Chapter 10: Chapter 10: Adelia’s POV

“Lady Adeliiinnneee!~” The head maid sings. I let a small sigh escape from my lips, and Cynthia does the same, although she’s a lot more dramatic. “I just remembered the spring festival is next week! I need to know if you would like to go so that I can inform your father.” 

“The spring festival?” I mutter to myself. What was that again? I put my hand to my chin and think about it for a moment. Memories of the festival come rushing back from when Adeline was a child. The flowers and food stalls in the daytime, with sparkling fireworks at night. I recall the joy and laughter of the other children and the smell of all the freshly made food and sparkling jewelry.

“I would love to go! I appreciate the reminder, Isabel!” I wave at her as she nods and goes back inside. Once we hear the soft footsteps fade, Cynthia claps her hands excitedly.

“A festival?! That sounds like so much fun! I wonder what it would be like?”

“Lady Adeline has lots of memories from all the festivals, but what stands out in particular about this festival is the incredible amount of flowers. Like, even more than in this garden.” I tilt my head back. A gentle breeze sways the leaves as I reminisce. “It’s one of her favorite festivals, since there are a bunch of magic shows involving flowers, and as we’ve already figured out, Adeline seems to love anything that reminds her of her fantasy novels.” I say, turning towards Cynthia. 

“If the festival involves flowers so much, why don’t they just call it the flower festival?” She asks as she crosses her arms. “It seems like all you really remember from this festival is the number of flowers.”

“I think the reason they call it the ‘Spring Festival’ is because of the merchandise sold, which were made and traded mostly during the spring in the past.” I try to recall some of Adeline’s memories, and luckily, they actually come back to me this time. Festivals must have been a big part of Adeline’s life, so they left lasting effects. If only recalling other memories or information that Adeline had was this easy.

“Anyways,” I continue. “They sell a lot of spring related things, such as patterned teapots, birdhouses, watering cans, and more. Though the thing people like about this festival the most is the huge sale of floral dresses and new spring crops that have just been harvested, along with the sale of flower seeds and important herbs from across the continent! Plus, there’s-”

“Yup! Ok! I get the idea.” Cynthia frantically says. I can practically see the steam coming from her head. I side-eye her. I mean, for a person who could memorize the whole periodic table in a one-hour study session, she sure ran out of brain capacity quickly. Well, she was the type to suck at mental math, after all.

“This festival’s actually pretty nice. Even the commoners are treated better since everyone’s in high spirits. Not to mention everyone can enjoy the fireworks.” I say. Cynthia’s face lights up. 

“That’s good!” She says, sitting down on the bench beside me. “We should treat some of them to the food we buy since we’re basically the rich kids in this world.”

“Yup, but we should probably watch out for pickpockets. They usually take advantage of the mesmerizing fireworks to steal some noble’s wallets.” I say, giggling at the time when Adelia’s older sister’s cotton candy got stolen from right under her nose. 

I give Cynthia an extremely serious look. “Now that leads to my most important task. I need you to watch my back while I enjoy them, okay?”

“Yeah, yeah- Wait, what?! That’s not fair! I wanna see the fireworks too-” She whines before she stops in the middle of her sentence, “Wait a minute, we’re going way off topic! Aren’t we supposed to be talking about volunteering?!” 

Cynthia nods to herself and puts her hand under her chin again, “Yeah. Isn’t a festival the perfect time to be volunteering? We, or you, I guess, could help out with some things. Maybe like setting up flowers and checking the stalls or something.” 

“That’s a good idea! I’ll go ask one of the butlers to see if I can volunteer to help.” I get up from my seat and head towards the door. Cynthia follows behind me. 

Where would I be able to find the head butler at a time like this? I think for a moment, trying to search through Adeline’s memories. Yep, nothing. She doesn’t even have a single memory of him, but I feel chills whenever I think of him. Maybe… Adeline was scared of him? I don’t understand why though. 

“Lady Adeline? You look troubled, somehow. Are you in need of assistance?” 

Speak of the devil.

I turn around and internally laugh nervously. Well, here’s my chance to ask.

“Hello Oliver.” I say with a wry, somewhat forced smile. Yeah, Adeline was definitely scared of him. There’s this eerie feeling around him that I can’t really get a hold of… Anyways, back on topic. “I was wondering if there was anything I could do to help with the spring festival. It would be nice if I could help out with such a big event. I don’t mind if the work is minor.”

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“How thoughtful of you Lady Adeline.” He chuckles. A chill runs down my spine. “Regrettably, I must inform you since there is no need for your assistance. The festival preparations are all being taken care of under the Lord’s order.” He pauses for a second. Maybe I could help with something different? Like maybe making flower arrangements or something-

“Oh, and the flowers are all being taken care of by His Lord’s dear friend. He is a very skilled florist. You need not worry.” He gives me a shallow bow with a weird glint in his eyes. Cynthia scowls at him. He really doesn’t want me to help with anything huh. I need to find something I can-

“Oh be quiet, you!” Isabel appears behind the head butler and smacks him across the back of his head with her hand. “Hahaha! He’s just concerned for your well-being, Lady Adeline. He just has difficulty expressing his emotions, and comes off very awkward.” Awkward? More like terrifyingly suspicious. Although… Since Isabel can just hit him like that, maybe I had no reason to be scared?

I glance at Oliver who’s glaring at Isabel with murderous intent. Or at least, that’s what it looks like. I quickly turn my head. Yeah, I’m pretty sure this isn’t just a misunderstanding. And if it is, I feel like he should start practicing more natural facial expressions. Honestly, it would be kind of sad if it was just an expression problem. Misunderstandings suck, you know.

“Anyways, I do have some suggestions if you would like to involve yourself with the community.” She gives me a kind smile. Thank goodness for Isabel. Wait a minute, where did she even appear from- Ugh never mind.

“Yes, do tell,” I say with some excitement. Still, I’m glad she’s reliable.

“Of course! Alright, I heard that one of the town’s most admired group of tailors is having trouble with preparations for thefestival. They have a tight deadline ahead of them since there are barely two weeks before the festival starts. They need as much help as they can get.” Isabel shrugs. “I remember that you are well accustomed to sewing and dressmaking, so perhaps you can demonstrate your abilities there.” 

Sewing huh? That’s not a bad choice. I’m no stranger to sewing since I was the one who taught Cynthia when she wanted to know how in the other world. Surprisingly, unlike most of the things Cynthia attempted to do, sewing was the one she was able to stay interested in. 

“Sure, I’ll take it. I may even learn a thing or two.”

“Perfect. I will inform the tailor that you are willing to assist.”

Isabel quickly scurries off, dragging Oliver by the leg. She stops and turns around, shouting, “You will most likely be working two days from now, so please rest well until then, Young Miss!”

I wave goodbye to her. As soon as she disappears around the corner, I let out a huge sigh. All the tension I’ve built up from meeting Oliver has immediately gone away. I didn’t realize I was holding my breath for the entire time Isabel wasn’t there. 

“What’s with that guy… Oliver right? He’s kind of giving off…” Cynthia shudders. “Just… Some bad vibes.” 

“You can say that again. I think he and Isabel are siblings, with him being the youngest. Luckily she was there to ease the tension.” I put my hand on my chin. “I have no idea how Isabel can define his behavior as awkwardness though. Well, I guess siblings ​do know each other better than others would.” 

I start heading back to my bedroom. It would be nice to have some private time to think about things, and also to be able to talk to Cynthia without any of the maids catching me ‘talking to myself’. Cynthia floats behind me.

“Okay, she mentioned that you’ll be working in about two days, right?” She says as soon as I shut my bedroom door. “What do you think you’ll be doing? Like, the tasks you’ll have or whatever.” 

“Well, from what Adeline remembers from the festival’s outfits, it might be things like sewing paper flowers or stitching patterns on them. They might actually let me create the dresses themselves, but I doubt they’ll let me do something that advanced considering  they don’t know how good I am at stitching.” Or considering that they don’t know me in general. 

I jump on my bed, not even bothering to take my shoes off.

“Ohhh. That makes sense.” She says, then adds under her breath, “I hope that there’s something I can do to help…” 

I just smile at her. “In the meantime, I guess we’ll just have to wait for the fated day.”

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