When Lilia face showed displeasure at hearing her words, Tina flusteredly corrected herself .
“Uhmm… Sorry for keeping you, Lilia . ”
“Very good . I do not mind . Since with this we managed to become friends after all . ”
Saying so with a smile, Tina also gave an embarrassed laugh . Having exchanged their greetings, Lilia hurried towards her room . Alisa who was silent throughout, naturally followed also followed suit .
That was splendid, Mistress Lilia .
‘Thanks you’ was Lilia’s reply as she continued to advance . Almost as if she was escaping from that location .
—Sakura . Everything was fine back there right? She won’t think it strange right?
—With all that’s happened up until now, it’s quite strange no matter how you think about it . There should be some suspicion of being fake yeah!
—Stop messing around .
—How cold~ . Well, yup . You did well . In fact it was completely contrary to expectations, in a good way . I hadn’t expected you to suddenly become friends .
Lilia’s feet came to a halt . Behind her Alisa also stopped, tilting her head as she waited for Lilia’s next move .
—Ahh, everything’s fine okay . As I said earlier, you did great . You really worked hard!
—Then… Very well…
Lilia herself thought that she was being quite hasty back there . If anything it should have been better if she didn’t declare a friendship right then and there . Especially due to having been treated so badly, Tina certainly should have been harbouring resentment at this point . Thinking about it, Lilia didn’t even know what kind of face she should be making the next time they meet .
—I think that girl was simply happy about it though .
However, in the end she just couldn’t fully believe in Sakura’s words after all .
While all of the rooms on the third floor were of the same construction, but they were quite large all the same . Lilia’s room was no exception; while not as large as her room at the Estate, it was still reminiscent of a comfortable life . In the large room all the furniture needed for daily living were prepared, with nary a speck of dust on any of them . It was such a thorough cleaning, one would not think that the place had been left by it’s owner for over two weeks .
On one side of the room two doors stood out from the wall, leading to the separate bedroom and bathroom .
Lilia proceeded to the middle of the room and sat down on the prepared chair, and sighed deeply .
“Mistress Lilia . I shall go confirm the luggage now . ”
“Right . Please do . ”
Alisa gave a bow and headed for the bedroom . Lilia’s belongings were delivered and carried in the day before . Therefore Lilia herself had arrived empty-handed .
—Well then, Lilia . What will you do from tomorrow on?
At Sakura’s prompt, Lilia gave a little thought, and answered .
—That’s not something to think too deeply about right . I will go to school .
—Uh huh . Hey escaping from reality is no good . I’m talking about regarding the prince and Tina .
Lilia’s words were cut by an “Uu”, and she diverted her eyes to the window . Opposite to the door they entered from was a window that provided a good view of the outside scenery . After having looked out for a while,
—Ooi, Liliaaa, come on baack .
Sakura called . With a cramped face, Lilia responded .
—I’m, thinking…
—Really… Then, what will you do when you meet the prince?
—I will avoid him as much as I can… I have already resolved to give up on His Majesty, though when I actually see him again, I have no idea how it will turn out .
—Well that’s a pretty wise judgement . Then, about Tina? What will you do about your ‘friend’? This is certainly unavoidable .
This was something Lilia understood even without being told by Sakura . She definitely couldn’t ignore the matter concerning Tina . Saying that they should become friends, avoiding her immediately after and going back on her words was something she could not do .
It would be fine if it was just Tina . Meeting her, she could talk to her like she just did earlier . The problem was, that in doing so the prince would almost certainly appear as well .
—By the way, I won’t make a peep regarding this stuff you know . You should try doing what you want to do .
—Are you… Trying to test me?
—Well then, I wonder .
Sakura snickered happily . Lilia heaved a heavy sigh, then shook her head as if changing gears .
—Sakura . Let us study .
—Ohh, it sure is rare hearing that coming from Lilia!
While her words were mocking, it seemed Sakura was actually surprised . Other than on that first day Lilia herself had never suggested studying . It was always Sakura urging her to do so . The simple reason being that Sakura’s lessons were so hard, that she ended up feeling it was somewhat tough to go through .
Today however, she felt that it was better to do so . It could be said that this was more of her escaping from reality, but at the very least she wanted to concentrate on something else .
—But, for today how about we have a different person instruct you .
So came this response from Sakura . Lilia’s eyes widened at the unexpected proposal . For the Sakura whose voice no one else could hear, how on earth could she possibly request for anyone else .
—Since Alisa is quite knowledgeable in magic, today let’s learn some things regarding that . Alright, let’s go ask her!
Now that she mentioned it, Lilia also recalled – during her time back at the mansion there wasn’t a sliver of magic in her studies . Even as she learned everything else from Sakura, only the topics of magic and etiquette were not touched upon . On that point, Alisa was knowledgeable on these things Sakura did not know, almost as if she was there to perfectly compensate for what Sakura lacked .
But even so, having to learn from a maid was something she wanted to avoid no matter what . Lilia made a difficult expression as groaned when,
“Mistress Lilia, is something the matter?”
Before she knew it, Alisa was standing before eyes . In her usual maid outfit, looking at Lilia with worry in her eyes . Presenting a lightly bitter smile, she shook her head to assure Alisa that it was nothing .
“Alisa . If I am not mistaken, you are knowledgeable in magic yes?”
“Eh? Yes, indeed… Compared to the Madam it would seem like mere child’s play, but I should know enough to the degree of being able to graduate from the academy . ”
—What is with this girl, is she actually something amazing?
—Yup . In the first place for the sake of the magically inept Lilia they wanted a girl well versed in magic, which led to her being hired here .
—First I’ve heard about this .
—You should have heard about it . Though you probably just had no intention of paying attention around then .
That being the case this was probably from before her shut-in period . If that was the case, she certainly paid no heed to anything she held no interest in then .
—About me being poor at magic, there was no such thing though?
—Like you can say that . Even though, always being compared to your mother, you’d be in self loathing at how you couldn’t be as great as her .