In the early morning, Lorelei slowly woke up from bed.
Last night, she didn’t go to bed until after two, only after seeing her sister fall asleep.
Glancing at the clock, she realized it was already past eleven in the morning.
Breakfast time had long since passed.
She took off the nightgown she had borrowed from her sister and changed into her leather training armor.
As expected, the first thing she wanted to do upon waking was to see her sister.
With that thought, she stepped out of her room and headed straight to Aurora’s room.
After knocking twice, there was no response from inside.
Just as she thought her sister might be downstairs and was about to turn away, the door suddenly opened.
“Sis, good morning…”
She turned her head eagerly to greet her sister, but to her surprise, it wasn’t Aurora who opened the door.
Instead, a little girl peeked through the slightly opened door, revealing a pair of glistening, flower-like eyes, blinking at her curiously.
She was awake.
Seeing that the girl seemed wary of her, Lorelei crouched down to appear less threatening and to get closer.
“Is your mistress here?” she asked softly, careful not to frighten the delicate little flower.
But as soon as she spoke, the girl seemed even more afraid.
The door crept closed a bit more, and while she spoke, a faint floral fragrance wafted out…
“Gudda…”
The girl’s voice was barely audible, like cherry blossom petals drifting slowly through the air, making a sound only the wind could catch as they touched the ground.
Of course, Lorelei couldn’t understand what she was saying—it was as if only flowers could comprehend this soft, delicate, uniquely floral tone.
In that moment, Lorelei started to think maybe having a daughter wouldn’t be so bad after all.
“Little sister, what are you doing squatting there?”
Suddenly, Aurora’s voice came from behind.
Lorelei happily turned around, ready to give her sister their usual morning hug, but unexpectedly, a pink figure beat her to it.
A breeze carrying the scent of cherry blossoms swept past her.
She then saw the pink-haired little girl throw herself into Aurora’s arms with a bear hug.
“Zoya! I’m still holding a plate!”
The sudden embrace made Aurora lose her balance, almost spilling the food she carried.
“Zoya?” Lorelei heard this unfamiliar name and frowned in confusion.
She remembered the girl’s name was supposed to be Gudda, right?
“Zoya Eve—that’s the new name I gave her,” Aurora explained as she carried the plate inside.
After setting the plate aside, she lifted the girl clinging to her.
“Miss Misha said I should give her a proper name. It’s weird for a young girl to be called Gudda, after all.”
“That makes sense.”
Zoya Eve—that name made Lorelei feel like her sister hadn’t gained a daughter but rather a younger sister.
That was much more serious; it felt like her identity was being taken away…
“Little sister, come hug her! She’s soft and cozy to hold.”
Aurora brought the girl closer to her, inviting her to take over.
“Well… I’ll try.”
Lorelei reached out, gently taking the girl and lifting her up.
“This isn’t sword practice, no need to lift her so high.”
“Oh.”
She then pulled the girl into her arms.
Indeed, holding her was like hugging a bundle of cotton—soft and light, with barely any weight felt in her arms.
“How does it feel?”
“Feels… very light and soft.”
“See! She hardly weighs anything.”
“And she seems to really dislike me…”
“Really?”
Aurora leaned in to look at the girl’s face, which was indeed full of reluctance.
“Maybe it’s because she’s not used to you yet. Ha ha, after a few days, she’ll get familiar.”
“Let’s hope so.”
Lorelei put the girl down and glanced at the food on the plate nearby.
There was no bread or bacon—only honey, syrup, and some fresh flower petals.
“Is this what she eats?” Lorelei asked in confusion.
“Yes. Misha told me she needs a lot of sugar. Apart from these, she can’t seem to eat anything else.”
“These… look like they’d be very sweet.”
“Ha ha, they definitely are.”
Zoya seemed hungry and picked up the honey jar, pouring it straight into her mouth.
Lorelei watched in surprise as the girl swallowed it down like it was water.
“Eat slowly, don’t choke.”
Aurora took a handkerchief to wipe the honey from the girl’s mouth corner.
“Gudda~”
Watching the warm interaction between the two, Lorelei suddenly felt a bit unhappy.
She felt her place was being taken by this girl.
“I haven’t eaten either… Sis.”
“Huh? There’s still some toast and bacon left for you downstairs.”
“… Oh.”
She wanted to say, “I want you to feed me,” but the words never came out.
Having an adult body still limited how much she could act spoiled.
If only she could grow or shrink anytime like in spatial magic—then she could really cuddle up to her sister.
With a sigh in her heart, she left Aurora’s room.
Going downstairs, she had no appetite to eat and instead took her wooden sword, heading for the training grounds.
“Is Miss Lorelei Klein here?”
Outside, a strange male voice suddenly called out.
And it seemed to be calling her.
Lorelei put down her wooden sword and walked toward the front door.
The man outside was clearly a messenger, judging by his attire.
Upon seeing Lorelei, he waved a golden envelope in his hand and called out, “Are you Miss Lorelei Klein?”
Seeing the envelope, her brow furrowed.
From afar, she recognized the unique seal on the envelope—it was the Elder Council’s seal of the kingdom.
“Yes.” She replied calmly.
“Here is a letter for you. Please keep it safe.”
She took the envelope through the iron gate, waiting until the man’s figure completely disappeared before carefully opening it.
She examined the letter from all sides.
No matter how unwilling she was to believe it, the seal was definitely that of the Elder Council.
Those old men never brought her anything good, only trouble.
Either clearing out monster dens or intervening in some war with the demon race that required her involvement.
Those were the only possibilities.
She had thought that after distancing herself from the royal palace, these matters would be left to others.
Yet, they still clung stubbornly to her.
“Troubles first thing in the morning…”
She sighed softly and slowly tore open the envelope.
Unfolding the letter, she skimmed through it.
Her frown deepened.
“A hero… has appeared at the academy…”
After a long pause, she finally whispered these words.
So far, Leonora was the only one who hadn’t done anything unforgivable and seemed more understandable than the others. Not yet