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nChapter 13 – Comes the Curious Romeo

nLidan managed to come all the way to her palace. He leisurely walked with his long legs, but as they headed to a more and more secluded area, he grew doubtful and asked, “There is a palace in a place like this?”

n“Yes.”

n“Hm…”

nThe royal grounds were immensely vast, housing numerous palaces, so it was understandable that he didn’t know there was a palace in a secluded place like this. If Levisia had to look for another reason, perhaps it was because of his ignorance.

nAs they entered a shaded path covered with grass, Lidan lowered his head to avoid the overgrown branches and followed her. Once they passed the reedy road, a palace shaped like an A appeared. Lidan was surprised to find out it was where she lived.

n“It’s very small.” he commented, but soon looked at her and smiled. He must’ve realized that perhaps it was not something to say to their face. How quick witted!

n“Please, I welcome you to my humble abode,” Levisia muttered. Indeed, she had a noble guest at her lowly palace. As much as she didn’t want to, she couldn’t, in good conscience, consider Lidan Serger Kraiden as anyone less than noble. As they entered the palace, she searched for a space that could be used as a sitting room. Thankfully, there was a place where a table and chairs were set.

n“I don’t see any attendants?” Lidan asked as they arrived at the sitting room.

n‘Brothers speak alike.’ Siaphyl had said the same thing before. ‘I guess even half-brothers are still brothers.’

n“There are only three of us.”

n“In this palace?”

n“Yes.”

nThe temporary sitting room was a space with a small office attached. Lidan found a place to sit and settled in with ease as she drew the curtains back.

n“Even if it’s a small palace, how can there be only two attendants?” Lidan had talked in a relaxed tone so far, but this time his words seem to contain a fair amount of shock as well. Levisia simply shrugged her shoulders and began to wonder. ‘Should I call Sheila?’ It seemed proper to serve tea for the guest, but one thing troubled her when she thought of calling Sheila. ‘At least Siaphyl was friendly on the outside…’

nWhat if she made a mistake in front of Lidan as she wasn’t used to having guests? Levisia didn’t want to even imagine what would happen if he lost his temper. He was described as erratic in the book; she couldn’t possibly predict his actions.

n‘I’ll just do it myself…’ She abandoned the idea and stood up. “If you give me a moment, I’ll bring some tea.”

n“You yourself? Why not call one of your attendants?”

n“Sheila is out running an errand for me. I can do it myself.”

nLidan shook his head to her reply, “Then don’t bother. I can’t let my precious sister get her hands wet.”

nLevisia had never heard anyone say that to her. She must’ve had a strange expression on her face as Lidan laughed out loud just like he did in the library.

n“I’ll have tea next time. More importantly, can we look around the palace?”

n“There’s not much to look around.”

n“It will be quick seeing how small this place is. Will you show me the way?”

nFeeling as though she was talking to a wall, Levisia gave up again and nodded her head. As they took a stroll around the palace, Lidan stopped in front of a particular place. He asked, “Sis, what is this place?”

n“Oh, it’s the garden.”

nLidan, pointing at the dirt all dug up, asked, “Garden? This?”

nSiaphyl had let it slide when she insisted that it was a garden, but Lidan didn’t seem to. He looked at her with his eyes asking her to repeat herself convincingly. Levisia turned away as those eyes were too much to bear. Then she heard him laugh like a deflating balloon.

n“I suppose it can be a garden. Though there’s only dirt here.”

nShe couldn’t bring herself to tell him that there was their daily bread being grown in that dirt.

n“There’s nothing special here.”

nThose were Lidan’s words after he finished his short tour around the palace, just as she had expected. She had told him there was not much to look at in the first place. But for some reason, instead of returning to the sitting room, Lidan kept walking around the outside of the palace. She followed him for a bit, but she couldn’t help but ask, “What is the matter?”

n“Is there a Fairy Tree nearby?”

n‘The forest with the Fairy Trees is far away from my palace. Surely he knows this as well?’

n“No, there isn’t one.”

n“Not even one tree that might have been transplanted?”

n“I thought Fairy Trees cannot grow outside of the forest.”

n“That’s true.”

nEven after that, Lidan continued to look around. Just as Levisia was wondering about his actions, he turned around and asked, “Then why does it feel like there’s a Fairy Tree nearby?”

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