As Brian stepped into the house, a strange feeling crept over him.
Then suddenly—
A panel in the ceiling slid open, and a small black turret dropped down with a mechanical whirr. A laser sight locked directly onto his forehead, making him freeze in place and hold his breath.
"Shit…"
The barrel aimed straight at him as a distorted voice crackled from the machine.
"Intru—tru—tru—der… s-s-surren—ren—ren—"
"Oopsy~ Disable defense system," Adeline casually commanded while lifting her teacup by hooking a finger through the handle.
She looked over at Brian and smiled so hard her eyes narrowed into crescents.
"It's just the stranger-detection sensors." She snapped the fingers of her right hand, still covered by the white glove decorated with flowers around the wrist.
Click.
The turret immediately retracted back into the ceiling compartment. Brian finally relaxed and lowered himself into the small cushioned chair beside her long sofa.
"So, you come here to look for something?" Adeline asked.
"I was out buying stuff nearby, so I figured I'd stop by since you invited me," Brian replied while looking around her living room.
"I honestly didn't think you'd actually come. I've never invited any people because I rarely got any mates." Adeline set her teacup down on the low table and leaned forward a little more seriously. "So… do people around here say anything about me?"
"They say Miss Adeline's a really nice person. Honestly, it feels like everyone around here knows you."
Brian leaned back into the absurdly soft chair.
"Yeah, people always say my brain is like a child's and an old person's at the same time. Ms. Cille still treats me like a kid—actually, everybody does. Like I'm still some tiny little girl." She giggled quietly. "Good thing she doesn't buy me toys anymore though."
"Hm. Weird, though. These days people just use delivery drones, right? But your housemaid still drives out to buy things herself?"
"She's going through menopause," Adeline replied casually. "Going outside for fresh air helps her heart a lot." She smiled softly while rubbing her own leg absentmindedly, looking strangely warm and relaxed talking to someone she trusted.
Brian glanced around the room again before noticing antique teacups displayed along the wall shelves. "You really like tea, huh?"
"Oh, absolutely! Drinking tea makes me feel calm, relaxed, floaty… um…" Adeline tapped her finger against her head while trying to remember. "How would you describe that…"
"Like~ drinking a river?" Brian offered with a faint smile. Adeline really was unlike any other woman he'd met.
"Yes, yes, exactly! Especially when you drink it with something warm, it becomes even more decent when it—" Thunk!
Her foot accidentally kicked the low table, making the tea slosh across the surface.
"Owch, me leg.... Could you look the other way for a second? Heehee~"
Brian shrugged and obediently turned around. Adeline quickly began fiddling with something on her right arm while he closed his eyes and saw nothing.
"Okay, you can turn back now."
"Ta-daa~!"
Adeline waved her white-gloved hand side to side. The glove looked spotless as ever.
Brian's eyes widened when he saw the spilled tea had vanished completely from the table as though erased by magic.
"Whoa. That was fast."
"Other people have haunted mansions. Mine's a genius mansion." She laughed proudly. "This whole house runs on a Smart Home MK.4 system. Installation alone cost twenty million. Totally unnecessary, honestly, but it saves time and makes life way more convenient."
"My rental place still uses the MK.1," Brian admitted. "Your house honestly feels like somewhere a lot of people would love to live. So… it's just you and your aunt here?"
"She's not actually my blood-related aunty. She was a nun from a church." Adeline hesitated briefly. "Back when my uncle passed away… he met her around the time I was sixteen, so he hired her to take care of the house for us. Ms. Cille treats me like her own."
A small smile appeared on her face.
"And when I went off to university in Massachusetts, she still stayed behind and took care of everything here every day. I ended up graduating with two degrees—Business Administration and Engineering. Kinda regret not studying Fine and Applied Arts too, but I guess it wasn't really necessary. In the end I opened a business anyway…"
She suddenly stiffened.
"Ah—s-sorry. I'm usually not this much of a braggart. My mouth just kind of runs on its own sometimes." She awkwardly laughed, trying to rein in her overflowing thoughts.
"Mhm. Someone this talented better succeed." Brian nodded approvingly before pausing. "But wait a second. If you have a slight Brit accent, doesn't that mean you're actually from UK? Why are you moving here?"
He seemed genuinely bothered by the question.
"That's… kind of a long story to tell. um~" Adeline's gaze drifted toward the sunlight beyond the window. The mansion walls began shifting and pulling away from the glass, reshaping themselves into an enormous palace.
"God save the Queen!" The powerful cry thundered through her ears.
Adeline looked upward toward the palace balcony and broke into a radiant smile when she saw something standing there. Metal gears flew past her face, assembling themselves into a gigantic airship that floated above the River Thames in a version of London sketched entirely in pencil, as though she had fallen under a spell.
The color slowly drained from her skin until she became black and white.
An eraser rubbed away her legs, shortening them smaller and smaller until she had become a child once more.