The Duchess glided forward with a steady pace, her steps unseen and unheard under her crimson dress. No matter how fast Nemo followed, the distance between them did not close. The little girl’s mind was filled with unease, but she dared not slow down. The women in red would not allow it. If the child could not keep up, she would simply leave her behind, the child doomed to wander forever in an unending candlelit abyss.

That was what the Duchess told Nemo, and the child wondered if it was just a story grown-ups used to scare children. She did not think it was impossible to get lost, but she was confident in her ability to go places. The master of the mansion was also her friend, surely the Count would come to get her, and even if he didn’t, the broken vases she accidentally forgot to clean up would at least make a scary demon come after her.

Still, she rather not risk testing the truth of the story, not to mention the Duchess invited her to tea, that was an opportunity she never thought would come. The Duchess was one of the few, or rather only, house guests that still wanted to splatter Nemo, after all. For her to invite Nemo to spend time together, that alone was reason enough to follow the woman.

Was it a trap to kill Nemo without the Count knowing? Nah.

Nemo blinked and found her face smacked against the Duchess’ legs. The child looked up and met the bloodshot eyes of the woman and quickly stepped back to give her an apologetic smile. The pair already made it to their destination when Nemo was lost in thought and they now stood before the private room of the Duchess.

“Come,” the Duchess finally said after what felt like forever. Nemo wondered what the woman was thinking. Her expression was the same as Demon Lady’s when Nemo made a mistake, which was weird since the girl did not remember making any.

The door swung open and Nemo followed the Duchess into the room.

The room was without light except that of the night sky outside the window. The flash of red was stark and painted the furniture in its path red from whatever color it once was while those not graced by the light remained hidden in the shadow.

“Take a seat,” the woman commanded as she moved towards the table. Nemo blinked and the woman was already sitting on a chair. The child skipped to the chair opposite the Duchess and raised her hand in protest. The chair was too tall, but the Duchess did not care one bit the child was not able to get onto it. “Don’t keep a lady waiting. The tea is getting cold.”

Nemo stuck her head out to the side and saw the Duchess daintily sipping tea without a care in the world. How dare she! Did she just invite Nemo to make fun of her? Most likely. However, the child would not allow the woman to get her way! She would have that tea!

Nemo began scaling the ginormous piece of furniture, but no matter what she did she would always slide down to the floor. Why was it so smooth?

“You can always give up, the door is but a few steps behind you.”

Nemo was really angry. She could hear her teeth grinding. However, it was true that she could not climb the chair, as the surface of it was for some reason as slippery as wet ice, despite it being as dry as the leftover bones she threw for stray dogs back home.

Wait, Nemo didn’t need to climb on the chair, she simply needed to be on it. It was brilliant! She walked towards where the Duchess was, but before she could enact her plan, the woman gave her a death glare that felt like could kill.

“Do not touch me,” the Duchess said, punctuating each word with a hiss through gritted teeth. Nemo crossed her arm and gave the woman a disapproving pout. What was she supposed to do? This was clearly not a fair challenge. The woman glared back, unwilling to budge, but after an intense staring contest, it was the Duchess who relented. “I care not how you take your seat as long as you do not make a mess of my dress. However, make your choice soon. I have no intention of waiting any longer.”

Nemo will show her! She turned and turned, searching for something to use. However, the only objects in sight were the table and chairs. Everything else would’ve been hiding in the shadows, but something told her that going into the darkness was dangerous. She trusted her instinct. This meant she could only use whatever was in front of the windows.

Windows? That was it!

Nemo hopped towards the windows and grabbed the curtains to the side. She pulled herself up and then slid back down. The curtain was smooth like silk. However, it was not hard like the chair was. She tied the cloth around her waist and fastened herself to the piece of fabric. She began to swing, her body swayed higher and higher against the wall with each kick in the air until she was finally able to grab the other curtain that was on the side of her chair. She then loosened the cloth around her waist, and with a kick, she flew.

She then plopped onto the chair. The fall stunned her but she quickly hopped back up and puffed out her chest against the Duchess. She showed her. She heard the Duchess click her tongue, but the woman in red eventually relented and said, “finally.”

Nemo wanted to sit, but she realized if she had the top of her head would barely reach the table. Oh well, she would have to stand during tea time.

“Tell me, child,” the Duchess said before Nemo could reach for her cup or any of the snacks. “What do you intend to do? The Count for whatever inexplicable reason decided to have you housed and fed. His generosity escapes my understanding but nonetheless it is something granted to us. You, however, earned none of that, yet here you are, under his protection.”

Nemo frowned. The Duchess was right. She was indeed only fooling around and letting the Count take care of her. Even now her friend was busy working out a way to send her home.

“In the end, you infuriate me,” the Duchess said after observing the pondering child before her. “To think you could walk the same path as us despite only being a child. The Count is honestly a fool, calling you a friend. If he truly believes so, then he is unfit to rule the mansion. For his sake, child, leave this mansion, at once.”

So the Duchess brought her here to threaten her. Nemo honestly did not care. However, the woman insulted her friend and their friendship. She would not take it lying down. Nemo jumped on the table and stomped one of her foot forward. She raised her finger and slammed it down towards the Duchess. Nemo will proudly tell her why she was wrong and that the two were great friends. She was not being the best friend she could be, but she definitely had what it took to do so.

Oh, wait. Nemo couldn’t talk.

“Begone,” said the Duchess. With a click of her tongue, the Duchess waved her hand and a sharp wind blew. The door to the room blasted open and Nemo tumbled to a wall before the door slammed shut once more.

Owe.

Nemo realized the Duchess never intended to serve her tea. The woman insulted her friend and lied about snacks.

This meant war.