I didn’t say anything else. I walked past her and ignored the fact that she was following in secret.
Outside the mansion, the garden stretched wide and green.
Flowers of every kind blood in neatly arranged beds.
Mom took care of them personally and had made learn their nas and anings too.
She liked to quiz on them.
I only really paid attention to the ones I could use for sothing later, especially poisons. Peonies wasn’t one of them.
I picked a few peonies and started searching for Seris.
She was sitting by the edge of the artificial pond, legs drawn up, sniffling quietly.
Her head was lowered, and her shoulders were trembling.
I walked over and sat next to her, setting the peonies between us.
She didn’t look at at first.
But I saw her eyes flick toward the flowers.
After a few seconds, she picked them up and hugged them to her chest.
"Those are peonies. They’re for you."
"I know about them," she muttered. "Aunty told about them. She told about all the flowers she grows."
"She did?" I thought, a little surprised.
I didn’t think Seris paid that much attention.
She always ran around and played, but apparently, she’d been listening more than I gave her credit for.
"Thank you for the flowers," she said after a pause.
Her voice was quiet.
Then she turned to and asked, "Are you really going?"
I nodded.
"Can’t you stay here?" she looked at with big eyes. "Please?"
I smiled a little and shook my head.
She sniffled again and looked down.
"You’re just like Papa. You don’t care about , and you are going to leave behind. You’re a bad person! I hate you!"
"I never said I wouldn’t see you again," I said gently. "Why are you crying?"
She didn’t reply.
"We’ll still be friends. I’m just going to be away for a while, and we can still talk."
She looked at , confused.
"Huh? How?"
"We can talk on the phone. We can even send ssages. You rember the computer we play gas on, right?"
"I do." Seris nodded.
"There’s sothing called Yahuu. You can use it to talk to people even if they’re far away. I’m sure you know about it."
"I-I know Yahuu!"
She definitely didn’t. But I didn’t call her out on it.
"See, we can talk to each other whenever we want. And even if I’m leaving, we’ll always be friends. So don’t cry."
".... Will you co back to et ?" she asked.
"I will."
She stared at .
"Promise?"
"Promise."
She finally smiled.
"If you’re lying, you’ll have to swallow a thousand needles!"
"...Okay."
We ended up playing near the pond after that, and even entered the pond.
It wasn’t deep, and both of us knew how to swim.
I knew the staff wouldn’t say anything thanks to it.
Besides, Nisha was still watching from a distance, pretending she wasn’t, and with her assurance the staff let us play in the pond.
Seris started laughing again. It was a good sound. It felt like things were okay.
But when we ca back to the house, things changed quickly.
We were wet, muddy, and had bits of grass stuck to our clothes and hair.
And standing right there at the entrance, arms crossed, was Marianne.
She looked at us like a strict schoolteacher.
"M-mom." Seris tried to hide behind .
Marianne sighed.
"Co in. You both need to change."
That’s when it hit .
I’d completely forgotten what would happen if I got wet.
"No, wait—" I started.
But it was too late.
I was dragged in by both moms. My mother and Seris’ mother didn’t give a chance to resist.
Clothes were stripped, towels rubbed across my head, and a barrage of clean outfits were thrown at .
My dignity was.... shattered.
After I stopped resisting, both of them decided it was the perfect ti to start dressing and Seris up in different clothes.
Cute sweaters. Ridiculous shirts with bunnies. Matching outfits.
"You two look so cute!" Marianne cooed, snapping pictures.
"Oh! This one’s better! Smile!" my mom added.
Seris giggled the entire ti.
She thought it was the funniest thing in the world.
I tried to protest, but no one listened to .
My words were drowned in laughter, cara clicks, and the sound of my dignity crumbling. Even Yuna was smiling.
I stared at myself in the mirror.
I was wearing a pastel blue shirt with a cartoon elephant on it.
This wasn’t how I imagined my last evening here going.
And the worst part?
I knew they’d be showing these photos to everyone for years. It was going to beco my dark history.
Seris and Marianne left after a few hours.
Seris had wanted to stay overnight, but her mom reminded her we needed to pack, and they shouldn’t disturb us.
Dinner that night was warm and full of laughter.
My parents talked about travel plans, places we’d stop, and old friends they might et along the way.
I didn’t say much. I just listened while pushing food around on my plate.
Later that night, Dad ca into my room.
He didn’t knock, he never did. He just walked in and sat heavily on the bed.
"So," he said, scratching his beard. "About your birthday... I’m sorry I missed it."
"It’s fine," I said.
He chuckled at my flat tone. "Since I missed your birthday, I’m bringing you a special gift."
"It’s gold, right?" I asked.
His smile froze for a second.
"Don’t you like gold a bit too much?"
"So it’s definitely gold then," I said, pretending not to hear his question. "You said it’s a special gift."
He shook his head and laughed. "Yeah, it’s that."
He reached behind him and pulled out a big gold toy.
But then, he added in a quieter tone, "There’s sothing else. Sothing more special."
In his hand was a small, black box, no bigger than his palm.
He placed it beside and sighed.
"Since we’re going to my ho tomorrow, you should listen to Dad about a few things."
I turned to him, pretending to be curious.
"There might be people there who try to hurt you. But you don’t need to worry. I’ll protect you. And if anything happens—anything at all—you tell . Don’t keep it to yourself."
I nodded.
He smiled and ruffled my hair.
"That’s my boy. Now co on, give Papa a kiss."
I tried to pull back, but he was faster.
His beard scratched my cheek as he kissed .
"Dad, stop!" I groaned, but he just laughed harder, rubbing his beard against my face again.
"Okay, okay," he said finally, still laughing as he leaned back.
He looked at for a mont, then his voice softened. "Before we head out tomorrow, there’s sothing you need to know. Our family na isn’t Estenwald. It’s Daelthorn."
"Family na?" I repeated, acting confused like a kid.
"Yes. A family na is the second part of soone’s na. My full na is Adrian Daelthorn. Adrian is my na, Daelthorn is our family na. We’ve been using Estenwald for a reason, but that changes tomorrow."
I tilted my head. "So... I’m a Daelthorn now?"
He smiled. "Exactly."
For a brief second, I saw sadness in his eyes, but it faded before I could say anything.
He reached out and stroked my hair again.
"Also," he said with a grin, "I’ve got verrrrrry good news for my little man."
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