(Season 2 Start!) Just Let Me Be The Grand Duchess!!!

Episode 4 - Dinner at House Ramirez

The dinner in the Ramirez mansion was filled with an awkward ambiance only filled by the clattering of plates and the cutting of food.

Alejandra could only push around the steak laid in front of her as she waited for her mother's nagging. Her dad however was eating heartily and for some reason couldn't feel the tension between the two women in the house.

Roselia made sure to make every cut she did to her food rang noisily throughout the dining room. She ate her food slowly as she felt her daughter from the other side of the table trying to arouse her pity.

Swallowing the saliva building up in her mouth, Alejandra finally let out a few words. "Mother I–"

"Alejandra." Her words were surprisingly gentle. "Are you perhaps bored in this mansion?"

The lady brightened up, thinking her mother was giving her a chance to explain herself but before she could speak any further, the Duchess continued her words.

"If you are, then shall I send you back to our estate in the south?" Roselia looked to her daughter with a glare, who sunk back to her seat.

"No Mother." She squeaked.

"Fret not, in the time you're grounded here I have made a couple of requests regarding fellow nobility." The Duchess cleared her throat and called over a maid who handed over a few notes. "His Majesty, The Emperor, has sent his beloved son, the Crown Prince, to aid in the investigation regarding this matter." She tapped the letters with her hand and slid them over to her daughter.

"What does this mean, Mom?"

"You shall be the one greeting His Royal Highness at his visit to our estate since I will be tackling other matters." Roselia continued to eat her food as her daughter read the letter in horror. "Be kind and graceful and treat him like a Ramirez would. I've heard he's quite easily agitated so be mindful of your words as well?"

"M-Mom, I can't help but notice but…are you setting me up?" Alejandra gulped. The Duke's ears then perked up at her words and had him stop eating.

The Duchess sighed and called over another maid to fill up her wine glass. "My child, you're already nineteen, ever since your debutante, many suitors have lined up for your hand, but might I say they're all unworthy of you." She sipped and wiped her mouth. "The Crown Prince is a war hero and it would be great to have ties to the Imperial family. Getting to know him would certainly be beneficial to you and to our house."

"B-but—"

"If I may butt in," The Duke joined the conversation, "Roselia, I feel it's far too early for our child to be engaged.

"She's nineteen, Joshua." Roselia glared at him. "I was even younger when we first met and we joined hands right when I turned twenty."

Alejandra tried to look cute in front of her Dad to garner his pity. "D-Dad help…"

"See. Even our daughter is against it." Joseph argued. "Plus the Crown Prince? He's far too violent for my baby girl, he may be a hero but his hands are stained with countless blood?"

"Then what about me Joseph?" The duchess snapped at her husband's words. "I have killed far too many people to count? Am I too unworthy of you because of my bloodstained hands?"

"N-no, Honey. It's just—"

"The Crown Prince has kept the Kingdom from reaching the Empire through his tactics and strength to kill. He is a warrior and so am I." She raised her eyebrow. "I thought you yourself would understand what it's like to marry a war hero."

The Duke fell silent and Alejandra too. 

Reading the atmosphere the Duchess exhaled a breath and called a maid over to hand her another letter again. "Alejandra, it's not like you have to marry the Crown Prince, you are the heiress to this House after all. I just want you to meet him and see if he is to your standards since you've yet to interact with any men of an eligible age." She explained. "My Dear, I would never have you enter into a loveless marriage."