Renzille and Bluria walk side by side, their strides carrying them gracefully through the entrance of the grandiose mansion of house Thillion.
As they step inside, a line of attentive servants stand at the ready and greet them with polite bows and respectful curtsies, instinctively lowering their heads as a sign of respect, their faces displaying nothing, but a mask of obedience.
The atmosphere within the mansion is thick with unexplainable tension, making Renzille become suspicious as soon as she stepped inside.
She briskly heads towards the staircase, her steps quick and light for someone who had just come back from outside— Bluria, her expression blank and devoid of emotion once more, follows closely behind her sister, matching her pace with steady and composed strides.
The mansion is filled with nothing, but silence as the servants discreetly return to their tasks with the sisters proceeding to ascend the staircase, the soft clicking of their heels on the polished marble flooring echoing in the spacious hall.
Renzille didn't take long to climb the last few steps to reach the top floor, but she froze in her tracks when she spotted Celine emerging from her room in a rush.
Celine, in turn, halted when she noticed Renzille standing at the end of the hall, a look of surprise crossing her features.
Time seems to freeze for a moment as the two sisters regard each other, an obvious tension hanging in the air between them— then, Renzille's gaze flickers between Celine and her room, suspicion crossing her blood red eyes.
Celine took notice of this which caused her face to drain of color, more so when Renzille began walking towards her.
In a rush, Celine spins on her heels and darts towards her own bedroom, closing the door loudly behind her, causing the sharp bang of the door shutting reverberates through the hallway, cutting through the tense atmosphere like a knife.
Renzille stopped and stood frozen in place, her mind racing with questions after Celine's hasty escape, but she quickly turned to face one of the knights stationed nearby.
"Summon the family physician and more knights." She instructs, her gaze locked onto the knight with her voice dripping with authority. "Order them to conduct a thorough search of my room and search for anything suspicious or out of place."
"As you wish, my lady." The knight immediately acknowledges the order with a firm nod before hastening away to fulfill her command.
Renzille's frown deepens as she eyes the door to her room, a sigh escaping her lips.
Once again, she turned to another knight nearby, her expression determined yet composed. "Fetch me a chair. My feet are aching, but I refuse to step foot in my room until it has been meticulously inspected."
The knight quickly bowed and scurried off to get a comfortable chair while Renzille stood there, waiting impatiently for her room to be thoroughly sanitized of Celine's bacteria.
Bluria gazed at Renzille, a look of concern in her expression.
"This action may bring trouble for our father.." She murmured, her voice tinged with worry. "Celine is his favorite daughter.. Are you not aware?"
Renzille paused, her gaze shifting to Bluria.
Her expression softens slightly as the realization of their father's favoritism has been noticed by her other siblings as well.
It means that I'm not the only one who may have gotten hurt because of Celine.
"Indeed." She mused, her voice laced with recognition and resignation. "We must be cautious.. But sometimes, certain matters cannot be ignored. Like this one."
Bluria nods, understanding the weight of the situation. "You're right.. If things escalate, we can always leave and serve in the war instead."
Renzille observed Bluria for a moment, admiration dropping from her gaze as she looked at her younger sister, finding her resourcefulness endearing.
"A valid point." She acknowledged the little girl's cleverness. "But let's hope it doesn't come to that."
"Thank you." The youngest Thillion hummed, pleased with herself after hearing Renzille compliment her.
"However, you're too young to join the war." Renzille started after pondering about the little girl's words for a moment. "In fact, I would rather see you sent to the church instead, where you can serve safely."
She paused, a gentle expression crossing her face. "But rest assured.. Once the war is over, I will come personally and fetch you."
In reality, Bluria had already left the mansion before her coming-of-age ceremony, driven away by the underlying family strife— the same strife that drove away the other Thillion siblings except for Renzille and Celine.
A wave of nostalgia washed over Renzille as she reflected on the difference between this dream and the grim reality of her everyday life. Yet, within this fantasy, she could cherish these moments with her little sister, if only fleetingly.
She had never tried to build a connection between her and her other half-siblings after choosing a husband for herself due to how hectic everything became.
The knights quickly returned, followed by the family physician which brought Renzille out of her inner musings.
Following Renzille's command, they began their meticulous search in her room, each item being inspected diligently much to Renzille's pleasure because truly, she won't take chances.
Renzille took a seat with Bluria, watching the search unfold.
The physician carefully examines every nook and cranny, leaving no stone unturned as he searches for anything out of the ordinary, his eyes keenly watching every knight that helps him in this order given by the third born.
The search continued for a while until the family physician's keen eye fell upon a small bag made of soft fur in Renzille's closer, hidden haphazardly.
Though the bag appears boring on the surface, its origins remain a mystery.
Renzille and Bluria exchange puzzled glances as the physician holds up the bag, its content a single batch of fur that seemed to be sunk into something that made it quite hard.
After that fiasco, Renzille waves off the family physician and the knights, who obediently withdraw from her room.
She had the physician take a look at the fur— to find out where it came from.
Then, she turned to the awaiting maids and instructed them to prepare her bath which the servants diligently proceeded.
Once they were done, Renzille sinks into the tub filled with warm water adorned with rose petals, the fragrant scent enveloping her.
As she sank deeper in the soothing warmth of the water, Renzille's thoughts drift back to the events of the day— contemplating her actions and the situation at hand.
The day is almost over.. I can't wait to wake up from this dream and make Celine pay for what she has done. She thought as she let out a sigh.
Renzille's eyelids felt heavy, the feeling of drowsiness settling in, yet she managed to resist the lure of sleep by rising from the bathtub and stepping out of the water, making the scented liquid drip from her body.
As she dries herself with a soft towel, her mind begins to clear, the peacefulness of the moment giving her a break from her earlier worries and anxieties.
After drying herself, Renzille turned to the maid that was still present in the bathroom, her request firm. "Bring me a nightgown that completely covers my body, from neck to toe."
The maid bowed in acknowledgment of Renzille's command and smiled. "As you wish, my lady! I will retrieve an appropriate nightdress for your comfort."
Renzille watches the maid exit to retrieve the nightgown and once the maid is out, she absentmindedly turns on her heel, intending to turn towards the mirror.
However, she slips on a stray puddle of water and loses her footing, causing her head to collide with the sharp corner of the marbled sink.
The sudden impact jolts Renzille, a sharp pain pulsing through her skull.
She gasped in surprise, her hand instinctively flying towards the injured area as she winced from the stinging sensation.
Not a second after, Renzille let out a low groan, the pain and disorientation from the impact causing her vision to swim before her eyes, causing the room to spin— everything around her becoming a dizzying blur.
She struggled to focus, especially with darkness beginning to appear in her field of vision.
"My lady, here's the nightgown you requested— my lady!" A horrified scream reached her ears, but she was already in and out of her surroundings.
Renzille fought so hard to stay conscious, but her eyelids slowly drooped shut, her body losing its strength and stability as she collapsed to the ground, unconscious.
Renzille's senses gradually returned to her as she opened her eyes, the world around her slowly coming into focus.
She found herself lying on her bed, her gaze fixed on the ceiling above her, but as her senses returned more fully, a nagging feeling of unease settled in her heart, a sense of dread seeping into her spine.
She laid there, still disoriented and groggy from sleep, trying to grasp what had happened.
Renzille props herself up into a sitting position, her expression morphed into confusion and grogginess, but before she can make sense of the situation, a gasp of surprise echoes through the room, followed by a joyful scream.
"My lady, you have finally woken up!" The voice was family, dripping with relief and excitement.
It made Renzille's attention turn towards the speaker and as her gaze darted around, she spotted the source, a figure standing a few feet away from her bed.
Renzille's gaze locks onto the maid who stands before her bed— in an instant, memories of ordering the maid to bring a nightgown flood back to her mind, but..
There's something surreal about the entire situation as doubt flickers briefly in Renzille's mind, her thoughts racing.
Shouldn't she be waking up from her dream? She hit her head in her dream, didn't she? Shouldn't that be enough to bring all of this to an end because Renzille is about to wake up?
No.. Something is really wrong. Renzille thought as she abruptly sat up, disregarding the throbbing pain in her head.
"You! What day is it?!" She asked, her gaze snapping to the maid who still stands by her bed, her voice sounding strangely urgent and desperate which caught the made off guard.
"It.. It's the seventeenth of April, my lady." She replied, her voice tinged with concern for her mistress's abrupt behavior.
Renzille's lips parted from shock, her eyes wide in disbelief. Seventeenth of April..
It's the day of her coming of age ceremony.. Did she really go back in time?