Once Lycoris settled into her new daily routine, she almost immediately noticed something: The days were passing quicker than before. Without her maid there to handle so many aspects of her daily life for her, more of her time had been taken up by simply getting ready. And despite her mother's assurances that Athena would be back once she was deemed in appropriate shape to resume her duties, Lycoris felt herself grow frustrated with the wait.  Not that she was incompetent or unwilling. If anything, the absence of Athena had done wonders for her independence… even if she'd made a habit of sleeping together with her mother. Learning to take care of her own hygiene—at a royal level, at least; she hadn't lived like a slob before—had certainly boosted her confidence in a curious way.  For instance, she could pick out the shampoo from the conditioner now, and gained an appreciation for how meticulous and exhausting caring for long hair truly was. She had half a mind to ask Lilianna if she could teach her some form of hair-based magic. Lycoris assumed there was magic for that, at least. Tatyana certainly never had to deal with hygiene woes, and she was roughing it with the rest of the party.

But that was a matter for later. At present Lycoris's routine consisted of either entertaining herself with a study book, training, or attempting to overcome her fear of heights, did she receive a message not from her mother, but one of the guards in her service. Today, she had chosen reading, as her intuition told her she'd be laughed out of the room if anyone found out her present skill level.  While in the midst of studying at her desk, its upper shelf decorated with an assortment of books all neatly lined up that lent her a rather intelligent air—if one ignored that they were all beginners books aimed at children or tomes on courtly procedure and etiquette—a knock at her door shattered her concentration.  It was the middle of the day, and knowing that her mother was likely still busy put her on immediate edge.

Imitating the Exaltare, she cleared her throat and frowned. Then in as confident a voice as she could manage, Lycoris uttered a single word. "Speak."

Though, her childish tone decidedly lacked the same bite as her mother's.

"My apologies for the interruption Princess Lycoris, but Her Majesty requested your presence."  "Mama did?"

She was so surprised, she momentarily let slip the composure she had spent several seconds building up.  The door slowly creaked open and the armored helmet of one of the guards poked in. She couldn't see his face or where his eyes were looking, but he kept his head angled toward the floor deferentially all the same.

"That is correct, Your Highness. Are you busy at the moment? She made it sound… not urgent, but…"

The hesitation in his voice made it quite obvious that he was just as nervous about misinterpreting Lilianna's request as he was pulling Lycoris away from whatever she was doing.  Not that it was actually anything important, especially when compared to whatever her mother wanted. It was the first time she had ever called for Lycoris. A twinge of anxiety tugged at her, and she glanced down at herself and bit the tip of her thumb.  She didn't think her current choice of clothing was bad, but she was a little worried if it was formal enough to wear in front of the courtiers…

"Did she say what it was for?"  The guard shook his head. "No, just that it relates to your personal projects."  Lycoris squinted at him in confusion. "Wha…?"  "*ahem* Whenever you are ready, Your Highness, I shall escort you to the floor below."  "…I'm not keeping Mother waiting, am I?"  "I do not believe so, no."

Somehow, having her questions answered only left her more confused.  At the very least, it didn't sound as though it was immediately urgent, and it wasn't something she had to worry about appearances for. Otherwise, Lilianna would likely have added something about ensuring she was properly dressed, or mentioned a time constraint…  Lycoris shrugged and closed the book she had been reading, careful to keep the title concealed with her hand as she stood up on her knees to slot it back into the shelf.

"Then I see no reason not to head there at once."  "Yes, Your Highness!"

＊　＊　＊

The elevator ride down was painfully awkward, as the guard standing far taller than Lycoris looked comically uncomfortable in her presence. She had to wonder if there were any guards that ever got over their fear of the Aphtangloa, or if it was a presupposed notion that they were always to be wary of being executed on the spot, or something else absurd and ghoulish.  Aside from Lesath. If anything, she made Lycoris feel uncomfortable.  Unfortunately, no matter how affable Lycoris tried to be, the guard refused to loosen up. She tried asking him his name, but he simply gave the most curt reply of "Kurt." She tried asking him about how long he served her mother for, but his terse response of "three hundred and forty-seven years" was almost equally short.

"It's like none of these people even know what a hobby is!" she groused to herself.

Of course, it was a clear case of pot and kettle, given that Lycoris wasn't exactly sure what would qualify as a proper hobby either. Maybe her reading counted, but it didn't really feel that way when she was using it as a vector for education, rather than enjoying the act itself…

The guard shifted anxiously at her little outburst, stepping out of the elevator the second the doors opened. Lycoris was pretty sure that was a breach of etiquette, but she didn't want to make the poor guy even more anxious.  She had no idea what sort of training they went through, or what they saw of Lilianna that made them so terrified of a tiny child. Even if said child was a mirror of her mother. But all Lycoris had seen of the Exaltare was… mostly overbearing kindness. She did seem fairly quick to discard anything that threatened Lycoris, or wasn't of any use to her. Perhaps that cold, logical ruthlessness was all it took, when paired with how much authority she wielded.

Lycoris followed the guard down the hall, keeping her thoughts to herself as he didn't seem too interested in interacting with her more than necessary, and it would likely have only caused him further stress regardless.

It was a little frustrating if it was just that simple. She wished she could share with them the truth of how much compassion Lilianna held within. It felt like she was getting misrepresented just because she was Exaltare.  Which naturally led Lycoris to wonder why the Exaltare was a position to be feared in the first place. It was certainly one thing for Humans to vilify her, considering she was the figure at the top of the empire that saw them live in fear. But surely her own constituents should delight in her presence.  Lycoris still didn't know much of what part the Seven Families played, other than they each seemed to claim ownership over various facets of life and were displeased with her own existence as princess. Maybe it was just how noble politicking naturally developed in the Empire, with each family clawing at each other for the throne, and only the most one deemed most worthy by their ruthless infighting got to sit atop it. And of course, families backing their golden eggs and trying to establish their own puppets—like in that tale of Lilith—meant the Exaltare had to be isolated even from her own blood relatives and put on an air of unapproachability after finally winning her prize.  If that really was all there was to it, something about it… seemed sad to her. A ruler should adore and be adored by her people, after all. Such a cold and lonesome existence wasn't something Lycoris wanted anyone to endure.

"We've arrived, Your Highness."

The guard's voice pulled her out of her morose line of thought, and Lycoris looked up just in time to see him push open the gilded white double doors into a large atrium—with artificial sunlight beyond the glass dome covering the vaulted ceiling.  The floor had been torn out, filled with dirt and plastered over with fresh grass. Trees and bushes had been transplanted, some even had flowers already sprouting from them. A small river had been dug through the ground, with water pouring from atop a second-floor balcony and feeding into a small lilypad covered pond. There was even a light breeze that blew through occasionally, causing the leaves to rustle.  Lycoris couldn't believe her eyes. Somehow they had created an idyllic pasture right within the Palace itself. It wasn't that she couldn't possibly imagine such powerful or swift terraforming—considering the hotel lobby had a luxuriant display of foliage as well—but seeing what had once been an ordinary unused banquet hall turned into a faux-outdoor environment over the course of a single week was astonishing.  There was even a little stable filled to the brim with hay, offering shade from the artificial light and a filled trough of water beside it.

Lycoris walked into the room, and felt her feet touch the cool grass as a bizarre sense of nostalgia welled up inside her. "Did… Mama do all this?"

She turned around when the guard didn't immediately answer, only to realize that he had already left as soon as she entered the atrium. Assuming that he left to fetch her mom, or whoever she was supposed to be meeting here, Lycoris shrugged her shoulders and walked forward as she spied a scattered stone pathway winding around the indoor garden.  Following the quaint pathway, she noticed behind some of the bushes, there was a rather large flat stone set out, as though meant for sunbathing. Except…  Lycoris squinted up at the lights overhead and subconsciously scratched her arm. The room didn't feel any warmer than the rest of the Palace, so it was hard to tell if this artificial light was actually emulating sunlight. Obviously she wasn't bursting into flames, or terrified out of her mind, but Lycoris could tell this was clearly supposed to be a large open-air garden for Mira to run around in—whenever he was finally shipped over. Perhaps myrh didn't require sunlight like horses and other animals, or perhaps it was simply because her body no longer needed it that she didn't notice any comfort from the artificial illumination.  Looking around from atop the rock, she idly wondered how he was supposed to get in or out of the Palace, or where she'd even take him otherwise. Parading him out around the capital sounded like an unfortunate accident waiting to happen.

As she hopped off and continued her exploration, pausing to crouch by the pond and see if any fish were swimming around, Lycoris heard the doors open behind her once more, and a familiar voice shouted out at her almost immediately.

"Lycoris?!"  "…Cecily?"

Lycoris turned around, nearly losing her balance and tripping into the pond as she gawked in astonishment at perhaps the last person she expected to see charging toward her in the Transfixion of Heaven. But her eyes were not deceiving her, despite the almost-camouflaged nature of the green-ponytailed girl running across the grass in what must have been the nicest spring-green dress she could find—as it was covered in buttons and frills and finery, much like the day-to-day attire Lilianna put in Lycoris's own wardrobe.  As Lycoris braced to intercept, taking a cautious step forward to avoid being knocked backward into the pond alongside the energetic child, Cecily came to a sudden stop just before her, glancing straight down for some reason.

"Hm? Is something the matter? Also what are you doing all the way down here in the capital?!"  "You're not wearing any shoes…" the girl innocently remarked, pointing down at Lycoris's now-dirtied socks.  "Oh. I um… totally forgot! The guard told me Mama wanted my presence for something, so I left right away without changing my state of dress."

Lycoris lightly bonked her own head and laughed it off, thinking nothing of decorum as she sat down on the grass and began unfastening her stockings. She paid no heed to Cecily's reaction, though the girl seemed to accept her reply as a matter of fact, and instead busied herself by taking in the environs with the same amount of awe Lycoris had when she first walked in. It was nice to know that it wasn't just a her thing.

"Oldens, all this for just one myrh… Mira sure is a lucky bird."  "I think he's earned it. He certainly worked hard to save me!"  "It's still really surprising that you two only met recently… When I first saw you, I thought you'd been bestest friends for ages! …I'm a little jealous."  Lycoris turned to look up at her, folding her white stockings neatly. "Of me, or of the myrh?"  "Ehehe~"

Laughing Lycoris's remark off as a non-answer, Cecily stuck her tongue out and hopped backwards as she gestured to the sizable pond and river.

"He even gets his own private watering and bathing spot! Have you ever taken care of a myrh before, Lycoris?"  The Princess shook her head, "Nope. Mama wasn't too keen on the idea at first, even when she saw the two of us together. Honestly I didn't expect she'd change her mind at all… much less so quickly. I'm still not really sure why she did. …Oh! She must have interrogated you, right? She didn't do anything mean or cruel, right?!"

Lycoris huffed as she started getting worked up, clenching her hands together and leaning toward Cecily. The thought of her mother even having the audacity to say that such a young girl needed to be interrogated brought a sullen frown to her otherwise happy countenance.  In response, Cecily shook her head as she began to walk toward the stable. Lycoris followed, both out of curiosity, and because she didn't exactly want to start shouting across the room to continue their conversation.

"Nope! Nessa was terrified the whole time, but we didn't do anything bad! Though, Her Majesty did seem a little surprised when I told her we became friends right away, hehe… she's a lot nicer in person than I thought."  "What'd she ask you about?"  "Mmm," Cecily put a finger to her chin and looked up, "Mostly just stuff about our parents. Big Sis was pretty sad, but I think the Exaltare just wanted to know what sorta occupation and lifestyle we had. Oh! There were a bunch of questions about the Vanas too, but neither of us really knew anything about what she was asking."

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.  "And it was just… questions the whole time." Lycoris relaxed a little, her smile creeping back onto her face.  "Uh-huh! After we were all done, she asked what we were planning on doing next, and when we said we didn't know, 'cause our home had been… destroyed… she asked if we wanted to come work here!"  Lycoris froze in place as Cecily walked ahead, her eyes bugging out. "She what? Um, you, you didn't have to go under a geas or anything like that, right…?"  "Huh? What's that? I don't think there was anything like that… she just told us that it'd probably be really hard work, and that there'd be a lot of responsibility 'cause we'd be working for the Imperial Family… Nessa mentioned something to me in private after about training, but I didn't pay much attention since we both already know how to take care of farm animals just fine!"

Lycoris sighed and lowered her head, her eyes squinting shut as she put a hand to her cheek. If she knew her mother at all—and she felt rather proud that she had a better read of her than most—her plan was likely to have Cecily and Vanessa work as assistants to Athena. Or to take her place, though Lycoris didn't want to think about that particular possibility. She still fully believed that Athena would return without incident.  She chuckled to herself as she imagined suddenly waking up one day with her maid standing dutifully by the door as she always had, only flanked by a pair of younger girls, startling Lycoris out of bed on the spot. Though, that would mean she'd be back to sleeping in her own bed…

"Is something bothering you? …If you want, you can go back and change into some shoes or something! I don't mind waiting. I was just going to check out the place and see what all we need to stock for Mira first anyway."  "No it's… nothing. Nothing at all. Just… thinking about Mama. And I'm totally fine! If anything, it's nice to feel the grass against my feet again. I can barely remember the last time I got to feel the touch of nature like this."

She had to resist the urge to flop over and lay on the grass. Somehow, she got the feeling her mother would be more than a little upset if she saw her daughter covered in dirt and grass stains the moment she constructed a garden for her pet myrh…  And it wasn't as though there was any sort of sky overhead to stare at. If anything, the clouds were still beneath her at present.

"Ehehe, you sound like you'd be right at home on a farm! Oh, wait. I'm sorry, that might be too crass to say to a princess… I need to worry my sister less if we're going to be working here."  Lycoris rubbed the back of her head. "Sorry, I'm probably not helping much on that front. But I did— I mean, I could find myself enjoying that. Though I don't think a single yard for a single myrh would be very much like living on a farm."  "It certainly does sound simpler when you put it that way…"  "But… I'm assuming that Mama's going to have more in mind for the two of you than just looking after Mira. I mean, even I realize how wasteful that would be. Though, this entire room seems sort of… excessive."

But it would be a good place to read, especially if Lycoris had someone put a bench down somewhere for her. She made a mental note to ask her mom, whenever she arrived.  Which should have been any second. Considering she asked Lycoris to come down here, and presumably had Cecily invited in as well… Though…  While the green-haired girl busied herself looking through cupboards under the stable's awnings and muttering to herself, Lycoris frowned and looked at the doors. She walked up to Cecily from behind and gave her a small pat on the back, to get her attention.

"Hey, Cecily… Where's Nessa?"  "…ehehe, it's a good nickname, isn't it? I suppose I can allow the Crown Princess to use it as well," Cecily giggled, and then scooted back out with a pail and jagged-edged trowel. "Umm, I think she was talking to some of the Palace staff. I'm not sure sure, but I think it was to figure out living accommodations for us…"  "I wonder if the Palace is that safe to live in…"  "Huh? Don't you live here though?"  "Haha… yeah, that's part of the issue…" Lycoris muttered under the sound of the breeze. She pointed at the tools Cecily picked out. "What's the plan with those?"  "I'm gonna see if the people who transplanted the trees here know their stuff or not. Gotta check to see if they're myrh-friendly or not."  "Huh…"  "If nothing else, I'm sure they'll be good as a scratching post at least, but wouldn't it be nice if Mira could munch the bark right off the trees?"

Lycoris did her level best to maintain a smile while nodding along. She realized in that moment that she had even less idea than she previously thought on where to begin with caring for a myrh. What sort of diet they were supposed to have, how much exercise they needed, what sort of social environment or how much mental activity and training they required.  She followed Cecily up to one of the trees, as the girl carefully crept past the bush in the way and began to tap and scrape at the bark with the trowel. Rather than feign confidence and risk getting into an awkward situation, Lycoris awkwardly admitted the truth.

"Y… Yeah, haha… I um, don't actually know anything about… that."  "About what?" Cecily paused and turned around to frown at her, waving her tool about. "It's perfectly natural for myrh to do that, in fact it's healthier than what we usually feed them on the ranch! It's how they survive in the wild."  "No, sorry. I mean to say, I don't know anything about myrh, actually. Not just caring for them. I'm being wholly sincere when I say that I first encountered Mira the day before we ended up in Kranes. I didn't even know what a pearpifus was until Mama explained it to me the other day."  "Oh. Haha, right right! A princess wouldn't have time to learn something like that. Well don't worry, that's what I'm here for!"  "Oh actually I um… I probably have plenty of time, actually. I'd like to learn. And, I… um, I read a fair bit of general animal handling stuff from books. They're just usually… a little skittish around me," fumbled Lycoris, a shy smile on her face. Somehow every word uttered made her feel more embarrassed by her ignorance.  "Ehehe, then I'll show you whatever you want me to, Lycoris! I bet Mira will really enjoy having his favorite Vampire care for him personally!"

But before she could actually begin examining and showing Lycoris the bark she pried off of the tree, the doors opened once more and a pair of conversing voices filled the air. They weren't speaking loudly, but Lycoris naturally paused Cecily with a hand on her shoulder as she listened in with wiggling ears. One of them was Vanessa's voice, but the other…

Lycoris gasped and rushed toward the door, her worry matched only by her excitement. It had only been a week, and she never doubted that her mother would keep her word. But the relief she felt upon seeing the blue-haired woman in her familiar maid uniform… was hampered slightly when she saw Athena was still wearing a pair of spectacles.

"Athena!"  "Your Highness! My apologies for my severe tardiness."

Sprinting right off of the grass and onto the tiles around the edges of the room, Lycoris slid forward and pounced as she wrapped her arms around Athena's waist.  The maid raised her arms and went wide-eyed as she looked down at her. Her shock only grew as Lycoris pulled back and looked up at her with slightly misty eyes, while Athena looked her up and down, before glancing to the side and back again.

"Princess…? Is aught amiss? …You're barefoot. Were you perhaps over-excited by the room and missed the sandals over here?"  "O-Oh um," Lycoris sniffled, "yes."  "And, who did your makeup? There's no chance it could be Her Majesty."  "I did!" Lycoris hastily wiped away the tears in her eyes and smiled brightly up at her.  Athena, meanwhile, looked like she suddenly choked on a lemon. "My apolog—I mean, I had no idea you could do makeup, Your Highness! Or, no I mean, when in the world did you find time to learn?"  "Uhm… the past week." She raised an eyebrow, clasping her hands together nervously. "Does it look bad? Mama said that she was proud of me."  "Yes, yes of course. You have done absolutely magniferously, Your Highness! There is just… a touch of clumping and smearing in places that a professional serving you should be lambasted for. But nevermind that! We must get your feet cleaned immediately!"  Lycoris squinted in bemusement at her, then looked at Vanessa—and noticed that she was in a matching uniform. "I hope that Athena hasn't given you too hard of a time."  "Not at all, Your Highness!" Her nervousness was painfully apparent, both with how loud she was and how stiffly she addressed Lycoris.  "I'm assuming that you were sent to Athena for… training? Cecily mentioned that you were talking through living accommodations with someone."  Vanessa bowed stiffly, "Yes, I was escorted to the changing room to find something in my size. Her Majesty has seen to it that we can move into the Palace starting today. Our work and training begins immediately."

She leaned around to stare at her sister, scraping bark off the tree with a somewhat concerned frown.

"Oh! And I take it Athena is… training you? Is that why you're wearing the spectacles still, Athena?"  The maid reached up to touch her spectacles. "No, it's… my apologies, Your Highness, but it seems the eye damage was more severe than initially presumed. These are permanent. If that… is an issue…"  "Huh? No no, not at all, but um… Can't you just go to a healer? Hm, now that I think about it…"

There were plenty of Humans who wore spectacles, but most of those were the wealthier sort. There was no reason they couldn't afford to have their eyes fixed to begin with. Lycoris presumed it'd been a fashion statement of sorts, but perhaps there was something more to it. Them being windows to the soul, or something of that nature.

"I could, but it would mean I'd have to… I'd… Take more time off work!"

As Athena gasped in horror and melodramatically delivered her line, Lycoris slumped her shoulders and stared at her with half-lidded eyes. Somehow, she should have known better than to assume it was actually some sort of cataclysmic eternal scar on her soul, or something like that.  Even though she sighed wearily, she couldn't stop the corners of her lips from curling into a smile. Perhaps what she needed to recover and raise her spirits was her maid, and a friend her age… working for her…

Hm, that seems like a conflict of interests waiting to happen. But, I guess I consider Athena my friend already. And Mama and Lesath are awfully close, and they're… I think they're the same age, at least. Eh, I'm sure it'll be fine.

What she was actually worried about was the sort of workload that'd be put on Vanessa and Cecily's shoulders. Especially at their age. If she had any sort of sway over their schedules, Lycoris would ensure that they didn't get too overwhelmed by having to go through training and work at the same time.  Though, obviously looking after Mira was something she couldn't exactly remove from their burdens given that was the initial reason for bringing them on…

"Oh, where is Mira? I kind of miss him, too."  "He is being shipped here as we speak, Princess," answered Vanessa politely. "It will take some time for him to reach the capital. Large animals can't be teleported due to customs and complications with the array, so they have to haul him down the long way."  "Is someone just… riding him here?"  Athena put a hand to her lips and chuckled, "No, Your Highness, he's being shipped in a van. Think of the car we rode in, but taller, with more room in the back for… well, a myrh."  Lycoris nodded briefly as she envisioned it, then turned back to address Vanessa, "So, what will you two be doing in the meantime then?"  "Hmhm, fantastic that you should ask that, Your Highness," responded Athena in her place. "The two of them shall be under my tutelage, shadowing me throughout the day as I take care of things. In addition to more formal lessons and practice, and any other work required of them in the Palace, of course."  "On that note," Vanessa stepped around to the side and shouted, "Cecily!! Stop playing around and come here!"

The girl dropped her tools and jogged over, obediently heeding her sister's call with a smile. As Cecily arrived, she looked between all three of them. Confusion began to knit on her brow as her eyes met Athena's.  Despite that, she pinched her skirt and dipped her knees in a polite curtsy.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Miss! Lycoris was terribly worried about you."  "Hmm. Your form could use a little work. Back straight. Shoulders even."

Lycoris had never once heard Athena sound so… commanding, as she did while calmly and confidently evaluating Cecily. It was a strange reminder that she was actually qualified to serve the most powerful person in the world. Or her daughter.

Does her being assigned to me technically qualify as a demotion?

"Yes, Miss!"

Without missing a beat, Cecily immediately straightened out and rigidly locked her arms by her sides. She still wore the same cheery smile as before, but looked like she was playing at being a soldier.  But that sort of reflexive reaction was something Lycoris was quite familiar with herself, whenever her mother would admonish her for bad posture. As she reminisced, she realized that it had been quite a while since her mother had to do so, and felt a little swell of pride.  Perhaps Cecily and Vanessa were actually noble children? But Lycoris wasn't sure what family they were from. She realized how little she knew them, and once again felt her face heat up in embarrassment as she also realized how lackadaisical she'd been with her own safety. After dealing with Bartholomew and learning that enemies could and would approach her from everywhere, Lycoris suddenly felt far less safe, even in her own home. Unlike her mother, she lacked both wisdom and might. But…  She clenched her right hand tightly.  …She was an Aphtangloa too. She'd spent all her efforts ignoring it as best she could, but there were powers… privileges that she could pull on to mitigate whatever danger came for her.

Lycoris breathed a weary sigh, as she realized how she had become inexorably tied up in a game far beyond her control. And one she barely understood.

"That's better! From today forth I shall be overseeing your education and training as servants of the Aphtangloa lineage. Her Majesty does not brook failure, nor Her Highness, so be prepared to perform not to the best of your abilities, but perfectly."  "Yes Miss!"  "Also, why do you refer to Her Highness by name?"

There was an audible gulp from behind her, as Vanessa wore a conflicted frown.

"Um, Lyco—Her Highness told me that it was fine to refer to her by name. She said we were friends."  Athena looked over, a hint of betrayal on her face. "Is this true?"  "Y…Yes. I was rather terrified and lonely," Lycoris answered with a little too much honesty, "and she seemed like a nice kid. It's nice to have a friend that's… er, my age."  "Mmmmh… I will… permit it… while she is off-duty, at least… … …So long as I can as well."  Lycoris did a double take, her jaw slackening slightly. "Wh… Huh? I mean, of course you can. I didn't realize you even wanted to that badly… although, I have a hard time imagining when we'd even be together when you're off duty."  "…Ah!"

Athena's eyes widened in shock, while the pair of little girls snickered together.

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