Chapter 96

"Still mad at me?" He gently smiled and asked the girl who was packing her Violin back inside its case. 

"Why would I be mad at you?" She inquisitively looked up at him and frowned, seemingly oblivious to the fact that she had been unusually quiet since the morning. 

"Ahan..." He sighed and shook his head. "I must be tripping then. Come, I have got your favourites prepared for lunch!" He brightly smiled at her and turned around to walk out of the Music Room. 

As soon as he left, Kiara's expression turned a little sour. 

"Hmph!" She angrily pouted and suppressed the urge to rush up to him and start shelling her fists at him. But she didn't, and her mood dropped down a little more. 

Yes, she was still mad at him for what he did last Sunday. He chose to go out with Qingyue rather than spend some more time with her, and she was quite displeased by his decision. 

Even after everything that happened, she still only got to see him once a week. Yes, it was because he was busy and she too had a lot of new things and tasks on her hands, but she just could not help the disappointment. 

Drowning in her depressing thoughts, she finally reached the dining room where they were meant to have lunch. 

"Sorry, I am late!" She brightly smiled and immediately took her seat under the impatient eyes of her little cousin, who was holding back his urge to start eating without her. 

"Yay!" Ben happily smiled and looked at Keith and Amelia. "Can we start now?" He impatiently asked and his eyes sparkled when they turned to look at the gelatine delicacy that was specially prepared for him. 

"Sure!" Amelia lightly smiled and then proceeded to plate him the delicacy he so desired. 

"Thank you, Amelia!" He happily said and started munching on it, his expressions brightening up to its deliciousness. 

Minami, who usually kept to herself, curiously looked at Kiara, who was sitting next to her. Normally, the blue-eyed girl chatted a lot with her whenever she visited, using the signs that she had learned just for her. But today, she seemed a little lost even if she was wearing a smile on her face. 

Keith assuredly smiled at his little Maid when she worriedly looked at him, concerned about Kiara, and Minami obediently nodded to him before getting back to her meal. 

"How's school, Kiara?" He suddenly asked, and Kiara's hands paused on her meal. 

She felt a pang of pain hit her heart, but she still turned to look at him and smiled. 

"I have no school." She informed him, disappointed that he was not already aware of it. "It has been a month." She added. "I am currently being home-schooled by the teachers that Mom has arranged for me. But I will be appearing for School Exams in March." 

"Oh." He feigned surprise, still pretending that he did not know about it. "Do you miss your friends?" He knowingly asked. 

"I don't." She shook her head and got back to eating her meal. 

"I see." He lightly smiled, knowing well that she was not really lying to him. 

Kiara did have a few friends, but she was never too attached to them, and it was not really a surprise that she did not miss them. However, everyone, at some point in time, needed to be around people their age. And it was especially the case for youngsters. 

"How about I help you find a new friend?" He suggested, making his little sister frown at his words. 

"I don't need them." She shook her head and refused his offer. 

"Sure?" He asked again.

"Yes." She confidently nodded. 

"And if I say that I have already found one for you?" He curiously asked. 

"I don't need a friend, Keith." She seriously said. "You don't have to worry about it." She sweetly smiled at him.

"Ahan..." He looked right into her eyes and smiled back. They kept staring at each other, and suddenly he started chuckling. 

"You are mean!" She shouted at him, having caught on to the fact that he had been playing with her. 

"And you are not?" He narrowed his eyes at her. 

"What did I do?" She scoffed and took a bite of the delicious salmon. 

"You lied to me about not being mad at me." He pointed out. 

"It's your responsibility to understand your mistakes." She retorted. "Why do I need to tell you that I am mad at you? Why don't you realize your own mistake?" 

"So, you are mad at me." He playfully nodded to himself. 

"Of course, I am mad at you!" She loudly admitted and then glared at Keith. 

"Don't be." He gently smiled back and requested. 

Kiara's expressions softened when she looked at his gentle smile, and then just snorted and turned her eyes away. 

"Okay." She lightly said. 

"Thank you!" He chuckled and reached over to plant a kiss on her cheek, which made her little cousin laugh for some reason. 

The lingering warmth on her cheek melted her heart, and she absolved him of all the dissatisfaction she held against him. "You owe me an evening." However, she was not going to just let him off like that.

"Of course!" He nodded to her. "How about I pick you up in the evening?" He suggested, much to her delight. 

"Okay!" She brightly smiled and nodded to him, not even asking him about his plans. 

She did not care where he would take her, all she wanted was some alone time with him. And he had promised her that. 

"Also, I was serious about having found a friend for you." He said, which made her raise her brow at him. "And she will be by your side all the time." 

"You were giving Minami to me?!" She hopefully and excitedly asked. 

"Hell no!" He shook his head. "She's my personal maid. I am not giving her to you." He pulled his tongue at her, which made her snort in dissatisfaction. 

"You have so many Maids here. Why do you specifically need her by your side?" 

"Because she's the cutest!" He brightly said and smiled at his little Maid, who was curiously watching their interaction. 

The smile brought a light blush to her cheeks and she lowered her head, silently taking a bite of her meal and chewing on it gently. 

"Who is it then?" Kiara uninterestedly asked. 

"Finish your meal, and I will introduce you to her." He chuckled and said. 

"She's here?" She curiously glanced at everyone on the table and then again at the maids who were standing on duty. 

"Yes, but she isn't in the room" He nodded to her. 

The rest of the meal was a quick affair since Kiara was a little impatient to meet the person Keith was talking about, and as promised, he took her to meet her new friend. 

"Her name is Ingrid Carmel, and she will be your friend, sister, and your Shadow." He said and smiled when he found his little sister looking at Ingrid in astonishment. 

Ingrid was the same, and she was curiously looking at her new Master, who unmistakably shared some key features with Keith, deeming her his biological little sister. 

It was not an exaggeration to say that Ingrid had never before met a girl as beautiful as Kiara, and it was quite something considering that she had been staying in the City of Sin for the last couple of years, where beauties from all over the world resided. 

"You are beautiful!" Kiara finally exclaimed. 

For the first time in her life, Ingrid felt a little embarrassed at the compliment, and it was because it was coming from someone who was only a few months younger than her, who was also arguably more beautiful than her. 

"Thank you, My Lady!" She said and then knelt to Kiara.

"No, no!" Kiara immediately rushed up to her and helped her up, before intimately hugging her. "Don't kneel again, ever!" She admonished. "Also, you must always call me Kiara." 

"Yes, my... Kiara." Ingrid corrected herself and lightly smiled at her Master, who seemed so genuinely happy to have her. 

"Good!" She brightly smiled and then turned to her brother. "Thank you!" 

"You're welcome!" He smiled. "And be responsible for her!" He seriously said. "She's your Shadow, and such, her well-being is only your responsibility."

"I will take care of her much better than you take care of Yingying!" She snorted and then happily smiled at Ingrid. "She looks just like a princess!" 

"That's because she is a princess." Keith chuckled and said, and it made Kiara go stiff. 

"What?!" She surprisedly called out.

"She has her circumstances. But don't worry about it." He walked up to her and gently patted her head. "Also, she will be teaching you lots of new things, and you must keep them a secret. Understood?" 

"Okay." Kiara nodded her head and then smiled at Ingrid. "Come, I will introduce you to Ben! He would love to meet you!" She excitedly pulled her Shadow by the hand and rushed out to find her little cousin. 

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