“…Lady?”
“E, eung?”
I thought about other things for a moment, but then suddenly came to my senses when I heard Betty’s voice calling me from next to me.
“What are you thinking about?”
“Huh? Ah. It’s nothing.”
When I shook my head, Betty seemed a little worried, although she didn’t ask any more questions.
“If anything happens, you need to tell me right away, okay?”
Betty held me tight and begged me several times.
A few days later, it was the day I became an adult, but she still seemed worried as if I were a seven-year-old child.
Since I didn’t know how Betty felt, I nodded to comfort her.
“Of course, Betty. I’ll tell you.”
At that time, the shadow wolf hiding in my shadow suddenly popped out.
“Oh my!”
Betty took a step back in surprise.
Even though this has been happening quite often these days, it seems like she can’t get used to the strange ability popping out from under my feet.
“Oh, why? Why did you come out again?”
I was accustomed to soothing the shadow wolf and trying to put it back into the shadow.
It was clear that if Arsene found out, he would scold the shadow wolf again.
Arsene strongly warned him not to appear out of nowhere, as we didn’t want it to be known that the shadow wolf was attached to me.
I’m sure I heard it right at first.
“It’s strange, it’s suddenly been like this these days…”
The day I spent the night at Hezeth Mansion. Since witnessing Cain’s strange behavior, it has often popped up like this.
Still, the shadow wolf shrank down to its size and stood tall at my feet, raising its tail stiffly, wary of something invisible.
I tried to get the shadow wolf to go back into the shadows, but it wouldn’t listen, so I had to give up.
“That’s strange, he has never done this before…”
“Right, why is it like this all of a sudden?”
I stopped trying to stop the shadow wolf, thinking that I should tell Arsene this.
The wolf was on guard for a long time, but soon seemed to be tired of the struggle and disappeared into the shadows again.
And not long after.
“Lady, please have a snack.”
The maid came to tell me that a snack was ready downstairs.
The maid who came this time also had an unfamiliar face.
‘It’s a face that I don’t know this time either.’
I had been staying at the mansion for a while, and although I was still puzzled by the unfamiliarity of the servants, I nodded without any doubt.
“Eung, I’ll go.”
This is because Betty soothed me that there were still unfamiliar servants in the mansion.
It could have been so.
There were just as many people here as the main mansion. Furthermore.
‘They said they hired a few people because they didn’t have enough workers.’
Of course, I heard that Kendrick personally inspected it thoroughly.
Also, he couldn’t allow the same unfortunate incident to happen again.
So it was only natural that I had a maid whose face I didn’t know.
I got up from the couch I was sitting on to go down to get a snack.
It felt like the shadow under my feet was twitching and reacting, but I didn’t care.
***
A few days later.
If all had gone as planned, the day when I should have had my coming-of-age ceremony has arrived.
Although the festival is not over, there is no proper coming-of-age ceremony, but thanks to the kind wolves of Yeckhart decorating the whole mansion with flowers, I felt like this coming-of-age day.
The flowers that decorated the mansion were hyacinths that resembled Arsene’s blue eyes.
Although Arsene wanted to decorate the mansion with red roses, the same color as my hair.
“No. They said they would decorate it with the flowers I want. I like hyacinths, Arsene.”
“…Okay.”
Arsene eventually gave up and agreed to decorate the mansion with blue hyacinths.
Although the streets were still noisy and distracted by the festival, the second mansion was peaceful.
The maids dressed me in a pretty white dress from the mansion.
“You usually wear a white dress during a coming-of-age ceremony… but the formal coming-of-age ceremony was scheduled to be held after the festival. So, you’d better wear a white dress today!”
The maids dressed me in a white dress that fluttered from the shin, and decorated me with blue hyacinth flowers.
My hair was neatly and calmly braided, and my dress decorated with small jewels sparkled in the sunlight every time I moved.
Knock, knock.
I heard a knock.
At the end of the word to come in, the door slowly opened, and I saw Arsene leaning against the doorway.
“Father is here. Please prepare slowly and come out, Linsy.”
“Already?”
I opened my eyes wide with surprise.
Kendrick has been so busy these days that he often doesn’t come into the mansion.
He said he felt responsible for my coming-of-age ceremony being postponed and suggested that we have a meal together on the date when the coming-of-age ceremony was originally supposed to have been held.
Of course, I accepted the offer because I had no reason to refuse.
I ran occasionally to Arsene, standing at the doorway.
Then, with both hands behind my back, I looked up at Arsene and asked.
“Ar–sene, how am I?”
“…What?”
“What do you think? I dressed up a lot.”
I patted my finger on the blue hyacinth that I purposely put in my head.
Arsene coughed quietly, turned his head, and opened his mouth.
“…Pretty.”
“What? I can’t hear you.”
“It’s pretty. Linsy Yeckhart.”
Arsene spit out each word as if chewing them up.
Linsy Yeckhart
I laughed at the name, which now felt so familiar.
As I laughed, I felt Arsene, who had been turning his head the whole time, shift his gaze towards me.
“Really? Does it look good on me?”
“…Yeah, so stop asking and come out. I’ll be waiting.”
Arsene didn’t come into my room, but he still leaned against the doorway and covered his face.
I nodded and answered.
“Yes, I’m ready. Now all I have to do is get down.”
“Anyway, it’s… going to be in the mansion. Why did you decorate it like that?”
Arsene asked.
I answered Arsene with a glance.
“I’ll only be in the mansion, but today is a special day.”
My eyes sparkled.
“It’s the day I become an adult, Arsene.”
Arsene held his coming-of-age ceremony on the day of his first full moon, according to the rules of the Wolf Clan.
Arsene’s coming-of-age ceremony was held in the courtyard of the mansion.
Decorate the mansion with Arsene’s favorite flowers, eat delicious food with Arsene and Kendrick.
That was the end.
“The coming of age ceremony is literally to commemorate becoming an adult. What comes after is probably more important than the coming-of-age ceremony. Now that you have had your coming of age ceremony, you will have to take responsibility for your actions and choices going forward. The time to learn how to take responsibility ended yesterday. From today onwards, you must carefully consider the consequences of your actions before making any decisions. Because that’s the meaning of a coming-of-age ceremony.”
I never forgot what Kendrick said to Arsene at dinner.
Arsene nodded with a rather serious look.
Normally, the children of the Wolf Clan would have a coming-of-age ceremony on the day of the first full moon.
Kendrick was even considerate of the fact that I was a new member of the clan, and allowed me to have a coming-of-age ceremony on my 20th birthday.
I held Arsene’s hand tightly and ran down the stairs.
‘Maybe today could be the last time we hold hands…’
If today were a proper coming-of-age day, I would have divorced Arsene.
Thinking about that, I suddenly felt a little depressed.
I looked up at Arsene walking while holding my hand.
Arsene’s face was slightly red.
“Arsene, are you in pain somewhere?”
“…What?”
“No, you look red.”
“You… Why do you always ask me if it hurts when my face turns red since I was young?”
Arsene, who responded like that, seemed to really not understand.
I smiled awkwardly.
Then why are you blushing?
Arsene didn’t seem to have any intention of answering, so I didn’t say anything to him anymore and just walked.
When I arrived at the dining room, I saw Kendrick sitting first.
“Father!”
“Yes, Linsy. Arsene. Sit down.”
Kendrick smiled softly and offered us a seat next to him.
Arsene and I took our accustomed seats next to Kendrick.
“Linsy, congratulations on coming of age.”
“But the coming-of-age ceremony hasn’t been held yet.”
“But originally, it should have been held today. I wanted to congratulate you in advance. And…”
Kendrick took a sip of the water that had been prepared in advance, and said with a smile.
“I have something to show you, Linsy.”
“…Lady?”
“E, eung?”
I thought about other things for a moment, but then suddenly came to my senses when I heard Betty’s voice calling me from next to me.
“What are you thinking about?”
“Huh? Ah. It’s nothing.”
When I shook my head, Betty seemed a little worried, although she didn’t ask any more questions.
“If anything happens, you need to tell me right away, okay?”
Betty held me tight and begged me several times.
A few days later, it was the day I became an adult, but she still seemed worried as if I were a seven-year-old child.
Since I didn’t know how Betty felt, I nodded to comfort her.
“Of course, Betty. I’ll tell you.”
At that time, the shadow wolf hiding in my shadow suddenly popped out.
“Oh my!”
Betty took a step back in surprise.
Even though this has been happening quite often these days, it seems like she can’t get used to the strange ability popping out from under my feet.
“Oh, why? Why did you come out again?”
I was accustomed to soothing the shadow wolf and trying to put it back into the shadow.
It was clear that if Arsene found out, he would scold the shadow wolf again.
Arsene strongly warned him not to appear out of nowhere, as we didn’t want it to be known that the shadow wolf was attached to me.
I’m sure I heard it right at first.
“It’s strange, it’s suddenly been like this these days…”
The day I spent the night at Hezeth Mansion. Since witnessing Cain’s strange behavior, it has often popped up like this.
Still, the shadow wolf shrank down to its size and stood tall at my feet, raising its tail stiffly, wary of something invisible.
I tried to get the shadow wolf to go back into the shadows, but it wouldn’t listen, so I had to give up.
“That’s strange, he has never done this before…”
“Right, why is it like this all of a sudden?”
I stopped trying to stop the shadow wolf, thinking that I should tell Arsene this.
The wolf was on guard for a long time, but soon seemed to be tired of the struggle and disappeared into the shadows again.
And not long after.
“Lady, please have a snack.”
The maid came to tell me that a snack was ready downstairs.
The maid who came this time also had an unfamiliar face.
‘It’s a face that I don’t know this time either.’
I had been staying at the mansion for a while, and although I was still puzzled by the unfamiliarity of the servants, I nodded without any doubt.
“Eung, I’ll go.”
This is because Betty soothed me that there were still unfamiliar servants in the mansion.
It could have been so.
There were just as many people here as the main mansion. Furthermore.
‘They said they hired a few people because they didn’t have enough workers.’
Of course, I heard that Kendrick personally inspected it thoroughly.
Also, he couldn’t allow the same unfortunate incident to happen again.
So it was only natural that I had a maid whose face I didn’t know.
I got up from the couch I was sitting on to go down to get a snack.
It felt like the shadow under my feet was twitching and reacting, but I didn’t care.
***
A few days later.
If all had gone as planned, the day when I should have had my coming-of-age ceremony has arrived.
Although the festival is not over, there is no proper coming-of-age ceremony, but thanks to the kind wolves of Yeckhart decorating the whole mansion with flowers, I felt like this coming-of-age day.
The flowers that decorated the mansion were hyacinths that resembled Arsene’s blue eyes.
Although Arsene wanted to decorate the mansion with red roses, the same color as my hair.
“No. They said they would decorate it with the flowers I want. I like hyacinths, Arsene.”
“…Okay.”
Arsene eventually gave up and agreed to decorate the mansion with blue hyacinths.
Although the streets were still noisy and distracted by the festival, the second mansion was peaceful.
The maids dressed me in a pretty white dress from the mansion.
“You usually wear a white dress during a coming-of-age ceremony… but the formal coming-of-age ceremony was scheduled to be held after the festival. So, you’d better wear a white dress today!”
The maids dressed me in a white dress that fluttered from the shin, and decorated me with blue hyacinth flowers.
My hair was neatly and calmly braided, and my dress decorated with small jewels sparkled in the sunlight every time I moved.
Knock, knock.
I heard a knock.
At the end of the word to come in, the door slowly opened, and I saw Arsene leaning against the doorway.
“Father is here. Please prepare slowly and come out, Linsy.”
“Already?”
I opened my eyes wide with surprise.
Kendrick has been so busy these days that he often doesn’t come into the mansion.
He said he felt responsible for my coming-of-age ceremony being postponed and suggested that we have a meal together on the date when the coming-of-age ceremony was originally supposed to have been held.
Of course, I accepted the offer because I had no reason to refuse.
I ran occasionally to Arsene, standing at the doorway.
Then, with both hands behind my back, I looked up at Arsene and asked.
“Ar–sene, how am I?”
“…What?”
“What do you think? I dressed up a lot.”
I patted my finger on the blue hyacinth that I purposely put in my head.
Arsene coughed quietly, turned his head, and opened his mouth.
“…Pretty.”
“What? I can’t hear you.”
“It’s pretty. Linsy Yeckhart.”
Arsene spit out each word as if chewing them up.
Linsy Yeckhart
I laughed at the name, which now felt so familiar.
As I laughed, I felt Arsene, who had been turning his head the whole time, shift his gaze towards me.
“Really? Does it look good on me?”
“…Yeah, so stop asking and come out. I’ll be waiting.”
Arsene didn’t come into my room, but he still leaned against the doorway and covered his face.
I nodded and answered.
“Yes, I’m ready. Now all I have to do is get down.”
“Anyway, it’s… going to be in the mansion. Why did you decorate it like that?”
Arsene asked.
I answered Arsene with a glance.
“I’ll only be in the mansion, but today is a special day.”
My eyes sparkled.
“It’s the day I become an adult, Arsene.”
Arsene held his coming-of-age ceremony on the day of his first full moon, according to the rules of the Wolf Clan.
Arsene’s coming-of-age ceremony was held in the courtyard of the mansion.
Decorate the mansion with Arsene’s favorite flowers, eat delicious food with Arsene and Kendrick.
That was the end.
“The coming of age ceremony is literally to commemorate becoming an adult. What comes after is probably more important than the coming-of-age ceremony. Now that you have had your coming of age ceremony, you will have to take responsibility for your actions and choices going forward. The time to learn how to take responsibility ended yesterday. From today onwards, you must carefully consider the consequences of your actions before making any decisions. Because that’s the meaning of a coming-of-age ceremony.”
I never forgot what Kendrick said to Arsene at dinner.
Arsene nodded with a rather serious look.
Normally, the children of the Wolf Clan would have a coming-of-age ceremony on the day of the first full moon.
Kendrick was even considerate of the fact that I was a new member of the clan, and allowed me to have a coming-of-age ceremony on my 20th birthday.
I held Arsene’s hand tightly and ran down the stairs.
‘Maybe today could be the last time we hold hands…’
If today were a proper coming-of-age day, I would have divorced Arsene.
Thinking about that, I suddenly felt a little depressed.
I looked up at Arsene walking while holding my hand.
Arsene’s face was slightly red.
“Arsene, are you in pain somewhere?”
“…What?”
“No, you look red.”
“You… Why do you always ask me if it hurts when my face turns red since I was young?”
Arsene, who responded like that, seemed to really not understand.
I smiled awkwardly.
Then why are you blushing?
Arsene didn’t seem to have any intention of answering, so I didn’t say anything to him anymore and just walked.
When I arrived at the dining room, I saw Kendrick sitting first.
“Father!”
“Yes, Linsy. Arsene. Sit down.”
Kendrick smiled softly and offered us a seat next to him.
Arsene and I took our accustomed seats next to Kendrick.
“Linsy, congratulations on coming of age.”
“But the coming-of-age ceremony hasn’t been held yet.”
“But originally, it should have been held today. I wanted to congratulate you in advance. And…”
Kendrick took a sip of the water that had been prepared in advance, and said with a smile.
“I have something to show you, Linsy.”
