Chapter 8: Leena Keizer
Lilith's POV
We were all gathered in the dining hall mostly because it was the only place large enough; everyone was chattering excitedly, Nobles never visit remote villages personally, except when the said village is a popular tourist location. Our village’s hot spring bathhouse is popular among commoners, but only among commoners; it's not enough to attract a Noble. Their presence in the orphanage could only mean one thing; Adoption. Atleast that is what everyone is thinking of currently.
Being adopted by a noble means a chance for a life in the upper class of society. While most of them were excited about it, quite a few were worried that if I was the one going to be adopted. Nobody wants me to leave.
Even Reina was holding my hand tighter than usual. Don’t worry; after I ended up taking the 'Thales' family name, mom contacted the higher ups and arranged for my continued stay in the orphanage and prevent my adoption by others. Do you not know just how many people would jump at the chance to be called mommy or daddy by me?
Don’t underestimate my cuteness.
Luckily, it doesn’t seem to be an adoption, but something even more interesting.
Mom entered the hall followed by an old man with long white beard... a bishop? And the person I was interested in.
“Silence, Bishop Rhodes from the Church in Torena has graced our humble abode with his presence and wishes to convey a few words to everyone. Listen well.”
“Haha, no need for such formalities Sister Thales. Seeing the smiling faces of the children is already enough for me.” The kind old man laughed good-naturedly before turning to us.
“Little ones, today I am here to introduce a new member to everyone. Meet sister Leena.” He said before pushing the new sister to the front.
“She was a member of the Noble society and has decided to join our church shedding the burdens of material world and live with us a life of devoting everything to goddess Aaris. She is new to matters and would have difficulty fitting in, but make sure to get along. Everyone in the orphanage should be a family member to each other. She is someone you young ones can learn a lot from. While Nobles and us commoners have very low interaction, we are still part of the same society and their actions affect us and us them.”
Though he took the effort to say all that, the cold and aloof expression displayed by her would only keep everyone away you know?
First impressions are important.
But everyone else leaving her alone will only make it easier for me to get close to her. Hehe.
*
*
The new sister was ostracized by everyone, no surprise there. It was dinner time and the new sister's conversation partner was an empty chair or maybe she's the type to have imaginary friends? She seemed perfectly fine with being left alone though.
But I need her for my training. I approached the table with Reina.
“Um, sister Leena, can we sit here?”
"..."
There was no reply so we took it as affirmation and sat across her.
On a closer look, Leena has light violet hair and violet eyes, the same color as my favorite flower. It gives a warm feeling, neither too hot, neither too cold. Her face has delicate features, quite pretty if only she wasn’t in such a bad mood.
“I’m Lilith and this is Reina, the orphanage has been our home for more than 10 years.”
“…”
No reply, huh?
“I helped make dinner, we made the village specialty to welcome you. It’s made by boiling the venison in herbs found only near hot springs. The travelers also have a good opinion of the dish. Do you like it?”
“…”
Still no reply...This is hard.
“Ah, did you know we also-“
“Don’t talk to me.”
“…”
Wow! This is the first time in this life I got left hanging.
My cuteness is not working on her at all!
She left after finishing her dish without saying a single word.
My first attempt ended in failure…
This will take more time, first I need to do some research into her background. If she is in a bad mood because she was exiled from noble society, then she should start opening up after some time. But if it’s not, I will need to take action from my side again.
I lack information. Need to go play with the village chief again tomorrow.
“Um… Lily? Why do you want to talk to her? She always has a scary face on. I think she doesn’t like children.”
“Because its interesting! Isn't this the first time we have seen a Noble! She is soo elegant. Also she doesn’t seem like a bad person. I have faith in my ability to judge people. Fufu.”
I puff my chest out and say proudly.
“Well… okay. Oh! Did you know I was the one who hunted the deer? I went alone without any aid and successfully put an arrow right through its eye! Mr. Mathews said that it took him 9 years to do what I did! Your sister is a genius you know! I going to become the best ranger who can strike my foes from a kilometer away, then no one would dare to ignore Lily! Hehe!”
“Wow sister Rei! You are amazing! You should tell this to Ed too, he is growing too arrogant lately. I’m worried if it would earn him another beating from Mr. Luke.”
We spent the rest of time chatting before retiring to sleep.
By the way, I’m still sleeping with mom. It’s very comfortable to bury my face in her breasts, though it doesn’t arouse any lust in me. Strange.
I’m a succubus right? Am I becoming too human?
...Or am I getting tamed?!
*
*
“Lily! You don’t visit anymore, I thought you would have already forgotten about this old bones.”
“Sorry grandpa Jones, the training is getting harder.”
“Nonsense! Lily is already the villages best healer, aren’t you”
“Hehehe”
“Here, candy I got from the town. It’s made from strawberries, very sweet.”
“Thanks grandpa!”
He pet me before placing me on his lap like usual.
“So tell me, Lily seems to want something.”
“! How did you know!?”
“Haha! How long do you think I’ve been alive for? I know everything happening in that little brain of yours.” He said before touching my nose playfully.
Of course he knows I want something from him, but I still need to act surprised.
“Mou, you know I don’t like that! Grandpa is bullying me again!”
“Hahaha”
Acting cute has become second nature to me now, though I'm worried since I'm always wearing this mask its going to end up becoming difficult to remove it. I don't show my true face to anyone here.
“… It’s about sister Leena, I can’t talk to her. She always sits alone, watching her makes me sad. What happened to her? Why did she come here? How can Lily help her?”
“Ah her, I expected this question; She is the daughter of Duke Keizer. There were some rumors about her causing some problem in the Academy in the capital. She used to be the fiancé of the crown prince, something happened, her engagement was dissolved, she was exiled from the Noble society.”
Keizer household? Isn't that the house Alysha belonged to? Then it’s even better.
“There are rumors that she bullied a scholarship student because she was jealous of how close she was being to the prince. She was exiled after proof of her actions came out or something? There are also rumors of the crown prince falling love with scholarship student and they were going to get engaged in the spring. Truth gets distorted when traveling through many ears Lily.”
“Bullying? Sister Leena doesn’t seem like a bad person.”
Yep, she is probably a musclehead. She got caught in some stupid trap. That explains some of her aversion to talk to me.
“Give her some time, she should warm up to you. After all, no one can resist our little angel.” He says before giving me a kiss on the forehead.
“Thanks grandpa, Lily will make sure to be friends with sister Leena. Bye bye!”
I give a kiss on his cheeks before running back.
I’m late for training, Mr. Luke is going to make me run rounds again…
Haaah… being a 12 year old is tough.