Chapter 16

Her eyes slowly opened, and she was greeted by the painting of the blue sky. She glimpsed over the door. 'Have they not come to a decision yet?' she wondered.

Then she heard a subtle sound of footstep. 'Here they come.' She shifted her body and sat at the edge of the bed, a knock came to the door, and the old maid entered. Behind her, was two young and good-looking maid. One which had a bright radiant smile, with a boisterous look, and the other with a soft, gentle look and reserved smile.

The older maid came closer to Aretha. "My Lady, Master had assigned a new room for you. He must have felt this room was too modest for a beauty such as yours." Pomona said, cheerfully to the point of suspicion.

Aretha smiled. She like the old maid enthusiasm, she did, but the expectation that came with the enthusiasm was quite burdensome, if she had to say. However, she remained silent and kept that thought solely for her. "How could this beautiful and grandiose room be count as modest for me? I am already grateful for a place to sleep and eat, yet His Excellency gave me more than I deserve. How could I pay for his grace."

Pomona's heart was tickled by the humility of the young lady. "My Lady, Master would never done anything that do not bring benefits or importance to himself. The fact that he hold such a high value on you, My Lady, had proven how important you are to him."

"It is such fortunate for me to meet with someone like His Excellency."

"This old maid sure that our Master also felt the same."

"Oh! How about my siblings? Do they have to change room too?"

"Master had assigned them to another building?"

"Another building?" she said, with her tone slightly quivered.

Pomona looked at the worry expression. "Do not worry, My Lady. The other building was not far and the condition was better for children. Instead of confining them to a few room, it is better for them to have their own space to play and learn as much as they want. My Lady may visit them whenever you want with Master permit."

'So I have to ask for permission to see my own family,' she thought in her mind. "I am glad. I would be so happy to see the children play without any constrain and without any worry. This happiness could not be gained by myself, and I am grateful for His Excellency would go that far. I truly wished to express my feeling and how I am thankful and indebted toward His Excellency."

The two young maid covered their mouth, the corner of their eyes glisten with a drop of tear. 'How beautiful, the love in Lady's family. How pitiful, the young lady growing up bearing the responsibility such as the mother and father to her siblings.'

Even Pomona, was touched with the kindness and modesty of the young lady. "My Lady, you could expressed whatever you felt to Master, this evening, as he had invite you for a meal together."

"Is that so? I could not help but to be excited at the idea of meeting His Excellency again."

"I am glad that My Lady are pleased. Now My Lady, shall we go and see the room that were assigned for you?"

"Yes, of course, gladly."

From the first floor, they climbed the stairs to the second floor. They stopped by a door, much decorated than the other. Aretha could not believed her eyes as she studied the beautiful detailed craft on the door, the color of the painting and the lustrous door handle. How could this be a door and not an art? She truly did not understand the mind of the wealthy noble.

"Is this truly my room?" she asked for confirmation. Perhaps this was not their destination.

"Yes, it is, My Lady. Shall we go inside?" Pomona said, with the smile that never faded.

Aretha tilted her head and catch a glimpse on the door of the next room not far from hers. "Whose room was it, the one next to mine?"

"That is none other than Master's bedroom."

"My room, next to His Excellency?"

"Yes, My Lady. That is indeed right."

Aretha could not believed what she had just heard. It was a common noble knowledge, for a high nobles in the empire to sleep separately unless it was the night they consummate. Aretha had learned etiquette from when she served Duke Andino. Although it was not much, but enough for her to passed as a small unknown noble. Thus, she knew, that grand duke and grand duchess each had their own separate room next to each other. Now, the room that was meant for the next grand duchess was given to her, a girl from a humble background.

Her face full of terror. "Perhaps, there was a mistake in the arrangement?"

"No, My Lady. This is the room that Master had given to you. It is for your own use."

"However, this room are meant for the future grand duchess. It is not appropriate and disrespectful of me to use it as my own."

'Even at this moment, it was not greed that came to her but concern and fear. Lady is perhaps the one.' Pomona lamented in her thought. "Heed no concern, My Lady, for this is the order of none other than Master. In this castle, no one is more powerful than him and nothing could go against his wishes."

'Indeed, how could I understand the mind of a noble. Truly…' Aretha sighed. She could not said anything for she is not the one with authority.

Pomona opened the door for Aretha. With a heavy heart, she reluctantly agreed. She step inside. The room was much more bigger than she could imagine. Gold and jewelries was used as decoration. The bed and pillow was soft and fluffier. She could live her life on the bed if it not for this human body that need to exercise and move around to keep healthy.

"My Lady," Pomona said, her hand pointing to the two young maids, "this two child will attend for your need from now on."

Both of them bowed politely. "We will be at your service, My Lady."

Aretha flustered. "You guys do not need to be so formal with me."

"That would not be the proper conduct, My Lady, for Master had regard My Lady as someone to be treated with utmost respect." said she, the young maid with the reserved smile.

"Alright, however, make yourself comfortable while speaking to me, as I believe we are not much different in age."

"Of course, My Lady!" the young maid with ponytail replied.

Pomona was thinking how could she make the young lady to feel welcomed. 'My Lady must felt insecure being with our Master, for he is a great man. It seem I have to double my effort, for the sake of future. Perhaps in few years, I will be able to see a little master.'

"Then, I guess, I will be troubling all of you from now." Aretha said.

"Please, do so, My Lady."

"First, could you prepare hot water, I would like to take a bath before the meal."

"Right on it, My Lady. Please have a rest for a bit."

Nika and Yua went to do their task. Pomona said, "My Lady, although Nika and Yua will attend to you most of the time, this old maid will be at your service whenever you need." She bowed and retired.

Aretha walked toward the balcony and stood behind the railing. She gaze at the divine blue sky adorned with fluffy white cloud, the dazzling sun and the light breezes of the wind that greets her skin. The exquisite colorful buildings neatly arranged in it place, unlike the dull and almost collapsing, pile of old buildings in Rosaceae City. These breathtaking secenery felt alien to her. The smells of the wind, flowers, grass, and the trees. The scents of fresh-baked breads and cookies, coffee and tea. It was as if she had gone back to her childhood, where she was surrounded by nature and loving care.

Those five years being in the dark, trapped within human desire and selfishness. Her eyes had seen filth and corruption, her ears had heard lies and deception, her nose that had smelt drugs and medicine, and her mouth that concealed truth and uttered misconception. It was a life full of trickery and betrayal. Never would she thought, she could escape that cage.

"How different could it be…" she murmured. 'Grandpa, grandma, we had gone out from that place. wait for us. We will go back one day. To our home.' She vowed with determination in her heart.

***

On the way to south building.

Five children, escorted by maids and knights, marched toward the south from the main building of the grand duke castle. The building was not inferior than the main building in terms of it's decoration, albeit a bit smaller in size.

"When do you think sister would come to see us?" Cole said, glancing at the other children.

Peter sighed. "I just hope sister is doing fine."

"Sister will be fine. When she settled with her things, she will come to us. I'm sure about it." Lucy chirped in.

"While we wait for sister, it will be better to organize our things first, and…" Diana interrupted, she turned to looked at Cole, "…you stink. Better took a bath and clean yourself before you pollute sister's sense of smell." She pinched her nose.

"You are the one who stink! You shorty!" Cole pinched his nose and wave his hand in front of his face.

"What did you say? Repeat that again if you dare!" Diana put her hand on her waist, and held her head high.

"Shorty~ Shorty~ You are the shorty~" He stick out his tongue.

Diana face flushed with red. She took a step closer to Cole with her fist hanging on her side. Before she could land a punch, Peter stopped her.

"Enough! Sister will be disappointed with both of you if she saw you now. Lessen your fight." he said, sternly.

Daphne chuckled. "Sister will started her speech on mannerism if she were to be here."

Lucy giggled, covering her mouth with her hand. "She might heard about this, and, who knows, might come just to preached on mannerism." She stealthy pointed her finger to the maids that followed them.

Cole and Diana shuddered as they locked eyes with Peter's glare. Peter sighed. The corner of his eye caught a sight of a tiny blue bird sitting on the tree. Soon, they arrived at the mansion. Their jaw dropped.

Peter was flustered and could not believed what he saw. "Um, excuse me."

The oldest maid who was appointed as their nanny looked at him. "Yes?"

"This… here…"

"Ah. This is where you will be living with your siblings. Although your big sister would stay at the main building, she will visit you guys sometimes."

"We really will be staying here?"

"Yes. It is Master wish to give the best for all of you."

"I see."

"Then, shall we see each of your room first?"

"For today, can we stay in one room. It might be hard for us to get use to this place."

"Of course."

They went for the walk to venture their room one by one, and decide to take a rest in Peter's room for today. The nanny and the maids agreed as it will take some time for children to adjust in unfamiliar place.

The five children were left alone. Cole walked toward the balcony and opened the glass door. The little blue bird flew in. It landed on the small round table.

"Make yourself at ease. Don't worry too much. Play and eat to your heart content. If you want, you may start your exploration. I am not sure when, but I will come to see you guys as soon as I got the chance," a female voice was transmitted through the little blue bird.

Peter shrugged his shoulders. "Well, sister had said so. You guys know what to do, right?"

"Okay!" they said.

________________________

*Little Theater*

Nika : "Our Lady is so beautiful!!! Our Master is so lucky! I also feel so lucky to serve the lady. ☆*: .｡. o(≧▽≦)o .｡.:*☆"

Yua : "It is indeed our luck."

Pomona : "Our lady seems to be so timid. Look at how small she is. We need to feed her more delicious cruisine." *determined look*

Nika : "That's right! Our Lady must had been mistreated before. We need to give a lot of care to cure our Lady's heart."

Yua : "Don't forget the children too."

Nika : "Right! Our Lady's siblings. My Lady is so kind. Despite being in hardship, she still take care of her siblings."

Timid, kind, 164cm tall Aretha : (￣_￣|||)

C.Udon : "HA HA HA!!! They truly should not judge people by their appearance and young age! They have my condolence."