Why did it turn out like this? 

Standing at the entrance of her father's office, Horatia was bundled up in her winter coat as she looked at the looming door that seemed to grow larger every second.

Apparently, whatever she had said to her father during their conversation amused him enough to allow her to leave the estate and go out into town to view the festival.

Miss Mabel said that there would be lots of treats and games to play. So even if father's been acting a bit weird, it should be okay. Right?

Sighing, Horatia could only knock on the office door and wait.

"Horatia? What are you doing here?"

Instead of her father opening her door, Horatia was surprised and also relieved to see that her brother Lucian was the one opening the door instead. 

"Lucian? Mister Allerton told me to come to father's office before Miss Mabel, and I head into town for the festival."

Motioning for his sister to come inside the office, Lucian looked at her in confusion before he realized what she was talking about. "Oh, the festival! Father mentioned it in passing, but I've been so busy that I completely forgot! It should be fun. I was a bit older than you are right now, but I remember when I first went."

Nodding eagerly, Horatia watched as her brother looked through some papers and walked over to glance at them. "You're super busy nowadays! It's been two days. Two days since I've seen your face!"

Frowning as she looked at all the super big words on the documents, Horatia crossed her arms and looked away from Lucian. 

Surprised by his sister's outburst, Lucian gave a cheeky smile and ruffled her hair. "Really!? And to think that you were so insistent that I was mean and you didn't want to hang out with me!"

Embarrassed, Horatia could feel her cheeks becoming warm, and she looked away from him. "Shut up. I only wanted to play with you since there was no one else."

Chuckling, Lucian ruffled her hair a little more until the sound of the office door opening prompted both of them to look up. 

Quickly trying to fix her hair, Horatia saw that both Allerton and her father had arrived. As she looked up at both of them, she couldn't help but give a shy smile and wave as Allerton greeted her with a nod.

The Marquess passed by both of his children and sat at his desk in the middle of the room before looking at Horatia. "Are you excited?" 

Eyes widening, Horatia locked eyes with her father, and she nodded vigorously. "Yes! Miss Mabel said that there would be lots of games and food to eat!"

"That's good. I was beginning to think that it was about time for you to see the outside. Especially after our last little conversation." As the Marquess spoke, Horatia could feel the weight of his gaze and tone of voice, which made her look away. 

"Allerton will collect the book he lent you. I trust that you received enough answers from its contents?"

Horatia struggled to keep a straight face as she thought about the book Allerton gave her. It wasn't a bad book. After her little…incident with that strange dream and the glowing spellbook, she was eager to read the book to gain more insight into magic, only to realize that it was basically a watered-down version of the basics for children. 

However, it's not like she could tell him this. So instead, she nodded. "It was amazing! The book talked about incantation, rune, and circle magic! Those are the types that everyone always talks about!"

Feeling her brother's confused gaze, she realized she had never told him about what had happened recently and could only silently promise that she would tell him later. 

Her father looked at her for several long seconds before nodding. "Good. There's no need for you to know anymore than that much. Do you understand?" 

While the Marquess's expression looked quite calm, Horatia could sense the warning in his voice. And suddenly, her little secret felt that much heavier. "I understand…"

…

Watching from the carriage as her brothers' figure slowly disappeared the further away she got, Horatia couldn't bring herself to feel excited. 

She luckily managed to tell her brother why she asked for a book on magic, but felt disappointed as she heard his response. 

"I see. I was wondering what book father was talking about at first. He's right, though. Nothing good will come from your reading about magic."

Letting out a sigh, Horatia looked out the window of the carriage as she watched the snowy scenery pass by. 

I thought Lucian would at least be more interested in it. How come everyone seems to treat magic like a curse? Father said it himself that wendigos can wield magic. So why did he give such a lame excuse like we have to atone for our ancestors' sins?

Sensing a change in Horatia's mood, Mabel gently pulled her closer and gave her a comforting smile as she rubbed her shoulder. 

Aren't you excited? This is your first time leaving the estate! Think about all ‌the new things you'll see!

Grateful for Mabel's support, Horatia managed to smile. "Thanks, Miss Mabel." Letting out a nervous laugh, Horatia watched as the carriage passed through the gates of the estate. "My nervousness about going somewhere far is beating my excitement."

Frowning, Mabel motioned Horatia to look at her, her expression suddenly stern. "Listen. There's nothing to worry about! Because Veritas is actually my hometown!"

Surprised, Horatia looked up at her with widened eyes. "Really!?"

Mabel's smile turned into a smirk, and she gently pinched Horatia's cheek. "Really. Where did you think I was born? Did you believe that I just appeared out of thin air?"

Suddenly, looking away from Mabel. Horatia scoured her brain and concluded that she should just keep her thoughts to herself if she didn't want to sound stuck-up.

"S-Something like that." Giving an apologetic smile, she swore she could feel a bead of sweat dripping down her neck.

More like I never even thought about it…

Feeling a bit of her anxiety go away, Horatia leaned against Mabel's shoulder. "Either way, thanks again, Miss Mabel. I feel a bit better now." 

"Of course, my lady. That's why I'm here."

…

After nearly an hour, the carriage came to a halt, and the coachman opened the door, helping both Mabel and Horatia down. 

Watching as the carriage disappeared from view, Horatia turned her attention to the entrance of the town, and her eyes widened. 

"It's so pretty!" She suddenly spoke out of turn and, while slightly embarrassed, Horatia couldn't look away from the dazzling scene before her. 

Garlands were draped everywhere with pinecones and white and blue flowers. And tiny twinkling lights seemed to float in the air.

"Is that magic!?" Pointing at the lights, Horatia felt a mixture of confusion and excitement as she jumped up and down, excitedly trying to grab one of the floating lights.

Glancing around, Mabel nodded and looked towards the town square, where a small crowd seemed to be gathering. "It seems so. Your father must've hired a mage. But you heard him. No more talk about magic. In fact, I should take the spellbook back and-"

Ignoring Mabel's words, Horatia could feel her boots crunching against the snow as she left her side and ran towards the crowd.

If I can get the mages' attention, maybe I can figure out why the spellbook started glowing!