NOVPUBEarly in the morning, Tilan woke from her sleep and checked the time; it was right around 7 AM.
"Aih, so punctual," she thought to herself as she glanced out the window. It was shortly after dawn, and the sky was gloomily overcast.
Sitting up slowly, Tilan still felt a bit drowsy. She could have gone back to sleep if she wanted to, but then again today was... wait, it should be the weekend, no classes.
With that thought, Tilan felt her blanket and lay down again, pulling the blanket up over her.
The warmth of the bed is so comfortable, might as well sleep a bit more.
She closed her eyes, and the young girl drifted back to sleep. By the time she woke up again, it was past 9 AM.
Rubbing her eyes and tossing aside the blanket, she put on her slippers and walked to the window. She opened the partially drawn curtains wider, revealing the view outside completely.
The sky remained overcast, a cool breeze rustled through the tree tops, causing the branches to sway. The cool air breezed through the opened window into the room, refreshing and awakening the senses.
It looks like rain, Tilan thought.
Since moving to the surface in high school, she had gradually gained the experience to predict rain from the nippy breeze and overcast skies.
Feeling inexplicably better, Tilan walked into the small room adjacent to her bedroom, her wardrobe. On one side of the room, a variety of clothes hung in a cabinet: comfortable casual dresses, formal wear suitable for official events, and school uniforms provided by the Academy, among others.
Tiptoeing and lightly touching the ground, she glanced over these clothes, pondering what to wear for the day.
Some of these clothes she had bought herself, but many were directly gifted from partners. By wearing them, she effectively advertised their brands, hence there was no charge.
This set will do, she decided, selecting a goose-yellow dress adorned with a bit of deep aqua ribbon around the neckline and hem. It looked youthful and energetic, the deep aqua ribbon provided a subtle constraint that prevented the yellow from being too frivolous. They complemented each other nicely.
She seldom wore yellow clothes, not because of any bias, but because during high school, the style of Edith Academy was mainly dark blue and black. As a representative and Songstress of the academy, the color scheme of her attire for public appearances was often influenced by this, whereas Saint Yingo favored a golden yellow color scheme.
After changing, Tilan picked out a comfortable pair of strappy sandals and put them on before leaving the bedroom.
"Good morning, Lady Ti Lan," two True Red maids were already waiting outside, their uniforms still predominantly red-and-black, accented with dark red rose decorations on the skirts.
"Morning," Tilan responded, her gaze sweeping across the corridor, noting that Geyin's room was still closed.
"Is Geyin up yet?"
"Miss Geyin has not woken up yet," one maid answered. She blinked her true red eyes, slightly expectant.
"Should we wake Miss Geyin?"
"Not for now, but if she isn't up by 11, then wake her," Tilan shook her head, feeling that Geyin must have stayed up late again last night.
Descending the stairs, she entered a small hall that served as a study. One wall was lined with numerous books, a comfortably sized space; it wasn't as grand and spacious as the main hall, but it felt more lived-in, which is why Tilan liked it so much.
"Breakfast will be ready in about ten minutes," a maid reported.
"No hurry," Tilan was not impatient, just leaning back on the light grey fabric sofa, watching the grass outside rustled by the wind, thinking the rain would start soon.
"Open the window a bit, let's get some fresh air in."
"Of course," a maid cheerfully walked over, opening one side of the window slightly, then securing it. The process was deft and quiet.
The young girl who watched the process with curiosity asked, 𝘯𝘰𝑣𝘱𝑢𝘣.𝑐𝑜𝑚
"Have you been trained? You move so quietly, as if there's no sound at all."
"A bit of training, but it's not difficult to achieve," the maid beside her replied.
"Our shoes have been outfitted with silencers, so they don't easily make noise. Also, we have had quite a bit of combat-related training, which includes content on silent infiltration."
"Infiltration, that's something a maid should learn?" Tilan was slightly surprised.
"Yes, in the ancient palaces, close lady's maids often acted as a lady's second-in-command, helping to deal with various issues, including but not limited to ensuring safety, scrutinizing financial accounts, gathering intelligence, and so on."
"Wait a second, when you talk about ancient palaces, are you referring to the True Red Empire of the First Age?" From her quality historical education, she remembered that during the Mercury Dynasty in the Second Age, most of the time was spent at war and those Necromancers didn't pay much attention to such matters. In the Third Age, except for the vast courts of Verdant Empire, the other nations of the Snow Flower Seven Kingdoms didn't have such large palace staffs.
"Yes, our Blood Clan originated during the True Red Empire era. Back then, to adapt to the practice of the Demon Sequence, the ruling witches made many modifications, and that's how we were born. However, early Blood Clan members had many deficiencies and the population was not particularly large."
"I've heard about it. At that time, the True Red Empire also modified many Magical Beasts, preparing them for war to combat the endless armies of the Beastmen Empire." Tilan recalled the Harmonizing Witch, Edwina; she was especially good at this, and even in the Third Age, many of the Dragon Species of Oz Country were born of her hands.
"Breakfast is here."
As Tilan was recalling history, another maid brought in her breakfast. It included two freshly baked egg tarts, milk, four slices of bread, two slices of red sausage, and five green grapes. It was quite rich but not excessive in quantity.
