In the morning, Lu Li awoke from his soft bed.
Donning a black robe, Lu Li stepped out of the castle.
Mycelium Monsters painted with red dye extended from the garden to the gate, while another Mycelium Monster continued to disguise itself as a lawn outside the moat, with clustered flowers accentuating the atmosphere. The nectar of the Queen of Flowers refilled the dried fountain, the mysterious and viscous dark purple shifting in hue under the Sunshine Box.
Ophelia dressed in a laundered maid outfit, hands placed as Claire taught last time, stood on the red carpet alongside Elena, cloaked in black, waiting for guests.
Crisp autumn morning winds blew through the silent and empty castle garden, with time quietly passing under the leaden sky.
Claire, drowsily resting on Ophelia's shoulder, suddenly raised her head, gazing at a distant figure that emerged, then uttered a complaint.
"The Rat Men are here to freeload again."
