Hello.

Good afternoon.

Fuuuuuuuu~aaaaaaaah!

Leila has finally recovered! For the most part!

After three months of bedrest, Leila is finally strong enough to walk around freely. Heavy exercise is still out of the question, though.

“Leila, do you want to eat lunch?” Mimi came into the hut carrying a basket of miscellaneous food. She also seemed to be in a good mood, judging by the hardly-repressed smile on her face.

“Mn!” Leila smiled at the other woman. “You look happy today, Mimi. Did something good happen?”

Hearing the question, Mimi’s smile widened. “Ah! I suppose so.” She bashfully glanced at the front door, “actually, my husband and my son is coming home soon.”

…Ah?

Husband?

Son?

Leila looked blankly at Mimi.

“Mimi, you were married?”

“Ah, I didn’t tell you? Yeah, I am~”

What… “Eh, th-this is the first time I heard about it.” Leila scrutinised the older woman. She looked like a fresh, young girl in the peak of her youth; at most, she could only be around 20 years old. It was understandable if she was married, but to also have a son? Why does Leila feel as if she has found a comrade…

“Is it that surprising?” Mimi laughed at Leila’s flabbergasted face.

“Nn… Mimi looks young, after all.”

“Oh my~ flattery will get you nowhere~” Mimi squiggled in delight, hugging her body. “By the way, how old did you think I was?”

“Hm…” Leila contemplated. Since Mimi and Sieg were childhood friends, they should be around the same age. Sieg looked to be around his early-to-mid-twenties, so Mimi was probably the same.

“…Around Sieg’s age?”

“And how old do you think he is?”

“Twenty… three?”

“Bzzt! You’re wrong. Sieg is actually twenty, but because of his facial hair, he looks older,” Mimi laughed, “Oh, and I’m seven years older than him, okay!”

“…” Waa~ how unexpected~ A loli ba—gohuk!

Shhh, don’t say that to her face! Besides, aren’t we technically one too? Ehehe.

The two girls laughed together, then continued chatting as they ate lunch.

.

.

.

A girl stood by the window of her room, watching the people on the mansion’s training ground with part distaste and part annoyance.

“Haa! Huaa! Yaaah!”

The boy who was haphazardly throwing around spells after offensive spells towards the target practice dummies roared loudly. He acted as if he did not see the dummies at all; as if his goal was only to use them as an outlet to vent.

The girl by the windows frowned, “Hmph!”

She turned away from the window, severely glaring at the servants who were quivering by her side.

“Go and tell that idiot to shut up, now!” She snarled.

“A-as you command, Young lady!” The servants flinched. One of them immediately rushed out to execute her order, while the other two remained by her side to try to placate the angered girl.

“Miss Friar, please have a seat and calm down…” The young steward who had just finished steeping the tea said, hoping to divert the young girl’s attention.

Friar frowned at the man’s request, but still sat down anyway. She huffed, inelegantly crashing onto the couch.

She grabbed a pastry from the table and took a bite as the steward poured her a cup of tea, but immediately spat it out. “What is this?! Why is it too sweet?! I want it replaced, or else!”

“Y-y-yes, milady!” The other maid quickly took away the plate of pastry, running back to the kitchens as if her life depended on it.

“So useless!”

“Miss…” The steward sighed, but did not comment on the young lady’s absurd behaviour. He understood why the lady was acting so unreasonably. Miss Friar had treasured her elder sister dearly, and she did not know how to deal with her loss. Because of that, she began to grow more antagonistic.

The girl refused to open up to others, and the servants did not know how to placate her either.

Thinking of the situation of the Rosenbell family, Joshua the young steward could not help but to sigh again. Though they appeared normal and dignified on the surface, so many things were going on underneath the façade.

“Miss Friar, please have a drink.” In the end, Joshua could only silently cast a bitter and sympathetic look towards the fuming young girl. He hoped that the young miss would come to terms with the recent events quickly and find closure. It was not good to dwell on one’s sorrow, after all.

Though he reminded himself of the thought, he himself could not help from thinking of the eldest young lady as well.

They had been of the same age, and he was originally tasked to shadow the head steward who would visit the white-haired young lady every day during the evening. Thinking back to the kind and gentle girl, he also felt a sourness in his heart.

Suddenly, Friar threw away her cup, shattering it on the floor and staining the rug with spilt tea. “Take it away! Don’t ever serve that to me ever again!” She yelled, furiously wiping her mouth while sobbing.

“…! Yes, I’m sorry, Miss Friar!” Joshua was immediately snapped out of his thoughts as he moved to clean up the mess. He rang a bell that he kept inside his jacket to call the maids, then instructed them to bring a pan and a broom as well as some rags.

Afraid that the young lady would hurt herself, he immediately gathered the broken pieces of the porcelain with his gloved hands.

“Was the tea not to your liking, Miss?” He calmly asked the young girl. To his knowledge, the tea that she had drunk was the usual tea that she always had whenever the ladies were having tea. He remembered it distinctly since the head steward had mentioned that the flavour was especially favoured by the eldest young lady, and—oh.

No wonder Friar had thrown such a fit.

Perhaps the taste brought about painfully happy memories that she had shared with her beloved sister.

“…Shall I serve some fresh milk instead, Miss Friar?”

“…make it warm.”

“Yes, my lady.”

Seeing that the girl was not in a good mood, Joshua did not tarry.

“Miss Friar sure is becoming more and more bratty, don’t you think?”

Along the hallway, he could hear the faint whispers of the cleaning maids.

“She’s acting out since no one’s in the mood to humour her.”

“I pity her personal servants; they all have to deal with such terrible abuse.”

“That miss sure is too much, even though she's still so young. I fear for the future.”

Joshua glared at the gossiping maids, “get to work before I report you to the head steward,” he warned. Before he left, he did not forget to remind the maids that the master had no tolerance against insubordination.

The maids scurried away, face pale with cold sweat running down their foreheads.