Fifth Month, the 3rd day, 1386. 05:23.
I can feel my head ringing. I drank too much from yesterday's party.
"Ugh, this is the worst," I groaned as I pulled myself up. With half open eyes, I turned towards my window. The mesh curtains fluttered slightly from the cold morning breeze. It's daytime, but the sun has barely risen.
I remember sleeping by two in the morning, right after I escorted Brother Cor to his room. I slept for three to four hours, it seems.
I wasted no time to get my things ready. I focused on packing the most important things I own in this room; money, personal files, undergarments, clothes, basic necessities, and some footwear. These were enough for me to survive alone.
My paychecks as a knight of the Imperial Palace are kept safe with me and it should be enough to give me what I need for about a year (including a new house). However, I can't rely on that, I'll need another proper job that can pay me well.
As I closed my luggage, I wandered my eyes around my room.
It's a simple room filled with dark and neutral colors, which I preferred even as a child. This is also one of the four largest rooms in the mansion, but half of this room's furniture are antiques gifted by my brother. The old dresses, shoes, and accessories are kept safe here. The toy companions my brother gifted me during my childhood, as well as the books I own are complete and clean on the shelves.
This room… It's full of things from the past. I recall the days when I would enjoy my time here alone.
Nostalgia, however… is a trap. It will keep you yearning for something that died a long time ago.
I can't stay here anymore.
My eyes then landed on the clock. It's nearly time for the whole household to wake up, I should take my leave.
I took my time walking to the main entrance and exit of this mansion, and just when I reached the entrance lobby, I saw Rouche standing there. He was holding a wrapped box.
"Good morning, my lady," he greets with a small smile. "I've prepared a meal, please take it with you. I had a servant prepare Jack as well, they're waiting for you right outside."
I can tell how blue he feels from the sound of his voice. His hands were visibly shaking as he handed me the box. I accepted it and smiled. He still called me with that title, despite what happened yesterday.
"Thank you, Rouche."
He kept smiling at me, until he finally had the courage to pat my head. He was still taller than me, despite being at an old age. I can feel his hand shaking every stroke of it in my hair. I let him be.
To me, this man was a father figure. A man full of love and peace. We three siblings treasure and deeply respect him.
"You are always welcome here. Don't mind the Earl," he stated, and I chuckled. Even though they were Master and Servant, they are still close friends after all this time. Noticing the time, he pulled his hand away and reached for the door knob to open the door for me.
Right then and there, I saw my horse Jack, calmly standing with a servant holding her reins.
"Thank you," I said as I walked through the open doorway.
The morning sunlight landed on me. It felt so warm to my freezing skin, crawling and embracing my entire being. It's as if all the burden, tension, and expectations were melting and evaporating from me, floating away and leaving my body.
This feeling… the continuous breaking of heavy chains… I have never felt better. And thinking about it now, this is better than dying. I'm thanking the gods in heaven for not letting me die so easily.
COR was standing by the window, staring down at the small figure of his sister leaving the gates of this mansion along with the baggage she packed and her precious horse Jack. He sipped on his tea, and he's never tasted such a bitter flavor.
He then felt a soft pang in his temples, reminding him of how much wine he drank last night. Cor was thankful enough that he wasn't so drunk as to forget his sister's words to him last night. He placed down his teacup on the table and that's exactly when he heard a knock on the door.
"Come in," he permitted. The knob twisted and the door swung open, revealing Rouche himself. "How was she?" Cor asked.
Wearing a sweet smile on his face, Rouche replied, "She was smiling."
Rouche seemed to be relieved that the little lady who he thought of as a daughter looked relaxed and smiling more often. Cor himself felt the heavy weight on his shoulder lighten after hearing that.
That sister of his barely ever smiles, not even when she was a child. But whenever she did genuinely smile in front of people, Adela would leave them staring in awe at her beauty.
She's already a cold beauty with long snow white hair and sharp deep purple eyes, so imagine seeing her warm genuine smile? If taking off her load was all it took to bring her smile to life, Cor could've done his best to make her life light and easy. He could've protected her better.
But there's no use being guilty over what already passed. Being an Oleander, Adela did everything to free herself from the shackles that kept her from living her life the way she wants. All Cor can do now is to be her pillar of support when she is driven in the corner.
That's how older brothers are.
"Although I am happy for Master Adela, I still have genuine concerns for her, my lord," Rouche brought up. "Where do you think she'll go? She wouldn't happen to have a lover… right?"
Cor himself tensed up at that question.
Right… How could I not have thought of the possibility that Adela has a lover…? She doesn't have one… right? Slowly, Cor tries to piece some assumptions and facts together, making dozens of conclusions in his mind. His thoughts got so deep that he had to sit down to organize his thoughts.
She's been so obsessed with fulfilling Hael's wishes and orders for the past years, I didn't even think that she had her sights on another man other than him. Who would have thought that she would even think of anything other than sword, combat, or her studies? No, her lover must be someone she's been spending time with—either during her duties or off-duty. Is it a knight? It must be. Adela would never take a man who is not of equal footing. That man must also be a noble, or some sort of academic scholar. Who could it be? Well, I know it's not the Emperor, at least. He knows how to remain loyal. Is it the Imperial Knight Commander Calloway? Or one of the Imperial Knights, maybe? Is there anyone stronger than her among them? I don't think so. From what I heard, all of them get beaten up every other day and only Calloway could take Adela properly in a duel. Ugh, I'm out of options, who could it be—
Cor's mind went wild with continuous thoughts and was then hit with a flashback of a conversation he heard among ladies on the way here yesterday.
"Did you also see that?"
"See what? Do you mean that time when Dame Adela was talking to His Grace, the Grand Duke Langstone?"
"Yes! Don't you think they suit each other? Grand Duke was smiling at her as if he was lovestruck! He doesn't even smile!"
"Did you see that part where he got close to her and lifted her chin up, just so he could look at her eyes more intensely?!"
"Did you also see how he offered his hand to her, and even though he was ignored, he followed her to a private balcony?!"
"I wonder what they did there? We couldn't even catch them leaving the entire night!"
Cor initially thought it was mere gossip among women, since he knows well enough that Adela and the Grand Duke were never formally introduced to each other, not even during their time in the academy. He also has never heard of him visiting the capital over the past years after inheriting his father's title. But with that brought up…
…it's him.
He was hit with a flashback where he once saw the Grand Duke as a 17-year-old student, intently staring at his two-years junior Adela who was sleeping deeply in the library table. He was playing with her long hair, brushing her white strands on his lips as if it was the most natural thing in the world.
Huh, Cor thought to himself, trying to let it sink in. He recalls asking Adela if she knew or even talked to the Grand Duke after he saw what happened, but Adela was genuinely confused as to why she would even befriend or get close to who Hael despises.
"Master Cor?" Rouche called, snapping him back to reality.
"Y-Yes?"
Rouche was genuinely concerned for his young lord because Cor suddenly became quiet, but he brushed it off, thinking that Cor might be worried for his little sister.
"Where do you think Master Adela will be heading?" Rouche once again brought up the question, and this time, Cor smiled brightly and proudly.
"Well, for a genius, there is only one place I know she'll run to."
SERAPHINA Academy. My alma mater.
I stand before the tall black iron gates of this hell-hole. It's been a long time since I've stepped inside, I never even visited after my graduation. Such an ungrateful brat, aren't I? I hope she'll forgive me for only coming here now.
Because I have no plans of leaving again.
I can see the four guard knights stationed outside making glances my way. They must think I'm some sort of suspicious individual. Well, I am wearing a hood and cloak in broad daylight with a white female war horse, carrying some baggage. It would seem as though I'm some traveler, hunter, or adventurer.
I walked with Jack and approached the guard knights in-duty, and as soon as they had a close look on my face, they immediately recognized me and saluted.
"W-We greet the Emperor's Knight! Welcome back to the academy, Dame Adela!" With a bit of stuttering and moderate volume, they voiced their acknowledgement and respect. I was not able to contain my smile because they all seem like new members of the Knights of the Phoenix, the academy's very own knight division.
"At ease. I'm not here for official business as a knight, rather I'm here for something else," I informed them as I was taking out a flyer I came across by the adventurer's guild while looking for potential jobs I could take to earn my own money.
"I hear that a special instructor position is open for the taking, is it true?"