The Three Travellers (1)

"What is it?"

"The Madam wants you to be in the dining hall before eight to learn about table decoration etiquettes."

"What time is it now, Samuel?"

"It's currently a quarter to eight, my lady." Samuel's rigid yet swift response came after a quick glance at his pocket watch.

Adelaide's face darkened at his words.

"What's her reason for the sudden call this time?"

"She said Independence Day is coming, and my lady should be there to know what a future noble wife should be."

'A bridal lesson? I'm fucking six!'

Mila's voice was full of indignation. Even though the Empire's hierarchy and rules were engraved in her heart, the young maid could not help but loathe the duchess. Heavy workload, ridiculous expectations, and now additional decoration etiquette out of the blue?

Even someone as docile as her got mad.

Similarly, Adelaide was annoyed.

"That woman. Keep getting on my nerve, and I'll send her back to Avalina's embrace someday. Only fire could purify her soul at his rate."

"My lady?"

Mila wasn't able to hear her small whisper, but Samuel, a young knight famous for his sharp battle senses, could. He frowned before returning to his stoic expression as if nothing happened.

"Nothing. Tell her I'm extremely sick today, so I'll excuse myself - unless she wants me to faint in front of all those possibly important figures of our duchy."

Mila's impatient expression froze.

'Ah, did I go too far? I tried to be as polite as possible, damn it.'

"Say it in a polite way, of course. I did not mean-"

"Yes, my lady! That's what you should do. I think I told you numerous times, please take care of yourself as well. I understand you want to improve and grow as much as possible, but rushing things won't help."

'What the hell? What are you getting so excited for?'

Contrary to Adelaide's seemingly useless worries, Mila looked pleased. To the maid, her young lady had finally stood up for herself for once to get some rest. It was unhealthy for children to shut and exhaust themselves. Back in her hometown, kids were supposed to roam around on the fields, not act like a small adult.

What she did not know was that her young lady's mind was that of an adult already, and an Asian adult at that. Tight schedules weren't something new to her, or her race.

"…then go ahead and help me talk to mother."

"Of course, my lady, but…" Mila looked happy, then like a deflated balloon, her expression turned gloomy as if remembered something important yet unpleasant, "but what if Her Grace refuses? The Duchess wouldn't let it go easily, and there's His Grace too…"

'Ah yes. That makes sense.'

Normal parents would have no problems letting their children rest after a period of hard work once in a while. Even noble parents who set the bar high most of the time understood the importance of occasional rests. However, the duke couple's ultimate goal seemed to be poisoning children with knowledge instead.

'To be fair, it's only the duchess' goal. The duke couldn't care less. If that bitch did not exist, I doubt he'll just think of me as a not-very-harmful parasite.'

Adelaide resisted the urge to sigh as she tried to calm herself down.

"Sure." Adelaide replied nonchalantly, "As much as I'm beyond grateful, I do not think I should trouble mother by having her come and check on me. I'm sure father and mother are busy. Susan has always been her right-hand maid, right? If they're worried, Susan should suffice."

"I understand." Mila nodded and bowed lightly before walking away. She was not exceptionally smart, but she was quick-witted.

The brunette had noticed that every time her lady and Miss Susan met, the head maid always tried to avoid her eyes as if she was scared. Nevertheless, Mila did not mind it – she believed Susan was actually afraid of their young master, and looking at his sister reminded her of him.

Mila's job was to be by her lady's side, both physically and emotionally. Everything else was none of her concern. That personality of hers was one of the reasons why Alfred chose the maid to be his sister's personal maid.

"Your vocabulary exceeds my expectations, milady." Samuel broke the silence as Mila walked away.

"Thank you."

Adelaide would have replied in a more cheeky way if not for the fact that she did not want to open her mouth and speak too much at that moment.

Samuel, too, realized that as he gave his version of a worried look on a stoic face.

"May I carry you back?"

"…No, I'll just walk on my own." It was hard for her to resist the temptation. To be completely honest, she did not even want to move a muscle, but public image was important.

Adelaide's mind could not help but wander towards useless thoughts again as they walk towards her bedroom.

Of course, she wasn't worried about how the couple or Susan might react. The head maid was terrified of her ever since the incident. Her gaze practically spelled 'insane' every time their eyes met.

She was rather worried about impersonating the Unnamed – Avalina's angel. That identity was something she planned to use for a long time, but it came with risks. It was the first time of her two lives that Adelaide had no choice but to ponder upon one of humanity's most debatable subjects – the existence of God.

Or, in her case, the existence of the Gods.

'If you said they're real, then why aren't there any concrete evidence except for those Bibles and folklores? If they aren't, then where did those holy artifacts pop up from?'

'Oracles or prophecies originated from individuals revered as The Holy Messengers could be fabricated, but no one could deny the magical effects holy artifacts bring, nor could they prove or reverse engineer the mechanism behind them.'

Be it humans, elves, dwarves, or beastmen, they all relied on the magnificent appearance of holy artifacts to prove that their respective Gods were, in fact, real.

'Me impersonating the one called Unnamed could either be a great or stupid move.'

If Avalina was real, then at least the six angels below her might be real. However, that did not apply to the rumored seventh.

Her existence was nothing but rumors and stories from the so-called witnesses from hundreds of years ago. If the Gods had the holy artifacts to back them up, then Unnamed had none. Her existence was nothing different from how modern citizens used to hear stories about their grandfathers seeing ancient dragons roaming the sky.

'But then, again, it seems like my skills and transmigration are also related to some unknown entities.'

It was not strange for Adelaide, or anyone else if they were in her shoes, to immediately connect the unknown entities to the Gods of this world.

'If that's the case, what's wrong with borrowing one of the identities?'

There must be some kind of reason for her to be put here. Adelaide never thought of herself as an important figure or someone extraordinary, but she could not rule out the possibility of them putting her here in the body of a child's so that she would become attached and had no choice but to do what they wanted when the time comes.

'Nah, things are already messed up more than they should in the first place. I'll leave the rest to the future Adelaide.'

"Mila will be here in a minute, milady."

Samuel opened the door to her bedroom. He was even more sure that the lady was not her normal self after that long silence walk.

The young knight decided to inform his young master about this as soon as possible.

"…Thank you, Samuel." As expected, it took the young lady a few seconds to answer. "I know you'll report to brother once in a while, Samuel, but…"

'But?' Samuel's brows raised a little. He would not agree if she wanted to hide everything that had happened today. He had never reported miscellaneous, everyday life details, but he would report the ones he deemed out of the ordinary.

"Don't include the part where I accidentally cursed, okay? It was on an impulse, you know I did not mean it. I was tired from completing next week's assignments that mother demanded all of a sudden."

"…Yes, milady."

The knight's expression softened, but he quietly recorded the seemingly nonchalant detail that his lady just exposed.

She stayed late at night because of the duchess' whims.

That wasn't strict education anymore, but intentional suppression.

"Promise?" with a weary yet innocent smile, the lady looked up at him.

"…I will."

Samuel could not refuse her, especially in front of such an obedient and beautiful child. To him, it was not a hard request. Even Samuel himself despised the duchess sometimes.

Who would continue to love someone unconditionally even after all those events?

His lady was a human, not a moral saint.

"Thank you. Except for Mila, please do not let anyone else come in."

"Yes, milady. What if Miss Susan comes?"

He still remembered the contents of Adelaide and Mila's conversation.

"I doubt she would." Her head tilted slightly to one side. "If she does come, then tell me. I'll meet her."

"Yes."

Adelaide nodded and walked inside. Her kid façade broke immediately after the door closed.

"Come to think of it, I wasn't able to enter the room of subconsciousness last night after getting back too. Was it because I was unable to sleep?"

With a stern expression unsuitable for her body's age, Adelaide mumbled.