Sunlight streamed through the sunroom's floor-to-ceiling windows, washing over Alice and Charlotte's faces.
Their features, gilded by the light, looked exquisitely beautiful.
It had been quite a while since Trimmau had officially become a member of the manor, and many peaceful days had passed.
School was starting in just a few days; summer vacation was nearly over.
During this time, Charlotte had successfully gotten along with the dolls living in the manor.
At the very least, they were all acquainted.
Perhaps because of Sigmund's imposing presence, Suiseiseki hadn't played any pranks on her, instead choosing to more frequently egg Suigintou on to bother Shinku.
Right now, Alice and Charlotte were just sitting idly in their chairs.
Charlotte, cheek propped on her hand, gazed thoughtfully at the school outside the window.
It seemed... soon she'd be going to school with Alice. Could they possibly be roommates?
As she thought about her future life, her eyes slowly brightened. She feigned calmness, cleared her throat, and spoke. "Alice, school's starting soon."
"Mhm. What about it?"
"Well... have you thought about who your future roommate might be?"
Alice lowered the book in her hands and looked up, puzzled. "Haven't given it any thought. Doesn't the school assign that?"
"O-oh, right." Charlotte deflated instantly. Shouldn't the response here be something like 'Of course, my roommate will be you'?
She hadn't even considered it?
Slumping dejectedly into her chair, she refused to give up and pressed on.
"Then practice Mercury Armor with me tonight."
"No."
The immediate, blunt refusal made Charlotte's head droop again.
Lately, Charlotte had been constantly dragging Souseiseki around to practice her Mercury Armor.
The moment Suigintou and Shinku heard her invitation, they refused outright, stating they didn't want to waste time playing house with Charlotte.
After practicing with her once, Alice had muttered something like 'It's a rare thing for Suigintou and Shinku to make the correct choice,' and walked off without looking back.
Every time this happened, Suiseiseki was nowhere to be found. Only Souseiseki was willing to humor her.
According to Souseiseki, Charlotte would immediately charge at her using a series of bizarre, flashy moves, only to be promptly swatted down by her shears.
The moves were visually impressive but practically useless in a real fight.
When Alice heard about this, she nodded in understanding.
So that was it. Charlotte had gotten excited after obtaining it, already choreographing entire combo sequences in her head.
Too bad she had no one to practice with at school, no wonder she kept pestering the dolls to practice with her.
How Cute.
Oblivious to the fact that she had been completely figured out, Charlotte was still mentally reviewing her techniques.
Maybe she should swap that wide slash for an elbow strike instead—surely that would catch Souseiseki off guard.
Yes, it's better to avoid overly broad, telegraphed movements in close combat.
She nodded confidently, clenching her hands together, feeling full of assurance for the evening's practice session.
"Please enjoy." A girl's voice, completely flat and devoid of inflection, cut through Charlotte's internal fantasy.
Oh no. She'd been caught in the middle of her dorky moment.
Charlotte gave a light cough, her cheeks slightly flushed.
Trimmau steadily placed a cup of tea from the tray onto the table in front of Charlotte.
Ever since Trimmau had come to the manor, the task of brewing tea had fallen to her.
After receiving hands-on instruction from Shinku, Trimmau's tea brewing had earned Alice's approval.
Charlotte picked up the teacup and took a slow sip.
No matter how many times she drank it, she could always sense the gap between their skills.
Naturally, she was on the losing end.
Now she'd even lost her tea-brewing duties. Her standing in this household was gradually disappearing.
A little disgruntled, Charlotte pinched Sigmund's tail.
Sigmund let out a resigned sigh. He was used to it by now.
Charlotte had done this countless times over the past two months.
Meanwhile, Charlotte was staring intently at Trimmau.
Looking her up and down, left and right.
Although it wasn't her field of study, she could still tell a little.
This doll... was on a whole other level.
"Alice, your skills have improved so quickly."
It's only been half a year, going from zero to this level. That's amazing.
"Mhm. I suppose it's because I studied under Karyuusai for a while."
"Huh?"
Charlotte's jaw dropped in surprise. After a few seconds, she suddenly calmed down.
She was getting used to this.
If it were anyone else, Charlotte might have been stunned for a while longer.
That was the contemporary strongest doll maker, Karyuusai. She actually studied under her.
But this was Alice. It made sense, somehow.
She felt like she'd missed out on a lot while she was away at school.
"Hey, hey, is Karyuusai a man or a woman?"
"A woman."
"What?! The Karyuusai who loves drinking and women... is a woman?!"
Just as Charlotte was about to ask more, a commotion from the side interrupted her.
--+--
"You've got some nerve, Suigintou."
Shinku had a firm grip on Suigintou's collar, glaring fiercely into her crimson eyes.
"You actually dared to put green tea in my black tea."
This green tea was something Suiseiseki had brought back.
"You've got it all wrong, all wrong." Suigintou turned her face away, a very obvious smirk lifting the corner of her mouth.
Heheh, now every time Shinku sees this teacup, she'll remember this feeling.
Their tea sets were unique, a size smaller than normal ones.
Replacing them would take some time. For a while at least, Shinku would feel a bit uncomfortable about it.
"Copying Suiseiseki won't help you."
The flames of anger burned in Shinku's eyes, and her grip tightened.
"Hmph." Suigintou swatted Shinku's hand away, raising her chin arrogantly.
"What? You got a probl—"
Before she could finish, Shinku grabbed a handful of Suigintou's hair.
"So what if I have a problem?"
"Shinku! I've put up with you for long enough!"
"I hear that 31 times a month!"
"Guh...!" x2
The two dolls grabbed fistfuls of each other's hair, pulling with all their might.
Even if faced with an angry Alice, she was determined to give her a beating.
Both Suigintou and Shinku had the same thought simultaneously.
And so, their free hands simultaneously shot up to grab the other's cheeks.
Their soft, fair cheeks were simultaneously stretched slightly out of shape.
Enduring the pull on her own cheek, Shinku suddenly jerked her head forward, smashing her forehead against Suigintou's with an intimate crack.
Thwack—
Suigintou released her hands and stumbled back two steps.
Even Alice had never hit her on the head.
She clutched her forehead, eyes welling with tears, and spoke through gritted teeth.
"Even after all this time together, you're still so infuriating."
"Likewise."
"You stupid, ugly, little runt!"
"Ugly? Who are you calling ugly? Where am I ugly?!"
"Everywhere!"
The two dolls closed in on each other again, silver and golden hair tangling together.
Suigintou spread her wings and soared into the air.
Shinku, dragged along, was momentarily at a loss.
She couldn't fly out here in the open.
Suigintou looked down at the flustered Shinku, a haughty smile on her face.
Even though her hair was still in Shinku's grip, the corner of her mouth curled upwards.
"Just give up, Shinku. The reason I'm stronger than you is—"
As she spoke, Suigintou suddenly felt everything go dark before her eyes.
And then, with a clatter, Shinku fell to the ground, clutching something furry.
Sitting on the floor, she shook her head in disbelief.
Suigintou actually dared to drop her from the sky.
She snapped her head up, her fury intensifying.
Then, she saw the doll clad in black and white gothic clothing crash heavily onto the floor.
The headless body lay on the ground, completely still.
A deathly silence instantly fell over the room.
Even Suiseiseki, who had been ready to stir up trouble nearby, stopped speaking, her finger trembling as she pointed at the object in Shinku's arms.
"Sh-Shinku... what's that in your arms...?"
As if slow to process it, Shinku only slowly looked down at the thing in her arms after hearing Suiseiseki's words.
A familiar face lay limply in her embrace, those usually arrogant crimson eyes now devoid of all spirit.
"Su... Suigintou?"
Shinku called out weakly to her sister, but received no response.
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.