Swapping Feet

The butler opened the doors to the three guest rooms one by one.

"Sir and Madam are in this room, Miss Evelyn is next door, and Master Richard is in the room at the very end."

He handed the keys to each of them individually:

"If you have any needs, please pull the bell to summon someone. Someone will come to guide you before the evening banquet."

Before turning to leave, the butler noticed the small leather shoes on Evelyn's feet that were clearly ill-fitting, and he made a mental note of it.

Richard walked along the corridor toward the end.

Pushing the door open, he found the room was at least three times the size of his own bedroom.

The furnishings inside lacked gilded ornaments, crystal chandeliers, or anything that screamed "expensive" at first glance.

However, the material, craftsmanship, and age of every single item spoke for themselves.

That was the essence of old money; the Gray Family's car had given him the same impression.

He took off his sweat-dampened coat and hung it on a hook, then selected a waistcoat from his spare clothing to put on.

A shirt and waistcoat were not considered disrespectful at a banquet, yet they were much more comfortable than a full three-piece suit.

Once changed, Richard sprawled out on the bed in a star shape and began to sort through what had just happened.

His grandfather was also a person of the occult; there was no longer any need to guess that.

The way he had crushed Richard's micro-circulation with an Aether field was clean, precise, and effortlessly controlled.

He had released it only toward Richard, leaving the people nearby completely unaware.

A Practitioner could not achieve that level of precision.

A Practitioner's use of Aether was still in the active stage, equivalent to picking up a tool to work; every step required total concentration.

But his grandfather's move just now felt as if he were Aether itself, manipulating the Aether field with just a turn of his thoughts.

The gap between the two actually demonstrated the qualitative change between different ranks.

According to the ranks deciphered from the Flora of the Western Continent:

Novice, Practitioner, Adeptus Minor, Adeptus Major, Virtuoso, Magister, Archon.

The other party was likely at least an Adeptus Minor, or possibly an Adeptus Major.

The book's descriptions of the fifth rank, Virtuoso, and above were almost blank.

But judging from the scattered wording, those high ranks had already deviated from the category of "human."

His grandfather should not have reached that level yet.

Somewhere between Adeptus Minor and Adeptus Major—this was the most reasonable judgment Richard could make for now.

But regardless of the specific level, it was a power he could not match.

Judging by the change in the other party's attitude after the test, he should have passed.

Richard did not know if passing the test was good or bad, but no matter what the other party was planning, he could not let his own rhythm be disrupted.

He stood up, intending to open the door and go out to check the floor layout.

Just as his fingers touched the doorknob, a muffled sound came from the next room.

It seemed like something had hit a wall, perhaps a chair or a stool.

The sound was very faint by the time it reached him; the soundproofing in such high-end residences was excellent.

Evelyn lived next door.

Richard's hand paused on the doorknob, and he waited for a few seconds.

There was nothing further.

Could she have kicked a piece of furniture? Knocked something over while changing clothes?

He frowned; in an unfamiliar place, a little extra caution never hurt.

Richard turned back to the side against the wall and sank his focus into the Seat of the Sun.

A wisp of Aether was drawn from his micro-circulation, guided up along the side of his neck to his ear canal.

Under the nourishment of the Aether, his cochlea became exceptionally sensitive, and the sounds in the next room suddenly became clear.

"No, no need, really, no need!"

His sister seemed very flustered.

"Miss, the butler has given instructions. Please try these few pairs of shoes to see which one fits."

The other was an older female voice; it must have been one of the maids in the manor.

"I can change them myself! Just leave them at the door, leave them at the door!"

"Miss, changing shoes requires measuring the foot shape; I need to see if the size is correct..."

"No need to measure! My feet... I, I am currently a bit inconvenienced!"

"Miss?" The maid was clearly somewhat confused.

Richard had already guessed what was going on.

Before leaving the house today, he had given his own socks to his younger sister, and those socks were a full size too big for her.

Stuffed into leather shoes that were already tight, followed by a long day of walking, and considering the Imperial Capital was much warmer than Briston...

It was easy to imagine the state of her feet after being cooped up all day.

"Miss, are you feeling unwell? Should I call for a doctor to take a look?"

"No, no, no! You go out first, I'll change them myself!"

Through the wall, Richard heard the entire acoustic performance.

First came a flurry of hurried footsteps, likely Evelyn retreating quickly across the room;

Then the chair creaked, probably because his sister had bumped into the back of it;

The maid chased after the sound of footsteps, and the two of them circled the room at least half a dozen times.

It seemed nothing serious was happening.

He withdrew his Aether from his heightened hearing, his shoulders shaking as he struggled to hold back his laughter.

A few minutes later, the sound of a door opening and closing came from next door.

Soon after, there was a knock on the door of Richard's room.

"It's unlocked," he replied.

Evelyn poked half her head out from behind the door: "Brother?"

"What is it?"

The girl stood on the carpet, both hands hidden behind her back.

Her face was flushed red from the roots of her ears all the way down to her neck.

"Did you... hear anything?"

"What?"

"I mean... the sounds from next door."

"These walls are soundproof, I didn't hear a thing," Richard said with a calm expression.

Evelyn stared at him suspiciously for several seconds before finally letting out a slow breath.

"The maid insisted on helping me change my shoes."

"So let her change them."

"I was wearing your socks today! I walked in them all day!"

When she said this, her expression hovered somewhere between a breakdown and pure exasperation.

"It's just changing shoes, it's not like you're changing your feet."

"You don't understand!" Evelyn's voice rose an octave:

"She knelt in front of me to take off my shoes... I... I didn't dare stick my feet out at all."

The girl's entire face was so red it looked like it might start smoking.

"What if she spreads it around... saying that the granddaughter of the Ashford family..."

"She won't. Maids don't go around spreading rumors."

"How would you know?!"

"Because in a family like this, servants who can't keep their mouths shut get fired long ago."

Evelyn opened her mouth, feeling that it made sense, yet she still felt uneasy.

"Did you change them in the end?"

"I did." She extended her foot from behind her back to show him.

On her foot was a pair of dark brown, soft-soled sheepskin shoes that fit perfectly.

"These shoes are much more comfortable than my own."

She couldn't help but stomp on the carpet twice, her expression shifting from embarrassment to satisfaction.

"Then that's all that matters."

"But my socks..." she pulled her foot back:

"I stuffed them under my pillow. I must not forget to take them when I go back."

"You should find a place to wash and hang them up."

"What if someone sees them after I wash them? Hanging a pair of large, smelly socks in the Ashford estate?"

"...That's a fair point."

"So I just pressed them under the pillow."

"You're planning to let the pillow suffer the consequences?"

Evelyn glared at him, turned around, and slammed the door shut with a loud "bang."

Two seconds later, the door creaked open just a crack:

"Come knock on my door before the banquet, and we'll go down together."

"Alright."

"And one more thing."

"Hm?"

"If you dare mention the socks to anyone, I'm disowning you as my brother."