After breakfast, the twins scrambled down from their chairs and left the room, their small footsteps echoing in the hallway. However, Ophelia stopped abruptly at the entrance of the dining room. She turned back, her face serious.
"Father," she announced firmly. "Today you can have Sister Aurelia. But this weekend, you need to take us on a stroll to the city."
"Heeeeeeeeeeeehhh?" Aurelio peeked from behind her, looking frantic. "What are you doing, Ophelia? Why did you let Father steal Sister Aurelia? He already promised us, right?"
Ophelia just kept walking, nose in the air, ignoring her brother. Aurelio trotted after her, nagging incessantly. "Ophelia! Why did you change your mind? Ophelia!"
"Wheewww…" Father exhaled, wiping imaginary sweat from his forehead. "It is so scary that Ophelia changed her mind just because of strolling and shopping in the city."
He turned his face to Mother.
"My… my…" Mother smiled serenely at him. "Maybe, like you said, she inherited my genes."
"Owahhhh… Scary…" Father shivered dramatically.
"Father," I interrupted, "today, what do you need me for?"
"Ah… about that." He straightened his posture. "How about we go strolling in the city?"
"Ehhh…" I hesitated. "Will it make the little two jealous?"
"We will sneak out from them." He winked.
"Is it okay?"
"It is okay, Aurelia," Mother assured me with a warm smile. "I have sent a message to their maids that we will sneak out to take a stroll with you. They will try to distract them."
"What is the occasion to take me out strolling in the city?" I asked.
"About that…" Father leaned forward, his expression growing serious. "Last night, Sofia said dreams came from memory, psychology, and the surrounding sound."
"And we want to use that to overcome the nightmare you had," Mother added softly.
"Overcome the nightmare?"
"We want you to know more about the world," Father explained. "Like strolling in the city, building memories of the city, and the experiences you will get."
"We will invite Lady Octavi too," Mother noted.
"Is it better if Lady Octavi and I stroll the city alone?" I suggested. "I think Father has work to do, and Mother maybe has something to do as well."
"Ehhhhh…" Father stiffened, looking suddenly nervous. He darted his eyes around the room.
"Your mother is free today, Aurelia," Mother declared smoothly. "But you can't say that to your father. Right, dear?"
She flashed a mischievous smile at him. "Your father has some work to do, but not your mother. So I will accompany you today. Right, dear?"
"Nooo!" Father protested childishly. "I will accompany Aurelia too."
"My… my… I think Lady Laura will be angry at you, dear," Mother teased.
"Lady Laura??" I asked.
"Aurelia still doesn't know about Lady Laura," Mother explained to me. "She is the Steward of our family, and she is the mother of Lady Octavi. She is Lady Laura Claudi from the Claudi family. I believe Lady Octavi had told Aurelia about the relationship between the Aurelius Family and the Claudi Family."
"Yes, she told me about that," I nodded. "But she didn't tell me about her family specifically."
"Well… I will tell you about that. Lady Laura's responsibility is to supervise arrangements and finances. Then there is Sir Kaius Claudi; he is the Marshal of the Army, and his responsibility is to maintain the army and train them. And your father's responsibility is to focus on duchy affairs… like diplomacy issues."
"What about Mother? What is Mother's responsibility?"
Father suddenly became extremely nervous, fidgeting with his napkin. Mother's aura shifted—it became darker, heavier.
"I think you… don't… need… to… know… about… it… Aurelia…" Father stammered, sweat beading on his brow.
"Oh my… my… don't be like that, dear. It may make Aurelia uncomfortable." Mother beamed another mischievous smile at me. "Your mother's responsibility is about intrigue."
"Intrigue?"
"You can say I have a responsibility to keep secrecy around us and gain secrets from enemies, and…" She smiled happily. "Search for some rats. Right, dear?"
"Yes, dear…" Father gulped.
Out of the blue, a woman appeared at the entrance of the dining room. She had blonde hair and looked to be in her forties, yet she was still strikingly beautiful. She was panting heavily as if she had run all the way there.
"AHHH, YOUR GRACE… gasp YOU… gasp ARE… gasp IN… HERE…" the woman wheezed.
"What a coincidence, you are here," Mother said calmly.
"Huh??" The woman looked confused, still catching her breath.
"Let me introduce her," Mother said to me. "She is Lady Laura Claudi, the Steward. And Lady Laura, this is my daughter, Aurelia Aurelius."
"Arghh!" Lady Laura gasped, realizing I was present. She immediately straightened her clothes and patted her hair down. "Nice to meet you, Lady Aurelia." She curtsied deeply.
"Nice to meet you too, Lady Laura."
"Ah, yes… It is great that you are here," Father said, trying to sound casual.
"What is that, Your Grace?" Lady Laura asked, narrowing her eyes.
"Today, I will take a leave from the office."
"WHAT!!!!!" She screamed.
She quickly covered her mouth. "Apologize for my sudden scream." She cleared her throat loudly—Ehmmmm. "What is the occasion that Your Grace needs to take a leave today?"
"We want to take Aurelia strolling in the city… I think it's a great excuse, right, Lady Laura?" Father grinned sheepishly.
"We? Does it mean Madam takes a part too?" She looked at Mother.
"Yes, Lady Laura. I will come with them to take a look at the city," Mother confirmed.
Lady Laura closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Sigh. Alright then. Your Grace can take a leave for today… but tomorrow, Your Grace needs to catch up on today's work."
"Many thanks, Lady Laura," Father beamed.
"And… one thing, Lady Laura," Mother added. "If the little two ask for our whereabouts, can you distract them or tell a little lie?"
"I thought the Young Master and the Young Lady would take part too."
"No, they are not. It is just with Aurelia because she is under special circumstances, as you already know."
"Understand, Madam… I will try my best."
"Last thing," Father said. "Can you tell your daughter that she will join us to stroll the city?"
"My daughter?? ...Arghh! For accompanying Lady Aurelia? Surely I will tell her about it."
"Can you tell her now?"
"Erghhh… right now, Your Grace?"
"Yes, because we will take a leave immediately after this."
"Sigh. Understand, Your Grace."
"You are the greatest, Lady Laura!" Father cheered.
But the compliment did not seem to be received well by Lady Laura's ears. She turned sharply and left the entrance to go find Lady Octavi.
"It seems Lady Laura felt upset with you, Father," I observed.
"Upset? Why did you say that, Aurelia?" He looked genuinely puzzled.
"Well, Aurelia has good eyes," Mother laughed softly. "She felt upset because your father keeps troubling her."
Father grumbled. "What do you mean by that, dear? You make our daughter just believe what you said."
"It is just the truth, dear… You keep troubling Lady Laura with your work."
"Did Father always keep troubling Lady Laura?" I asked Mother.
"Yes, he did and always has been," Mother nodded. "As you can see, Aurelia, your father's appearance is that of a sturdy person, and everyone thinks of him as a competent man, right?"
"Yes, he is, Mother."
"And your father talks like a competent and cool person, right?"
"Yes, he is, Mother."
"But if it is about work, that nature changes backward," she whispered theatrically. "Your father becomes careless about his responsibility and keeps delaying all the work. That is why Lady Laura is always angry at him, and she is the one who does the work at times."
"I see now, Mother."
Father looked thoroughly embarrassed. "Right… right… right… How about we take a leave now? I think Lady Laura has told her daughter, so she will wait at the entrance of the house." He stood up abruptly.
"It is okay, Father," I said gently. "I know you feel embarrassed about it… But I will keep cheering for you, Father."
"Thanks, Aurelia…" Father just kept his cool face and marched out of the room.
"After hearing that, I believe your father was so happy, but he just kept his cool," Mother giggled.
"It is okay, Mother. If Father still can't show his feelings about that, at least now I know more about my father from what Mother told me. How about we take a leave now and follow Father?"
Mother and I left the room. Adel was waiting for us at the entrance of the dining room. The three of us followed Father to the main entrance of the house.
On the way, I asked Adel, "So, Adel got informed about the stroll to the city?"
"Yes, My Lady," she replied. "Lady Laura informed me about that. I think she informed the coachman of the carriage, and she even informed her husband too."
"Hahahaha giggling," Mother laughed. "If it is about a family trip, Lady Laura always informs everyone to ensure everything goes well. She even informs her husband she is concerned about security too, although it is just a stroll to the city."
"Is that great, Mother… that she cares about us?"
"Care, huh?" Mother smiled enigmatically.
At the entrance of the house, Lady Octavi was waiting for us.
This was my first time seeing the front of the house. It was incredibly spacious and full of gardens. In front of the main doors, there was a large roundabout, and in the center of it stood a huge tree covered in white flowers. The distance between the house and the entrance gate was quite far.
A white carriage waited in the driveway. I noticed the coat of arms of the family painted on the door. It was intricate and hard to explain, but it featured a black shield carried by the body of an eagle. However, this eagle had two heads: one was an eagle's head, and the other was a lion's head. Furthermore, the head of a snake emerged from the middle, its black body wrapped tightly around the eagle's torso.
The colors were striking. The eagle's body was split—half red, half blue. The eagle's head was red, and the lion's head was blue. The snake's head and body were jet black. The border of the emblem was brown. In the very center of the shield, there was a symbol resembling an eye—an iris and a pupil. The pupil was white, and the edge of the iris was white, with a white dot inside the pupil, making the whole image look like a staring eye.
We climbed into the carriage. Adel and Lady Octavi did not join us inside; instead, they sat up front on the coachman's bench, flanking the driver.
We started our journey to the city.
...... ...…. ...…..
On the way, I saw endless fields of wheat, occasionally broken up by the silhouette of a windmill turning slowly in the breeze. After some minutes, we arrived at the city. A large sign announced the name: Florence. I remembered Lady Octavi saying this was the Duchy of Florence; perhaps this city was the capital of the duchy, sharing its name.
We passed through the city gates. All of the buildings used proper roof tiles; some were constructed of stone, others of wood. The main road was paved with concrete blocks, organized systematically so there were no gaps, and flanked by wide sidewalks.
From outside, Lady Octavi lowered her body to the window side of the carriage to speak to Father.
"Your Grace, where will be the first destination?"