Chapter 20

Taking a deep breath in, Delphina mentally moved on and externally smiled.

"What do you think, Brother?"

Pietro had been watching her the whole time. Not that any of her thoughts would be given away. She was skilled at keeping her insides inside and showed whatever she wanted outwardly.

"Let's do the excursion two weeks from now, celebrate our birthday, and then two weeks later head to the Capital." Pietro said as he slowly nodded his head.

"So we'll head to the Capital at the latest a month and a half from now, is that okay. Mother, Father?"

It was Delphina who posed this question. She didn't even know when their birthday was, for crying out loud. But she had given herself enough wiggle room to maybe figure it out and not give away that she didn't know the date.

It was Medinador who answered in the end.

"Let's not be so vague, Delphina. When setting a time frame, be firm. You don't know how many days it will take to travel to the Capital by car, do you?"

Pretending to be embarrassed, she nodded in affirmation.

"You were right to assume we wouldn't travel by train to the Capital, though. So well done. The car, even with luggage, will only take two days to arrive at the Town House. Even with stopping by the Hotel for one evening, it won't take a week to arrive, will it?"

"So, one month and two weeks would be too generous. Exactly one month and a week from now, we will be on our way to the Capital."

[Quest Chain; 'Who's the Prettiest Princess of Them All'. 30% complete.]

Delphina started to nod before she caught herself, realising something that seemed odd, she had to ask.

"Why don't we just state the date?"

"I'm not sure what the date is right now. I forgot to ask Jenkins on the way here. But rather than saying 'one month and one week from now,' Why don't I say, on X date we shall head to the Capital?"

Delphina felt she hadn't committed a faux pas, whilst definitely sketchy, she could at least play things out this way so she had a better understanding of the date and time without being super suspicious. She knew full well the Heirs Wing didn't seem to have any timekeeping capabilities, or at least there were none in the areas she had been to.

Medinador frowned, but then relaxed his brows as he realised something, and nodded his head.

"Yes, of course, you're still young. When we measure time, we use months, weeks, and days, but not hours. Hours end up completely flying by as you get into your hundreds, and they're simply missed."

"Delphina, what do you think the time is right now?"

Confused as to where this was going, she tentatively answered, "Around eight in the evening?"

"Yes, my dear, it is indeed Evening currently. But you can forget the hours; once you become an adult, you won't use them any more. Pietro, you should also be listening to this."

Pietro, who was now sipping on a similar Absinthe concoction like Delphina, was already looking in his Father's direction.

"I already have some idea about this from the older Knights. That's why adults are separated from those who haven't had their coming of age. They perceive time differently. Once you do, it marks the start of you becoming an adult."

This concept was baffling to Delphina, though it was something she could grasp; it didn't mean it made sense. The lack of timekeeping pieces was intended to help her adjust to the world of adults, as she was to be the next Head. So she could understand adult speech?

This caused her to frown, as she didn't see how this explicitly related to dates. But then, a thought presented itself to her.

"So, we will start heading to the Capital in one month and one week from now because we will start at around a similar time in the evening, specifically on that day. Is that correct, Father?"

At this, Medinador smiled warmly at Delphina.

"And we don't use the date as it's a looser term, because it could mean anytime during that day? So we use it in casual conversation only?"

Elvira started to clap in the background as it seemed Delphina had figured it out to a degree on her own.

Delphina felt slightly proud of guessing this convoluted time system so quickly.

"Yes, that's correct, but just to remind you. It is the Twenty-Seventh of Shiwasu, so one month and one week would be on the Third of Kisaragi."

Ah, there it was. Delphina knew there had to be some East Asian relics present somewhere in this World. Because the Game was a Japanese-Korean joint effort, she was surprised at the blatant push for European nomenclature. However, like many things in the Otome Game industry outside of China, if it wasn't set in a school or academy setting. It was a Historical European Romance with Japanese names.

"I see," she said quietly as she looked back towards her Absinthe glass.

"I would still like some way of at least recording the date in the Heirs Wing, though, unless there's a room I've missed? Then I can move it to my bedroom instead."

Elvira waved her hand in Delphina's direction.

"You don't need to ask permission so much! Just ask Jenkins. He'll do what he's supposed to."

Delphina realised that her parents were quite good at parenting. Whilst trying to guide her strictly but gently. They also allowed her the freedoms of what an Heir should have. Even if she was a little young, she guessed they were trying to instil confidence or natural leadership in her early.

There was one thing that concerned her, though.

"What about you, Pietro?"

He just seemed like an outsider to all this. Was it the lack of interaction, or the fact that he just kept sitting back and watching? Perhaps she was still unsettled by her initial impression of him being so drastically different from what she had expected.

So, how would he react to her not calling him Brother?