Chapter 5: Chapter 5:

After ringing my bell and calling the maids back to get me dressed, I walk down towards the entrance of the mansion marveling at how big it was. The lively repeating wallpapers paired with the gorgeous designs of the pillars supporting the house were a sight to behold. The birch wood matched the color theme of this place and made it look bright. Maybe even… holy. And that lining on the walls, was that… gold? Like, pure gold? Nah, no way. I bet it’s just a lustrous yellow ribbon or something. Cynthia brushed my shoulders, floating towards the ceiling once again.

“Hey, hey, look at this!” She exclaims and immediately shows off a somersault and then flips multiple times in the air. “Since I’ve become a spirit and can’t really feel pain, look how flexible I’ve gotten! I can do, like, ten backflips in a row! This is amazing!”

I laugh as an answer to her excitement. Well, it’s nice to see her having some fun and positivity after everything that’s been going on. It feels kind of strange to see Cynthia so lively after seeing her depressed just a few moments ago, but Cynthia’s always been the optimistic kind. It gives me a sense of ease too. Giving a small smile, I make my way toward the front door.

“Lady Adeline, where are you headed?”

I turn around to face the butler. That’s right. I’ve almost forgotten that I’m a noble. He must be wondering if I’m headed off of the mansion's property. If I am, then I would need an escort. This might get a little annoying.

“I am just headed to the library down by the plaza. There is no need to fret.” I reply earnestly. Sensing how familiar I was with the library, Lady Adeline must have been down to the library many times before without any trouble, so maybe I can get off the hook this time.

“My Lady, as humble servants of his Lord, the Viscount of Ordelia, we are to assure his daughter’s safety at all times. I will assign a guard to escort you to the library.”

Darn it. There goes my chance to talk to Cynthia when we go walking. 

… Wait a minute, did he just say the daughter of a Viscount?! I turn to Cynthia and our eyes meet. I can practically read her mind. We just found another piece of information!

… But are daughters of the Viscount supposed to have enough money for a giant chandelier and a huge room? It seemed quite… excessive. Like it was fit for a king. Maybe an emperor, maybe? Was Adeline loved a lot by her parents in the past? I search through my memories and find nothing. I guess I only remember things if the original body had particular feelings for it.

“So Adeline was the daughter of a Viscount…” Cynthia mutters to herself. She has her hand on her chin once again. I give a small nod directed towards her, but also towards the butler. He bows and orders a maid to fetch two guards.

“Shall I prepare a carriage for you as well?” He asks.

“No, no, please don’t. I would like to get some fresh air.” 

The butler makes a surprised expression as if he didn’t think I would object, but after muttering something along the lines of, “She has been inside for a while…” He nods. 

“Very well. Please wait as the escorts shall arrive within a minute.”

I sigh in defeat. Well, I don’t want the Butler to stick around any longer and since I have some stuff to discuss with Cynthia, I flick my hand once, “Alright. You are excused.” 

He takes a single bow and leaves.

“Ugh, this sucks,” I say as soon as he’s gone from my sight. “I hope they don’t follow us into the library. We need some private time there.”

“I think we’ll be alone. They’ll probably understand that it’s kind of awkward to study with two people standing right behind you,” replies Cynthia. 

Well, but, if they do have my safety as their first priority, they probably wouldn’t completely leave us alone. But I’m sure I’d be able to convince them somehow since Adeline doesn’t remember anything about her knight escorts in the library… Unless she snuck out in those times? Ugh, this was stressing me out. Maybe I should stop worrying about every little thing.

The two escorts arrive, and we leave the mansion. I did consider taking a carriage, but the library isn’t far. Although the first part was a little rocky, it was still a nicely paved path. 

Geez, really, how much money does this place have? Are we sure our economy’s okay? Anyways, my point is that it was easy to walk to the nearby city that connected to the library even when our property was huge and there were nothing but fields and a couple of trees between us. 

Still, it would be nice to get some fresh air after everything that’s happening. A little break to clear our heads. 

I look back at Cynthia, I can’t stop doing that for some reason. Maybe it’s just my constant worrying and because I just somewhat want to check on her at all times. She has been turned into a spirit and got pulled into a different place through a mirror in one day, so I was wondering if she was feeling a little down. Well, my worry was for nothing. She’s hitching a ride on one of the guards with her legs hanging in front of his face. She notices me and sends a peace sign. I shoot her a disgusted look. She is having way too much fun with this. 

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I notice that one of the guards looks nervous. Whoops, he must have thought that I was glaring at him. I quickly turn my head back around and focus on making my way to the library. We head towards the center of the plaza, where a massive fountain resides. I look up at it, mesmerized by the stonework. 

The sculptor did a really good job making the statue. I think to myself. I don’t remember ever caring enough to have a look at it. Well, since it was me in this girl’s body now, I could start doing things a little differently, I guess.

Oh, right, I should stop wasting time and quickly go to the library. We have to find more information-

“ADELIA!”

I turn around and see Cynthia flying towards me with a terrified expression, but… for me? She crashes into me and we both fall to the ground. I just about yell at her until I shift my eyes to the right. A huge tree branch had just fallen right where I was standing… No, it can’t even be called a branch, it’s almost as big as my whole body. Maybe even a couple of inches more! I never noticed the shadow looming above me until she pushed me out of the way. A million thoughts run through my head but I can’t choose one to focus on. But… what would have happened to me if I didn’t move? As a spirit, we were basically invincible and couldn’t feel pain, but now I could wholeheartedly feel the desperation of humans, being cautious of nearly everything.

But a human wouldn’t die just because of a tree branch, would they?

They weren’t that fragile… weren’t they…?

I wasn’t… no…

“... We almost died,” I whisper under my breath. Even with no experience of this thing called ‘life’, I can, even just barely, fathom that what I faced right now was nearly my demise. My head snaps up as the realization hits me like a truck. “OH MY GOD, I ALMOST DIED!”

“ADELIA YOU ALMOST DIED! OH MY GOD!” Cynthia yells back. Her breathing’s rushed and shaky and she’s on the floor, grabbing onto my dress. Well, more like placing her hands on it. She’s shaking a lot. Or am I the one shaking? I don’t know. My head hurts and my ears are ringing and I can’t concentrate and it hurts, what the hell?

“How- Um-” I try to form a sentence, but all that comes out are incoherent mumbles of rushed words. I look up at my surroundings and notice that this has caused quite a commotion. Civilians have gathered around the fountain to see what just happened. 

“Lady Adeline! Are you alright?!” Yells one of the escorts. So much for these ‘guards’. The only one who actually did anything was Cynthia. If she didn’t realize sooner… 

I stand up and brush the dirt off my dress while Cynthia just stares at me, her eyes still shocked. There’s a scratch on my arm but it’s not really visible and It’s not bleeding too much, so I decide I’ll have to worry about it later.

“Yes, I’m alright.” I start. It sounds a bit wobbly, I take a deep breath and put all my strength into my voice, “I’m alright. I’m not injured. It’s just that I am a little shaken up by the event.” I look around at the public. They’re whispering amongst themselves, but not quietly. I can hear everything that they’re saying.

“How could a tree branch of that size fall onto the middle of the plaza?”

“There are no trees around here that are as big as that. How is it possible?”

“It almost looked as if it was targeting Lady Adeline. Perhaps a witch has a grudge?”

“A witch? Those have to be stories… right?”

“Is she… cursed…?”

I need to diffuse the situation. At this rate, I’ll be the major talk of the town. I can’t have the civilians thinking that I’ve been targeted by a witch if that’s even possible.

“Some very heavy wind probably carried the branch towards the plaza, and I was unlucky enough to be the one it had the chance of falling upon. I am glad that no one else has been injured.” I say without stuttering. The words come naturally. The air around the plaza becomes less tense. Maybe worrying about the civilians removed their thoughts of me being a bad person. I glance at Cynthia, and it seems she’s composed herself too. She spares a look at me and gives a small smile showing her relief before her eyes shift and she starts thinking again.

“We should be on our way now,” I say to the guards. I don’t know what prompted this situation, but hearing the civilians’ cries, I can’t blame the guards. They were looking out for bad people, not for magically appearing branches. I flick my finger and they practically jump in surprise. I guess they know that normally they would have been excused from their job, or even executed. I know I shouldn’t be lenient for a threat to my life, but I just smile. I’ll keep this a secret for now until I find out what’s really happening. They nod with blatant relief on their face and direct me towards the library, staying closer behind than ever before. For the entire way, Cynthia and I keep looking up for incoming falling branches.

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