Chapter 1
Fated Meeting at Muhlenburg
“It’s already been three months since Father died…” a youth (probably just thirteen years of age) looks out the window of his limousine.
Without turning his head, he glares at the big man (probably between forty and fifty years of age) sitting across from him, “Now, Uncle whom we have only met just a few days before Father’s funeral is taking me and Rose to the country of all places!”
“Rose, what is your opinion of this?” he turns around to the girl (probably just eleven years of age) sitting beside him.
“…The country is…” he sighs.
“Mühlenburg…a country town dependent mainly on farming…not many people come here…to this useless land…” the youth thinks. He appears to have fair skin and a tall and semi-muscular build. He has somewhat long red hair that can reach past his chin but not long enough to touch his shoulders. Judging by his countenance, he appears to be more than just German. His eyes emanate a sense of pride, hate, and boastfulness, caring only for those of his social class.
“Uncle, why must we move to this backland area?!” the girl complains. She has very fair skin and a very feminine build. She has long wavy red hair that reaches her waist. Judging from her countenance, she appears to be more than just German. Her eyes emanate a sense of selfishness and boastfulness but also love.
“Hm? ‘Backland’? Bah, this is one of the better places in Deutschland (Germany)!” the big man laughs. Unlike the other two, he had tanned skin and a very masculine and very muscular build. He has white hair that seems to be unaffected by the wind, as it stays in its usual position…pointing behind him and a little bit towards the ground. More things of note are the numerous scars on his body…on his neck and on his arms…he even has a long scar over his right eye. Judging from his countenance…he probably looks completely German. His eyes emanate a sense of guidance, trust, love, and laughter.
“Brother, what do you think of this backland place?” she asks the youth.
“I also think that this is a waste of time, Rose,” the youth replies.
“See, Uncle?” Rose, the girl, proves her point.
“Adelheid, Rose, this is something that my brother wanted to show you but couldn’t. Meh, if he were the one making you move here, would you have accepted it?” the big man asks.
“That has nothing to do with this!” Adelheid, the youth, glares at his uncle.
“I’m just thankful that you are forcing us to live here for only a year!” Rose crosses her arms.
“Hah, don’t worry! You’ll love the country!” the big man laughs, “By a year’s time, you two will be begging me to let you stay!”
“I doubt that,” Adelheid comments.
“…very highly!” Rose adds.
“Hahahahahaha!” the big man laughs heartily.
As the limousine moves up a hill, Adelheid looks out the window and see the town of Mühlenburg. It is inferior, according to Adelheid’s and Rose’s standards…a town of agriculture with not much excitement…they believe.
“Brother, this town is much too small!” Rose complains, “Not many people will know of our superiority if we just stay in a town as small as this!”
“However, a small town like that will allow everyone in it to know of our superiority,” Adelheid looks at it optimistically.
“Just as expected, Brother. You always make things sound better for me!” Rose titters.
After putting more thought into it, Adelheid tells the big man, “Father would not have brought us here to begin with…”
“That’s true! He would not have wanted use to socialize with the country folk, who are very low people!” Rose agrees.
“‘Very low people’? Bah, you think too low of the country folk! They are just like city folk, only not as vicious!” Silber ends with a hearty laugh.
“Brigand…” Adelheid sighs.
“Hah, children these days…” the big man sighs.
After a short while, the limousine stops. Both Adelheid and Rose look out the windows to see what their new abode appears like. Instead, they see a few maids and butlers waiting for them…they appear to be blocking the view to the mansion, since the servants are a little close to the window.
“We’re here,” the big man laughs.
On cue, the driver opens the door for the three and greets, “Here is the mansion, Master Silber, Young Master Adelheid, and Young Mistress Rose.”
“Come on out!” Silber, the big man, laughs as he gets out of the limousine.
“Welcome back, Master Silber. We hope that everything is to your liking!” the maids and the butlers greet in unison.
“Haha! Of course, it is!” Silber laughs then adds, “As long as, my earlier requests were followed!”
“‘Requests’?” Adelheid asks as he steps out of the limousine but shades his eyes from the midday sun, since he was in the limousine for quite a long time.
“What do you mean?” Rose asks as Adelheid helps her out of the limousine.
“Oh, nothing!” Silber laughs then gestures the two to look behind them, “So, what do you think?”
However, they look at what is before them… their new abode.
Rose complains, “THIS is our mansion!? But it’s so small!”
Adelheid agrees and comments, “This mansion is just two times larger than the size of a commoner’s shopping mall! You expect us to live here?!”
“Bah!” Silber starts growing annoyed then replies, “Not the mansion! The scenery!”
The siblings turn around to view the scenery of Mühlenburg from such a high place.
Adelheid admits, “It’s almost breath-taking…”
“However, the city is much better! Right, Brother?” Rose comments.
“Of course,” Adelheid answers.
“You kids…” Silber sighs then laughs, “Maybe you should take a look at your rooms. You both will be surprised!”
“Very well,” Rose agrees to the suggestion then turns to Adelheid, “Brother, I shall be going to my room now.”
“And I to mine…” Adelheid replies then calls to one of the maids, “You! Take me to my room!”
The maid bows and turns to the mansion, “As you request, Young Master. Please follow me, Young Master.”
“Uncle, there had better be no deductions to my things,” Adelheid warns before following the maid.
“…Hm? What would make you believe that?” Silber laughs.
“Hmph!” Adelheid scoffs.
After several minutes of walking, the maid stops in front of a door and opens it for Adelheid. He peers into the room and is immediately shocked to find two important things missing. He is taken aback for a moment then runs inside to look through his things. He only has one more important material thing…He looks through several closets and makes a mess by tossing everything else…his clothes, his photos, his paintings, even several photos of his father and mother.
“WHERE IS IT!?!?!” Adelheid yells at the top of his lungs.
“WHERE ARE THEY?!?!?!” Rose can be heard yelling a little while after Adelheid had.
“Rose…as well?!” Adelheid turns to the maid, “I command you to return them to me!”
“Those things?” the maid asks, “Ah, I beg for your forgiveness, Young Master…but Master Silber has ordered us to deny any request regarding that…”
“Uncle!?!” Adelheid yells, “Useless maid! Stupid Uncle!”
Adelheid runs out his room to search for Silber. After a while of running, he finds Rose doing the same.
“Brother!” Rose notices Adelheid and runs to him.
“You, as well?” Adelheid asks Rose.
“Unfortunately…” Rose pouts.
“This is all Uncle’s fault!” Adelheid yells as he dashes off to find Silber.
“Please wait for me, Brother!” Rose tries to catch up with Adelheid.
He goes through every room to find Silber…not caring about his acts. Eventually, he finds another room and checks…It is the study, a room full of books…and a place where silence can be found. Silber is inside reading a letter.
“Hm?” Silber looks up and sees Adelheid.
“UNCLE!” Adelheid yells at Silber, “What is the meaning of this!?”
“What is the meaning of what?” Silber asks, as he inconspicuously hoards the letter in his person.
“They’re gone!” Adelheid yells.
“What’s gone?” Silber asks.
“Uncle!” Rose slowly and elegantly enters the room…but the elegance fades as she starts yelling, “WHERE IS MY TELEVISION!?! WHERE IS MY COMPUTER!?!”
“And where are my television and my computer?!” Adelheid adds.
“Television? Bah, you don’t need that! You can go take a walk instead of resting your posterior and watching television!” Silber retorts, “And your computers? You’ll just ruin your eyesight with those things!”
“Ah! And my dramas!” Rose adds.
“Dramas? All the drama that you need is in your life,” Silber laughs.
“What of my fighting videos?!” Adelheid adds.
“Fighting videos? Bah, you can’t learn how to fight from videos! You just need a trainer and a sparring partner!” Silber laughs again.
“I had a teacher, Uncle!” Adelheid says with an angry face.
After having heard that, Silber stops smiling, “…My brother, right?”
Adelheid and Rose say nothing…a silent yes…
Silber replies to their silence, “I know that I’m not my brother and your father…However, I can do my best in giving you the lifestyle he wanted…”
“He wants to strip us of our wealth and power?!” Adelheid jumps to conclusions.
“And make us live with these…these…these lowlifes?!” Rose adds.
“No,” Silber replies, “he wants you to see the other social classes. You can’t lead the family if you only look at the other people from a tower or something!”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Adelheid asks.
Silber explains, “Here’s a better explanation…”
d – O – o – O – o – O – b
SILBER'S LECTURE
o – O – o – O – o – O – o
There are five major social classes: the overclass, the upper class, the middle class, the lower class, and the underclass.
In the bottom, we have the underclass: lower than the low. They are depicted as criminals, homeless people, or lazy good-for-nothings. These people are usually the kind that anyone would want to stay away from. I personally do not wish to talk about this any more…
Next, we have the lower class: those who were born in the worst time, those who suffer from debts, those who suffer from disaster, or those who suffer from abuse. The people of this class are usually the simplest people. Sometimes, they don’t need much to be happy. However, when their feel no closure, they may drop to the underclass.
The next class is the middle class. People of this class are the types that work under the upper class. Because of their usual educational background, they make better employees than the lower class. However, that also makes them less prone to completely following us. People of this class can sometimes be more dangerous than those of the lower class. Those of this class seem to harbor hate for other classes but also somehow admire the upper class. Basically, they want to be like us. Continuing, the people of this class follow a much better hygiene than that of the lower class. So, they would be much easier to approach.
The class just below ours can be split into two subclasses: the “nobles” and the “investors”.
“Investors”, as I call them, are those who made it to the upper class through investments, thriftiness, or marketing. These people are not rich by birth, but by perseverance. However, that is the reason why the majority of the “investor” families have wealth for only a couple of generations.
“Nobles” are the true upper class families. They gain their wealth from Old Money, inheritances, although they may also gain more wealth by hiring the “Investors”. These families are often abusive of the lower classes but usually know how to control the lower classes, so they won’t revolt against them.
Finally, we have our class, the overclass— the greatest of the great. Like the “nobles”, we gain our wealth through Old Money. However, our class has more power. With our influence, we can easily choose the next government officials and even start wars. That influence also affects the people of our class, since the overclass tends to abuse all of the other classes— much more than the “nobles”. The overclass looks down on the people from their high places, like towers, skyscrapers and whatnot. We basically have superiority over the other classes, in terms of wealth and power. So, naturally, we would look down upon the other classes and think of them as powerless. We often think so low of the other classes that we believe that we own all of the other classes. We don’t realize that our abuse on the other classes may lead us to our downfall.
To prevent this downfall, we must not abuse the other classes so much. To do that, we must understand them. Finally, to do that, we must socialize with them.
“Understand, kids?” Silber finishes his explanation.
“Hmph!” both siblings scoff in disbelief.
“The lower classes can topple us? Impossible, laughable, unbelievable!” Adelheid comments.
“We just have to put them in their places! Then they won’t think of such a stupid thing!” Rose comments.
“That’s the kind of thinking that toppled other overclass families!” Silber explains, “Now the number of overclass families have dwindled to just a handful!”
“We shall excuse ourselves now, Uncle,” Adelheid turns his back to Silber before walking away.
“Unthinkable! Your eyes should be the same as ours!” Rose does the same.
Once the siblings have left the study and the door closes behind them, Silber laughs, “…That should give them something to think about!”
In his bedroom, Adelheid lies on his bed…deep in thought of how his life has changed so much over the years.
“First that Liar died…then just a few months ago, Father died,” Adelheid looks at the lights on his bedroom ceiling.
“Now, Uncle pulls us out from our home and brings us into the country. What could he be thinking!?” Adelheid gets up and leaves his room.
“He is just like those of the middle class! He acts and talks like them! Father must be embarrassed to know that his brother is some brigand!” Adelheid continues walking, “He barely looks like Father! Perhaps, Grandfather—!”
Adelheid instantly stops, “Father…the son of a Nazi…and I…the grandson of a Nazi…”
“That should also make Uncle the same as Father…Perhaps…those scars are…!” Adelheid continues walking.
“Uncle may have something about this town,” Adelheid thinks then grows a smile, “Perhaps, there may also be those of the upper class here!”
With that thought in mind, he gets a little excited and calls for the driver to bring him to the town.
Within minutes, he enters the town. As he exits his limousine, he notices the townspeople staring at him. After all, who wouldn’t stare at a guy, who wears extravagant clothes that practically scream “rich” and who came out of a limousine?
Adelheid scoffs, “Eyes of envy…”
He wanders around the town alone. He sees the happy faces, which annoy him. He sees the various shops and stands, which he calls “poor”. He even sees the clock tower that oversees the town. Eventually, he finds the town center. The first thing he notices is the fountain. He observes the water rising from the fountain just to fall down.
“Just like the attempts of the lower classes!” Adelheid grins, “Trying to go up, just to fall back down!”
He looks a little lower and finds a single girl. She has brown hair that barely extends past her shoulders. On her hair is a large circular yellow hairclip. She has gentle mature brown eyes. She wears a white shirt that has blue long sleeves and a red short skirt. She quickly catches Adelheid’s attention.
“Hm? She has caught my eye…She must be one of the better ones of this town of commoners…in other words, an upper class lady,” Adelheid believes as he walks to her.
“Hm?” the girl notices Adelheid and quickly stares at him.
“Then…upon closer inspection, she wears the same attire as the commoners,” Adelheid notices then turns away from her.
“Ah, sorry for staring!” the girl apologizes, “Are you new to Mühlenburg?”
“The lower classes don’t deserve my ears…” Adelheid thinks as he continues walking away.
The girl sighs, “Oh…I think I upset him…”
“Keep your thoughts to yourself, peasant girl!” Adelheid scoffs.
“Ah, Miss Saga…what a coincidence to see you here!” another (more elegant) voice is heard.
Adelheid quickly turns around and sees another girl talking to the first. She has long straight black hair. Her brown eyes appear to be haughty and proud. She wears a red dress and a tan blouse. Adelheid instantly knows, “She is of the upper class!”
“G-Greta,” the first girl, Saga, appears surprised.
“What might you be doing here, Miss Saga?” the second girl, Greta, smiles at Saga, “Could you possibly have been waiting for me?”
“Uh, no, I was actually waiting for Anne and Norma,” Saga replies but remembers Adelheid and turns to him.
“What do want, peasant?” Adelheid glares at Saga.
“Ah!” Saga takes a step back.
“S-Saga! What are you doing?!” Greta yells after Saga backed up to her.
“That GEWORFENE (German: one of non-human birth)!” Adelheid is shocked to have seen what had happened.
“I just got a little scared,” Saga admits.
“Of what?!” Greta asks.
“Of me!” Adelheid’s loud voice quickly attracted the attention of those around the fountain.
“Hm?” Greta turns to Adelheid, “And who might you be?”
“I am Adelheid Ignitz,” Adelheid takes Greta’s hand and kiss it.
“WHA—!?” Greta blushes from the kiss.
Adelheid releases Greta’s hand and smiles at her, “It is a pleasure to meet you, Miss—”
“G-Greta von Innstetten,” Greta manages to reply…as she is still blushing.
“‘Von Instetten’? That’s the name of a noble, is it not?” Adelheid continues talking, “Tell me, Miss Greta, why do stay in this rat hole of a town?”
“Well, I—” Greta tries to reply, but—
“‘Rat hole’?” Saga interrupts them, “Excuse me, but Mühlenburg is not a rat hole.”
“I did not give the Geworfene permission to speak,” Adelheid points out.
“‘Geworfene’?” Saga repeats, “I am not—”
“Sir Adelheid, Miss Saga is not an animal!” Greta defends Saga.
“Hm?” Adelheid turns back to Greta.
“Miss Saga is my rival, and the people of this town are good friends of mine!” Greta continues, “So, every person here is not a Geworfene!”
“Hm…I see now. I shall take my word back, for the sake of a lady of nobility,” Adelheid apologizes…sort of, “Miss Greta has been affected by the air of the Geworfenes. I shall forgive her for this insolence. However, she needs to know the difference in social ranking between her and the Geworfenes.”
“O-Okay, I forgive you,” Saga replies.
Adelheid ignores Saga and turns to Greta, “So, Miss Greta, do you know of my family’s lineage?”
“The Ignitz?” Greta asks, “If I recall correctly, your family’s lineage would be…‘Hochadel’ (sovereign nobility)?”
“‘Hochadel’?” Saga repeats.
“Yes, so you must know your place when speaking to us, Miss Saga,” Adelheid scoffs.
“Why do you treat me in such a way?!” Saga asks.
“Sir Ignitz, please refrain from acting in such a way towards Miss Saga!” Greta requests to Adelheid.
“This kindness towards the Geworfenes is starting to annoy me!” Adelheid ignores Saga and tries to reply to Greta, “I—!”
The clock tower’s bell rings four times, telling everyone that the time is now 4:00 PM.
“Hm? I must take my leave now, Miss Greta…” Adelheid bows to Greta and just looks at Saga, “Saga…”
“Farewell, Sir Adelheid,” Greta greets to Adelheid.
“I may return tomorrow. Farewell,” Adelheid bows to Greta again before turning and leaving.
“I may have to force Miss Greta in remembering her place above the Geworfenes,” Adelheid thinks as he continues walking, “However, Miss Greta could just be giving false kindness to Saga. So, her eyes may actually be the same as mine.”
Within minutes, he finds his limousine and is driven to the edge of town, where the Ignitz Mansion is.
“So…my stay here might be more interesting that what I first believed…” Adelheid smirks as he looks out the window of the limousine.
“Hm? What?!” Adelheid feels as if he had seen something fly past his limousine.
Adelheid opens the window and looks outside towards the back of the limousine…and sees nothing, “My imagination?”
As Adelheid looks towards his mansion he notices glitter in the dusking sky.
“What…is it?” Adelheid continues looking as he is being driven to the mansion.
“Brother! Where were you all this time?” Rose asks Adelheid as Adelheid gives the maid his coat.
“Hm? Just taking a stroll through the town,” Adelheid answers, “I’ve found one upper class lady.”
“Oh! Really?!” Rose sounds ecstatic.
“Yes,” Adelheid replies, “I believe that she is a ‘noble’ as Uncle calls them.”
“I see,” Rose sighs from disappointment.
After a short while of thinking, he decides to ask her, “Rose, have you seen anything unusual about the sky?”
“You are pointing out the obvious fact that it is too dark at night?” Rose replies.
Adelheid drops the subject, “Perhaps…I shall spend my time at the roof balcony, Rose.”
“I wish to accompany you, Brother!” Rose hugs Adelheid’s right arm.
“Rose, forgive me, but I wish to collect my thoughts in silence and solitude,” Adelheid explains.
“…I…understand, Brother,” Rose releases Adelheid.
“You!” Adelheid points to a random servant, “Take me to the highest balcony.”
“As you wish, Young Master,” the butler bows to him and escorts Adelheid to the highest balcony.
As soon as Adelheid reaches the balcony, he orders the butler to leave him alone.
As he looks at the moon, he sighs but suddenly turns to an angry face, “So…thatGeworfene…that Geworfene had no right to do such a thing to Miss Greta!”
“Miss Greta insists that she is friends with that Geworfene, but I am sure that she is just pretending,” Adelheid continues.
“In this world, there are only two kinds of people that I accept: the rich and the talented,” Adelheid takes a deep breath before continuing, “However, there is no such thing as a skilled commoner. If the person is talented, it is because he is a high class person!”
He turns towards the edge of the balcony and continues thinking, “We are forced to live here with the commoners…I wish Father were still here…He would have…WHAT?!”
Adelheid realizes that there was a little thing flying near the empty flower pot sitting at the corner of the balcony.
“I think this place seems safe enough…” the little thing sighs.
“Wh-What?” Adelheid walks a little closer to the little thing, “What is it? A fairy?!”
“…Hm…?” the little thing turns to Adelheid. She has long blue hair and sad, painful blue eyes. She also has a pair of little green wings on its back. She has a white headband to pull her blue hair back. On the middle of the headband is a small red gem. She wears a black shirt with long sleeves and black pants. She has a long red cape that is longer than it is. She also has little black slippers, a little golden pendant on her necklace, and a little blue purse. Just on her back are a pair of tiny green wings. After seeing Adelheid, she sighs, “…Humans can’t see us…So, there’s no point in asking questions…”
“And what are you supposed to be?” Adelheid asks after hearing her comment.
“Huh? You…can see me…?” the little thing asks Adelheid. She flies to his eye level and asks, “You can see me…?”
“Of course!” Adelheid barks back, “What do you take me for—a blind man?!”
She flies around Adelheid a few times and explains, “…A human that can see…Season Fairies…? AH—!”
Adelheid grabs her and looks at her carefully, “What is this suppose to be? An animal? A fairy?”
“I am no animal,” she explains, “I am a Season Fairy.”
“‘Season fairy’?” Adelheid repeats.
“Yes,” she replies.
“Elaborate—what is a season fairy?” Adelheid asks.
“…You know that there are multiple seasons and weather phenomenon all over the human world…right?” she asks rhetorically, “Well, Season Fairies are the one’s who can manipulate the weather and bring about those seasons.”
“…I see…And who gave you permission to intrude MY mansion!?” Adelheid adds a little pressure to his hold, obviously hurting the little thing.
“AH!!! P-Please stop!” she screams.
“Answer!” Adelheid yells and slightly loosens his grip.
“…I thought that this place was…abandoned…” she confesses, “…a few days ago…it was empty, so I thought…”
“You are gravely mistaken!” Adelheid yells at her, “This is a mansion owned by the Ignitz family! You wish to trespass my family’s mansion?!”
“…I’m sorry…” she apologizes.
“In the end, I have a softer spot for animals than commoners…I’ll…” Adelheid sighs, “…I’ll forgive you…if you can prove to me that you really are a season fairy…!”
“…How can I do that…?” she asks.
“Show me your magic,” Adelheid orders her, although he obviously sounds skeptical.
“Magic…? Of course…!” she replies.
Adelheid releases it, “…So, show me…!”
“As you wish…” she takes a little recorder out from its purse, “Watch the moon…”
“‘The moon’?” Adelheid repeats.
“Yes, please…” she replies.
Once Adelheid turns to the full moon, she starts playing the recorder. At first, nothing appears to be happening, but Adelheid soon notices that the moonlight is becoming brighter…gentler…and more brilliant.
“What…is this?” Adelheid turns to the fairy.
It stops playing and answers, “I am a Moon Fairy…I can manipulate the brightness of the moon…”
“‘Moon Fairy’, right?” Adelheid asks for its name.
“My name is Mint,” the fairy, Mint, shyly smiles after having hoarded her recorder into her purse, “It’s a pleasure to meet you…”
“Adelheid…Adelheid Ignitz…” Adelheid tries to not embarrass himself from shock, “A REAL FAIRY?! One that controls the strength of the moonlight?! How—?”
“Mister Adelheid,” Mint asks, “Would it be alright if you allow me to stay here in your mansion?”
“…A fairy?” Adelheid gives a few thinking gestures, although the answer is clear, “I shall allow you to stay here, Fairy Mint.”
“‘Mint’ is just fine,” Mint blushes a little.
“If that is the case, ‘Adelheid’ is just fine,” Adelheid smiles at Mint, “If she wishes to be referred to without a title, I must allow it to do the same…It is the code of nobles!”
After a short while of silence, the sound of growling could be heard.
Adelheid turns to Mint…and Mint blushes as she holds her tummy, “…I seem to be quite famished…”
“…Fairies can feel hunger?” Adelheid asks.
“…Yes, like all living things…We need nutrition and sustenance…” Mint explains.
“You have quite the vocabulary for a little thing,” Adelheid replies, “…Speaking of which, how old are you?”
“…Uhm…” Mint starts counting with her fingers, “One, two, three, four, five, six, seven…eight. Ah, eight years old!”
“And you are on your own?” Adelheid asks out of concern, “Are your parents not worried?”
Mint slowly descends, prompting Adelheid to catch her.
Mint eventually starts crying, “…Mommy…Daddy…WAAAAA!!!”
“They…abandoned you?” Adelheid assumes.
“N-No…” Mint tries to wipe her tears away, “…They…are not of the world anymore…”
“They—!” Adelheid quickly realizes.
“I…I have to…stop…c-crying!” Mint tries to calm down, “I’m a…I’m a big girl now so…so I have to stop…!”
“…Do you not have other fairies to mingle with…to comfort you?” Adelheid asks.
“I…I don’t like people…to know me…so much…” Mint obviously tries her best to hold some tears in but fails.
“So, why are you telling me all this?” Adelheid asks her.
“…Because I’m weak…” Mint admits.
“‘Weak’?!” Adelheid realizes, “It shall be easy to manipulate, if that is the case!”
Mint continues crying, “Nobody wanted to be friends with me! Nobody wanted to stay with me! Nobody—”
Adelheid sighs, “Stop…”
Mint sniffles a bit, “…Huh…?”
“I’ll take you…” Adelheid tries to not make eye contact with Mint.
“R-Re…al…ly!?” Mint’s voice starts breaking again.
“Of course!” Adelheid replies, “I can’t be a powerful noble if I can’t take advantage of such an investment, even if it is just a child!”
“Thank you, Adelheid!” Mint flies to Adelheid’s face and gives him a hug.
“…And she dares touch me in such a way!?” Adelheid quickly pulls her from his face and explains, “Only on the condition that you follow my orders! Understand?”
“…O-Of course…!” Mint replies.
“Young Master, it is time for dinner!” one of the maids calls out from inside the mansion.
“…Come with me,” Adelheid turns and heads inside the mansion.
“Y-Yes…!” Mint follows him inside.
While Adelheid is being escorted to the dinning area, he realizes that the maid does not notice Mint, at all! He looks at the other servants and sees that they also do not notice her.
“Why…am I the only one who can see her?” Adelheid thinks for a while and proudly assumes, “Perhaps only those of wealth and power are the only ones who can see them! Interesting…What shall Rose say of this!? Kukukukuku!”
“Adelheid, is there something the matter?” Mint flies closer to him and asks.
“It is nothing…” Adelheid grins, as he whispers.
Upon reaching the dinning table, Adelheid takes his seat across from Rose, while Silber takes his seat at the master’s seat.
“Wa!” Mint gets too excited at the sight of food and quickly snatches a dessert cookie.
“Don’t just help yourself to that! Ask first!” Adelheid scoffs.
“…S-Sorry…” Mint apologizes.
“Hm?” Rose stops trying to help herself to the salad, “Ah! That’s right, Brother! I have forgotten that we have servants for this sort of thing for us! Thank you for reminding me, Brother.”
“I was not…” Adelheid tries to explain, “She…cannot see it either?! What is the meaning of this?!”
“You! Serve me some of that,” Rose orders one of the butlers.
“Adelheid, is there something the matter?” Silber asks Adelheid after noticing that Adelheid is deep in thought and not eating.
“Huh?” Adelheid breaks from his world of wonder.
“Adelheid, I’m going to take this, okay?” Mint snatches a small piece of lobster meat from the table and eats it.
“Uh, alright…” Adelheid replies to Mint then turns to Silber, “I don’t wish for your concern, Uncle!”
“Right…” Silber laughs heartily.
Upon hearing Silber’s laughter, Mint turns around and looks at Silber…and flees onto Adelheid’s face, “There’s a monster here!”
Adelheid tries to pull her from his face, “Although I would love to call him that…he is my Uncle.”
“But…he doesn’t look anything like you!” Mint tries her best to stay on Adelheid’s face.
“This is becoming quite a nuisance!” Adelheid sighs and yells, “Get off of my face!”
Silber laughs heartily again, “Hahaha! You can’t tell the master of the mansion to leave his own dining table!”
Adelheid (with Mint still on his face) tries to explain, “What? No, I—”
“And I believe the expression is ‘Get out of my face’, Brother,” Rose explains.
“…I have been corrected,” Adelheid tries to not make a scene, “I thought this fairy would be a good pawn to hold…but it is nothing but a NUISANCE!”
“Adelheid!” Mint, still on his face, cries in fear of Silber.
“I order you to get off of my face…” Adelheid whispers, “…NOW!”
“…I’m…sorry…” Mint flies off of his face and instead hides behind him.
“I’ll have to think of a way to exile it from my mansion…” Adelheid sighs as he continues eating, “…Perhaps I shall just send her off in the most emotionally hurtful way I can…Ku…”
“…Adelheid…” Mint shyly asks him then points at another desert cookie, “…may I…eat that?”
“…By all means, go ahead,” Adelheid replies (suspiciously).
“‘Go ahead’ and do what?” Rose, assuming that Adelheid is talking to her, asks.
“…Uh, it is nothing…!” Adelheid forces a laugh then looks at Mint as she takes a desert cookie, “…This fairy is making a fool of me! I must at least partially honor my words of allowing it to stay with me…so I shall banish it later tonight!”
After dinner, Adelheid informs Mint that he will be taking his bath but not before ordering Mint to stay in his room for the moment.
“…Adelheid is mad at me…I’m sure…” Mint sits on Adelheid’s bed and starts crying.
“…Everyone…always…gets mad at me…!” Mint cries, “Why? Even Liquorice…Paprika… Clove…and Vanilla…are mad…at me…!”
Mint hugs her legs and cries on her knees, “If—If I knew why they—they were mad at me, I’d apologize!”
“…Mommy…Daddy…” Mint falls to her side and continues crying.
“Adelheid is my new friend…but I made him hate me too…!” Mint muffles her cries on his bed.
“…Please forgive me…Adelheid…!!!” Mint cries loudly.
Still waiting in Adelheid’s room, Mint starts reminiscing about the past week.
Mint begins her story, “When…when I first came to the Human World…”
Six fairies can be seen flying from the sky to the earth.
One appears to be an old man with a pointy red hat and red raiment. His green wings can be noticed right away, as they are much larger compared to Mint’s.
The next one is Mint in her usual shy face.
The next one is another female fairy. She has short brown hair with a snowflake-shaped hairpin on the left side of her hair. She appears to have a cheerful, easy-going, immature personality, if one would judge from her countenance and her brown eyes. She wears a white sleeveless dress which appears to have an almost transparent white skirt. She also wears white shorts and little white boots. Hanging on her shoulder is a little white bag, which has a snowflake insignia. Unlike Mint, her wings can be seen easily, since her dress doesn’t really cover her upper back.
The next appears to be a male fairy. His short light blue hair is cleanly combed back. He appears to be the “cool” type, if one would judge from his countenance and his very light blue (to the point that they look gray) eyes. He wears, what appears to be, a large puffy white beret. He also wears a white shirt with a short (enough to reach the elbow) cape and light blue shorts. As if the short cape is not enough, he also has a light blue scarf around his neck. He also wears simple brown boots. Hanging on his shoulder is a little white shoulder bag, which has a snowflake insignia. His little wings can be seen on his back.
The next one is another female fairy. Most of her long straight magenta hair is covered by a large light blue bandanna. She appears to be the most mature one of the apprentice fairies, if one would judge from her countenance and her blue eyes behind her circular glasses. She wears a short light blue vest over her deep blue blouse, which has short sleeves. She wears an almost transparent blue skirt and fitting light blue pants. She also has little brown shoes. Hanging on her shoulder is a little brown bag, with a cloud-shaped insignia. Her her little wings can be seen easily on her back..
The last one is a male fairy. He looks almost exactly like the fairy in front of him but with differences in clothing and hairstyle. His bandanna is white and covers his forehead and most of his short magenta hair. He appears to be the cheerful type, if one would judge from his countenance and blue eyes behind his circular glassses. His vest is white and is slightly longer than the other one’s. His shirt is gray and has long loose sleeves. His pants are also gray and cover a bit of his brown boots. Hanging on his shoulder is a little brown bag, with a cloud-shaped insignia. His little wings can be seen on his back.
Once they have reached the earth, they fly under a tree to begin their discussion.
“Now, then,” the oldest one coughs, “Here in the human world, you will have your biggest test in becoming a full-fledged Season Fairy!”
“Yay!!!” all the apprentice Season Fairies, except Mint, start cheering.
“Ahem!” the old man coughs, prompting the cheering to stop, “Here is what you have to do…find a ‘Twinkle’!”
“‘Twinkle’?” the apprentice Season Fairies ask.
ix f
“What’s a ‘Twinkle’?” the boy with the bandanna asks.
“Hm?” the old man looks at him (although it is very difficult to tell, since the old man’s eyebrows seem to have grown large enough to cover his eyes), “That is your mission! Do you want me to tell you what the answer is to something that you have to find yourself?!”
“Yep!” the girl in the white dress cutely replies.
“Vanilla! I wasn’t being rhetorical!” the old man yells at the girl in the white dress (Vanilla).
“‘Rhetorical’?” Vanilla wonders about the meaning of the word.
“But, Master Elder, would it not be mean to give us a scavenger hunting list without a single clue?” the girl with the bandanna asks.
“The ‘Twinkle’ is something that you will have to find yourself!” the old man (the Elder) yells.
“…Unfair…” Mint says under her breath.
“Anyway,” the Elder turns around, “I wish you all luck.”
“Master Elder, are you going somewhere?” the boy with the beret asks.
“Yes, I have…important matters to attend to!” the Elder replies before flying off somewhere around the town. If one would listen carefully enough, he appears to be shouting, “My Ginger dear!”
Once the Elder is gone, the boy with the beret turns to the others, “I think we should introduce ourselves. I’m Clove, an apprentice Blizzard Fairy.”
“Oh! Me next! Me next! Me next!” Vanilla raises her hand and runs to Clove’s side, “I’m Vanilla, an apprentice Snow Fairy! Hello, everyone!”
“And I’m…” the girl with the bandanna takes her turn, “Paprika, an apprentice Rain Fairy.”
“And my twin sister, Paprika!” the boy with the bandanna comments, “I’m Liquorice, an apprentice Cloud Fairy.”
Once the others have finished, they turn to Mint.
“Ah, me?” Mint shyly takes a step back.
“Of course, you, silly!” Vanilla giggles and pulls Mint to the center.
“I-I’m…” Mint blushes, “…Mint…an apprentice Moon Fairy…”
“‘Moon Fairy’?” Clove focuses his attention on Mint.
“Wow! A Moon Fairy!” Vanilla squeals, “I’ve never met one before!”
“That’s because only great musical talent can make you a Moon Fairy,” Clove explains.
“Huh?” Vanilla wonders.
“I’m not that good…” Mint modestly replies.
“Oh! I remember!” Vanilla spontaneously shouts.
“What?” Liquorice asks.
“What are your instruments?” Vanilla asks as she takes her piccolo out of her little bag.
“I have a violin,” Paprika replies as she pulls her violin and violin bow from out of her little bag.
“I own a Hardanger fiddle (similar to a violin but not completely),” Clove replies…with his saxophone already on hand.
“…Wow!” Vanilla squeals and flies to Clove to take a closer look at the saxophone, “How did you fit that into your bag?”
“I—” Clove tries to reply but is interrupted by the sound of a cello being played.
“This would be my cello…” Liquorice continues playing the cello.
“WOW!!!” Vanilla squeals even louder and dashes to Liquorice for a front row seat.
“…The better question is: how did HE fit that into his bag?!” Clove comments.
“Mint, what is your instrument?” Paprika asks Mint.
“M-Me?” Mint shyly replies, “…I…have a…recorder…”
“So, show us,” Paprika asks.
“I, uh…” Mint scratches the back of her head.
“Mint! I wanna see a recorder! Can I? Can I? Can I?” Vanilla excitedly asks.
“…S-Sure,” Mint carefully takes her recorder out from her bag and shows everyone else.
“Wow!” Vanilla takes the recorder and looks at it carefully, “It looks almost like a piccolo!”
“Except you blow it on the end, instead of the side,” Clove explains.
“P-Please be careful, Vanilla!” Mint warns Vanilla.
“Don’t worry, Mint! Here you g—Aah!” Vanilla tries to give it back to Mint but ends up tripping on her own foot…and lands on Mint.
“Aah!!!” Mint cries. Unbeknownst to her, her bag had fallen from the commotion…and released whatever was hoarded inside— a piccolo, a violin, a harp, and many other musical instruments.
“S-Sorry, Mint! I’m really really really sorry!” Vanilla apologizes as much as she can.
“…N-No, it’s okay. I’ll be fine…” Mint forces a smiling face, since she’s a bit scared at this point.
“What in the world!?” Liquorice stares at the various musical instruments that have fallen out of Mint’s bag.
“A Hardanger fiddle?” Clove takes the fallen Hardanger fiddle and checks it just to be sure.
“And that’s a normal violin!” Paprika takes the fallen violin and inspects it.
“Wow! Mint, you can play the piccolo?” Vanilla curiously asks Mint.
“Y-Yeah…a little,” Mint replies modestly.
“…So…you can play all of these instruments, right?” Clove asks.
“…Y…Yeah…” Mint hesitates to reply.
“…Well, I’m going to go look for place to plant my Magic Seed,” Clove changes the subject and flies off, “Come on, Paprika, Liquorice, Vanilla.”
“Huh? Wait up, Clove!” Liquorice drops Mint’s violin and tries to catch up to him.
“Liquorice! Wait!” Paprika does the same.
“A race? I wanna play, too!” Vanilla dashes off with the others.
Once the four are gone, Mint is left alone…
“…Clove…didn’t say…my name…Why?” Mint thinks as she picks up all of her musical instruments and hoards them into her bag.
“…T-They hate me, too…” Mint jumps to conclusions; however, her conclusion isn’t too far from reality.
“…Mommy…Daddy…please help me…!” Mint starts to cry, “…I wanna make friends but…I don’t think I can…”
“…I…What am I doing? I’m a big girl now…I’m not supposed to be—” Mint’s tears quickly cascade down her cheeks as she screams, “CRYING!!!”
q – O – o – O – o – O – p
Just standing behind the door to his room, Adelheid listens to Mint’s story.
“Hmph, I decide to banish her earlier than planned, but I end up listening to her story…!” Adelheid silently scoffs.
He sighs then thinks about it logically, “So, it’s a talented fairy…All talented people are, at least, nobles…therefore, it is a noble, as well!” (Although his form of logic is…difficult to believe)
“Now, I have a newfound attraction to it…for it is a noble! I won’t send it away…” Adelheid thinks, “Nobles have to keep each other healthy and well by their company, so I shall do the same for this child…”
Still inside Adelheid’s room, Mint tries to stop crying.
“The reason why they hate you, Mint…” Adelheid enters his room.
“Adelheid! I’m sorry! I—” Mint apologizes on impulse.
“The reason why the others hate you is…” Adelheid continues, “…because they are jealous of you!”
“‘Jealous’?” Mint asks.
“Of course,” Adelheid explains, “Throughout history, the lower classes have always envied the wealth and talent of the upper classes! Without a doubt, they are jealous of you.”
“…R-Right…” Mint reluctantly agrees but has other thoughts in mind, “…I’ll stop playing those if…they are jealous…That way we can all be friends…”
“Mint…rejoice to know that you are truly accepted by me…” Adelheid, for the first time, calls Mint by her name, as he proudly explains.
“…Adelheid!” Mint flies to Adelheid’s face and hugs him.
“Hmph,” Adelheid scoffs, “This is forgivable…When Rose was that young, she acted similarly…”
“Adelheid, I’ll be the best fairy that I can be! So, you won’t hate me again…” Mint continues crying.
“How this will turn out…I know not…” Adelheid sighs, “…but I won’t think of Mint as a tool anymore.”
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