Lucy POV
'Arthur's early event went pretty well. Just like in the game, he fit right in with the kids and Alice seemed to enjoy herself as well so this time my plans truly went off without a hitch and I got two things done at once. Well, there was one unexpected development. Apparently Hina has a cute side too. She actually got jealous because I spent too much time with Alice. Can you believe that?'
'Based on all my previous notes on what the villainess Seraphina is like you'd probably never connect her to Hina. So I hope you can also treat her like a friend, I firmly believe that Hina would never do the things the villainess did. Though to be honest, I still can't be sure if somehow the will of this world changed her because she got involved with me. But I'm also an anomaly that wasn't in the game's story so maybe Hina was like this from the start here. Well, this is something you'll have to figure out yourself, I'm afraid I can't help you with it, but… please give Hina a fair chance.'
I finish recounting the recent events in my diary for the real Lucy and set my pen down.
Well, if it's her I probably didn't need to write that last part. I'm sure she'd uncover all the secrets by herself and bring the truth to light. But I can't help but be a little biased towards Hina…
Anyway, I'm almost done with documenting all the details I remember from the game and I think I managed to give a boost to all the capture target affinities as well, so now I won't feel as bad leaving the rest to the real Lucy. Though, there is a new development I didn't expect.
My eyes wander over to the opened letter still on my desk and I pick it up.
'Dear Lucy, you are welcome to return to the family estate during the summer break. If you wish, you can also bring a friend along.
Cedric Castille.'
It's a rather short and concise letter, but it's already much more than what I expected to receive from Lucy's father. Or rather, in the game Lucy never got a letter from him at all so this is another anomaly.
But maybe it's a good change? The relationship between Lucy and her father never really got resolved in any way in the game, but since he was able to reach out to me like this, maybe there is a chance for improvement?
While this might be a little too much meddling in Lucy's life, if I can just leave one extra present to the real Lucy by helping her reconnect with her father, I think I would be able to leave in peace.
And since the letter mentioned bringing someone along as well, I thought I could invite Hina too and that way we could spend the summer break together. It might be the last time I get to hang out with her like this after all…
I quickly shake my head, dismissing all the negative thoughts creeping in and focus back on my diary for the real Lucy.
There are still a few weeks left until the summer break in August, so I have to give my best until then. I have to finish leaving all the instructions to the real Lucy and I also need to keep up with studying, I can't leave her in a bad spot after all.
Ah, I also need to work a little bit more so I can also leave some emergency funds behind for her. There's still a lot to do, so I can't afford to be distracted by some selfish feelings.
…
The next few weeks fly by rather uneventfully and soon it's the last day of school.
"Okay, I think we can stop here for now."
Miss Julia says, closing my last lesson for the day. I quickly put away all my stuff, already anticipating the upcoming break.
Today we had a theory class so we didn't go to the clearing in the restricted area.
"You seem rather excited, were you looking forward to the summer break this much?"
"Ah, well… It's just that I'm going back home and Hina is coming along too."
"Hm, is that so?"
I shyly explain to Miss Julia, but then I suddenly remember something.
"Ah, right. Um, Miss Julia… Since I'm going to be away for about two weeks… Would it be alright if I asked you to look after the flowers in the clearing for me sometimes?"
"Oh? And what do I get in return?"
"Um… I could pay you…? Or promise to work even harder when I come back? Or-"
"Stop, stop. I was just joking. Just go enjoy your holiday or whatever."
She just waves her hand at me while she wishes me to have fun. Most of my flowers have already adapted really well to their new environment and rarely need any extra attention from me, but I'll still feel better if I know that someone checks on them just in case.
"Thank you, Miss Julia! I promise to bring a souvenir back for you!"
"Hm. Wait, there's one last thing before you leave. By the time you return I'll probably have some tangible results regarding that seal within your soul. Although it showed no change ever since we discovered it, it will still be better to know what it is exactly."
"Ah… right. Okay."
"Then see you in a few weeks. Don't get too lazy when you return."
"Yes, goodbye Miss Julia."
Leaving the classroom I return to my dorm room and just as I finish packing up for the return trip, I hear a knock on my door.
"Are you ready? I saw that the carriage from your family is already at the entrance gate."
"Ah, I'm almost done. Actually, what do you think about this? Do you think it would make a good gift for my father?"
I ask Hina, showing her a small potted white rose bush I spent a long time preparing. It's similar to the one I gave Hina before, except these are white.
"Hm. I'm sure he'll like it."
"Thanks Hina, and for accompanying me as well."
"Of course, I'm curious to see where you grew up too. Now, hurry up and let's go."
I carefully put the flower in a bag, grab the rest of my things and we leave for the Castille territory.
After a rather strenuous journey taking the better part of a day, the scenery begins to look familiar and we soon arrive at the family mansion.
"Young Lady, welcome back. And Lady Lazarius as well, I hope you enjoy your stay."
The head butler, a well-dressed man in his forties says with a few other servants around him.
Oh? I don't remember Lucy ever receiving a welcome like this from her memories. Has her father really changed too?
"Thank you, I've brought along some gifts as a way to express my respect to the Castille family. They are within the carriage in the back."
Hina says, pointing towards the luxurious carriage bearing the crest of her family.
Even though I told her she didn't need to do anything, she still insisted that this is a routine between noble families so I don't need to worry about it.
But then she still ended up travelling together with me in the carriage Lucy's family provided for me.
"We humbly accept the Lazarius family's generosity. You are every bit as graceful as your reputation suggests and you honor us with your presence. However you must be exhausted from your journey, please rest for a while and the master will also welcome you during the dinner."
"Ah, Hina! Come with me, I'll show you my room and all the interesting spots along the way."
During Hina and the butler's formal speech I didn't have much of a chance to get a word in, but I really want to show her around.
"Excuse me, Young Lady, but I'm afraid your old room is currently not accessible due to some renovations we're doing nearby. But we prepared the guest room next to Lady Lazarius' for your use for now."
"Oh, I see."
Actually, maybe that's for the best. Showing that small attic room to Hina might have been a little too depressing.
So instead, after the head butler shows us to our rooms, I drag Hina away and head straight towards the garden.
All sorts of beautiful flowers and bushes are arranged in an eye-pleasing way and all of them appear properly taken care of. But I just go past all those flowers and keep going until we reach a little corner hidden behind a few small buildings. There, in an unassuming spot, a little garden is set up, consisting of only a few flowers grown from seeds Lucy had stolen from the gardeners' nearby storage shed.
At least that's what Lucy's memories tell me, but instead, I find a little spot of dirt overgrown with weeds with only a few little, colorful flowers peeking through all the green.
"Ah, this is my garden. Or at least where it used to be…"
Right, with me away in the academy for like five months and nobody else to take care of them, an outcome like this should have been obvious.
"Actually… this part isn't interesting after all."
"No, I quite like it. You must have worked hard here before. Did you always have an interest in flowers?"
"Hina…!"
Such an angel! ...or villainess, anyway, even though now it's just a boring patch of weeds she's still humoring me.
With a newfound determination I keep showing Hina around, bringing her to all the spots I remember Lucy usually hanging around. We go from the garden to the old abandoned buildings near the edge of the mansion and finally to the library within the main building, one of the few places Lucy was allowed to go to as she liked.
And weirdly, the more time I spend here, the more vividly all of Lucy's memories surface within my mind. While she didn't have a great childhood, she still made the most of it.
What's really tragic is that right when she would have finally had a chance to turn things around I came and took her place instead. But fortunately I should be able to return her life to her soon. Though let me first smooth things over with her dad.
***
Seraphina POV
Having carefully examined the Castille mansion, just like my original investigation said, they still hold considerable wealth and everything is properly maintained and cared for by all the servants.
Meaning that funding a single girl's education should have been close to no burden for them, especially since Lucy is the only direct child of the current family head. So it must have been an intentionally malicious decision to make Lucy's life harder. As for why her father would suddenly invite her back home… I have a bad feeling about it.
Actually, I already felt like this when Lucy first brought it up, but I decided not to mention it since she had such a pure and happy look in her eyes and instead I decided to take up her offer and accompany her here just in case.
I've also kept an eye out for any signs of possible burn marks on all the buildings, but I haven't noticed any. Even the supposed 'renovations' the head butler mentioned only seem to have just closed off some areas with no real work happening on them.
It's not that I'm doubting what happened to Lucy, I just want to know if it was just an accident covered up by her father or if the fire was maybe intentionally set... So when I get a moment away from Lucy I finally spot a suitable target.
Slightly clumsy movements with a rather young appearance, a certain maid stands out among all the other highly experienced servants. Getting a lifelong servant to open up to a stranger can be rather difficult, but with a relative newcomer like her, it shouldn't be too hard.
"Excuse me, can you help me out a little?"
"…! I, I didn't do anything wrong this time, I swear!"
The maid instantly jumps upon hearing me address her and begins explaining herself before she even turns to me.
"I only want to ask you a few things if that's alright."
"L-Lady Lazarius?! Wh-what, how can I help you with?"
"...How long have you worked here? Have you ever noticed Lucy getting mistreated by her father or other servants?"
I'm starting to doubt my decision to approach this particular maid, so I get straight to the point.
"The Young Lady? I… um, maybe you should ask the head butler about something like this?"
Upon my words I notice a glint of recognition in her eyes, which she quickly tries to hide, but it's too late. I take a step towards her and say:
"Really? Are you sure you don't want to answer a question from Seraphina Lazarius? Because if that's the case…"
"I have! I did notice something like that, but I'm just a regular maid who only arrived a few months ago, so I don't know much!"
She instantly breaks the moment I apply a little pressure to her and begins to desperately spew out everything she knows. I don't know if I should be the one saying this, but how did she even get hired?
"I have heard other servants talking badly about Lady Lucy behind her back or even right in front of her without any reservations. Even though I know most of my seniors pretty well and they are usually nice people. They even put up with me without too many complaints so I don't know why they would be so hostile towards the Young Lady."
"What about the head of the family?"
"The Master? He… I never really saw him explicitly demean the Young Lady, but he never did anything to stop it and um, he must be aware that the Young Lady is living in such a dilapidated attic room."
"Attic room…"
That sudden renovation, if it wasn't just a coincidence, was it arranged for now to cover up Lucy's living situation in front of me? I might be reading too much into it, but that's the only reason that makes sense currently.
"Then, have you ever heard of a fire breaking out somewhere on the ground of the mansion?"
"A fire...? No? I don't believe so. Though like I said I haven't been here for long, but I think I would have heard my mother mention it to me at some point. She's got some strong connections to the Castille family and she has worked here for a long time so I've heard about most things that happened here. Even about the late mistress, who died during childbirth, being a commoner… Ah, is that why all the others treat the Young Lady that way? But all of us are also commoners too…"
She's quite a rumor mill even with her personality, isn't she? And I feel like now I know how she got this job too…
"Okay, that's enough."
I feel like I heard all I wanted, maybe even a little too much. It doesn't feel right learning about Lucy's mother like this. I should have waited until she was ready to tell me herself. Maybe I should apologize to her later...
But as for the rest, it confirms most of my theories, though a duke's daughter getting bullied by servants is still quite an absurd situation. Even if the head of the family doesn't stop anyone from doing so.
"Ah, Hina! So this is where you were. The dinner is almost ready, we should head back soon."
"Hm, okay."
A flash of golden hair suddenly comes into view as Lucy runs up to us while saying that.
"Um… can I go now…?"
"...Sure."
"Yay! Thank you milady, I hope you enjoy your stay! Goodbye!"
The moment that word of dismissal leaves my mouth, the maid's eyes instantly light up and she quickly says her lines while doing a small bow and then disappears. She does all of this in less than five seconds. After watching this, Lucy just turns to me with a confused expression.
"Did you need her for something?"
"I just had a few questions. Anyway, let's go."