money for that."

Nellis simply pointed out the problem. Diane's expression was nonchalant.

"Then why don't you borrow my clothes when we go to the party? It's only natural that I lend you clothes as a guest in my house."

The suggestion to borrow clothes from a friend of the same age might have offended someone, but Nellis didn't mind. She thought for a moment and said,

"I have my own clothes, so I'll just wear those. I don't have to attend the party every day for a week, and I don't think it matters if I wear the same clothes. But thanks for the offer."

Diane's face fell slightly when she heard Nellis's response. It seemed she had just realized how her words could be interpreted.

"I didn't mean that wearing the same clothes is bad. I'm sorry, Liz. I just wanted to see you wear cute clothes. You're pretty, so I think you'd look cute in anything."

"Okay, thanks."

It was a strange thing to say. What was the point of dressing someone else up in cute clothes?

Nellis was used to the nobles' habit of buying expensive clothes to establish their authority in the social scene and changing clothes whenever possible, but Diane's desire was hard to understand, and Nellis only smiled wryly.

"This kid too."

Can this kid also bully others without a care?

In Nellis's faint memories of her childhood, there was no one who had been kind to her, or rather, no one who hadn't ignored her. So, Diane was probably also a target for revenge. But...

"Why this kid?"

Can't she remember?

Nellis was naturally uninterested in others, and because of that, her personality had completely changed by the mid-teens due to bullying. Her memories of her classmates were not very significant, except for those with strong impressions, like Angarad and Rianon.

However, even so, after attending classes with them for several years, Nellis should have had some faint impression of her classmates. But why couldn't she remember anything about Diane?

Had she transferred schools quickly? Why?

Or had something changed when she went back in time?

It was an unknown and uncomfortable feeling. Nellis couldn't muster the same hostility towards Diane that she felt towards the other children in her class.

"Hey, Liz. What's your favorite food? I'll tell my family to prepare it. We have a lot of food on Resurrection Day, so let's eat a lot of delicious things! Oh, and I'll tell them to prepare bedding in your favorite color. Do you have a favorite material?"

Nellis responded with a complex expression.

"I can sleep anywhere and eat anything."

As a princess, Nellis had slept in a pigsty on Abellus's orders, and during her school days, Megara had fed her things that were unbearable to mention. Nellis didn't care about food or bedding now.

If Diane knew what Nellis had to eat and where she had to sleep in her childhood, what expression would she make?

What attitude would she show?

***

"It's home!" Diane exclaimed, pointing to the beautiful mansion in the distance.

Nellis, sitting across from Diane, raised an eyebrow. She knew the McKinnen family was wealthy, but the estate was enormous, even from a distance.

The carriage was currently passing through a large orchard road, and the fence posts were adorned with the McKinnen family crest. It seemed that the estate's land alone was vast.

The main building, which appeared to be the main hall, had a grandiose ancient-style column under a gabled roof, and its sides shone brightly.

Behind it, three large buildings surrounded a lake, created by diverting a stream, and displayed their grandeur.

A large annex, likely for the servants, was located a short distance away, and nearby were stables, a cowshed, a sheepfold, and a pigsty, each with its own space.

The surrounding area was all open fields. The McKinnen family probably had an uncountable number of sheep and cattle.

"When did your family start living on this land?" Nellis asked.

Diane replied, trying not to sound arrogant, "I think it was 50 years ago? Our great-grandfather bought the land around here and built a house on the site of the original hunting lodge."

"It's impressive. Your house is really beautiful."

Diane looked proud, but her expression stiffened slightly a moment later.

Nellis narrowed her eyes, sensing that Diane had something to say.

Diane looked down and asked in a small voice, "Hey, Liz. Is it considered tacky for a family with a short history to boast about their expensive house?"

Nellis's tension was unnecessary. She smiled calmly.

"In this country, even the members of the oldest families can't match your usual confidence. What's the connection between a family's history and the aesthetic value of their main estate? Your house is really impressive. You should be proud of it."

Diane smiled slightly at Nellis's words. Her bright, pure eyes sparkled like the lake, and her appearance was as refreshing and beautiful as the McKinnen estate's scenery. Nellis briefly looked out the window.

The bright and pure eyes of her current peers sometimes shone too brightly, hurting her eyes.

"Actually, I really love our house. The first floor of the main hall is always decorated with red flowers on silk on Resurrection Day. When it snows and accumulates on the window frames, it's beautiful with the candles and snow sparkling during dinner."

"Do you have a family dinner on Resurrection Day?"

"No, we have a lot of guests. Actually, I'm not supposed to join the adults' dinner, but I sneak down to take a peek."

Diane smiled mischievously and said, "I'll have to attend the Resurrection Day dinner and entertain guests when I'm older, but it's no fun being stuck in the nursery."

In the Vistian nobility, children were not allowed to attend formal dinner parties until they were at least 16 or 17 years old and considered adults by their family.

Until then, they were treated as children who would disturb the adults and were confined to the nursery, where they had to go to bed early as instructed by their governess.

Nellis, who had been surprised by this custom when she first entered the Elantria family, half-agreed with Diane.

"Attending social gatherings before your debut can be good practice. That's why the Academy is cooperative when students host parties."

"Yeah, the pajama party was fun."

On the night of Diane's lavish pajama party, Nellis had to play cards with Diane until late. Betty, who had been nervous that night, shuddered at the memory.

"Right, it was fun."

Nellis was grateful for the party for a different reason. If the servant hadn't spilled a drink on Angarad's ribbon, Nellis would have had to make more precarious moves.

Betty, unaware of the circumstances, was impressed by Nellis's words. Nellis was indeed mature and tolerant of her friends' childish behavior. If only our mistress could learn from her.

"On a day when it doesn't snow, it would be fun to ride horses and explore the area, Nellis."

"Right, I like horseback riding too."

As Betty hesitated to ask a question that might make Nellis uncomfortable, Diane quickly added, "I'm not good at riding alone, but my brother can take me. Or the stable boy can lead the horse, and we can go slowly."

Diane had an older brother, who, like Diane, was someone Nellis had no memory of from her previous life.

Nellis imagined Diane wearing a beautiful riding outfit and a wide-brimmed hat, sitting in front of someone faceless and riding a horse. It seemed like a nice picture.

'He's Diane's brother, so he's probably innocent but has a clear personality... something like that?'

Anyway, he was already an adult who had graduated from the Academy, so he would be busy entertaining guests and couldn't be expected to go horseback riding with Nellis.

Nellis stopped thinking about Diane's brother there and forgot about him. Diane was also busy thinking of other activities she wanted to do with Nellis.

"'The Dog and the Jackal' set is there, so we have to do that, and we'll go out to draw pictures too. In the afternoon, we'll have a tea party and a ball with the guests who come. Ha, Heather Railing will be speechless when she sees you dance. I'll make sure to tell her that the steps you taught me were wrong!"

"Heather Railing?"

Nellis's eyes narrowed at the sudden mention of a familiar name. Diane snorted.

"She's a guest from the Railing family, Angelo Railing's daughter. She's always picking a fight with me. How much older is she than me?"

Angelo Railing. At the mention of his name, Nellis's eyes darkened.

He was one of the people she had brought into the Elantria family in her previous life. Of course, she knew his character. He was arrogant and would betray others for his own gain.

It wasn't surprising that Angelo, a merchant, would be invited to the McKinnen family's Resurrection Day party as a guest. Moreover, at this time, Angelo was still young and hadn't grown much. It was also possible that he was bringing his only daughter to introduce her to people.

"But she's picking a fight with you?"

However, the Railing family was not nobility. By status and wealth, Heather was no match for Diane. It was strange that Heather would pick a fight with her.

Nellis frowned.

Betty shook her head.

"Miss, you're thinking too badly of Heather."

"No, I'm not. You heard what she said to me before, didn't you, Betty?"

"I did, which is why I'm saying this. If I didn't know the situation, I'd want to take your side, but we all saw what happened at the horse riding event."

Nellis didn't relax her expression. She knew that Diane had a sharp side.

Just then, the sound of horse hooves could be heard faintly from outside. Diane turned away from Betty, looking annoyed, and Betty tried to distract her.

"It seems like a guest is arriving. They're riding their horse quite quickly."

Indeed, the sound of the horse hooves grew louder. Nellis looked out the window with a calm gaze.

The person riding the horse slowed down near the carriage and stopped. Diane exclaimed with a bright face.

"Brother!"

The carriage door opened.

The person who looked inside the carriage was a young man with a solemn face and long, dark brown hair tied back. He had an icy expression, but his eyes showed affection when he looked at Diane.

"Di."

The young man kissed the back of Diane's right hand. The gesture was extremely formal and precise. Betty greeted him.

"Long time no see, Mr. Joyce."

"Betty, thank you for taking care of my sister."

Mr. Joyce's gaze finally turned to Nellis. His eyes sharply searched her.

Nellis recalled something from his face. She waited until he nodded before introducing herself.

"Hello, I'm Nellis Truede."