Mom looks at me with a worried expression. What happened to Alice was pretty bad?

            “Alice is not feeling well, so she is taking a small break from work”

            Is she not taking a break because of the incident? That makes me a little bit happier, but still, when will she come back. I want to see what she is up to…

            “When Alice back~”

            “When she feels better Ori, for now you have a substitute”

            The butler looks at me and gives a little bow.

            “It will be a pleasure serving you young miss”

            He is polite and looks nervous. He must be trying really hard to please me. He will be my butler while I wait for Alice. I might as well do something while I wait for Alice…

            I spend the rest of that day either trying to walk or listening to mom read. Those stories about the mighty hero and their trusty swords are getting repetitive, but I need to bear with it for now. I can understand most of the conversations by now. But the people around me don’t seem to be talking about anything important most of the time…

            For some days dad has been complaining about work to mom. Apparently, work has been piling up for a while. He looks to be really stressed; I might as well give him some affection next time I see him… As I think about stuff laying on the floor, the butler is curiously looking at me.

            “Do you want something young miss”

            He is still getting used to my weird behaviors. Is there something I want right now other than news about Alice?

            “Wan~ go outside”

            My speech has been getting better these past few days, and so has my walking skills.

            “I will make the preparations as soon as possible, please wait a second young miss”

            I might as well take a stroll outside, maybe the nice lady is still there.

            The butler goes away for a second and returns promptly.

            “The preparations are being done, miss Katherine and mister Hammond isn’t going to be able to join us today, but young mister is available”

            Big bro is the only one available… I might as well go alone.

            “Want to see~ flo~ers”

            The butler picks me up and we quickly go outside.

            The flowers are looking even better than before, except for the fact that big bro destroyed some of them…

            The old lady is crouched near a flower bush. She looks more tired than usual. I make a small wave.

            “Look who decided to come out again. Did you come see me young miss?”

            “Ye~, flo~er beautifu~”

            “I am glad you like it; I have tried my best to keep them beautiful for you”

            She lets a small yawn escape.

            “Why so~ tired”

            “Taking care of my child is harder than taking care of plants”

            She lets out a hearty laugh, I have a confused expression on my face.

            “She overworked herself and now she is sick, have you been treating her well?”

            Wait a second, is she Alice’s mother!?

            “Yu Alice mom??”

            I am so surprised that my speech came out all wrong. The old lady gives me a smile.

            “I sure am, she is a very difficult child, always so diligent about her work and always forgets to take care of herself. You make sure to take good care of her okay? If she does something wrong don’t hesitate to tell me”

            This lady sure is something else… I am going to make sure to treat her child well.

            The butler seemed pleased that I showed some semblance of a good mood.

            “Want see~ Alice”

            The lady looks a little bit worried.

            “Just from afar, we don’t want the young miss getting sick too”

            Seeing her is more than enough for now. We walk in the direction of a small building that is separated from the main building. Looking from far away I can see the full size of the house, or rather, I can see the full size of the mansion…

            Getting near the building I start to hear a commotion.

            “… You should be resting Alice”

            “If I stay like this who is going to take care of Oriel, I need to get better soon”

            “You need to rest if you want to get better…”

            “I am going to the pharmacist to get some medicine and you can’t stop me”

            Alice is in a heated discussion with someone. Her voice sounds weak though. The old lady opens the door looking furious.

            “ALICE!!!”

            “MOM!!”

            Alice looks like a kid who got caught doing something wrong… Well, that is exactly what happened. There is a small moment of silence as everyone is looking at each other.

            “Alice yu~ dummy”

            She seems to finally notice me. Her face goes pale.

            “Alice go bed~”

            She looks taken back as I am giving her instructions. She is my maid after all.

            The maid that was discussing with Alice gives a smile and bows.

            “Now that this is taken care of I can get back to work, please excuse me young miss”

            Alice quickly went back inside the building. She needs to stop causing trouble for others… I shouldn’t be one to say that. I am going to apologize to her later. For now I will continue my outside time.