What slightly surprised Annie was that on the very first night after that young lady, Alara, had just returned home and undergone treatment for planetary gravity, she got into a huge argument with Mr. Ildis Kitan. The shouting was so loud that Annie could hear it perfectly clearly, even while taking a bath.
So even though she'd finished washing up ages ago, Annie thoughtfully stayed inside and listened in on the juicy gossip.
"..."
|??ω?`)
Only after the two people in the room had finished arguing, and Mr. Ildis Kitan had stalked out in a huff and closed the door behind him, did Annie—wearing a loose nightgown, her hair still a little damp—open the bathroom door and cautiously peek outside with half her head.
"Ha!"
???(?)????
After waiting a little longer and making sure there was no one else around, Annie finally couldn't hold back. She cheered and scampered out barefoot.
"Eh?"
(??????)????
"Big sister Alara, are you okay?"
(?ˊ????)???
Then Annie saw Alara sitting on the bed looking dejected, her eyes red and her poor, miserable face just short of bursting into tears. Annie managed to put away the playful, almost gleeful expression she'd been about to wear, and cautiously edged closer, blinking her big eyes as she asked.
Annie wasn't any good at comforting people, but she could at least ask a couple of questions and pretend to be concerned.
After all, that was how it went in TV shows and movies. Her Excellency Annie wasn't stupid—how could she not learn such a simple trick?
(...)
(●￣?￣●)
"I..."
"Phew!"
"It's, it's nothing!"
"I'm fine!"
Her emotions had crumbled in an instant, and a few tears had already slipped down her cheeks. But when Alara remembered that the person trying to comfort her was the mischievous little Annie, she