Chapter 03: A Library in the Alleyway

Both Naomi and Lillian was shocked to see the person who entered the room. 

"SECOND UNCLE!"

Naomi's voice reverberated in the whole room as she happily ran towards the person.

That person chuckled and patted Naomi on her head like a kid.

The person who entered was none other than Duchess Carmen's third son, Alistair. In all of Duchess Carmen's children, Alistair was the one who would often go out to travel and his whereabouts would be unknown. He would come home occasionally that it was hard for everyone to see him stay in Florence for too long.

Although his whereabouts would be unknown, he would send some letters to his mother, reminding her that he was doing well and talk about other stuff. 

His arrival today haven't surprised Duchess Carmen but only the two ladies in the room.

"You still look short than ever, little lass." 

"What do you mean I still look short?! I grew 2 cm taller!" Naomi complained.

"It's just 2 cm, not a huge difference." Alistair laughed.

Naomi glared at him and pinched his arm.

"Aw! What a sadist." He teased Naomi and went on rubbing his arms which didn't really hurt.

Naomi pinched him again.

This time, Alistair didn't tease her. Instead, he walked in front of Carmen and gave out a loving smile.

"I'm sorry I'm late, mother." 

Carmen nodded.

"Sit down."

Alistair pulled the chair beside her and sat down. Naomi followed suit and went back to her own chair.

"Why did you come home so sudden?"

"Nothing, just missed the scenery here in Florence."

Time slowly passed by, the dishes that was served in their table was decreasing accompanied by a melodious atmosphere. 

The time they spent in Rosewood was long and after they have finished, they went down and exited Rosewood.

Learning from the waitress who attended to them, Anton learned about their leave so he sent them out and bid goodbye.

In front of Rosewood, the carriage with the logo of a white rose came into view once again and stopped in front of the four of them.

"Alright, I need to go see Camilla." Carmen said. The coachman got down from his seat and assisted her in boarding the carriage.

Camilla was Duchess Carmen's only daughter, the older sister of Alistair, and the mother of Naomi. 

"I was also planning to see sister, let me accompany you to visit her." Alistair also said and turned to look at the two ladies following them.

"How about you two?" Alistair asked. 

"We won't be coming together with the both of you, second uncle. Just tell mother that we'll be back before the sun sets." Naomi responded.

"Alright. The both of you take care." He reminded them.

Naomi waved her hands at him impatiently. Seeing her action, Alistair couldn't help but twitch his mouth.

It was clear as day that she didn't want to hear him nagging for a long time.

'This little lass...' he thought.

He went to board the carriage and waved goodbye to the two ladies through the carriage's window.

The two of them also did the same and watched the carriage drove further away until it was nowhere to be seen in the sea of people. 

Lillian turned to look at Naomi, who was still gazing at the direction the carriage drove away.

"What's your plan, young miss?" She asked.

As if not hearing her words, Naomi continued to look that way until a playful smile appeared on her face.

"What else?" 

Naomi grabbed her and went to the opposite direction the carriage disappeared. 

-------

Naomi and Lillian turned into an alleyway. 

Unlike the bustling streets of Florence, this alleyway was the complete opposite. The word deserted is the perfect way to describe the situation of this alleyway.

Only a few people would pass in this alleyway.

Although the alleyway was deserted, there was a library that opened up in this kind of place. 

As someone who loves books, Naomi was naturally fond of going in a library and bringing home some books with her.

It was when she decided to sneak out and tried to hide that she passed by the alleyway and she discovered a library situated in here. 

It wasn't as extravagant like the other libraries she would frequent to and compared to those libraries, the library in this alleyway looked like a run-down place.

It was out of curiosity she decided to enter the library.

Today, she's going to enter that library once again with a baffled Lillian tailing behind her.

"Young miss, are you sure that a library in this alleyway is as nice as you say?" She couldn't help but ask.

"It really is! Just wait until when we get there that you'll know that I'm telling the truth." Naomi assured her.

Even with Naomi's assurance, Lillian couldn't help but doubt everything she said. 

'Why would a nice library appear in this alleyway where almost no one passes by?'

There was a lot of questions floating inside of Lillian's head but instead of asking, she decided to keep quite.

They walked for a while and Naomi's eyes sparkled when she spotted the library she was looking for.

She ran towards the library, leaving a doubtful Lillian who was lost in her thoughts while walking. It was only a while when she realized that she was left behind by Naomi who already ran towards the library and her silhouette keeps getting thinner.

She was startled for a while until she cried out loud.

"Young miss, wait for me!"novel!