The morning at the villa begins before the sun rises.
Moreover, Tia’s morning starts even earlier than that.
“Ugh…”
It was a refreshing wake-up.
However, Julia had to endure severe pain in her shoulder.
Even just staying still, her shoulder would ache, and after running around all day doing odd jobs, it was only natural.
Even while she slept, the weight pressed down, so no matter how strong her recovery ability was, her shoulder couldn’t avoid pain.
It was fortunate that the workload was lighter than that of a typical maid.
In mental aspects, it might even be higher.
“Heh…”
Stretching her arms, Julia turned her head to check on her daughter sleeping in the bed beside her.
Her pretty daughter was quietly sleeping, snug under the quilt with her penguin plush toy still grasped in her arms, just like when they went to bed.
If only it weren’t for those black horns, she would have been much prettier, Julia thought as she slipped onto the neighboring bed, pushing her way under the covers.
“Mmm… Such a cute thing. Why are you growing up so fast? It’s disgusting.”
Holding Tia in her arms, Julia quietly whispered.
Though her tone was a bit rough, it was filled with affection.
It was a voice she wouldn’t use when Tia was awake.
More genuine than a ‘love you’ mixed with lies, Julia’s true feelings were blended in.
“Ugh. So soft. Like a rice cake…”
Julia, holding Tia, petted her head for a long time, stretching her cheeks and playing with her curly hair and horns.
While she usually stroked her horns whenever she had the chance, today her touch was a little more enthusiastic than usual.
When Tia was awake, she disliked having her horns pressed down like this, but now she could freely play with them.
Tia seemed to be a heavy sleeper, so no matter what Julia did, she wouldn’t wake up.
“Hmph…”
“…?”
The moment Julia’s hand slipped down her back and reached her tail, a faint moan escaped Tia’s small lips.
Startled, Julia froze for a moment and looked at Tia, but…
“Could it be?”
She dismissed it as sleep-talking and soon resumed checking on her daughter’s growth.
A sigh escaped from Julia’s lips after touching Tia’s tail.
It had grown to a size that could no longer be hidden.
Tia’s rough tail was already longer than Julia’s hand.
While the horns could be resolved by getting a size-up fox-human cap, she truly didn’t know what to do with the tail, which was a problem.
Though it could be drooped when she walked normally, it would puff up when she was nervous or excited, lifting her skirt.
Anyone would think she had horns on her butt.
“Ugh, I don’t know.”
After thinking about Tia’s tail for a while, Julia finally set her down and stood up suddenly.
It was nearly time to go to work.
Julia quickly tidied her quilt, entered the bathroom, took a simple shower, and carefully dried her hair with a warm towel.
She put on a garter belt over her underwear, wore stockings, and donned her maid outfit that she had neatly ironed the night before.
With hands now accustomed to the routine, she braided her hair neatly, groomed her eyebrows, and applied a simple bit of eye makeup to finish preparing for work.
With no extravagant makeup or accessories, she was supposed to look like an unremarkable maid, but the image reflected in the mirror appeared like a noble lady wearing a maid’s outfit.
“Crazy. So beautiful.”
At least, that’s what Julia thought of herself.
After spinning around in front of the mirror for a while, admiring her appearance from various angles, Julia was suddenly hit by a rush of embarrassment and sat down with her face covered by her hands.
This was merely a thorough check to ensure there was nothing wrong with her outfit.
Julia repeated that to herself as if to brainwash her mind.
As she hurried to head outside, her gaze fell upon Tia, who was still nicely lying asleep.
After gazing at Tia for a moment, she slowly approached and brushed Tia’s bangs aside.
“I love you.”
Kiss.
Julia’s lips met Tia’s forehead.
With a smile that was sweet yet somehow somewhat insincere, Julia left the room.
At that moment, the room filled with silence.
“Haahhh!”
Tia’s eyes flew open, and she suddenly threw away the plush toy she had been holding.
Stretching her still-stiff body after lying down for a long time, Tia jumped out of bed.
Today too, she woke up quite early and felt fulfilled pretending to sleep.
She had just heard her mother’s affectionate voice, which was rarely heard when she was awake.
If there was a way to record it, she would have liked to secretly record it and listen to it whenever she had the chance.
“Mmm…”
Tia scratched her belly and walked out to look at the table.
As expected, there was a nice bottle of warm milk, perfectly prepared for her to drink today as well.
Tia leisurely poured the milk into a mug and sat down in a chair by the window.
“Kyaah!”
It was milk that always tasted amazing no matter when she drank it.
Whenever she finished it all, it was always filled again by the next morning, so it must have been delivered every day.
The taste of the breast milk she drank as a baby was so similar that it made her love it even more.
Savoring her morning milk, Tia poured the remaining milk into a bowl, poured in some cereal, and began her breakfast.
There was stew and bread that her mother had prepared, but thinking about reheating it and toasting it was bothersome, so she always settled for cereal.
“Mmm…”
Tia’s gaze shifted towards the window as she chewed on the cereal.
The streets were shining in the sunlight, bright and clean.
Carriages passed by one by one.
And there were people in splendid outfits going out accompanied by attendants.
It was very different from the views she’d seen while living in the back alleys before.
The feeling was peculiar.
Tia casually swallowed the cereal, gulped down the milk in one shot, and got up.
Washing only her face with water, she threw on a dress, placing her hat haphazardly on her head, and rushed out of the room.
“Heh heh…”
It was a beautiful day.
In the past, leaving the accommodation would have been forbidden, but nowadays, apart from certain areas of the villa, she had been granted permission to wander freely.
That too was thanks to the duke’s approval.
Originally, Julia thought she was only allowed to stay within a radius of 10 meters from the accommodation, just enough to get some fresh air, but the duke insisted that since it was his villa, his orders were absolute, thus she managed to gain that freedom.
The duke was truly a good person.
Tia couldn’t help but think that way.
“Good morning!”
“Tia, good morning!”
Running around the villa, Tia greeted everyone she met.
Though they might have bothered to respond, everyone warmly received Tia’s greetings.
Even the maids who looked at Julia with disdain were the same.
“Sister, sister!”
“Huh?”
“That thing you’re carrying! Should I help you?”
“Oh, no. It’s fine, just your goodwill is enough. Thank you.”
“Muhuhu! What’s your name, sister?”
No matter how much a hated child she was, it was never easy to dislike such a cute creature that stuck to her without malice.
It took just three days for Tia to disarm the mental fortifications of everyone in the villa.
After spending quite a while running around and greeting all the maids, Tia peeked out into the corridor, craning her neck to take a look at the office.
Focusing all her senses on her ears, she could hear Julia and the duke’s voices through the door.
She couldn’t make out what they were saying, but it seemed they were having a calm discussion, with arguments occasionally rising.
In any case, she couldn’t enter the office.
It was one of the few forbidden areas in the villa.
After some time, with no signs of the door opening, Tia decided to turn back and trotted to the kitchen, rubbing her growling stomach.
The kitchen was bustling since they were preparing for lunch.
“Ah, no, Tia. We’re busy right now, so please stay out! It’s dangerous due to the fire.”
“But I’m hungry…”
“Can’t you wait until mealtime?”
“Mmm!”
“Haa. Then just eat this and go out?”
“Tia! Do you want this too?”
Tia simply stood there with her mouth open.
As long as she did that, the maids would crowd around and feed her various things.
Soon, one maid brought over a small piece cut from a large cheese.
“Hey, that’s…”
“Just hold still. Hehe.”
Amid her concerned reaction, Tia put the cheese piece in her mouth without hesitation and rolled it around with her tongue.
It was a uniquely flavored cheese made using traditional methods from the south.
Those not accustomed to it often ended up vomiting just from the smell, so all the maids were on high alert.
“Mmm! So delicious! Give me more!”
“What?”
But Tia’s reaction was completely unexpected.
Everyone thought, “Oh, she eats well,” but they never anticipated she’d devour this without any trouble.
Excited, the maids continued to cut ingredients and feed her without realizing how much time was passing.
“You guys! Half of this ham has disappeared! What happened?”
“Half? Huh? That can’t be! We surely cut it little by little to give it.”
“Give? To whom?”
“Well, Tia…”
“Where did she go?”
The maid’s loud scolding startled the maids, who began looking around, but Tia had already vanished.
The only person Tia couldn’t conquer was that butler.
He was an annoying person who always said things like “Don’t run around carelessly when you meet Tia” or “Stop talking loudly” or corrected her speech, making him someone she didn’t want to encounter.
Still chewing on the leftover ham in her mouth, she made her escape, arriving at the back garden.
“Wow…”
As she opened the door with a creak to enter the garden, a secret staircase appeared in the center.
It was the only place in this villa that seemed old amidst everything else that sparkled brand new.
It was one of the few places prohibited for access in the villa.
As Tia looked at the old wooden door of the basement beneath the staircase, she found herself stepping down without even realizing it.
She felt an urge to go down there for some reason.
Although she knew she would get scolded if caught, she couldn’t help but feel drawn there.
Just about to put her foot down on the ivy-covered first step.
“Mmm?”
Tia sensed a strange sound and turned her head.
It wasn’t something she heard.
She sensed it through the slight tremor in her horns.
Hastily leaving the garden, Tia focused all her nerves on her ears and horns.
Soon, she picked up a rhythmic vibration, tapping and thudding.
“The sound of someone jumping over the roof!”
Tia quickly recognized what it was.
She’d jumped over roofs herself before and had followed strange people who skillfully traversed them, so she was sure.
But that sound seemed a bit off.
The sound kept getting louder, as if it were charging straight at her.
Doubt quickly turned to certainty.
“This is bad…!”
A threat was approaching.
With that conclusion, Tia’s eyes widened.
