Morning came with the first rays of light that shone into Kyra's room. I woke up with her still clutching my shell but I could also feel her drooling on it. I tried my best not to wake her as I moved out of the drool pool but it roused the sleeping beauty anyways.
"Mmn... Good morning Rollie." Kyra rubbed her eyes as she sat up.
I let out a 'kwoo' as I laughed when I saw her bed head. She didn't quite seem to understand my 'laugh' but she smiled and hugged me. Kyra talked to me about the things she had to do today, most of it being studying again.
The Lord and her father, the head of Sivillion, made sure she had a great early education, getting highly praised teachers for her to help her learn about the world and what she may want to pursue. All of her siblings probably had to do the same thing until they were ready to attend this academy.
A few minutes later, a maid came in to help Kyra get up. Thankfully, it was a familiar maid in the form of Mary who didn't seem disgusted by my existence. She also seemed to be Kyra's favorite maid giving us a more relaxing morning than we would have got with someone else.
She took Kyra and I to the luxurious bath on the second floor, meant for the Sivillion family members. As a child, Kyra needed help getting clean so Mary and a few other maids had permission to enter with her but I didn't have a pass to enter.
"We can't let Rolland into the bath Lady Kyra," Mary told her as the little girl tried to drag me into the bath, "While Master Sivillion gave you permission to keep Rolland, he is still a magical beast and should be cleaned separately so he doesn't dirty the bath."
Kyra pouted as she leaned on the edge of the bath while I tapped my claws against the wet tiles.
"But Rollie's clean! He got a bath yesterday and we haven't been outside since then. Its no fair." She complained as Mary washed her hair with soap.
"Your brother's and sister's might not want Rollie in their bath though, my Lady. You'd have to get their permission, as well as the Master and Mistress'."
"You have my permission." Another voice startled us all.
I slipped on the tiles a little while the girls both squealed in surprise.
"L-Lady Eradessa, I didn't know you were here! I apologize!" Mary quickly bowed to her, ignoring any awkwardness from being naked.
"Its alright," She said simply, "I came here at an odd hour so that's my fault."
"N-Not at all! Its my fault for not waking Lady Kyra up fast enough!" Mary replied but I felt she was blaming herself just for the sake of it.
Lady Eradessa in all her nakedness sighed as she slipped into the bath.
"You have permission to enter here right? If our father granted it then I see no issue."
Eradessa floated for a bit leaving the rest of us mesmerized at her elegance. She was definitely a beautiful woman in her prime. She may not have had a very generous chest but she had long, well defined legs and a gentle figure.
She also took after their father, giving her a regal presence whenever she spoke.
"T-Thank you Lady Eradessa." Mary stammered and bowed again.
I wasn't sure what the other siblings would be like outside of formal wear but at least Eradessa seemed tolerable. She wasn't the most loving but she was at least easy going.
"S-Sister..." Kyra asked hesitantly, "Why'd you come bathe this early?"
I wondered why as well, it seemed like it was a shock to see her at this time according to Mary and Kyra's reactions. Eradessa dove underwater for a moment before coming back up and throwing her beautiful blonde hair back.
"Partially to see my sister before I leave." She replied and Kyra's eyes went wide.
"To see... me?"
"You're my sister right?" Eradessa raised an eyebrow.
"Y-Yes!"
I guess Kyra was pretty intimidated by her eldest sister. It wasn't hard to imagine why since she was so alike their father, on top of being over two decades older at least. They probably didn't interact much either, considering how awkward Kyra looked.
"I wanted to see my sister before I left. I'm heading to the Capital tomorrow at the earliest and there's no telling when I'll be back, if ever."
"Y-You're not coming back?" Kyra seemed confused on top of being a bit sad.
"Possibly," Eradessa nodded, "Father gave me some territory to govern. He says he wants me to help our brother Edgar when he takes over the household someday, and for that I need experience. I don't know if I plan to help Edgar yet but I believe doing this will help me in the future.
"One day you will have to leave this house too and decide what you want to do. You'll gain experience, good and bad, and hopefully be someone you can be proud of."
A bit of silence followed as Kyra tried to figure out what her sister meant. It was hard for her to grasp the true meaning of it but she knew it was important otherwise her eldest sister wouldn't have said it.
"W-What was the other part?" Kyra asked after a while.
"Curiosity."
Kyra looked at her confused but I could tell what she meant by that as she waded through the water to us. Mary moved back since it wasn't her place while Kyra just stared at her sister wondering what she meant.
Eradessa looked to her sister for a moment before turning to me as I still sat close to the edge, attempting to make myself smaller.
"Rolland was it?" She asked, eyeing me curiously.
For a second I thought she was talking to me but when I answered, I forgot that only a 'kwoo' would come out so Kyra answered.
"Y-Yeah, father named him Rolland but I call him Rollie."
"I see," Eradessa seemed deep in thought for a moment as she reached out and petted my shell carefully, "Please be a good friend to my sister Rollie."
I was surprised to hear how kind Eradessa seemed to be to her sister. Despite the way she acted all emotionless, she might deeply care for her. It could also be that she just thought of her as a cute little sister that could never threaten her position, but that seemed too over the top and cruel for someone like her.
"Kwoo!
Just as swiftly as she approached, she left and climbed up the steps out of the bath. She grabbed a towel and wrapped it around herself before looking back in one fluid motion.
"I hope to see you again soon Kyra. Make sure you study. And please continue to look after her." Eradessa said her final goodbyes, even looking over to Mary.
"O-Of course Lady Eradessa! I promise to take good care of her!" Mary looked ready to salute.
"T-Thank you sister! H-Have a safe trip!" Kyra yelled out.
Eradessa didn't stop as she left the bath area and everything went quiet again except for the sound of running water from the fountains statues.
"M-My we've been in here for quite some time!" Mary tried to move on from the awkward silence and quickly finished up cleaning Kyra.
Kyra seemed lost in thought for the remainder of her bath, probably questioning why her eldest sister would go out of her way to talk to her and I when she never seemed to have done so before. I didn't know what her motives were either, but it seemed like she cared for Kyra, even if just a little, meaning not everyone in her family ignored or hated her.
It was unfortunate that she was also leaving for an indefinite amount of time but I hope that wouldn't ruin their newly building sistership. Kyra needed people to rely on.
Mary and Kyra exited the bath and dried themselves off before returning to her room and putting on a casual dress. Mary reminded Kyra of her schedule as she put her beautiful red hair up in a ponytail.
In the mornings, it was magic class with Madam Serene, and the Sorceress might've already been waiting for her since we took so long at the bath. Today wasn't a practical session like it was yesterday on the training grounds, instead, it was theory lessons which Kyra was notably more excited about.
And I was too.
There was a skip in her step as she held me upright in her arms and Mary led the way. We entered the library, like we had for Mr. Pelono's lessons and were brought to the center table where a number of books were left for Kyra's studies.
The table in the center of the library was tiny compared to the rows and rows of books that lined the library. The bookshelves were at least 2 meters high and there was a spiral staircase on both sides of the room that led up to a second and third floor.
The servants had access to the first floor when someone like Kyra wasn't using it but only family members would have permission to enter the other floors.
"You're late Lady Kyra," Madam Serene pursed her lips and put a hand on her hip, "We're missing out on valuable magic time."
"I apologize Madam Serene," Mary bowed, "We spoke with Lady Eradessa in the bath today so we were later to get out."
"Its alright," Madam Serene easily brushed it under the rug, "Anyways, lets get right to it then shall we?"
"Yeah!" "Kwoo!" We both cheered.