“Miss Tsuruko, don’t stay outside for too long. If you get hurt again, I can’t shoulder the responsibility!” The maid shouted at Chizuko Nagato, squatting in the yard’s corner, without much respect.
But, Chizuko Nagato did not seem to have heard her. She heeded no response.
This maid rolled her eyes. This Miss Tsuruko is Master Nagato’s illegitimate child. Master Nagato cherishes her quite a lot, but Master Saburo showed a bad attitude toward those treating Miss Tsuruko well. It is equivalent to being caught between the two most powerful men in this Nagato family for the servants. Hence, taking care of Chizuko Nagato is naturally a dangerous chore.
“Call me if you need anything, stay alone if you need nothing. Don’t get out of this yard!” The maid yelled again weakly and then rubbed her head.
Master Nagato just sent her to have intercourse with a man the day before yesterday for her to gain a month’s worth of masculine energy. Although she could live for another month, she felt dizzy after returning and sometimes absent-minded as if her soul escaped her body. She felt lethargic more often. Most women, who were sent back from the intercourse, had such conditions for a few days. Everyone just thought it was a symptom that the curse had eased.
At this time, this maid was bored. She soon went sleepy with her eyelids dropped; she then gradually fell asleep.
In the old courtyard with a cherry blossom tree, Chizuko Nagato sat under the cherry tree, holding a book on her lap, and read it with her head facing down.
“Can you understand it?”
It seemed to be the soft voice of the cherry blossoms when it fell.
Chizuko Nagato raised her head. Her face, which was as delicate as a porcelain doll, was unsurprised. She just blinked her beautiful pair of big eyes curiously, looking at the person who appeared in front of her.
A young elder brother wore an outfit she had never seen before. Perhaps he was older than Shinji Nagato? But compared to her father, Saburo, she looked pretty young.
“You can’t understand it, don’t you?” he asked suddenly again.
Chizuko Nagato shook her head, nodded again, and said, “Are you going to read it for me?”
Then, the young elder brother smiled and squatted down. Boss Luo wanted to complain. It seemed that the younger people he encountered did not seem to be afraid of him.
Whether it was the group of little demon beasts that Miss Heisui brought or the children who wanted to become adults in Russia…
“Okay, give it to me.” Luo Qiu nodded and extended his hand to Chizuko Nagato.
Chizuko Nagato sent out her book nicely. She moved her seat to indicate that he could sit next to her. Boss Luo, who was kind-hearted, naturally did not refuse. After sitting down, he asked softly, “Where do you want me to start reading?”
Chizuko Nagato blinked and then looked up. Although the book was already in Boss Luo’s hands, she reached out and turned to a particular page by herself, pointing at it, and then raised her head again, “Is this okay?” Do you know how? Axiu can’t seem to understand it every time she reads until there.”
Without asking who Axiu was, Boss Luo just nodded, even if it was a different text and grammar.
He previously struggled to understand a foreign language after studying it for ten years. However, there were no longer such limitations to him anymore.
“In an old pond, a frog jumped into it suddenly, giving out the sound of the pond.”
An early haiku sentence format.
After listening, Chizuko Nagato looked curiously toward the small pond not far away but did not see the frog diving in. She seemed a little disappointed.
Luo Qiu smiled at her behavior, glanced down, and planned to read on. But, Chizuko Nagato turned over and shook her head, stretched out her palms, and covered the page.
Ten fingers spread out. Including the palm, she still failed to cover the opened-up pages completely. Luo Qiu did not move but just asked, “Is it enough?”
Chizuko Nagato nodded and said, “You can’t finish reading it.”
“Why?”
“If you finish reading it today, I have nothing left for tomorrow.” She blinked her eyes and said it as though it was some worldly truth.
Luo Qiu asked, “But even if I finish reading today, aren’t there new experiences tomorrow? The words will never disappear. As long as the imagination is still there, even reading the same story will have different feelings, no?”
Chizuko Nagato still shook her head. She stubbornly took the book from Luo Qiu, holding it in her arms, “Father doesn’t like me to read books, saying that it’s useless for women to read. I only have this one, so once I finish reading it, I have nothing left.”
“Do you like reading books?” Luo Qiu smiled slightly, “Axiu taught you how to read, right?”
“Yeah! But Axiu doesn’t recognize many words.” Chizuko Nagato whispered, “She went to eavesdrop on the teacher who teaches second elder brother during the class session.”
“She is a trustworthy close relative.” Boss Luo nodded.
Chizuko Nagato shook her head, “Axiu is my handmaid, not a relative.”
Luo Qiu said, “Do you think so too? Is she just your handmaid?”
“I think she is my sister!” Chizuko Nagato looked a little longing.
Luo Qiu tilted his head at this time and suddenly said, “There is a frog, look.”
“Really!?” Chizuko Nagato turned his head quickly and saw a little frog on the stone by the pond. No one knew where it came from. It then jumped into the pond and disappeared, leaving only a ripple on the water surface. The lotus leaf swayed with the water ripple.
Chizuko Nagato smiled contentedly and then happily said, “Did you bring out the frog?”
“Me?” Boss Luo shook his head, “I can’t seem to chat with the frog yet. How do I call it out?”
“Oh.” Chizuko Nagato nodded, then looked at the pond again with expectant eyes. Soon, another frog jumped out of the grass and jumped into the water.
The pond sound could be heard clearly.
Luo Qiu looked at Chizuko Nagato’s happier expression at this time. Thinking back to the question she had just asked, Luo Qiu smiled and did not speak up.
What summoned the frog was your thoughts.