To the academy (2)

"I'm sorry, young miss. It is impossible to call the heir of Winford here all of a sudden. But we will call for his aide right now. I hope it's not uncomfortable for you."

His tone turned polite almost immediately, and the captain gave some instructions to his member before turning his attention back to her. He did not know for sure if the child in front of him was the real lady of the duchy, but he could not afford to underestimate her.

"Our security room is just right here. Would you like to come in and have a cup of tea while waiting?"

"Yes, please. Thank you, sir." Adelaide smiled in appreciation before following the captain. She knew he was still being wary of her.

To them, there was no guarantee that she was the real lady, so they could not allow her to roam around freely in the meantime on her own. However, they could not mistreat her either. If she were the real deal, then leaving her would be an even bigger mistake.

As a result, keeping her occupied in the security room was the best choice.

They could keep an eye on her in case anything happens without angering the possible power behind her.

'Commoners have it hard everywhere you go.'

On the contrary to the anxious captain, Adelaide looked relaxed. She sipped her tea and ate cookies like an obedient kid while three guards were standing in the room with her.

'This is quite nice. I mean, I thought they would at least give me scornful looks while doubting my motives, then regret their own imprudence in the end when Alfred comes like what happened in face-slapping novels.'

'Too bad I can't act all comfortable here. This is going to take a while, even with that motorcycle of his.'

Adelaide glanced at the guard running on a black motorcycle in the distance. It was not the modern badass type, but a rather much earlier version of it. It was shorter and looked more like a motorized bicycle.

'Well. Back to the guards. Gotta make a good first impression.'

"Um…sirs, do you want to sit down? I don't want to be the only one sitting." Adelaide said softly while shifting uncomfortably on her chair. Her eyes were even sparkling.

As expected, the men's expressions softened significantly. Even the captain, the only one who was sitting across from her, had a gentle look in his eyes.

"You don't have to feel bad, miss. These bastar-, guards, were on duty, so it is their job to stand."

'I heard that, old man.'

"Yes. Please don't feel burdened by it. We're guarding the gates, as you can see."

"Please eat some more cookies. Do you want milk?"

"You retar-, I mean, silly. Our milk's expiration date is today, you can't give her that. Little miss, we have orange juice, fresh from the trees. Would you like some?"

'I heard that too, young man.'

"Yes! Orange juice. Kelf, go get it. Put it in the pink glass jar too so that little miss can bring some home."

'You're going to give me that even if I turn out to be a commoner?'

'Why are you all so eager and satisfied? Those noble kids must be arrogant at times, right? I feel you.'

Adelaide felt like she had underestimated the power a nice and pretty kid could bring. She did not hate the attention, though.

Just then, Adelaide decided to drop some crocodile tears. However, she made sure they stayed in her eyes and did not fall down.

"Are…are you scared? I'm sorry for what these bast-, friends, did. They did not mean to scare you."

'Aren't you suppose to meet nobles frequently? Please work on your etiquette. Even a modern citizen with free speech rights would not talk to children using such words.'

"…sniff…"

"I'm sorry, young miss. We didn't mean to talk that loud, we were just excited. Do you want some candies? I got one here…"

"Shut it, how could those lowly pieces of sweets…."

"…Thank you."

"…"

"…"

"…"

"No one had ever treated me this nice for so long except for my older brother. I was so scared since I got lost from him…"

'Yes, so please don't question or suspect me too much.'

Adelaide knew the guards' enthusiasm and care towards her was because they were genuinely worried rather than currying favor. They could have treated her politely, stood guard like stone statues, and no one would blame them, for they were just doing their jobs.

Adelaide took her chance since it seemed like the men were nice, and she could start building her image from here.

However, she did not expect them to drop their guard this quick.

"Thank you, really." She took in a long breath to collect the crocodile tears back and gave the guards a small smile. "And yes, I have a sweet tooth. Can you give me that candy, sir?"

"S…sure."

It was a funny sight how the four faces were having the same expression.

'Nailed it. I looked so adorable, right?'

Just when Adelaide was reaching out her hand for the small piece of sweet, she heard a loud scream. Everyone flinched at the high volume; the guard who just got back even almost dropped the pink glass jar.

Five pairs of eyes shifted towards the source of said voice at the same time in surprise.

It was because a sixteen or seventeen-year-old was running towards the security room at full speed. He was wearing the school's uniform. He was handsome, but because of the wind, all the features were distorted.

Adelaide thought she knew who this guy was. According to the records, he was Anthony Brookline, the current Viscount Brookline's heir, one of Winford's dedicated vessels. He had always been a child full of energy.

As well as someone destined to be Alfred's aide. It was hard to believe with their completely opposite personalities, but they got along well.

'A device that boosts speed?'

Anthony was running at a speed impossible for normal human beings. Despite his rapid movements, Adelaide could see something shiny on his finger. It was an aie stone doing its job.

'Why is he yelling "ahhhh" the whole time?'

The teen's expression lit up when he saw her. Adelaide felt relieved when he stopped his "AHHH" s, but her face almost crumple when he changed it into…

"MY LADYYYYYYYYYY."

"MY LADYYYYYYYYYY."

"MY LADYYYYYYYYYY."

She wanted to turn her back away just from hearing his voice.

The problem was not what he said. He was allowed to be emotional. Adelaide was also happy that he recognized her since that meant she could meet up with Alfred soon. She was glad, she really was.

The problem was the decibel. To make matters worse, the volume went up since Anthony was approaching them quickly. Even motorcycles carrying multiple guards behind and the huge academy's ground could not stop him.

'Shit, don't cry, Anthony. It is nice to meet you, but I'm the one that gets to cry. And stop hurting my ears, I'm going deaf.'