I blew it At a spot where you have a full view of the mansion"s beautiful garden there is an extravagantly built table and many chairs around it. A woman is sitting on one of the chairs, sipping black tea. Father walks in front of the woman and lets me down from his arms.
"Mother!"
"Oh my, Marie, aren"t you acting spoiled."
Having been freed, I rush over to Mother at full speed and cling to her knees. The name of the woman who gazes at me while smiling gently, without even being angered or fl.u.s.tered by my actions, is Aries Regalya, and she is my mother.
A gentle wind blows fluttering Mother"s pretty silver hair, and I"m completely charmed by her beauty. I stare at her with my big and round golden eyes, and she gently strokes my pure white hair.
By the way, my peculiar outward appearance of silver-colored hair inherited from my mother (whiter than hers), and golden eyes inherited from my father, combined with my pure white skin that does not tan in the sun at all give the impression that I"ve got a very weak const.i.tution. But, that"s just from my own point of view.
It"s not an unusual exchange between a mother and daughter. But for me, who could only feel the warmth of her mother through the curtain of the sterile room, it"s very pleasant and I could probably stay like this forever without growing tired of it.
"Ahem…Ah, by the way Aries. I was thinking of introducing her to that child, so."
"Let"s have them come here then."
Father"s cough together with his words brings an end to my moment of bliss.
(Let"s see, the child he wants me to meet?)
I separate from Mother, look up at Father, and Mother says something to the head maid waiting on her, who leaves her post immediately. I wonder what"s going on and stare blankly as I stand next to Father, and before long the head maid comes walking from the other side, along with a small girl wearing maid clothing.
(Uwah! It"s a tiny maid. Her dark hair and eyes make me feel a real affinity with her.)
The little girl dressed in a fluttery black-and-white maid outfit gets prompted by the head maid, walks towards me looking nervous, then holds her hands together in front of her and leans to give me a tidy bow.
"N-nice to meet you, Marie-ojousama. M-my nname is Tytte."
(Even her stutter is lovely♪)
"From today onwards, she will be your exclusive maid, always taking personal care of you."
The girl"s self-introduction wasn"t enough information, so Father supplements it.
"My exclusive maid."
(What the heck, that"s really ojousamish, isn"t it? No, well, I am an ojousama, huh.)
I take another look at the tiny maid. She looks to be older than me, but not by that much. Well, going by mental age I should be the older one… I close in on the girl while staring fixedly at her with my golden eyes br.i.m.m.i.n.g with curiosity. She straightens her posture and looks at me.
"I"m Marie, please take care of me from now on, Tytte♪"
I speak not with the language of an ojousama, but like I was talking to a friend. I feel cheerful, because this may be the first time I"m speaking with a child from the same generation.
"Y-yes! Ojousama!"
Tytte says nervously and bows, then I decide to immediately take her for a stroll in the garden.
"Father, Mother, I"ll go for a walk in the garden with Tytte."
It already feels like we"re friends. And as Father, Mother, and the maids said nothing, I then take Tytte along with me and leave.
"O-ojousama! Running is dangerous!"
(No no, it"s your running that looks to be more precarious.)
I drop my speed and while walking in front of her, turn my head around to look.
"Tytte, how old are you?"
"Eh, ah, yes. I will turn eight this year."
Being talked to all of a sudden, after taking a breath she replies.
(Eight years old, so that means a difference of five years in age. Despite that, she looks young, doesn"t she?)
Under my curious gaze, Tytte"s cute black eyes look about restlessly, and her slightly tanned face gains a pink color.
(Interesting♪)
For me, who"s only been around with calm adults until now, this kind of a childish response is very fun. And also, wherever I go she"ll always be with me. That wipes clean the sense of loneliness I felt in my past life and makes me even happier.
"Fufu, just try and keep up, Tytte♪"
"Ojousama~, please wait for me~"
I begin running once more and hear some quite pitiful words from behind me, but it"s starting to seem like a game of tag, how fun. I run onward rapidly, discover a shed and hide inside it. It"s hide-and-seek, so to speak.
It"s something I was completely unable to do in my previous world and now I"m able to do it just like that, so please excuse me. The illogical and childish deed was probably caused by the happiness stemming from that.
"Ojousama, where are you~, it"s dangerous in here:"
Out of breath, Tytte arrives at the shed and enters it. I waited for this moment, intending to surprise her the moment she gets close.
At that moment, I was ecstatic. And that"s why I didn"t notice that I was hiding behind delicately balanced wooden boxes piled in unreasonable amounts. Then, the moment she drew near me, I let out a voice, was about to jump out, and b.u.mped the corner of a wooden box.
Crash!
I jumped out with no difficulty, but in exchange the wood gets pulverized and makes a huge noise.
"Watch out! Ojou-sama!"
"Eh?"
Tytte"s face turned pale and seemed to slow down, and I turned around to look behind me where she was staring. In the darkness of my vision, one of the boxes that were piled up just now was falling towards me.
(Oh no! I have to stop it!)
Thinking that, I reflexively hold my small right arm out towards the wooden box.
And just like that, I screwed up.
—Next chapter