"Nobles are so haughty! And that guy is no exception!" Mirra said it loudly when there were only three of them in the garden.
"Haha..." Rena laughed wryly. "He is rather extreme but when you knew him, he isn't all that bad..."
"Oh, Purple sis is defending him." Mirra jeered.
"Well, he is my teacher after all hehe..." Rena gave an apologetic smile to Mirra.
Currently, Rena and Mirra were eating their lunch in the Jaunice House's garden. They were given some bread and slices of bacon from the kitchen. As commoners, it made them uncomfortable eating food inside the house. So, they left the pink ambiance mansion to enjoy the green refreshing garden.
"I wish I could say the same with Senka." Mirra said with a loud sigh, she stole a glance at Senka who was sitting a little bit further from them.
"This is just my own opinion, but Senka must have his own reason not wanting to teach you. Right, Senka?"
Senka was like trying to bury his face with the bread he was eating, he lowered his head so much that Rena couldn't see his expression.
"Hmmmm...." Rena looked at Senka feeling dissatisfied, thinking that super shy personality needed to be fixed a little. An idea crossed her mind. "Senka, can you write?"
Senka nodded a little without looking at her.
Rena stood up from the bench, broke a small branch and gave it to Senka. He gave her a questioning look, didn't understand what she wanted to do. She smiled a little, and grabbed her hand, she pulled him to a small area where soil could be spotted.
"Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?" She told him to write on the ground.
But he wasn't moving. She didn't realize her hand holding his wrist was the cause.
"No need to be shy. After these past few days, we're friends now."
If Senka could communicate better, he wouldn't be fighting so much with Mirra. That's what she thought.
Rena tried to move his hand, but couldn't. "Come on, Senka! Anything is fine! Like your hobby or favorite foods!"
After a battle of strength, which Rena had no hope to win, she finally let go of his hand. "You... I don't know that you are stubborn..."
Rather than being a stubborn, being told to speak his mind made the super shy guy more anxious. Also, she actually made it worse by grabbing his arm. When Rena let go of his arm, he escaped quickly.
"Senka, wait!" Rena chased Senka, but he was gone like the wind.
"Never mind him. He's always like that." Mirra waved her hand in shooing motion at the direction Senka left.
Rena sighed. She wanted to improve Mirra and Senka's relationship, she wanted to know Senka better, and she wanted the three of them to be friends. But it wasn't as easy as she thought.
When Rena and Mirra had finished their lunch, they wandered around in the big backyard garden. A big tower that gave a mysterious feeling stood on the opposite side of the garden. The maid had warned them not to approach that tower. So, they went in the other direction.
What they found in this part of the garden was a dovecote. The small tower was surrounded by cypress and rose shrubs, and oor oor sound of pigeons coming from the holes. It exuded a fairytale-like feeling.
Rena smiled looking at that structure. In her mind, she imagined a little fairy came out from one of the holes. Her attention diverted when she noticed a shadow behind the tower. She squinted at the small figure crouching near the shrubs. She recognized the pink curly hair of her.
"Hello?" Rena approached her.
The girl jolted and turned her head to Rena, her pigtails swayed as she moved her head. "You...! Go away!"
Rena didn't want to make the girl felt threatened, so she stepped back. "I'm sorry if I surprised you, I'm just looking for my friend. Did you see him?"
The little girl showed an angry look but she still shook her head.
"Okay, thank you then. Let's go, Mirra." She turned around and walked away.
After a few steps, the little girl called her, "W-wait!"
This trick always worked with small children when they were throwing tantrum. You chased them, they would run. You turned your back and they would follow you.
"Yes?" She turned her body a little.
"Go away! Don't take Uncle Jean away!" She shouted.
"We're not. We never force him to go with us." Rena spoke carefully. "Why you don't want Uncle Jean to go?"
The girl lowered her gaze, her little hands gripped her dress, making it wrinkly. "Because… Luna will be lonely."
"Luna? What a lovely name." Rena said. "How about your parents?"
"Father and Mother are always busy in the palace! Grandfather too! And the maids, they don't want to play with me! Only Uncle Jean…"
"Oh..." Rena discovered an interesting thing about Jean. He, who never showed any interest except for things related to magic, actually spent his time to play with his niece.
"By the way, my name is Serena. And she is Mirra."
"Nice to meet you... Yes, my name is Luna. Luna Eleonore Jaunice, daughter of Clovis and Eleonore Jaunice…"
Even in this kind of situation, she was being polite.
"Is it fine if I call you Luna?" Rena wasn't sure how to address her since the little girl was a noble.
"Yes, I don't mind." Luna nodded, her curly pigtails swayed every time she moved her head.
"Thank you, Luna." Rena smiled. The little girl made her wanted to hug her.
Next, Rena told Mirra what the girl was saying. Mirra clapped her hands when Rena finished her story.
"Then how about we play together?" Mirra asked her. "She doesn't have anyone to play with her, except Grumpy."
She had found another nickname for Jean.
"Won't she be even more lonely later on?" Rena said to Mirra while her eyes stealing ga lance at Luna.
"Then, should we just leave her here like this?" Mirra frowned.
Luna looked at Rena with her big ruby red eyes, the color and the shape were similar of Jean's. Rena felt guilty because it was because of her all these current problems stemmed from. Playing with the little girl wouldn't solve the problem, but she wanted to make up for it even just a little.
"Luna, do you want to play with us?" Rena asked her.
Luna lifted her head, and her expression turned bright. "Yeah!"
They returned to the mansion to inform one of the maids, as she thought, they were looking for Luna. Then they asked a permission to play with her from the maid who took care of Luna. Because Luna's persistence, they won. So, Rena and Mirra started playing together with Luna.
---
"Hmm... Where should I hide next?"
Rena walked fast, her head moving left and right trying to find a spot to hide. They were currently playing Hide and Seek.
It was Mirra's turn to search and Rena and Luna tried to hide. Mirra was really good at this game, her eyes were good at spotting details and she had a good sense where they would hide. But Rena who didn't want to be found easily, trying her best finding a good hiding spot. It was their last game since the sun almost set.
She found a good hiding spot when it was her turn to search, a freshly trimmed giant shrub in the knot garden. The bush was thick, but there was an empty space under the bush, unnoticeable because it was covered by the leaves. She went there to hide.
She opened the bush carefully, not wanting to destroy the plant. She entered the bush and sat down, her body was well hidden under the bush. It was like being inside a small tent.
While she was waiting she got nostalgic, her childhood memories returned. She didn't remember when exactly she stopped playing this game.
As the days progressed and she was adapting in this world, a feeling of doubt sprouted in her heart; the mismatch between her current reality and her memories. She started thinking that her memories were all but a dream and she just woke up from a long slumber.
Rena lowered her head, putting it on top of her knees. She hugged her knees with both hands and slowly closed her eyes. Mirra took a long time to find her.
The most important thing for her right now was about her future. She thought what she was going to do with Neel, what would become her magic training if Jean went away, what she would do if one day Senka confessed to her, what she would do with Frei...
As she thought about Frei, another feeling of doubt sprout in her mind. What she would do if she could never be free from him...
Her eyes felt heavy, she didn't get enough rest these past few days; the trip to the capital, fighting and running away from monsters, and last night she barely slept after escaping death. She helplessly fell asleep under the dark shade of the plants surrounding her.
Her body swayed a little, somebody held her in their arms. She recognized this warm and this familiar scent, she didn't know any other guy who carried a hint of rose.
Rena slowly opened her eyes. Her eyes focusing what was in front of her, a pair of aquamarines in those deep-set eyes that she hadn't seen in a while.
"You wake up, Rena?" His sweet gentle voice greeted her. He held her in princess carry.
"I just arrived here and you've already given me a trouble. They were trying hard to find you earlier."
The garden path was illuminated by magic stone lamps and the sound of his footsteps was the only one that accompanied them.
"How did you find me then?" Although she knew the answer, she still asked that question.
"'Cause you can't hide from me." He said, showing her his perfect smile.
Rena smiled a little knowing that at least he was predictable in this area.
"So Rena, what happened to your neck?" Frei asked in a serious tone.
"Eh?" She had a confused look before realizing the meaning of his question. The memory of last night when the Lamia strangled her returned. That monster left a bruise and scratch mark on her skin, but she had tried covering it by using a high collar dress this morning.
(I guess it's useless to hide it with this person...)
"Well, I fought with monsters these past few days..."
She did fight with a lot of monsters these past few days. It wasn't surprising if she got hurt a little, but she wouldn't tell him this was from fighting a half-human half-snake monster last night.
"Tsk... What did Senka do after I told him to protect you."
She touched her neck. "This was my fault... I was careless." She didn't want Senka to get into trouble with Frei because of her, so in a softer tone she pleaded, "Please, don't trouble him."
"Your safety is an unnecessary problem?" He didn't smile when saying it, a look of dissatisfaction appear on his face.
Rena frowned. She didn't understand why he was angry.
"Then why do you send me here?" She asked.
His expression froze for a second.
"Fine, it's my fault. From now on, you'll be with me wherever I go."
"Whaaat....?" Her mouth made a silly O shape before her thoughts returned to her.
"I refuse! I refuse! I'm not a 2-in-1 package with you!" She shook her head like she wanted to break it.
(Just give me an explanation, will you?!)
"What are you talking about?" He chuckled. "Then should I punish you for not taking care of yourself?"
Her body tensed up, she didn't want to wear that embarrassing thing again, just like what she did at Saola's Garment Shop. Rena looked at him and said, "You're not making any sense. I was hurt and you are punishing me because of that?"
"Because you make me worry." Frei tilted his head.
"Oh, so you care about me." She said it sarcastically.
"I do."
"Eh..." When she heard his reply, her heart stopped for a second. Even though she knew it didn't carry any particular meaning. It spilled from his mouth too easily.
"Then if you don't want to be punished, give me a little reward. I found you in this big garden."
"What kind of reward...?" She looked at him suspiciously.
"A kiss." He was smiling when answering her question.
"Why does it always become like this with you?!" She shouted in frustration.
(It's the same as a punishment!)
Frei smiled even wider, looking at her frustrated face.
Looking at his triumphant expression, she got annoyed. And before her mind could process what she was doing, she cupped her hands on his face, and pressed her lips... just barely missed his lips.
He froze and stopped blinking because of the sudden attack.
"A kiss is a kiss. That's your reward, Mr. Gentleman. Thank you for finding me."
She made a sly smile, an expression she usually didn't show. Rena didn't really understand what made her do this. Probably, after a near-death experience., she found a new kind of courage.
---