The next morning, the Ashworth Residence was already bustling with activity.
"Who are you? Who told you to bring all this here?" Miss Ashworth called out as she walked out of the dining room, spotting three or four people carrying box after box of unknown goods into the house.
"What's going on? What's all this noise about so early in the morning?" Mr. Ashworth asked, coming down the stairs.
"Look at this," Miss Ashworth said, pointing at the things on the floor. "These people just showed up out of nowhere and started bringing all this stuff in. They won't answer me when I ask them about it."
"Who let them in? Alfred!" Mr. Ashworth was just as baffled and decided to get to the bottom of it with the butler.
"Dad, what's wrong?" Zachary Ashworth and the others were just coming downstairs for breakfast and heard the commotion before they even reached the bottom step.
"Someone showed up this morning and started bringing in all these boxes. We have no idea what's inside," Miss Ashworth explained to her sons and daughters-in-law.
"Did someone in the family order these?" Susan Lindsey stepped forward and opened one of the boxes. Seeing it was full of food, she looked up at the others in confusion.
Mr. Ashworth shook his head. "I don't think so. I was just about to call Alfred in and ask."
"No need for everyone to guess. It was me," Seraphina Ashworth said languidly, strolling in from outside with Trudy in her arms.
"Seraphina, why did you order all this? It's not like we're short on food," Sylvia Blaine said, confused as to why her precious daughter would order so much.
"Well, Mom, I didn't actually order it. And this isn't just ordinary food and produce—I got all of it from my godfather." Seraphina Ashworth had known her family would be baffled, which was why she'd gotten up early to explain.
"Yes, they're different. They were all grown at my godfather's estate. They contain a lot of Spiritual Energy, so they're very good for you," Seraphina explained slowly, stroking Trudy's soft fur.
"Oh, but we can't accept this," Miss Ashworth said, feeling that her granddaughter's godfather had already been more than kind to their family. It felt improper to accept even more from him.
"Grandma, it's no trouble at all. My godfather has more of this than he knows what to do with. He's the one who told me to bring it back," Seraphina said, trying to reassure Miss Ashworth as she pulled an apple from a box and started feeding it to Trudy.
"Seraphina, your godfather is so generous. If it's convenient for him, you must invite him over to our home as a guest." Paul Ashworth thought that since his precious niece's godfather was so kind to their family, they absolutely had to find time to thank him in person.
"Okay, I'll tell him." 'I finally got through that,' Seraphina thought, sighing in relief.
"By the way, Seraphina, do these things really contain Spiritual Energy?" Chester Ashworth asked, picking up a bottle of wine to examine it closely.
"They do. I eat them every day. The wines are brewed from fruits and flowers, so drinking a lot of it won't hurt you. Some of them have a pretty strong kick, though."
"Mr. Ashworth, did you call for me?" Alfred asked, hurrying in from the doorway.
"Have someone put all this away. The wine goes in the cellar," Mr. Ashworth instructed, pointing at the items on the floor.
"Yes, sir."
"Alright, now that that's settled, let's all go have breakfast," Chester Ashworth said, ushering everyone toward the dining room.
"Seraphina, let's hurry and eat! After we're done, we can go out and have some fun," Cecilia Ashworth said, pulling Seraphina by the hand toward the dining room.
"Fun where?" Seraphina asked, letting Cecilia lead her along without a struggle.
"You promised us yesterday, remember? All of us are going," Cecilia reminded her, afraid she would try to back out.
"I know, I won't ditch you," Seraphina said with a helpless shake of her head.
"You all be careful when you go out. Maurice, you boys need to look after your sisters," Zachary Ashworth admonished while eating.
"I know, Dad."
After breakfast, the cousins eagerly pulled Seraphina out the door and had the driver take them out. Still worried, Mr. Ashworth sent two bodyguards to follow them.
"Seraphina, look! That's Yushang Plaza, the biggest international shopping center in Aethelburg. Let's go check it out first," Cecilia said, enthusiastically pointing things out to Seraphina. She knew it was Seraphina's first time leaving the Ashworth Residence and that she hadn't seen any of the city yet.
"Okay, whatever you all want to do." Seraphina quietly watched the bustling city pass by through the car window. For some reason, ever since leaving the Ashworth Residence, she'd had a strange, unsettled feeling in her heart, and it was only growing stronger as they neared the plaza.
"Seraphina, we're here. Come on out," Jasper said, getting out first and holding the door open for her.
"Okay."
Cecilia grabbed Seraphina's hand and charged into the shopping center, with Maurice and the other two brothers following slowly behind. "Cecilia, don't run so fast! Seraphina hasn't fully recovered yet," Victor reminded her, recalling how weak Seraphina had looked when she returned the day before.
"Oh, right! I almost forgot. Seraphina, are you okay?" Cecilia stopped short and turned to look at her.
"I'm fine. I've already recovered. It's nothing," Seraphina said lightly.
"That's good. Come on, I'll take you clothes shopping! You have no idea how envious I get when I see other people out shopping with their sisters. Today, my dream is finally coming true! Ha ha!" Cecilia said, her face beaming with excitement as she dragged Seraphina straight to the third floor.
"Seraphina, look! The clothes here are the best in all of Aethelburg. Pick out whatever you want. The boys are paying, anyway."
"No, thank you. I already have more clothes at home than I can wear." 'Looking at all these clothes is giving me a headache,' Seraphina thought. 'And having to choose and then try them on is so tiring.' Her clothes were always personally arranged by Sylvia Blaine and were all custom-made.
"It's fine, Seraphina. Buy whatever you want. I'll pay for it," Jasper said, walking in and hearing her comment.
"If you won't choose, I'll choose for you. This one's nice. What do you think?" Cecilia said, holding up a red and white sleeveless dress in front of Seraphina.
"Miss, you have excellent taste. That's a new arrival, and it's the only one we have. It would be a perfect fit for this young lady," a sales associate said, quickly coming over to assist them after noticing their expensive clothes.
"We'll take this one, then. Please wrap it up," Victor said, agreeing that the dress would suit Seraphina well.
"Of course. One moment, please." The sales associate reached out to take the dress.
Just then, a haughty female voice cut in. "Wait a minute. I'll be taking that dress."
Cecilia turned to see who it was. 'Speak of the devil,' she thought. "Kiera Winters! I was buying this first. Have you ever heard of 'first come, first served'?"