Haunted Duke’s Daughter

SLets send a letter to your father.

LI dont mind, but it doesnt mean hell be home.

S Hes definitely there. I assure you.

Lilia furrowed her brow slightly. Her father was in such a busy position that he wouldnt normally be there, but Sakura seemed convinced that he was. Curiously, she ordered Alisa to fetch her letterhead and pen.

Alisa quickly fetches the letterhead and pen. I used them to quickly write a letter.

I wrote three things: that I would be back tomorrow, my grades, and I also asked if I could bring a friend from a lower class noble family with me. Sakura said that it would be better to write down the grades before her friend. She said it would make me look good.

Cynthia.

Tina tilted her head at the name Lilia called. She was probably wondering why she had called the name of someone who was not here. And she was even more surprised that Cynthia had come down from the ceiling.

Can you get this to my father for me? Probably, he is at home. Get back to me as soon as you can.

Yes.

My father is very busy. Normally, it would have been an absurd order to ask her to get back to me immediately but Cynthia nodded without hesitation as if it were a simple matter.

SIn fact, its easy.

Lilia tilted her head at Sakuras words.

While she was waiting for a reply, Lilia was looking at Tinas exam papers. If she could work with Tina, she would be able to make time to teach her so she wanted to figure out what Tinas weak points were while she was at it.

After looking at everything, she discussed with Sakura and decided on her future plan. In the meantime, Cynthia came back.

Please.

I look over the letter that Cynthia gave me.

SExcited.

LYou dont have to put every single thing into words. Lets see.

Thank you for your letter, my dear daughter. I was so happy when I received the letter from Lilia.

LIll skip it.

SI feel sorry for your father, hes trying to show his love for you! Skip it!

LWhats the matter with you?

With a wry smile, I looked at the last of the three sheets of mail. My cheeks tightened, but I looked down at the last sentence. In short, it said, Friends are welcome, even common people, bring them along.

SThere are people everywhere who change their personalities when it comes to letters and stuff, but Ive never seen anyone so different.

LI didnt know that, either. I didnt even want to know.

In Lilias mind, her father was a very strict man. How could he have written such a letter to her? To be honest, she was a little disillusioned and could only hope that he is more normal in his letters to other people, especially at work.

SDont worry. Its only for Lilia.

LHow can you be so sure?

SSecret.

It seems that she doesnt want to answer me. It doesnt bother me that much because its always the same.

I moved my gaze from the letter to Tina and she was staring at me with a somewhat nervous look on her face.

Father has given his permission. He says youre welcome.

Really? Im so happy!

She smiles brightly and I was stunned to see her so happy. Alisa and Cynthia were smiling as they looked at us, and I wondered how we looked.

Then again, you should have told me this a long time ago. Why so last minute?

I couldnt tell you because I thought it would bother you.But I also thought that Lilia might be able to help, and while I was worrying about it, the exam was over.

She smiled shyly and Lilia sighed in exasperation.

Do you really want to come to my house that badly?

When I jokingly asked her that, Tina unexpectedly nodded with a serious expression. When Lilia rolled her eyes, Tina said while looking embarrassed again.

Its just a longing, though. Ive always wanted to go to a friends house just once.

Youre exaggerating. Im sure you have friends in the town where you live.

Ive had a few, but I couldnt go out with them.

As she said this, Tina lowered her eyes sadly. It made no sense to Lilia. Even though they hadnt known each other very long, she thought of Tina as a social butterfly.

Unless she is forcing herself to pretend to be something she is not when she comes to the school, at least Lilia feels that Tina always acts naturally. With Tinas personality, its not like she doesnt have any friends.

When I tilted my head inwardly, not knowing the answer, Sakura told me, as usual.

SLilia. You know how the barons are viewed by the common people, dont you?

LUpstarts, right? I know that much.

SWould you want to invite a child from an upstart family into your home?

Lilia answered immediately to that question.

LI dont think thats a problem.

SHa-ha-ha. Yeah. Its good that you feel that way, Lilia. But, unfortunately, most people dont.

L-Is that so? Thats extreme.

Yeah. Even I, as an understanding adult, wouldnt want to get involved with her. Because even though shes a baron, shes still a respectable nobleman. If something happens to her and she gets hurt, itll be a big problem, and if Im not careful, Ill be suspected. The common people dont like barons, thats the only reason. If thats the case, its better to stay out of it from the start.

I see, Lilia nodded.

Of course, some people might have other reasons, and some might invite people into their homes without any concern for such things. But unfortunately, there was probably no one like that around Tina.

Youve never played with friends or visited them before?

I did but she stopped coming after her parents found out.

LWhat a pain in the ass. I dont know what shes worried about.

SI dont know whats bothering you, but you cant help it. So dont get angry.

LIm not mad at you.

I take a deep breath to calm myself down. Sakura laughs at me, saying that Im still angry, but I ignore her.

Im not going to worry about that. Come to my room tomorrow when youre ready.

Okay. Thank you, Lilia.

Unable to look directly at Tinas smile, Lilia gently turned her gaze away.