"The Glamorous Birthday Feast-2"

"Sigmund," Lucius turned to him, "Why don't you take Ivory to the gardens? I think she doesn't feel well."

"What, really?" Sigmund responded. He looked at his Master and grabbed her wrist, "Hey, are you dizzy or something?" He thought that it might be because he sucked a lot of blood from her last night.

"Uhh… I'll…" Ivory wanted to cry it out. "I'll just take a walk in the garden… alone."

"Hey, I'll come with you-" Sigmund said, but he was stopped by Lucius.

Arcea told her she wanted to come, but Lucius also stopped her.

"I think she needs some time alone… How about we all go to the buffet table?" Lucius suggested. When Arcea led the way, Lucius told Sigmund discreetly, "You have heightened hearing, but if you hear her cry, let her be."

"I don't really get it. Why will she cry?" Sigmund asked, and after assessing the situation, "Ah. Did Arcea say something that hurt her? That blabbermouth-"

Lucius grabbed Sigmund's arm to stop him from going towards Arcea's direction, "I think Arcea didn't mean to hurt her. It was just…"

"Oi, rich boy," he removed his arm from his grasp. "You know something, don't you? Why not spill it to me?"

Lucius shook his head and looked ahead, "You don't have to know. I mean… You shouldn't. It shouldn't happen-"

"Son," General Darius Goldwine suddenly cut off their conversation. "Come with me. I'll introduce you to General Bronzelain's younger brother."

"Yes, father," he responded. He waved goodbye to Sigmund and excused himself.

After a while, Ivory found herself in the middle of the garden, full of bluish purple hydrangeas and white roses. As she admired them, she saw a hooded woman, who was wearing a long white wool cape, and her eyes were filled with loneliness even though she was gazing at the beautiful flowers.

Ivory slowly approached her. "The garden is so well-maintained here. I haven't seen such beautiful and healthy roses," she commented while admiring the roses in full bloom.

The hooded woman got startled. She quickly looked around and fixed her hood to make sure that it would not fall off. And when she met Ivory's light blue eyes, she couldn't explain the comfort that she felt. "May I know who you are?"

"My name is Ivory Sprucemint, Lucius' friend from the academy," she said with a smile.

"Ah, so you are Ivory, Anne and Gordon's daughter," she smiled back at her. "I am Diana, Lucius' mother. It's good to finally meet you."

And when they shook their hands, surprisingly, they easily felt at ease towards each other.

Ivory's eyes widened upon meeting her friend's mother and held her hand tightly, "Hello, madame! I am so glad to meet you, too!" Her eyes sparkled with joy as she felt the same, comfortable feeling she had when she first met Lucius.

Sigmund walked outside to find Ivory because he was worried about what Lucius said earlier, and when he arrived at the garden, she saw Ivory speaking with a woman. He couldn't see the woman's face because it was covered with her hood, and her back was also facing him. When he finally saw Ivory's smile, he decided to watch and listen to them from afar.

"Lucius would sometimes mention you in his stories," Diana said in a hoarse voice due to a sore throat.

"Really? What did he tell you about me? I hope nothing too embarrassing," she chuckled. She wondered if Lucius had told his mother that she eats like a hungry pig.

"He told me about the first day you met," she replied. "Since then, I've always wanted to meet you. It's rare for him to tell stories about a woman."

"If you'd permit, we can have tea sometimes and talk about a lot of fun things," Ivory said. "My mother gathers some herbs, which can soothe your throat. I'm sure you'll like it!"

"I'd love that!" Diana exclaimed. "But… Did… Did Lucius tell you about my condition?"

She shook her head. Lucius has not talked much about his family. She thought she was just sick, but it seemed to be a more serious matter.

"Actually…" There was a long pause before she spoke again, "I am afraid of Servants."

Ivory tilted her head in confusion, and at the same time, she didn't know what to answer. It was a bit awkward, especially that it was such a private matter. 'So that was the reason why she wasn't living with them?' she thought.

"I'm sorry for revealing something dreadful," Diana held her hands once more. "But if you are going to visit me in my house, please tell your Servant to wait outside… I hope you understand, dear."

"This is understood, madame," she gave her a bright smile. "I really look forward to our tea time!"

"I only went here to see what's happening on my son's birthday," Diana told Ivory. "Then… I need to go home now, alright? I ordered blueberries from your mother yesterday, and I plan to make a blueberry pie for Lucius."

"That's very nice, madame! Also, I'm worried about your sore throat, so please drink either ginger-herbal tea or gargle salt water."

"Thank you dear, you are a very sweet girl," Diana hugged Ivory. "My son is fortunate to have a close friend like you."

She hugged the lady back, "I am actually more fortunate to have your son as my friend. He has helped me a lot. I owe him so much already."

"Then let's leave it as, you are both fortunate to have each other as friends," she smiled at her, "See you soon, Ivory," and then she fixed her hoodie, making sure that no one would recognize her.

Meanwhile, General Darius saw Sigmund in the hallway and approached him, "Aren't you Lucius' friend's Spirit Servant? What are you doing here?"

"General, I'm waiting for my Master," he pointed out to the middle of the garden.

He quickly panned his sight to the woman wearing the white cape. He widened his eyes in surprise, "That cape… It's my wife..." He tried to cover up his loneliness with a subtle smile. After seeing his wife and Ivory waved goodbye to each other, "Excuse me, but I have to return to the dance hall," he said and walked away.

Seeing that Diana had already gotten out of the garden's exit, Ivory walked to the hallway and was surprised to see Sigmund leaning on the stone walls.

"Sigmund!" She called him. "Why are you here?"

"I was waiting for you, dimwit," The Vampire looked around the hallway and when he saw no one, he grabbed her arm and cornered her on the wall.

"Sigmund… Ouch… What are you doing?" she asked him.

Sigmund's crimson red eyes glowed, "Ivory. I told you not to keep any secrets from me."

"I… I am not! Ouch… You're hurting me!" she yelled as his hands gripped on her arm tighter.

"Lucius said that you got hurt with Arcea's words a while ago, and I don't know the reason. So tell me why… What is it? What's on your mind?" He shook her arm repeatedly.

Ivory knew that once Sigmund became aggressive, telling him what's on her mind would calm him down. She replied in an irritated manner:

"Fine, fine, I'll tell you!"