n

n

nErita was trying to get up alone because it was awkward to wake from a soft touch every morning.

nMary came in yesterday and tragically failed, but today was a complete success.

n‘It took longer than I thought…’

nIt’s already been more than two weeks since I came to the Grand Palace.

nThis week was long when it needed to be long and short when it needed to be short, but it was just enough time for me to get to know the Grand Duke family.

n

n

nOf course, my room was even better.

nIt was still a luxurious ceiling, but now it was a great development just by looking at it and I’m not surprised.

nI sat down on the nice rug after making a lovely bed with fruitless ideas.

n“What time is it?”

nIt was just five minutes before Mary and Marilyn came in.

nI put on my soft fur slippers and glanced at the watch, then walked over to the window.

nYesterday there was a fluffy cloud like cotton candy, but today it was pure blue without a single cloud.

nThe lake where my father and brother first took me has later become my third favorite spot in the mansion.

nFirst was the garden. Second was the library. And third was that lake.

nIn turn, these are the places I’ve been to the most over the past week.

n“Then, shall we watch my brother’s swordsmanship practice today?”

nAs I thought that I would be able to see happy faces today, I smiled automatically.

nWhen I looked out of the window and set my schedule for the day. I heard a knock.

n“Lady, it’s Mary.”

nA small voice came over the door, perhaps thinking I was dozing and realized, it’s Mary!

n“Lady, now…”

n“Mary!” ᴱʳᶦᵗᵃ

n“Oh my!”

nWhen Mary’s name was called and the blanket tilted, Mary was surprised.

nWhile laughing excitedly, I glanced, feeling that it was a little too much.

n“Are you surprised?” ᴱʳᶦᵗᵃ

n“I totally forgot. I thought you were sleeping.”

nTo the sullen question, Mary replied playfully, rolling her eyes.

nMary was really nice. I rolled over the blanket and stepped back down onto the soft rug.

n“Good morning, Mary!” ᴱʳᶦᵗᵃ

n“You woke up early today!”

nAfter greeting with a big smile, I nodded proudly at Mary’s words.

nMy challenge this past week was that only Mary and Marilyn knew.

n“I used to wake up very early!” ᴱʳᶦᵗᵃ

n“Really?”

nSeeing her smile-stained tone, Mary didn’t seem to believe me.

nBut I’m serious!

nWell. Mary has only seen me fall asleep like a sleepyhead so far.

nStill, I was embarrassed, and I muttered in annoyance.

n“It’s true. I didn’t get scolded when I woke up early.” ᴱʳᶦᵗᵃ

nI didn’t mean to say that at all. I really didn’t think much of it, so I just said it out loud.

nI never thought what I said would sound like that to Mary.

n‘Ah…’

nIt wasn’t until the atmosphere suddenly subsided that I felt sorry.

n‘Oh, what’s with this atmosphere? Why did I even say that?’

nIf I could turn back time, I wanted to go back a minute ago.

n“Lady…”

nMary’s face, who became teary, called out to me.

nMary, who was kind and sweet, tends to take care of me too much, and she spoke.

nPerhaps I prefer the soft atmosphere.

nI didn’t know what to do, so I slowly looked up at Mary and said,

n“…I’m really fine.” ᴱʳᶦᵗᵃ

n“Don’t say that…”

nThe atmosphere has become worse.

nFrom now on, I’ll just keep my mouth shut. Without crying or laughing, I rolled my feet.

nWhat should I do at times like this?

nIf I had known it was going to be like this, I wouldn’t have said that.

nI regretted it later, but now I have a greater desire to escape from this portrait book-like atmosphere.

nThe card I brought up was eventually a change of words.

nWe can’t stay like this all morning.

n“Ma- Mary! I think I’m hungry!” ᴱʳᶦᵗᵃ

n“…”

n“Would you like to get ready and go down soon?”

nErita pressed Mary awkwardly with a smile.

nMary’s expression, which had not relaxed, became a little better only after I grabbed her hand tightly and waved it around.

n‘…Phew. It took ten years.’

nAs I was heading to the dining room, I breathed a sigh of relief inside.

nHow nervous I was the whole time I changed my clothes.

nFortunately, Mary never brought it up again.

n“Hello, lady!”

n“Oh, Marilyn!” ᴱʳᶦᵗᵃ

nAs I was almost at the dining, I smiled and waved at Marilyn, who I encountered in front of the door.

nMarilyn was one of the maids I ran into on the first day I came here.

nUnlike the first time when I felt intimidated, perhaps because of what happened on the first day, she was lively and honest.

n“Hey, did you wake up alone today?”

n“Really?”

nMarilyn was surprised when she ran and whispered.

n“Are you surprised that I woke up so early?” ᴱʳᶦᵗᵃ

nApart from pride, my eyes were thinned by the surprising response.

nOf course, I didn’t want to go through the low-key atmosphere again, so I didn’t say anything useless.

n“Hmm… It’s not like that.”

n“Then?”

n“You usually wake up when Mary wakes you up about three times.”

nMarilyn’s words with a bright smile made my bones throbbed for some reason.

n…It’s true, so I can’t refute Marilyn for a while.

nIt’s my fault that I forgot that I was very honest.

n“That’s…”

nI tried to make excuses that I didn’t anymore, but I quit because I felt pathetic.

n‘It’s just a matter of getting used to being treated like a child…’ ᴱʳᶦᵗᵃ

nPerhaps because I entered a child’s body, my head was pounding when I thought a lot.

nI’m used to saying things that were intentionally simple at first.

nMarilyn smiled at me like, ‘Oh! she spoke.’

n“Master and young master are waiting, please come down first.”

n“…You should’ve told me that first.” ᴱʳᶦᵗᵃ

nOf course, I started talking about something else.

n“I’ll go first! See you later!”

n“See you later, lady!”

nI hurriedly waved at Marilyn as I entered the restaurant.

nI was going to go down and wait for my father and brother.

nBecause I woke up late every day at meal time, I had never greeted my father and brother in the morning first.

nWhenever I entered the dining room, I wanted to do that because I felt good about greeting them.

nI hurried my steps, but they always came first. I was the last to sit on the chair together.

n“Hello, Erita.”

n“Good morning.”

n“Good morning, father and brother!” ᴱʳᶦᵗᵃ

nAs I entered, I saw my father and older brother smiling while looking in my direction, and I also cheerfully greeted them.

n“I will enjoy this food!” ᴱʳᶦᵗᵃ

n“Yes. Eat a lot.”

nAnd we started eating as usual.

n‘I’ll be the first one to come down tomorrow. Really. For sure!’

nIt promises tomorrow to a plan that has failed fiercely.

n✿

nClangㅡ!

nThe sound of swords clashing resounded.

nAaron and the head of the Grand Duke’s Knights fought bravely.

nAaron, who’s yet fifteen, was fighting on an equal footing with an opposing knight.

nNo, was Aaron a little more dominant?

nErita sat on the flower bed a little further away from them, and waved her hand and looked at him.

n“Cool!!” ᴱʳᶦᵗᵃ

nAt that moment, the sword quickly fell over Aaron.

nI know it’s just a fight, but the momentum was quite fierce, so I clasped my hands tightly.

n“Ah…!”

nFortunately, Aaron, who fought using the sword, kicked on the ground and moved quickly.

n“Where!?”

nAaron’s sword, who first adjusted his posture, flew toward the opponent with a smooth line.

n‘Well done!’

nErita held her breath and cheered him on.

nClangㅡ!

nThe sparkling sword rolled over the floor. It belongs to Aaron’s opponent.

n“I lost.”

nAs the opposing knight raised both hands and acknowledged defeat, Aaron pulled out the sword that was aimed at his neck.

n“Wow!” ᴱʳᶦᵗᵃ

nAs I was watching while stomping my feet in Aaron’s victory, I jumped up from my seat. Aaron’s eyes were round when he found me.

n‘There’s nothing my father and brother can’t do.’

nWavering at the sweet smile, I quickly picked up the water and towels I had kept.

n“Hey!”

nI ran to Aaron, who was approaching with a sword, and first pushed out the water.

n“Here’s water!” ᴱʳᶦᵗᵃ

n“You don’t have to…” ᴬᵃʳᵒⁿ

n“I’m doing this because I want to!” ᴱʳᶦᵗᵃ

nAaron said it’s fine, but this was purely what I had asked the maid to do.

nI also wanted to watch Aaron wielding a sword a little closer

n“Still…”

n“I’m doing it because I like you..” ᴱʳᶦᵗᵃ

nI inflated my cheeks in front Aaron, who was constantly apologizing.

n“…I really can’t beat you.” ᴬᵃʳᵒⁿ

n“…”

n“Thank you, Erita.”

nAaron, who was looking at me, smiled lightly and accepted the fresh water.

n“Here’s a towel!” ᴱʳᶦᵗᵃ

n“Huh? Did you bring a towel?” ᴬᵃʳᵒⁿ

n“Of course! I know this much.”

nWhen I held out a towel following the water, Aaron, who looked surprised for a moment, ended up laughing.

nThe crowd burst into laughter.

nThe hand he had raised to stroke my hair went down again because it wasn’t clean.

nTaking advantage of Aaron’s break from training for a while, we sat on the bench and talked.

nUsually, when I chatted, Aaron responded.

n“You were so cool!” ᴱʳᶦᵗᵃ

n“Really?” ᴬᵃʳᵒⁿ

n“Yes! The sword at the end was like this! Then you hit it and it fell off!”

nIn the end, I copied Aaron, hitting the opponent’s sword.

n“Haha! It’s good that you say I’m cool.” ᴬᵃʳᵒⁿ

n“This is a secret…”

nErita looked around carefully.

n“I think my older brother is the best.”

n“Huh?” ᴬᵃʳᵒⁿ

n“Really. My older brother is the coolest!”

nI whispered into Aaron’s ear as I got closer.

nIt might make you feel bad when other people hear it.

nAaron, who bowed his head following my gesture, burst into laughter at what I said.

nOf course, the skills of the other knights were extremely impressive, but only Aaron stood out in my opinion.

n‘Honestly, my older brother looks the best.’

nI seriously nodded, thinking like such a flurry of ideas in my mind.

nThis week was enough time for me to get acquainted with Aaron.

nNow I could do this without any hesitation.

n“Erita is the coolest for me too.”

nAaron smiled and touched my cheek.

n“Really?” ᴱʳᶦᵗᵃ

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n

n“Of course. You’re the coolest.”

nAfter that, a parade of praise followed.

nBecause it didn’t end, we stared at each other, and no matter who came first, we burst into laughter.

nLife in the Grand Palace was more enjoyable than I thought and the people are more friendly than expected

nWell, I simply loved this place so much.

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