Their Saturday has been... eventful.

Arguably, while they can say that nothing productive has been accomplished, none would claim they did not enjoy their day. First and foremost of course is that they get to spend the day with Katarina which is already a good feat as it is but more so, that the lady of their dreams even... 'played' with them (that was the closest word Mary could think of to describe what Katarina did).

Excluding the one from a few days ago, in which Katarina was delirious due to her fever, they had never heard Katarina sing. They will hear her whistle or hum from time to time but never actually sing, thus what she did back in the council room was a complete surprise to everyone but it didn't end just there. They got to witness more of it yesterday paired with moves that have successfully taken their breath away.

Overall, it was such an experience.

If only the day had ended up on that positive note.

No, it's nothing about Katarina's dark magic, and no, she's not in any danger whatsoever.

It's about Nicol and Sophia's betrayal! How dare those two plot behind everyone's back and betray them. While they were busy worrying about Katarina and looking for ways to stop her from that dangerous idea of flying with that owl, Nicol secretly went to Silvers and instead asked for him and his sister to be included in the activities. He had been coming to meet Silvers since last week to train owl riding and was able to hone his skill to a decent degree in such a short time (That's according to sir Silvers. They didn't meet any owls despite Katarina and Sophia's petition).

Had Katarina not babbled about the Ascart siblings joining them, the rest of the gang would not even know about their malicious plan.

In response to this, Keith, Gerald, and Alan asked to come too, but they were turned down by Silvers for the reason that he only prepared two owls and while he could surely get some more, it would be near impossible for the three to tame them and even have enough of time to practice riding in just an overnight.

Gerald's eyes twitch in annoyance as he stares at the ever-smiling face of his best friend as if he didn't just betray him. Sophia's grin is just as annoying too!

The only saving grace for those who will be left on the ground is that the Ascart siblings will not be riding with Katarina and will have a separate owl of their own.

"...So we should wear equestrian attire for tomorrow?" Sophia asked Silvers.

"... Right, plus goggles and all, you're a wind mage but it's better to have something physical to protect your eyes." He advised.

"I made my own headgear!" Katarina declares "I'm so excited for tomorrow!"

"I am too, and I'm sure my brother is looking forward to it as well. " She gives Mary and Gerald a quick side eye and smirk before quickly turning her attention back to Katarina "He's been preparing for it since last week."

"I wonder if Shiro-san would let me drive Hoots?" Katarina muses.

Anne whispers something to Silvers. It's difficult to read the maid's almost expressionless face but Keith notices a little hint of trouble from her though it only lasts for a moment for she is immediately reassured by Silvers and presented her with a large parcel.

While the group of those who would be having an excursion tomorrow are having discussions about their preparation, those who are left out could only watch them in defeat.

Soon enough, Silvers mentions the time and advises that they depart soon, otherwise, they will run out of daylight on their way back to their dorm. Although he offers for Anne and Katarina to stay a bit longer which Katarina delightfully accepts but is ultimately rejected by the maid.

Since they will all be having the same destination, which is back to their dormitory, Gerald brings the idea of joining her fiance's carriage. A motion vehemently rejected by Keith, reasoning that it would be too cramped with him in there. Also, there's no way Mary would not insist too if Gerald gets to join them and there's no need for them to be in the same carriage at all since everyone has their own, except one.

In the end, Maria gets to join the Claes carriage for she gets a personal invitation from Katarina, although Keith made sure that she didn't get to sit beside or even in front of his sister.

"What's in the box?" Katarina inquires to her maid.

Keith does not mind and would have completely ignored the aforementioned box, at least until his sister points it out. Now it piques his interest, at least only for a little bit. Not that he had anything else to do while they were in the carriage. Had the box been given to her his sister however, it would be a different matter but it is hardly the case since it's obvious that whatever is inside that box is Silver's gift to their maid, Anne.

"I may have mentioned that I don't have an equestrian attire for tomorrow..." The maid replies.

"You could have told me earlier, Nee-sama. We could have tailored one for you!"

"I never needed one, Milady, at least until now."

"Can I see it? Please? When you try it later."

"Sure, Milady, though I would have to change into your room."

"Of course, anything! " His sister cheerfully agrees. "Did he say what enchantment he put in there?"

"What do you mean enchantment, milady?" Anne looks puzzled. "He did not mention anything."

"It's a surprise then?"

"Lady Katarina, why do you think it's enchanted?" Maria inquires,

"I just feel like it is, besides, it's Shiro-san's gift for Nee-sama, he'd surely make it super special."

"Milady..." Anne is unable to say anything to hide her mild embarrassment.

His sister has a point though, so far, everything that has come from that man was surely not short of wonder and it's safe to assume that the dress may have something in it. Still, despite his curiosity, it's not like he can join them later when they find that out.

The three girls around him continue talking with Maria, leading with more praises about Katarina's surprising talent for singing. It continues for a short while until he feels his sister's head leaning on his shoulders.

Katarina has fallen asleep.

He puts his hand around her shoulder to secure her (and to enjoy the situation as well.) His relationship with Katarina is a little complicated for his liking but this is still his privilege as her brother and he is willing to make the most of it.

So regardless of how much the red-fuming Maria glares at him, she could burn in envy for all he cares and suck it. All he could wish for right now is to borrow his sister's artifact and get a commemorative portrait of this scenario but there's no way of doing that without waking her up.

He'll get his chance some other time.

"That's not an equestrian outfit!" Lady Katarina outright comments upon seeing her maid wearing the clothes gifted by Silvers.

Anne agrees with her mistress's remarks. Instead of the discussed attire, the clothes she is having right now are a matching replica of Silvers' own outfit with the exception of some adjustments to facilitate a feminine figure and the lack of mask and hat. The blouse, the vest and tie, the belt, pants, and boots, all in different shades of white.

"He got you matching clothes!" Her mistress states as she skips and circles around her, inspecting every nook of the clothes she is wearing.

Yesterday evening, it seemed that all of that day's activities finally caught up to Lady Katarina as she slept through most of their trip back to the dormitory, and barely woke up to only get into her room and change into her pajamas before resuming her sleep. So today, the pent-up excitement for the upcoming trip made Lady Katarina wear her green equestrian outfit way earlier than she should have. It was barely past noon and Silvers said that he would come to pick them up by 4 pm. With nothing to do at the moment but wait, Her mistress recalls her promise that she would show her the dress hence, with her mistress's insistence, is why Anne has to wear her outfit early as well.

However, this is actually not the first time she has worn the outfit because she tried it already last night. Lady Katarina has mentioned that the dress may have some magic in it and it indeed has. They were a little too large for her when she first saw them but they magically shrunk and adjusted their size to fit the moment she wore them. Also, it couldn't be anything but magic is the reason why they are so damn comfortable that she even fell asleep wearing them.

Especially the boots. They are soft, firm, and gently fit perfectly to her hills and the design matches her regular maid dress as well. They were leagues above her usual shoes that she didn't have to think twice in deciding to have the boots as her regular footwear from now on. With them on her feet, she could feel that either standing or walking for a whole day would be a literal 'cakewalk' as they say.

"Hmmmm, Shiro-san really wants me to feel like a third wheel. Too bad I would be too busy admiring the skies to care." Lady Katarina then declares.

She doesn't know what 'Third Wheel' exactly means but she at least gets the context.

"Brother, you're nervous?" Sophia notices the slight shaking of her brother's hands as he is helping her hair braid her hair.

"Of course I am," Nicol admits to his sister. "How about you?"

"I'm more excited, really. I never thought that I would ever get the chance for this." She turns around and smiles at him "You're the best!"

Nicol returned the smile. "I'm glad."

"But seriously, you convinced Sir Silvers to let us join, and even learned how to fly an owl! How did you convince him to teach you?"

"I happen to catch him in his free time. More than him, it's the great owl that actually needs effort to convince. It was smooth sailing after I got to tame one."

"And you're okay lying to Prince Gerald?"

"Well..." He shrugs "I didn't exactly lie to him, I simply didn't tell them and I would if they asked."

"But you didn't."

"Everyone is busy with their studies. Bringing it up would surely cause distraction so I kept it to myself."

"That's cruel brother. " She replied, giggling.

"That I am aware..."

An hour before their 'Go' time, Katarina already went to her field to wait despite Anne's protest. As usual, one by one the rest of the gang starts to appear as well and Mary is the first one to arrive.

"You look great, Lady Katarina!" Mary greets the young Lady Claes. Seeing Katarina dressed like this is a rare occasion and while her common attire is undeniably beautiful, seeing her crush in a sort of masculine attire triggers some of her... personal fantasies.

"Thanks, Mary! You too look lovely as always!" Lady Katarina returns the praise.

Lady Katarina just called her 'Lovely'. She was barely able to quell her squeal. Too bad neither the third prince nor the Claes heir were present to hear it. In the meantime, she also sees Katarina's maid, Anne, on the side wearing a particular set of clothing.

"Isn't that-"

"Yes!" Katarina answers right away before she can ask. "Shiro-san gave her matching clothes. Isn't it sweet? And it looks perfect with Anne, doesn't it?"

"Milady!" The embarrassed maid protests.

"Yes, it does look good on you, Miss Anne." She praises the maid as well. The attire made her look more... professional but it sort of removes the motherly appeal usual to the maid.

"T-thank you, Lady Mary."

"I tried the coat and it was awesome. I want one as well." Lady Katarina further comments.

"We could go shopping!" She immediately suggests. She needs to seal the deal before anyone else gets here and just like Nichol did, keep it secret from everyone. "I know some great boutiques,"

"Sure, but I'll ask Shiro-san first if he has another spare, I really want the same one as Anne's, perhaps in a different color."

"Eh?"

"Milady, I doubt Sir Silvers will even agree to that. Remember what he said yesterday?" Miss Anne interjects. While the maid's comment does help her agenda, she senses a little panic from the maid's tone thus she gets a feeling that Miss Anne has a different reason for interfering.

"Oh, right! Awww..."

"But," The maid continues, not leaving her mistress downhearted "Perhaps you can have a completely different one and we can ask him to enchant it so it would feel like this one?"

"Right! That's better, I can design it myself so it'll be more personalized." Lady Katarina then turns back to her "Can we shop for fabrics and threads instead?"

"Of course-"

"Sure, we can!" This time, it is the third prince who interrupts her by somehow sneaking behind them.

"Prince Gerald, we are talking about matters of dresses and articles for ladies. Surely you know it's inappropriate for a man to be involved." She immediately snarks at him.

"I heard clearly that Katarina said fabrics and not dresses. Surely it is not a dress yet so I don't see a reason why I can't accompany my fiance to buy those." Prince Gerald used the same tone to reply.

"Oh my! Even so, it is meant to be made into a dress, something a lady like me would know more about than you."

"I also heard that she wants to make a coat, not a dress and unlike you, I wear something in kind."

"But it is still to be worn by a lady, hence it would count as a dress. " She counters "Isn't that right, lady Katari...na?" She turns to Lady Katarina in hopes of getting her to agree and repel the third prince only to find that she is no longer with them. Instead, she is now on the far side of the table eating cupcakes served by Maria.

Miss Anne was missing. She probably steps away to get some refreshments.

"You look good in those clothes, Lady Katarina!" Maria commends.

"Thank you, Maria."

"Sister, the crumbs..." Lord Keith wipes his sister's mouth after finishing what seems to be her third cupcake already.

"You know, I wish I could dress like this more often. These clothes feel way better than my dresses. It's easier to move and I don't have to worry about having creases. Do I really have to wear a dress all the time?"

"You're a lady, sister. You are expected to present yourself properly, and that includes well... wearing dresses."

"Is it some sort of law?"

"I don't think there is, although it's more of a societal expectation for ladies to do so." Lord Nicol arrives and joins the conversation. Beside him is his sister who quickly made his way towards Lady Katarina.

"You look wonderful, Sophia!" Lady Katarina greets Sophia with praise. "Nicol, you-...look g-great!..." She did the same to the eldest Ascart who was letting out a bright smile.

'Dammit, she's weak against that stupid smile of his!' Mary curses internally. A sentiment that she is sure shared by everyone except the Ascart siblings themselves.

Perhaps sharing the same thought, Mary and Gerald immediately work on interrupting the two.

"Lady Katarina, do you truly prefer this type of attire instead of dresses?" The marchioness steps in front of her crush, blocking the view of older Ascart who is also being dragged aside by the third prince.

"Not that I hate wearing dresses, they sure fit for certain occasions but I think it's better to wear an alternative for everyday clothing." Lady Katarina then swiveles her head to peek over her, looking at Prince Gerald and Lord Nicol. "Are they alright? Gerald sounds angry."

Like water being poured into a fire, Prince Gerald halts whatever he is doing and faces Lady Katarina with a very controlled smile "I'm just reminding Nicol of something crucial. Right, Nicol?"

Nicol nods but keeps that annoying smile on his face.

Geralds's eyes twitch.

Thankfully, Lady Katarina is clueless about the two and returns her attention to the ladies around her (and Lord Keith) and their discussion about Sorcian culture for wearing dresses and alternatives.

"Where's Prince Alan?" Mary asks after a while, noticing that everyone is already present except the fourth prince and her fiance.

"He's with me." Answers by Silver, who also appeared out of nowhere but it's typical for him to do so. They are sort of used to it.

"Shiro-san!" And like usual, Lady Katarina rushes and even jumps to greet him only for him to swiftly dodge, although he holds her by the shoulder to save her from falling into the ground and he does it so while looking straight at the arriving maid "You look well, Miss Sherry."

"Just well?" The maid replies.

"They look good on you, truly! But it still cannot beat you in your usual outfit." He answers. "You're still way gorgeous with your maid dress though I'm sure that you'll be lovely with any regardless."

"Oh?!" She averts her gaze with her face starting to redden "Well, thank you...I love...it... these clothes I mean! T-they are very comfortable."

"Glad to hear it! If I may interest you in more-"

"Spare the flirting, we have somewhere to be!" Lady Katarina interrupts the two, annoyingly tapping the table to get the two's attention.

"We're not!" Denies by Miss Anne.

"We'll be fine." Answers by Sir Silvers.

"Didn't you say Prince Alan is with you?" Mary asks. She feels that it is fine to interject now "Where is he?"

Sir Silvers points his thumb to the sky behind him. "Up there!"

From that direction, multiple figures start to appear, flying and descending towards them. It doesn't take a moment before they recognize that those figures are great owls, and one of them has the white-haired prince on its back. All three lands in their vicinity just after a short while.

The pure white one is Hoots, whom they are all familiar with. The other one is grey with streaks of black and white and the last one is copper, much like Mary's own hair. The fourth prince jumps down from the back of the last owl and lands on the floor with a resounding thud.

"Hell~o Everyone!" Alan yells while removing his headgear.

"You don't have to yell!" Greets by his furtherly annoyed brother "Also, what are you doing?!"

"Haven't you seen? I was riding an owl!"

"Stop yelling!"

"Sorry, my ears feel kind of clogged somehow. I can hardly hear myself." Alan finally speaks in a softer tone, or at least tries to. He is also scratching his ear.

"That's because of the rapid changes in your altitude, didn't I tell you to circle for your descent?" Sir Silvers says as he approaches.

"You didn't tell me what it is for."

"Close your mouth, pinch your nose together, and blow softly. That should help."

Alan nods and does what has been told to him. From behind him, Lord Nicol approaches one of the great owls. The bird recognizes him and lowers its head, allowing him to pet it. Sophia was beside following his brother's lead.

On another hand, Lady Katarina runs past all of them and jumps to Hoots's neck, embracing it.

'It was at least 5 feet, can she always jump that high?' Mary raised an eyebrow wondering about what she had just seen.
"Are you ready, Hoots? I finally got to ride you today!"

"Hoo" The owl responds, sounding unamused while mildly waving its head to shake off its sudden baggage.

"Lady Katarina, please let go of Miss Hoots!" The maid runs after her mistress. Sir Silvers is also following her but he is intercepted by Prince Gerald.

"Sir Silvers, a word..."

"Yes, Your Highness~?" He did address the prince properly, or at least by words. The tone is still more of joking rather than respectful.

"Didn't you say it would be impossible to learn the skills of riding an owl overnight?"

"I stand corrected. Turns out your brother can. We had a long night and his skills are barely passable, nevertheless, he did it."

The third prince then turns to his brother. "So I heard that you went out last night, is this what you meant? "

"Yes, I only went to my room to get some spare clothes and I went back right away."

"You should have told me so! I should have gone with you."

"I was going to, but I was sent away by your butler, Jerome. He said that you wish not to be disturbed." Alan shrugs.

"And you agreed to teach him, just like that?" Prince Gerald turns back to Sir Silvers.

"Not my first idea, no, but well... curse Geoffrey and that silver tongue of his."

"Geoffrey? You mean our brother, the first prince?" Gerald asks astounded.

"He was there when I got back and he convinced Sir Silvers for me. I was surprised as well to see him there, to be honest." It was Alan who answered.

'He calls the first prince by the first name and without a title?' Mary noted.

"Mary," She then hears Alan call her, breaking her thoughts.

"Yes, Prince Alan?"

"We should still have some time before we depart. You can come with us if you want. We can ride together with Auburn." He then gestures to the bronze-colored owl.

"Really?!"

"Well, let's ask Auburn first if it's alright with her." They both turn towards the bronze owl behind them who is looking at her with its head tilted diagonally. The owl steps forward towards Mary and is now towering in front of her. She raises her hands towards it and tries to reach for its head to pet it.

"May I? " She asks. The owl slowly lowers its head but does not let her touch its face. Auburn dodges her hand, slowly opens its beak, and...

Well... it went for her headdress. Right now, an owl is biting the flower accessory on her head with its beak.

"HUH?!" She and the people around gasp in confusion.

"She likes the flower on your head." Sir Silvers explains on behalf of the owl.

"Is that so?" She asks.

"Hoo!" The owl nods.

"Well, if you would let me ride on you, then it's yours. Deal?" She extends her hands to the owl but immediately pulls it back halfway through as she realizes that the one she speaking with does not have a hand to shake.

"Hoo!" The owl replies in a higher tune and nods once more.

Mary takes off the said accessory and she notices the owl lowers its head in front of her. Having an idea of what it meant, she then puts the flower clip onto the side of the owl's head and even pulls a mirror from her pocket to show the owl how it looks. Auburn looks into itself for a moment and then it jumps around them, albeit happily.

It's kind of odd seeing such a beast joyfully skipping around and it is just because of a simple hair clip. Still, it was such a sweet moment for the owl.

And a blessing for her!

"Looks like you passed!" Alan then congratulates her "I kinda feel cheated though. It took quite some of me to get in her good graces."

"What did you-" She does, however, just realized another thing, something far more important than knowing her fiance's troubles " I have to get changed!" She then hurries as fast as her legs can carry her back to her dorm room.

"Hurry!" She hears from Alan as she leaves the area.

Mary Hunt returned to the scene a few moments after she left which is a surprise for a lady of her caliber. It makes Silvers wonder if it was already planned out despite the fourth prince's claims last night. Alan returned a couple of hours after they all departed, demanding to learn the skills needed to ride an owl. His first thought of course was to outright dismiss the prince if not for the first prince being there.

Geoffrey owes him another one for that.

Going back to the situation at hand...

"...Make sure that all of the harness is clipped and locked properly and even though it's connected to the saddle, keep your hands on the handles." Silvers provides pointers and reminders one last time before they departed and they all nodded(at least those that were included in the trip.) "Any questions?"

"Sir Silvers...," An angel speaks up to get his attention, not that she doesn't have it yet.

"Yes?"

"Hoots's saddle is only for two people." Lady Anne pointed. "Shouldn't it be three?"

"Oh right! I forgot we're bringing Midori-chan along, I thought it would be just us."

"HEY!"

"Just kidding!" He brushes the hair of the now fuming Lady Katarina to calm her down "There there, if you get riled up too much or Hoots won't let you on her." He then turns back to the maid and answers the longing inquiry "As much as I love to, I'm afraid I won't be riding with you for this trip"

"But who will take the reins?" She asks worriedly.

"Well... unless you want her to do it" He gestures towards Katarina "You would have to. I advise against having your mistress do it though. She's quite... impatient."

Katarina raises an eyebrow.

"How about you?"

"I would still come with you of course, but I'll be flying on my own. It'll be better that way so I can watch all three of you." He waves at everyone.

Lady Anne nods in agreement but he can definitely see that she's tense. For that, he put a hand on one of her shoulders and looked her in the eye. "I'll always be looking at you, but I'm sure you know that already." He winks at her.

She only looks at him with a deadpan expression.

"Besides, you don't have to actually drive Hoots. She knows what to do and you'll basically just have to hold firmly and make sure Lady Katarina here won't do anything drastic."

"I am right here, ya know? Stop treating me like an unruly child!" Green-chan interjects but is ignored.

"If anything happens, you don't even have to call me." He offers his other hand for reassurance.

Anne takes a deep breath and lets it all out as a sigh before taking his hand with both of hers, enveloping them "Alright, I trust you."

"It'll be great, I promise..."

"Can we please go now?!" Calls by the impatient critter that her girl calls 'Mistress' who is now standing in front of them with her hands to her waist. The trance between Silvers and Anne breaks, making Anne let go of his hand and step back in embarrassment.

"You know, someday when you find yourself in a very romantic moment, I'll be there to throw a frog at you."

"HAH! As if I'll be afraid of a frog."

"Maybe you aren't, but your lover could. It'll be enough to ruin the moment."

"As if that would happen in the first place." Several gasps, hiccups, and sighs resounded simultaneously in the background. " Now quit stalling and let's go!"

"Hai~" Defeated, he finally agrees. Raising his hand high, he snaps his fingers a couple of times, getting the attention of all the owls present and they all move in front of him in line with Hoots in the middle. Solidified earth rises beside each of them becoming a platform so the passengers can ride their owls easily.

"Finally!" Katarina uttered in excitement as she finally got to ride Hoots. The moment Shiro-san made the platforms, she spent no time getting onto the owl right away and securing herself to the saddle. In the meantime, Shiro-san is currently helping Nee-sama with her dress, which seems to be unnecessary since Nee-sama has done it properly already.
He is pampering Nee-sama too much and it seems that Nee-sama is getting used to it as she is no longer being bashful of his approach.

'If we just let those two, they will spend most of the time for our trip idly flirting with each other!' Aggressive Katarina points out.

'Still, shouldn't we just have let them be? This is supposed to be their date and we're just tagging along.' Timid Katarina counters.

'While you may be right, I agree with Aggressive on this one. This trip is supposed to be our price for ace-ing the exams!' Chairwoman Katarina joins in. 'Credits to studious, by the way!'

Studious just made a crisp salute.

'Besides, it's no longer just us. Nichol, Sophia, Alan, and Mary joined at the last minute!' Chairwoman Katarina continues. 'It seems that we may be wrong after all about Alan neglecting Mary. He trained diligently overnight just so he could bring Mary along on this trip.'

'A trip that will be jeopardized if we don't do something' Aggressive Katarina reminds them.

'Even so, I just... think we are overreacting. It is still early. I'm sure we won't miss the sunset even if we let them be for a while. Also, everyone else was still getting situated' Timid points to the screen which shows Alan who was helping Mary to get on their owl, and Nicol who was double or even triple-checking the straps on his sister. Then there is also Keith, Gerald, and Maria who are simply watching them silently from the side. 'By the way, I feel bad about those three. They won't be coming with us.'

That makes the whole Katarina council ponder.

'How about we lend them our phone in the meantime? Gerald and Keith were always interested in the phone.' Chairwoman Katarina suggests.

'But we have to take pictures later, and even a video!' Timid counters.

'We can't do that Timid, we have to keep our hands on the saddle, remember?' Studious finally joins the fray. 'We may even drop the phone accidentally if we persist in doing both.'

'Awww'

'Lets just ask Nee-sama to take the pictures and video instead. It would be easy and safe for her with her glasses.' Studious added.

'Alright, those in favor of lending our phone to Maria, Keith, and Gerald, raise your hand!'

"Haiiii" Everyone raises theirs, even timid but reluctantly.

The echo of the mallet hitting the podium then resounded in the room.

"Keith!" She called her brother. He appears right on the platform in an instant.

"Yes, sister?"

"I'm lending this to you for a while." She pulls her phone from between her bosom and hands it to her brother.

"Whua-wa-wa-wa" Both of his hands were shaking greatly and his face was blushing in excitement. A small memory of her from her previous life crosses her mind which her brother lent her his phone to play with. It made her relate to what her current younger brother is feeling right now.

"Here, hold it properly." She grabs both of his hands and puts the phone in them. "Be careful with it, okay? Shiro-san said that it won't break easily but please handle it with care."

"A-ye-wa-wa-waaa" Seems like her brother is still overjoyed. In the meantime, Maria and Gerald were looking darkly at Keith. Perhaps they were jealous?

"Oh! And lend it to Gerald and Maria as well, you can take turns!" Her brother nods but he just stays there, shaking. Oh! Mary and Sophia were also looking at Keith with dark expressions. Do they want to borrow the phone too?

"What's happening...here?" She turns to Shiro-san and Nee-sama as they climb on the platform.

"I am lending my phone to Keith while we're away. Will that be fine?" She asks. While the phones were certainly given to her, they were still ultimately from Nee-sama and Shiro-san. They may have a say on the matter.

"Good idea, but I have something better. Give me your goggles."

She took off her glasses and did as she was told. He then pulls a marker out of nowhere and writes something on the lenses and all around the goggles in general. Once he is done, the marks glow brightly for a second before vanishing and he returns the goggles back to her.

"It's temporary, but it should work."

"Work what?"

"Wear it, and think of calling your phone."

Again, she did as he instructed. Her phone in her brother's hand then suddenly rang.

They spent a short moment instructing Keith how to accept the call and operate the phone in general. What Shiro-san did was that her goggles could now connect with her phone like a video call, except she didn't see them and they could only see what she was looking at.

Of course, they can talk as well.

When that is done, Shiro-san helps Nee-sama to get on Hoots and even secures her straps (Again, with unnecessary pampering.) but after that, finally, they were all good to go. She feels the floor shaking mildly as the platforms sink back into the ground though, to her surprise, Shiro-san is still standing at the same height as them.

He was floating.

"You can fly!"

"Why are you surprised, were you not listening the whole time?"

"...Ah!" He was right, she most likely didn't.

"Ashes and Auburn, we are having tourists with us today. fly gently, this isn't a race. That goes for you too, Lord Ascart and Prince Alan. Keep your hands always on the saddle, especially you Lady Katarina. Try not to imitate Rose, this isn't the Titanic."

"I won't!...killjoy." She whispers the last part. There goes her plans...

"Always keep in formation and I'll be at the back overwatching. Everyone ready?!"

"HOOOO" The birds collectively answer.

"Yes!"

"Ready!"

"Errr. Yes!"

"Alright, V formation. Hoots, take points." Their mount walks forward. "Wings!" All of the owls then spread their wings upwards, preparing to take off. They are wider and look more grandiose than just seeing it from the side."Fly!" And upon hearing that, she unknowingly holds her breath as they finally take off.

She feels being pulled backward due to the sudden change of their velocity and the crisp and cold winds start hitting her face. They were not flying as fast as she imagined they would but they were fast nonetheless. Everything on the ground starts to shrink as she starts to see the horizon from a distance. Even still, the clouds were still far above and they were still ascending.

It made her wonder, would they also make some twists and turns and rapidly descend like a roller coaster? Would Shiro-san allow her if she asks? Probably, but Nee-sama surely wouldn't.

"Give me the phone, Lord Keith."

"Not gonna happen, Prince Gerald. Sister entrusted it to me."

"Yes, sure that's the only reason why."

Maria sighs as he watches Lord Keith and Prince Gerald argue over who should be holding the phone right now, which shouldn't be a very big deal if not for the stunt that her beloved Lady Katarina did to it.

Not that she wouldn't want to be the one holding it. In fact, being the only lady present, she believes that she should be the one having it right now given where that device has gone from. For that reason, without a word, she laid her hand in front of Lord Keith.

"I'm not giving it, Miss Maria"

"..." Still, without saying a word, she looks at him in the eye and smiles.

"..."

"..."

"I k-know what you're implying! it's not that..." Little by little, the blush on the younger Claes's face was getting worse.

"Of course, Lord Keith, I am not implying that the reason why you wouldn't let go of that device is because it has been from between La-"

"FINE!" He raises his hand in surrender and then hands the phone to her."HERE!"

Yep, that's easy.

Lord Keith may appear to be a gentleman but he is as innocent as he NOT appears to be. Here, she easily took advantage of the fact that he is not that accustomed to such 'banal' behavior hence she easily used it against him.

Thankfully, it is Lord Keith. It would be a lot different if it was Prince Gerald. Speaking of the prince, he's currently smiling but yes, she swears that she could imagine hearing his molars gritting.

"... So what do you plan on doing with it?"

"Nothing, Prince Gerald." She lied "Until Lady Katarina 'calls', I'll just have to safeguard it, yes." She does have something in mind but it's... embarrassing to do so with those two watching. "By the way, if you would excuse me, I have to powder my nose..." She turns to walk away but is abruptly stopped as two different hands grab her shoulders.

""Sure, but leave the phone!"" Said both Lord Keith and Prince Gerald.

"Tsk!" Curses. She should have egged the two further before stepping in to take the phone. Now they are teaming up against her.

"Seriously Maria, do you honestly believe that would work?"

"Aren't you two supposed to be fighting?" She retorts against Lord Keith.

"Yes, but as far as we know, you are included in that arena. I also have-" Prince Gerald was then cut off by a woman's voice from a distance.

"What do we have here?" Says the woman who looks a lot like an older version of her crush. Despite sharing a similar image of her angel, this lady's smile doesn't seem to bring the same comfort and warmth she feels from Lady Katarina's. Is she a windmage? It has suddenly become chilly. Lord Keith is flabbergasted and Prince Gerald is frozen as well.

"Mo-Mother!" Stuttered Keith "What are you doing here?!"

Milidiana is a mother.

The mother of two children, Katarina and Keith Claes. Despite one of them not being her own, she treats both of them with love and care fairly like the two were actual siblings. Both are wonderful in their own accord and she was proud of both of them.

Or at least she tries to, and no, the problem is not with her adoptive son Keith, but with her very own daughter, Katarina. Don't get her wrong, she loves that child to death but she often thought that Katarina would be the cause of hers. She spent countless nights wondering where she went wrong as a mother for her own child to become like that. Despite being a high noble her whole life, her daughter's acts were a far cry from being one that if not for their obvious resemblance to each other, people would surely think that Katarina is the adopted child and not Keith. Nevertheless, she will tear anyone to shreds if someone dares to even look down at Katarina. She may be a foolish daughter but she is her daughter nonetheless. If anyone has a problem with Katarina, they should bring it to her and she's the one (and only) who will get her daughter straight.

Well, that is a rare case anyway. For all of Katarina's antics, never has she heard that her daughter has a problem with anyone. Quite the opposite in fact. As Katarina grows, she can see that she is surrounded by loyal friends, powerful enough to protect her. At Least that suits her worries about sending her away for school.

Still, not a day has passed where she didn't miss her children. The mansion has become so dull with the absence of those two. Especially Katarina.

In another thought, why won't Katarina write letters to her? Sure she gets reports from Anne every week and she gets some from Keith from time to time but from Katarina? Never. Has she really been a bad mother to her? Does she resent her so much that she forgets her the first chance she gets away?

It wounds her heart truly.

She misses the times bonding with her daughter (even though lots of those times that they were together are because Katarina is to be scolded for something). She will never say it openly but she's dying to be with her daughter again.

So imagine her surprise when Joana handed a parcel from Anne containing not only her weekly reports but a handful of small portraits of her children. They are not mere sketches, for even the greatest painter she knows won't be able to make something of this quality. Hell, even the finest portrait she had seen could never compare to this. The image is as if she were looking directly at her children from a distance through a small window.

There were also a lot of them.

"...Such quality, I wonder how Anne gets a hold of these." Her valet, Joana, comments. She is also awestruck by the portraits they have in hand.

"Good Morning, Dear! What do you have this ear-" Her husband, Luigi, embraces her from behind and kisses her on her cheek and he too loses his words upon seeing the portraits. "This..."

"They are from Anne. They just came this morning."

"Actually, Milady, they've been here for quite a while."

"Since when?"

"Early this week, remember when I told you about the faceless man with glowing eyes and wearing white who appeared from the fog and vanished in an instant without a trace?."

"The one you said was a ghost? Yes, your tale made quite a ruckus in the household, scaring lots of the new maids and even some of the old ones."

"I'm merely telling the truth, Milady!" Joana defends and clears her throat. "He appeared out of nowhere and handed me that box. I was so scared that I... tossed the parcel away in shock." She then bows deeply. "I'm so sorry, Milady!"

"Joana!" She can only sigh knowing that her handmaiden was absolutely telling the truth regardless of how obscure her story is. She signals her to stop bowing and asks "So you just found it now?"

"Well, Tom did find it somewhere in the garden in the afternoon that day. He thought it was just a misplaced parcel. After checking it with the dogs to make sure that it has nothing harmful and is completely safe, he sent it to your office of which it got... which...errr"

"Fine..." She stops her from saying any further. The parcel got mixed up with the pile that she was planning not to do until the very last minute hence it was not discovered until now.

"Then I found it last night when I was sorting the files on your table. Luckily, I saw Anne's signature on the cover first before recognizing that it was the ghost parcel, otherwise, I would have run away, thrown the parcel again, and screamed. Not particularly in that order but I'm sure I would have done those three." At this point, she can hardly tell if her maid is serious or joking.

While she is talking with Joana, Luigi takes the liberty of taking all of the portraits and eagerly looking at each of them, so in the meantime she decides to read the letters included in the package.

There were two of them.

The first letter was alright. It is just a notice that the mail will not be handled by their usual courier due to some... incident in the post office. Anne did not specify what it was but she promised that she found someone else to bring the mail safely.

As for the second one...

"She... WHAT!" She almost yelled upon reading halfway through the second letter.

It was alarming. Her daughter got involved in a magical incident and has been unconscious for two days! Sure the letter also said that Katarina is alright and well now but still doesn't change the fact that her daughter has been gravely harmed!

Now she understands why this report has brought those portraits with it. They were hopeful distractions. However did Anne get those from, surely it was so that they would worry less here. The report didn't say much about the details of the incident but instead was filled with bright details like how both of their children were doing great and that Katarina had taken the top eight spot of the brightest in the academy after the recent exams.

Her daughter, Katarina? Top eight among everyone in the Academy?

Now she is mostly sure that something fishy is going in there. She has to personally check in on her children.

"Luigi, dear, do you have any business near the academy anytime soon?" She asks her husband across the table.

"In fact, yes, I have been planning on going to a city close by there later today." He answers without looking back at her. He is still busy admiring the portraits.

"Perfect! I'm coming with you!" She stands from her seat and approaches her husband. Then she swiftly steals the portraits on the table and also those that he was holding.

"Mili, hey! I was still looking at those!" He protests.

"Finish your food, we'll go right after you eat. I'll get myself ready." She then leans down and gives him a quick peck on the lips before leaving the dining room.