Emma’s Life Before Going Back in Time
EMMA had a dream as a child. It sprouted one day when she was in the garden, cleaning up the toys her older brothers had left scattered after playing.
“Lady Emma? So this is where you were, hm? Your pancakes won’t taste so scrumptious if they’re cold.”
“Sunny! Look at this mess. My brothers didn’t even try to tidy up before they went back to their room. The fact that their tutor arrived is no excuse!” she huffed.
“Ah, and I presume that’s why you’re diligently cleaning up on your own, hm? How marvelous, my lady.” Her eyes meeting Emma’s, Sunny smiled at the little girl. She worked for Baron Seagrove as Emma’s maid.
Emma stared up at the tree with its sweetly scented white blossoms. “These white flowers are sooo pretty! It won’t be long before they all fall, and I’ll be sooo sad then.”
Sunny tittered softly before speaking. “I have an idea, my lady. Why don’t we gather up the fallen petals when the time comes? I can place them in a pitcher of water and use water magic to create a lovely bouquet inside.”
“Truly?! We should try it right now! Let’s go back to my room and experiment, Sunny!”
“Of course. But first, why don’t we wash our hands, change our clothes, and eat our snacks, hm?”
“Oookaaay!”
When Sunny gently touched her hair, Emma felt the need to rub her head against the woman’s hand and purr like a cat. She thought Sunny was amazing because not only was she extremely kind, good at needlework, and skilled with hairdressing, but she was also a walking dictionary.
The moment Sunny took Emma’s hand and started the trek back to the house, Emma flinched, sensing a murderous aura nearby. Sunny detected the same intent earlier than the little girl. She wasn’t a skilled, outstanding individual just for show. By the time Emma’s mind clouded with fear, Sunny had already moved to protect her charge and confront the enemy. Which just so happened to be a fluffy monster called a magic fox.
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Despite its close resemblance to a normal fox, it was well-known for possessing a disposition leagues more ferocious. The more troubling aspect was how it had managed to trespass into Seagrove Manor in the first place. Protective barriers around the surrounding town and the estate should have warded off monsters, so why was it even here?
Emma was terrified and clamped down on Sunny’s white apron strings. Noticing her lady’s fear, Sunny soothed her.
“Have no fear, Lady Emma.”
Emma cowered behind Sunny, who adjusted her position to further block the monster’s view of the little girl. Then she smiled gently down at her without a hint of panic or dismay. She patted Emma on the head.
Emma was deeply skeptical. She wanted to scream for help, but she couldn’t make a sound—not when her throat dried up due to fright. From that point on, her recollection of the incident would become hazy and fragmented.
Yet she remembered how the magic fox lost its violent bloodlust after Sunny pointed her index finger at it and chanted a spell. Immediately, it turned on its heel and bounded over the garden wall, vanishing quickly. Only countless soap bubbles remained, floating in the garden. Emma, young though she was, understood that the monster had disappeared in pursuit of these bubbles.
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THAT night, Emma questioned Sunny while sipping on a cup of hot milk.
“Sunny, you weren’t afraid of the magic fox?”
“Correct. I would be unqualified to be your maid if I had been.”
“Oh, really? Are maids so special? Then what does scare you?”
“The only thing that terrifies me is you being injured, my lady. Just the thought is enough to make me quake. Which is why, in comparison, mountains of needlework, cleaning, and even monsters mean nothing.”
Though Sunny chuckled, Emma detected a fierce glint in her maid’s usually soft eyes. Her heart raced at her first encounter with Sunny’s unbending determination. She was only used to the woman’s calm, cheerful temperament. She remembered that well, too.
Maids are sooo incredible! I want to work as a lady’s maid too!
On top of everything else, Sunny turned out to be extremely strong as well. That day cemented the maid as Emma’s idol. Naturally, Emma dreamed of becoming a maid like Sunny. Whenever she prattled on about it, her parents and older brothers smiled indulgently while the object of her admiration looked on, embarrassed.
Several years later, the little girl would grow up and be confronted with the harsh reality that her dream would never come true.