Sunday morning i got out of bed with a clear goal on my mind, i was feeling like it was a school trip day or a close relative wedding day, all i was thinking of was the household visit.
It was windy and rainy that morning, so I wore my parka jacket and carried my purse, with my costume packed away in my backpack.
Since the traditional visiting time was in the evening, I planned several stops along the way before finally reaching my destination
The trip would take usually a 40 min drive, but i had to pass through the whole busy metropolitan area, so the train had plenty of stops along the way.
I made a stop and stepped out in a station next to the biggest mall in town and did the same for another one to visit the old part of city, before i continued straight to my destination.
I tried my best to get my attention span in check, so i don't get shifted away from my main objective in the Jueji household, by keeping my stops short and direct.
Since Inna singled me out for the visit, i was all alone, making me feel so vulnerable, like a flying out girl who's in a long distance relationship.
Finally once i arrived at my destination, i checked myself one last time before i headed to meet Inna.
You could tell how strong the Jueji family and the whole Jann coalition are, they left may these expensive castles and the lavish lifestyle, but they kept them on display for the public to see and admire their power.
The Juejis house have an architecture that uses nature for its advantage, their house is noticeably simple and elegent, unlike the others, which were covered in extra decorations and expensive materials.
As i walked toward the gate, i felt overpowered by the place, it makes you act accordingly and doesn't let you be self assertive.
Me being the foolish uncivilized and dumb person that i am, i decided to yell at Inna in front of the gate to open it, causing all kinds of strange looks from the house maids.
"I sorry y'all...hehe. i don't usually do this kind thing..."
Leading the staff was a tall woman who looked like in her late twenties, she was incredibly tall—even someone like me could notice that, she had all the nobility and attitude you'd expect from a professional maid.
"You must be Ms. Bina. Come on in. I believe the young miss Inna is waiting for you inside. Please follow me."
I walked straight behind her, everystep was taken with precision, like she was trained so long to this job. Even her maid outfit had a deep, rich shade of black that you wouldn't find in a regular retail store.
My heart was racing with excitement at the thought of seeing Inna.
When we were getting closer, i heard the door open, and i saw Inna wearing the full traditional outfit on.
Some things feel like a natural events, like this tall maid—her character fits her so well.
But Inna seemed a bit more accessible, maybe because you wouldn't think someone who studies at your local high school would be from such a powerful family.
"Good evening, Ruby. I see you've met Maria. How are you doing?"
"Great, actually, i can't tell how I'm feeling right, it's feels like I'm dreaming."
Inna took the role of a nobleman's daughter, offering her guest a worm welcome.
"Hehe, is that so. Well, wait till you see the inside, come on, the wind is killing me in this outfit."
At the front door there was a wide porch and a closet area. You could change into traditional sandals before entering the house if you wanted, but I had to leave my shoes in the closet.
But to my surprise, the maids got down and took off my shoes, offering to put the home sandels, I waved them off, telling them it was okay and that I didn't need them.
That was the first sign of what this house and this family were about to offer me.
After handing the gift I had brought to Maria, I went inside and caught up to Inna, who was waiting for me.
"This house undergoes a major renovation every other generation. The last one was eleven years ago…"
Inna started explaining the history and features of the house.
I tried my best to not be captivated and act all normal, but i couldn't, it was gorgeous.
The house felt like it had a lot of stories to tell, as if I were traveling through the nineteenth, twentieth, and twenty-first centuries all at once.
"Where have i seen this before."
I wondered while looking at a portrait facing me as i climbied the stairs.
"You recognize this? It was a show that was really popular back in the day, think of Terrace House but in the sixties."
"They filmed this show here?! Wowww."
We continued house tour upstairs to the first floor, where i realised that the Imagine perfume smell was coming from Inna, i didn't expect her to use perfume—she used to say she didn't have any and was proud of it. But people loved Imagine because it blended so easily with any environment.
The second floor had much better lighting, which helped me relax. After the greetings from the maids and the dim lighting on the lower floor, I had felt like I was being kidnapped.
"Hehe... Having the house for myself is making emotional right now, this is too good to be true..."
Inna said as she showing me around , it was definitely a cool experience to have, You don't get this kind of treatment very often.
After visiting to the dining room, which is where we would have dinner later, we went to a random room.
It was too small to be the homeowners' personal bedroom, so i believed that it was functioning as what they used to call a guest room.
"This used to my room that i spend the night at, i picked it when i was young, i had all these ideas to decorate it but getting approval was basically impossible..."
"... Yeah, that probably not an easy thing to do."
Inna was walking around the room until she stopped besides the window and started to gaze at the view outside.
"... You know Ruby, to be honest, i arranged this visit to further your training and at the same time get some alone time with each other..."
"But this decided to turn this into a reward, Seeing how hard you've been working and how much you've sacrificed for this relationship… it must have been tough. So I arranged this rare opportunity to give you a taste of what you'll get once we finish our training.
"... Really?! I don't know what to say, like literally thank you so much Inna, it's really been tough on me."
This speech brought some warmth to my heart, i was in a happiness and excitement state... for the rest of the day i could live like i was part of the Jueji family, that's going to be so fun...
In the middle of this blissful state, one question still lingered in my mind.
"Um, Inna... if you don't mind me asking... How exactly did you manage to arrange this visit?"
........