<h4>Chapter 187: Alicia''s Feelings 1</h4>
<i>Tranted by AmaLynne </i>
<i> </i>
<span data-contrast="auto">Alicia Walker was a somewhat reserved girl.<span datap-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":6,"335551620":6,"335559740":276}">
<span data-contrast="auto">Compared to her lively sisters, she wasn’t very outspoken and didn’t excel at expressing her opinions or engaging in physical activities.<span datap-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":6,"335551620":6,"335559740":276}">
<span data-contrast="auto">She often kept her head down and spoke in a soft voice, which meant she didn’t have many close friends.<span datap-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":6,"335551620":6,"335559740":276}">
<span data-contrast="auto">Moreover, she wasn’tfortable around men.<span datap-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":6,"335551620":6,"335559740":276}">
<span data-contrast="auto">Alicia only felt at ease with her father, Jonathan, and her childhood friend, Gunther.<span datap-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":6,"335551620":6,"335559740":276}">
<span data-contrast="auto">There was one more boy she could call a childhood friend, but he fell into the category of men<span datap-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":6,"335551620":6,"335559740":276}">
<span data-contrast="auto">Alicia wasn’tfortable with him, so they weren’t close.<span datap-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":6,"335551620":6,"335559740":276}">
<span data-contrast="auto">For Alicia, Samuel Scheidt was a mysterious presence.<span datap-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":6,"335551620":6,"335559740":276}">
<span data-contrast="auto">He was the disciple of herte older sister and her most beloved boy, as well as the fiancé of her second sister.<span datap-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":6,"335551620":6,"335559740":276}">
<span data-contrast="auto">As the most powerful mage in the Sky Kingdom, he was different from any other man Alicia knew.<span datap-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":6,"335551620":6,"335559740":276}">
<span data-contrast="auto">He had a friendly aura, and when she was with him, words flowed naturally.<span datap-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":6,"335551620":6,"335559740":276}">
<span data-contrast="auto">In actual conversations, he was a good listener, and he would listen to Alicia’s stories with a smile.<span datap-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":6,"335551620":6,"335559740":276}">
<span data-contrast="auto">Thanks to him, Alicia started finding joy in conversing with people.<span datap-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":6,"335551620":6,"335559740":276}">
<span data-contrast="auto">Since Sam came to the mansion, many things have changed for Alicia.<span datap-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":6,"335551620":6,"335559740":276}">
<span data-contrast="auto">One of the most shocking things for her was when the dragons, beings that had only existed in stories until then, visited as guests and stayed in the mansion.<span datap-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":6,"335551620":6,"335559740":276}">
<span data-contrast="auto">And she found out she couldmunicate with beings other than humans.<span datap-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":6,"335551620":6,"335559740":276}">
<span data-contrast="auto">Being able to talk to the Red Dragons and their young ones brought her immense joy.<span datap-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":6,"335551620":6,"335559740":276}">
<span data-contrast="auto">It felt like she had be a character from a book.<span datap-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":6,"335551620":6,"335559740":276}">
<span data-contrast="auto">The baby dragons grew fond of Alicia and would call her “big sister” in theirnguage, which made her feel ticklish.<span datap-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":6,"335551620":6,"335559740":276}">
<span data-contrast="auto">Before she knew it, the baby dragons had be precious members of her family.<span datap-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":6,"335551620":6,"335559740":276}">
<span data-contrast="auto">ying with the baby dragons allowed her to discover the lively side of herself that she had thought was absent.<span datap-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":6,"335551620":6,"335559740":276}">
<span data-contrast="auto">Not too long ago, she had secretly gone on a journey to a distantnd, riding on the back of a baby dragon.<span datap-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":6,"335551620":6,"335559740":276}">
<span data-contrast="auto">She hadn’t told her family about it.<span datap-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":6,"335551620":6,"335559740":276}">
<span data-contrast="auto">Sometimes, she yed by the river, got covered in mud, andughed loudly.<span datap-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":6,"335551620":6,"335559740":276}">
<span data-contrast="auto">She had experienced a life she couldn’t have imagined not too long ago.<span datap-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":6,"335551620":6,"335559740":276}">
<span data-contrast="auto">She realized that she was no longer the timid person she used to be.<span datap-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":6,"335551620":6,"335559740":276}">
<span data-contrast="auto">She could now hold her head high and speak her mind.<span datap-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":6,"335551620":6,"335559740":276}">
<span data-contrast="auto">She had even made friends at school and started enjoying school life for the first time.<span datap-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":6,"335551620":6,"335559740":276}">
<span data-contrast="auto">She believed that it was all thanks to Sam.<span datap-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":6,"335551620":6,"335559740":276}">
<span data-contrast="auto">Today, she joined Sam for the daily ritual of the baby dragons’ bath.<span datap-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":6,"335551620":6,"335559740":276}">
<span data-contrast="auto">Invited by the baby dragons’ cheerful chirping and arm-nibbling, she decided to join them in bathing with Sam’s water magic.<span datap-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":6,"335551620":6,"335559740":276}">
<span data-contrast="auto">Without realizing that her clothes had be see-through due to the water, sheughed and yed with Sam and the baby dragons, enjoying a truly happy moment.<span datap-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":6,"335551620":6,"335559740":276}">
<span data-contrast="auto">“Alicia, you’ve be quite a tomboy.”<span datap-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":6,"335551620":6,"335559740":276}">
<span data-contrast="auto">Sighed her mother, looking at herself covered in mud.<span datap-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":6,"335551620":6,"335559740":276}">
<span data-contrast="auto">Her father, being the type who was fine as long as she was healthy, likely didn’t mind. But from her mother’s perspective, her daughter, who used to be very refined, had be mischievous, and that’s what she wasmenting.<span datap-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":6,"335551620":6,"335559740":276}">
<span data-contrast="auto">However, Alicia had no intention of going back to her old self.<span datap-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":6,"335551620":6,"335559740":276}">
<span data-contrast="auto">She nned to y in the courtyard with Sam and the baby dragons until the sun went down.<span datap-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":6,"335551620":6,"335559740":276}">
<span data-contrast="auto">“Ah, we had fun today, didn’t we?”<span datap-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":6,"335551620":6,"335559740":276}">
<span data-contrast="auto">“Kyu-ru-ru!”<span datap-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":6,"335551620":6,"335559740":276}">
<span data-contrast="auto">After enjoying some fun with the baby dragons, Alicia and Sam headed straight to the bath.<span datap-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":6,"335551620":6,"335559740":276}">
<span data-contrast="auto">They also had an animated discussion about a book Alicia had recently given him.<span datap-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":6,"335551620":6,"335559740":276}">
<span data-contrast="auto">It had been a delightful time, but such moments always seemed to end too quickly.<span datap-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":6,"335551620":6,"335559740":276}">
<span data-contrast="auto">When Lise was looking for Sam, Hanae came to call him.<span datap-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":6,"335551620":6,"335559740":276}">
<span data-contrast="auto">Sam had a happier expression on his facepared to when he was with Alicia, and he went to his sister’s room.<span datap-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":6,"335551620":6,"335559740":276}">
<span data-contrast="auto">It wasn’t as if Sam was neglecting Alicia.<span datap-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":6,"335551620":6,"335559740":276}">
<span data-contrast="auto">He looked apologetic as he said, “I’m sorry. Let’s be together again tomorrow.”<span datap-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":6,"335551620":6,"335559740":276}">
<span data-contrast="auto">He gently stroked the baby dragons before heading to his sister’s room.<span datap-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":6,"335551620":6,"335559740":276}">
<span data-contrast="auto">Alicia had noints. She knew she shouldn’t have anyints, but she felt a sense of nostalgia, and her heart ached.<span datap-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":6,"335551620":6,"335559740":276}">
<span data-contrast="auto">“―As expected, I…”<span datap-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":6,"335551620":6,"335559740":276}">
<span data-contrast="auto">Alicia desperately tried to hide the emotions in her heart.<span datap-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":6,"335551620":6,"335559740":276}">
<span data-contrast="auto">Just seeing her happy sister warmed her heart.<span datap-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":6,"335551620":6,"335559740":276}">
<span data-contrast="auto">Alicia genuinely wished for her sister, who had faced many hardships, to find happiness.<span datap-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":6,"335551620":6,"335559740":276}">
<span data-contrast="auto">She had never once thought about getting in the way of her sister’s happiness.<span datap-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":6,"335551620":6,"335559740":276}">
<span data-contrast="auto">“―Sam-sama.”<span datap-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":6,"335551620":6,"335559740":276}">
<span data-contrast="auto">However, the faint feelings in her heart for Sam would not disappear.<span datap-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":6,"335551620":6,"335559740":276}">
<span data-contrast="auto">But she couldn’t bear the thought that her sister’s smile might cloud over if her feelings for Sam were revealed.<span datap-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":6,"335551620":6,"335559740":276}">
<span data-contrast="auto">At the same time, the pain of not being able to confess her feelings to Sam and having to bury them deep in her heart was unbearable.<span datap-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":6,"335551620":6,"335559740":276}">
<span data-contrast="auto">“Kyu-ru-ru!”<span datap-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":6,"335551620":6,"335559740":276}">
<span data-contrast="auto">“It’s okay. There’s nothing wrong, so please don’t worry.”<span datap-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":6,"335551620":6,"335559740":276}">
<span data-contrast="auto">Alicia said with a smile, as the baby dragons, looking concerned, chirped and licked her face. She didn’t want to worry these still-young baby dragons.<span datap-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":6,"335551620":6,"335559740":276}">
<span data-contrast="auto">Exiting the bath with the baby dragons, she changed into afortable dress, and the maid Marie appeared.<span datap-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":6,"335551620":6,"335559740":276}">
<span data-contrast="auto">“Alicia-sama.”<span datap-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":6,"335551620":6,"335559740":276}">
<span data-contrast="auto">“Oh, Marie. Do you need something?”<span datap-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":6,"335551620":6,"335559740":276}">
<span data-contrast="auto">“Your father is calling for you.”<span datap-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":6,"335551620":6,"335559740":276}">
<span data-contrast="auto">“My father? Thank you, I’ll go to him right away.”<span datap-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":6,"335551620":6,"335559740":276}">
<span data-contrast="auto">It was unusual for her father to call her, and as Alicia thought about that, she sent the baby dragons back to her room before heading to her father’s study.<span datap-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":6,"335551620":6,"335559740":276}">