**A/N: Okay, so I really wanted to end this mini-arc that basically served as Sylvia's backstory right in this chapter. But it would be too long, like 8.5k words long. So this mini-arc will end in the next chapter (Which hopefully I can release tomorrow) instead.**
....
Sylvia was standing at the gate of the mansion alongside with Noah, watching a carriage bearing viscount Nightshade's coat-of-arm approaching their mansion.
"Are you sure you want to use my favor for this, sister? It's never too late to reconsider, you know?"
Shaking her head, Sylvia replied. "No, I'm sure. There are many advantages to having a personal servant my age and I'm sure you know it best, brother"
Hearing his sister calling him 'brother', Noah could only cough in embarrassment. "Keum! Fine then, I won't pursue this matter any further"
Eventually, the carriage appeared before them and stopped just before the gate.
Clank—!
The door to the carriage opened, and a figure walked out in an imposing manner.
Black hair and gray eyes with vertical pupils, he was Theodore Gray.
Before he could even exit the carriage, however, a mischievous voice rang out.
"Try not to seduce the duke's daughter, okay?"
In response to the questionable remark that definitely belonged to Krista Nightshade, Theodore lifted his gaze from the ground to the interior of the carriage, gave Krista the middle finger and slammed the carriage door shut.
BAM—!
He then lets out a sigh of frustration and turned towards the gate.
However, he froze on the spot upon noticing Sylvia and Noah standing in front of him, with the latter grinning at the comical sight.
Panic flashed through Theodore's eyes for a split second, before he calmed down and immediately got down on one knee.
"Theodore Gray at your service, lady Sylvia", he said in a monotonous tone.
Suppressing the urge to chuckle out loud, Sylvia spoke. "You can stand up now"
He complied.
Sylvia then continued. "Do you know what your job is?"
"To be your servant and knight, lady Sylvia", he answered with a cold voice.
Before Sylvia could continue talking, however, Noah interjected by chuckling while patting her head.
"Heh, I see why you want him now. Don't want to be emotionless alone, do you?"
Sylvia ignored her brother's remark and stared at her new servant. "Follow my brother for now. He will give you a tour of the estate. After that, go meet the head butler Andre"
Noah frowned. "Hey! I never agreed t—"
However, he had to swallow his next words as he noticed Sylvia staring at him with puppy eyes.
"I mean uh.. I'm glad to be able to help my sister's servant get familiar with our estate!"
Hearing this, Sylvia left Noah and Theodore behind to walk back to the estate without even glancing back.
'I messed up...', she thought as she entered her room.
After all, she was too hung up on the idea of Theodore being her friend that she forgot one important thing: She didn't know how to make friends.
Sighing, she decided to leave the problem for another time and fell asleep.
...
CLANK—!
Sylvia was awoken in the middle of the night by the sound of her door creaking open and the presence of someone.
Narrowing her eyes while still pretending to be asleep, Sylvia could barely make out the figure of the intruder.
'Theodore...?'
However, she quickly discarded such possibilities. After all, the figure was much taller than a 10-year-old.
It was then that her eyes finally became accustomed to the light, and she could make out the features of the one who intruded on her room.
Blonde hair, white feathery wings, and an absurdly familiar face, the angel looked just like her mother. However, she had scarlet eyes instead of her mother's azure ones.
'Aunt Lica!'
"Oh?", the figure, Empress Angelica Salvant, lets out a surprised voice. "She's asleep?"
Walking up to Sylvia, she was about to wake her up, but she refrained from doing so.
"I should let her rest... her mother just died after all"
Sighing, Angelica was about to leave the room when suddenly, the window of the room opened.
THUD—!
With a thud, another figure appeared in the room.
"Didn't realize you were here", the figure spoke with a slightly surprised tone.
The voice was familiar, awfully so. And, after a while, Sylvia realized that it belonged to—
'Grandpa?'
—Her grandfather, Semier Salvant.
It took all of her willpower to suppress the urge to jump up and hug him with all her might.
Though, Angelica had already noticed Sylvia's ragged breathing. As such, she moved closer to her and patted her head.
Pat— Pat—!
"There there", she whispered. "Everything will be alright"
'Does she think I'm having a nightmare?'
Pausing her thoughts there, Sylvia decided that it was the case and forcibly calmed her breathings down and pretended to sleep again.
Angelica continued to pat Sylvia's head for a few more minutes before Semier's voice broke the silence.
"Crush her head. Your hands are in the perfect position to do so"
'Huh?', Sylvia was confused.
Similarly puzzled, Angelica looked at her father with a questioning gaze. "What are you saying?"
"It's just like what I said", Semier shrugged his shoulders. "Crush her head, kill her"
"Are you mad?"
Chuckling, Semier glared at Angelica. "Are YOU mad? How could you so affectionately treat the bitch who killed your sister like this?"
Seeing that his daughter still have a look of surprise and disbelief on her face, Semier frowned. "You didn't know? That wrench inflicted your sister with the curse of Emotions"
Angelica stood frozen for a bit before muttering something inaudible to everyone.
Sylvia could feel gazes of disgust and hatred directed at her, but it wasn't just from her grandfather this time, as her aunt was also similarly glaring at her.
"Now that you know, cr—"
"No.", Angelica curtly interrupted his sentence.
"Why...!?"
Hearing this, she sighed. "Melissia wouldn't want her daughter to die by the hands of her relatives"
"THAT DOESN'T MEAN ANYTHING! THAT BITCH KILLED HER—"
"Are you not going to respect Melissia's will?"
Semier closed his eyes in frustration before heaving out a long sigh. "Haaaaah... let's do it your ways then. I won't touch her... for now"
"Good enough", Angelica nodded.
After a few moments of silence, she suddenly spoke up. "You've gone into hiding for quite a while now, how about coming back to the Empire"
"I will if you let me kill that bitch"
Hearing this, Angelica sighed. "I guess you won't be coming back anytime soon then..."
"Enough of that!", Semier said as he stood up. "I'll get going now. I don't think I can control myself if I set my sight on that wrench any longer"
Before he could leap through the window again, however, Angelica gave him a final warning. "Treat Sylvia properly or at least don't look at her with disgust if you ever meet her again. Melissia wouldn't want you to treat her daughter too harshly"
In response, Semier merely clicked his tongue in annoyance and left the room without even sparing a glance back.
Seeing that her father had left, Angelica sighed and moved closer to Sylvia again.
"Syl...", she said as she kissed Sylvia's forehead. "Although your grandpa was a bit too... extreme, he was partly right"
Her tone then turned serious. "You're the reason behind your mother's death, and you have to bear the sin of the one who committed matricide for the rest of your life. However—"
Angelica then caressed Sylvia's soft cheeks and continued with a gentle voice. "That doesn't mean you can't be happy. Just like my mother used to say: You deserve to live like any others"
"Heh", she then chuckled to herself. "Why am I even saying all of this? It's not like she's awake or anything"
After a few more self-deprecating laughter, Angelica then exited the room.
CLANK—!
Sensing that her aunt was sufficiently far enough, Sylvia slowly got up from her bed and wiped the sweat off her forehead.
"That was tense...", she muttered.
However, her eyes soon turned sad as she thought about what her grandfather had said.
"S- So that's what he really t- thinks of me, huh?"
And then there was her aunt. Sylvia didn't know what to think of her. After all, it seemed like she was just tolerating her out of obligations.
"L- Let's not think about it any for now..."
As such, Sylvia wiped the tears off her cheeks and went to sleep again.
...
A month had passed since that day.
Sylvia woke up this morning with a slightly more enthusiasm than usual. After all, today was the day Theodore finally became her personal servant.
She hadn't seen him that much over the past month since he had to complete his trainings to be a servant of the Adrancus estate.
From etiquette, chores, combat, and intimidation, he had to cramp it all in a month.
'And of course he was able to do it, as expected of Theo!'
And with that thought, she got out of the bed and washed herself. However—
"Huh? Where is it?"
—The necklace that her mother gave her wasn't on the table like it always was.
Sylvia searched the whole room, but the necklace was nowhere to be seen.
'D- Don't tell me...!'
She immediately rushed out of the room, running frantically around the hallways, trying to find a servant.
Eventually, she came across a maid who was cleaning the floor.
"Excuse me", Sylvia said with a polite tone.
The maid looked up from the floor and looked at Sylvia in disdain. However, she quickly hid it with a fake smile.
"How can I help you, young miss Sylvia?"
Deliberating ignoring the look of disdain earlier, Sylvia hurriedly spoke. "What's the date today?"
The maid stared at her with narrowed eyes, as if asking why she was interrupted for something as stupid as this.
"It's the 12th, young miss"
"I- I see, thanks for telling me"
Sylvia then left after giving the maid a polite bow.
'W- Why! Why did I forget about this!?'
Before her regressions, her necklace was stolen by somebody and never found again.
Normally, she wouldn't have cared about it. However, the necklace was the last memento her mother left her.
'I- I have to find it!'
As such, Sylvia ran around the mansion and interrogated maids, butlers, chefs, gardeners, and knights alike.
Although she was aware that her doing this would just make her reputation among the servants worse than it already was, she still had to do it.
Of course, she also questioned Asa and Ast, who denied all accusations.
Although she was extremely suspicious of the twins, she couldn't do anything about it. After all, she lacked the personal and political power to pressure then into giving her permission to search their room.
After a whole day of running around the mansion, Sylvia accomplished nothing but gaining the ire of the servants and drenching her clothes in sweat.
'Is is truly lost?'
She was seriously considering giving up on finding the necklace. After all, it did nothing but remind her of the painful memories associated with her mother.
Just as Sylvia was about to give in, however, she raised her hand up and slapped her own cheeks.
SLAP—!
'Get it together, Estellare! You can't give up like last time!'
After calming down, Sylvia heaved a long sigh and moved towards her room, skipping dinner altogether.
'I'll continue tomorrow'
...
Knock—! Knock—!
Sylvia groaned as she was suddenly woken up from her sleep by a loud knock on the door.
"Who is it?", she asked while glaring at the door.
-Lady Sylvia, it's me.
Instantly, her glare disappeared as enthusiasm and excitement overtook her emotions. After all, she could immediately recognize the familiar voice of Theodore.
"Come in"
Clank—!
Theodore then walked in and stood besides her bed.
They stayed in silence for a few seconds before Theodore spoke up. "Lady Sylvia, I heard that you've been bothering the servants all day looking for a necklace"
"Y- Yes, and...?", Sylvia stuttered.
'I screwed up... Theo will think that I'm a weirdo now...'
However, Theodore's next words instantly erased all of her worries.
"And as such, I've decided to look for it myself", he then reached into his pockets and took out a familiar necklace. "I won't deny that it was hard to find the necklace, but at the end of the day, no harm was done"
"...!"
"Well... one person was harmed, but she deserved it. As to what happened, well... let's just say that the estate have one less maid now—"
Before Theodore could finish his sentence, however, Sylvia jumped up and pounced on him.
"Thank you!"
It took all of her willpower to suppress the pure feeling of happiness and gratefulness inside her from being expressed on her face.
Theodore was unable to properly react to her sudden actions. As such, he just stood there dumbfoundedly, trying to figure out what had just happened.
However, since the hug felt so good, he inadvertently blurted the first thing that came to his mind out loud.
"S- Soft...!"
Theodore was petrified once more as he realized what he had just said, and his cheeks flushed red in embarrassment.
Not wanting to deal with the embarrassment any further, he frantically searched for excuses to end the hug and leave the room.
"U- Um lady Sylvia, i- it's not okay for you to make contact with a servant like this, especially a male one!"
"Mhm...", Sylvia lets out an exaggerated thinking noise as she looked into Theodore's soul with her Eyes.
'He's embarrassed... how fun!'
"Let's just say that this is your reward for finding my necklace"
Despite saying that, however, her actual motive was to tease him.
Theodore, unaware of her thoughts, strained his mind to look for another excuse.
"Lady Sylvia, you haven't t- take a bath, have you?"
Instantly, Sylvia hurriedly removed herself from Theodore. She then sniffed her own body, only to find that it reeked of sweat.
"No...", she replied with a deadpan tone.
In contrast to her still expressionless face, however, her cheeks gradually reddened.
With two youths staring at each other with flushed faces, the atmosphere became awkward once more. And like last time, Theodore was the one to break the awkward silence.
"Keum! I- I'll tell the maid to prepare the bathwater for you, l- lady Sylvia. Now, will you excuse me!"
Recovering from the embarrassment, Sylvia chuckled to herself as she clutched the necklace in her hands and brought it closer to her chest.
"Theo... how reliable"
...
From that day, Theodore became many things to Sylvia.
A protector that dissuades any more attempts at bullying his liege from the twins' servants, a knight that accompanied her through the harsh training of the north, a butler at tended to her every needs, and a... friend that she enjoyed spending her time with.
It was natural that Theodore became more than a simple servant to Sylvia. After all, not mentioning the fact that she had already considered him a friend from before the regressions, the distance between the two of them ought to have shortened after spending many months together.
Thus, she had made her first friend in this timeline. And more importantly, that number was about to increase again, as—
'Ria's coming today!'
—Sylvia was about to meet her best friend from before the regressions.
"Hm? Why do you seem all giddy all of the sudden, lady Syl?", Theodore titled his head in confusion.
At the sight of Theodore being concerned for her, Sylvia held in the urge to chuckle out loud. After all, the considerate Theodore right now was vastly different than the cold and often ruthless personality he had whenever they were with another person.
'But how did he know that I'm excited..?'
Sylvia was confused since she was sure that she was still expressionless.
It was then that she noticed Theodore occasionally glancing at a particular part of her body.
Tracing his line of sight, Sylvia blushed as she realized that her waggling tail basically gave away her excitement.
"I- It's nothing. I'm not g- giddy at all!"
Though skeptical, Theodore eventually shrugged his shoulders and let it go. After all, as long as his liege was okay, he didn't need to intervene any further.
...
As midday was approaching, duke Freywright Pyrian arrived with his daughter, Ria Pyrian, to discuss important matters with duke Adrancus.
Immediately, maids and butlers gathered to welcome and guide the duke and his daughter into the estate.
"It's an honor to meet you, duke Freywright", Sylvia slightly lifted the hems of her skirt as she bowed to the duke.
Staring at her for a few seconds, the duke nodded his head thoughtfully. "Hmm... you're not as bad as the rumors say you are..."
He then turned towards his daughter, who was hiding behind him and looking at both Sylvia and Theodore with a curious gaze.
"Ria, go play with them or something. I need to discuss things with Evanos"
Ria nodded and then politely greeted Sylvia. "Greetings, Sylvia. I'm Ria Pyrian, daughter of duke Freywright Pyrian!"
They exchanged pleasantries for a few minutes, while Theodore and Ria's guards occasionally exchanging glances with each other.
As soon as the duke got out of sight, however, Ria grinned widely and grabbed both of Theodore and Sylvia's hands.
"Let's go!"
Theodore was frozen stiff, not knowing how to react being grabbed by a higher noble; In response, Ria's knights didn't shout a him for 'daring to touch our liege!'. Instead, they just gave him looks of pity. It seemed that they had been in the exact same situation many times before.
Sylvia, however, still managed to keep her cool. "Where are we going?"
"Just like my father said, to play, of course!"
...
They spent the rest of the day chasing each other around, playing hide-and-seek, and... sparring.
When Sylvia sparred with Ria, she lost. It wasn't as if she pretended to lose, it was more like she couldn't win. After all, she would only get truly more powerful when she reach 12.
Theodore was the complete opposite. Although he could have ended the battle anytime he wanted, he still pretended to lose pathetically to Ria, which was understandable since he didn't want to accidently offend someone as important as her.
"Thanks for today, Sylvia!", Ria laughed as she watched the dusk with Sylvia by her side, and Theodore standing behind them, looking out for any dangers.
"I didn't do anything though?", Sylvia tilted her head in confusion.
"Nah, just you playing around with me is plenty enough. I'm tired of being in the stuffy mansion all day so spending a day like this is a breath of fresh air!"
"..Don't you have other friends too?"
"I do...", Ria chuckled to herself. "...Although they're just getting close to me to try and make a connection with my father"
"..."
"Even the knights are no fun since they always act so stiff around me, just like a certain someone that almost spoiled the mood today..."
Theodore's cough could be heard from behind them but Ria paid it no mind.
However, Sylvia nodded her head thoughtfully. 'I need to make sure Theodore will be friends with Ria too!'
After all, she didn't want their relationship to be as awkward and ambiguous as it was before her regressions.
"And even though you're, well, as expressionless as that, I could tell that you're genuinely enjoying your time with me!", Ria said as she gave Sylvia a hug.
"Is that so?"
"Mhm! And...", she then distanced herself from Sylvia for a bit. "...You see me as a friend too, right?"
Seeing Ria's pleading and expectant eyes, Sylvia couldn't help but to want to immediately confirm that she also wanted to be friends with her.
However, since she couldn't express her emotions through facial expressions, the only thing she could do was to—
"Yes. You're now my second friend!"
—Hug Ria back.
Ria then giggled, before frowning as she realized something. "Wait, second? Who's your first then?"
"Theodore..."
"That scary-looking guy?"
She couldn't retort to Ria statement. After all, even Sylvia herself couldn't help but to feel a certain amount of dread when looking at Theodore.
Thus, she reluctantly agreed. "Yes, it's him"
Thinking for a bit, Ria spoke up while glancing Theodore. "So can I be your best friend then?"
"That's a bit...", Sylvia was about to deny her request when she noticed Ria staring at her with puppy eyes.
She then looked at Theodore as she was at a loss on what to do.
In response, however, Theodore shrugged his shoulders and nodded at her, implying that he didn't really care what she did.
Sighing, Sylvia then turned towards Ria again. "...Okay then, you're my best friend"
"YAY!", Ria embraced Sylvia tightly again.
She then look back at Theodore with a triumphant grin. "I win!"
Theodore merely shook his head and sighed, as if he didn't want to put up with Ria's childish behavior any longer.
He then cleared his throat and spoke up. "Keum! It's almost dark, we should get back, lady Sylvia and lady Ria"
"Tch! You're no fun! What's wrong with playing for a bit more?", Ria clicked her tongue in annoyance.
"I'm afraid we cannot do that, my ladies. The dukes would surely send a search party for us if we don't get back soon"
"Alright then...", Ria reluctantly agreed with Theodore. "...But I still think that you only reminded us to leave because you're jealous of me snatching the position of Sylvia's best friend from you!"
Hearing this, Theodore's eyes widened in panic for a split second before he regained his original cold composure.
"That is not the case, lady Ria. How could I be so presumptuous as to even imagine myself as my liege's 'best friend'?"
Ria, completely not buying what he had said, playfully walked up to him and slapped his back. "You like her, don't you?"
"W- What!? I don't!"
"Yes you do! I can clearly tell!"
"N- No!"
Watching these two arguing, Sylvia couldn't help but to strike a triumphant pose in her mind.
'This regression's going better than the original timeline already!'
Ria and Theodore continued this back and forth all the way until they got close to the estate, at which point they reverted back to personalities that suited their position.
...
"Lady Sylvia, do you need anything else?"
"No", Sylvia shook her head as she was tucked in by Theodore. "You can leave now"
Theodore then bowed and exited Sylvia's room.
Clank—!
As soon as he left the room, Sylvia lets out a tired sigh, followed by a slight chuckle.
"What a fun day..."
After securing the necklace in a locked drawer, she then yawned.
"Huam! I forgot how tiring playing with Ria can be"
Thus, she turned off the lights and fell asleep.
'I can't wait until tomorrow!'
...
The next day, Sylvia woke up early in the morning.
Stretching her body, she lazily walked out of the bed and washed herself up like everyday.
As she was about to do her hair, however, she saw a weird sight as she gazed into the bathroom's mirror.
"Huh...? What's this... red thing?"
Half of her face was covered in a red substance. As she scrutinized her reflection even further, she found out that her white nightgown, not just her face, was dyed red.
Confused, she scooped some of it off her face and sniffed it.
Sniff—!
As soon as she did so, however, she widened her eyes in realization and horror.
"BLOOD?"
She then immediately ran out of the bathroom and looked at her bed again. This time, she saw something, or rather, someone that her mind was still all groggy after just having woken up.
'NO!'