23. Towards the Capital (1)

Marie was aware.

That her friend Lily was an adult.

Even though her appearance was very young, there was an undeniable aura about her.

The fact that she exuded a calm and mature feeling when she kept her mouth shut was proof of that.

The problem was that the moment Lily got involved with Jane, she immediately acted like a child.

Marie, who had observed that sight up close, couldn’t help but sometimes forget Lily’s age.

Today was no different.

“Will she be alright?”

The thought of leaving Lily alone made Marie uneasy.

Of all things, it had to overlap with Master’s outing.

She wanted to just go back and watch the shop with Lily.

“No, I can’t do that.”

Marie lightly slapped her own cheeks, chap-chap.

She shook her head and steadied her breathing.

The appointment she had today was a very, very important one that Marie alone could not break, nor could she afford to break.

She couldn’t just return to the shop out of worry.

Marie, recalling where she was headed, let out a sigh.

“Huu….”

And she forced herself to start moving her heavy steps.

***

The residential area where Fairy’s Playground was located.

Marie, having left that place, arrived in the Central District where the capital’s nobles resided.

And finally, she arrived at a certain mansion.

Compared to the surrounding buildings, it was a truly magnificent building that clearly looked newly built.

Marie, looking at the emblem engraved with a bouquet of roses, carefully knocked on the door.

-Knock knock knock

‘One, two, three.’

After the three seconds she counted in her mind passed, a neatly dressed servant opened the door.

“Greetings, Marie-nim.”

“Oh, oh, hello!”

A polite attitude that was truly hard to get used to.

Could she really receive such treatment?

Marie’s flustered voice came out strangely off-key.

However, the servant, without a change in expression, guided Marie into the mansion.

“This way.”

A luxurious maid uniform with a clean white and gray color scheme.

Marie, who had been observing the servant’s back for a moment, unconsciously clenched her fist.

Calluses still remained on her palms.

That neat attire used to be something she greatly envied.

But now?

Lily’s kindness, Jane’s mercy.

A feast of all sorts of rare things she had never experienced before.

Her benefactors, who lived simply, had gladly welcomed her, who had suddenly come to live with them.

“Huu.”

She sighed, trying to relax.

But Marie’s shoulders were still heavy.

“The Madame is waiting.”

“Yes, yes!”

A grand mansion where the number of servants she had just glimpsed exceeded ten.

The reason Marie had arrived here was to receive private lessons.

-Click

“Madame.”

“Welcome, Marie. I’ve been waiting for you.”

A regular at Fairy’s Playground, and Archmage Jane’s business partner.

A strong woman who led the family’s business in place of the Baron, who had difficulty with his legs.

Baroness Rosefield welcomed Marie warmly.

Marie politely bowed her head to the Madame who had greeted her warmly.

She was a noble person who would be her tutor today.

“We’ll start the lesson right away. Take the documents on that table and follow me.”

“Yes!”

“Your task for the day is simple. Follow me around, and observe and experience with your own eyes how I speak and how I handle people.”

The Madame, who had stood up, turned around with leisurely steps.

“I don’t really have a talent for teaching anyone. So, learning something is up to you.”

“Yes! Please take good care of me!”

Marie, having heard the Madame’s explanation, bowed again.

And as she slowly raised her head, she was startled.

The Madame, who had approached closely, pointed a finger right in front of Marie’s nose.

“Huk!”

“Remember this. Too much can be poison.”

“Pardon?”

“It means don’t be servile. Even if you are a commoner, you are a talent recommended by none other than Lord Batory.”

“Recommended…”

“And now you are also Baroness Rosefield’s disciple. So there’s no need to grovel like you just did.”

There was an inexplicable power in the Madame’s gentle voice.

Marie thought that power was the charisma Lily had spoken of.

Her shoulders, which had been hunched since the moment she entered the grand mansion, straightened up.

Her eyes, which had been constantly looking at the floor, now looked straight at the person in front of her.

Marie resolved.

That she would repay the kindness she received from Lily and Jane.

Flower Garden.

From a hell that was beautiful on the outside but rotten to the core.

To help her benefactors who had saved her, she first had to study hard.

Marie bowed to the Madame once more.

“Please take good care of me.”

Her voice no longer trembled.

“Hmm, now I like it a bit more.”

***

“Heo-eoeo….”

The time when the sun was slowly setting.

Marie’s steps became hurried as curfew would begin soon.

“Heu-eoeo.”

Baroness Rosefield’s lessons were extremely arduous.

Even though it was just following her around.

The Madame’s schedule itself was incredibly packed.

“Such lessons, now three times a week…”

Marie’s vision went dark.

But her heart was filled with more hope than ever.

Marie, having arrived in front of the shop, knocked on the next-door neighbor’s door despite the late hour.

“Ah, Marie noona.”

“Hans.”

“Please wait a moment.”

The child next door who seemed to be growing rapidly these days, as if he had reached a growth spurt.

Marie, who had unconsciously compared him to Lily, shook her head.

“Here it is.”

“Thank you. Please tell Auntie as well.”

“Yes~.”

Marie, having received the dinner prepared by the Next-door Aunt, took a deep breath in front of the shop door.

Master and Lily’s quiet quarrel had, unknowingly, affected those around them.

The basket she was holding now was also something the Auntie, having heard the news, had specially prepared with her skill.

“Huu. Alright.”

The gloomy atmosphere was truly difficult.

But Marie, entering the shop, deliberately greeted them with a bright voice.

“I’m home!”

“Marie! Welcome back!”

In the center of the shop, the girl who had been slumped over the table suddenly lifted her head.

Lily, whose forehead was red from where she had rested it, welcomed Marie.

“Oh?”

Contrary to her expectations, Lily’s voice was very bright.

Her cheeks were a bit red, which was strange, but she seemed to be in a much better mood.

“Oh, oh?”

Her mind, overloaded from the day’s intense work, couldn’t keep up with the current situation.

Regardless, Lily, who had checked the basket Marie brought, smiled widely.

“Master-nim! It’s dinner time! Please come up quickly!”

“Uh, um, Lily?”

Marie hesitated, calling out to the girl who was snatching the basket from her.

Lily, who had tilted her head, subtly averted her gaze.

And she awkwardly revealed the truth.

“Ah, well, you see. Master-nim and I made up earlier today.”

“I-I see.”

It felt anticlimactic, making her worries seem pointless.

Lily carefully apologized to the dumbfounded Marie.

“I’m sorry for making you feel awkward.”

Lily twisted her body, expressing her embarrassment with her whole being.

Seeing that, Marie felt like she could gladly offer one of her kidneys due to the explosion of cuteness.

(For reference, the fact that you have two kidneys and won’t die if one is removed was taught by Lily.)

“Well, if you’ve made up, that’s good. What a relief.”

Marie gently stroked Lily’s white hair, then leisurely headed towards the stairs.

Then, she suddenly noticed something strange.

“Huh?”

Lily’s usual mincing steps with her short legs seemed a little different.

“Lily, why are you walking like that?”

Lily shook her head vigorously at Marie, who had asked the question without thinking.

“Ah, that, it’s nothing.”

However, Lily’s walk was clearly strange.

She was walking hesitantly with her thighs slightly apart, as if something was stuck between her legs.

“Uh-huh?”

Looking closely, there wasn’t just one strange thing.

She had thought Lily’s cheeks were red from waking up after dozing off, but her slightly exposed nape was also red.

Moreover, she hadn’t even walked a few steps, but her breathing had become ragged.

On top of that, her waist occasionally twitched and trembled.

“Ah.”

Marie realized.

Master had done something again.

But she didn’t particularly want to ask.

Marie kept her mouth shut.

But even after that, Jane’s perverse tastes were revealed one after another.

The three people gathered to eat dinner.

Marie noticed an unfamiliar ring on Jane’s finger.

“Hmm?”

Jane also seemed to be in a very good mood.

Although, unlike Lily, her facial expression was still unreadable.

Marie mustered a little courage.

“That ring is really pretty, Master-nim.”

“Is that so? Thank you.”

A soft thank you returned, not a stiff and insincere reply.

Moreover, Jane even smiled slightly.

“Huk.”

Marie was captivated by that small change in expression.

What pulled her mind back to reality was a delicate gasp.

“Heueuk….”

Lily, who was sitting next to her, hunched her body.

“Lily? What’s wrong?”

Despite Marie’s worried question, Lily’s gaze was directed elsewhere.

“M-Master-nim… Stop it.”

“Huh? Uh-huh?”

Marie looked back and forth between Jane and Lily.

Lily twitched and trembled every time Master gently stroked the ring.

Her eyes were brimming with tears, and her flushed face was very erotic.

“Ah.”

In the end, Marie had almost fully grasped the situation.

Why Lily’s walk was strange, why Lily was feeling that way.

She didn’t know the details, but she didn’t particularly want to know.

Marie, after briefly stroking Lily’s back, returned to her seat and resumed her meal.

Because she knew very well that getting involved between the two of them would only be tiring.

“The meat is really tender.”

“Yeah, I think so too.”

“Aah, aahng….”

Jane and Marie’s relationship was like the sun to Marie.

An erotic sun that wasn’t bad for enjoying a moderate amount of lewdness, but would clearly rot her bones if she got too close.

“Huu.”

Marie sighed at the behavior of the two, who were playfully misbehaving at the dinner table.

The respect and gratitude that had filled her heart seemed to have diminished a little.

“Well, anyway, it’s a relief that you two made up.”

“Aah♡”

Marie deliberately ignored Lily, who had just orgasmed.