"My lady."
"Mhm...."
Eurielle opened her eyes. There she saw Nathalia beside her bed.
"It's time for your bath, my lady."
"....."
Eurielle sat up and started blankly at the space.
Her eyes blinked slowly like they were about to sleep again.
"My lady."
"....What time is it?"
"It's already past noon."
"Oh."
Eurielle incredibly slept a lot. More than she thought she would.
She still remembered what happened last night.
She recalled that she suddenly woke up in the hallways in the middle of the night and Rion was there.
And they kissed. A lot.
"Nathalia."
"Yes, my lady."
"Do I sleepwalk?" She asked.
It was weird considering the fact that she woke up in the hallways.
Unless Asterion tried to kidnap or carry her, there was no other reason she could think of.
"Yes, my lady."
"Really? How?"
"One night, I saw my lady waking up around eleven pm and you'd always start by walking in the hallways. But Sir Asterion stops me midway when I follow you and tells me that he'll take care of the rest."
Nathalia bluntly answered. There was no reason to lie.
"I see. Thank you for telling me."
"No problem, my lady."
After the short conversation, Nathalia helped Eurielle take a bath and prepare herself.
...
"A letter has arrived for you, my lady." Nathalia gave her the envelope.
Eurielle was currently reading a certain book titled Theories of Human Development.
She was curious about how the human mind works. How humans develop their understanding. How humans behave.
How humans gain emotions.
For her, it was somehow a critical topic.
"From who?" She replied as she flickered the next page of the book.
Eurielle's sight landed on a certain paragraph.
The emotional circuits in the limbic system are activated when an emotional stimulus is experienced, and these circuits quickly create corresponding physical reaction. The process happens so quickly that it may feel to us as if emotion is simultaneous with our physical arousal.
'Emotional stimulus... Physical arousal?'
She suddenly remembered the first time she kissed Theo. She wasn't satisfied with the first one and ended up wanting for more.
'So that was physical arousal.'
"It says it's from Lady Brown."
Eurielle stopped reading and sighed.
"Give me." She asked for the letter.
Nathalia gave her the envelope and left later on to get Eurielle some refreshments.
Eurielle opened the letter.
She had a frown on her face as she opened it. Because there was that strange scent that smelled the same from her last life again.
'How unpleasant.'
[Dear Lady Eurielle,
It seems like the invitation I sent last time went a bit awry.
To make up for you, I decided to invite you for tea once again. 5pm would be a good time and we can also watch the sunset together.
Let's have a good conversation later. I have many things to tell you.
I truly hope to be friends with you.
Sincerely,
Abigail Brown]
"...."
Eurielle felt nothing while reading the letter. She didn't feel Abigail's sincerity at all.
"Nathalia?" She called.
"Yes, my lady." Just in time, Nathalia arrived with the refreshments.
"What time is it?"
"30 minutes before 5pm."
"Where's my father?"
"He's at the Imperial Palace."
"I see. Prepare the carriage. We're going to Lady Brown's estate."
"Yes, my lady."
...
It took fifteen minutes for the carriage to arrive at Abigail's mansion.
Eurielle got off from the ride and soon got escorted by the butler from the Brown's estate.
The mansion was not comparable to Eurielle's home but it had a sense of grace.
Nathalia and a knight escort just followed behind Eurielle.
"Welcome, Lady Eurielle."
Abigail's soft and gentle tone greeted Eurielle as she was about to enter the mansion.
"It's my pleasure, Lady Brown." Eurielle responded even though her face expressed indifference.
"Please follow me."
They followed her until they arrived at the greenhouse near by the lake.
"Please take a seat." Abigail gestured her to sit.
"Thank you."
Abigail glanced at the knight standing behind Eurielle.
"Is the knight really necessary? We're just going to have a friendly talk."
"It's my job, my lady." The escort knight responded to Abigail.
The knight's response gave Abigail a frown.
"It's fine, sir. Please take a stroll together with Nathalia. We're alright." Eurielle added.
"Please call me whenever needed, your highness."
"Hm."
With that, Nathalia and the knight took few steps behind Eurielle and stood guard nonetheless.
"Prepare it." Abigail called for a maid.
"Yes, my lady."
The maid bowed and left later on. She was commanded by Abigail to make the tea and get the refreshments.
"So while waiting, how about we have a small conversation, Lady Eurielle?" Abigail smiled.
"Will do." Eurielle breifly replied.
"Actually, I have something to share. A secret. Would you care to listen?"
"Please say."
Eurielle was a simple person to talk to.
Abigail grinned and leaned on her chair.
"Recently, I feel like things aren't going my way." She sighed.
"Why is that?"
"Actually, I have a friend named Asterion."
Eurielle's ears perked up when she heard the familiar name.
'Sounds like Rion.'
"Asterion was a really good person. I met him when I was a child. I saved his life." Abigail added.
"He swore loyalty to me and he treated me with respect. He was really kind and caring. He looked at me with affectionate eyes and he really is a wonderful person."
"But one day, just recently, he changed." Abigail's expression darkened. "Do you know why?"
"No." Eurielle answered.
"It was strange. Too strange. It was the same case with you, Lady Eurielle. One day, you began to change. You began to act differently."
"And that time when you changed, Asterion also changed." She glared at Eurielle.
"He rejects me everytime I want to meet him and his gaze looked so cold. He was harsh to me."
"And?" Eurielle muttered.
Abigail glared at Eurielle for quite some time.
"Pft- sorry. Don't mind about it. I was just overthinking stuff." Abigail sufdenly laughed it off.
Eurielle doesn't get her.
'My head hurts.'
"Anyways, Lady Eurielle... Do you believe in Dark Magic?"