Seeing that Bianka hadn't offered any rebuttal within the time she had allotted, Cecilia continued with her answer. "Those clothes were very dirty. I changed you into a fresh set and washed them for you."
Bianka nodded, then was suddenly reminded of the large shirt that revealed her stomach when she looked down, her bare legs, and the... undergarments that had been changed along with her clothes.
The blush that had just faded from her face rushed back, painting her flustered yet composed face a bright red.
The look was exceptionally cute on her small face. Cecilia suddenly felt an urge to pinch Bianka's cheeks, but she managed to restrain herself.
If only this was really my daughter. Kiana used to look just like this when she was trying to surprise me and I caught her in the act~
That flustered attempt to hide, but being unable to disguise her emotions, writing everything on her face, yet still trying to maintain her pride, creating that tsundere-like appearance...
How wonderful...
This inability to hide her feelings made Cecilia a little envious. She had never experienced such an uncontrollable surge of emotion.
As mentioned before, a Schariac could easily control their facial expressions, outward emotions, and even their thought processes, and Cecilia was a master among them.
So, for as long as she could remember, Cecilia had never let anyone read her true thoughts. She had always presented a perfect facade, the kind of perfection that all the children of noble families envied.
Because she stood so high, all the other newcomers of her generation were overshadowed. She was the benchmark that made that generation despair, even overshadowing Siegfried and Theresa.
Until that night, a white-haired youth with a ponytail climbed in through her window.
"Who are you?" Cecilia slowly sat up in bed, one hand holding the blanket to cover herself, the other behind her back, her fingers already on the emergency call button.
But she didn't press it immediately, because she could tell that the other person was likely a Kaslana.
And the young man could also tell...
...her inner anticipation.
"My name is Siegfried. Siegfried Kaslana." The young man raised his hand and gave Cecilia a flippant salute, his voice light, yet filled with an inexplicable confidence.
"Someone told me there's a princess in this castle waiting to be rescued. Do you know where she is?"
Although Siegfried was asking, his gaze remained fixed on Cecilia... to be precise, on her pure eyes, which showed no trace of a ripple.
Cecilia was certain that her eyes hadn't wavered in the slightest, but after Siegfried finished speaking, he seemed to have noticed something, a look of irrepressible joy on his face.
"I'm sorry, I don't know where this 'princess' you speak of is," Cecilia shook her head, speaking to Siegfried in a gentle tone. "This is the territory of the Schariac family. Perhaps you've come to the wrong place?"
"The wrong place?" Siegfried was genuinely stunned for a moment. Then, he squatted on the windowsill and struck a very chuunibyou-like detective thinking pose. "That's not right... Big Sis Kallen clearly said it was the Schariacs...
"Aiya, I almost got sidetracked!" Siegfried's sudden epiphany about his own confusion made Cecilia a little puzzled.
This young man seems... not very bright?
The not-so-bright Kaslana, after his epiphany, frustratedly ran his hands through his hair, messing it up and even loosening the small ponytail at the back of his head.
"Ah!" A crisp snapping sound made Siegfried let out a heartbroken cry. He dramatically snatched the fallen hair tie and held it in front of his eyes with a pained expression. "Wuwu... my Alahato limited edition hair tie..."
The deep sorrow was not faked... Cecilia even thought for a moment that Siegfried had lost not a hair tie, but a long-time companion.
That undisguised display of emotion made Cecilia's heart, which had not wavered in over a decade, tremble uncontrollably for a moment.
"If you don't mind, please use mine," Cecilia had a thought she couldn't control for the first time, but she still maintained her proper composure.
She got out of bed, picked up one of her own hair ties, walked to the bedside, and held it out to Siegfried.
Siegfried was stunned. His incredibly expressive face was now one of shock. He stared at Cecilia with wide eyes, then looked uncertainly at the hair tie in her hand.
After looking back and forth several times, Siegfried suddenly shrank back warily, balancing on the windowsill with his powerful core strength.
"You're too young, I can't agree," he said, his tone serious, but the feigned seriousness was also audible.
Cecilia even saw Siegfried raise a hand and point at her. "Girls have to know how to protect themselves, you know? I know I'm handsome, but you're still too young. At this age, you should be studying hard and trying to get into a good university~"
Cecilia, who had graduated from university three years ago and had now received a qualification for advanced studies in Future City: "..."
Her expression must have wavered a little then. Cecilia raised her other hand and pointed in a direction for Siegfried. "The surveillance in that area is under maintenance. You can leave from there."
"Oh? Is that so?" Siegfried looked back in pleasant surprise. After a quick glance, he turned back, bent down excitedly, and grabbed Cecilia's hand, shaking it vigorously. "Thank you! You've been a great help!"
"But I can't leave just yet," he said, letting go of her hand. Cecilia suppressed the growing unease she felt as Siegfried continued, "I made a bet with someone, and I lost. She told me to come here and find a trapped princess... but she didn't tell me who..."
"Ah! You brat!" Suddenly, an impatient voice came from downstairs. Cecilia knew it was the voice of the night patrol. She watched as the Siegfried on the windowsill was startled and looked around guiltily.
The beam of a flashlight was already rapidly approaching. In that short, less than half-a-second, Cecilia watched Siegfried's expression change from guilt to panic, and then from hesitation to desperation...
Wait, why desperation?
"Whatever! Since Big Sis Kallen said to find a trapped princess, you'll do!" Siegfried looked at Cecilia, his eyes showing a strange determination... "fierceness"? "resoluteness"?
In any case, it was a very strange determination.
And she would never forget the hand Siegfried had extended to her after that, illuminated by the beam of light that was so conspicuous in the night.
And that one sentence—
"Hey, want to run away with me?"