Evening came too quickly. The lounge, which had been filled with chatter and clattering toys earlier, now looked like a storm aftermath—books stacked at odd angles, a blanket fort in one corner, and Jack asleep face-down on a pillow that wasn't his.
Lotus moved quietly through the mess, tying her sleeves as she gathered the cups and plates from the table. She stopped when she noticed the smallest sound of papers shuffling behind her.
"Still awake?" she asked.
Jamil didn't answer immediately. The child sat on the couch, legs crossed properly, a notebook balanced on his knees. His brows were drawn tight in concentration as he scribbled something down with a quill almost too large for his small hands.
"Working on something?" she prompted gently.
"…Trying to map the difference in mana flow between my current state and before," he muttered. "It might help Professor Crewel adjust the antidote formula."
She blinked. "You're writing a research note while half your size."
He scowled lightly, looking up. "It's not as if I can do much else. Sitting around is pointless."
Lotus chuckled, placing a cup of warm milk beside him. "You sound just like your normal self."
He froze for a moment, then looked away. "…I am normal. You make it sound like that's a bad thing."
"Not at all," she said, sitting across from him. "It just means that even when the world turns you into a child, you're still trying to fix everyone else's problems first."
He frowned at that. "…Someone has to. Floyd nearly flooded the washroom with Trey in it, Jack almost chased our supposed mail carrier, and Azul won't stop trying to sell Jack's snacks back to him."
Lotus bit back a laugh. "That sounds about right."
Jamil sighed, closing his notebook. "You're far too calm about this. Aren't you exhausted?"
She hummed, considering that. "Maybe. But taking care of others comes easier when you stop expecting peace from it."
He stared at her, brow furrowed. "That's a strange thing to say."
"Maybe. Or maybe it's the truth you learn when you're always surrounded by people who think they know better." She smiled faintly, eyes lowering toward the cup in her hands. "You can't make them quiet down—but you can make sure they don't burn the house down while they're talking."
The boy tilted his head, as if mulling that over. "You sound like someone who's dealt with nobles."
Lotus's eyes flicked up to meet his—sharp, amused, almost impressed. "And you sound like someone who's served them."
That earned a flicker of surprise. His lips parted, but no words came. Then, finally, he muttered, "You shouldn't say things like that so easily."
She smiled. "And you shouldn't hide so easily either."
Silence followed—a quiet that wasn't uncomfortable. For once, Jamil didn't have a retort ready. He simply took a sip of the milk she'd left for him, pretending not to like the taste even as his shoulders relaxed.
When she stood to leave, he asked softly, "Why do you even bother? We're not your responsibility."
Lotus turned back, meeting his small but steady gaze. "Because even sand returns to its shape after the wind passes. You four will, too."
Jamil blinked, confused by the metaphor but unwilling to admit it.
She added with a playful smirk, "Besides, it'd be a waste to let your hard work go unrewarded. Next time, I'll make something stronger than milk."
That earned her the faintest ghost of a smile before he turned back to his notes, pretending she hadn't seen it, but she hummed in her thoughts as Ying Hui noted curiously in her thoughts, "So, even that kid knows how to smile. That's kinda scary…"
Peony didn't say anything as she finished cleaning up with a smile on her face.
After Rollo came back and gave her a hand alongside Yuu, they managed to get the room cleaned, and the boys bathed and ready for bed. However…
"I wanna see Unca…"
"Come on. Leo- I-I mean, your uncle said he will see you tomorrow morning, right? He'll be here for breakfast." Trey struggled to soothe the stubborn child.
"But he said he said he was coming back later… Guh… hic…" Cheka whined as large drops of tears rolled down his cheeks.
Neji hesitated as Peony was left with a troubling expression.
Neji was only visiting to ensure the little prince was all right, but now it was clear that the child may have been clinging onto his uncle for too much. The moment he cries is also the moment Neji has the hardest time to soothe. After all, the king and Leona weren't as much as emotional as Cheka is, combined. He looked to Peony wondering if this mysterious person has some idea to which she raised a brow in surprise as the burden was now dumped on her. She was also quite displeased. Still, she shrugged and opened her mouth, "Well, your Uncle does seem to be quite busy… So, why don't we wait till morning?"
Neji's eyes sharpened with disapproval, but it didn't matter to her.
"Wait till morning?" Cheka tilted his head in confusion.
"That's right. There's a little trick to making time pass by faster. It's a little secret I have. So I'm only showing it to you guys." Lotus smirked, "If time pass by fast enough, then you can see your uncle tomorrow morning."
"Really?!" Cheka's ears perked up. "I wanna know!"
"Yup." Lotus laughed as all eyes turned to her. "Let's see… Let's do this!"
Lotus pulled down a large blanket she had put out to dry that morning. Pulling it over a number of pillows, it became a giant cushion!
"Yuu, please bring over those wooden coat hangers and put them next to the sofa." Lotus pointed to the nearby screen divider, "Rollo, fetch the divider and put it behind the sofa."
She walked over to a ghost and waved, "Good evening! Sorry to bother you during your shift, but may I ask you to let us borrow a couple of extra curtain sheets? Preferred clean?"
The ghost nodded and hurried away before returning with what she wanted. A couple of clean red curtains.
"Thanks!"
In a blink of an eye, Lotus had turned the once spacious and warm lounge into a small indoor camping spot with the fireplace acting as the campfire.
"Wow!" Cheka gasped with delight, "Camping?!"
"Fgna! The lounge just became a campground!" Grim jumped back with shock.
"I see…" Trey smiled, "So you're making a fort."
"I want to climb into the tent!" Cheka cheered.
"Not yet!" Trey rushed after him, "You still need to brush your teeth! Otherwise… you won't get the breakfast muffin tomorrow! Ahem… right?"
"Aww…" Cheka pouted but easily followed suit knowing he made a good point, thankfully.
As the kids made their way to the bathroom, Grim tried to skip out and slip into the tent only to be caught by her with ease.
"Oh, come on! I ain't a kid!"
"And cavities aren't only targeting kids." Lotus scoffed, "You do realize Trey will come after you with no problem, even if he is now a child."
Yuu nodded, "He is a stickler for teeth hygiene, despite baking sweets everyday. He will get scary too… remember?"
"I-I remember! I-I was just testing how soft the bed is!" Grim shouted before dashing after the kids. "Come on, henchman! This time, you better hold the toothbrush properly!"
"Right, right…" Yuu sighed and walked after him.
Surprisingly enough, Cheka dropped into a deep sleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. Tired, but relieved the other boys fell asleep just as easily.
Peony stayed up a little longer, resting her chin on her palm as she watched the sleeping children.
"You know," Neji murmured quietly beside her, "you're surprisingly good with children."
She glanced his way, amused. "I'm surprisingly good with people who miss someone."
"Leona?"
"He'll come when it suits him," Lotus said simply, adjusting the blanket over Cheka's shoulders. "But the boy won't remember the waiting if he sleeps happy."
The ghost lights dimmed. Somewhere outside, the faint sound of the summer night wind brushed the glass.
"You're not going to rest?" Neji asked.
"In a bit," Lotus replied softly, watching the fort glow faintly from the candlelight inside. "Someone should keep watch over the dreamers, right?"
"Then I shall take my leave for the night." Neji nodded, "Good night. Let's hope Prince Leona returns tomorrow morning."
"He will." Lotus nodded as she walked back to the chair, "I have a pretty good idea why he didn't make it tonight, after all."
"You do?"
"I suspect…" Lotus glanced over to him briefly, "That school is worried about another overblot just waiting to occur during the next magift tournament…"
"Was there clues?" Neji frowned.
"No. But, as people say, there's no smoke without a fire." Lotus hummed before opening her book, "And right now, there is a trend where all of those who overblotted are nearly all in positions of high stress. Just as the princess mentioned… Something might happen soon. Something that not even closing the school can fix."
For once, Neji was silent. He glanced over at the boys briefly. Though relieved the boys are all asleep to not be able to hear this, he recalled her refer to one of them as Rollo. He must've been the child he heard about who started the Flame Lotus incident and got away unscathed from the situation with only a slap on the wrist. Only after learning his punishment was to be sent to this school for re education did he took a look into the background and learned quite a bit about him. Another unfortunate child with an unfortunate background. But also a child now tied to the princess. If this young man is also tied to the princess, then this would make things more complicated. Two people who have ties to the mysterious princess who had even refused to divine for their former king. If he had known this, he'd have done everything he could to bring Cheka away from here. But, for now, it seems this young lad has no interests in harming them. But, can he really say the same for the princess they serve?
Seemingly annoyed, Lotus closed her book and sighed, "It's quite hard to read with a hole burnt through me. If you want to speak with the princess, your chance maybe at the Red Carpet event being held in Shaftland. You know… The one everyone has started talking about? She has received some invitation from apparently some acquaintances. But that's all I can share."
"I see… Those tickets are quite hard to come by. It seems even then I won't be able to acquire one in time." Neji sighed before turning to Cheka dozing away, "For now, I shall leave his highness if your capable hands. Good night."