Early in the morning, Thomas wakes up. He turns to the bed beside him.
Cassius and Emily are still sleeping soundly, the two of them unconsciously hugging each other as usual. Cassius lies slightly leaning toward Emily, his hair slightly messy on the pillow. Emily curls up, one hand lightly holding the hem of his shirt.
Thomas looks at the two of them for a moment and then quietly sighs.
Today is his first working day. He wants to prepare well.
He washes his face, changes clothes, and does a few simple cleaning tasks. After that he leaves the room and walks toward the Prisce family's mansion.
The road leading to the mansion is quite wide. On both sides are rows of neatly trimmed trees. The leaves are dark green, the crowns round and even, clearly very well taken care of. Between the rows of trees are long flower beds, planted in neat rows.
'This place is really fancy' Thomas thinks while walking past.
Everything looks clean and orderly.
Thomas then meets the manager of the servant area. After a short conversation, he learns that his task is to take care of half of the flower garden behind the mansion.
When he arrives there, Thomas truly realizes the wealth of a marquess.
The garden is very large. Flower beds stretch everywhere, divided into clear sections. There are many kinds of flowers that Thomas has only heard about, and even a few kinds he has never seen before. Colors spread across the garden, red, white, purple, yellow, all carefully taken care of.
Many of them are clearly expensive varieties of flowers.
Thomas looks around once and nods slightly.
Then he begins working.
He trims the excess branches and leaves, waters the flower beds, and sometimes catches a few insects clinging to the leaves.
The work is not too heavy, but the garden is quite large so it still quickly makes him feel tired.
While Thomas is concentrating on his work, a female voice speaks from behind him.
"Hey, old man"
Thomas turns back toward that voice.
Standing a few steps away from him is a small girl wearing a yellow dress.
The girl has long blonde hair that is combed very neatly. Light straight bangs cover her forehead. Two long strands of hair on the sides frame her face.
Her face is small with delicate features. Her bright brown eyes look straight at him.
The girl looks very likable.
At least in terms of appearance.
"What are you looking at?" the girl continues. "Didn't you hear me?"
Thomas immediately bows.
"Yes, I'm sorry, young lady"
"Does the young lady need something?"
Without any introduction, Thomas already knows who the girl in front of him is.
Eliana Prisce, the youngest daughter of the marquess's family.
From what he has heard from others, this girl is quite spoiled so her personality is somewhat stubborn.
Eliana crosses her arms.
"Cassius"
Thomas frowns slightly.
"Why didn't you bring him with you?"
Thomas thinks for a moment and then answers.
"I'm sorry, young lady, but this work only needs me."
"Cassius does not work here, so I have no reason to bring the boy with me."
He pauses for a moment and then continues.
"Besides… the young lady and Cassius do not know each other. I think there is no reason for the two of you to meet"
Eliana immediately stiffens.
"W-What…!"
She turns her face away.
"Who said I wanted to meet him!"
Thomas quietly looks at her.
Eliana begins to stutter.
"I… I was just asking!"
"It's just… I saw him the other day so… so I was just curious!"
The girl stops for a few seconds, then takes a breath and looks back at Thomas.
Her voice is a little smaller than before.
"…Can you bring him here once?"
Thomas remains silent.
Eliana lowers her head slightly.
"I… want to talk to him for a bit."
Thomas sighs softly.
He thinks for a few seconds and then says.
"If the young lady really wants to meet him… then I can bring Cassius here"
Eliana immediately raises her head.
"Really?!"
Thomas nods.
"But only when the boy agrees to it"
Eliana quickly nods.
"Alright!"
The girl turns around.
"Thank you!"
After saying that, Eliana almost runs away, the yellow dress lightly fluttering with her steps.
'That girl is so silly'
Thomas watches her for a moment, then returns to his work.
At lunchtime, Thomas goes back to the room.
When he opens the door, he sees Cassius and Emily sitting on the bed.
Emily is sitting on Cassius's lap, her legs folded neatly. She is carefully reading a moderately thick book. Behind her, Cassius sits there. His chin rests lightly on Emily's head. His eyes are half closed as if he is sleepy.
"Oh Thomas, you're back" Emily says when she sees him.
Cassius also startles awake.
"Thomas!"
Thomas laughs.
"You two look very comfortable"
Cassius scratches his head.
"I was just a little sleepy…"
Emily closes the book.
Thomas looks at the two of them for a moment and then says.
"Let's go eat lunch"
The three of them go down to the canteen for the servants.
The canteen is quite large, with many long wooden tables. The atmosphere is quite noisy because many people are already eating.
When Thomas walks in with the two children, several people in the room turn to look.
Their eyes quickly stop on Cassius.
He stands beside Thomas, his bright hair slightly messy, his face clean and gentle. His eyes look around curiously, completely unaware that people are looking at him.
"Your son?"
A servant nearby asks Thomas.
Thomas smiles lightly.
"Something like that"
Cassius only smiles when he hears that.
Meanwhile, Emily lowers her head slightly. The veil on her hat covers almost all of her face. She sits close to the chair, avoiding looking at the eyes of the people around her.
After getting food, the three of them sit at a table in the corner of the room. They begin eating.
After a while, Thomas speaks.
"Cassius"
"Yes?"
"Do you want to come with me this afternoon?"
Cassius raises his head.
Thomas continues.
"I work in the garden behind the mansion. This morning… I met young lady Eliana"
Cassius tilts his head.
Thomas adds.
"Do you remember the noble girl who came to the shop to buy flowers? The one wearing the cloak that day."
"Ah… the girl who kept staring at me?"
Thomas coughs lightly.
"That's right. That's her"
He continues.
"She wants to meet you"
Cassius looks slightly surprised.
"Me?"
Thomas nods.
"But if you don't want to, that's fine too."
Cassius thinks for a moment and then says.
"It's okay. I can go with you"
Thomas nods.
Then he turns to Emily.
"What about you?"
Emily is silent for a few seconds.
She looks down at the book placed beside her.
"…I think I'll stay in the room"
Thomas looks at her.
"Are you sure?"
Emily nods.
"I want to read"
She continues calmly.
"Besides… an eight year old child can't really help with anything"
Cassius immediately objects.
"Emily helps a lot!"
Thomas also nods.
"That's right"
Emily only shakes her head lightly.
"It's fine"
Thomas does not say anything more.
After lunch, Thomas brings Cassius to the garden behind the mansion. Cassius quickly begins helping him work.
He repeats the tasks Thomas did in the morning.
"This place is really big" Cassius says.
Thomas only smiles.
After a while, a familiar voice speaks.
"Old man!"
Thomas turns his head.
Eliana is standing a few steps away.
She is still wearing the same yellow dress as in the morning. Her long blonde hair is neatly combed, the sunlight shining on it makes it even brighter.
Her eyes quickly stop on Cassius.
Cassius also looks back at her.
The two of them stand looking at each other for a few seconds.
Eliana crosses her arms, pretending to speak.
"You are Cassius?"
Cassius tilts his head.
"Yeah."
Eliana lifts her chin a little.
"I am Eliana Prisce. The youngest daughter of the Prisce's family"
Cassius nods again.
"Yeah, I know"
Eliana frowns.
"…You are not going to say anything else?"
"What should I say?" Cassius tilts his head.
Eliana pauses.
"At least you should act a little polite!"
Cassius blinks.
"But I didn't do anything impolite"
Eliana is speechless for a few seconds.
She turns her face away.
"Anyway… you are just the son of a gardener"
Cassius frowns slightly.
Eliana continues speaking.
"I just wanted to see"
"See what?" Cassius asks.
Eliana glances at him.
"To see what is special about you that the other day-"
She stops in the middle of the sentence.
Cassius looks at her.
"You talk strangely"
"Who talks strangely?!" Eliana immediately blushes.
Cassius crosses his arms.
"You talk like you are arguing"
Eliana opens her mouth then closes it again.
After a moment
"…I messed it up" She mutters very softly.
Cassius cannot hear clearly.
Eliana turns around.
"I… I am busy!"
She says quickly.
"I still have lessons to study!"
After saying that, she turns her back and runs quickly toward the mansion.
Cassius stands watching her.
"…She is really strange"
Thomas standing beside him only sighs lightly.
—
Meanwhile, in her room, Emily is lying on the bed reading a book.
Her familiar hat is placed to one side. Without the veil covering it, the black veins running from her neck up to her cheek are clearly visible on her white skin.
Emily lies on her stomach on the bed, her legs gently swinging behind her. The book is placed right in front of her, both hands supporting her chin while reading. Every time she finishes a section, she reaches out to turn to a new page.
The room is quite quiet. There is only the soft sound of paper turning and occasionally the sound of Emily slightly shifting on the blanket.
She reads very attentively, almost forgetting the time.
After a long while, Emily closes the book.
She feels a little thirsty.
Emily pushes herself up to sit, moves the book to the side and slides down from the bed.
But the moment her feet touch the floor
Thud.
Emily suddenly collapses down.
She sits frozen on the floor for a few seconds, slightly confused.
"Huh…"
Emily looks down at her leg.
"Why did I fall?"
She tries moving her ankle lightly, then pushes herself up to stand.
There is no particular pain.
Emily lightly brushes her dress, adjusting the fabric so it is straight.
"I need to be more careful next time" She murmurs to herself.
After that Emily walks to the small table in the room, pours herself a little water to drink. After drinking, she returns to the bed, picks up the book and continues reading as if nothing happened.