Yori dragged one of the armchairs and placed it in front of the glass window that overlooked the gate of the manor. Lucky for her, the chosen seating was not too distant away. She sat down, leaned back and fixed her gaze on the gate. She did not know the purpose of her spacing out but she felt a strong propulsion in her mind to do this.
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Knock … A soft tap on the door indicated another person’s presence beyond the room’s door.
- “Enter please,” she stood up from the armchair and turned to face the female attendant who had just taken a few steps into the room.
“Yori-sama, dinner is ready. Please let me escort you to the dining hall,” the female attendant who guided her to the study room announced. Yori nodded her head and followed her out of the room. Taking slow but steady steps, leading the way in front of Yori, the female attendant guided Yori down the stairs, across the reception area on the first level and out of an exit on the left side of the manor. They were soon walking along a pebbled walkway , in the open (out of the manor), lined with pine trees that grew towards the darkening sky. Halfway through the path, previously unnoticed lamps lit up and brightened their trail. Soon, they came to another structure that looked like a greenhouse as it was completely made of transparent walls, ceilings and there were no visible windows. From where she was standing, the brightly lighted structure looked like a glowing bulb amongst the thick forest of pine trees that surrounded it. In it, there was a long table and 6 matching dining chairs. There were a few attendants strategically placed at different corners. When she finally got close enough, she discovered that all of them were wearing an identical white uniform, donning on aprons and high chef’s hats.
- “This way please,” the female attendant that had been showing the way stopped beside an opening in the structure. Yori walked in and became conscious of the warmth inside. To her left, there was a chef standing beside a grilling counter, and in the other direction, many others were all positioned by their posts. One of them were arranging the cutlery on the long dining table.
“Good evening, Yori-sama,” they greeted her as she strode towards a seat indicated by the female attendant. One of the chairs was placed at the “head-position” of the long dining table, facing the rest of the 5 chairs distributed between the lengths. Yori was seated on the chair that was to the right of the “head-position”. There was no one else seated by the table.
- “The masters will arrive soon,” the female attendant informed her and backed off towards the glass wall behind Yori.
She kept both hands under the table as she waited for the others to arrive. Read more
