Chapter 86 Lilly (1)

"Huh?" Lilly asked confusedly, not expecting the sudden question she just heard from her mother.

She slightly peeked her eyes through her white hair, attempting to read her mother's expression with her child-like eyes.

But, what she saw was not what she was expecting. She saw her mother, just sitting there, with a cold and serious expression.

"I asked you a question, Lilly. Answer me." Her mother calmly said, but her words felt like mountains boring down on Lilly.

"I- um- I-" Lilly's current state of mind is a mess, causing her to stumble on her words and squirming uncontrollably.

Taking notice of Lilly's uncomfortable state, Lilly's mother, who is still looking completely unfazed, said. "Lilly, is that how a woman of your age should act? Remember what you've been taught."

Within the span of a second, Lilly stopped her eratic behevior, but her uncomfortable feeling in her heart remained.

Hiding behind her hair once more, she then said. "I don't... want... to...."

Hearing Lilly's response, Lilly's mother gripped her hand tightly while biting her lip, which Lilly saw none of.

She took a deep breath before loosening her grip and calming down. She then said with new found calmness. "Lilly. I will ask you again. Why have you come back? There is nothing for you here."

Although her mother's words were relaxed and calm, Lilly felt her mother's words stab through her heart like daggers which could clearly be seen through her expression that she hides behind her hair.

"Answer me, Lilly." Lilly's mother said with complete calmness.

Something in Lilly's mind snapped as she slowly slammed her fist onto the table, slightly shaking the contents on it.

She then said with a shaky voice. "I-I came... because I heard that my family back home was in trouble."

"..."

"..."

An eerie silence emerged from the room with only the crickets of the night and the cold breeze making any sort of noise.

Without her perfectly calm expression moving at the very least, her mother then said with a slow and relaxed manner. "Lilly. It might be correct that you're my daughter and I am your mother, but that doesn't mean we are family."

"This place was never your home. The meaning of family hasn't been with us from the very start."

"I can assure you, you don't even know my name."

"I-I do..."

"Stop pretending."

"..."

"Enough with the excuses. Tell me the real reason why your here?"

"I-I just told you...."

"Do you really think I'll believe that? Haven't you heard what I said? This place no longer contains your home nor your family."

"I-I...."

"Enough is enough, Lilly. Now, tell me the REAL reason as to why you're here?"

After saying that, Lilly's mother waited, not even moving to touch her food, she sat with a dignified aura while waiting for Lilly's reply.

As her emotionless mother waited for her reply, Lilly's face, which is still hidden behind her hair, began to be drenched in tears with droplets falling onto her lap.

As her mother continued to wait without saying a word, painful memories came back to Lilly's mind.

-----A Few Years Back In Time-----

Somewhere within the many hilltop mansions, a group of people, all having animalistic traits, called out while looking everywhere in the mansion, shouting. "Little Miss! Where have you gone?!"

After a few minutes, a group of beastfolk people found the person they were looking for. A little girl bending over and reaching underneath the guard rails, trying to reach the fishes in the pond on the other side.

The group of three immediately began to run over while yelling. "Little Lady! Please, stay where you are!"

Hearing the servants' frantic yells, the little girl stopped trying to reach for the fish, which swam away immediately, before she turned towards them.

She stared at them with child-like wonder in her round, light blue eyes with pupils the shape of a four petalled flower.

Her long, white hair going with the wind as she opened her mouth as she asked with child-like innocence. "Did I do something wrong?"

The little girl then hung her head down low, letting her long, white hair cover her face as she began fumbling her hands through her little dress.

Upon reaching her, the servants pulled her away from the water with care as they made sure she was okay.

After making sure she was fine, a female servant with cat-like ears on her head pulled her into a hug as she said with a gentle, caring tone. "It's fine, Little Miss. You did nothing wrong."

The little girl with long, white hair peeked through her hair as she asked with beautiful, teary eyes. "Really? I did nothing wrong?"

With a bright smile on her face, the woman with cat-like features said. "Yes, it wasn't your fault."

The little girl looked down and fidgeted around the woman's grasp as she said with a low, whispery voice. "But you were yelling at me..."

Surprise made it's way onto the woman's face, she looked then turned to the other two occompanying her, who just shook their heads.

She gestured them to go away, which they did, before she said to the little girl with a gentle tone. "Little Miss. We were only yelling cause we were worried about you."

Without lifting her head, the little girl continued without raising her voice. "I don't like loud voices. It makes me feel bad."

Hearing the little girl's honest worries, the feline woman couldn't help but feel her heart get squeezed. She then said with new found resolution. "Okay then, Little Miss. From now on, I'll tell everyone to not yell. Is that okay?"

"Yes..."

Hearing the little girl's agreement, the feline woman couldn't help but hug the adorable little girl in her grasp just a bit tighter.

The little girl jumped up a bit after feeling the woman's tightening grasp. But after realizing she meant no harm, she calmed down and eased up a bit.

As the feline woman continued to hug her, even rubbing her face onto the little girl's long, white hair, the little girl felt an emotion welling up from within her.

With child-like innocence, she didn't try to fight it and just did what her body told her to do. Which is to hug back, which surprised the feline woman.

Realizing that it was the little girl's intinctive behavior, the feline woman retrieved her shock and continued to hug the little girl with a gentle smile on her face.

Feeling the warmth of the woman's skin touching her's, the little girl couldn't help but feel a certain feeling in her body, causing her to form a bright, open smile as she continued to hug the feline woman with an extremely blissful expression on her pretty, little face.

Some day after that encounter, the little girl found herself running through the hallways with a bunch of people chasing her.

"Wait! Little Miss! Don't run, you might slip!"

"Please, Little Miss! Slow down!"

Even upon clearly hearing their concerns, the little girl with long, white hair continued to run away.

She ran through the halls with ease thanks to her little body, while the people following her are hitting all sorts of furniture.

After a while, the little girl made her way to the place she was looking for. She quickly opened the door to the room in front of her while yelling. "Nekonna!"

A familiar looking feline woman, who was doing some housework, turned to the little girl in the doorway after hearing her shout her name.

"What's wrong, Little Miss?! Did something hurt you?!" Nekonna asked with a worried face, immediately stopping what she was doing.

Instead of replying, the little girl instead just ran up to her and hide behind her, trying to hide herself within the woman's skirt.

Within only a few seconds, the group that was chasing after her made their way into the room that they were in.

"Huff, huff, Little Miss. Please stop running..."

Nekonna looked at the people with exhausted expression and turned to the little girl behind her.

Her mind began to think before she formed a smile while asking. "Can someone please tell me what's going on?" With a tone suggesting she already knew.

A man from the group chasing the little girl then said while still trying to catch their breath. "Well, you see, we were trying to improve the Little Miss' writing, but she just threw her brush and paper to the side while saying 'don't want to do it' before running off."

"Ah, I see... The normal behavior." Nekonna said with an amused expression before turning to the little girl hiding behind her.

She then said to the little girl with a calm and soothing tone. "Little Miss. Do you want to go back to your lessons?"

"N-no."

"How about if I accompany you?" Nekonna said as she extended a hand towards the little girl.

The little girl, with a bit of hesitation, grabbed Nekonna's hand before slowly coming out from behind her.

As the little girl shyly stood beside Nekonna, the people that were supposed to teach the little girl, breathed a sigh of relief.

The group of people led Nekonna and the little girl with long, white hair back into the room where the little girl was supposed to be.

While the other people sat close to the walls, the little girl and Nekonna made their way onto the table in the middle of the room where a pile of paper is set with a brush on the side.

"That's good, but what if you did it like this?"

"Why don't you try and use your wrist a bit more?"

Nekonna guided the little girl on how to write properly, giving her tips and complements as the little girl continued to write.

A smile slowly formed on the little girl's face as Nekonna continued to help her.

After making sure the little girl can handle herself, Nekonna backed off with the rest of the people, who were just watching the little girl have fun in learning to write.

As the little girl continued to write on her own with a smile, the people in the room began to chat with each other quietly.

"Nekonna, you're amazing! No one else can reach out to the Little Miss like you do."

"Aah, you flatter me. It's just that I know how to deal with kids."

"Perhaps we should suggest we make you her personal assistant."

"I agree. The Little Miss needs a lot of support right now since she's to young to be left without parental guide."

"Speaking of parental guide, did the Master of the House order all of you to do this?"

A gloomy atmosphere came over the group of people after hearing Nekonna's question. Nekonna somehow already knew the situation before they replied.

They then said. "Indeed. The Master of the House did order us to teach the Little Miss."

"He told us to train her before his visit in two weeks."

"But the level he specified is extremely hard, even close to impossible for the Little Miss to reach in such a time."

"Couldn't you have told him that? I'm sure The Master would have atleast heard you out."

"You see... we couldn't."

"What do you mean?"

"The Little Miss' twin sister, which is the same age as her obviously, has already reached that level."

"Ah! Really?"

"Yes, the little girl's a genius. I have even heard that she's already begun to learn the intruments."

Nekonna formed a pained expression as she took a glance at the little girl happily writing on the piece of paper with an innocent smile.

She then said with a low tone. "But still, The Master can't expect the same to come out of the Little Miss. She is too... childish."

"Unfortunately, The Master seems to hold the both of them on this high pedestal. We just have to get her ready in two weeks for her father's visit."

Then, a sound of a piece of wood being dropped resounded in the room. Everyone followed the noise and looked at the source.

It was the little girl with long, white hair who dropped her brush. Her blank face remained frozen as she whispered to herself. "Father's... coming back?"