Just as soil nourished the seeds to sprout healthily post the showers, so did Lily's well-being after the medicine and rest beside the drying lavender flowers.

  She asked Marquis Remington for the Duke's estate address, honestly explaining that she wanted to thank him for his kind act. He wholeheartedly agreed and shared it with her.

  "But now how…."

  Lily held the inked quill over the blank paper, dropping a staining blob which matched the spring's night outside. She barely wrote throughout her life, nevertheless, sending a letter to anybody of high status. She clamped her lips before sighing as the crickets chirped on the other side of the window. The green hills outside were illuminated by the moon and the little lamp by her side.

  'It's never wrong to ask for help," her father's voice rang. Her grip ever so slightly curled tighter. Lily quickly shook her head, scraping the chair back to find the steward.

  The boxy robot agreed to help her in exchange for the new flowers Neil was caring for. The steward wanted to make colored ink with their vibrant hues, though Neil refused and chased him away every time.

  The steward taught her the basic template of the letter while also fixing her clumsy handwriting by ordering her to repetitively write each character until he deemed it elegant enough. Lily's wrist was admittedly sore but she persevered whenever she wasn't occupied.

  He could have also just let her copy his template but he didn't let her go without knowing all of the writing manners and etiquettes after she successfully convinced Neil to give her some of the rare flowers (she was going to help him spot rabbits later).

  After thirty minutes of concentration, Lily pressed the inked quill over the last sentence with a satisfied smile that matched the spring's sunshine outside. Just as she reached for the envelope, her eyes glanced over to the poem book sitting by her bedside. Lady Francesca was almost done with her studies, ready to return the books soon which meant Lily will be doing so too.

  She opened it to the first page:

  'Could we just

  sit together,

  enjoy, laugh, not fret

  about everybody's speculations

  and whispers,

  behind our oaken tree?'

  Stunned, Lily found herself transporting to a different world as she swayed down the lines, slowly feeling the grass beneath getting tickled by the breeze, a big tree casting loving shade upon her and the undefined companion. Then she was swept to the scenes of the grand capital with its bustling markets and hidden bee meadows. The elaborate words the author chose were striking and the emotions behind each verse was apparent to Lily.

  She shared her feelings onto a newly rewritten letter.

  After sending it the next day by the carriage courier services, Lily slipped the small book out of her spacious dress pocket, opening it to the page she last stopped at:

  'The moon cast its gaze

  onto the lonely

  wondering

  If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

  what is going on—?'

  Her eyes stopped at a faint annotation, 'Why must I be pestered to marry?'

  Now this knocked Lily to a whole different world. The deeper she went, the more annotations she found in all kinds of styles of speech and handwriting—from unreadable to aweing.

  'It unnerves me when one stares at me as if I am water they are parched for. I run.'

  'This is beautifully well-said, author. Do I have to pursue a relationship of such nature? I simply want to work on agriculture…'

  'i agree with you stranger. i just be wanting to live with my best friend and travel the world.'

  'The moon will be my solace—I have my siblings and dread the day they will leave me for their partners. But I don't share such desires as much as you don't wish for another rejection, Q.'

  'why robots can love yet as a human, i cant?'

  'What matters is that I am happy with no harm to anyone or myself.'

  Some were heavy, some were the happiest. Lily didn't really talk to many outside of her new family so this book provided her with one of the greatest insights she could ask for—everyone's inner world.

  With her treasured interest in the book woven with so many lives and emotions, she read it carefully and applied deep pondering. It was easier than she thought to understand the notions and the topics. But as Cedric had cautioned, it indeed sounded a little defeated.

  She tentatively brushed her fingers over the royal purple cover. 'I understand you, author Q. I hope you understand yourself too.'

  Promising herself one more page—happy how she can complete it with her pace from its size—the spine creaked and the smell of paper reached her nose.

  'Marriage of convenience

  wasn't a bad idea

  until you confessed

  you will love me

  so blazingly passionately,

  that my eyes glossed over

  and I felt my lungs squeeze all over.

  You ran away,

  leaving me glad yet shattered.

  I knew I would

  disappoint another again…'

  'Please don't feel bad,' she found herself extending reassuring words.

  Lily looked up from the wall she was leaning on at the two twin coworkers changing the wall lamps. "Would you want someone to love you passionately, Fiona?" she asked, curious.

  "Yes," replied the candelabra robot.

  "What about you, Finn?"

  "I am loved by the cats I feed and the elderly I help on the weekends."

  "Aw."

  This made Lily think broader. It made her ponder, what did she love? She held that question for later as she took out a pencil and scribbled down Finn's reply. She thought it might help others before smiling at how it was now a part of the map of this paper world with uniquely shaped letters sprawled around.

  She had written to Cedric her honest opinion and was in anticipation, a little unsure, to hear his reply. If he had the time to send one. Lily knew she shouldn't expect much considering he was a Duke and he had many responsibilities—

  He came to the mansion.

  Extra:

  Cedric had been going down the fancy stairs where at the bottom his butler awaited with a tray of important letters.

  "Sir, you got a letter from Viscount Andrew, your father's textile manufacturer, and from Miss Lily—"

  Cedric reached his side in a flash and the butler barely had time to hand it over.

  'His Poise, The Duke of Paalwey,

  By your kind favor, with the deepest sincerity, I take the liberty of writing to Your Nobility as Lily, a servant in the service of Marquis Remington, to express my highest gratitude for the kindness and care you graciously bestowed upon my family and me. It is with true happiness I acknowledge your generosity, which will be remembered—'

  He was not expecting this level of formality. This was akin to a letter addressed to the King, not his familiar self. But Cedric knew she put effort and time into crafting such a respectable one so he read through it slowly as he walked towards the patio.

  The maids glanced at one another as the Duke exuded an aura of happiness.