Convincing Claire to stop whatever she thought she was doing took her quite a while, so long in fact, that the tea she had prepared must have already gone cold.
'So anxious over nothing...' thought Seraphina as she recalled how anxious she had been when preparing the tea.
After Claire finally freed her, Seraphina led the young noble lady through the church towards her room. On the way to her room, she happened to catch sight of Gairon who winked at her.
'What??' Seraphina asked herself, confused.
She did not understand Gairon's gesture nor what the motives behind it were at all! To her, it just seem like a creepy youngish-looking old man winking at her for no apparent reason.
'Strange...' thought Seraphina.
...
*Whoosh*
The door of her office-like bedroom glided open without the slightest hint of a creak, a proof of both how well Seraphina maintained her church and how rarely the door was actually used.
The window had been left open by Seraphina, which had caused a *whoosh* like sound to occur when she opened the door to her room.
From outside the door, two young girls made their way inside the chamber, one with dark purple hair-Claire and the other who was the owner of this office-Seraphina.
As a Shaded 4-Star, Seraphina's senses were sharp, very sharp. Immediately after setting a foot inside the room, the silver-haired girl spotted something out of the ordinary. Three cups of tea which were not present beforehand rested atop the table which carried her teapot.
Following that, her room was too clean, almost like someone had taken a broom and swept the dust out of here. She had deliberately left the window open to carry off some of the dust, but this was clearly beyond what a simple breeze could achieve!
Upon further inspection, the room also carried a faint scent of dirt and sweat, which all pointed to one thing!
Gairon had entered her room, brought three cups of tea and cleaned her entire room free of dust in the short time she was gone. Even though he was traumatised, Gairon was still a real and authentic 2-Star at the Shining Stage. If someone could clean a kitchen-sized room as well as bringing three cups of tea in the short time she was gone, this 'someone' could have only been an unordinary person-at the very least above the level of a 1-Star.
Seraphina entered the room first, before inviting Claire to follow after her. The silver-haired girl had designated a seat for herself as the High Priestess, and one for the Nobles from Alequessa who were supposed to take a sit opposite from her, them closer to the door and her, to the window.
Seraphina took her seat on the pure and white sofa provided by the Church, before gesturing at Claire to sit on the purple sofa she had received from the Imperial Family, on the other side of the table.
However, Claire must have badly interpreted her gestures as she decided to plant herself right beside Seraphina, on the sofa representing the Church.
"What are you doing, Claire.....( – ⌓ – )" Seraphina said, exasperated.
It was not very proper for a Noble of Purple to sit on the representative of the Church's seat. If even a child like Seraphina knew that, then a noble like Claire — highly educated about etiquette, would definitely be aware of what her actions meant. Yet, she had still gone through it, which only pointed to one thing.
She had done it on purpose!
"What am I doing? Isn't it normal for friends to sit next to each other?" Claire asked her, teasingly.
"Forget it." Seraphina waved her hand dismissively. "Do you want tea? I made it specially for your arrivals." Seraphina followed up, as she picked the teapot up.
The tea inside the pot should have already been cold by now, however, the teapot Seraphina picked was piping hot, like it had just been heated up.
This once again, pointed to only one conclusion...
Gairon was a former blacksmith who knew the basics of fire elemental magic, as it was his natural element. Alongside the cleaning of her room, he was certainly the one who had kept her teapot hot.
'How thoughtful...' Seraphina internally marveled at Gairon's attention to details.
She was not very enthusiastic about the idea of him barging inside her room, especially since she had been advised to keep her distance from him.
However, she still knew how to be grateful and appreciate someone's kindness. So, even though she was to keep her distance, she should still be thankful and express her gratitude to Gairon in person, as this was the only proper thing to do.
"Sure, I would appreciate some tea." Claire said as she picked up a teacup and raised it towards Seraphina.
Pouring was not a task that bothered Seraphina nor was it difficult so, she filled Claire's cup with the dark tea at halfway, unperturbed by the succession of events.
"Aren't you going to drink some too?" asked Claire after seeing Seraphina place the teapot back on the table without pouring some for herself.
"No, it's fine, tea is not particularly my cup of tea." Seraphina answered, feeling a bit humorous.
Although she did not dislike tea and was somewhat neutral about it, it did not mean she would be drinking some.
'It would be a waste.' was the true meaning behind Seraphina's answer. The silver-haired little girl thought that a product such as tea would be wasted on someone like her, who could not appreciate the tea's full value.
"Well, it is not like I was forcing you." Claire replied as she brought her teacup to her lips.
"Hm," Claire muttered after taking a sip. "Is that an Iriel Blend from the west of the Empire?" the young lady of Arest deduced from a single sip. "Indeed, a fine tea it is."
As the Third Daughter of Arest from Alequessa, Claire was naturally very knowledgeable with all sorts of alcohol — even though she had not yet reached the age to have her coming of age ceremony, as alcohol had always been a specialty of Alequessa.
But deducing the exact blend of those unknown leaves from a single sip, it seemed like this young lady was not only wise in alcohol but with all sorts of drinks!
Claire took a couple more sips and quickly finished her cup. She then placed the empty cup down on the table where it belonged, before saying:
"About last time, are you now willing to marry my brother—"