After that, the Butler led them to their respective rooms. A quiet calm settled over the three of them.
Celine, who had been keeping her mouth firmly shut this whole time, finally spoke up , directing her question at the Butler walking beside her.
"Umm… excuse me, may I know your name?" Celine asked, stretching out a smile, though her eyebrows trembled slightly from nerves.
Olivia, walking right beside her, could practically feel how stiff Celine's tongue was just trying to get those words out.
"Hihihi… you've got this, Celine," Olivia cheered silently.
"My name is Zekiel Mude. You may call me Zake," the man replied in an even, calm tone.
Celine simply nodded and fell quiet again.
"Sir Zake, how long have you been serving at the Aethelgard residence?" Olivia asked, her face practically glowing with curiosity.
"Since Duke Herold was born to the previous Duchess, I was already here as a new servant. As the Duke grew older, I was promoted to his personal butler. If I recall correctly, I was only eighteen at the time," Butler Zake answered with a smile, as though the memory had surfaced warmly from somewhere far away.
As they walked through a long corridor adorned with old paintings, Butler Zake spoke again.
"The Aethelgard residence has stood for nearly a hundred years," he said quietly.
Not long after, they came to a stop before a large door.
"Miss Olivia, your room is to the left of Princess Ophlia's chamber. And to the right of Princess Ophlia's chamber is Miss Celine's room. This arrangement is so that should anything happen any emergency you can reach the Princess immediately," Butler Zake explained thoroughly, his fingers pointing toward each room as he named them.
"Very well. You two may go take a look at your rooms now. I do apologize , I would have liked to give you a proper tour of the residence, but unfortunately I have matters to attend to. If you have any questions or concerns, please do come and find me," Butler Zake said warmly, already taking a step back to excuse himself.
"With that, I shall take my leave."
Olivia and Celine nodded and bolted straight into their respective rooms.
"WOWWWWW," Olivia's jaw dropped so wide it was practically detached from her face.
"Wow, this room is HUGE!! Servants' rooms are usually so tiny. You're really lucky, Olivia," she said to herself, eyes scanning every piece of furniture with wonder.
Olivia could not contain herself. She launched onto the bed with a full running leap, screaming ..
"EEEHHHHH!! THIS IS AMAZING!!"
Her hair flew everywhere. Her arms flailed dramatically. Her cheeks went red from the sheer force of her excitement.
"HAHAHA, I can't believe the room is this big!!" she shrieked, spinning a full circle in the middle of the room and nearly toppling over from happiness.
"The room is simple but so comfortable. The walls are painted a soft watery blue, the floors are marble, and look at this furniture, it's GORGEOUS. Compared to the orphanage where the blanket wasn't even really a blanket, just a piece of fabric so thin you could see through it," Olivia rambled happily, flopping down onto the plush bed and letting the memories of the orphanage drift through her mind like smoke.
Once she was done thoroughly appreciating every corner of her room, she sprinted next door to Celine's, separated from hers by just one room.
Olivia peered around the doorframe. Only half her face was visible.
Celine, who had been spinning around her own room with barely contained excitement, nearly jumped out of her skin when she spotted Olivia.
"ARGHHHHH!!" Celine shrieked in her soft little voice.
Olivia burst into absolute hysterics.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!"she cackled, clutching her stomach that didn't even hurt, wiping at her eyes that were watering from laughing too hard.
Celine, once she realized what happened, puffed out her lips and sprinted over to hit her. The room erupted in laughter and the sound of running feet.
"Hmph, you're lucky today," Celine declared, pressing a hand to her chest, catching her breath.
Olivia was equally winded from being chased. *"This child's stamina is something else,"* she wheezed, patting her own chest as she stumbled into a seat.
Celine heard that and tilted her head in confusion. "Huh, I don't understand what you mean," she said slowly.
Olivia just shot her a sideways glance and went to find a place to sit. And just like that, they settled into easy chatter, giggling softly between themselves
In the middle of their conversation, both of them suddenly felt it , the distinct sensation of being watched. Sharp. From the direction of the doorway.
They turned at the same time.
Princess Ophlia was standing at a distance, watching them. Clutching her large doll against her chest. Her expression , shy and uncertain.
"Oh, Your Highness," Olivia said.
Without overthinking it, she got up and walked toward Ophlia with a smile.
"Hello, Your Highness!! I'm so sorry you had to see us like this," Olivia said, dipping her head respectfully.
Celine automatically bowed as well.
Ophlia, seeing this, looked startled ,almost panicked.
"Ehh ! oh, no no, you can raise your heads," she said quickly, her voice coming out flustered.
Both of them lifted their heads and looked at Ophlia, who was so flustered the words coming out of her mouth were barely holding together.
"Umm, sorry Your Highness.. is something matter?" Celine asked gently, with a warm smile.
"Before coming here, I was actually sound asleep. But I heard laughter so I followed the sound. I didn't realize you two were chatting," Ophlia said, shifting her gaze away.
"We're so sorry, Your Highness. We disturbed your sleep," Olivia said, both of them dipping their heads again.
Tsk,
Olivia muttered internally.
Then Ophlia said
"Oh, no I'm not angry. I just… I was jealous. Seeing you both laughing and having so much fun. I actually wanted to join."
She said it quietly, her fingers touching the tips of her own one by one.
Silence fell.
Olivia and Celine looked at each other.
"Hahaha, of course you can, Your grace!!" they said in unison.
Ophlia, who had been staring at the floor and avoiding eye contact, suddenly looked up. She smiled.
Her eyes were glistening.
Together they took her hands and walked her back to her room.
That evening, the three of them spent the hours talking and playing until night fell around them.
"We'll take our leave now, Your Highness," they said together, bowing.
Ophlia, exhausted and happy, nodded with a smile.
They slipped back toward their own rooms.
"Bye, Celine," Olivia called.
"Bye!!" Celine called back, waving her hand as she disappeared through her door.
The moment Olivia stepped into her room, she let out the longest breath of her life.
"Huhhhhh. What an incredibly long day for a body this small," she murmured.
She washed up and changed, and when everything was done she let herself fall face-first onto the moderately plush bed.
Just as she was closing her eyes, her favourite character flickered across her mind. She sat bolt upright.
She walked over, grabbed a pen and a blank piece of paper, and settled down.
"If Ophlia is 10 years old right now, that means Javien is currently 11. They're supposed to meet when Javien is 12. Which means I have exactly one year before they meet and that's when Javien starts developing feelings for Ophlia," Olivia murmured, tapping her chin repeatedly with the black pen.
"So I have one year to prevent Javien from meeting Ophlia!! But WHERE does Ophlia meet Javien…" she trailed off, scratching her head that wasn't even itchy, staring into space.
Olivia let out a long slow breath and looked down at the paper now covered in her scrawled notes.
"I can't let it happen… if they meet the same way as in the original story, everything will unfold exactly as I know it and the ending will be the same."
She gripped the pen tightly.
"I have to find a way to stop that meeting."
Olivia stood from her bed and walked to the window. She drew the curtain back slowly.
The night breeze drifted in, soft and cool against her face. Her gaze reached out toward the distant forest, sharp and searching.
The night sky looked calm.
Her heart did not.
"Where are you, Javien,"she whispered, eyes tracing the moon as it cast its pale light over the darkened estate.
That name felt foreign on her tongue , and yet it carried the weight of everything in this world.
Olivia pressed her lips together.
"If I don't change the story…" she said quietly.
"…then everything that comes next cannot be stopped."
She closed her eyes for a moment.
"Just wait, Javien. Before you ever meet Ophlia…" her voice dropped to barely a breath.
"I'll make sure I find you first."
She curled her fingers into a fist at her side, her eyes burning with quiet resolve.
Olivia lingered at the window a moment longer, the long curtain of her dark hair brushing softly against her small cheek in the breeze.
"Achoo!!"
The sneeze came out of nowhere, yanking her back to reality.
She blinked. The night had grown late without her noticing. Her small body ,still a child's body , was already tired. Already fragile.
"Huh… I can't believe just opening a window for a few minutes can make me this exhausted,"
she mumbled, patting her own tummy absently.
She stepped back inside and jumped onto the bed, letting her small body sink into the softness and release every bit of the day's weight.
Eyes that had been burning with resolve slowly fell closed , the world around her growing quieter, further away until she drifted, completely, into sleep.
What she didn't know was that her whispered words had not simply dissolved into the night air.
They had slipped through the walls.
Deep beneath the residence, in a basement far below ..
Something stirred.
Something that seemed to have heard every word she breathed.
But no one above knew.
Not yet.