BRANDON
The moment we were seated on Grey's bed; Brother Landon didn't beat around the bush.
"It sounds crazy, but perhaps, you must have yours as well… Ava's farewell gift…" Brother Landon said and procured a silk envelope from his jacket. He carefully laid the contents on the bed – Ava's handwritten card addressed to him and five handmade bookmarks. All of us recognized the blue silk threads, the pressed white roses, pink daffodils, and blue hydrangea petals; flowers that Ava had picked herself from the front garden of the main house.
Greyson gazed at the bookmarks and heaved a huge sigh. He reminded me of my own reaction earlier.
Before the two of us went to Grey's room, Brother Landon went to me first. It had been an hour at most since Brother Landon visited my room and asked me a single question.
"Do you know who Ava is?"
That single question had cleared up all my doubts for the past two days and I couldn't have been more grateful to hear it.
Two days ago, I had woken up with a start and found myself to have shrunk. When I assessed the situation properly, I realized that I had returned to the past. That could've been crazy enough to rattle my skull but after confirming the exact date of that day, I had a more pressing matter to worry about.
Mother, Father, my brothers, Lottie's disappearance, even the servants who had tended to me during my childhood; everything was just as it was before… Everything except the existence of someone.
I had been out of my mind, searching alleyways for a red-blonde girl, even lying about going early to swordsmanship lessons. The fact that Mother did not return home with Ava on the day she was supposed to show up in our house horrified me.
It was as if she never existed but the sword ornament and hand-written card which were right beside me when I woke up were unyielding proof of her existence. Thus I must find her. I know I must find her. But there was no trace of her.
And just as I was about to go crazy, Brother Landon knocked on my door and revealed that he too remembers Ava and had her mementos with him as well.
I opened the box in my hand to show them what I have. The sword ornament with flaming red silk threads and hanging gems with a wooden pendant, clumsily carved with the family's crest of an eagle surrounded by gladiolus blooms.
Grey looked dumbfounded, but he pulled himself together to show us the silk scarf he got from Ava.
"I was just guessing since the two of you had been acting strange, but now that I've confirmed that I'm not the only one who has possession of Ava's mementos, I'm extremely relieved that I wasn't hallucinating… Clearly, this is eight years in the past… What was it that happened? What is this situation?" Brother Landon said as he looked at Ava's farewell gifts huddled in the middle of the bed.
Looking at the two of them, they had no idea of what sparked this supernatural phenomenon.
However, I seem to be different. I didn't really panic that much upon waking up in this time period because I remember something apart from the memories of the future we had lived eight years from now. It was something uncanny, unearthly, something magical but absolutely horrifying.
Although I didn't know exactly how to tell them, I began with the last day we spent together a couple of months after Ava's death. "Do you guys happen to remember the day we visited Ava's grave with Lottie?"
Grey and Brother Landon looked at each other briefly.
"My memories are a bit blotchy, but I remember that," Grey answered. "I also recall buying a bouquet of white roses to place on Ava's grave. Lottie helped to select the best ones…"
"If my memory serves me right, then perhaps that was the last day we spent together before we woke up in this time period…" Brother Landon said thoughtfully.
"I think so too…" I told him with a nod. "Then perhaps do you also remember seeing a strange man at Averly Blooms the moment we got there?" I asked eagerly.
"A strange man?" Brother Landon repeated and looked thoughtful.
After Lottie's matters had been dealt with, we bought a flower garden at the border of the capital to serve as Ava's resting place. We called it 'Averly Blooms' and Ava's ashes were scattered all over the ground where we constructed the headstone. We visited the grave at least once a week, either alone or with each other.
"Honestly, I don't know if it actually happened or if it was all a dream… It was very peculiar but the sensations were vivid… The strange man had white hair, with a long braid at one side. He had silver eyes and was wearing some kind of golden robes," I told them.
I looked up just in time to see the change of expression on my brothers' faces. As if a switch had been turned inside their heads, Brother Landon and Grey's eyes widened in realization in remembrance of what I'm talking about.
We recalled the memory together.
"I remember confronting that person first," Brother Landon said.
"Yes… And Brother Brandon was about to throw hands when the stranger didn't answer. Lottie was about to mediate the situation, but everyone else suddenly disappeared. I found myself alone with the man at Ava's grave," Grey continued.
"From your perspective, it was us who disappeared. But from my perspective, it was me who was left alone with that white-haired man," I told them.
"I experienced the same," Brother Landon answered. "However, I can't really remember anything after that. I'm pretty sure that man and I had a conversation, but I can't recall any of it…" he added, wrinkles crinkling his brows.
Grey nodded in response. "I'm pretty much the same… It's really blurry… What I do remember is that I said something very important during that moment. But as for what that important thing was, I—" Suddenly, Grey stopped talking and placed a hand on his forehead. "My head feels like it's splitting," he suddenly groaned.
I placed a hand on his back to support him sitting on the bed while Brother Landon stood to get a glass of water from the pitcher on the center table. We made Grey lay down after a sip of water and attended to him for several minutes until his headache subsided.
"I'm trying to remember, but it seems like my own mind is preventing me," Grey told us.
"Then don't," I told him. "You guys might be unable to remember but I do. I remember everything that suspicious man said; every word and every second was vivid…" I declared.
"You have to tell us," Brother Landon replied almost immediately. Grey sat up and pushed away the pillow right behind him.
I nodded in response and we huddled closely on the floor of Grey's bedroom.
I narrated the scenarios as descriptively as I could. When Brother Landon, Grey, and Lottie disappeared, the sky had changed color. We visited Ava in the morning but in a mere instant, it was suddenly sunset.
"Pitiful girl isn't she?" the white-haired man said as he laid a single lily at the foot of the headstone.
"Who are you? This is the Krauser duchy's private property. How did you get in here?" I quickly interrogated the man, placing a hand subtly on the hilt of my sword.
The man looked at me with his silver eyes glistening. "You must feel sorry for her. After all, it's your fault she died," he said before lifting one hand and snapping his fingers.
At that instant, I found myself in a different place. It was raining and thundering and my feet suddenly wobbled. I realized I was standing on top of a pointed rock on a mountain amidst a raging storm.
"There she is!" a man's voice suddenly broke through the sounds of the rain.
I looked in the direction where the voice came from and saw a girl in a familiar lavender-colored dress. She was struggling to climb up the rocky slope as five men chased after her.
Squinting through the raindrops fogging my vision, I finally recognized the girl. "Ava…" I murmured and as I opened my mouth, I tasted the rainwater on my lips.
All of a sudden, Ava was cornered onto a steep rocky precipice. "Stay back!" she shouted, her voice shaking as she held a dagger in front of her.
The men laughed at her. "You ain't gonna hurt anybody with those puny wrists and puny weapon Missy… Don't make things hard for yourself and just come with us…" one of the men said.
"What will you do with me?" Ava remarked. The expression on her face, the feigned courage; it was difficult for me to look. Like a coward, I turned my eyes away.
"Pathetic little shit, aren't you?" a voice beside me said and all of a sudden, everything stopped. The raindrops froze mid-air and there was no wind; Ava and the men below turned into unmoving statues.
I turned my head towards my left side and the white-haired man was there. Even with the raindrops surrounding us, he was completely dry as if he had an invisible barrier wrapped around his body.
"You must look at her and see what she went through at the very last moment of her life. After all, it's something that you had a hand in… You must see it for yourself; what you did to her," the man said. He snapped his fingers again and an invisible force made my face turn forward. No matter how hard I tried to move my head, I couldn't.
"Pay attention. You won't see this a second time," the white-haired man said. He snapped his fingers for the third time and at that instant, everything moved again. The situation below us further unfolded as the rain poured heavily.
"Need you ask Missy? We're bandits. We pillage, we kill, we sell…" a man answered Ava's earlier question.
"She's a pretty little thing… She'll fetch a high price," another one said.
I looked properly at the men harassing Ava and recognized them. They were the bandits I personally caught and brought to the execution ground, the men who attacked Ava's carriage.
"Or perhaps she's good enough to please the boss…" the largest of them said and they all laughed. I looked at Ava and saw the terrified look on her face. I wanted to go to her. I want to save her but my body won't move. My feet stayed rooted on the rock below me.
"You're just a spectator. I brought you here to watch, not to intervene. It's too late to do that anyway… This is merely a replay of the past," the white-haired man remarked as if he sensed my efforts to move my body.
Then a commotion happened below when Ava started flailing the dagger around. She wounded one of the men. Then he slapped the dagger from Ava's hands and she ended up losing her balance. She was pushed too far and fell off the precipice.
"Nooo!!!" I exclaimed. All of a sudden, sensations of extreme pain went through my body. It was so painful that I screamed in pain and ended up doubling over panting.
"Painful isn't it? What you felt just now was what she felt when she hit those rocks," the man told me.
I was breathing heavily, feeling broken all over. Tears fell from my face, mixed with the rainwater. The pain was indescribable. Did Ava really feel that much pain when she died?
The man snapped his fingers the fourth time and I found myself teleported to where Ava landed. She was still alive and she was calling for help.
The white-haired man slowly took a few steps to Ava and knelt down on one knee to look at her closely. "Tsk, tsk… Poor girl… From the start of her life until its end, all she felt was pain…" he said and lightly lifted a lock of Ava's blood-soaked blonde hair.
"Please stop… I don't want to see her like this again; I beg you to stop…" I cried.
"I don't want to. I'll make you watch her until she takes her last breath," the man told me matter-of-factly. "Isn't that the least you can do? All this time, you turned a blind eye to all her sufferings… Are you still gonna do that even at the moment of her death?"
"I'm sorry…" I murmured as I stared at Ava. It was like I was also dying while perfectly alive. The sensations of pain in her body continued to flow into me. Her breathing was coarser as blood seeped into her lungs punctured by the broken ribs. I slowly felt the life draining out of her. "I'm sorry… Ava, I'm so sorry…" I said over and over again.
"Well, you should be. You were an asshole," the white-haired man said and hovered right in front of me like a phantom.
"Say, do you want to save her?" he suddenly said.
Despite the pain, I looked up in surprise. "Sh-she can be saved?" I gasped.
"Sure… We can have a trade. And I'll save her…" the man remarked and grinned. "I'm a god, I can do anything," he added and his silver eyes sparked.
"Then save her. You can take whatever you want from me," I told him, gritting my teeth through the mind-splitting pain.
"Whatever I want?" the man repeated, raising an eyebrow.
At that moment, I felt Ava heave her last breath. She was dead. I crawled to her side and placed my palm over her cold, pale hand. "Whatever you want," I grunted in response.
"Great," the white-haired man answered and all of a sudden, we were back in Averly Blooms.
I collapsed flat on the ground and began gasping and panting heavily. The pain still lingered all over my body.
I felt horrible. She really died after experiencing so much pain. She didn't deserve to die that way. She should have never died that way. I should've done something to prevent it. It's all my fault… My fault…
The man continued speaking, making me snap out of my thoughts. "First of all, I'll let you know whom you're having a trade with," the white-haired man said. "I'm Vegzyn, a god of mischief, and the price for this trade is—" he paused then looked thoughtful. "Well, actually, I can't think of anything I want from you, but I'm sure I'll think of something eventually… So let's put that on hold for now," he continued and grinned widely. "I'll save her, and you will be indebted to me."
"You mean; you can bring Ava back to life if we have this trade?" I asked.
"Hmmm…" the white-haired man said as he pursed his lips. "It's not exactly in the context of bringing someone back to life… I don't have that kind of power," he said. "But she'll be alive, just not in the image that you think she'll be in…"
"I'll do it," I said. "If she'll live, I'll do it," I told him.
"Excellent," the man said and held out his hand towards me. "Shake on it and we have a deal," he added.
I took his hand and at that moment, everything went dark.
When I came to, I woke up spread-eagled on my bed. When I looked sideways, Ava's sword ornament and the card she gave me lay on top of the neatly folded blanket at the foot of the bed, and I found myself to have aged backward from nineteen to eleven, exactly eight years in the past during the winter season that marked half a year from Lottie's disappearance.
When I finished my narration, my brothers responded with silence.
"I have thought about that experience many times for the past two days and if it was indeed true and I wasn't hallucinating at all, I have to admit I was pretty careless for agreeing on such a rough deal. That man said he was a god named Vegzyn and if I remembered my ancient texts classes correctly, there was indeed a god with that name," I told them.
"It's not exactly the ancient texts… It's on one of the oldest folklores of legend that we were made to read as children… It's 'Vegzyn, Vegzyn, god of mischief and trickery; they who seek him shall find answer to thy difficulty' then somewhat and the other… I couldn't recall the whole verse," Brother Landon replied.
"It's 'Vegzyn, Vegzyn, god of mischief and trickery; thee who seek him shall find answer to thy difficulty; yet beware thee who borrow Vegzyn's witchery; for it may cost a lifetime of misery.' That's the whole verse," Grey said. As someone studying magic, he's much more well-versed with the legends of folklore since it was believed that magic was the gods' gift to mortals.
Brother Landon became pensive for a moment. "Why was it that it was only Brandon who woke up with memories of speaking to Vegzyn? We all woke up with similar circumstances; the three of us remember the past life with Ava and we have her mementos in our possession. It would be safe to assume that we all had a deal with Vegzyn like what happened with Brandon. And yet, Grey and I don't remember anything about it…"
"It might be just the god's whim or something. Since we're all in the same situation with our memories completely intact, it's almost positive that we did seal some kind of deal with Vegzyn…" I told them. "The problem is Ava. Where the heck is she?" I added with emphasis.
Silence enveloped the three of us again. After a few seconds, it was Grey who broke the silence.
"Vegzyn told Brother Brandon that Ava will be alive but not in the image that he thinks she'll be in," Greyson remarked thoughtfully. "What do you think that means?"
"I don't know exactly, and we can only guess the possible interpretations for those words…" I said. I have already wracked my brain about it hundreds of times over the past few days and came to a conclusion. "Perhaps it meant this whole situation of going back in the past… That god did say that he doesn't have the power to bring someone back to life, but assured that Ava will be alive. And indeed, if the future events didn't happen, Ava is surely alive as her younger self. That's my interpretation of Vegzyn's words," I told them.
"It can also mean that Ava is living right now with a different identity, in an 'image' that Brandon won't be able to recognize. Needless to say, we can see right now that things have changed. Ava didn't arrive at our house on the day she was supposed to arrive with Mother. I began accompanying Mother in hopes of finding Ava, but to no avail," Brother Landon remarked.
"Does it mean that we'll never see for ourselves that she's alive?" I asked. "What if that so-called god duped us?" I added, frowning.
"Since Vegzyn even made the effort to send us back to the past with the farewell gifts Ava gave us, it's like he was reminding us of the unyielding proof of her existence," Brother Landon said.
"I have a strong feeling that she's out there…" he added. "She's surely out there, so we must find her…" he said with conviction.
"But before that," Greyson suddenly interjected. Brother and I looked at him.
"I think before we do that, we must do something first…" he continued.
"What?" I asked. Brother Landon looked intrigued.
"We must set things straight, sort out our family's problem," Greyson answered. "If our memories are indeed truthful, we know where Lottie is right now… The village Mayberry Cove in Seaside Shore port town, the place Ava talked about where we actually found the grown-up Lottie…" he said, looking at us in the eyes.
"If we find Lottie," I said, slowly beginning to understand what Greyson is trying to say. "…things will definitely be different. We'll be able to bring our sister back and we'll be able to prevent Mother from getting sick," I continued.
Brother Landon nodded in understanding. "That's a good idea. We'll be able to save Father's life as well since he withered away because of Mother's death," he added.
"And once we make things right within our family, once we find Ava, she won't be put in a difficult situation in this house," I said.
My brothers nodded and gave subtle smiles. This looks like the start of a grand plan.
"It's unlikely that Mother and Father would adopt Ava since they have no reason to do so. She might not be able to be our adopted sister anymore and I find that sad, but at least we would be able to give her a better life living under our family's care… We should at least do that much for her. As we start with Lottie's rescue, we can also continue looking for Ava," Grey remarked.
We all agreed with Greyson's plan and talked about what we should do to direct Father's search to the faraway port town and brought up places where Ava can possibly be. We had been given a second chance to save the family that we couldn't protect and thus we must use this opportunity wisely. We all believed that Ava is doing fine somewhere and waiting to be found by people who would care for her.
This whole situation of being unable to know where she is or what's happening to her makes me anxious, thus we must hurry. I was never the religious type but that night and throughout the many nights right after, I prayed sincerely for that strange god Vegzyn to stick to his promise of preserving Ava's life.
"Hang in there, Ava," I thought as the conversation with my brothers continued. "Hang in there… We will surely find you and this time, I'll be a better brother to you… I promise…"
~~~
Meanwhile in the god's realm
YUKINA
I found myself losing my sense of time in the gods' realm. I don't know if it's been a day or is it already night or whether time in the mortal realm runs at the same pace as the god's realm. Ohsus, Vegzyn, and Thegarae decide on whether they want it to be day or night outside the great throne room and they usually change it once every few hours. They even change the weather to their liking and spend a lot of time bickering when they cannot decide on the same climate and season.
Just how ambiguous can they get? I haven't observed them for a long time but I can already tell how much the three of them act on a whim.
At this moment, it's currently winter and there's a blizzard outside the throne room. I sat on the windowsill and sighed at the piles of snow before looking sideways at the corner of the room where the divine siblings were up to no good. Right in their middle was what they called the Watcher's Glass, an item that the gods of creation use to see what's happening in the world that they're governing.
Although they didn't let me close enough to see the Watcher's Glass properly, I can tell from their conversation that Ava had successfully met Lennox Albrecht and was taken to the Albrecht duchy like what she originally planned. The siblings were entertained for a while but lost interest when Ava just kept on sleeping.
Thus, to properly pass their time, Vegzyn started messing with the Krauser brothers about the so-called 'gift' that he devised to give Ava. And just when I thought he'd be satisfied with just sending the Krauser brothers with the memories of their first life intact, he almost did much more than that.
He suddenly decided to try and trick the Krausers into thinking that they had a deal with him. He wanted to make the Krauser brothers think that it was because of that deal that Ava had transgressed to the past.
Of course, a verbal deal was useless because proper documentation must be made for a contract to be made. Still, it exhilarated him to play around with people and confuse them. Brandon Krauser fell for his trick hook, line, and sinker; however, Landon Krauser was a tough nut to crack.
Landon doubted Vegzyn the moment he showed up in front of him. And even after being subjected to the same guilt-tripping experience that Brandon went through, Landon was hesitant to enter the deal that Vegzyn offered. He wanted some sort of guarantee on the terms of the deal. When Vegzyn was unable to reason with him, Landon became even more suspicious of him. In the end, Vegzyn gave up and wiped his memories of their conversation.
The interaction with Greyson Krauser was almost the same as that of his eldest brother. He also demanded a guarantee that Ava will indeed be resurrected and tried prying on more details on how Vegzyn can make that possible. Greyson's suspicions however did not come from cautiousness like that of Landon. He had known about Vegzyn's nature beforehand from a verse in an old folklore legend. When Greyson brought that up, Vegzyn got annoyed and also gave up on him.
Thus, Landon and Greyson Krauser were sent back to the past with no memories of Vegzyn while Brandon remembered everything.
"It's enough for the testimony of one of them to confirm my existence and make them think that they had a deal with me…" Vegzyn said.
"You really are a villain," I commented.
"I'm proud of it, little mortal," Vegzyn answered with a grin. "It's a shame I didn't know that the ancestors of humans in this world actually had some bad interactions with me hundreds of years ago and they made folklores about it to warn their descendants…" he added, crossing his arms over his chest. "Those sly foxes…" he hissed.
I snorted silently. Just who exactly is the sly fox here?
At the moment, the divine siblings are laughing at the Krauser brothers as they discuss their various hypotheses about their transgression to the past. As Vegzyn assumed, they were under the assumption that all of them had a deal with him.
Their laughter changed to appreciative claps when the brothers decided to use their knowledge of the past life to fix the problems of their family. The brothers planned to rescue Charlotte Sophia so that their family won't fall apart like what happened before. After that, they plan to find Ava and take her under their wings.
"Ahh, just what kind of expression will these three have once they find out that Ava already found a new home?" Thegarae mused aloud.
"They'd be flabbergasted for sure…" Ohsus commented.
"I can't wait to see that moment. Should we speed up their reunion with Ava somehow?" Vegzyn said.
"You shouldn't do that," I piped up in disagreement.
"And who are you to tell us what to do?" Vegzyn told me with a glare.
"I mean… I apologize for suddenly speaking up, but there's really no hurry, is there? The duration of your contract with Ava is twenty years. Interfering so early in the transgression might kill the excitement later," I answered, exerting an effort to sound as apologetic as possible.
Vegzyn paused for thought and shrugged afterward. "I guess you have a point…"
I internally sighed in relief. The siblings went back to watching the Krauser brothers devise their plans to rescue their sister and I silently listened from a corner.
Ava really has her work cut out for her with these whimsical gods doing whatever they wanted. I hope she can rest to her hearts' content before she has to deal with all of these problems.
~~~
At the Albrecht Duchy
LENNOX
After my lessons, I found myself daydreaming in the back garden under the shade of the biggest apple tree. Lately, there had been more things occupying my mind other than lessons and classes.
A week ago, I saved a stray kitten; a very dirty, smelly, and brazen little girl that dared to hold onto my ankle with no intention of letting go.
Slum people weren't like that, especially the kids. There would be a handful of pickpockets and petty thieves who made the mistake of messing with me during my occasional missions and they were dealt with properly, but aside from that, people in the slum knew better than to get in the way of someone as regally dressed as Jeremy and I. Kids in particular steer away from us and hide away.
For some reason, I saw the girl as different from the other slum children.
It was her eyes.
Amidst the dirty face, those eyes shone with conviction, desperation, and determination. Her eyes were pretty too, like emeralds buried in a patch of dirt.
And so, I took her home.
Fortunately, Doctor Hope was in the mansion and he tended to the girl. He told me that if we were even a bit late at bringing her to a warm place, she could have died. She was severely starved and suffering from extreme hypothermia. Her toes that were clumsily wrapped with torn cloths were close to becoming frostbitten; her hands and fingers were frost-nipped so badly that the doctor found it amazing when I said that she was able to grab onto my ankles so tightly.
"Poor girl had been through hardship for sure… She must've summoned the very last ounce of her strength to seek help. The young master is very kind-hearted to heed her plea for help… You saved this little girl's life, Young Master Lennox," the doctor said before he left.
When the maids cleaned her up, she began looking half-decent. She was all scratched up but her complexion was fair; and underneath all that dirt, her hair was the color of gold mixed with blood. When she woke up, I had a second look at those emerald eyes. They were as impactful as I first saw them, jewel-like and glittering prettily.
As she talked, I reckoned she must be slow-witted. The girl actually thought she died and went to heaven, and I was the angel who brought her spirit to paradise.
Me, an angel? No one had ever pertained to me like that before. One stare from me and people start dissipating. The grey eyes of the Albrecht duchy had been feared ever since Father doubled the family's power over the kingdom, strengthening the neutral faction that we support. And since then, only two types of people approach the children of the Albrecht duchy; people who want to kiss up to our family for opportunities, and people who were stupid and ignorant enough to dare stand our way.
This kitten was the latter. She didn't know my identity. She was just desperate to survive and probably held onto the feet of the person closest to her limited reach.
However, even after knowing about my identity, the kitten remained the same as I first talked to her. But I found it suspicious. She may be just acting. Could it be that she's actually the first type and not the second one? Is she one of the people who want the benefits of being close to the Albrecht family?
Father also started planting seeds of doubt inside me and reminded me to observe Kitten closely to determine that she is what we think she is. After all, things might not be the way they seem.
"Young Master Lennox," a tiny voice called me back to reality.
I snapped to my senses with a tiny hand waving in front of my face. It's the kitten who came to bother me again during my rest time.
"Are you sleeping, young master?" she asked, still waving her hand in front of my eyes.
"I'm not," I said and slapped her hand away. I was lying on my back. I lifted my left hand to my face to check the time on my wristwatch. Only half an hour more and I have to attend my next class.
I sat upright with a sigh and turned to the little girl. "What do you need now?"
The kitten gave a small smile and twirled in front of me. "Do you notice something different, young master?" she asked and stood proudly in front of me with both hands on her waist.
"No, I don't. If you came here to ask such a useless question, go back to the kitchen," I told her.
"Can't you tell? Sally fixed the dress; it's fitted to my size now. She said she pitied me for going around in a dress two sizes bigger than me, so she fixed one for me. Isn't it pretty?" the kitten said, smiling brightly.
"It's just a dress; all dresses are the same," I answered and went back to lying down on my back. "Go away. I'm trying to take a nap," I added.
"Oh, but it wasn't just the dress that I want to show, I want to ask the young master some questions as well…" Kitten said and without even asking for permission, sat down next to me.
Then she leaned sideward and put her face over mine. Her long red-blonde hair was pulled into two pigtails. The tips fell from her shoulders to the sides of my neck. They felt ticklish.
"Can you please tell me what the Duke likes? His favorite food, favorite color, favorite pastime… And if it's not much trouble, I want to know what Young Master Alistair likes as well…" she said.
"Why would you want to know about those things?" I asked.
"It's because I'm anxious. The Duke told me I can stay here 'for the meantime', which means I can be sent away anytime. I don't want to leave; I want to stay here permanently. So I have to take advantage of this opportunity and kiss up to the Duke so he'll let me stay. If I prove my usefulness, I won't be sent away," she explained.
"Do you even know the meaning of kissing up to someone?" I said, hiding a smirk. Her answer amused me. Who can be this stupid to directly admit her motives in front of someone affiliated with the person she's trying to take advantage of? I've never encountered someone like her. For a kid her age, she uses many difficult words other kids don't even know thus it's not easy to categorize whether she's smart, stupid, or just naïve.
"I do know what it means… It means to please and flatter someone of higher standing for my own benefit… I don't think it's a wrong thing… I'm not harming anyone in the process…" Kitten answered defensively.
"Do you think that will make a difference?" I asked her.
Her whole face turned sulky at my words and she sighed. "I don't know. But it's better than doing nothing and feeling anxious whether I'll be sent away today or tomorrow or the day after tomorrow…"
I kept silent and stared at her face hovering over mine. The closer I look, the more I appreciate the kitten's emerald eyes.
"Well, can't Young Master Lennox tell me about what I want to know?" she asked again.
"No. I can't be bothered," I answered.
"I figured that," she said with a nod, making the tips of her hair move and tickle my neck once again. "I should've gone to Young Master Nashiel instead," she added and started to get up.
My hand moved by itself and grabbed her arm. "Why would you go to Nash? I know Brother Al and Father better than that fool," I said.
"But you won't tell me anything. Young Master Nashiel answers every question I ask him. Yesterday, he even taught me to write my name," she replied, emphasizing the last sentence with a proud tone.
I sat up with my hand still on her arm and regarded her with a frown. "I told you I'll teach you to write your name. Why did you learn from Nash?"
"But Young Master Lennox is much busier than Young Master Nashiel since you have more lessons. So he told me to learn from him instead. He said we'll go over the alphabet later after supper…" Kitten told me.
"Who said I'm busy? He's lying, I'm not busy," I said, feeling uncharacteristically upset.
"You are busy; even today, you just ended classes right now and you have more classes later," she told me.
"Since when did you learn to talk back like that? Didn't you say I'm your savior? So listen to what I'm saying," I told her.
"Yessir," she answered in a resigned manner. "Does that mean I can't go to Young Master Nashiel later to learn the alphabet?"
"Yes. I forbid you to go. If you go, I'll personally cast you out of this house, you understand?" I said firmly.
"Yessir. I understand," she answered, looking a bit intimidated.
At that moment, I experienced misgivings. Perhaps that was a little harsh. Her ultimate worry was being cast out of the house, and I just threatened her with it.
"So what do you want to learn about Father again?" I asked to quickly change the atmosphere.
"Just a few things… Food he enjoys that the kitchen staff doesn't know; his favorite color, and maybe his hobbies?" she asked, letting go of the tension that fell onto her shoulders at my threatening remark.
"Father is not picky with food, he doesn't have any particular favorites, but he seems to enjoy teatime the best nowadays, especially flower teas. The colors he prefers the most are black and white; and his hobby is patrolling through the fiefs in his riding gear and scaring people out of their wits," I answered.
"So he likes flower teas, black and white, and long horse rides…" the Kitten summarized in a murmur. "What about Young Master Alistair?" she added.
I paused a bit to think. "Brother Al likes—" I stopped midway as a thought hit me. "Wait for a second, why do you need to know Brother Al's preferences?" I asked.
"It's because he's the Little Duke. Young Master told me before that the person who holds the authority in this house is the Duke, and Young Master Alistair is the next Duke. It won't hurt kissing up to him this early," Kitten answered.
"What about me? Don't you feel the need to kiss up to me?" I asked.
"Not exactly," she answered with no hesitation.
I was about to express how offended I am but she continued speaking.
"But I have something different for Young Master Lennox…" she said and procured something from the depths of the apron pockets of the maid uniform she was wearing and revealed two small silver bells. She handed one to me.
I took the item and stared at it. "Isn't this a Mittere Master bell? Why do you have this?"
"I asked Sir Leonard to lend me a pair," she answered. "Young Master can keep that, and I'll have the other one. So you can call me whenever, and wherever I am in the mansion, I'll come running if you need anything," she added.
Mittere bells are enchanted items that always come as a pair, the Master Bell and the Servant Bell. Both bells do not have a clapper, but if the master rings the master bell, the servant bell will magically ring, notifying the servant that the master needs assistance. The bells also have magic trackers that attract the servant bell to the master bell so that the servant can be led to where the master awaits. The magic item was developed by a magician under the support of the Albrecht duchy but it's still under a testing period. Father wanted to test the item himself and ordered the whole household to use them and provide feedback on it as a commercial item.
"If the Mittere bells come out in the market, I'll save up money to buy a pair and give Young Master my own Master bell. I did say I'll do anything if you help me, and you did. You helped me much more than I expected but I don't have anything to offer aside from being an errand girl. Sally said if I behave and be a good girl, I may be allowed to stay as a maid of the duchy, and I'll earn myself some money. As long as I am here, I'll do what I can to repay the Young Master for saving my life and providing me with a new opportunity to live a different life; a life very different from the one in the slums…" she said and at that moment, there was darkness in the girl's eyes followed by a mature glint and she seemed much older than her age and appearance.
I was intrigued by the sudden change but she reverted back as quickly as lightning and the usual cheerful glint returned to her emerald eyes. She looked at me and smiled. "Can you ring the bell for me, Young Master? Let's see if the Servant Bell will really ring," she said.
I humored her and gave the bell a couple of shakes and the tinny tinkling of a bell ringing filled the air.
Kitten's eyes lit up brighter. "It works! That's so amazing!" she exclaimed, staring at the servant bell.
"You're amazed at the smallest of things…" I commented.
"It's because I haven't seen much of the world yet, Young Master… I'm only eight, you know…" she retorted and sat relaxed before craning her neck to the lush leaves of the apple tree hanging above us. "There are so many things I don't know… so many things I haven't seen or heard about… Simple things, amazing things, wondrous things…" she said and as she talked, her face had a hopeful look about them and her eyes shone like stars.
"I want to know and see those things… I want to learn to read and write; I want to go and see what shops look like on the inside… Slum children aren't even allowed to stand near and look through the windows… And I want to eat a lot of food; lots and lots of it…" she said and the light in her eyes died before she continued speaking.
"If I leave this house, I'll come back to the slums and there won't be a chance for me to do anything. This past week had been a dream; I haven't experienced anything like this and if I go back to the slums, I'll—" she stopped midway and all of sudden, her demeanor started changing. A shadow descended on her face and she looked fearful. She slowly raised her arms around herself.
"Anything but the slums…" she murmured and started shivering. "I don't want to go back; I don't want to be there…" Her eyes had started losing focus as if she was seeing things that only she can see.
Alarmed, I placed a hand on her shoulder and shook her. "Hey. Snap out of it!" I exclaimed.
She flinched at my touch and her head swerved towards me. She blinked twice and as if realizing what just happened, she got up all of a sudden. "Thank you for answering my questions Young Master… I apologize for taking up your time. Please have a good rest," she said, bowed, and excused herself before leaving.
I watched the tiny figure disappear to the back entrance of the house and stared at the hand I used to hold her shoulder. She was genuinely shaking and I couldn't help but go back to my thoughts earlier before she arrived.
What is Kitten's identity? Of the two types of people that approach the Albrechts, which one does she truly belongs to?
My Father raised my brothers and me to always be cautious of people. People are capable of acting differently from what they truly think; they act according to their ulterior motives.
Kitten was not an exception even though she was still young.
How convenient it was that she asked help from me of all people… It can be a coincidence, but it can also be calculated. The possibility of her being a spy sent by the other political factions of the kingdom was not zero.
That was why Father was perplexed when he heard that I brought home an unknown child into the house. There were cases of spies pretending to be servants and commoners, and nobility had always been cruel enough to even use children for their ploys.
We watched Kitten every day and found it suspicious how she could fit in so well with the Albrecht household in a matter of days, thus triggering more of the suspicion that she might be a spy.
It took two days for her legs to completely heal and for her to walk properly. And in that short period, she had already befriended the servants, the maids especially. She was a talkative girl, never running out of things to say and always asking about the littlest thing that catches her eye.
She was adorable, easy on the eyes, and the most important thing, she looked absolutely harmless. She could've been someone's perfect little spy.
Our family couldn't have made it this successful without Father's cautiousness toward people. He rarely takes risks, and he doesn't move without reason. However, I couldn't help but feel that Kitten is just a genuine beggar, with no hidden agendas, who just want some help for her to survive and live her life.
Her eyes, her expressions, her actions, her words; no matter how much I try to look at them in a suspicious light, I keep wanting to take her side. Her demeanor just now almost solidified my belief that Kitten has no hidden agendas; that she's just a pitiful little girl, naïve and helpless and anxious and fearful.
As I felt the sensation of her shaking shoulder linger on my palm, I suddenly remembered something that Father said.
'No matter how much we try to empathize with the suffering and hardships that common people experiences, nobles can never truly know how they feel unless we become commoners ourselves. The feeling of having nothing, the feeling of hunger, of poverty, of hopelessness; you cannot feel or understand those things unless you experience them yourself… That is why, nobles like us should do our duty. We were not blessed by the gods for our own sake. We were not given all these riches for us to live well. With great power comes great responsibilities… Noblesse Oblige, do not forget. Etch it to your soul. Be an emblem of justice and fight for the weak and the innocent, people that are worth fighting for; those who cannot fight for themselves…'
Kitten might be the best example of what Father talked about – 'the weak and the innocent', someone who cannot fight for herself. I don't know much about her yet. A week's time is much too short for people to get to know each other. We haven't even asked her yet about where she came from and how she lived her life before getting picked up from the alley. But it's about time we focus on that topic. We must know more about Kitten so that we can clear her out of any suspicion of being someone's spy.
That's the main objective but I'll be lying if I say that I don't have a personal interest in that information. Day by day, my curiosity about Kitten grows more.
"Who are you, Kitten? I want to know who you are; and whether it's safe to be fond of you…" I murmured to myself and spent a moment of silence before getting up and preparing for my next lessons.
~~~
NICKOLAI
"How long has Ava stayed in the mansion?" I asked Sally. Among the maids, she seemed the closest to the little girl, but it was because I ordered her to. After all, before completely taking in an unknown child under my wings, I must know whether she's someone harmless towards the duchy.
I would be lying if I say that I'm not personally attracted to the idea of helping the girl. After all, I was from a similar background. But that doesn't mean I can risk bringing harm to the family who saved me and gave me a whole new life and identity. Ava must be completely clean and clear from any suspicion.
"It's the eighth day, My Lord…" Sally answered. "So far, I'm subtly asking her personal questions to know more about her background. Her answers had been consistent so far, that she ran away from home, was cared for by someone named Ms. Mary along with other children; and when the lady died, they were caught by slave traders and she was the only one who was able to escape. And since then, she had been living in the slums of the capital city, salvaging food from people's trash," she explained. "But she's always diverting the question whenever I ask about her parents. She looked very uncomfortable being asked that question…"
"I've already had people look into the person called Ms. Mary and we did find her old residence in the town Ava mentioned. The fact that the woman took her in was verified. For the other things she said, there's no way to verify them. As for the question about her parents, perhaps she'll answer if I ask her myself. After all, she's a smart girl; she knows well that I'm the person who holds her fate in this house…" I said before setting aside some documents.
I looked at Sally and asked another question. "Personally, what do you think about Ava? A week of observing her should be enough for you to make your own assessment of her personality…" I said to the maid. Sally was the daughter of Ms. Virgilia, the nanny who took care of the original Master Nicky and also cared for me the same way she cared for the real Young Master. Thus, Sally is among the people in the household that I trust the most.
"To be honest, Milord…" Sally started with hesitation at first.
"Speak comfortably," I told her.
She continued after a moment of gathering her conviction.
"From my perspective, I don't see Ava as someone harmful at all… I observed her as objectively as I could, but she's so innocent that I found myself feeling terrible for even thinking that she might be a spy. Doctor Hope assessed her health, and she had been starved not only for weeks but for months. Her size is so much smaller than that of usual eight-year-olds. Would someone really do this to a child so that they can send her to be a spy?"
"She could have been recently bought from slave auctions; that can explain the malnutrition," I told Sally.
"Yes, Milord… But…" the maid said and stopped with a sigh. "I just feel she's not a harmful child Milord… Every night, she's tormented by nightmares. The child had never had a full night of sleep in the whole eight nights of her stay in the mansion. And every time she wakes up from a nightmare, she'll go out of her room in the servants' quarters and go to the nearest window. Then she'll watch the sky until the sun rises and get ready for the day's work in the kitchen. You may have heard the other maids talking about how Ava gets up much earlier than them, and the little girl will gloat in their praises of her being an early riser and a hard worker, but it wasn't because she rises early, it's because she can't sleep…" Sally said.
"Why didn't you tell me about this earlier, about her rising during the night?" I asked.
"It's because I want to observe more whether she'll do anything else, whether she'll be up to something suspicious… But it's eight days already and she always did the same routine. Last night, she was crying; all alone by the window, just staring soullessly at the night sky with tears running down her face; it wrenched my heart so Milord… I just can't see her as a suspicious child. And I think I'm no longer qualified to make assessments about her. I'm afraid I've gone too fond of Ava to make objective observations…" Sally explained.
"I see…" I remarked and looked at Sally who is very much close to tears. I turned behind me and said, "You can come out now…"
Sally was startled when people began to appear from behind the false wall behind me.
The people who stepped out of the hidden compartment were none other than my three sons, Dr. Hope, Head Butler Archibald, Head Maid Cecil, my most trusted personal knights Sir Barney and Sir Reginald, and Sally's brother Alfred who runs the duchy's stables.
"W-what?" Sally said in surprise.
"Now don't look so dumbfounded Sally… It wasn't just you whom I ordered to keep an eye on Ava. Everyone else in this room had been making assessments of her for the past week as well… I already knew of how Ava got up in the middle of the night since Sir Barney and Sir Reginald had been watching her, but what we didn't know was the fact that she had been rising from bed because of nightmares," I told the startled maid.
"Perhaps, did she tell you what the nightmares are about?" I asked her as soon as she recovered from the surprise.
"No, Milord… I doubt the child even knows that I know about her nightmares… I've observed her as she was sleeping," Sally answered. "But I did catch a few of her words whenever she sleep-talked. 'I won't do it anymore' or 'I'll be more careful' and 'I'm sorry', 'Please forgive me', 'It's my fault…' Those were the phrases she repeated the most," she added.
"Domestic abuse perhaps… That might be the reason why she doesn't seem comfortable talking about her parents…" Head Maid Cecil commented.
"I think so as well, Mother Cecil…" Sally said with a nod, followed by a deep frown. "But the worst thing I heard from her was something else…"
"What is it?" Lennox asked, unable to hide his eagerness.
"It's… 'Please don't kill me…'" Sally answered, her face dark. "I believe the child had experienced much worse things than any would us could even imagine… She can't possibly be acting, not a child this young… After hearing that, I just can't bear for myself to keep on suspecting her," she told us.
There was silence as each of the people in the room processed what Sally said.
"Well, perhaps this is good enough to clear Ava from any suspicion… Everyone here said almost the same things as Sally – that Ava is not a harmful child. For now, we'll let her work in the mansion, but don't give any tiring chores to the child as her health has not completely recovered yet. And continue observing her, it doesn't matter if you observe her objectively or not, just watch over her…" I told everyone.
"But Father, if Kitten's already cleared from suspicion, why would there be a need to continue watching her?" Nashiel asked with a frown. "I don't think it's polite. Young or not, Kitten is still a girl…"
"Father has more things to consider, that's why…" Alistair suddenly interjected.
"Why do I get the feeling Brother Al knows something that we don't?" Lennox chimed in with a doubtful look at his older brother.
I looked at my eldest and Alistair gave a sigh and shake of the head. "I don't think they'll cooperate without telling the whole story Father… Perhaps you should tell everyone…" he said.
Everyone aside from Alistair began looking at me with curiosity in their eyes. Perhaps I do have to tell them the truth about why I want to observe Ava for a longer time.
"Well, I do think it's time everyone knows… I still think a week is too short to clear Ava completely from any suspicions, but if the child really is innocent, I want everyone to make more assessments of her for another reason," I said. I gave a pause as they all waited with bated breath for the next statement.
"It's because I plan to adopt the child…" I said finally.
The statement was regarded with shocked silence at first. Then came the outbursts.
"Adopt Milord? All of a sudden?" Head Maid Cecil said, full of protest.
"Really Father?! Kitten will be our sister?" Nashiel exclaimed, full of enthusiasm.
"I believe the Duke has a proper reason for such a grand declaration?" Head Butler Archibald asked.
Silence returned upon his important question.
"Indeed…" I said and nodded at my eldest to continue.
Alistair stepped forward and cleared his throat. "It's for the Edel selection for the next crown princess of the Kingdom…"
"The Edel selection?" Dr. Hope echoed. "But that tradition had not been used for over two hundred years… Why suddenly bring it up?"
"The tradition will return once the current Crown Prince reaches the age of eighteen. Father had already verified the information from our spies in the Royal Palace," Alistair explained.
"But why? The recent political marriages had been more beneficial for the Royal Family than having the next possible Queen be selected by a competition that they cannot control," Sir Reginald commented.
"I agree," Sir Barney said. "King Geoffrey is especially greedy. He's already so upset that the Noble Faction is losing power ever since the Neutral Faction started teaming up with the Merchant Faction," he added.
The Gouveia Kingdom had always been branched out into three great divisions – the Noble Faction made up of the majority of nobles that support the Royal Family; the Neutral Faction which was also made of nobles but those of more ancient standing and doesn't believe that all power must be handed over to the Royal Family in order to keep balance among nobles and common people; and the Merchant Faction which is made up of commoners that rose to power with business and money.
Ever since Duke Nickolai started exercising his duties as the Albrecht Duke, the first thing he did was woo the Merchant Faction and make ties of trust and friendship with them. For decades, he supported the Merchant Faction which had always been looked down upon by members of both the Noble Faction and the Neutral Faction because of their humble origins. But Duke Nickolai had been successful at changing the minds of the influential members of the Neutral Faction and since then, the two factions had been teaming up and joining their power together, making each other stronger.
"Well, that useless King is going to mess up with the Edel Selection, that's why he's bringing it back… Everyone here knows that a majority of the Kingdom worships the three gods of creation and believes in the ancient texts left in the Gouveia ruins. The Edel selection is based on the ancient texts in which the gods were said to play a part in determining the rightful Queen of the kingdom. The Temple which had gone independent since their services had been removed from the Royal Palace will be pleased by the return of the tradition and with them are thousands of faithful followers. That's what the Royal Family is after. They're after the support of the common people and they plan to make those people believe that the Queen that would get selected as the Edel in the future years to come is god-sent. It's like having a Saintess for a Queen," Alistair explained.
"But the Royal Family doesn't really believe in the power of the common people… They might act benevolent towards the people but it's an open secret within nobility that they've always mocked the citizens," Sir Barney remarked.
"Well, that's before the Neutral Faction and the Merchant Faction started joining hands. Commoners still outnumber the population of nobility by tens of folds… If they manage to earn the heart and trust of the common people, they can build great armies or they can make the general public turn against the Neutral Faction and the Merchant Faction. Desperate times call for desperate measures… We have cornered the Noble Faction enough for them to turn to the common people for a solution and abandon their principles of looking down on what they refer to as 'the low-borns'," I told them.
"The Edel Selection accepts only daughters from the families of the rank Count and above. The Gouveia Kingdom has ten Countdoms, five Marquisates, three Dukedoms, and two Archdukedoms, of which seven of the Countdoms, three of the Marquisates, one of the Dukedom, and both Archdukedoms belong to the Noble Faction. Of the two most powerful families of the Neutral Faction, we have the Krauser Dukedom and the Albrecht Dukedom. However, the Krauser duchy suddenly had their only daughter kidnapped half a year ago and the Albrecht duchy only has three sons. Neither of the Dukedoms can participate in the Edel selection; do you understand what I'm trying to say?" I explained thoroughly.
"You mean to tell us, Father, that you want to adopt Kitten and train her for the Edel Selection?" Lennox remarked incredulously.
"Indeed…" I answered my son's question. "The child is bright as many of you have seen. Her vocabulary is astounding for a child her age; and considering that she came from the slums, it would have been hard for her to develop her current behavior, attitude, and knowledge. It can be explained by only one thing – that Ava is intelligent with a great ability to adapt to her surroundings. She must have learned words and mannerisms from the people she saw in the streets, common and noble alike. She has vast potential as a noble lady, one that would be more than suitable to be selected as the Edel even if the Royal Family messes with the competition," I told them.
"I cannot help but agree. I only showed her how to write her name once and she copied it perfectly. And she always kept sneaking looks on my math workbooks and there was one time when she pointed out that I'm using the wrong formula," Nashiel told them.
"Something like that happened?" Alistair asked.
Nashiel nodded. "She's very smart… I can tell…"
"In the kitchen, she doesn't need to be told twice to know what she's supposed to do… She's a good listener and a good worker. She's never slipped up even once that sometimes I wonder if she's really only eight years old," Alfred said. "I also had spoken to Ava during her visits to the stables; she's very interested in horses. I taught her the names of the horses and their prospective breeds since she kept on asking about it and now, the girl's memorized the whole stable of horses with their specific breeds and even knows how to tell Connie and Hollie apart," he added.
"Connie and Hollie were the rare twin Mustangs, if I remember correctly… They looked so much like each other, how'd she tell them apart in such a short span of time?" Sir Reginald asked, quite amused.
"I asked her as well, but Ava only smirks at me and says 'It's a secret'," Alfred laughingly replied, scratching his head. "Ava's really humorous as well… There hadn't been a time when she visited me and failed to make me laugh at something she said…"
Head Butler Archibald also modestly raised his hand and cleared his throat before speaking. "I would also like to inform you that Miss Ava had also completely memorized the history of the Albrecht duchy in just a couple of walks through the memorial gallery with me… She also kept on asking me questions about the people in the portraits and before I knew it, she already memorized the names and titles of the past Albrecht Dukes, even the children that didn't inherit the title of Duke. She went to me the next day and recited the main family tree in order…" The old butler looked quite proud as if it was his own granddaughter that accomplished such a difficult task.
"And she knows the names of tea sets in one glance, as well as the order of the basic formal table setting. She also kept on asking me to teach her about tableware and such… She's such a nuisance," Head Maid Cecil who is perhaps the least fond of Ava among all the people in the room also contributed to the girl's accomplishments for her past week of stay in the house.
At that moment, Lennox laughed.
All the people in the room stared, including me. Never in our lives did we ever see that second son of mine laugh like that.
"This reminds me of what she said to me this midmorning…" Lennox stated.
"She said she's amazed at every little thing in the mansion because she hasn't seen much of the world yet; that she's only eight years old and there are so many things she doesn't know… There are so many things she hasn't seen or heard about: simple things, amazing things, wondrous things… She said she wants to know and see those things… She wants to learn to read and write; she wants to go and see what shops look like on the inside since slum children aren't even allowed to stand near and look through the shop windows… And that she wants to eat a lot of food; lots and lots of it… That's what she told me. It struck me so much that I remember what she said word by word…" Lennox said.
There were sniffles from the small crowd and I saw my two tough knights express emotions along with Alfred, Sally, Dr. Hope, and Head Butler Archibald. Head Maid Cecil also suddenly turned her back from us and pretended to swipe a mosquito near her face.
"Oh don't do that to us, Young Master… That's not fair…" Barney complained as he looked for something to blow his nose with. Reginald passed him a hand towel.
"Well, that's what she said…" Lennox said with a shrug of his shoulders. "If our family has to eventually look for a girl to send to the Edel selection, then Father is right to consider Kitten for the position. She's smart and ambitious. In those emerald eyes, I always see ambition and hope for a good future. Kitten will work hard at whatever task she's given. Perhaps the only disadvantage she has is her naivety. And she's kind. Kind people will find it hard to survive in the cutthroat world of the aristocrats…"
"Who cares about that? I like that Kitten is kind… She can stay naïve and kind and we'll just protect her from malicious people. What's the use of three boys if we can't even protect a little sister?" Nashiel remarked.
"Well, you have a point…" Lennox said. "By the way," he suddenly added as he turned towards Nashiel. "Don't call her Kitten. That's my exclusive nickname for her; don't you dare use it… She's Kitten only to me, you understand?" he remarked firmly.
"But I like calling her Kitten!" Nashiel snapped back.
"Find some other nickname. Kitten is mine alone," Lennox said.
"You're really selfish, do you know that, Brother Nox? You even told her not to learn the alphabet from me, what the heck is your problem?" Nashiel exclaimed, clearly upset.
"You were there when I said that I'll teach her to write her name and learn the alphabet. Those were my tasks, not yours, and you just stole one of them," Lennox retorted.
"Geez, I can't believe you're arguing over such a trivial thing… If you have to fight about it, then I'll be the one to teach Vivy the alphabet instead…" Alistair chimed in.
"Vivy?" Lennox and Nashiel chorused as they turned to their older brother.
"It's my personal nickname for her. Cute, right?" Alistair said proudly.
Dr. Hope approached me with a wide smile and placed a hand on my shoulder as we both watched the boys argue. "Well, well, well… From the looks of it, Ava isn't your daughter yet but she's already a little sister to your three sons…"
I heaved a great sigh. "I told them I'm 'planning' to adopt the child and they act as if the adoption papers had already been signed… What to do with this…" I said in resignation, kneading my forehead.
"I'll go prescribe you some calming pills…" Doctor Hope said with a pat on my back before excusing himself.
The meeting of the Albrecht household was then adjourned.