Chapter 95: Preparation For tea Party (I)

Primrose had asked Solene to send out the invitations for her tea party ever since she received the ring from Edmund.

She thought the ladies wouldn’t dare reject a personal invitation from the queen. But it turned out that was a foolish assumption, because just one day before the tea party, Primrose received five letters of apology.

Some said they were sick and couldn’t attend. Others claimed they were away from the capital and wouldn’t be able to make it to the palace on time.

Primrose let out a heavy sigh and tossed the apology letters, which looked more like rejection notes, onto the table.

She pouted and tapped her foot against the floor a few times, trying to calm the irritation bubbling inside her.

“Can you believe this?” she said, turning to the rabbit doll sitting beside her. Its black button eyes stared right at her, as if it actually understood what she was feeling. “They rejected my invitation.”

It was almost midnight by the time Primrose opened the letters. She had waited until Solene and Marielle were leaving her alone because she didn’t want either of them to see how disappointed she was.

It wasn’t like she expected to become best friends with those ladies, but still … she had hoped they’d at least show up after all the effort she’d put into the tea party.

“I know they had their reasons,” Primrose muttered, still talking to the doll as if it were a real companion. “But let’s be honest. Most of them were just making excuses.”

She sighed again, softer this time. “In my homeland, whenever I invited noble ladies to a tea party, they’d go out of their way to come. Even if they were busy, they always made time.”

Primrose was the daughter of the Duke of Illvaris, a noble so well-respected that just hearing his name was enough to earn someone’s trust.

That was why, whenever someone received an invitation from his beloved daughter, they would treasure it, some even bragged about it like it was a badge of honor.

There was even a saying that called Primrose’s invitation “An Invitation from Heaven.” It was rare to get one, as Primrose usually only invited people she was already close with, and only extended invitations to others on special occasions.

“I once invited twenty people to a tea party,” she whispered with a faint smile. “And every single one of them came.” Her voice dropped. “Back then, I used to get invited to so many gatherings, too.”

She sighed and curled up on the couch, hugging her knees. “But now … I can’t even get ten people to come. Not even close.”

She rested her chin on her knees, her heart aching a little more with each word. “I really want to go home,” she murmured.

Her life in Noctvaris had improved, especially after she made an effort to build a better relationship with Edmund and the people around her, but deep down, she was still a daughter who missed her home.

She missed her friends, even if it was just seeing them for a few minutes.

She missed strolling through the city streets, stopping to try on pretty dresses or admire sparkling jewelry in the shop windows. Since coming to Noctvaris, she hadn’t done any of that.

It was convenient, of course, to have a designer come to the palace, but it wasn’t the same. She missed the feeling of excitement, of finding the perfect dress after wandering store to store.

She missed the sound of her father’s voice beside her, always asking how many more dresses she planned to buy.

Oh.

Out of all the things she missed about Illvaris, it was her father she longed for most.

“I also want to see my father,” she whispered, turning her head to look at the rabbit doll beside her. Its black eyes stared quietly ahead. “Do you think he misses me too?”

In her first life, they hadn’t seen each other for three whole years.

Her father used to send her letters—so many of them—but each time she read one, the pain in her chest would grow.

It hurt too much, so eventually, she stopped opening them.

She never replied either, because every time she tried writing back, she would cry and feel completely hopeless about her life.

Even now, just thinking about him made her head throb and her chest tighten.

As her tears threatened to fall, Primrose slapped her cheeks, hard enough to leave a faint red mark.

“Don’t cry!” she scolded herself. “My face will get puffy tomorrow if I cry tonight!”

And if that happened, she wouldn’t be able to look pretty tomorrow.

People often said that women dressed up to attract men. But honestly most of the time, they dressed up to outshine other women.

Since she would be meeting elegant ladies tomorrow, there was no way she could afford to look anything less than perfect!

With a little huff, Primrose jumped down from the couch, snatched up the rabbit doll, and padded over to her bed.

She slipped under the covers, pulling the blanket up to her chin, and tucking the doll under with her, too.

As she lay there staring at the ceiling, she murmured, “I’ll cry after the tea party is over.”

Then, she turned to her side and hugged the rabbit doll tightly before closing her eyes.

Once her breathing evened out, a sign she had fallen into a deep sleep, the rabbit doll’s eyes suddenly glowed a soft blue.

It couldn’t move or speak, but unknown to Primrose, it wasn’t just an ordinary doll.

“Think of this doll as me.” That’s what Edmund had written in his note.

Primrose had thought it was just a metaphor, but the truth was … it wasn’t.

The doll was literally him. And ever since she started hugging it in her sleep, her nights had become more peaceful than ever.

The next day, before the sun had even risen, Primrose was already sitting in front of her vanity mirror. Her eyes were still heavy with sleepiness, but she didn’t complain.

Marielle and a few maids were busy fluttering around her, helping her get dressed, styling her hair, and carefully applying her makeup.

Even after the sunlight began to fill the room, she still wasn’t done.

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