Early morning, Fenglin City, built upon the ancient forest of giant trees, was shrouded in a thin, faint morning mist.
It was breakfast time. The Nereve family estate had dozens, even hundreds, of formal dining venues… and the one Milin was currently in was a dining room not far from her guest quarters.
This dining room was built upon one of the countless high, sprawling, outward-reaching branches of the ancient tree.
This particular branch was a garden filled with rare and exotic flowers… the dining room was surrounded by it.
The structure of the dining room was long and rectangular, and its entire body was constructed of glass.
Through that glass wall, those dining within could view the canopy above and the elven architecture built on other surrounding branches.
It was truly spectacular.
It reminded Milin, sitting inside, of the glass greenhouse in her mother’s courtyard, which in turn made her nostalgic for the sights of home and the times she had spent with her mother.
‘I wonder what mother is doing right now…? Is she eating properly, resting well? I didn’t answer her call, she must be worried sick.’
A wave of melancholy washed over her… Yet, just as she was about to sink into this mood, an elven attendant approached her with a tray and greeted her.
“Good morning, Miss Milin.”
“…Good morning, Sister Carol.”
She quickly adjusted her expression, offering a smile to the attendant.
The newcomer was Nephtalia’s close attendant, Carol. She had her pale green hair tied in a ponytail and wore a neat and handsome butler’s uniform.
She first placed the breakfast tray on the table in front of Milin, then turned her head to greet the mistress sitting nearby:
“And also Miss Nephtalia. Good morning to you as well.”
“I’m the ‘also’… Carol, I’m the master here, aren’t I?”
Nephtalia wasn’t annoyed by this. Propping her cheek on her hand, she lazily admired the garden scenery surrounding the entire glass-walled dining room.
“Sometimes I wish you weren’t.”
Carol replied. She went to the serving cart to fetch another breakfast, brought it to Natalia, and lifted the lid from the plate.
The breakfast provided by the Nereve family appeared simple yet refined: toasted bread, fruit, jam, and a small bowl of herbal soup emitting a peculiar, refreshing fragrance.
“We actually have bread today. That’s rare.”
Nephtalia glanced at the food on the plate and remarked casually.
“It’s because we are hosting Miss Milin, so the kitchen was specially instructed to bake it. And it’s made with flour imported from Northern Elancia.”
Carol served each of them a cup of warm honey drink, then stepped aside.
“There’s none for Sister Carol… Aren’t you eating?”
“Thank you for your concern, Miss Milin. I have already eaten. But more importantly, in the Nereve household, we attendants are not to dine with the master and guests.”
“Is… is that so? Haha…”
Milin laughed awkwardly. In the past, when Feiyin was around, she almost always ate breakfast with her.
Because the atmosphere here was so comfortable, she had naturally fallen into the feeling of being at home.
“Don’t listen to her nonsense. The Nereve family has no such rule… munch.”
In just the time it took for Milin and Carol to exchange a single sentence… the bread on Nephtalia’s plate had vanished.
“If she wants to eat, she can sit down and eat anytime. I wouldn’t stop her.”
“Well then, I’ll have a little something. Excuse me, Miss Nephtalia, could you give me your apple?”
“Absolutely not.”
Seeing Carol’s gaze directed at the apple on her plate, Nephtalia grabbed the apple and took a bite.
“It’s fine even if you’ve bitten it. Share a little with me?”
“No.”
Crunch crunch crunch.
Nephtalia devoured the entire apple in an instant. Carol then turned to Milin:
“You see, this is Miss Nephtalia’s generosity. When I used to dine with her, she would always quietly reach over to my plate and eat my portion. So I swore I would never share a table with her again.”
“Ahaha… Do you want my apple?”
“No need. Enjoy your meal.”
To provide natural light for the dining room, the canopy above had been trimmed… Daylight filtered through the forest shade, casting a dappled pattern of leaf shadows over the girls, or the elves with girlish appearances.
Milin finished her soup in small sips. The ingredients in the soup seemed to include herbs that could invigorate the spirit… She stretched her arms wide, feeling very refreshed.
“Thank you for the hospitality, Natalia. And Sister Carol…”
She first thanked Nephtalia, who had wandered over to the serving cart to check for other food… then turned to the attendant Carol behind her.
“What’s…”
She saw Carol wearing a troubled expression as she read an opened letter.
“Hey, I think I’ve seen that crest on the envelope before… Is that the Walstroom family crest?”
Milin examined the envelope in her hand.
“You recognized it?”
Carol’s gaze, which had been reading the letter, shifted to her.
“Yes. And that envelope and crest are all gold and shiny… you can tell at a glance who sent it.”
“As you guessed, the sender is indeed that Bert von Walstrom. It seems he wants to thank me for casting healing magic on him at the tournament grounds that day.”
Carol’s words instantly brought back the events of that day to Milin… Amidst the chaos, it was indeed Carol, who had been at the sidelines, who stabilized Bert’s injuries.
Milin had seen this scene when she went to check on the injured and the safety of the audience in the arena.
She was one of the few people present at the time capable of using high-tier healing magic… Even the medical mages in the City Defense Force didn’t have that ability.
“He also mentions that his body is gradually recovering… and he asks me about your whereabouts.”
Milin was glad to hear he was safe and sound… Because she left in a hurry, she hadn’t been able to say goodbye to Bert.
However, while Bert was recuperating at his residence in the city, she had visited him once, bringing wine.
Because it was agreed upon on the festival float—they would have a drink together later.
But the doctor caring for Bert at the time sternly told him he couldn’t drink, so Milin had to leave the bottle there, promising to catch up another time.
“Brother Bert is a clever one. Because he saw me talking with you all that day… so he guessed I left with you?”
Carol gave a slight nod. But her expression remained as troubled as before…
“Is there something else in the letter?”
“He wants to invite me to visit the Central Realm of Elancia.” Carol let out a long sigh, “And he also mentions that he ordered a large batch of flowers that are on their way… along with a payment.”
“Haha… That’s just his style.”
“Isn’t that good? Even an old woman like Carol has caught someone’s fancy. I say you should go… I’ll give you a vacation.”
Nephtalia, who had been listening nearby, finally found other food in the serving cart… She slathered jam on a new piece of bread and stuffed it into her mouth.