Chapter 1

A girl with a curly long strawberry blonde hair gently opened her eyes just to see that she fell asleep under the pergola in the middle of the rose garden, she looked around with a panicked expression realizing she fell asleep during working hours.

She quickly dusted her uniform skirt and mentally prayed that the Head Maid won't find out about her slacking off…she will surely never hear the end of it.

The girl discreetly went inside the laundry room and greeted the other maids, earning no reply from them. Alice quickly grew accustomed to the cold shoulder the other maids gave her after being titled as the 'useless maid' in the manor. Only the few people who would treat her kindly are Olivia, Lucius, The Gardener and The Head Maid.

Although the Head Maid is very strict towards her, she patiently took care of her when she was found in front of the manor and took the time to teach her the basics of working as a maid under Count Cohen.

Even though 3 years had already passed, the Head Maid is still taking care of her.

During those 3 years, Alice experienced strange dreams. The only people she felt comfortable telling it to are Olivia, Her roommate and friend who did not mind spending time with her. And the Gardener who lets her rest in the garden whenever she's hiding from the Head Maid for her lessons.

She had a dream about a girl who spent her days in a tiny room until she withered away.

She was strangely very similar to her, the way she fidgets with her fingers whenever in a deep thought up to the point where she can embroider lovely floral designs on a cloth. Another strange thing is the book the girl kept reading…the content was readable even though it was written in a different language.

While in the middle of thinking about the girl in her dreams, a hand was placed on her shoulder, making her stop in the middle of folding a cloth. "Now now…Alice, don't be too much in deep thought while folding…you'll accidentally rip it." A honey-laced voice joked.

It was no other than Lucius, the butler-in-training, also one of the people she's close to.

Alice sighed in disappointment remembering how…handsome he is.

He has a curly light blonde hair that was let down and shiny blue eyes, capturing the hearts of many maiden and gents in the manor. It's such a shame that many people were too blinded by his angelic beauty to not notice his devilish attitude.

Such a shame indeed.

"What brings the oh-so-angelic Lucius to the laundry room?" Alice asked, trying to compress her annoyance at the said person.

"the Head Maid said to pick you up because she has an errand for you." He replied, quickly dragging the girl outside the laundry room, leaving her no chance to reply.

"Hey, Lucius, I know the Head Maid didn't call me. So what's the reason this time?" The Strawberry blonde said, eyeing Lucius who held both of his hands up with a defeated expression. "The Old Man kept bothering me about marriage so I told him I had to do something just to get away." Lucius explained while looking away from the girl who wore a deadpanned expression.

"And why did you have to drag me in this?" She asked with a brow raised.

"Because I was bored~" He replied in a childish tone.

"You're already old…why are you so childish…" Alice muttered under her breath, an annoyed groan escaping through her lips while the overgrown man in front of her grinned like he thought of something great. Of course, growing up with Lucius, the girl realized what it meant.

"Let's sneak out! I heard the capital is currently preparing for the Arpina Festival." She was about to decline when she heard the first words but after hearing the continuation…she silently pondered for a minute.

Arpina festival is a celebration for the rising of the Goddess of the sun. The kingdom of Arpina will hold it every year at the start of the first week until the end. The Church and Royal Palace will hold a ceremony at the first and last day of the festival, The commoners will have their ceremony in the afternoon while the nobles would have theirs in the morning.

"…Fine. If we get caught I'm blaming you." Alice said while crossing her arms at him.

The two escaped at ease due to Lucius' talent in talking his way out of something, She finds his talent annoying but sometimes it can be pretty useful.

The two walked around for a bit, stopping by a few shops here and there. Alice was quite disappointed to not see something that piqued her interest but what did she expect? The actual festival starts tomorrow and today was only a preparation day.

The girl stopped in front of a tailor shop, she looked at Lucius who had already walked far ahead before walking inside. The scent of newly arrived fabric and tailoring materials greeting her.

She looked around the ribbons area, not noticing a hooded person next to her.

"The ribbon has a fine quality but it's pretty thin…"The girl mutters, getting the hooded person's interest. "Then…can you perhaps suggest me something?" They asked, startling the slightly shorter girl.

"May I ask what you are going to do with it?" Alice politely asked.

"I'm gifting it to a close friend to be exact." They said, "She's a woman…but I'm not great at picking gifts for women…" They added before chuckling. The blue eyed girl thought for a moment before remembering something from one of her dreams.

She picked a dark blue ribbon and an emerald colored one with a great quality, she walked towards the counter and asked for a few things. The hooded figure silently watching what was happening.

Alice sat on one of the chairs and started embroidering a sun pattern with small designs on both ribbons, The hooded figure slightly nod in interest. After a few minutes, she finished the embroidery and silently smiled at her own creation.

The hooded person complimented her works and at how fast she was able to finish them, even the seamstress of the shop complimented her.

While the woman at the counter packed the ribbons in a white colored box, The hooded figure then looked at Alice before speaking.

"Well then miss...is there any way I can repay you for helping me?" They asked while the girl just looked around for a minute.

"Alice. Call me Alice instead." she replied.

"Alright then Miss Alice, I'm Fynn. Now, what should I do to repay your kindness?" He said with a genuine smile on his face.

"It's alright, I don't particularly need anything." The girl said with a sweet smile.

"I'll buy you the lace and silk fabric you kept glancing at, please just accept it." Fynn insisted that caught her off guard. He's quite sharp to notice small things...it's scary.

The two discussed for a bit until Alice gave up in the end. The ribbons along with the lace and silk fabric were finally done being packed, Fynn insisted to carry the bags until they arrived at the fountain located in the middle of the capital.

Alice didn't realize three hours had passed when she was inside the shop, it was already late in the afternoon.

"Are you sure you're fine with-" The girl was cut off in the middle of her sentence when Lucius suddenly wrapped his arms around her neck while panting.

"L-Lucius? What are you doing?" Alice asked, signalling to remove his arms from her neck.