Chapter 13 - Disputes
Scarlett followed one of her servants, the black-haired one called Molly, through the mansion's decorated hallways. Kat had said that she would check up on the children — for whom they had created an impromptu gathering room in the mansion's reception hall at the moment. Scarlett had noticed it already when they originally saved those kids, but the Shielder seemed particularly protective of children. And they adored her in return. Despite the difficulty in communication they seemed to interact just fine. That young girl that Kat had carried during the rescue seemed especially attached to the woman. She had essentially been joined to Kat's hip over the last couple of days that the kids had stayed in the mansion.
Compared to Kat, all the children still seemed slightly afraid of Scarlett. She wasn't sure how she felt about that. She had expected their fear to have dissipated by now but they still avoided her whenever she visited the reception hall to check up on Kat and them. It wasn't as if it bothered her per se, but it also wasn't the most comfortable feeling having literal children shy away from you.
She pushed those thoughts aside when Molly stopped beside a dark wooden door with two tall and beautifully garnished vases on either side of it.
"Madame Evelyne is waiting inside, my Lady," Molly said and performed a small curtsy.
"Then let's not keep her waiting," Scarlett said and gestured toward the door. Much of the decorum in this world came naturally to her with Scarlett's instincts, such as how to move and speak, but there were still many things she remained ignorant about. For example, she had no idea how people addressed those ranked higher than themselves here. During her meeting with the count, she'd largely had to guess what to say for an introduction. As such, one of her priorities right now was finding a book or something on the subject without arousing too much suspicion.
Most of the time she did fine anyway, but there were still times like this where she wasn't even sure if she was expected to open the door herself or if that would be considered odd. Up until now, the servants had opened most doors for her. But that was also mostly because they were the ones leading her around.
Thankfully Molly seemed to understand what she wanted and moved to open the door for her. Scarlett quietly thanked the woman inside her heart and walked into the room. It wasn't as large as the mansion's dining hall, but it was a decent size nonetheless. Several large windows showed a nice view of the back garden and let in the afternoon sun, the light reflecting off the white marble floor in an almost blinding manner. The walls were covered with several large paintings of different landscapes. In the middle of the room was a fancy wooden table with a wide tablecloth and silver tea set on it. Next to the table sat Evelyne Hartford on a long sofa.
She had smooth light brown hair—with just a shade of red to it—that reached the nape of her neck and split at one side in the front, part of her hair almost covering her right eye. She still shared the same amber eyes as Scarlett however, though Evelyne also had light freckles and a small beauty mark under her right lip. Unlike Scarlett, Evelyne was currently wearing a white blouse with a dark green tunic over it which had a loose, patterned collar, and a pair of black trousers that were partly covered by a short, black-striped skirt. If their dialogue in the game didn't make the difference between the two sisters clear, then their attire did.
Evelyne immediately turned to look at Scarlett as she entered the room. She did not look happy.
Scarlett did her best to press down the feelings of disgust and revulsion that coiled up at seeing the original's sister and crossed the room to sit down in an armchair opposite Evelyne. She glanced at the teapot that had some vapor coming out of it and looked towards Molly. The dark-haired servant appeared to understand the message as she hurried across the room to fill up a cup for her. She didn't pour one for Evelyne as there already was one in front of her, though it didn't look like she had touched it yet.
With another small curtsy, Molly returned the teapot to the table and backed away. Scarlett took the cup of tea in front of her and blew on it softly before taking a sip. It was marvelous. Easily the best mint tea she'd ever had. She wasn't sure if it was in the preparation or in the leaves—she'd never bothered much thinking about either when making her own—but there was a lot more flavor to this than she was used to. Letting the warm feeling of the tea flow through her, she sat the teacup down on its plate and turned to Evelyne.
"Well," she said, raising an eyebrow. "What is it that you wanted?"