Is it just me or are these chapters only getting longer? I wonder if it’s normal to spend six hours translating one chapter? I sure hope not. Let’s hope all this work will help me improve and get faster, or maybe trying to write English prose will always take this damn long for me. Also, in this chapter you’ll see my best impression of what a robot sounds like in text, since I didn’t want to just do something boring like capitalise random letters. Whatever, here’s chapter 4. Enjoy!

Returning to the flowerbed, it seemed that Alisa was obediently waiting there as commanded. Confirming Lilia’s return, for some reason the maid let out a sigh of relief.

“I’ve spoken with Father. He allowed me to grow flowers here.”

At Lilia’s abrupt declaration, Alisa gave a bow in agreement.

“This flowerbed belongs to Mistress. So…”

“For now, Alisa, bring me tools. Immediately.”

“Eh, ah… Yes. Certainly.”

Though she was looking somewhat dissatisfied, Alisa still ran off to retrieve the tools. Looking on as her maid departed, Lilia simply stood there waiting. Sakura made a sound in protest as if she had something to say, but it was ignored.
Alisa returned shortly, and in her hands she carried a basket filled with a small spade and other various gardening instruments.

“Thank you for waiting.”

“Yes. Well then Alisa.”

Under Lilia’s intense gaze, Alisa held a panicked expression, unsure if she had done something to displease her master. Probably completely unaware of Alisa’s inner thoughts, Lilia continued.

“From today on this flowerbed belongs to me right?”

“Yes… That is so.”

“However, I have absolutely no idea about how flowers are raised.”

Towards Alisa with her head tilted in confusion, Lilia presented the paper bag containing the seeds. As she received it, Alisa’s bewilderment only deepened.

“You, will raise them.”

“Eh.”

“Of course since this is my flowerbed, I will be helping. That’s why I’ve come this far together with you. I’ll be giving you my assistance, so you’d better make these flowers bloom beautifully when the time comes.”

Finally seeming to understand her intentions, Alisa’s eyes widened. The muffled snickering coming from Sakura was a little bit unpleasant, but Lilia still had one thing she wanted to say.

“You are my personal maid. It is my wish to see these flowers bloom brilliantly. You can make that happen, yes?”

Alisa nodded repeatedly, and gave a vigorous bow.

“Yes! Thank you very much, Mistress!”

While feeling a little thrill from giving commands as a superior, Lilia immediately began her instructions. Bringing out the spade from the tools Alisa brought,

“Well then let’s get planting. Will you teach me how to do this, Alisa?”

“Yes! Of course!”

Lilia had to narrow her eyes a little at the overwhelming brilliance of Alisa’s beaming face.

Finishing her gardening with Alisa, Lilia once again went for a bath. Having ordered Alisa to bring her a fresh change of clothes, Lilia headed towards the baths.

—Well ain’t you just a blushing schoolgirl?

On the way, Sakura’s cheerful teasing voice came out. At being ignored, Sakura simply continued.

—You did things in such a way to raise the plants together while maintaining your pride as the master, but Alisa probably already has you figured out you know?

—Oh shut up. I followed what you said so you should have no complaints right?

—Why of course. You did very well.

—Your tone just always has to be so irritating, huh…

Lilia was well aware by now that trying to retort any more than this would simply be foolish endeavor, so she stepped into the bathroom without another word.

Finished with the bath, Lilia changed into the dress Alisa had prepared for her and headed to the dining room. With the time spent working in the dirt, it was almost time for breakfast.

—I wonder what’s on the menu today~. I’m looking forward to it.

—It’s not like you’re the one that’s going to be eating here.

—Fufufu. Behold, one of my special angel powers! All of your sensations are shared with me!

Sakura boasted with an “Ahem!”. If she had a body she would certainly be puffing out her chest in pride. At being able to easily picture such a sight, Lilia couldn’t help but let out a smile.

—So, you’re not really an angel, are you?

—0F C0UR53, 13N’T 1T 0BV10U5. (monotone)

—Why are you talking like that…

While wondering what kind of existence Sakura could really be, Lilia opened the door to the dining room.
A large table stood at the center of the wide dining room. The rest of the family were already seated there. Lilia’s father Kelvin, her mother Ascha, her elder brother Klaus, and younger brother Theo made up the four currently sitting at the table. Together with Lilia, these five were the Aldis Duke family that resided in this estate.
With Lilia arriving at the table, the servants brought in the food for breakfast. With the center of the table lined with fresh bread, bowls filled with soup were placed in front of the diners. A jam-like substance made from mashed fruits was also brought out.
Though it was quite a simple breakfast for this Duke clan who’s power was second only to the royal family, this was normal at this mansion. Alisa’s mother preferred to have modest meals, so big feasts that couldn’t be finished in one sitting were foreign to this house. This was one of the things Lilia was dissatisfied about.

—How embarrassing it is to have your meals be inferior even to the barons of this country.

—Well, hey. It’s delicious so isn’t this fine. The taste here is better than what you’d get at the occasional banquet you went to right?

Lilia shook her head, unable to comprehend Sakura’s point of view.
With everyone now gathered, they began to give their prayer. To the god of this world.
No one spoke during the meal. The silence stretched on as they ate. According to her mother, this was the best way to show appreciation towards the people who made them the meal. In the end, the reasoning behind this was incomprehensible to Lilia as well.

—So the one behind all the un-duke-like things here was Ms. Ascha. Isn’t that great.

—I can’t understand it at all. To not use the privilege bestowed upon you.

—Ahaha. Lilia sure is a natural born aristocrat.

Though Lilia felt like making a comeback, it would just be wasted effort, or rather pointless emotional exertion against Sakura. Without minding it she made to finish her meal.

—Yep. It was quite delicious after all. This jam was especially nice, wasn’t it.

—Are my senses really shared with you right now? By the way, what kind of things do you hate?

She had thought it was just another joke, but their senses really did seem to be connected from the delighted tone of Sakura’s voice. While being a bit surprised at this, Lilia showed a mischievous expression.

—Green peppers. No way to that bitterness!

—Very nice. I’ll remember that well.

—Wait wait what are you gonna do no way hold up really the thing I hate is that jam you know!

After that point Sakura kept on insisting about her “real” hated food, but it was all ignored. With the silence around the time that the meal was finished, Lilia tilted her head slightly, pondering her next move.

—I’m sorry… If anything, please just stay away from raw green peppers… I’ll deal with anything else…

It was an absolutely tearful voice. Hearing it Lilia reflexively spat out the water she was drinking. Astonishing her surroundings, the servants hastily rushed over, but Lilia’s mind was completely preoccupied with something else.

—It’s just a joke, I’m not going to do such weird things alright!

—Really?

—Really, really, I promise.

—Lilia… Thank you so much!

This time it had completely flipped over to a voice so happy it was dancing for joy. Though it almost felt mad with enthusiasm, it didn’t have that much of a bad connotation to it.
With the dirtied table quickly cleaned up by the servants, Lilia’s father slowly opened his mouth to speak.

“Lilia. About what we talked about this morning…”

Wondering what it could be about, Lilia turned to face her father. Since she had done nothing wrong, looking closely at her father’s face he seemed to be returning an awkward gaze towards her.

“I heard the story from Alisa.”

“Is that so. Are there any problems?”

While Sakura deemed that there should be no problems here, her father’s judgement might differ. She nervously waited for her father to continue.

“No, no problems. It seems that you will be raising those flowers together with Alisa from now on huh.”

“Yes. Ah, that’s right, Father. I would like to personally have Alisa as my maid, would that acceptable?”

Confusion appeared in her father’s eyes. Though, as he straightened his neck, it had already disappeared. In it’s place her father had a wry smile.

“Though in the first place, Alisa was supposed to be the personal maid assigned to you…”

“Huh? My apologies, Father. I didn’t seem to quite catch your words…”

It was only with these words that her father spoke in a small voice. It wasn’t heard clearly the first time, but, well her father simply shook his head this time.

“Don’t worry about it. Regarding Alisa, there’s no problem. You can take her as your personal maid.”

“Really? Thank you very much, Father.”

—Lilia! Smile time!

At Sakura’s sudden exclaimation, Lilia’s expression reflexively turned into a dubious frown. It wasn’t as if anything really good happened, so it seemed out of the ordinary to smile here. Even so, at Sakura’s urging, she would just follow along for now.

Thanks you very much, Father.

Expressing her thanks once again, she showed a smile. She had been trained on how to smile from a young age so there were no problems. However, Her father’s wry smile only got deeper.

“There’s no need to for a smile. Don’t worry about it.”

—Wait a sec… Was it a failure?

—Ehh??

It seems that Sakura wasn’t omnipotent after all. It seems like her own judgement was also required, Lilia thought as Sakura’s evaluation was lowered just a little. She quickly returned her sight to here father as he cleared his throat.

“Back to the topic but, I heard you’re going to raise the flowers with Alisa. To be honest, since you’ve only ever thought about yourself I was quite surprised.”

“My, that’s horrible Father. I am always concerned about my surroundings though?”

As her father’s face twitched ever so slightly, her mother and elder brother let out small sighs. Only her little brother had a blank expression as he gazed at everyone else’s reactions.

“Well, yep. Alright. Lilia. Do take care of the people around you.”

At her father’s conclusion, taking his leave, he departed from the dining room. Her mother followed, and her two brothers also left the room in a hurry. Alone in the dining room, Lilia was simply left there, with her head dubiously tilted to one side.

<Previous Chapter | JAONNN! | Next Chapter>

Well here’s chapter 3. As usual, I’ll give my obligatory “took me forever” complaint here. Anyways, enjoy!
By the way, I’ve decided to colour Sakura’s speech pink and Lilia’s, well, google tells me that that’s what the colour of lilies are so let’s go with that. Let me know if it makes thing easier or harder to read! Also, you can thank Este for the colouring work on any future and past posts, since he’s offered to do it for me whenever I’m too lazy to work it in. And maybe in the future I can make Alisa’s speech the colour of heather, whatever that is. Cause apparently Alisa comes from Alice which was eventually derived from some German word meaning heather. Or the Alyssa spelling variant, originating from some flower called Alyssum. Wikipedia is just wonderful isn’t it. Rainbow text here we come~

Sakura was the one amazed at Lilia’s recent actions this time around. It was unbelievable that even without any intervention from Sakura, Lilia had made the young maid Alisa into her personal attendant. One had to wonder how this came to be. Such a thing happening was perplexing, as much as it was odd.
At hearing about becoming Lilia’s personal maid, the expression on Alisa’s face could only show that she was at a complete loss as to whether she should be overjoyed, or saddened at this fact. In fact, Alisa was originally hired to be Lilia’s personal maid. Though, Lilia being how she is, this fact had completely left her mind immediately after Alisa’s first introduction. Lilia having so easily forgotten about her brought Alisa some sadness, but she also felt happy that Lilia would now personally establish her as a personal maid.
Thinking back on Alisa’s reaction back then, Sakura endlessly tried to bear with her urge to laugh out loud, and turned her mind towards the things to come.

Finishing with her bath, Lilia donned the dress Alisa had readied for her and set off outside the mansion accompanied by her maid. Even though Lilia said that she would be fine going alone, Alisa wouldn’t budge in her decision to always accompany her master.
It seems she somewhat lacks self confidence.
The grounds around the mansion were lined with flowerbeds. It was the maids’ responsibility to raise the flowers here, so all around, the flowerbeds were blooming with diverse blossoms reflecting the tastes of their various caretakers. The flowerbeds themselves were by no means organised in uniformity of any kind. Among them were plants of different seasons, and ones just sprouting their buds in the soil.

“Looking at it again… This, isn’t there anything we can do about this? It’s the first thing visitors will see upon entering the estate, so I think it’s better if we pay attention to the appearance a bit more.”

At Lilia’s words, Alisa showed a troubled expression.

“This is something the lord here bestowed upon us… “Don’t worry about it and just do as you like. Don’t bother worrying about something trivial like its appearance.” was what he said.”

“Hmmm… So in other words, someone like me who actually pays attention to “trivial” matters such as appearance is just a narrow-minded woman right?”

“Eh? Tha, that’s really not what I meant! Really!”

Really now, thought Lilia, as she turned her face away and proceeded into the garden. Behind her, Alisa followed along with her shoulders drooped.

—Lilia. Kindness. Did you suddenly forget how to be nice again?

—As if. I was just teasing her a little.

Even though it wasn’t something that would bother her now, this girl named Alisa displayed such strong reactions to her emotions. Conversing with her became quite the amusing activity.

“Alisa. Which one is your flowerbed?”

“My flowerbed, you say? It’s much too boring. It’s better if you don’t…”

“Never mind that, just take me there already.”

“Uuu…As you wish…”

For some reason, it seems that Alisa was hesitant to show Lilia her flowerbed. While thinking it strange, pointing this out would only make her more averse to showing Lilia. Sakura was surprised but understood this, so she decided to keep silent.
Alisa showed Lilia the way as they advanced. Along the way, the numerous other servants they passed by were all wide eyed in surprise at the sight of Lilia and Alisa. Among them some were glancing back in worry for Alisa. It wasn’t as if Lilia had intended to devour the poor girl for lunch, but she made no move to explain the situation.
And so Alisa led her to their destination, near the back entrance of the estate. The entrance was mostly for the coming and going of servants and merchants. A bit to the side, was a small flowerbed.

“What is this. There’s nothing here.”

The flowerbed Alisa pointed to was filled with plain dirt. There weren’t even weeds growing there. Trying to explain, Alisa had a cramped expression as she responded.

“No, that is… I didn’t have any time, for it… Nothing was planted. I’ve thought to give it my best shot in the past but, everything always wilted…”

“Why don’t you have time for it? Are you saying that you’re the only one getting extra work?”

It wasn’t as if she was trying to help Alisa or anything, but if that was true then she would at least raise an objection with Alisa’s superior. She thought it would be fine to do at least that much.
But Alisa shook her head, and replied in a small voice.

“It’s, because I’m too slow. If only I could work skillfully like my seniors here…”

Somehow it seems like the problem lies with Alisa herself. Lilia couldn’t help but let out a sigh. What’s more, Alisa even said that her seniors were maintaining the flowerbed for her, preventing it from being overrun by weeds. So that it was ready to receive plants at any time, they took care of it for Alisa.

“Well then, do you have any intention of planting something?”

“No… I can’t say that I do…”

“Is that so.”

The conversation was cut off at that point. Uncertain about what Lilia was thinking as she stared at the empty plot, Alisa was restless as she fidgeted nervously. Though in the first place, there was no deeper meaning to Lilia’s observation of the flowerbed, as she was simply wondering whether something should be planted here after all.

—Lilia.

Sakura spoke. Lilia prompted her to continue through her silence.

—You should try raising some flowers together with Alisa. I’m sure she would be thrilled.

Lilia grimaced at the prospect, while the observing Alisa turned pale at seeing her master’s sudden displeasure.

—No way. Seems like a pain.

While Lilia did appoint Alisa as her personal maid, she wasn’t under the impression that they had become friends or anything. To put things frankly, it was simply convenient that from now on she’d have someone about the same age as her around. Nothing more, nothing less.
Having this thought conveyed to her, Sakura sighed in disappointment.

—To hell with the reasoning. Lilia. Go with it.

This time it was Lilia’s turn to sigh. She had no idea what good it would do, but she didn’t want to go back on her word after promising to listen to Sakura’s instructions. Reluctantly, Lilia turned to face the maid. She spoke to the intimidated Alisa.

“This flowerbed, there are no plans to use it anytime soon right?”

“Ah… Yes.”

“Then I’ll be taking it under my care.”

At those sudden words, Sakura’s breath got caught in her throat, while Alisa’s mind went numb from astonishment. Coming to process those words little by little, Alisa started to become flustered in an amusing reaction. Simply staring at Alisa’s condition, a while passed before the maid finally calmed down with a short sigh, and nodded in understanding.

“Since I have no plans to use it, this flowerbed will be entrusted to Mistress Lilia. I will take care of informing the Master.”

“That will not do. I have something to ask of my father so I will go to speak with him. Wait here until I return.”

Leaving a dumbfounded Alisa, Lilia returned to the mansion from the back entrance.

—Lilia. What are you trying pull here?

—Pull what? I’m properly following your directions.

—Muu… Well, I suppose how you accomplish my instructions, is for you to decide…

Lilia was walking down the hallway heading towards her father. If it’s now, he should be working in his office going through documents. It had become his routine to confirm all the paperwork for the day before breakfast time. Knocking on the door of the second floor office, sure enough her father’s voice came in response.

“Who is it?”

“It’s me, Father.”

“Lilia…? So you’ve come out of your room, huh. Enter.”

Though the words were blunt, he was wrapped in a happy atmosphere. For her normally unemotive father, Lilia was considerably surprised at his current disposition. And so she reflected on her actions a little. To think that he had been this worried.
Lilia entered the office. At the very back of the room sat her father at his desk. Though the eyes that stared straight at her father shone in a cold light, the side of her face moved ever so slightly. As if she was suppressing a smile.

“Good morning, Father.”

“Ahh, morning. So, what do you need?”

Overturning the happy mood from before, the talk proceeded quickly. Lilia who was aware that her father was a busy person even amongst the nobles, quickly cut to the chase.

“It seems that Father had bestowed the flowerbeds here to the maids.”

“Ahh. I thought that it would be a good past-time for them. What about it?”

“I one request regarding that. I would like to receive the flowerbed allocated to Alisa.”

Her father’s face fell in disappointment. With a shake of his head, he gazed at Lilia through squinted eyes. With just that the temperature in the room plummeted all at once.

“Lilia. So you’re still saying such things, huh….”

It was her father’s way of ascertaining her own actions. With admiration towards her reliable father, Lilia responded.

“Do you happen to have any seeds you would recommend? If you have any suggestions I’d very much like to receive them.”

Without a word, her father silently got up, and went to a shelf at the corner of the wall. Opening the shelf, from inside it he produced a small paper bag. She wondered why in the world he had flower seeds kept in such a place, but those thoughts were dispelled as her father approached with the bag in hand.
Her father presented the paper bag, and Lilia respectfully received it.

“Lilia. If you overdo it too much, even I won’t be able to protect you anymore.”

“My, what a strange thing to say. I’m not doing anything to be ashamed of right now you know?”

Heaving a large sigh, her father gave a short “you may go”, and returned to the back of the room. Lilia gave a deep bow on the spot, as she took her leave and exited from the room.

<Previous Chapter | JAONNN! | Next Chapter>

Holy crap, another one? Somehow, this one took much longer than the others so far.  Hopefully it won’t always be this tough. Anyways, enjoy the chapter! I’ll try to make updates as frequently as possible for the first while at least, so people can have enough material to get an impression of the story.

The next day.

After the her reunion with the voice in her head, Lilia had at some point passed out, probably due to having finally calmed down after a week of distress. Having woken, Lilia looked outside, as the bright morning sunlight streamed in from window. As the prospect that last night could very well have all been a dream crept into her mind, Lilia was starting to feel crestfallen once again when-

—Mornin’, Lilia.

At that voice’s carefree morning greeting, Lilia felt relief from the bottom of her heart.

“Good morning. Come to think of it, I still haven’t gotten your name yet.”

—Eh? Ahh, my name, huh… Well, you can just call me Sakura.

“Sakura, is it? Alright. Well then Sakura, for now, what should my next actions be?”

—That’s right. It’s time for your morning greetings! Out to the halls! The maids would be your first targets!

Lilia’s eyes went round in astonishment, and an unpleasant frown quickly surfaced on her face. Why she should have to give greetings to the lowly servants here, was the question that both of them knew to be running through Lilia’s mind. Sakura let out a small sight and said frankly.

—Lilia. The problem here is your attitude of looking down on everyone else. Do you understand that?

“Well that… may, be the case… But if anything there shouldn’t be a need to even flatter the maids is there!”

Even without a temperament like Lilia’s, most nobles would still have cold attitudes towards their servants. To the servants of this country, just serving a master with an indifferent attitude towards them would be considered a blessing. Lilia herself was certainly aware that she possessed a severe personality, but she had no intention of reforming her attitude towards her servants.
But Sakura only gave an exaggerated sigh.

—Lilia. What would you think if a good friend of yours mistreated their servants?

“That it must suck to have useless maids?”

—I was an idiot for asking you after all!

What should I do, Sakura lamented. Lilia remained dubious as she stood before the door, waiting for Sakura’s next words. Before long, Sakura, with a small nod and an “Alright”, said this.

—I give up on trying to explain it to you! Hey, Lilia. I want to help you.

At the sudden change of topic, Lilia tilted her head.

—Do you still not trust me?

“Honestly, I’m still not completely certain of my trust in you. But for now I’ve already decided to follow your words.”

—Then do as I said.

“Muu…”

Lilia understood, and accepted the fact in her heart. That Sakura had a clear reason behind her instructions, even if she couldn’t put it into words very well. Since it couldn’t be helped, she wouldn’t force herself in thinking about it. Lilia gave a small nod.
She opened the door. At that moment, what immediately came into view was the face of a maid.

“Ah…”

It was a girl around the same age as her. Lilia widened her eyes, and spoke with a voice devoid of emotion.

“You, standing around outside of someone’s room like that, what might I ask are you doing…?”

Though it wasn’t on purpose, her voice was cold and low. Consequently, the maid in front of her shook in fright as her eyes darted every which way, her mouth repeatedly flapped open and closed in panic. Angered by such an response Lilia prepared to speak out again.

—Wah! Hold up, hooold up! Lilia, down! Sit!

As Sakura shouted frantically, the words about to come out of Lilia’s mouth turned into air and dispersed.

—Hey, you know, Lilia. With the way you are usually, you’d get angry at the maids if they were even a little bit late in responding to your summons right? That’s why the maids, they probably always keep someone posted on stand by outside your room. Especially since you’ve been in an abnormal state recently, they’re probably feeling quite worried about you, yeah?

Lilia’s eyes widened in disbelief. While she herself felt there was no fault with the attitude she took with them, she certainly shouldn’t be someone who the maids looked fondly upon. Despite that, to think that they were worried about her, it was something that would have never crossed her mind.

—Of course, the same can’t be said for all of them. Not wanting to incur your anger, some people only begrudgingly take their posts out here, but among the maids there are girls like her here who are genuinely worried for your well being you know. You’ve gotta treasure these people more.

That’s why, you should treat them nicely, okay?

Sakura’s tone was overflowing with earnestness. Taking in those words, Lilia sorted out these feelings swirling inside of her. Returning her sight to the maid once more, Lilia found the girl gazing up at her with upturned eyes.

“Umm… I am terribly sorry, mistress.”

Said the maid with her head lowered in apology. The maid kept her head lowered in that state.

Perhaps she was waiting for my response, thought Lilia. “How dare you raise your head without my approval!” was probably something I’ve yelled in anger before. A naturally wrathful temperament, isn’t it.

“Don’t mind it. I just got a little worked up. Sorry about that.”

The moment those words came out of Lilia’s mouth, the maid before her raised her face with vigor. Her eyes opened wide as she stared at Lilia. At the unexpected reaction from the maid, Lilia involuntarily took a step back.

“Mistress!”

“Wha, what is it?”

“Are you feeling unwell?! Did you eat something strange?! Please wait here, rest assured I’ll go and bring the doctor immediately! So, please, let us quickly return to your room!”

“Hold up. What are you talking about?”

Lilia narrowed her eyes in displeasure at the excessive comments being hurled at her. But, the maid before her did not cease her actions, and continued to repeat that Lilia must please return to her room, that she’ll immediately find a doctor, and so on. In the end, after much time was wasted, Lilia finally managed to convince the girl that everything was alright.
And while all this was going on, Lilia never noticed the fact that Sakura was enjoying herself, laughing away at such a spectacle.

After having soothed Miss “Please return to your room!”, following Sakura’s instructions, Lilia decided to head out to the garden for now. While walking with the maid following behind, her feet were halted by a call of “please wait”, that came from the maid.

“What is it?”

“What shall we do about your change of clothes?”

Until it was mentioned just now, this fact had completely slipped her mind. What Lilia had on at the moment was the uniform she wore for the academy. Since the day the crown prince had revoked their engagement, Lilia had yet to change out of these clothes. Right as that fact surfaced, the resulting odour too surfaced along with it.

—That’s some serious funk, Lilia.

At Sakura who said this while playing dumb about the whole situation, Lilia reflexively shouted in retort.

“If you knew all along then tell me sooner!”

Startled, the maid before Lilia started to tremble furiously. She hastily lowered her head, apologising with “I am terribly sorry”. Even in Lilia’s eyes, the figure of the trembling maid seemed quite pitiful. Feeling apologetic, Lilia spoke somewhat frantically.

“That’s not it. Those words weren’t actually directed at you. So, don’t be so scared, okay…”

—Well, that girl is definitely thinking right about now. That there really isn’t anyone here but her.

Lilia’s cheeks twitched. She was on the verge of yelling out again, but seeing that the only one in front of her was the maid, the figure that belonged to the voice Lilia heard was certainly nowhere to be seen. Yelling again would only serve to further frighten the maid.
Lilia would not usually care about a maid’s feelings, but she just could not bring herself to coldly ignore the feelings of the girl who had shown that she truly cared for her master. Lilia was even a little surprised, deep down, that she could have such thoughts.

—Aww, by the way, even if you don’t say it out loud, I can still hear all the mutterings of your heart you know~

—These feelings, just express them from the start, silly!

Though she was starting to question whether she really should have trusted such a voice, Lilia had already decided to believe in Sakura. Simply put, going back on her words was something that went against Lilia’s nature. Heaving a large sigh, she turned to face the maid before her.
With a pale, fearful face, the maid also peeked up at the situation of her master with upturned eyes. Letting out a small sigh, with unpracticed facial muscles Lilia attempted to form a smile. Receiving the awkward, crude smile only added to the maid’s fright, but Lilia paid no mind to that detail. As a matter of course, Sakura was kept busy trying her best not to laugh at the scene.

“I’ll be heading out to the garden for a bit of fresh air. But, as you said, I, well, that is… It stinks right?”

At Lilia’s words, the still nervous maid, timidly gave a reserved nod.

“Sorry but, could you prepare the bath for me?”

“Eh? Ah, yes!”

Lilia wore a dubious expression at the astonished maid’s hurried reply, but paid no mind to it for now. The surprise change that, the Lilia who had commanded her servants with an iron tone had actually made a gentle request, was something that did not go unnoticed by Sakura after all. But she held off on doing something like pointing out this fact. After all, Sakura was already plenty occupied with simply trying to keep herself from bursting into laughter at this point.

“Ah, also. You, what’s your name?”

To Lilia’s question, the maid, still nervously hurried with her words, gives a reply.

“It’s, Alisa.”

“Alisa is it. I’ve got it. And your age?”

“I turn fifteen this year…”

“Is that so. Then you’re a year younger than me huh.”

Lilia nodded in satisfaction, and continued.

“I shall make you into my personal maid. Alright?”

“Eh? Ah, umm…”

Perhaps not understanding what Lilia had meant, it was clear to see that Alisa was in a state of panic. Lilia quickly realised the reason behind Alisa’s hesitation.

“Ahh, that’s right. First I’ll have to get approval from Father. I’ll confirm it with him later.”

“Eh, ahh… I understand. I look forward to your guidance.”

Seeing the deeply bowing Alisa, Lilia left with a satisfied smile painted across her face. Without looking back, she headed off towards the baths.

“By the way, Miss Sakura. Would you mind shutting up?”

—But…! Just… Ku, fufu, hehefu….!

Lilia proposed such to the Sakura who was desperately trying to hold in her unpleasant laughter.

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So yeah this took forever… still for some reason I did it, even though it’s now 2AM over here and I probably could have spent my time better in prep for all the things I need to do tomorrow.

This hasn’t been edited either since I’m certainly not staying up even later for such a thing so I’ll leave that for Este, or myself later.

Oh well, whatever, friendship is beautiful and all that. Enjoy this first chapter!

The large room was furnished with an extravagant bed and various other furniture. No matter where you looked, only items of the highest grade could be found here. All of these weren’t simply decorations either, and were all things actually used by the owner of the room. Even the carpet spread under the bed was a product of unimaginable value.

And in that room which could draw the envy of any commoner, sat a very troubled looking girl. Words such as “why”, and “how did this happen” were the only things that came from the girl, quietly mumbling to herself in distress. Her face dyed in despair, dark shadows could be clearly seen around her eyes. The long blonde hair she took pride in lay in severe disarray from the obvious lack of care.

The person on her mind right now was none other than this country’s crown prince. When she had heard that the prince had showed interest in another woman, she went to the school for nobles to see the woman for herself. Bearing an ephemeral image, the woman turned out to be a quiet-looking girl. She had scoffed at the idea that such a girl could draw the interest of the prince, but experienced first hand the impossible sight of the prince calling out to speak with the girl, even showing the girl a smile of his that she herself never had the privilege to see before.

And so she began her harassment of the girl. Without putting up any form of resistance, the girl quietly received the persistent bullying of her and her followers. As a consequence of her high position as a duke’s daughter, the girl seemed doomed to suffer without anyone being able to come to her aid. The prince certainly could have saved her from the situation, but it seemed as if the prince was trying to avoid this duke’s daughter.

However, such a situation could not hope to last forever. The prince had happened upon a scene during her harassment, and what’s more even witnessed the moment she raised her hand against the girl. The prince was as a result enraged by the scene, and furiously condemned her behaviour, thus saying this.

—I will have nothing further to do with you. I will get my father’s approval, and wipe away our engagement.

She despaired. She clung to the prince’s feet, and begged for her forgiveness. Thinking back on it, that was probably the first and final chance of her redemption.

—The target of your apologies should be someone else, no?

With those words, the prince shook her off, and left taking the girl with him.
Those were the events of the previous week. Since then, she had secluded herself inside her room.

The hours were pointlessly wasted away. Even though she felt that she had to do something, she could only sit in despair. For her, the willpower to do anything had long left her body.
Today similarly ended without anything having been accomplished. As the night dragged on, something stirred from a corner of her memory,

—Bonjour~ Gooood morning good evening! It’s been a while hasn’t it, Lilia.

At the sudden voice ringing throughout her head, Lilia threw up her face in surprise. Though she look all around, not a soul could be seen in her surroundings. All there was was her room which had returned to silence.

—Ahaha, where are you looking?

At the sound of the young woman’s voice, Lilia’s memories from two years ago surfaced. It was a voice she was familiar with in the past. And it was this voice that had actually predicted the prince’s wrath.

“Where are you…?”

—I’m both here and not here. I’ve always been by your side! Your very own guardian angel, here to lead you down the path to happiness!

“Did you come to laugh in my face or something?”

—Woah ho ho, someone’s in a bad mood. But, well, it couldn’t be helped yeah? Sorry ’bout that, being all weird and all.

The latter voice seemed to have actual regret mixed in, a downhearted response. At such a drastic shift in attitude, Lilia couldn’t help but allow a small smile to float onto her face as she relaxed her expression. If you were going to get depressed at your own foolishness, then don’t be like that in the first place, Lilia thought as she replied.

“It seems the future has gone down the path you predicted after all. If only I had properly listened to your words back then, I wonder if this situation could have been avoided?”

—It’s pretty useless to think about such things now. You had zero intention of listening to what I had to say back then after all. That’s why it was actually important to go through all this so that you would finally heed my words.

“In the end the price I had to pay to be able to finally trust you was pretty steep…”

Lilia sighed with deep emotion. Perhaps troubled at how to respond, the voice fell silent for a while.
As some time passed in silence, Lilia began to worry if the voice was already gone for good.

—Sorry, I’m not really good at this whole being sensitive and encouraging with my words thing.

Lilia slightly widened her eyes at the sound of that dejected voice. This was originally what I’d brought upon myself, so what is she doing being all considerate now.

—Lilia. I want to help you. That’s why, won’t you please listen to what I have to say, even a little?

Towards the earnest voice, Lilia could only give a wry smile, as she lightly nodded her assent.

“Wasn’t that the original promise? I put my full faith into your words. Though, I wonder if someone like me can really be saved after all? Will I be able to make amends with his highness?”

—Well… Instead of answering such a question, is it okay if I give one more prediction?

Lilia narrowed her eyes slightly in doubt, while urging the voice to go on.

—Well then well then… Ahem. You were depressed for a week. In this following week, you will think about your situation. What you did wrong, what you must do to make things better, and so on. And you will come to a conclusion. That you in fact did nothing wrong. That everyone else was at fault here.

“Wha…! Even for me that’s a little…!”

—Yep. The you who’s calmed down can certainly say that now. Let me continue. You will return to the academy. On your usual route, you will be even more conceited than usual. And the result of that…

The voiced stopped her words at that point. Lilia gulped in anticipation as she waited for the voice to continue.

—You will, let alone the Prince or the King, garner the wrath of the entire country. With that, even being from the duke’s family won’t allow you to get away with a simple “sorry”. Deprived of your peerage, your family will be cast down into the commoner’s realm.

“Is that all?” was what she thought. Certainly the King of this country had the authority to do such a thing, but in reality stripping a duke of his peerage was unheard of. Or that’s how it was supposed to be.

—There, imagine, Lilia. The duke’s family that had known only a noble’s life until then, suddenly cast down into the world of commoners. …Though, it’s probably impossible for you to imagine such a thing huh…

Just as the voice said, for Lilia it was impossible to know about the way commoners lived their lives. Though, what’s for certain is that it’d be impossible to lead the life of luxury which you’ve been living until now. No one in the family would be able to get used to such a life. Perhaps one might even be driven to commit suicide.
With those thoughts, a certain doubt inadvertently began to seep into Lilia. The talk up till now had been about Lilia’s family, so why was there no mention of Lilia herself? As one could more or less guess the answer to that, the voice, somehow bearing both a cheerful and compassionate tone, said thus.

—You don’t need to worry about yourself anymore at that point. After all, you’d already have been executed.

Hearing that, Lilia’s head went pure blank.

Executed?
Who?
Me?
Why?

—What you had done, well I’ll just keep quiet about that part. There’s no need for you to know.

At the poor, fragile appearance of Lilia as her face fell ashen, the voice took on a warm, gentle tone.

—Well then, Lilia. Here’s the big question. It’s not my intention to just let you die, you know. To make sure you don’t go down the wrong “route”, I’ll be here to advise you along the way. Just, it’s not like I have that much life experience either, so we should probably do our best and think things through together… What do you say, Lilia?

Sparing but a moment’s thought, Lilia immediately came to her conclusion.

“Please…Lend me your strength…”

A weak, faint voice that seemed as if it was disappearing. To that voice from Lilia, came an answer.

—Yep… Leave it to me, Lilia! I’ll be sure to save you!

At the sound of that strong, determined voice, Lilia’s warm tears streamed silently down her face.

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Hey there, it’s Jaon, a new guy who happened to stumble into this “library” and proceeded to lose his way back.

So, until I find the entrance I’ll be throwing copious amounts of free time at a wall of Japanese text to bring you some cool story Este found for me.

Here’s a prologue.

Enjoy!