"Your hand, Lady Alora."

  Lily, crouched to the side, pretended to reach up towards the air with perfect etiquette. She was demonstrating to Hilda the method which she should use to help me down the carriage.

  Hilda, pouting, patted her apron.

  She knelt below me, right in front of the carriage steps, and lifted her right hand towards me with her head down.

  "Y, your hand... Lady- Lady dummy..."

  Smiling, I elegantly raised my left hand and rested it upon her open palm.

  "Thank you, Hilda."

  That was genuine gratitude.

  Walking up and down those spiral staircases crushed my legs and spine; even walking required constant circution of Curses to maintain a steady step by this point.

  Stepping down, I stood outside the mansion's doors. A fountain surrounded with greenery, lush with colours, spewed water into the air, mixing with the light and forming rainbows. The paved carriage path wrapped around the fountain and toward the distant estate gate along a row of trees.

  The mansion itself was composed of mostly lighter colours, it stretched far and wide with intricate decoration; sections wrapped back and forth with L shapes and other parts of the mansion, visible from where I stood, were shaped like domes.

  It was excessively extravagant.

  "Welcome, Lady Alora of Light." A middle-aged butler rested a hand over his chest as he bowed towards me.

  "My Lady, Lady Yulei shall greet you at the dining table."

  Shouldn't she be here in the first pce?

  It would be disrespectful for someone of lower stature to have someone of higher stature come to them instead of the other way around.

  I quickly gnced at Lily, but she gently shook her head.

  There has to be a reason then.

  "...Very well, lead me."

  As we walked behind the butler, he led us around the outskirts of the mansion and towards a gazebo tucked neatly beside a glistening stream within a gmorous garden. I could spot the girl, Yulei, sitting in her chair from our current distance.

  Stepping through the garden, the butler led us through a more scenic route first. But as we made our way through this path, Lily walked up beside the leading butler.

  Then, standing beside him, she whispered something into his ear. He nodded, and then she stepped back behind me. But when she walked by me, she softly spoke:

  "The honey tea."

  ...Oh.

  I had completely forgotten that she mentioned that in the carriage.

  Passing by the trickling stream, the butler came to a stop once we arrived at the bridge leading to the gazebo.

  Resting both palms over his abdomen, he bowed and gestured us onwards.

  I opened my mouth:

  "Thank-"

  "Yippee~!!!"

  And then Hilda dashed by me, sending my golden hair fluttering in the wind; it momentarily mingled with her crimson hair before she shot by and towards the gazebo.

  Honestly?

  "Ugh." Lily sighed beside me.

  I don't even care now.

  "Yulei-!" Hilda pranced across the bridge as she untched her sword and-

  Crash!

  -she carelessly tossed it aside, freeing up her belt.

  "Long time no meet-!"

  Hilda's merry face melted into her jolly voice, she sprinted at Yulei with the force of a thousand trains-

  Pomf~

  -then, she gently wrapped her arms around the seated Yulei, rubbing her face along the girl's calm face.

  Yulei, used to her antics, lifted her right hand and patted Hilda's head. "Indeed, long time, though it has only been 4 days." Her rexed voice helped calm Hilda's brador-esque demeanour.

  "What is it this time?! Chocote pudding? Souffle? Or the legendary-! Triple-yered-! Melted butter-! Syrup-!"

  Hilda spun around Yulei:

  "Pancakes!!!" And shouted with her loudest voice.

  Greed and gluttony oozed from her eyes, which dripped with ravenous hunger as she gred at the patisserie desserts on the dining table. Instead of the usual set of foods prepared for lunch, Yulei's table was filled with practically nothing but desserts.

  Perhaps only the fluffy, white-bread cream and strawberry sandwiches could count as 'food'.

  While Yulei was stuck dealing with the dog's antics, Lily and I walked onto the gazebo with vastly different eyes.

  Lily continuously sighed with little twitches in her lips as she held herself back from turning Hilda upside down with another session of discipline.

  On the other hand...

  Who cares.

  I couldn't care any less than I already do, which is zero.

  Instead, I was staring at Yulei's seat.

  At the thing I had missed during yesterday's breakfast.

  A wheelchair.

  My eyes slid across Yulei's slender legs, then her body, before nding on her eyes. She was looking back at me with clear, green eyes.

  Yulei tapped Hilda's hands, the ones that were still wrapped around her neck, and Hilda responded in kind and released her hold.

  Then.

  Creak...

  The wheelchair she sat upon groaned as Yulei pushed herself up. Her face scrunched up with discomfort as sharp pain seemingly rushed through her body.

  And.

  "Phew..."

  She stood up.

  Shaky, but standing.

  "It is an honour to have this opportunity, Lady Alora of Light." Csping the hem of her verdant, puffy dress, she bowed.

  I wanted to open my mouth, to respond, to speak...

  But.

  She too.

  I no longer looked her in the eye but at the quivering legs, at the pilrs attempting to hold together the fragile girl.

  A victim.

  "...Nice to meet you, too."

  Pausing to catch my breath:

  "You can sit back down."

  Yulei smiled, and with her gentle, all-caring voice:

  "Thank you, Lady Alora of Light." She sat down, comfortably tucking her dress under her bottom as she did so.

  Lily beckoned for Hilda to pull my seat out, and to Yulei's amusement...

  "B, but the pancake-!"

  A fist rose.

  "The pan..."

  It almost descended.

  "Y, yes Lady dummy!"

  Hilda teleported to my side and 'gracefully' pulled the chair out with a bring screech. Hilda stepped behind the chair with a pout, and I accepted her offer and sat down.

  ...Or, well, hopped onto the chair; I'm so short.

  But I digress.

  Then, she pushed me in and stood back beside Lily.

  All of us could see the drool dripping from her mouth as she stared at the food with her eyes.

  "I'll have the servants pack some for you, Hilda."

  "Yay!" She bounced on the spot-

  And then Lily grabbed her nape and shoved her back to earth, "Stop it."

  "...Nay..."

  With Lily and Hilda silent and the maid beside Yulei also quiet, it was just the two of us.

  But, it would be a slightly different situation than the breakfast from yesterday. The dining etiquette required of you changes depending on the situation.

  In a scenario where there are multiple people of lower stature, more than there are of higher stature, such as yesterday, then those of higher stature may not be involved in the situation until they have finished eating.

  On the other hand, in a one-on-one scenario, the situation is dictated by the higher-up, the one with more authority.

  And it all depends on how the meal is begun.

  If the meal is begun without the higher-up producing noise, and by that it means keeping the cutlery off the pte, only the other person may speak until you finish eating.

  If, instead, noise is produced by tapping the dish at the beginning of the meal, it means permission has been granted for free talk.

  Yes, it's annoying.

  Yes, it's quite pompous and exaggerated.

  But that's the etiquette.

  Plus.

  The method chosen matters.

  If method 1 is selected, the no-speaking method, it subtly reveals that you're funting your power and authority.

  In the scenario of method 2, it creates a more neutral and friendly environment.

  It's unnecessarily complicated.

  So, I immediately picked up the fork that was too big for my fat, tiny fingers and stabbed it into my empty pte:

  Cng!

  Yulei gnced at me with intrigue, her crystal green eyes sparkling. "Thank you, Lady Alora of Light."

  Faintly smiling, Yulei thanked me for making this choice.

  "...No worries."

  A period of silence passed as we picked up food to consume. I selected the cream and mango sandwich...

  Oh my...

  This looks so good...

  Gulping saliva, I cut the sandwich into dice with my knife and fork, gently raised the bottom half of my mask, then stuffed a piece into my mouth. The fresh cream melted onto my tongue with an explosion of fruity mango fvour.

  Delicious.

  But as I consumed the food, a very subtle feeling arose.

  It spread from the tingling in my toes, up my slender calves and through to my hips and waist. Finally, it settled in my chest, right above my heart.

  This sense of...

  ...

  Loss.

  I've lost what I used to be.

  I hated mangos and cream.

  I despised eating sandwiches with knives and forks.

  I disliked white bread and preferred brown bread.

  ...But not anymore.

  I like it now.

  I prefer it.

  This thing...

  Is it even me anymore?

  "Do you like it?" Yulei asked.

  ...

  I know.

  ...

  There's only one answer.

  ...

  "Yes."

  "Great! Mango and cream is my favourite, but you should try the pancakes as well. The syrup drizzled on them is infused with a secret ingredient-"

  Yulei's calm expression disappeared once she had the opportunity to go on a tangent about her desserts. Her eyes lit up, and her smile was wider than ever, crinkling the sides of her eyes.

  "-Ah."

  Her mouth hesitated as she came to a realisation. "Sorry. I spoke out of line." Still seated, she bowed her head to me.

  "No-"

  "No! You! Didn't!"

  And she's back at it again.

  "Mango and cream is-!"

  Thud!

  Hilda's outburst paused.

  ...crack.

  And I swear I heard a crack come from her skull this time around.

  "Apologies, Lady Alora, Miss Yulei, this apprentice still has much to learn. I shall be right back." Lily grabbed the nape of Hilda's clothing, picked her up like a cat, then promptly exited the vicinity.

  ...

  "Ahem!"

  Yulei cleared her throat.

  "Shall we continue?"