"I want to sleep..." I groaned after my father asked me about my etiquette lessons. Months have passed since I started having Miss Plineut as my teacher and it's around the same time when I started worrying about my future. I was a simple child then but now I suppose I can say I've grown up just a little bit.
Well, I guess I can thank my younger sister for that. She made me consider what I should be doing in this odd world specially made for her.
"As I grow older my responsibilities and worries grow as well..."
"Don't be so dramatic, Young Lady. Lord Flaine just told you to study harder so you could present yourself properly in tea parties and other social events." Rachel spoke indifferently as she fixed the mess on my table.
"Yeah but Father even told me he's going to appoint another teacher for me! Isn't having one teaching me etiquette and other stuff like math and speech is enough?" Ugh… remembering that I would have another reason to spend less time with my sister is annoying.
"It's only normal to have another teacher, Young Lady. I heard that the subjects he'll be teaching you would be about magic and aren't you interested in it?" Rachel has a point that I could only groan again about it.
I would be lying if I said I wasn't interested but is there not any other way than having a teacher? The books I read are informational too and it wouldn't sound so bad to teach myself through experience and such. But then again, I would still need help from a professional…
"So annoying," I muttered to myself before giving Rachel the book I was reading earlier. "I'll take a break and go play with Helen in the garden."
"Young Lady Helen is at the dining room as of now." I see, I wonder if Helen got bored waiting for me and ended up eating some snacks… that makes me a bit lonely thinking about it.
I stood up from my seat and pushed away the random mountain of trash I created in the process of writing. I've been listing all the things I know in my journal and reading multiple books, though I found it all to be boring, my gut feeling tells me I would need it in the future. This world is still very strange to me so I'll do whatever if it helps.
When I reached the dining room, Helen wasn't there. I looked around and saw June walking around as she picked up some dirty plates so I called out to her and spoke: "I heard from Rachel that Helen was just eating here. Where is she now?"
"Young Lady Helen went back to the garden to wait for you." How sweet, it's hard not to smile and feel my heart warm up. I thanked her before heading to the garden.
I was met with Helen sitting under the shade of a tree. She seemed to be focused on playing around with some flowers so I approached her quietly. "It seems that my cute sister was under this lone tree all along." The way her body jolted up in shock made me laugh.
"B-big sis!" Helen exclaimed before pouting. "Don't scare me like that, I don't want to ruin this." I was about to ask her what she was so busy about but she placed something on my head before I could even react. "There we go." She mumbled before having a satisfied smile.
I touched the thing she placed on my head, feeling the sensation and smelling the scent of flowers. Could this possibly be…? "A flower crown?"
"Yes! I hope Big sis likes it." The moment she said that I gave her a grin and a tight embrace.
"I don't like it because I love it," I whispered before laying down my head on her shoulder. Ah yes, being around my sister really comforts me a lot. It's like her magic power is to soothe me whenever I feel tired. "Thank you, Helen."
I felt clumsy hands hesitantly hugged me back. "Y...you're welcome, Big sis, and thank you too." Her voice was a bit quiet and small as she said that. Aw, don't tell me she's embarrassed? I grinned to myself and hugged her even more.
I was planning to spoil myself with more hugs from her but she started to sound worried so I stopped. Helen easily worries for me, why does it feel like I'm the younger one here? Her face was rosy pink as she kept avoiding my gaze.
Did I hug her for too long and she got embarrassed? Hopefully, she didn't get annoyed at me though.
Helen leaned her back to the tree again so I did the same. Looking at how many petals are scattered, she must've been making the crown for a while now. "I didn't know you could make a flower crown. Where did you learn that?"
"Big sis always works hard so I thought maybe I could too." Helen gave me a smile. She learned all about this by herself just so she could make one for me. Why does this child get more adorable as each day passes by?
"Then could you teach me how to make one?" She looked at me for a few seconds before happily nodding.
Helen picked out some flowers that she really liked and gave half to me. She started explaining and demonstrating how to make a flower crown; it amazed me how angelic she looks when she's focused. But maybe I shouldn't be shocked at all knowing that this girl is the heroine.
Speaking of the novel, I had more nightmare-like dreams though they weren't as scary as I thought. It just made me worried whenever I felt like I wasn't the one controlling my body in those dreams but it surprisingly helped me recall some stuff about my past life.
The story actually wasn't part of a novel but a visual novel. If I could remember correctly, it's a game where you would be the one in control of the protagonist's choices. I've never seen anything like it before but I'm sure that it was familiar.
My vision was blurry whenever it happened but the voice remained clear. It, or perhaps I, talked about which choice I should make to conquer a "capture target." It's such an odd term.
"After playing with the stems, you close the last end to the first and it's done!" Helen helped me braid the stems of the flower crown together with those tiny hands. I looked at my work and was very happy with how it turned out.
I placed that flower crown on Helen's head. "I'm giving this to you. You deserve that halo more than I do."
Helen seemed to be dumbfounded for a while before she lowered her head again. I couldn't see her face properly but I can see a hint of pink on her ears… she's shyer than I thought. "Thank you, Big sis." She said as she looked at me again with a bashful grin.
"Aww, look at you, being so adorable..." I was about to hold her hand when I noticed a few scratches on it. "Wait, did you hurt yourself in the process of making this?" She immediately drew her hand back and kept shaking her head.
"I was clumsy and picked a few thorny flowers by mistake," Helen mumbled sadly. "I'm sorry."
Huh? Why does it sound like she's guilty for doing something wrong?
Taking her hand and kissing it lightly, I felt annoyed at myself for not noticing it sooner. "You're not at fault, Helen. I'm just worried that you might've hurt your hands more while helping me so that's my bad for not noticing. If you're hurt - even if it's just for a bit - tell me next time." I didn't give her time to reply and simply called over any maid nearby.
June walked towards us, cleaned Helen's hands before wiping it with a handkerchief, and covered it with a few bandages. Her hands were only scratched yet it's still better to be safe than sorry. I may be a bit too overprotective of her... that's just normal since she's my sister.
After June was done, I thought about staying inside so there wouldn't be any problems but Helen seemed to be a bit down. Unsure of what to do, I looked over to Rachel for some help but she wasn't there. I looked at June and signaled her to come closer.
"Helen seems to be a bit sad, do you know how I could help her?" I whispered.
June thought about it for a minute before she clasped her hands together. Looks like she has an answer now. "Young Lady Helen hasn't stepped out of the household for a month so maybe you two could go around outside?"
I gasped. "That's a great idea!" After asking June for advice, I walked back closer to Helen. "Do you want to go outside?" Helen's face lightened up in a second.
"Yes, I want to go with Big sister!"
A chuckle escaped my lips. "Great. June," I paused and glanced at her, "tell Ramon to get the carriage ready. Go and speak to Rachel so she could ask our father for permission. If she questions anything, tell her that I'm serious and she should cover up for me." I would ask my father but I feel lazy to go inside the mansion and walk to his room just to inform him.
"Yes, Young Lady Alianne." June bowed before speeding off. I could only sigh and lean closer to my sister.
"Big sis, is it really alright? If the Viscount says no then we could go another time." Helen started to panic while I gave her a laugh in return.
"You can just call him "Father" since we're family. Plus, I'm sure he'd understand that we would just visit for a bit and we could have two guards to protect us. It'll be fun!"
"I-if you say so, Big sis." Helen sounded really reluctant but the excitement in her eyes was too evident.
We talked under the tree more before we saw a carriage stop before us. June seemed to be out of breath while the chauffeur, Ramon, gave us a bow each. "Where would you two like to go?"
"Hmm," I thought about it for a bit and looked at Helen to ask her but I doubt she remembers much from the capital. "Anywhere in the capital, we just want to take a stroll together."
"Alright, please hop in Young Ladies." Ramon said with a charming smile. Oh right, I forgot that he's also young and is around June's age! He's also a good-looking person… I immediately brought my sister closer to me and closed her eyes in case she might find this man as her type.
That's dangerous and I won't let that happen!
"B-big sis, what was that for?"
"Shh, don't worry about it. Let's just enter the carriage." Helen still seemed to be confused by it but still sat beside me while June sat across us. I wasn't able to notice it earlier but June seemed to be a bit distracted. I followed her gaze and…
Oho, what do we have here? Her eyes were following our chauffeur all along. My lips curved up to a smirk. I wonder if I could help June and play cupid for them?
A whipping sound was heard and so our ride to the capital had started. I feel bad for leaving Rachel behind but June mentioned how busy my caretaker is as of now so I guess it's better to have her rest. Right now, I have other matters to attend to.
My eyes met June's honey-colored ones.
I leaned over to her. "Have you found anyone you're interested in?" My sudden whisper must've caught her off-guard, and before I knew it, her cheeks were already tinted with pink.
"O-of course… not, Young Lady."
"Ohh, really? I wonder why you seem to be a bit distracted now that Ramon's around." I finish my sentence with a smirk. The way her face reddened was enough proof that I hit the nail on the head.
Checkmate.
"... That's just because we're not that close so I was thinking how nice it would be if we became friends." June's voice started to get quieter each second passed by. I want to burst out laughing but it'll only alarm Helen who was busy watching the scenery outside so I held myself back.
"Right, right. I'm sure the two of you would be the best of friends." June giggled nervously but I know she's probably annoyed that I'm butting in her personal life. "Or maybe more than friends."
"Young Lady Alianne, it may sound rude but..." June paused and took a deep breath, "don't do that. Don't give me hope." She sighed it all out and shook her head. I didn't expect her to already give up on Ramon… that's boring.
I hummed for a while and an idea suddenly popped in my head. "I asked you to send two guards, right? Where are they now?"
"They're outside riding their horses behind us." Oh… I didn't even notice. But that's good, now I can carry out my plan and hopefully be a proper cupid.
"Okay, good. When we arrive at the capital, you don't have to stay with us all the time since we have guards." I told her and hoped that she understood what I was trying to say. June simply nodded as a reply so I don't think she does.
Well whatever, she'll understand soon anyway.
The carriage finally stopped. One of the knights opened the door while the other helped us get down from the carriage safely. The smell of street food, the sight of packed people and shops, as well as the loud chattering, surrounded me. Ah, how I missed going around with Father and Mother but he's busy nowadays so I can't disturb him.
I took Helen's hand and whispered, "don't let go of my hand, okay? I don't want you to get lost in a place with so many people." Helen nodded as she squeezed my hand gently.
My sister and I started to walk around the place with the two guards beside us. It may seem really flashy to have two knights following us wherever we go but since I let June stay with Roman so they could get closer while the other adults aren't here, this is the only way. Plus, I can have fun with my sister without distractions so that's good.
Helen was too surprised to be outside with lots of people that she didn't even care much about the dresses I picked for her. But it's fine, I don't have a lot of money and it'll probably last for a few meals only. I wish I got more cash so we could shop for long but maybe this is for the best.
A few hours passed and Helen started to seem tired. I'm quite satisfied today as well so I told the knights that we could go back to the carriage now. When I was about to greet June and Ramon to give them some food, a cheeky grin was on my face.
Looks like those few hours were enough to make them seem closer. I could let them enjoy this moment for a bi-
"June, I missed you!" Helen already ran over to June just when things started to get interesting. I can't blame my sister though, she's still innocent so it's natural that she can't read the mood. It still kind of made me jealous that she's so close to June.
That can't be good, I want to be the only older sister in her eyes.
"I missed you too, Young Lady. How was the capital?"
"It's great and I had fun!"
The two started talking so I gave the knights some food before walking over to Ramon. He had a nice build and a common brunette look but his kind and friendly personality really made him a good man to be with. Well, I'm sure June would be in safe hands.
We were now in the carriage and started to head back. Helen still seemed to be very interested in the scenery so I decided to join her in watching the green fields meeting the clear waters and sky. As we were traveling, another carriage passed by us.
I suddenly felt my guts telling me there was something important that I missed. Hm, I wonder if it was related to the carriage that passed by just now?
I shrugged it off though.
When we finally arrived back, I was met with Rachel smiling at me and that is never a good sign. I gulped and greeted my caretaker, "I'm back. Hope you had a good rest."
"Oh why thank you for your concern, Young Lady. I certainly had a good rest when the Viscount kept asking me every now and then about your departure and when you'll be able to come back." I visibly cringed just thinking about it.
"Sorry… I bought you some street food though." I showed her a few pieces and she kept looking back and forth from the food to me. "So it's a win-win?" Rachel stared at me for a few more moments before sighing. Faint footsteps grew closer and I already knew who it'll be.
"F-Father… I'm back." I gave him a bow and a polite smile that good noble girls do. Father looked down at me with his usual strict face before sighing and shaking his head.
"You troublesome girl…" Father spoke with a low voice and I was as ready as I can be to hear some lecture from him. But when he grabbed me and my sister into a tight hug, I was too surprised to do anything. "Don't worry me ever again."
Did I hear that correctly? Is Father really showing me a huge amount of affection right now?
"The two of you are very precious to me so don't run away quickly again and just call for me next time." He said with a face that I couldn't explain. It was serious as usual yet his eyes were overflowing with love that it made me feel strange.
"Alright." I didn't even notice that I was already grinning from ear-to-ear.
"Okay, Father!" Helen exclaimed.
I may never get used to this sudden fatherly love he's showing but it does make me feel happy... I really look forward to more of this. Perhaps Helen being a part of our family encouraged him to do better now that he has an extra daughter. The thought of that made me feel happy.
Today was a good day indeed so I guess I'll worry about noble stuff and social gatherings later.