After our coincidental meeting in the hallway, the five of us headed to the guest lounge together.

Once we had settled down with tea poured, my mother smiled warmly and commented, "It has been such a long time since I’ve seen the both of you. Sir Donovan has grown up to be such a respectable young man. Same goes for the young Lord Aedus as well.” Mother chuckled as she held a hand up to her face demurely.

Donovan gave a complicated smile at being treated like a child on the same level as Aedus.

“I’m glad Lady Rosaline is doing well,” he answered. “Is Lord Remington around today?”

“Peter is out on a patrol at the border. There have been some strange sightings reported recently so he has decided to lead the patrol himself. He will only be back in a few days.”

“That sounds unsettling. I hope that he will return safely soon.”

“It is not as dangerous as it sounds. We are already used to it from living close to the border to the Arcadia Forest. Is there something you wish to speak to him about?”

Donovan shook his head. “No, it is fine.”

Mother smiled unconcernedly. “I see. Speaking of which, the both of you arrived earlier than expected. How was your journey? Travelling here from the capital is dreadfully long isn’t it.”

“Not at all. It was great seeing the scenery past by. We were not bored right, Aedus?”

Aedus who had been fidgeting since we entered the room gave a stiff smile and glanced at me before replying, “Uh, um... Nope.”

He was asking you if you were bored, why are you looking at me? I knitted my brows slightly.

Donovan smiled at his nephew’s reply and continued gently, “This is something we bought along the way. We hope that Lady Liliana will like it.”

He turned to a servant wearing a grey coat and placed a pink box on the table.

My eyes widened slightly at the name on the box. I-it was macarons from a famous patisserie a few towns away from here! I have heard of its name before but never had the chance to try it.

I swallowed my saliva.

No. I am not going to be bought over just like that!

I tore my eyes away. “Thank you,” I replied coldly.

“She’s really angry… She really don’t like things like that, huh...” A soft mutter came from Aedus’s mouth as he looked at the floor.

Donovan glanced at his nephew and placed a hand on his back, seemingly to comfort him. Then, he leaned forward slightly and said, “As we have informed through the letter, our main reason for coming here today is to pay a visit to Lady Liliana.”

Looking at me with concerned hazel eyes, he asked, “I heard from my nephew, Aedus, that he had accidentally pushed you into a pond. I wish to apologise on the Duke of Duncaster’s behalf for his son’s clumsiness. How are you feeling now?”

“Could be better,” I said as I turned my face away slightly. How can a grown man have such cute puppy-like eyes?

Donovan gave a troubled smile and finally looked to my mother for help.

Mother gave a bright, reassuring smile back before turning to face me. As her blue eyes ran through my face, her brows moved to form a perfect ハ.

“Oh dear. Liliana, you have been making an awfully constipated face for some time. Are you feeling alright?”

“Yes, I am feeling great.”

Greatly unhappy!

“If you are not feeling well, perhaps you should go and have a rest in your room?”

“I am completely fine.”

As fine as the sugar used to make macarons!

Just then, mother paused and wrapped her hands around mine.

“If that’s the case, why don’t you bring Lord Aedus out on a tour of the mansion? It must be boring staying indoors with such good weather.”

Although mother was saying it calmly with a smile, I could tell from her eyes that she was getting annoyed. And her hand, even though she was just touching me lightly, there was an intense pressure coming from her hands covering mine. Is it magic? This must be some kind of intimidation magic right?

I guess I overdid it.

“Alright,” I answered as I quickly withdrew my hands before they were crushed.

“Lord Aedus, why don’t I show you around?” I asked as my eyes flickered to the restless boy.

Aedus straightened his back at having his name called and nodded quickly. “Sure.”

As the two of us stood up, mother added nonchalantly, “Diana can stay here with me. The two of you please go and have fun.”

I turned and frowned. “Why can’t Diana come with me?”

“Clarice and Grace are away so I need someone around to help me,” mother replied composedly.

Clarice and Grace were my mother’s personal maids. During my trip to the Royal Palace, they were the ones who had accompanied me together with Diana. The both of them were now visiting their hometown, leaving my mother without a personal maid. However, she had been fine with it, so why does she need Diana to remain with her now?

The frown between my brows deepened.

Plus Diana was hit on earlier, was it really okay to leave her here with Donovan?

As my eyes floated to her, Diana’s grey eyes met mine and she spoke up with a faint smile, “Thank you for your concern, but I am perfectly fine. Please go ahead, Lady Liliana.”

The Diana who was famous for having a stone-like face has smiled...

I sighed, knowing that I had lost.

“Alright then.”

*****

Upon exiting the guest lounge, Aedus and I started walking back the way we had came from earlier.

I took a quick look around to make sure there were no servants about before I turned to Aedus and loudly declared, “Lord Aedus, you absolutely cannot grow up to become a person like your uncle!”

Aedus froze at my sudden outburst before he gave an awkward laugh and scratched his head.

“Uncle Donovan is not the kind of person who behaves frivolously. Although it might sound like an excuse, but he is a really brilliant person. I am sure there is a reason for what he did.”

“Mmm… Of course you will speak up for him. He’s your uncle after all,” I replied sullenly.

Aedus gave a sheepish smile.

Hmm… It seems like he had recovered. Even though he was so nervous earlier.

Was my mother that scary?

“By the way, where are we going to?” he asked as he glanced around.

We were now outside of the mansion and headed towards the direction back to my house.

“Ah… Although I was asked to bring you around, my legs ended up walking towards my house…” I groaned as I held my head.

“My bad. Is there anywhere you would like to visit? We can go to the other gardens or even the horse stables if you would like.” Taking into consideration the hobbies a boy might have, I provided some suggestions.

“Actually I am more interested in what you have just said. The direction we are headed towards is the garden I got lost in earlier. Could the house you are talking about be the circular building in the middle of the garden?” he asked cautiously.

I was surprised by his question, but nodded. “Yep. That’s right.”

Aedus’s lips tightened for a moment and a shadow flitted across his amber eyes. What was that expression? Sorrow? Pity? His strange reaction caused an uncomfortable feeling to rise in my chest.

“Then, is it alright if I go and take a look?” he asked with a determined expression.

“I don’t really mind…” My words trailed off as I tried to think back on the condition of the house. Well, since the maids have tidied up, there should be no strange things lying about!

With my lead, we headed into the maze-like garden again.

As we neared the house, a strange sight came into view and I immediately dodged behind a large flower pot

What day was it today? Why are there so many visitors?

Right in front of the door, a group of four children around my age were staring up at the two storey building.

From their plain and coarse clothes, they were most likely children of the servants working here. The grounds of the mansion had both servant quarters as well as a barrack. Servants and guards were invited to stay inside with their families, so I heard that there were some who had the whole family relocated into the mansion’s grounds.

However, this place was faraway from the servant’s quarters. What were they doing here? Do not tell me they got lost as well?

A boy with closely cropped chestnut brown hair stood in front of the other three children and placed his hands on the side of his waist before giving a grin.

“See! I told you there are no monsters around here!”

“Eddy, let’s go back already....” a boy with light blonde hair said as he looked around furtively. “What if a monster comes out and attacks us?”

“I agree with Josh. We were told not to come close to this place. Let’s go back before anyone finds us, alright?” a girl who looks to be the oldest with waist length tea brown hair added on with a worried face.

A small girl with strawberry blonde hair tied into two pigtails peeked her head out from the back of the older girl.

“Eddy lied to us... You said you are going to bring us on an adventure. Why did you bring us here instead?” Her big, round eyes watered up and tears threatened to spill from her sky blue eyes.

The boy called Eddy sighed in exasperation. “This is an adventure! Exploring unknown places, braving against possible dangers! It is exactly like the picture books the teachers showed to us!”

“Even though we are still in the mansion grounds?” the boy called Josh muttered under his breath.

Wow. This boy has the making of being a good tsukkomi. I gave a silent nod of approval.

“Lady Liliana, how long are we going to hide here?” Beside me, Aedus asked in a small voice as he peeked out from the back of the flower pot just like me.

“Ah... I didn’t really mean to hide, but I was so surprised and my body just moved on its own.” I rubbed the back of my head awkwardly. Well, since it was like this, they should go off soon after we wait here for a while.

Or perhaps going somewhere else would be better?

“As I thought, maybe we should go to the horse stables?”

Aedus gave a grin. “Why? There’s nothing to be afraid of! Just greet them cheerfully like what you did with me earlier!”

That was because I thought you were someone I knew… But I was not able to say out my thoughts as Aedus stepped out of our hiding place. I raised my head in alarm and attempted to grab him by his shirt.

“What are you do-” I hissed, but was cut off by his words.

“Hello! What are you guys doing!” With a hand in the air and a bright smile, Aedus called out to the children.

All four heads snapped back and in that instant, I could see terror in their eyes.

I quickly hid back behind the flower pot.

“Ah, phew.” Eddy was the first one who replied with a relieved sigh. “It’s just a human.”

Aedus laughed. “Of course! My name is Aedus. You guys seem to be having fun. Can I join you?”

“Sure! I am Eddy. Where do you come from? I don’t think I’ve seen your face around.” Eddy squinted and peered at Aedus suspiciously.

“Haha. That’s because I am a visitor. Do you guys stay around here?”

“Yeah. All of us stay here.” Eddy nodded affirmatively, and suddenly stopped as doubt surfaced. “Ah, but not here here. In the servants’ quarters, I mean.”

“Excuse me.” The older girl with tea brown hair spoke up. “I am Marina and this is Sally,” she said as she brought the small girl to her front and bowed slightly. “We stay in the servants’ quarters in the mansion’s ground together with our family who are working here.”

“I am Josh,” the last boy quickly added upon seeing that everyone had introduced themselves.

“Nice to meet you!” Aedus greeted. “So what are you guys doing?”

“We are on an adventure!” Eddy replied proudly.

“Adventure? What kind of adventure?” Aedus asked curiously.

“You see…” Eddy paused for effect. “Our parents always say to avoid this place, so we are here to find out if the rumours are real!”

“Eh… That sounds interesting. What kind of rumours?”

Faced with the round, inquisitive eyes of Aedus, Eddy gave a wide grin. In contrast, Marina creased her brows and attempted to stop the boy.

“Eddy, I don’t think-”

“The Red Demon!”

His words seemed to ring around the air longer than usual, and for a moment, my heart felt as if someone had squeezed it.

“They say that a red-haired demon lives here so we are here to find out if it’s true!” Eddy said with a clear voice and a brilliant smile.

Oh well. I thought that it might be something like that. You can say that it was within expectations? I had thought of that the moment they were talking about ‘monsters’. My house is really neat and clean and far from being an haunted house though! Ha! Ha...

“Red Demon…?” Aedus’s face scrunched up in confusion, before it soon changed into indignation.

“That’s not right! There are no demons or monsters staying here. Right, Lia?” Aedus asked as he turned to my direction.

Huh, who’s that? Just as I was still in denial over the sudden affectionate nickname, Aedus came directly to my hiding place and tugged me on my arm.

“W-wait!”

Is he an idiot? Can’t he read the atmosphere? Won’t you feel sorry for them if the ‘Red Demon’ in question suddenly appears in front of them?

However, he was much stronger than me and I was pulled out into the open before I could put up any struggle. I immediately lowered my face even though I knew that it was like an ostrich hiding its head in the ground.

The silence that ensued was so stifling I could not help but slowly lift my head.

“Ah. It’s a small Lady Rosaline.”

The person who had spoken out was the ever talkative Eddy who was staring at me with an open jaw.

“L-Lady Liliana?” The next person who spoke was Marina. With a flustered face, she immediately lowered her head and pressed down the head of Sally as well. Josh quickly followed suit.

I have thinking for a while, but compared to Eddy, isn’t this girl really mature? She seemed to be quick at picking things up.

“Lady Liliana? As in the Lady Liliana who is always stuck in her bed and don’t show herself to others?” Eddy asked with a confused expression.

Or rather, isn’t this boy too slow?

“Yes! This is Lady Liliana, the daughter of the household!” Aedus replied somewhat proudly.

Hah… I sighed. This day was starting to be more draining than I had expected. Ahem, I guess as the oldest one (mentally) in this group, I have to put myself together. I took a deep breath and gave myself mental encouragement before taking a step forward.

“Hello, nice to meet you. As Lord Aedus has introduced, I am Liliana Gracia Remington,” I said with an amiable smile plastered on my face. It was during times like this I truly appreciated mother’s teaching on how to remain calm and lady-like even during emergencies.

Without waiting for a reply, I started walking past the stunned children.

“Today is such a hot day isn’t it?” I asked lightly as I climbed up the steps to the doorway and inserted my key into the keyhole. “Well, why don’t we come inside? I can prepare iced tea for everyone.”

I swung open the wooden doors and entered without looking back. Regardless if Aedus did it on purpose on not, this was a good chance for me to get along with children my age. Please enter the house! I prayed hard in my heart.

Sounds of scrambling soon came after me, and when I turned back, I saw that Eddy was the first one to enter.

“Wow! This place is incredible!”

His eyes sparkled as his eyes roamed around the lobby. From the high ceiling to the mahogany floors and even to the cream coloured floral pattern walls, his eyes looked as if it was going to devour the whole place.

“This place is bigger than I imagined,” Aedus said as he looked around. Behind him, the three other children entered cautiously. However, their eyes were soon filled with wonder. Were they expecting it to be mouldy and filled with cobwebs or something?

“There’s even a garden here!” Eddy exclaimed as he spotted the greenery half hidden behind the foyer stairs.

“Please take a seat at the table in the garden while I get some drinks,” I said before I walked down the right corridor towards the kitchen.

“Lady Liliana! Please let me help you,” Marina called. Then, she bent slightly and patted the younger girl’s soft hair before saying, “Follow Josh and take a seat in the garden, alright?”

Sally nodded obediently and held Josh’s hand before the both of them walked to the garden. At this point, Eddy had already ran into the garden with Aedus chasing after him. Well, since Aedus is looking after him, it should be fine I guess.

*****

“Lady Liliana, please let me prepare the tea,” Marina said anxiously the moment we stepped into the kitchen.

“Ah… The tea is already prepared though. We just need to pour it out of the pitcher,” I explained. “Can you help me to wash the glasses instead?” I quickly continued when I saw that Marina has fallen dejected.

Marina perked up hearing my words and bobbed her head up and down. “Yes! Where are the glasses?”

“The glasses should be over here, I think?” I had not entered the kitchen for a while so I was unsure if Diana had changed where the items were kept at. I opened up a cupboard and was greeted with a row of glasses made from blue glass. Score~

“Oh? What are these?” My eyes were drawn to a covered plate on the kitchen counter.

I lifted the cloth and saw that it was a plate of raspberry scones. They were most likely left there by the maids in the morning.

“Let’s have these scones as well!”

Although the kitchen was fully furnished, it was hardly used as my food was usually prepared by the main kitchen and sent over to me. At most, Diana would use it to make tea as she forbid me from cooking anything.

As Marina was busy washing the glasses, I approached a stone box in the corner and opened up the cover. It was a simple cooler box used to store cold items. In the middle of the ice that had been replenished by the maids in the morning was a flask of cooled tea Diana has prepared earlier.

There was an ice house in the mansion grounds and everyday during the summer season, the maids will help to bring over some ice in the morning so that I can enjoy a cold drink in the hot afternoon. Talking about the ice house, it was a really wonderful place to be in in the middle of summer! The small dome-like structure made of stone had spells etched into its walls that made the place cold throughout the entire year. However, the spell needed to be maintained twice a year to keep it going. I even asked if it was possible to etch it onto the walls of the rooms so that the rooms can be cool even during the summer. However, my suggestion was met with a frown as controlling temperature on a large space would be too costly and maintenance would be time consuming. So my dream of having a working aircon was shot down just like that.

“Lady Liliana, I’m done over here. Do you need my help?” Marina asked as she approached me from the back and placed the washed glasses onto a tray.

“No. I’m done here as well.”

The pitcher and glasses together with the scones had been placed on a tray so all that was left was to bring it over.

“Please let me hold it!” Marina said as she quickly lifted up the tray.

“Isn’t it heavy?” I asked worriedly as I watched her carry the tray with her skinny arms.

“It’s fine!” She said with a smile. “Plus it wouldn’t be right to let Lady Liliana carry it.”

“I’ve been wondering, but how old are you?”

Although she looked to be around my age, Marina seemed to be much more mature than the other children.

“I’m 9, Eddy and Josh are 8, Sally is 6,” she answered as we made our way to the garden.

“Oh! Then we are the same age.”

“Ahaha… It feels a bit strange to hear that from Lady Liliana…” She said with a slightly embarrassed face. “Because Lady Liliana is so much more mature than me.”

Her words surprised me. Me, mature? I recalled all the times my family and Diana had treated me like a handful child past remedy...

Marina is really a nice child!

*****

In the garden, Aedus and the other three children were all seated around the white limestone garden table with their eyes flickering about curiously.

“Ah! There’s food as well?” Eddy jumped out of his seat in delight.

“Don’t be so rude in front of Lady Liliana!” Marina scolded as she placed the tray down.

As Marina helped to distribute the iced drinks, I took a seat beside Sally who was swinging her short legs about as she looked around.

The sunlight filtered through the thick glass window at the roof was weaker, making the place cooler than outside. Even though there was no breeze about, ventilation was good and with the amount of plants inside, it was enough to result in high indoor air quality.

Having an impromptu tea party wasn’t too bad after all, I thought as I munched on a scone.

Beside me, Sally tugged me lightly on my sleeve.

“Are you really Lady Liliana?” She asked with round eyes.

Although I was puzzled by her question, I just smiled and nodded. “Yes, I am Liliana.”

“Eh… I heard that Lady Liliana was a princess who was captured by horrible monsters and held at the top of a tower.”

What is with this fairytale like setting?! My dear parents, what exactly have you been spreading about me?

“Umm, as you can see there are no monsters around here. I can come and go freely between the main building and here as well, so I am definitely not locked up.”

“I see.” Sally gave a nod, her two pigtails bouncing slightly, and smiled brightly. “I’m so glad Lady Liliana is not trapped in a tower. That would be very scary.”

So cute! I instantly had the urge to give her a hug.

“So in the end the reason why the adults have telling us to avoid this place is because Lady Liliana stays here?” Eddy surprisingly gave a logical observation.

Although the rumours might have turned twisted, the basis of it was probably, ‘Lady Liliana stays there. Do not go near.’

“That’s why I say we should have listened to them. Now we are intruding on Lady Liliana’s resting time,” Marina replied as she shot a look at Eddy.

“I’m fine! Don’t worry. In fact it feels really nice to have more people around,” I quickly replied before the two of them start arguing.

“What do you do in your free time?” Aedus asked as he looked at me with curious eyes.

“Mmm… I like to read. Sometimes I will take a walk around the garden or play board games with Diana.”

Unlike the previous world where I could go to cafes and do window shopping after school, the number of things I could here was limited. I used to have a large playroom with toys but I had it converted into a library around two years ago. My father and brother would often bring in new and interesting books when they go out so I was never too bored.

“Oh… So you are a book lover,” Aedus said with a surprised face. “Have you heard of ‘Princess Cecilia and her Knight’?”

My mouth opened in surprise.

“Yes! I love it! The romance between a beautiful princess of a country and a brave knight whom she saved when he was injured was so heartwarming! Even though there were differences in their status, they still managed to overcome them and get together at the end. Don’t tell me you have read it as well?”

“Not yet, but someone introduced it to me saying that it was very popular among ladies.” Aedus seemed to be slightly taken aback by my enthusiasm.

“I definitely recommend you read it!”

“Lady Liliana is so great... I have not attended school yet so I can only read my name…” Sally said in a revering tone.

Ah. Commoners attended local schools from age 7 to 14 so she had one more year before she get to attend school.

“Tch, school is not that fun,” Eddy said sullenly.

“You are always so excited over physical education classes though,” Josh commented.

“Because I’m good at it!” Eddy replied with an upturned nose.

“Hah. Are you acknowledging that you are just stupid?”

“What did you say?” Eddy stood up as he glared at Josh.

“Stop it!”

Marina cut in with two hands in between the boys. “At least stop and see where we are at!”

“Hahaha…” I gave an awkward laugh. “How about you? What does Lord Aedus do in your free time?” I quickly tried to change the topic.

“Ah, hmmm… I’ve gotten interested in gardening recently. In fact, I think I want to become a gardener in the future!” Aedus said with excited eyes. “To be honest, I took the rose lying on the ground because I wanted to try growing some. On hindsight, I should have just asked for one… I’ve already reflected on my mistake. I hope that you can forgive me!”

“No, it's fine. As long as you have reflected…”

More than his apology, I was curious about his words on becoming a gardener. If I was not mistaken, Aedus was a character who had become a Knight by the time he was 18. Even if I take away what I knew about the light novel, he was the heir to the Dukedom of Duncaster, how can he possibly become a gardener?

While I was still mystified over his words, Josh seemed to be very fascinated by his declaration of becoming a gardener and started asking him questions about gardening.

The rest of tea time went smoothly amidst lively chat, and before I knew it, we had already spent close to an hour inside. Although the time was short lived, the four children had to return back to their parents or they would be found out that they had went to a place they were not supposed to enter.

Aedus and I went to send them off at the door. As we watched them enter the garden while waving their hands, Aedus gave a proud smile.

“Isn’t this great? They seem to have a better impression of you now.”

That was true although it caused a lot of trouble as well.

“I guess I have you to thank for that,” I answered with a smile I was unable to hold back.

Aedus’s eyes widened in surprise and his cheeks became slightly flushed.

“Lia should smile like that more often!”

“Hmm? Who’s Lia?” I faked ignorance.

Aedus just grinned and started down the steps. “Lia, let’s go back to the guest lounge as well. If not I won’t be able to return to the inn tonight.”

“I’m coming. Let me just lock the door first.” I sighed as I turned around and inserted the key into the keyhole. After locking the door, I started down the steps after Aedus.

A few steps away, I stopped and turned to look up at the two storey cylindrical building. Even if I wanted to forget it, my mind went back to what Sally had said earlier.

“Am I really a pitiful princess trapped in a tower?”

The words I murmured was in a voice so soft that it could be carried away by the wind.

“Lia! Hurry!” Aedus called as he waved at me.

“Coming!”

My footsteps pitter-pattered across the stone path, echoing the disquiet in my heart.