A huge square that even if you move all the houses in Brom there, there still will be a lot of empty space. A spacious road where even even ten carriages could passed through comfortably. A larger and more splendid street building than Baron Connor’s mansion. People walking by dressed in all sorts of splendid clothes.
Lucy’s eyes glanced out of the carriage at the sight she had never seen before.
The carriage, carrying two astonished children and a noble lady looking at them, trotted briskly toward the mansion.
Lady Triana’s residence, where Lucy and Colin will stay during their trip to the capital, was twice as large as Baron Connor’s mansion. She treated Lucy and Colin as formal guests and gave each one a luxurious guest room.
Lucy stood still for a moment, surprised by the sheer size of the room, which is as big as their house. Then, she excitedly climbed onto the luxurious, high-rise bed.
A knock came on the door while she was admiring the comfortable and fluffy bed.
“Miss, the bath is ready. Would you like to wash now?”
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Oh, miss?
Lucy’s eyes widened at the way she was called by the maid. She was never called miss before.
When there was no answer, the maid asked again, “Miss? Are you inside?”
“Oh, I… “ Lucy immediately got out of bed and ran to the door. She opened the door and peeped outside.
The maid, standing with a puzzled expression, looked down at Lucy in wonder, and immediately smiled kindly.
“Would you like to wash now? Or do you want to take a bath after dinner.”
Oh my! You’re willing to take the trouble of preparing the bath twice just for me.
Lucy shook her hand in astonishment. “I– I’ll do it now.” She quickly left the room and followed the maid who showed her around.
To her surprise, when she followed the maid, a large bathtub scented with perfume was waiting for her, and more surprisingly, the maid, who had guided her, helped her take a bath. She felt awkward at the unfamiliar touch of someone other than her mother and grandmother, but for a moment, her eyes, which were tired of traveling, closed smoothly.
The subtle scent from the candle on the wall made her feel comfortable.
It was her first trip. A first-time experience.
Lucy was excited. The Imperial Palace, the Market, the Museum and the Temple. Her heart leaped at the thought of visiting all of them.
It was as if something extraordinary was waiting for her, something she had never even imagined before.
* * *
And Lucy’s prediction was not wrong.
During her trip to the capital, Lucy’s most unforgettable memory happened in an unexpected place. It was not at the imperial palace, a huge market, a museum, or a temple selling all kinds of strange things, which she really wanted to go to.
It was in the Marquis of Everen, a nobleman’s mansion she had never heard of.
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Almost a month after her visit to the capital, Lady Triana suggested to Lucy to go to a luncheon hosted by Marquis Everen. It was said to be for women of all ages.
Although she felt sorry that she had to leave Colin alone, Lucy readily followed Lady Triana. It was the first time she was invited to a social gathering. She was both excited and nervous.
When she arrived at the Marquis mansion and got out of the carriage, Lucy’s eyes widened at the magnificent view. It seemed a little subtle compared to Lady Triana’s luxurious and splendid mansion, but the enormous sense of intimidation it gave off was beyond compare.
The luncheon was set up in the garden. The ladies who had arrived first gathered around the table decorated with fragrant roses. They stood gracefully and was talking to each other.
Some tables were not only for ladies, but also for girls of Lucy’s age. As soon as the children saw Lucy, they stopped talking and stared at her.
Lucy, a little frightened, stood close to Lady Triana. She followed behind her, but it was very awkward.
Hiding behind Lady Triana, she watched the young girls from noble families sitting together and chattering, Lucy then turned again toward the mansion.
Wow, are all the houses in the capital so nice?
The white brick mansion was the most beautiful house she had ever seen.
Lucy’s eyes stopped somewhere as she looked up, enraptured by the mansion. It was a terrace toward the garden. There stood a woman in a snow-white dress.
G– ghost?
Lucy opened her eyes wide.
The black hair of the woman which was loosened carelessly fluttered around in the chilly autumn breeze. Her skin looks paler in contrast to the dark-night-sky-like hair color.
The ghostly woman did not seem to be interested in the much energetic luncheon, and did not even spare them single glance. She just stood on the terrace and stared blankly somewhere beyond the garden.
“Look over there, madam,” said Lucy, slightly pulling the hem of Lady Triana’s dress. Lucy pointed her finger at the terrace as she turned her head. “There’s a ghost.”
Not only Lady Triana, but also the ladies sitting around, looked up at the terrace.
“Hush!” One of them quickly put her finger to her mouth. “Everyone, don’t look at her,” she warned. “She’s the daughter of Marquis Everen. The Duchess of Berg!”
Her words hastened the ladies’ gaze. Another woman, who was standing nearby said, “I heard she had a quarrel with the duke and ran away from home.”
“Hush!” A noble lady warned them. “Everyone, pretend you didn’t see anything! If Marquis Everen was offended, nothing good will come out of it.” she said, looking at the Marquis, sitting far in the upper seat. At that, the ladies covered their faces with their fans and coughed loudly.
Oh, it wasn’t a ghost.
While everyone looked away from the pale woman, Lucy still stared at her.
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The lady on the terrace stood still for a long time, not knowing that the ladies gathered in the luncheon were glancing at her. Shaking uncontrollably at the coming autumn breeze, she finally curled up her shoulders and fastened her shawl then went into the room.
Why doesn’t she get along with people?
After the woman disappeared, Lucy looked at the terrace curiously. However, the ladies, who had been whispering about her secretly, quickly changed the subject of conversation.
The topic of the conversation was too difficult for Lucy to understand and she was not interested. She began to fidget in her seat. Lucy quickly became bored as nobles of her age had formed their own group, sitting by themselves.
Everyone was participating in this luncheon so naturally. Only Lucy was sitting far away, inconsistent with the purpose of a “social gathering”. She felt like she was alone in a country where she couldn’t communicate. She never had the courage to talk to other girls.
“Lady Triana,” Lucy called her carefully. “May I take a look at the garden?”
The lady, who was absorbed in the conversation with the other ladies, smiled graciously and looked down at Lucy.
“Yes, Lucy, I hear you’re interested in flowers, aren’t you? That’s why I wanted to bring you here. The garden of Everen has a reputation for being beautiful throughout the empire,” Lady Triana said with a proud look on her face.
“The garden is always open to invited guests. So please feel free to go there and look around.”
Lucy stood up with a bright smile at the words.
There was a garden in Baron Connor’s house. It was full of simple flowers and plants of modest shape, in accordance to Baroness Connor’s simple taste.
However, the garden on Everen looked extraordinary in size. Beyond the fence in full bloom of autumn roses, a mysterious flower bed spread out.
With Lady Triana’s permission, Lucy ran straight to the garden.
As she grew farther away from the lively atmosphere of the luncheon, the tranquility and peace of the garden came.
The only sounds she could hear were the clear cries of birds and the sound of a fountain spraying cool water from somewhere in the garden.
Lucy felt as if she had entered a huge flower basket.
There were flowers in the garden that she knew well, but there were also many flowers that she had never seen before. They were brought in from a region other than the Beros Empire, showing off an unfamiliar and exotic appearance.
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Lucy was dazzled by the beautiful shapes and colorful colors of the flowers. She was so preoccupied by the flowers that she walked for a long time.
Soon, a fence appeared in front of her, and the garden reached its end. Beyond the fence lay a thick oak forest, and somehting caught Lucy’s eyes —a large lake.
The fallen leaves from the trees filled the edge of the lake. The waves of fallen leaves fluttered slowly whenever the wind blew.
“Wow, it’s so pretty!” Lucy exclaimed. In fact, the flowers in the garden were wonderful, but for Lucy, this natural beauty touched her more.
Lucy, who was approaching the lake over the fence with a smile, stopped. There was already someone by the lake.
Felix?