“Ugh… how dare she leave me hanging here for so long! Where on earth did she go?”
“It’s all the Lady’s fault for giving such a low score. Miss Lian is so pitiful… she probably found a place to hide and cry, didn’t she?”
“Your 0.5 was even lower than mine! Besides, I think she probably went to brew tea again—look, I knew it.”
“I’m sorry… for keeping you waiting.”
Lian returned to the room carrying a bucket full of water. She smiled at the master and servant waiting for her in the room, then immediately set to work preparing the tea.
“…Sister Lian, who bullied you? Who could even bully you?”
Her red-rimmed eyes did not escape Milin’s notice. Milin stood up from her chair at once and ran to her side.
“Oh dear. This really is… you should have washed your face before coming back.”
Feiyin pulled out a handkerchief and recited an incantation to dampen it. As soon as she finished the action, Milin snatched the handkerchief away and began wiping Lian’s face for her.
“It’s… it’s nothing, just a small bug blown into my eyes by the night wind. I rubbed them for a long time, and it ended up like this.”
Their actions made Lian want to cry again. Why was it that after becoming like this, she was always shedding tears? Had her heart become soft along with her body?
Lian managed to suppress the stinging urge in her nose with great effort.
She didn’t want to show a weak expression in front of these two children and make them worry—because she had already shown that kind of expression enough in front of Sephy.
“Dummy! In times like this, you should force your eyes open and let it come out on its own! Like this—”
“No need for a demonstration, Lady. Not everyone has as much experience as you with bugs getting into their eyes.”
“…She used to get bugs in her eyes often?”
Looking at Milin, who had tossed the handkerchief aside and was exaggeratedly pulling at her own eyelids to widen her eyes, Lian asked Feiyin.
“Yes. Back when the Lady didn’t live in this Palace, she often ran to the fields and the riverside to play, and then bugs would crawl into her eyes. Even now, she frequently runs back to the Farm where she used to live to play, and she even has the nerve to grandly call it ‘running away from home.'”
“Feiyin!”
“So you see, right? The Lady’s essence is that of a village brat, and a particularly naughty one at that. Even though she only gave your tea a 0.5… the truth is, she can’t even tell the difference between good and bad tea. Last time, when she hosted Miss Nephtalia for tea—”
“The 0.5 was your score! I’m going to sew that mouth of yours shut!”
Feiyin skillfully dodged Milin’s hand as the blushing girl reached out to cover her mouth, continuing to broadcast her embarrassing history without a care.
Lian listened quietly to the stories she hadn’t known, waiting until Milin was stomping her feet in frustration from the futile chase before slowly speaking:
“Lady… do you feel happy? Those days on the Farm, and this life in the Palace now.”
“Of course I’m happy…! As long as I’m with Mother and everyone… I’m happy every day! If Sister Lian could help me catch this wretched Feiyin, I’d be even happier! So happy I’d burst out laughing!”
Aren’t you laughing already?
“Alright. Then I’ll help you catch her.”
Looking at her current expression, Lian couldn’t help but laugh as well. She moved the water bucket to the side, then rolled up her sleeves and faced Feiyin alongside Milin.
“With all due respect, even adding Miss Lian won’t change the outcome. In the previous one thousand three hundred and twenty-four times you played tag as the ‘it,’ you haven’t caught me once.”
Even facing two people, the expression on Feiyin’s face didn’t change at all. She stepped back slightly, preparing to flee in a very elegant posture.
“I’ll definitely catch you today! You don’t know… Sister Lian is really amazing! Prepare yourself!”
“Lady… the teacups, watch the teacups on the table! And the cabinet… the cabinet is going to fall!”
In the end, the three of them continued their game of tag until a colleague living downstairs, unable to bear the disturbance, brought over the Dormitory Manager—that colleague had intended to take this opportunity to properly lecture the newcomer favored by the Head Maid, but once she and the manager saw the faces of the three people fooling around in the room, they immediately retreated in terror.
“It seems we’ve caused trouble for others. How about we stop here for today?”
Feiyin patted her slightly dusty skirt and made the suggestion to the two sweating people in front of her.
“I, I really can’t catch you! Are you an eel?”
“I’ve caught eels in the Songlin River… they were much easier to catch than her!”
The result was exactly as Feiyin had said—even with their combined strength, they couldn’t catch her.
The “father and daughter” duo had managed to touch her dress many times… but she was always able to pull away the parts about to be caught at the last second, turning danger into safety.
“Comparing me to that kind of creature is very rude. It’s getting late, so I’ll take my leave. Lady, would you like me to escort you back?”
“…No, I still have a few words to say to Sister Lian.”
“Then please be careful not to play too late—because tomorrow is the Flower Crown Parade. And Miss Lian, the same goes for you. You must board the float tomorrow and attend to the honored guests of the XÄ«long Pavilion throughout the parade.”
After leaving those words, Feiyin left the room with her head held high in a victor’s stance. Milin and Lian looked at each other, then both collapsed onto the bed with a groan.
“Lost again! That’s the one thousand three hundred and twenty-fifth time I’ve lost to her! Sister Lian, were you going easy on her?”
“I’m innocent. Her movement is truly incredible. The room isn’t particularly spacious, yet she seemed to jump around completely unhindered, and she didn’t knock things over everywhere like we did… Without using Magic Power, I probably can’t catch her.”
Lian wasn’t lying. Without using Magic Power, she had indeed been fairly serious.
“Is she really a Maid?”
“? Of course, the two of us grew up together… that’s why she knows so many of my embarrassing stories. Hmph…!”
“Is that so… that’s good then.”
Since this mysterious girl had grown up with her… then she probably wouldn’t do anything to harm her no matter what.
Hearing her start to get annoyed again with a pout, Lian finally felt a sense of peace.
“Sister Lian… are you feeling happier?”
She closed her eyes for a moment, then heard the girl lying next to her suddenly ask that.
“…I’m very happy?”
“You’re lying. Just like Feiyin said… I’m very experienced with bugs getting in my eyes! What you had just now was definitely not caused by rubbing your eyes!”
Milin turned her head, staring intently at her with those obsidian-like eyes.
“Are you homesick? Or do you miss your family?”
“…Yes.”
Lian felt as if her face was held in place by some invisible force, unable to move.
“To the point of crying?”
“…Yes.”
“Then don’t think about it anymore. From now on, the Honglian Palace is your home. Me, Feiyin… maybe even Mother and Teacher Vera, everyone will be your family. Just toss that jerk who made you cry like that far to the back of your mind and forget them completely! I’ll be waiting for you tomorrow morning… I’ll give you a proper introduction to this city and make you fall in love with it! I’ve secretly run off to play in many places in the city—”
Milin showed that brilliant smile Lian had seen before, patting her cheeks and speaking to her with great excitement.
Ah.
Lian felt the stinging urge in her nose disappear. If she cried, she would make this child worried and uneasy, wouldn’t she?
No matter what, she was unwilling to let a shadow fall over this smile.
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