A Loving Family

Ui made her way back home with a pile of books, but no bowls.

Her family’s home was humble in size compared to the surrounding nobles. It had a front garden which was also small compared to their neighbors. Behind the gate providing an entrance in between polished stone walls, there were four trees, one per family member, planted when they had first gotten there. As such, Ui’s, being adopted unlike Cro, was noticeably the smallest. A flowering tree was all she requested, much to the neighbors’ dismay.

Despite being the smallest, the abundant petals of her tree, when the seasons and the wind were right, constantly invaded the neighboring gardens. The pollen from the flurry of petals caused unnecessary buildup on the surfaces it landed on, resulting in even more unnecessary cleanup for everyone.

But she barely paid attention to such things, and instead she walked past all four trees and straight into the house.

It was surprisingly quiet inside. “I’m home!” She shouted as she dropped her large bag with books. A servant tried to pick it up before requesting a second servant to help her haul them to her room—in two trips.

The house had three stories and four rooms. One room per sibling, the master bedroom, and a guest room. It also had a basement which had the servants’ quarters and several storage rooms that had seen better days.

Ui took her shoes off to wear comfier indoor slippers. She was the only one in the family that did that. Nobles had to have a quirk, after all, and that’s the one she chose. As a result, the collection of shoes stored near the entrance of their house, which sometimes threatened to overflow their storage space, were all hers.

“Anyone here?” Her voice echoed, but there was no response. She heard a faint noise coming from the dining room, so she tiptoed her way towards it.

To her surprise, her whole family was there, and the three of them were looking at her. “F-father?”

“We were wondering when you would join us, Ui. More errands than usual?” Ui’s Uman father had short, white hair, a nicely trimmed beard, and wore a dark coat fitting for a noble.

The dining room was more crowded than expected. “Why are you here this early, Father?”

“The Duke gave my department a day off today. Something about owing us rest days.”

“O-oh.” She made her way to her favorite chair and sat down. The table was set, but other than a variety of drinks, there was no food in sight. “That’s nice of him…”

“He really is nice.” Her father smiled. “Have you met him? We never see him, yet he always seems to care for us.”

“Uh.” The image of the Duke flashed brightly in Ui’s memory, and she tried to erase it. “Briefly.”

Given the normalcy of the situation, Ui assumed no one in her family knew. She breathed a sigh of relief as she watched the rest of her family talk while she was still distraught by her recent interaction with the royal assistant demon, Miront.

“Ui,” said her mother. But Ui’s thoughts were elsewhere. “Is everything fine, Ui? You seem awfully pale.”

“N-no. It’s nothing, Mother.” Ui glanced at Cro, still in his academy uniform, who shook his head.

“Out with it, Ui.” Cro scolded her. “We know you too well for this.”

The three family members looked at Ui attentively, who remained silent, fidgeting in her chair. At that moment, they cared far too much for Ui’s liking.

“Excuse me.” A servant walked in, interrupting, and saving Ui. “We just received a letter.”

Ui’s heart stopped.

“Ah,” said Ui’s father as he received it. “A Royal Summons, signed and sealed by the Duke himself?” Ui broke into a cold sweat as her father started reading the letter. “I hereby formally request your presence…” The father paused and looked at his family. “The Duke’s handwriting is really nice.”

“Please…” said Ui’s mother, realizing his commentary made everyone else impatient.

“Right… we request your presence for the Royal Concert, followed by an island-wide Dinner.”

Cro couldn’t hide his distaste. “Another one so soon?”

Their father laughed at Cro’s remark before continuing. “Including performances by…” He stopped. “Can you read these for me, darling? I’m not good at mainland foreign names.”

Ui was slowly sliding down her chair, becoming one with the floor.

Ui’s mother snatched the letter. “Arnstad Moi-” she paused. “You’re right, I don’t understand this script.” She kept reading. “Ynolve Alnostie? And the debut of” She flipped the letter over… “Royal Singer from the Island of Aneuf. Ui… Lront.” The whole room went silent for a few seconds. “Ui?!”

Their father let out a suspiciously long, extremely loud, hearty laugh. “The Duke himself let me know earlier.”

Ui put her hands on her face, while her mother ran towards her to hug her. “I knew you’d be perfect, Ui.” She squeezed Ui with joy. Her embarrassment reached its limit.

“Congratulations, Ui.” Cro smiled. “I was wondering why they let me home earlier today.” Cro took a sip of water calmly. “Looks like he thought of everything.”

Their father could not contain his proud, smug face. “I already sent someone for food from that favorite cart of yours to celebrate. I was told she was excited to send some celebratory dishes.”

“Of course she was…” Ui pictured Odoe’s face receiving a large pouch full of coins for her services.

After a few moments of joy and celebration that felt like they went on forever, a servant finally saved her once more. “Excuse me, the food is here.”

A large wooden crate was brought in by the servants. The food was still steaming hot, and the aroma immediately filled the dining room. The crate had all sorts of warm mussas, hearty soups and salads with regional ingredients, and an iced container full of Doroberry parfaits.

Dinner was served and everyone enjoyed the moment, even Cro laughed and smiled at times, and Ui was eventually overcome by the joyous moment.

“Ui, we love you,” her father said, stomach full, a few drinks in.

“I’m happy you tried, Ui.” Her mother smiled at her with teary eyes. “I would’ve been happy either way.”

Everyone ate much more than should be possible, and after two or three rounds of dessert, Ui was barely able to crawl her way up the stairs towards her room.

Being happy, tired, and full made her temporarily forget her earlier worries about Miront. After all, if he knew her secrets, why would they still allow her into the Duke’s circle?

The newly appointed Royal Singer, Ui Lront, passed out inelegantly on her bed.