From that day on, Nozel and Ellie began to run into each other more often because of work- making their interactions more frequent and more friendly bit by bit.
One day when he was actually present for work, Julius had asked Ellie to stop by the Silva Household to drop something off for Nozel. Having nothing else to do at the moment, Ellie agreed and made her way towards Nozel's home. She found that she was rather curious about what a noble family's home would look like compared to other homes she had seen, and soon enough, Ellie found herself in the luxurious noble family's home.
"Hello, is there something that I can help you with?"
Ellie looked at the servant who addressed her. "Hi, I'm here to see Captain Nozel?"
"May I ask what this is concerning?"
"The Wizard King asked me to deliver something for him."
"I see. I will inform the master, so please just wait here in the foyer."
"Of course, thanks."
Ellie waited in the foyer while the servant went to inform Nozel of her visit and looked around at what she could see of the Silva home. The whole estate mirrored the family's wealth, with marbled halls and gilded accents as far as Ellie could see. On one wall hung a large gilded portrait of a woman with silver hair and purple eyes, a large bouquet of flowers in pinks and whites set just below the portrait.
'She's beautiful. Is that Nozel's mother?' she wondered as she admired the portrait.
"Oh, lovely, someone let a stray in."
Ellie turned and saw the same two people she had encountered the first time she had met Nozel, whom she later found out were his younger sister and brother- Nebra and Solid Silva.
"Hello, Lady Nebra, Lord Solid," Ellie said, giving them a small bow.
"Ah, it would seem you finally learned some manners," Nebra said, looking Ellie over. "At least you learned something. Perhaps you can learn how to dress properly, next."
"Now, sister, we must remember that she is a commoner. There is only so much that they can do."
Ellie didn't want to disrespect them in their own home, but she couldn't just walk away either- she still had to deliver the documents Julius had for Nozel. She bit her tongue, saying nothing as Nebra and Solid continued to make crude comments about her nationality and heritage. Besides, even if she had wanted to say or do something, Ellie wasn't sure what it would be.
Solid and Nebra continued to torment Ellie and started reciting the rumors they had heard about her and finally, after a few minutes of this, Ellie was relieved to see Nozel joining them. However, her relief didn't last long and she was a bit taken aback by the disdain he presented to her.
Nozel had been in his office when the servant informed him that Ellie was awaiting him in the foyer. He was curious what would bring her to his home until the servant added that she had something for him from the Wizard King. He had made his way through the marbled halls to the foyer, but as he neared where Ellie was waiting, he could hear Nebra and Solid chastizing someone and was not entirely surprised that Ellie was just taking it.
"What are you doing here?" he asked, stopping just in front of Ellie. He hadn't meant to sound as harsh and cold as Ellie had clearly taken it, but she meekly handed him the parcel of documents that Julius had sent her over with.
"S-Sorry to bother you, sir... Julius asked me to bring these to you as soon as possible."
Nozel took the parcel from her and began to look the documents within over, but before he could say anything more, Ellie quickly took her leave and hurried on her way- desperate to get away from the nobles tormenting her.
Solid and Nebra continue to jest about Ellie, which earned them a glare from Nozel before he excused himself and returned to his office.
Ellie hurried back to Julius' office to report back in. She tried to hide her discomfort in how things were dealt with at House Silva, but Julius knew something was bothering her and asked what happened.
Ellie sighed and asked, "Why do nobles look down on others so often and harshly?"
Julius had a small flashback to the first time she had met Nozel Silva and sighed. "That's just how some nobles are, but what they say doesn't matter."
Ellie looked at Julius as he came to stand next to her and put a hand on her shoulder. "What matters is how you see yourself and that you believe in yourself."
Ellie smiled softly at that and hugged him, having come to see Julius like an older brother over the years. "Thank you, Julius." She stepped back and looked up at him. "Did you need me to do anything else for you today?"
Julius shook his head and smiled. "No, I can handle the rest. Why don't you take the rest of the day off?"
"Really? Are you sure?"
"Of course!"
"Thanks, Julius," Ellie beamed at him and grabbed her things, but as she made her way to the door, she stopped and glanced back at him. "Don't go sneaking off just because I'm not here, alright?"
"I won't," Julius replied, chuckling.
"Promise?"
"I promise."
Ellie grinned and hurried off, grateful to have time to herself for the first time in a few weeks.