Chapter 12: The Filial Daughter
Clare, the mansion's second miss, had returned from school with her brother and was now in her room resting. She hadn't bothered switching out of her school attire and sat by the window in a white leather armchair. Her elbows settled on the edges of a polished wooden desk as her hands fiddled with a small electronic gadget. She was planning a new experiment and had found a suitable part for it at the nearest gadget store. Her lady's maid stood behind her subserviently, reporting the events that occurred earlier in the day.
"Miss Clare, that is all I have to report. " The lady's maid spoke softly.
Clare frowned and threw the gadget into a random drawer.
"What a nuisance. A housekeeper should just be in charge of housekeeping..." She muttered with annoyance. Then she sighed.
It is well known that the housekeeper was someone Eyrie shielded. What was her sister thinking? It almost seems as if she's had relations with that mutant before, seeing how against it she is. Even going to the extent of forcefully trying to destroy it. Even though it's Carlos' guard and important to father--- although father probably doesn't actually care that much.
After furrowing her eyebrows for a long time, they finally relaxed. Stuck between the two sides has always been hard. But Clare had made up her mind this time. "Leave, you can do whatever you want."
The maid hesitated, and then lowered her head to bow before leaving. She didn't dare question anything.
After waiting for a while, Clare left her room and walked briskly to Carlos' room, which was next to hers. She directly opened the door and stood in the doorway with her arms crossed. Carlos was playing on the rug with his nanny.
They were battling using code-i bots, a more old-fashioned type of teaching robot that needed the users to manually program it, and when paired, you could battle. It was interactive and naturally taught a child the basics of programming. The code-i bots were bought by her mother, who was very retro and loved antiquity. Looking at them made Clare a little reminiscent.
When he noticed Clare, Carlos sulked. He hugged his controller. "Sis... What's wrong? I-Is it time for dinner already? Can't you see I'm playing now? .... Just one more battle..."
The nanny had a questioning look in her eyes. Clare gestured for her to leave and slanted her body to let her pass through.
"SIS! Why did you get Mrs. Kleinen to go away? It can't really be dinner time already, right?"
"Carlito, we've been home for approximately 40 minutes... What do you think?" Clare shook her head, "Well, actually, Father came home earlier than he expected. He's downstairs, wondering why his beloved third child hadn't come to greet him yet."
Carlos immediately jumped up and left whatever he was doing. "Then what are we waiting for? I wanna see Daddy!"
Carol threw back her head and let out a soft, humorless laugh, slightly contemptuous. "Lol. It was a joke~ Father's coming home two days from now. Stupid~"
"Hmph." Carlos rounded his fists and gave his sister a glare. "That's not funny."
Carol thought her little brother was very cute, even while giving that glare. She stopped laughing. "Alright, alright. Have you seen Feixin today yet?" She asked, even while knowing the answer.
"Fei? No... Mrs. Kleinen said that I couldn't...that Fei was doing her work and should not be disturbed. Why do you ask?" Carlos said, let down. He wanted to teach Fei some new words that he learned at school today; or rather, he wanted to teach her to play some cool games.
Carol narrowed her eyes. "Well, Mrs. Kleinen was wrong. Fei asked me to tell you to see her. She's in the basement and is very lonely without you. She said she wants to return to you since she is your loyal bodyguard."
"Really!?... Wait, are you lying to me? You want me to get in trouble, don't you?! The basement is off-limits to us." Carlos questioned suspiciously.
Carol laughed dryly. "I'm not that bored. It's true. Besides, I've been there multiple times, but I've never been in trouble."
"Fine... I'll go. But if I find out you lied to me, I-I'm gonna complain to Daddy!" Carlos puffed up his cheeks, trying to look fierce. He vaguely felt something was off, but he couldn't tell what it was.
Carol smiled slyly. "Of course. I even drew you a map beforehand. Fei told me that she would be in one of the head house maid's rooms."
...
When Carol returned to her room, she was tired. Exhausted, really. She sighed a little, seeing how she fooled her little brother using such a pitiful excuse of a lie. Perhaps it was because Carlos had always been sheltered, whether it was by his mother or his father.
It was obvious how much he was doted on; his room was much grander than that of her own, with three large children-safe bookcases filled with complex books, and another bookcase that was filled with all sorts of complex gadgets---oh! How she longed for one of her own---.
These were all gifts from either Eyrie or his father and were the very definition of scholarly. However, all of this scholarliness was ruined by the children's toys and picture books that were scattered all over the ground.
Meanwhile, her own room was more of a luxurious hotel room, nothing that really defined who she is, even though it screamed extravagance. And Clare knew the reason that she was more neglected that her siblings better than anyone.
She isn't a prodigy. Nor is she a boy. Nor does she have perfect interpersonal skills. She has nothing to be useful to her father, despite always being praised as a genius outside of her family. But being praised as a genius was to be expected of someone of her status. And so she is raised like a vase, learning all of the things a lady of high standing should learn. Nothing more, nothing less.
And she will accept it.
Carol sank into her comfortable yet cold bed, looking up at the high ceilings. Staring at its blankness, she unknowingly fell asleep.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
_VA_
_VA_ What are your first impressions of Carol?
Why do you think she decided to help Fei?
--Oops, spoiler
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
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stone