--------[3 years later]--------

A soft melody was dancing in the air, trailing out from the open windowsill on the first floor of House Corbet.

"Is milady singing again?" One of the maids asked. The maids usually hung the clothes in the early morning and were chatting while they were on their way to the courtyard.

"I believe so," the maid next to her replied with a smile. At first, she asked if milady were speaking strange words, but she simply laughed it off. To the people working in the House Corbet, they eventually have gotten used to her singing antics.

"It's such a strange tune...I've never heard it before," the maid pondered, "but the song sounds so fun and energetic that it makes me want to dance along."

They all nodded in agreement.

--------

Meanwhile, Adelina was reading a book in the library. This time, it was about the geography of the entire world.

She hummed the melody of a pop song randomly while flipping the page.

"Milady, you should be more careful when you're singing. This is a place nobles of other families can visit." Mary said in a worried tone, "People won't think too well if they spotted a noble lady so relaxed."

Adelina looked up from the page she was reading and smiled. "That's why you're here Mary, you know I can always count on you."

"Milady..." At the sound of the maid's warning tone, Adelina let out a chuckle and raised her hands in surrender. "Alright, alright, I'm sorry for teasing you."

She only earned an unimpressed look from Mary.

"I believe Lady Fiona might be influencing you a bit too much."

"Maybe," she thought of her best friend's personality and smiled.

There was a sharp cry of protest, followed by multiple grunts and the sound of something metal crashing against each other.

Adelina left her seat and leaned over the window to check out the noise.

"He is practicing again," she said, looking down.

Below, there was her brother practicing sword fighting with his instructor. She watched as he attempted another swing at his teacher, his eyes flaring with determination.

Ever since the incident from three years ago, her brother started to take his health more seriously and has undergone swordsmanship training. Sometimes, when their father is free, he'll stop by the training grounds to spar with him. Given the training he received as a knight in the past, anyone would know the duke was more than qualified to do so.

The future has changed now, even if it's a small part. She didn't regret saving her brother from his death, seeing how he grew up so well.

His symptoms were much milder now and only acted up in certain seasons with occasional sneezes. Even the doctors proclaimed that it was a miracle he recovered from such a serious allergy. She wasn't sure if this was because he escaped the supposed 'fate' the author had planned for him and that messed up the timeline afterwards, but she was thankful for the opportunity given to him.

She recalled how he suddenly requested for swordsmanship lessons and stood up in the middle of dinner. "I still remember the day when brother asked for an instructor. How did he forget we were eating?" she shook her head, smiling, "He must have been too excited to notice." 

Mary followed her lady's gaze to the pair training outside. "I'm glad milord has received permission to train. Every day, he's getting stronger and stronger."

Although she didn't say it out loud, Adelina understood the meaning behind her words.

You don't have to worry like before.

"Yes," she answered, her chest swell with pride at her hardworking brother. She waved when he noticed her and called her name.

"He will be okay."

--------

After checking if she got everything she needed, Daisy was about to leave the mansion when she heard her name being called out.

"Daisy! Where are you going?" The young lady asked, walking towards her.

Daisy bent her back a little so she could reach Adelina's height. "I'm planning to go outside to run some errands."

Her green eyes lightened up. "Are you visiting the town?"

"Yes. Do you want to join me, milady?"

Daisy smiled when Adelina nodded excitedly.

"Okay, let's go after we receive madam's permission."

They arrived in town an hour later.

Holding milady's hand, Daisy accompanied her as they crossed the busy streets.

"Woah!"

When they reached the marketplace, Adelina's excitement began to show. She let go of her hand and approached the food stands, her face clearly excited from getting out of the house.

"Young miss, did you find something you like?" Someone spoke up from one of the fruit stands, presenting a friendly grin on his face when he noticed Adelina looking at his shop. "Come have a look, maybe you can find something that'll interest you."

"Hmm..."

Daisy picked up a few of the fruits he was selling and judged them carefully. "Excuse me, how much are these apples..."

Adelina didn't pay attention to the rest of their conversation, busy taking in the sight of the daily activities in town. Some were having a conversation at the stands as if they were old friends catching up, while others were out shopping in a swift manner, treating it as if there's no tomorrow. She smiled when she saw a group of children running around in the open field, playing pranks on each other as they laughed.

Despite coming here with Fiona before, one trip clearly wasn't enough for her to fully experience the other side of the town-where the citizens live. 

She was simply enjoying the moment as she observed the people roaming out on the streets.

Then, suddenly, she froze.

Her eyes locked on the blonde girl who was strolling alone in the busiest area of the marketplace. Even though the place was full of people, the whole thing felt as if she was watching that person move in slow motion.

Eleanor?

She was just looking at the person's back, but she could somehow tell it's her. It had to be.

"Milady...?" Daisy looked down to check up on Adelina after she has bought the stuff she needed. She frowned when her lady didn't reply, realizing she was acting differently from usual. "Do you feel unwell? You look pale."

"Oh...I thought I saw someone I knew," Adelina replied. When Daisy wasn't looking, she tried to search for her again, only to have lost sight of her in the crowd.

-----------

author's note:

sorry about that 'update', I wasn't done with writing haha :) I'm also planning to take a break from writing because there's a lot of school assignments piling up at the moment ;-;

Still, I hope you guys enjoyed reading it!