Interlude : At the Aschenputtel Manor – Les Fleurs are Whimsical and Full of Rimpianti

An old woman in a maid outfit  shuffled her way down the hallway towards Lefresne's room. She had just finished her morning chores and was eager to check on the young girl whose current state of mind was worrying to say the least. In fact, she was probably still doing "that" even now.

As she approached the girl's door, she heard the scratching of a quill against parchment and the rustling of papers confirming her suspicions.

74 knocked gently on the door and called out, "Miss Lefresne, it's me. May I come in?"

There was a moment of silence before Lefresne's voice replied, "Yes, please do."

74 opened the door and stepped into the room. It was a large space with high ceilings and tall windows that let in the morning light. The walls were decorated with tapestries depicting scenes of knights and ladies in shining armor. In the center of the room was a large wooden desk, covered in papers and scrolls.

Lefresne sat at the desk, her ash blonde hair piled on top of her head in a messy bun. She wore a simple white gown that was stained with ink and crumpled from long use. She looked up as 74 entered the room, her eyes tired but determined.

"Good morning, 74," Lefresne said, smiling weakly. "What brings you here?"

"I was just checking on you, Lady Lefresne " 74 said, making her way over to the desk. "I brought some fresh juice and chocolate for you."

Lefresne nodded gratefully and took a sip of the juice. "Thank you, 74. I'm sorry I've been so absent lately. These documents are proving to be more difficult than I anticipated."

74 nodded sympathetically. "I understand, Lady Lefresne. But, please, remember to take breaks and care for yourself. I am in no position to give any advice to you, but you won't do any good to Lady Alexandra if you don't take care of your own health."

Lefresne sighed and leaned back in her chair. "I know, 74. It's just that Alex's life is on the line. Je dois… I have to do everything in my power to save her."

"And you will. You're a smart and capable young woman. You'll find a way."

Lefresne smiled weakly and turned back to her work. 74 took the hint and left the room, closing the door softly behind her.

Once outside the old woman sighed. Recently, Lefresne has slipped less and less into her weird speech habits. As every great family, the Aschenputtels had a few weird attributes and one of them was their tendency to slip into otherworldly languages when they weren't thinking too much about what they were saying. If Lefresne was talking in common language so much, it must mean she was absolutely serious.

Who was she to stop that?

As she made her way down the hallway, she heard the soft footsteps behind her – it was a blonde little girl with sky blue eyes, Beryoza C. Aschenputtel, Lefresne's younger sister. The young girl looked up at 74 with worry in her eyes.

"Is… Is Fresne alright?" she asked softly.

74 smiled reassuringly. "She's just busy, Lady Beryoza. Working hard to save her beloved."

"But she's been in there for days," Beryoza said, her voice trembling. "She won't let me in and… and…"

74 smiled. 

Even when overcome by her emotions, Beryoza was a serious kid. She was the only member of the family from which she never heard an unknown word.

74 knelt down and took Beryoza's hand. "Don't worry, Lady Beryoza. Lady Lefresne is busy and probably doesn't want to bore you with all of her work. You understand why she has to do that, don't you?"

"I… I do… but why did Big Sis Alex betray her? If… If she didn't do that… And there's Big Sis Zera too. Why are they doing this?"

74 shook her head. "Lady Alexandra and Lady Zazzera have their motivations. They just happen to go against Lady Lefresne for now, but it won't always stay that way. Don't worry, if Lady Lefresne win, everything will be back to normal and all that hard work will be rewarded."

Beryoza looked at the ground, still unsure. "But… But what if she doesn't win? What if Big Sis Alexandra goes away and never comes back? What if Big Sis Zera and Fresne never talk ever again? I… I don't want that! I…"

The old maid gently hugged the young girl. 

"Don't worry, Lady Beryoza," she said. "Even if things don't go as planned, everything will be alright. Lady Lefresne needs someone who loves her at the end. And if it can't be Lady Alexandra, or even Lady Zazzera, it must at least be you, Lady Beryoza."

Beryoza smiled weakly at 74's words, and 74 patted her hand gently before standing up again. 

"Come on, let's go find something to do to pass the time while Lefresne works."

"... Yes."

***

74 and Beryoza made their way down the hallway and into the main hall of Aschenputtel's Manor. The hall was grand and spacious, with high ceilings and a large fireplace at one end. A few servants were milling about, dusting and sweeping, but the hall was mostly empty. 

74 still wasn't used to this new working place. The servants were treated with way more respect than she thought was necessary. In her younger years, she would have totally been against such leniency, but now, she preferred staying calm. Besides, if the Aschenputtels decided to treat their servants in a specific way, she was no one to object.

Beryoza tugged on 74's hand. "Can we go outside? I want to see the gardens."

74 smiled. "Of course, Lady Beryoza. The gardens are lovely this time of year."

They made their way out to the gardens, which were sprawling and well-manicured. There were rows of flowers in every color, and fountains and statues dotted throughout. Beryoza ran ahead, chasing after a butterfly that flitted by.

74 watched her with a fond smile before making her way over to a bench. She sat down and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath of the fresh air. It was rare for her to have a moment to herself, and she savored the peace and quiet.

Just then, she heard footsteps approaching, and she opened her eyes to see Zezzola walking towards her. Zezzola was a striking woman, with long ash blonde hair and piercing green eyes. She was dressed in a regal gown of gold and silver, while carrying herself with the grace of a queen.

"74," Zezzola said, nodding in greeting. "How is Lefresne?" she asked, hiding her mouth behind a golden fan.

74 stood up from the bench. "She's working hard, my lady. But I worry that she's pushing herself too much."

Zezzola's expression softened. "I know, 74. But you must understand that Lefresne is doing this for amore*! And love can make people do cose straordinarie**!"

//*love /**extraordinary things

74 nodded, understanding. "Yes, my lady. But I fear that she may become ill or exhausted. We must take care of her."

Zezzola placed a hand on 74's shoulder. "I know, 74. And we will. But for now, we must trust in Lefresne's strength and determination. She will find a way to save Alexandra. As her madre*, I will support her in everything she does, especially love affairs."

//*mother

"... Can I ask you a question, Lady Zezzola?"

"Ah, my dear, always so formal! You know you are like a mother to me, don't you?" Zezzola said, laughing. 

"W,Well…"

"You may, you may! Vai avanti*!" she encouraged.

//*Go ahead!

74 nodded. "Yes. I was wondering, why did you engage Lady Lefresne with Lady Alexandra? While the Wolf lineage is powerful, it is not one the main family constituting the LIBRARY. Why not marry her to someone of the sub-branch of the main families? In fact, why not marry her to Lady Zazzera? The two of them seem to get along pretty well, and I am sure Lady Zazzera wouldn't refuse!"

"Um? And what about amore?" asked Zezzola.

"Love is important of course, but I don't think Lady Alexandra loves Lady Lefresne that way. However, I am pretty sure Lady Zazzera does, which would be a better choice, wouldn't it?" 74 explained. 

Zezzola seemed to think a long moment, her eyes going left and right. Suddenly, she folded her fan, and started to laugh for no apparent reason.

"Madre mia," she said laughing, "a quanto pare la vecchiaia non ti ha ancora dato quel senso!"

//*My mother, apparently old age hasn't given you that sense yet!

"Um, excuse me but—"

"Well, well, there are few reasons actually," Zezzola continued raising her fan. 

"33% is because Lefresne is in love with Alexandra and that from a long time," she said, her fan to the left.

"33% is because I got along really well with Beatrice as you know, so one day we thought 'Hey, how about we marry our daughter?', and it seemed like l'idea migliore del mondo!" she said, her fan to the right.

//*the best idea in the world!

"Um… I beg of you to pardon me, but I must note that you two were drunk at the time," 74 replied, squinting her eyes.

"That is when the best ideas comes don't they?" Zezzola joked, hitting 74's shoulder multiple times.

"P, Please, try to stay sober when you do that kind of thing, Lady Zezzola!" scolded 74. "(Argh… my shoulder…)"

"The last 33% is…" she turned to Beryoza, who was looking at them from afar. "See? Bery too liked Alex very much. In my opinion, it would have been either her or Fresne who would have married that ragazza pericolosa*. Right now, she puts her frustration on me since Alex might not come anymore. We haven't been able to talk properly ever since."

//*dangerous girl

"Huh? But you have nothing to do with this, do you?"

Zezzola looked at 74 with mischievous eyes, "Ah~? Nothing? Not quite, I made the engagement, but didn't marry the two of them after they obtained their second accreditation even though that is normally the perfect moment to officialize unions, all of that so that I could see where all those feelings would bring them. Not doing anything isn't the same as having nothing to do with this, my dear."

"I see…"

"Well, I will go and see Fresne now. Take care of Bery for me, okay?" Zezzola asked with a smile on her face as she distanced herself. 

"Oh, wait, Lady Zezzola!" 74 called. "What about the remaining 1%?"

Zezzola stopped, but didn't turn around.

"Ah, you noticed, huh?" she mumbled a smile on her face. 

Zezzola continued going toward the manor raising her fan up in the air, "Lets just calm that whim, rimpianti* and projection, okay?"

//*regrets

On that note, the young woman entered the manor. 

As 74 stood in the garden she felt a sense of peace settle over her. She thought about how many of these flowers she cultivated out of duty – she knew which soil they preferred, when to water them, and even the perfect solar exposure needed. Yet, she ignored anything about their true colors, their true perfume, their true beauty.

But that was normal, for a maid, a doll doesn't have to admire flowers. 

At least normally…

"Oh well… I am tired already. Those eyes of mine should maybe learn about the beauty of summer…"