Chapter 48

From Chapter 48 onwards, I revised the story to take place at the lakeside villa. Since the plot diverged significantly from the middle, I once deleted it.

While on the way back to save Marion from the curse, we became close contacts of the red pox.

Therefore, to prevent spreading it to Father, Brother, Sister, and everyone else, we were to be quarantined at the villa.

After leaving Marion's house, we traveled for a while until the Duke's mansion came into view. I said to Sara, who was sitting next to me,

"Sara, that's the house where Luria and the others live."

"It's grand."

"Yes. And that's the chicken coop."

"Chicken?"

"Yes. I'll show you something interesting, so watch."

I opened the carriage window and looked outside. A strong breeze blew in, feeling refreshing. The usual birds were flying overhead, watching over the carriage.

I stuck my arm out of the carriage and shouted loudly, "Little ones, come here!"

The reason I called for the small ones was that the big ones were heavy and hard to bring into the carriage.

"Chirp chirp," "Tweet," "Chirp chirp."

Immediately, three sparrows came and perched on my arm.

"Thank you, sparrows."

"Chirp chirp."

I brought the sparrows into the carriage and showed them to Sara.

"See?"

"Amazing! Luria, are you friends with the birds?"

"Yes. Friends. Sara, you can pet them too."

Sara pet the sparrows on my arm.

"They're cute."

"Chirp chirp."

"They're cute, hehe. Hehehe."

Sara showed a smile.

After Sara pet them enough, I let the sparrows out.

"Thank you. Luria will be staying at the villa for a while, so be good, okay?"

"Chirp chirp."

The sparrows tilted their heads a few times and then flew away happily.

At that moment, the carriage was moving through the forest surrounding the Duke's mansion.

As usual, I could sense many animals in the forest.

"Mother, what kind of animals live in the forest?"

"Hmm. I don't see many animals. There might be small animals like squirrels or rabbits."

"Hmm. I feel the presence of larger animals. What do you think, Sara?"

"I don't know. But... maybe?"

"Right. There must be."

I want to explore the forest next time.

I'm already five years old. I think Father and Mother should give me permission to explore the forest soon.

While I was thinking, the carriage continued past the Duke's mansion.

"Mother, what's the villa like?"

"Luria, this is your first time, right?"

"Actually, this is the first time I've been outside the mansion."

"In that case, it might be fun. The villa is—"

According to Mother, it seems to be a place for summer vacations.

It is the building closest to the main residence among the Duke's properties, except for the mansion in the capital.

It's about an hour's carriage ride from our usual mansion.

It's a relatively small mansion by the lake.

Brother and Sister used to stay there for a few weeks in midsummer when they were young.

"How many years has it been since we visited the lakeside villa?"

"Mother, it's been a long time for you too?"

"Yes. Well, it's good that His Majesty is planning to visit this summer."

"His Majesty. Grandfather?"

"Yes."

I didn't know that the King, my grandfather, was planning to visit the lakeside villa.

"Will you check if there's any damage to the building?"

"The caretaker will take care of it, but just to be sure."

Mother probably hadn't visited the villa for years because she couldn't take me outside.

It must have been a disappointment for Brother and Sister, who used to enjoy their summer there.

"I'm looking forward to it. I hope we can all go together from now on."

"Yes."

"Next time, Marion should come with us, right, Sara?"

"...Yes."

Sara still seemed anxious.

She was probably worried about the new house, whether the red pox would spread, and Marion.

"Sara, when we arrive at the villa, write a letter to Marion. I'll teach you!"

"Okay."

"Oh, Luria, can you teach her properly?"

"Of course! Ah, Sara, swimming in the lake will be fun."

"Okay. It sounds fun."

"Luria, you mustn't go swimming alone. It's dangerous."

"Okay! I understand!"

I kept talking about fun things to keep Sara from feeling anxious.

Caro sat on Sara's lap to help her feel more at ease.

After a while, the lake came into view.

"Sara, Luria, we can see the lake. It's beautiful."

"Wow?" "Yes, it's beautiful."

The lake was beautiful, but I felt a strange presence.

"Something... feels strange."

"Really? Maybe Luria is sensing the presence of the master."

"Master? What's that?"

"Well, there's an old story that says there's a great master in this lake."

"Wow. I hope it's true, Sara."

"Yes."

It would be fun if it were true. But I didn't feel the presence of a master.

Rather, I felt fewer spirits around the Duke's property.

The strange presence might be due to the lack of spirits despite the beautiful and natural surroundings.

"Oh, right. Sara, do you like swimming?"

"I've never swum before."

"I'll teach you, so don't worry."

When I said that, Mother said with a sigh,

"Luria, you've never swum in the lake, right?"

"I haven't... but I've practiced."

"Really? That's impressive."

"I practiced in the bathtub."

Being able to swim can mean the difference between life and death in an emergency.

That's why I practiced in the bathtub.

The maids always praised me, saying, "You're so good at it."

"Caro, Luria is a good swimmer, right?"

"Kyuu~"

Caro always watched me practice swimming in the bathtub.

Even Caro said, "You're good!"

"...Practicing in the bathtub isn't very proper, so you shouldn't do it too much."

"Yes. But I can't practice anywhere else."

"That's true... but it's not necessary for a young lady to be able to swim."

"That's not true. Drowning doesn't care if you're a man or a woman."

If only men could drown, it would be fine not to practice, but that's not the case.

Women can drown too, so they should be able to swim.

"That's... true, but—"

"That's why I practice swimming."

"But, Luria, it's still spring, so it's cold."

"Hmm?"

The cold is a problem. I might catch a cold.

"We'll swim in the lake when it gets warmer."

"Okay. I'm sorry, Sara."

"Yes."

We passed a few small villages and then the Duke's villa came into view.

It was about two-thirds the size of the mansion where I live.

On the roof of the villa, the usual birds were already perched.

"Hmm," "Chirp chirp," "Kuruppo~"

"The owls came too. Thank you."

"Are these Luria-sama's friends too?"

"Yes. Sara, you can pet them too."

"Hmm."

"They're fluffy and cute."

The birds were in a good mood after being pet by Sara.

"Usually, there's also a chicken named Korko... you'll meet him when we get to the mansion."

Unlike Daur, who came on his own, the chicken Korko was staying behind.

"Korko! Sara, you'll like him too."

"Yes! Korko is cute too."

While I and Sara were playing with the birds, Mother was discussing the security of the villa with the servants.

Since I had nothing to do, I explored the nearby area with Sara, Daur, and Caro.

"Don't go too far. There might be scary animals in the forest."

"Okay. We won't go far."

If we go too far, we'll get scolded, so we just wandered around the carriage.

The mansion and the large lake are surrounded by a large forest.

"But there are fewer animal presences here, right, Sara?"

"Yes."

The forest around the villa is much larger than the one around the mansion.

Yet, it feels like there are fewer animal presences here.

"Maybe there are only squirrels? Are there prairie dogs?"

"Kyuu."

While talking about this, I, Sara, Daur, and Caro walked around the carriage and found a stick.

"There's a cool stick."

It was a stick about my height, with a nice curve and a cool look.

"Is it cool?"

"Yes. This part is cool. See?"

Sara tilted her head in confusion.

"Hmm! See?"

I waved the stick to show off the cool part.

"Really? It's cool?"

She still didn't seem to understand how cool it was.

But eventually, Sara will understand how cool it is.

"Luria, Sara, let's go inside."

"Okay!" "Yes."

Together with Daur and Caro, Sara and I entered the villa.

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