Once the commotion in the hallway had finally died down, Lucilea headed toward the Glass Garden with May.
The effect of the Glass Garden was truly astounding.
A transparent glass ceiling stretched overhead in the shape of a giant dome.
Beyond it lay a sky covered in silver-gray clouds.
Despite being in the North, the garden was filled with gentle warmth, and countless flowers of every imaginable color bloomed throughout the space.
It felt as though she had stepped into another world entirely.
Lucilea decided to set aside the complicated worries occupying her mind and simply enjoy the moment with May.
They chatted pleasantly, sipped fragrant tea, and passed the time in comfortable conversation.
The longer she stayed there, the more energized she felt.
'Strangely enough, I'm not getting tired at all.'
Rather than draining her, spending time in the garden made her feel increasingly relaxed.
Apparently, Cookie felt the same way.
The little parrot freely flew through the enormous interior of the Glass Garden, soaring beneath its towering ceiling.
[Kyaaaaaahhooooooo!]
He repeatedly flew upward and dove back down, apparently determined to demonstrate how magnificent his wings were and how majestic he looked while gliding.
Sometimes he perched on a branch to rest.
Other times he devoured the fruits May offered him without restraint.
And so, time steadily drifted toward noon.
"You'll be having lunch with His Grace."
"...What?"
Cough!
Lucilea nearly choked on her milk.
May immediately wiped the corner of her mouth with a handkerchief.
"There's no need to worry. It's only a simple meal."
"A simple..."
For some reason, she already felt indigestion coming on.
Seeing the tension written all over her face, May quickly added,
"Please don't be so nervous. Everyone chosen by the Elite Order goes through this."
"This is part of the process too?"
At that, May raised an eyebrow thoughtfully.
"Hmm... calling it a process makes it sound rather cold, doesn't it? Ah! How about thinking of it as the first step toward becoming closer?"
"..."
Become closer?
'Umm... I have absolutely no intention of doing that.'
Still, now that she had entered the Archducal Estate as someone chosen by the Elite Order, it was clearly not something she could avoid.
"Okay. I was only able to come here because of His Grace in the first place. I can't exactly refuse an invitation to lunch."
Honestly, she would have preferred to avoid meeting him altogether.
But she also knew it was unreasonable to expect never to encounter the Archduke while living in his estate.
'Aside from this meal, we probably won't cross paths much anyway.'
He was the Archduke, after all.
Men like that generally had mountains of paperwork piled high on their desks.
Not to mention Elvadin frequently traveled throughout the Empire alongside the Elite Order.
'He'll probably leave on another expedition soon enough. We won't have many chances to meet.'
As Lucilea sank into thought, May spoke up again.
"And Lady Lucilea, you should speak more casually with me."
"Huh?"
May puffed her cheeks slightly.
"People are already talking. They keep saying I'm a maid being addressed so politely by someone chosen by the Elite Order."
"Ah..."
Lucilea realized her discomfort with speaking down to others might have inadvertently caused trouble for May.
"Okay."
She nodded with a bright smile.
"I'll do that."
Even after returning to her room, a lingering sense of contentment remained in her chest.
She had a feeling she'd be visiting the Glass Garden often in the future.
[So that's it? You're abandoning me now, Lucy? You're closer to that maid than me now, aren't you?! Do you like her more than me?!]
Squawk! Squawk! Squaaawk!
It hadn't even been long since arriving at the Archducal Estate, yet Cookie had somehow transformed into the embodiment of jealousy.
[I told you before! That maid is suspicious! Something's off about her! She's hiding something—! Huh?!]
Just then, May walked over to the noisy parrot.
"Here you go, Lord Cookie. Open wide. Airplane incoming~"
[Gasp! Huff! Huff!]
Naturally, while Cookie continued to suspect May, he accepted every single fruit she offered without the slightest hesitation.
[You think I'll be swayed by this?! You think just because you give me these—?!]
Nom nom nom nom.
Cookie immediately turned red again.
At this rate, Lucilea worried his yellow beak might become permanently stained.
Without even glancing at Lucilea or May, Cookie continued stuffing himself with fruit.
[Wow... so sweet...]
While Cookie remained utterly distracted by the delicious fruit, Lucilea changed into a new dress.
"Shall we go?" May asked.
"Yep!"
At that moment—
Flap flap flap!
[I'm coming too!]
Cookie abandoned his efforts to clean fruit juice from his beak and flew straight onto Lucilea's head.
Despite having spent hours flying around the Glass Garden, he insisted on tagging along.
Even after enthusiastically devouring May's fruit, he continued glaring at her suspiciously.
[Lucy needs me beside her! I absolutely cannot leave her alone with that maid!]
"..."
Truthfully, Lucilea understood his concerns.
She herself had felt an inexplicable chill when she'd first met May.
Tilting her head, May smiled.
"It looks like Cookie wants to come too."
Lucilea laughed awkwardly.
"Yeah. He's incredibly curious. Is it okay if he comes? Won't His Grace or Serdian be bothered by it?"
"Oh, what's the harm?"
May smiled gently.
"If he causes trouble, I'll simply drag him back to the room—"
She paused.
"—I mean, escort him back."
Immediately, Cookie exploded into a frantic flutter.
[L-Lucy! Did you hear that?! She said drag! She definitely said drag! You heard it too, right?! She was totally planning to drag me back to the room!]
[See?! Suspicious! Evil human!]
Shhh, Cookie!
Lucilea quickly tried to calm him down.
'Relax. She just has a tendency to use rough words sometimes.'
[She said drag! DRAG! Me! A tiny, adorable, fragile parrot!]
Cookie's voice echoed so loudly inside her head that it nearly hurt.
Finally, Lucilea responded in a stern tone.
'Cookie. If you don't calm down, I'm leaving you behind.'
[Gah!]
Instant silence.
'And if you get excited and make a scene during lunch, I'll send you back to the room alone with May. Understand?'
[Eek... I-I don't want that... I'll be quiet...]
Cookie mumbled miserably.
She felt a little bad for him, but there was no helping it.
She couldn't exactly ruin lunch with the Archduke because of Cookie's telepathic shouting.
When the previously hyperactive parrot suddenly became obedient, May looked fascinated.
"It's amazing. He really does seem to understand people."
"Right?"
Lucilea smiled brightly.
"At this point, I basically treat him as if he understands everything we say. That's how smart our Cookie is."
For sensitive topics like this, acting like an innocent child was by far the easiest solution.
At that moment, May reached out and took her hand.
"Then shall we go, Lady Lucilea?"
"Yeah."
Holding May's hand, Lucilea headed toward the main building.
Tap. Tap.
The sound of her modest heels clicking against the polished white marble floor echoed through the halls.
"Oh, so that's how you became knowledgeable about herbs?"
"Mm-hmm. I used to follow Grandma whenever she went out gathering medicinal plants."
Lucilea nodded enthusiastically.
The mention of Briola had visibly brightened her mood.
On the way to the dining hall, she spent the journey telling May stories about her life with Briola.
About gathering herbs together.
About accompanying her into the village marketplace.
About which medicinal plants Briola used whenever Lucilea got sick.
May listened with genuine interest.
"My goodness. A mage knowledgeable in herbal medicine? That's quite rare."
"Rare?"
"That's right. I've heard that mages with a strong foundation in herbology can later learn alchemy."
Alchemy!
It was a concept she'd seen in plenty of fantasy novels.
Unfortunately, she'd never paid much attention whenever fantasy-specific details came up.
Curious, she asked,
"Can you make a lot of money doing that?"
"Of course! You see, alchemy is—"
A brief lecture on alchemy followed.
As they talked and walked, they eventually arrived at the corridor leading to the dining hall.
Then—
Suddenly, the atmosphere felt colder.
'Huh?'
Sensing the subtle shift, Lucilea instinctively looked toward the end of the hallway.
The entrance to the dining hall stood there.
And someone was waiting in front of it.
Beside her, May suddenly spoke.
"Oh? It looks like His Grace and the Young Master are already here."
Wait.
The Young Master?
'Serdian?!'