This is an idea that came to my mind while recording and editing Chapter 29: Emotional Discovery for the audiobook of "Crimson Star Priestess (New Version)". What did Estelle's life look like after Rex Goodwin's proposal of adopting her?

News! I rewrote the one-shot a little bit, especially by the garden party.

There will be an audiobook version of it on YouTube in the future and it will be titled "Chapter 33.5".

This is canon to "Crimson Star Priestess (New Version)". It takes place between Chapter 33: Dawn of Rebirth and Chapter 34: The Bridge of Connection.

The one-shot is in Estelle's point of view.

Disclaimer: I do not own any Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's characters! I only own my OCs!

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My brain practically froze when I heard Goodwin's answer to my question. Did he really just say that or did I mishear him?

"I'm sorry, what did you just say, sir?" I asked.

Goodwin chuckled at my reaction. "I'm asking you to become my daughter."

Become his daughter…?

Did he want to adopt me and share his family name with me?!

"Umm…", I responded, feeling very confused by this sudden proposal. "I…didn't expect hearing that from you, Goodwin."

"It may come as a surprise for you", Goodwin nodded. "I'll explain everything inside."

We walked to his office to discuss the issue. I sat down on a chair in front of his desk while he settled down at the other side and rested his elbows on the furniture. I sat a little stiff on the chair with my intertwined hands resting on my lap. I couldn't help but be a little nervous of what he was actually planning to do with me.

"As I mentioned before, since you're originally from another world, you don't have a family registry here, meaning you're not supposed to 'exist' in this world", Goodwin began explaining. "This limits your rights to get a job or even look for a home, so I ask you to allow me to adopt you and become part of the Goodwin family."

Now that I thought about it, Goodwin did have a point. Technically, I didn't exist in this world, meaning I was basically homeless. The only reason I didn't think further of this situation was because I ended up getting shelter at Yusei's place in Satellite and other places throughout the rest of the adventure after we arrived to New Domino City. When we were caught in Kaiba Dome, Goodwin could've thrown me out to the streets instead of giving me a roof over my head, food in my mouth, and a bed to sleep on if I hadn't been the Priestess.

However, I had a feeling that if I accepted Goodwin's proposal, I would have to do things for him to uphold his name and honor, which was reasonable.

So if I became his daughter, I would have to do some sacrifices to have a place to call home and use the best of my abilities as much as I could.

"If I accept your proposal, what would you require of me to do for the Goodwin family?" I asked.

"I see you are considering this", Goodwin commented. "First of all, as soon as you are adopted by me, I'll hire personal tutors to educate you in etiquette and manners that are required for your new social status. It will consist of your manner of speech, correct way of eating meals, fixing your posture, and dance and music classes."

My eyes widened when I heard the list. It was like the same things I read in different manhuas and manhwas in my dimension that were about rich men taking in common girls as their wives and educated them before marrying them.

"I made Jack go through the same process before he became the King of Games, since it was required of him to maintain a perfect image", Goodwin added. "Of course, because of his personality, he was a little bit…troublesome at the beginning, but he quickly got used to it."

"I can imagine that", I nodded. "Will my days only consist of those etiquette classes?"

"Of course not. We will work on a schedule together so it fits your needs. After the Fortune Cup, when you revealed you have autism, I did some research to get a better understanding. I'm aware people like you need more time between activities to restore your energy before the next task, so I won't add activities for each hour. And, for safety purposes, I'll arrange self-defense classes for you."

"Is it to protect myself, since I might become a target for people with wicked hearts?"

"Precisely. Knowing how some people work in the shadows, they might come at you to ask for your 'assistance' because of my status and fortune, or even use brute force like kidnapping and harming you."

That sounded like those series I read in my world of rich but evil people taking advantage of the girls who didn't feel loved by their wealthy fiancées or husbands and used them for their own gain by whispering sugarcoated words in their ears to manipulate them.

I may be a little naïve, but I was aware of how the real world worked around me, thanks to everything I've gone through, both in my world and in this dimension, and guidance from my mother.

"I…may be lacking in some things…", I began slowly. "But I'm willing to learn more to earn my place. So… I accept your offer, Goodwin."

Goodwin's lips were flat first, but then he gave me a genuine smile. "Excellent. I shall start preparing the documents needed for the adoption."

He stood up from his seat and walked around the desk while I also stood up from my chair. The Director stood in front of me and held out his right hand. "It may be a little early, but welcome to the Goodwin family, Estelle Malmström."

I smiled softly before shaking his hand. "Thank you, Goodwin."

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True to his words, Goodwin fixed the adoption in less than a week, so I was now Estelle Malmström-Goodwin. I got to keep my original surname to keep my ties to my biological family, but I was still going to be addressed as Ms. Goodwin. He also made sure to fix a pair of new glasses for me, so I didn't have to use contacts.

The etiquette and self-defense classes were tough in the beginning, but the tutors were patient and taught me the important parts in my pace. The most difficult part was the music classes. I was a musical person and had an interest for it, but I was terrible with the piano. For me, it was too complicated to keep tracks on the keys, so the music tutor questioned if I knew any other music instruments. When I told her I used to play the recorder and ocarina, we concentrated on those instead and that went way better than the cursed piano.

Aki, Leo, and Luna came visiting me every other day because it was still summer vacation, so they were going to return to the Duel Academy in the beginning of September before the inauguration of the Daedalus Bridge. I heard from Aki how her parents had made up with her for neglecting her for such a long time. She didn't hold any resentment towards them anymore, but she couldn't help but doubt them sometimes. I couldn't blame her. If my parents neglected me for years and they suddenly wanted to make things up, I would question the actual purpose behind their action.

Leo and Luna's parents had returned home from their business trips, so they spent quality time together. I could tell the twins were happy to be with their parents, even if it was for a short time before they had to leave Japan again.

What about the Satellite Trio? Well, the communication with them was still bad, but I got words from them once in a while. Crow had moved his "nest" to Martha's place now that the construction by the old Daedalus Bridge had begun and he was staying there as well for the time being. Jack had gone back to his old "territory" and Yusei returned to his hideout in the subway. The boys had packed their stuff and moved them to Martha's house and kept them in the basement until they could find an apartment in New Domino City after the Daedalus Bridge was connected between the island and the city.

Kalin had been placed under Martha and Dr. Schmidt's care so they could keep an eye on him. I heard he was suffering from nightmares every now and then, so the boys and I suspected he was experiencing flashbacks from his old Dark Signer life. I didn't know any other details, so I couldn't help out.

Besides the minor negative stuff, everything looked bright for the future and I was looking forward to explore it with my friends.

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I got to experience my first high class party a couple of weeks after I got adopted. Goodwin had been invited to a garden party, so he thought it would be nice to bring me along so I could get used to the high social status. That was also the first time I ever got to wear a beautiful dress for a party.

The gown was a black organdie dress with a large ribbon on the left side of the waist and a two-layered skirt, black elbow-length gloves, and black high heels with straps. The few accessories I had were a pair of silver earrings with turquoise jewels to match my eyes, black wide brim hat, and my glasses had been replaced by a pair of cat eye glasses.

I knew I was looking a little weird for wearing black in the middle of summer, but black was one of the best colors for my pale skin. Goodwin himself was dressed in the same formal suit he wore at the party for the promotion of the movie about Jack. Speaking of, that movie had been canceled now that the truth of Jack's past had been exposed by Angela Raines.

Goodwin and I had linked our arms as we were led to the garden where a large amount of people from wealthy families had already arrived. They were talking to each other and had a fun time, but they grew silent as my adoptive father and I entered the atmosphere.

The hosts of the party, a married couple around Goodwin's age, walked over to us. "Welcome, Director Goodwin, Ms. Goodwin", the man greeted.

I removed my hand from Goodwin's right arm so he could shake hands with the man. "Thank you for the invitation, Mr. Fujita. We are fortunate to have the weather on our side."

"Indeed we do", Mr. Fujita nodded. "My wife spent lots of time to prepare the party." He let go of Goodwin's hand before he turned to me. "It's an honor to meet you, Ms. Goodwin."

"The honor is mine, Mr. Fujita", I replied as I shook hands with him.

"My, you look lovely in your hat, dear", Mrs. Fujita cooed sweetly.

I couldn't figure out if she was honest or if it was just an act. One thing I was taught by Goodwin was the people in the rich society often kept a mask to hide their true selves as many had ill intension and dark hearts, like jealousy, so they would try sprinkling some extra sugar on their words while they could literally mean the complete opposite.

I put up a smile at the compliment. "Thank you, Mrs. Fujita. Your dress looks splendid."

"Thank you, dear", Mrs. Fujita giggled.

"I hope you will enjoy your time, Director Goodwin, Ms. Goodwin", Mr. Fujita smiled while rubbing his hands. "If you'll excuse me, my wife and I shall greet the other guests."

"Of course", Goodwin nodded. "We shall not take more of your time."

With the greetings done, Goodwin escorted me to the garden party. There were several tables and chairs set up with bite-sized food and different drinks. The other guests had resumed talking as they tried ignoring us. However, it was obvious some of them wanted to talk to Goodwin.

"Estelle…", Goodwin spoke up. "Remember what I told you before we left the mansion?"

"That the parties I'll visit in the future will always be a battlefield…", I whispered in response.

"Exactly. Keep your guard up and do not fall for the traps."

"I'll do my best, sir."

We unlinked our arms to go in separate ways. Goodwin was immediately surrounded by both men and women to talk about business and work. Truth to be told, I was a little nervous to mingle with girls my age. I could hear how they were talking about boring stuff, like the latest fashion, where they got their handbags, the brands and designers of their dresses, the hair salon where they got their hair done, and etcetera.

Fashion and makeup had never been my interest, so I knew I wouldn't be able to converse with the girls.

The boys were out of the question.

I could see how they were eyeing me like I was a piece of candy. Some of them appeared to look nervous, as if they were afraid to start a conversation with me. And I myself knew I wouldn't be able to keep up with them because I had no idea of what they liked talking about.

In the end, I decided to take a stroll around the garden. The Fujita couple was known for their Japanese style garden and I have never visited one before, so I wanted to see it. The first part of the garden resembled a zen garden with a mountain, waterfall, and gravel" river" before it swiftly changed into a sea of exotic flowers and bushes. You could sense the harmony and the hard work the gardeners had put into it. I didn't know much about gardening, but this was beautiful. I spotted a few Japanese ceramics scattered around for decorations that were hiding in the vegetation.

I noticed a gazebo ahead, so I walked towards it to have a seat and enjoy the nature. I could hear the rippling noise of water that was hiding among the flowers, which gave the garden a soothing feeling.

I was about to turn a corner when someone stepped out and I almost ran into them. Luckily, I stopped before we could collide, so no harm done. I blinked in surprise as I recognized the person. "Aki?"

"Estelle? Hi!" Aki smiled with a soft wave of her hand.

The female Signer was dressed in a black thin form-fitting dress that reached down to her knees and had a middle-large water drop cut by the cleavage, a white open blazer with long sleeves to cover her arms, and a pair of black heels. I almost got jealous by her voluptuous figure, but I got over it. It was Takahashi Kazuki who had designed most of the female characters and he often gave the high school girls sexy bodies, which made me question why. There were barely any good romantic scenes between the male protagonists and their female companions in the franchise. Rather, it was more like romance between men, like Yugi and Yami Yugi/Atem, or Jaden and Jesse, or Yusei and Jack, or Yusei and Bruno, and etcetera.

Thinking about this now made me scratch my head. Did this mean Yu-Gi-Oh! was originally meant to be a boy love franchise?

"Hi, Aki", I smiled. "I didn't expect to see you here at the party."

"Neither did I", Aki said. "My parents were invited to the party and they thought of bringing me here. I didn't know you and Goodwin were invited too."

"Yeah, sorry for not telling you", I said sheepishly. "I'm not used to this kind of events yet, so I decided to check out the garden. It's beautiful."

"It certainly is", Aki nodded. "I didn't feel comfortable either, especially since many of the girls and boys our age glared at me, so they obviously know I'm the Black Rose Witch. I didn't want to spoil the mood, so I took a walk around the garden."

My shoulders sank when I heard how Aki had been treated by the other guests. It was true she still had the old reputation as the Black Rose Witch, especially after what happened at the Fortune Cup.

"Don't let them put you down, Aki", I told her. "We both know, and our friends too, that you're no longer who you used to be. Just ignore those bullies in the future."

"I will do that", Aki said. "It still hurts a little bit, but the most important thing is I have my family again. They mean more to me than a stranger's opinion."

"Exactly", I nodded. "Family will always be on your side. Well… I guess it depends on which family you come from."

I spoke from my own experience. I heard tales from my biological mother of how her father and stepmother had mistreated her throughout her whole life until the day my grandfather passed away. Mom didn't even receive word of his death from her own family; she got to hear it from her childhood friend instead.

I only met my grandfather once in my life when I was ten years old and that was just for a couple of minutes before he retreated to his room because he didn't want to spend quality time with his firstborn and her family who came for a visit in the home country. I didn't have any pleasant memories of him, so I never shed a tear when I heard the news. Some say that you should always be sad whenever you receive word of a relative's passing, but that's just bogus. If you didn't have any sort of relationship with them for whatever reasons, you won't get emotional no matter how hard you try to cry a single tear.

"I agree", Aki replied with a sad expression. "Not everyone is blessed with a happy family."

"Yeah…", I nodded before I shook off the negative thoughts. "Say, Aki, do you want to take a stroll with me through the garden? Or are you heading back to the party?"

"I'd prefer walking with you, Estelle", Aki smiled. "I've already seen most of the garden, but I don't mind another stroll."

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The party was still going strong by the time Aki and I returned from the garden. We both grabbed some food and drinks from the refreshment table before we sat down by a vacant table that was covered by the shadow of a tree. The food was very tasty and it increased my appetite. Goodwin and I had a small lunch so we would be able to eat at the party. Aki and I talked about several topics, mostly about Dueling and sharing some of our strategies, since we both were currently modifying our Decks.

We had just finished our drinks when someone approached our table and they cleared their throat. "Excuse me, ladies."

I looked up and held myself back from visibly flinching when I saw who the individual was. It was the same man who once tried kidnapping Yusei in the anime, in the same episode that Sherry made her first appearance. I didn't expect to meet him so soon, but then again he was a rich business man, even though he preferred working in the underground business.

I stood up from the seat and greeted with a small bow. "Good day, sir."

"Please, at ease. It's just I've been wanting to meet Director Goodwin's daughter for some time now", the man smiled as he gently took my right hand and brought it up to his lips. "I'm Hironori Ryou. It's an honor to meet you."

I shivered in disgust when he placed a kiss on the back of my hand, but I kept my poker face up so I wouldn't reveal my actual feelings. As soon as he removed his lips, I drew my hand back and held it with the other hand to shield it.

"It's a pleasure to meet you as well, Mr. Hironori", I nodded.

"A pleasure, indeed", Mr. Hironori chuckled. "I shall not take much of your time now. Have a lovely day, ladies."

And just like that, he walked away and disappeared among the crowd. I turned around so no one could see my grimace as if I had just smelled something nasty.

"What was that all about?" I muttered loudly as I grabbed my napkin from the table to wipe my contaminated hand.

"I don't know, but I think he's disgusting", Aki said with a displeased grimace herself.

"You think so too? I have a very bad feeling about him", I added before I sat down on my seat and placed the napkin on my now empty plate.

"Mom and Dad warned me about the bad people in the society and I think we just saw one good example of it", Aki told me. "You should be careful with him, Estelle."

"I certainly will. And you should be careful too, Aki."

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The party went well, but it was still a huge relief when we left it. I was exhausted by all the new impressions and the noise that still echoed in my head from all the talking people. It was a good thing I had Aki with me, so I had been able to endure it better. Thanks to her parents and Goodwin, I managed to mingle with other people and acted like I was enjoying myself. It was especially by the acting that I got so tired that I literally shut down as soon as I went to bed that night.

I expected nothing bad was going to happen, but I got one big surprise the next morning.

After I finished breakfast, I was escorted by Goodwin to the reception room where tons of wrapped gifts and bouquets were scattered around. I couldn't help but stare at the mess in disbelief.

"What…is all this?" I asked dumbfounded as I adjusted my glasses.

"These are gifts from several people who were at the party yesterday", Goodwin explained. "They are mainly from men, so I suspect they are attempting to court you."

"Court… As in…wooing me?" I asked.

"Yes. It is entirely up to you what you want to do with the gifts and if you wish to have contact with somebody."

"So I'm not forced to meet a man and date him, or even be engaged to him?" I asked just to get it cleared.

"No, you're not", Goodwin shook his head before he looked at me with warm eyes. "You are free to choose whoever you want to be friends with or even date in the future. It is your choice."

That lifted a huge boulder from my shoulders that I didn't have to be engaged to a stranger just for benefits. Goodwin was really doing his best to make sure there wouldn't be any large responsibilities resting on me.

"In that case… I'd like to return the gifts", I said, surprising the maids who were standing by the corner. "It doesn't feel right to receive gifts from people I barely know."

"If it makes you uncomfortable, then we will send them back", Goodwin nodded.

He soon had to leave for work, so I stayed behind to help the maids by carrying the gifts out of the reception room and send them back to the mail office for return to sender.

"It's kind of a bummer", one of the maids, Amalia, pouted as she carried a couple of bouquets. "Many girls would be happy to receive gifts from men who fight for their attention."

"Yes, but I'm not like those other girls", I pointed out as I carried a large wrapped box out of the room. "Besides, I have more than enough jewelries and clothes and such that I don't need this. The men should learn how to save the money instead of wasting it for one woman's love."

"You got a point there, Ms. Estelle", Amalia nodded.

I let out a soft sigh. "I just hope those men will understand my intentions by sending back their gifts to leave me alone. They cannot buy someone's love with money. They should know better than that."

That's what I had hoped for, but instead, some persistent men kept sending me presents on an almost daily basis, including Mr. Hironori, which creeped me out even more. I told the staff to send the gifts back whenever one arrived to the mansion. At one point, I wrote letters to each bachelor and discreetly told them to stop sending presents because it bothered me. Most of them listened, but a few refused to respect my wishes.

Oh well, it was something I had to deal with, since I was now the daughter of the wealthy and respected Director of Sector Security; Rex Goodwin.

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The part when Estelle mentioned her grandfather is based on my actual family. My mother and I recently got word of Grandfather's death a couple of days ago from Mom's friend and not from her family! My grandfather was a national famous cinematographer, but he was a horrible human being. He had an extremely aggressive personality and only cared about himself and never EVER loved my mother.

Estelle's garden party dress can be found on my DeviantArt account.