The dining hall of Ravencrest Castle carried an air of faded grandeur. High arched ceilings bore dim frescoes, and heavy tapestries lined the thick stone walls. A wrought-iron chandelier cast flickering candlelight over the long oak table, its surface marked by time but still bearing intricate vine and beast carvings. Tall-backed chairs with worn cushions lined its sides, while old but elegant cabinets dispyed tarnished silverware and gilded ptes.

  Sera sat at the head of the table, sipping from a silver cup. Tia, to her right, picked at his meal in quiet thought, while Vina, on her left, ate with steady precision. Two maids moved around them, pcing fresh bread, butter and pottage with practiced ease. The soft clink of silverware and murmured conversation echoed through the vast hall, morning light casting stained-gss colors onto the stone floor.

  “Mother, I don’t like eating breakfast at this long table,” Vina compined. “It was much better when we had it in the kitchen.”

  Sera smiled. “Think of it as training. One day, we might have to attend banquets or visit other territories. Wouldn’t want people thinking we’re ignorant country bumpkins, now would we?”

  “But we’ve been doing this for a year already,” Vina grumbled. “It still feels uncomfortable, too constrained and lonely.”

  Sera hummed in thought. “You are right. I don’t like it much either. How about this? If we’re not hosting guests, we’ll have breakfast and dinner in the kitchen, and lunch in the dining hall since we might invite guests then. Emma and Aric can join from time to time, and the maids will still get practice serving when needed.”

  Vina’s face lit up. “Yes!”

  While Vina and Sera chatted, Tia sat anxiously, wanting to say something but hesitating.

  Despite noticing his unease, Sera and Vina continued their chat of trivials as if they did not see anything, deliberately ignoring him.

  “What are your pns for today? Training as usual?” Sera asked, breaking a piece of hard bread.

  “I want to, but I haven’t been in the mood tely,” Vina admitted, stirring her stew. “I don’t know why but, I’m feeling kind of down, so I thought I’d practice magic nguage instead.”

  She took a sip of water before continuing. “I heard from Rose that Ron, Olivia, and Julian just got back from the Light Goddess Citadel. I wanted to visit them, but Lilian said we should give them time to rest after their long journey.”

  “Apparently, Priest Joshua is going to start teaching them magic tomorrow, so we’re all pnning to go to the temple,” Vina added.

  Tia’s thoughts drifted. ‘Ron, Olivia, and Julian, along with their families, were invited by the Light Goddess Temple for a tour of the citadel. The entire trip took half a year. Most of it must have been spent traveling.

  ‘I heard Olivia’s father didn’t join them. Other than him, all their families went.’

  “But Mother, didn’t Teacher Kevin say they’d be invited just a few days after their awakening ceremony? Why did it take a year and a half?” Vina asked, frowning.

  “Maybe they forgot,” Sera said with a shrug. “Or maybe they didn’t want to draw too much attention right after the ceremony. Inviting them too soon might have seemed suspicious. Who knows? Maybe they were busy and finally found the time.”

  “What about you, Mother?” Vina asked.

  “As usual, I have my work cut out for me,” Sera sighed, her face full of reluctance. She poked at her food, looking thoroughly unenthusiastic.

  Tia took a deep breath, steeling himself. ‘No, I can’t hesitate. I have to convince them today. No matter what!’

  “Mother—”

  “No.” Sera rejected him instantly, not even looking up as she continued delightfully enjoying her stew.

  “...”

  Feeling awkward, Tia slowly turned to Vina. “Vina—”

  “No.” Vina rejected him just as swiftly, breaking a piece of bread as if nothing happened.

  Not willing to give up, Tia tried again. “What I wanted to—”

  “No.”

  This time, both Sera and Vina rejected him in perfect sync, mercilessly cutting him off.

  “Why are you both in sync?” Tia gaped at them. “I didn’t even say anything yet! Can’t you at least hear me out?”

  “You don’t have to. We already know what you’re going to say,” Sera replied nonchantly.

  “You’ve been asking the same thing for days,” Vina added.

  “And our answer hasn’t changed,” Sera finished.

  “No,” they both said in perfect harmony again.

  Tia clenched his fists. “But Mother, you let Vina do whatever she wanted! Why can’t I—”

  “You are you, Vina is Vina,” Sera stated ftly.

  “That’s partiality! favoritism! Discrimination! Tyranny! You can’t do this to me!” Tia huffed, rising from his seat and standing on the stool beneath his chair, arranged to support his ck of height.

  Sera smirked mischievously, resting her chin on the back of her right hand, her elbow propped on the table. “Yes. And what are you going to do about it?”

  Vina grinned, watching Tia’s aggrieved expression with delight.

  “I—I... I will protest!” Tia decred, frustration evident in his voice.

  “Oh? And how exactly will you do that?” Sera teased, flicking her finger against his forehead.

  “Ow!” Tia yelped, rubbing his forehead. His face was starting to turn red, not just from the flick but from sheer frustration.

  “You—you—” He pointed an accusing finger at both of them. “I won’t speak to either of you anymore!”

  “Oh?” Vina smirked. “Let’s see how long you st.”

  Tia’s breath hitched as his frustration grew.

  “Huhu... huhu... hahaha—”

  Sera and Vina couldn’t hold it in any longer and burst into ughter.

  The maids are also unable to hold back their smiles.

  Tia’s face darkened further, feeling even more aggrieved.

  Sera’s Office – Some Time Later

  Knock, knock.

  After knocking twice as a courtesy, Aric entered Baroness’s chamber.

  Though Sera held the title of baroness, Aric and Emma were more akin to family. Formalities were only necessary when outsiders or guests from other territories were present; otherwise, they spoke and acted freely.

  As Aric stepped inside, he noticed Emma seated on one of the small sofas arranged before Sera’s heavy wooden desk. A low table sat between the sofas, cluttered with parchments. Emma barely acknowledged him, casting a brief gnce before returning to her work.

  A rge window on the opposite side of the room bathed the space in pale morning light. Seated before it, Sera remained entirely absorbed in the documents before her, her sharp eyes scanning the pages with unwavering focus. Towers of papers were stacked haphazardly on her desk, and she was so engrossed that she hadn’t even noticed Aric’s arrival.

  The chamber exuded an air of old-world authority, it's dark wooden furniture aged but well-maintained. A heavy bookcase lined one side of the room, filled with leather-bound tomes and scrolls.

  On the rger sofa, Aric spotted Tia, arms folded, lips pursed in a deep pout, clearly sulking over something.

  Beside Tia, Vina sat with a book in hand, flipping through its pages at a leisurely pace.

  Aric hesitated for a moment, gncing at Sera, who remained lost in her reading. Deciding not to disturb her, he strode toward the sofas and took a seat beside Tia, quietly settling into the familiar space.

  "Is she lost in her research again? How long has she been at it today?"

  "Since morning," Emma replied without lifting her head. "Chief Maid Era also stopped by but left without disturbing her. She wanted to inform Sera that the maids have been a bit restless tely. It’s nothing serious, but she found it odd and thought Sera should know. She asked me to pass on the message."

  Emma gnced at Aric. "Why are you here? If it’s nothing urgent, I can rey your message too."

  "It’s about the tavern situation. I’d rather speak to her directly."

  Emma sighed. "She’s completely absorbed in her study today. She won’t be returning to our world anytime soon."

  Aric crossed his arms. "You mean she’s lost in it today, again? This has basically become a daily routine."

  “Yees, she is at it again.” Emma rolled her eyes and spoke, dragging her words, concurring with Aric.

  “So, It may be better for you to come ter or you can wait.”

  “Wait?” Aric rolled his eyes. “How many hours will that be?"

  Huhu Emma chuckled.

  Aric sighed. “I will wait for sometime, Maybe I’ll get lucky, and she’ll snap out of it on her own. If not, I’ll come back in the evening."

  “Suit yourself,” Emma continued her work.

  “What are you doing?” Aric asked, noticing how focused Emma looked.

  “I’m going over the census reports Sera asked me to collect. Something’s… off. I can’t quite make sense of it.”

  “What’s it about?”

  “It’s the Ravencrest popution. Have you noticed? In the past few years, the birth rate has been rising. Back when Tia and Vina were born, the entire vilge had maybe twenty children born across a whole decade. Mostly due to high child mortality.”

  “But now there are more. Maybe twenty children born within just a year or two,” Emma expined.

  Aric blinked. “And that’s a bad thing? Isn’t it good to have more children around?”

  “Yes… but the rate is too high,” Emma said, frowning. “For now, it seems fine. But with more children comes a greater demand for resources.”

  “In ten years, they’ll all need to marry, build homes, start families of their own. Most of the current houses are too small to fit many people. And then there’s the food supply. Who knows what other issues might crop up?” She sighed.

  “Right now, I’m trying to understand why the birth rate is rising so fast.

  “Maybe this is normal. Maybe due to the clinic Sera set up, child mortality might have dropped sharply.

  “Plus, people are more self-sufficient now. A bit wealthier than past generations here in Ravencrest. That could be encouraging families to have more children.”

  “I see… Still, I don’t think it’s a bad thing to have more children running around the streets,” Aric expressed his opinion, thinking it is not a big deal.

  Seeing that Emma is focused on her work, he settled into his seat, his gaze shifted to Tia, still sulking beside him, lost in his own thoughts.

  ‘For now I am imitating Vina, when she sulks. But, am I doing this right? This is the first time I am doing something like this ... . Argh! Damn it, this is so frustrating.’ Tia thought.

  ‘I’ve finally sorted everything from my past life and am ready to take the next step, but Mother and Vina are so adamant about not letting me learn. What should I do?’

  Feeling an urge to tease, Aric reached over and ruffled Tia’s hair. "What’s wrong with our cute little princess today?"

  "Ugh," Tia grumbled, pushing Aric’s hand away. "Uncle, please don’t mess up my hair! And I’m not in the mood. Just leave me alone."

  Aric smirked. "Oh? And why is that?"

  Tia folded his arms and leaned back. "I’m protesting."

  Huhu

  Emma chuckled. "It seems, Sera denied her request, so now she’s trying to sulk."

  It is clear to everyone that Tia is trying to sulk, but they also understood that she is clearly failing to do the job properly.

  ‘Is she sulking? That’s new.’ Aric thought, surprised, then he gasped dramatically. "Oh my God! Our cute little Tia knows how to sulk too? Shoo cute!" Overcome with affection, he reached out and tugged on Tia’s chubby cheeks.

  "Ungle, le' me gooo!" Tia protested, his voice distorted as Aric stretched his cheeks.

  Suddenly, Vina pulled Tia into a protective hug, scolding. "Uncle, don’t pull Tia’s cheeks! What if they fall off?"

  Aric grinned mischievously. "Oh? So our little knight is going to protect the princess from this big, bad uncle?"

  Tia, feeling warm in Vina’s embrace, momentarily flushed—but then he remembered he was supposed to be protesting. With a determined shake of his head, he pushed Vina away and resumed his sulking posture.

  Hahaha

  Aric burst into ughter. "See? She doesn’t want her little knight right now."

  Vina felt a pang of guilt. She felt justified as they were doing it for Tia. But seeing him reject her still stung.

  "Uncle, stop teasing me!" Tia huffed, gring at him. "I’m not in the mood for games today."

  But to Aric, this only made Tia look even more adorable.

  "Hoho, what will our little princess do if I don’t stop?" he grinned wickedly, tousling Tia’s hair again like a vilin in a bad py.

  Tia, unable to fight back, clenched his fists, feeling more aggrieved. "I’ll remember this! Just wait! I’ll get my revenge ter!" he decred, sounding like a defeated thug swearing vengeance after losing a fight.

  Hahaha!

  Aric erupted into ughter.

  Chop!

  Emma delivered the Chop of Justice to Aric’s head.

  Ouch!

  Aric yelped, rubbing the sore spot.

  Emma scolded, "Stop teasing little children! Is that what you learned at the countess’s castle? Pying with girls?"

  Aric grinned sheepishly. "Sorry, sorry. I just couldn’t resist teasing my little niece."

  "......I learned a lot of other things too. Want me to show you?" Aric winked, trying to flirt with Emma.

  "Hmph,” Emma snorted. “I hope it’s not from a woman." She shot him a gre before promptly ignoring him, diving back into her paperwork.

  Aric blinked. ‘What woman? Where did that even come from? Why is she gring at me like that? What did I do wrong?’

  ‘Recently, her words seem to be hinting at something. Is it just my imagination?’

  His thoughts spiraled as he gnced at Tia, who was still sulking. ‘Did I go overboard?’ Scratching the back of his head, he sighed, feeling increasingly baffled.

  Despite thinking he might have gone overboard, Aric did not feel like apologizing to Tia, feeling a bit of pride as an adult.

  He might not have apologized, but his affection was always genuine. Everyone knew Aric adored children, so they never minded his antics too much.

  As a result, Aric kept teasing Tia, unaware that, today, because of all the pent up frustrations, Tia had finally decided to hold a grudge. With a determined pout, Tia mentally registered "Uncle Aric" into his Little Bck Book of Vengeance.

  Feeling awkward, Aric tried striking up another topic attempting to salvage the situation—only to be met with complete and utter silence. Everyone had returned to their tasks, collectively ignoring him.

  Aric sighed, resigning himself to coming back ter when Sera was avaible in this world.

  Despite all the commotion, Sera remained undisturbed, completely lost in thought. She absentmindedly moved her hand, quill in hand, and—

  Crash!

  Her hand collided with the precarious stacks of papers beside her, sending them tumbling to the floor in a chaotic avanche.

  The twin towers of paperwork colpsed with a resounding thud, drawing everyone’s attention.

  All eyes turned to Sera, who sat frozen like a statue, staring in silent horror at the mess she had just created. Her face twitched. Her hand quivered.

  Copyright ? [April] [2025] [The Rainy Imp]. All rights reserved. Then—

  ARGH!

  A shrill cry of frustration erupted from her lips, making everyone jump.

  "That’s it! I CAN’T TAKE IT ANYMORE! I’VE HAD ENOUGH!" Sera’s voice rang out in sheer exasperation, the tone of a woman on the verge of breaking.

  She threw her quill onto the table dramatically before slumping forward, colpsing onto the desk like a slouch potato. Closing her eyes, letting out long, exhausted moans.

  Hearing her distress-filled sighs, the entire room instinctively moved toward her desk.

  Suddenly, Sera stood up with determination. "That’s it. I need my Tia relief."

  Before anyone could react, she strode briskly toward Tia, startling everyone.

  "Eh?!" Tia barely had time to process what was happening before Sera knelt down and wrapped him in a tight hug. She buried her face into his hair, inhaling deeply, then exhaling slowly, as if all her pent up stress was dissipating. A satisfied smile formed on her lips.

  "See? You can’t bme me for wanting to tease. Tia is just too cute." Aric tried to justify himself.

  "Yeah, I’m sure you say that to all the women too." Emma muttered under her breath.

  Aric blinked. "Did you say something?"

  "Nothing." Emma dismissed him with a wave, leaving him baffled yet again.

  Meanwhile, Tia sat frozen in Sera’s embrace, cycling rapidly through emotions. First surprise, then embarrassment, before finally remembering his official stance of protest.

  ‘Wait… what’s happening? Oh right, I’m supposed to be angry! I’m protesting!’

  With a determined pout, he awkwardly pushed Sera away and folded his arms, turning away from her with a little huff.

  ‘Wait… Is this how you’re supposed to pout? Did I do it right? Should I say something? Am I supposed to stomp my foot?’

  Tia hesitated, gncing around, as if expecting guidance. His inexperience with tantrums was painfully obvious.

  Sera, watching his clumsy attempt at sulking, chuckled, clearly amused at his uncertain pout.

  "Tia, are you… trying to throw a tantrum?" she teased, her eyes twinkling.

  Tia stiffened. "I-I’m protesting!" he insisted, but his unsure tone made it sound more like a question than a statement.

  Sera outright ughed, making Tia flush in embarrassment.

  ‘Ugh, why is this so hard? How do kids normally do this?’

  Seeing his struggle, Vina stepped closer, ready to offer a comforting hug again. But Tia, remembering his stance, stubbornly shuffled away.

  Aric smirked. "Look at you, little princess. Even your tantrums are adorable."

  Tia groaned, realizing he was failing miserably at being properly mad.

  Emma, watching the scene unfold, narrowed her eyes. "Sera, what’s going on?"

  "Nothing. I’m all better now." Sera stretched as if that solved everything.

  "As if," Emma scoffed, unimpressed. "You are having trouble with whatever you are doing. And you are clearly Vexed.”

  Sera flinched slightly.

  "A few days ago, you scolded a maid over something minor. It was clear that you were taking out your vexation on her. I’ve never seen you do that before. That’s not like you at all."

  Sera sighed. "I… still don’t know what got into me that day. But I’ve already apologized and compensated her. Please don’t remind me. I feel ashamed just thinking about it."

  "That’s not the point, Sera. It doesn’t solve the issue at hand. It is your bad habit, you know. You bottle things up too much. You always take on everything yourself."

  Emma crossed her arms, giving Sera a firm look. "Just let us share some of it. Even if we can’t help, at least vent to us. It’ll do you some good."

  Sera remained silent, her gaze drifting toward Tia and Vina. A deprecating smile tugged at her lips.

  'I wish I could share my burdens... but not yet. They’re still too young to handle it. Even if it is just grumbling.'

  "She’s right, you know," Aric chimed in. "We soldiers grumble to each other all the time. Even if it doesn’t solve the problem, it helps clear the mind. And with a fresh mind, you can focus better."

  Emma nodded. "Who knows? Maybe we’ll come up with ideas to help you. Or maybe, just by talking, you’ll figure things out on your own."

  Sera exhaled slowly, considering their words. Finally, she relented.

  "Fine. I’ll expin what I’m working on. But I doubt you’ll be able to help."

  Emma raised an eyebrow, feeling that Sera is underestimating her. "How can you be so sure? You won’t know unless you try."

  Sera chuckled. "Actually, I do. But what you said makes sense. Maybe venting will help me organize my thoughts."

  With that, she turned and walked toward her desk, ready to expin.

  Copyright ? [April] [2025] [The Rainy Imp]. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright w. For permission requests, contact the publisher at [[email protected]].