Breakfast was nothing more than a simple home-cooked meal.
Hamburger sandwiches, fried eggs, leafy greens, mushroom soup, each paired with a cup of hot milk—very much in line with Floriane and Sylvie’s usual eating habits.
Many of the ingredients were taken from freshly opened packages, seeming as if Sophia had specially sent someone out to buy new supplies in preparation for their arrival.
For Aunt Sophia to go to such lengths for Teacher Floriane… could it be that she truly wants to join this family?
Sylvie nibbled on her sandwich, quietly pondering this suspicion.
The atmosphere at the breakfast table was unexpectedly stiff: the three of them ate silently, with Floriane’s expression looking particularly vexed.
…According to Sylvie’s observations, it seemed that the first time Floriane made mushroom soup, she accidentally ruined a pot and ended up with a thick, mysterious substance emitting an eerie purple mist at the bottom of the pot.
In the end, it was Aunt Sophia who took full charge of the kitchen mess.
For some reason, despite Teacher Floriane’s expertise in potion brewing, her skill at cooking regular food was practically disastrous.
Yet she still frequently volunteered to cook, every so often whimsically trying to invent new dishes—almost inevitably ending in failure.
…Which is precisely why Sylvie’s most mastered magic to date was the Detoxification Spell.
Half an hour later, Sophia said she “had something to take care of and would leave for a while,” then walked out of the villa’s front door.
Watching her figure fade away in the morning sunlight, Sylvie, who was voluntarily cleaning up the table, let out a long breath of relief.
“Hm? Sylvie, what’s wrong?”
Noticing Sylvie’s obvious change in mood, Floriane couldn’t help but ask curiously.
“I remember yesterday, you said Aunt Sophia was a good person. You even ate her lollipop on the carriage. So why are you acting so differently today?”
“Umm…”
Sylvie hesitated as she cleaned the dishes, then sat back down next to Floriane, leaning closer.
Her expression became mysterious as she lowered her voice and, in a whisper-like tone, suddenly asked:
“Teacher Floriane… do you… like Aunt Sophia?”
The unexpected question caught Floriane off guard.
Not just Floriane—Sylvie herself seemed startled by her own impulsiveness in asking.
Only after the words left her mouth did she realize how shy and uneasy she looked, nervously twisting the edge of her skirt.
Floriane’s eyes widened, her surprise flickered briefly before she quickly suppressed her emotions and regained her calm.
She gently patted Sylvie’s head and smiled warmly again.
“Such childish questions, why ask something like that all of a sudden—”
“It’s because… Aunt Sophia seems to take special care of you? It feels like she has extraordinary feelings toward you…”
Sylvie tilted her head, hesitating before quickly adding:
“Teacher, is what I’m saying correct? I hope it’s not offensive…”
“…Hmm.”
Floriane hesitated, then finally nodded.
She hadn’t expected Sylvie’s senses to be so sharp… or perhaps Sophia had told Sylvie something in private?
Floriane pondered silently.
Since Sylvie had already brought this topic into the open, if she didn’t explain it clearly, it might only cause Sylvie to overthink.
With that in mind, Floriane slowly began:
“Well, actually… a few years ago, when I was still living in the capital… I was quite close to Aunt Sophia… a senior-junior relationship, you could say.”
Her tone turned contemplative as her gaze drifted into the distance, as if peering through time back to those distant days.
“Eh, th-then why did you later move to the borderlands—”
“Well… later, because of some unexpected incidents, I had to personally deal with some bad people.”
Floriane explained softly.
“But those bad people were influential figures within the kingdom… so I was ostracized by their remnants. Some even colluded with foreign demons, sending monsters to assassinate me.
“But I took advantage of the situation by pretending to be killed by the monsters, using it as an opportunity to escape the complicated intrigues of the capital and retreat to the countryside to recuperate.”
“Oh…”
Sylvie responded thoughtfully, her gaze shifting toward an old portrait hanging on a nearby wall.
…The portrait showed two armored female knights standing side by side with arms around each other’s shoulders, smiling. They were fully armored except for their bare heads.
Sylvie had been paying attention to this portrait since breakfast because, judging from their hair color and facial features, she could vaguely tell that the two were the Floriane and Sophia of years past.
Notably, the Floriane in the portrait was at least a head taller than Sophia and stood with a straight posture and solemn expression, exuding a queenly confidence and aloofness.
The whole scene looked like a big sister taking care of a younger sibling.
Sylvie stared silently at the portrait, slightly lost in thought.
…So, if Teacher Floriane hadn’t experienced that little incident back then… if those bad people hadn’t persecuted her… maybe she would have been born and raised in this luxurious villa—
“So… what’s the relationship between Aunt Sophia and Teacher Floriane?”
“Oh, that—how to say it… maybe there’s a little something.”
Floriane scratched her cheek awkwardly.
“At the time, she openly and secretly expressed her affection for me, but I was focused on my career and had no interest in those trivial feelings, so I flat out rejected her and even lectured her.
“I never thought that after all these years, she still hasn’t forgotten me…”
Not just forgotten—more like suppressed it to the point of illness, intensifying until it became pathological.
What was once such a sweet girl had now turned into a shameless, vulgar, and despicable harlot—
Of course, Floriane didn’t say this last part aloud but stopped herself just in time, keeping the rest of the bitter thought to herself.
Hearing this, Sylvie lowered her head, nervously tapping her fingertip against her lip, struggling to gather courage as she stammered:
“So then… if Aunt Sophia really cares about you now, Teacher Floriane, would you consider… umm…”
Sylvie’s words were cut off by Floriane’s fair fingers gently pressing against her lips, signaling her to hush.
Soft and smooth, still carrying a faint scent of food.
“Sylvie, Sylvie… remember, today’s first lesson: you can mess up your food, but you can’t mess up your words~”
Floriane earnestly shook her finger as she admonished her.