"Yeah, last day before our one-month winter break," Sophia confirmed.
"Great. You all pack up your suitcases, okay? You guys don't need me to help, right?"
"Yeah!"
All three of them excitedly rushed back to their room, getting ready to pack their stuff as if they had been waiting to leave the house.
After waiting for a bit, all three of them came out with their suitcases ready.
"Where is mom?" Alex raised his concern as they brought their suitcases and backpacks with them.
"She's already at your grandparent's house doing something. I'm here to bring you guys there instead."
None of them doubted Amelia's word.
They took her words at face value as she began casting teleportation magic.
In the blink of an eye, they vanished from the living room, reappearing in a dark room.
But as they blinked again, the darkness disappeared, and they were now in some sort of castle with the snow outside.
It was clearly not the same castle-like mansion as the one their grandparents were in back in the capital.
"Auntie Amelia, where are we at?" Alex curiously asked as the window outside was still snowing.
"We're in Regina. Don't you know your grandparent is the Duke of Regina?" Amelia replied, looking back at the three with a confused face.
"Mom never told us about our grandparents that much," Sophia replied this time.
"Make sense... Ahem, anyway, you guys are going to get used to coming here every winter."
"Why?" Mary curiously asked.
"Because it's one of the most crucial things that makes all mages want to come here during the winter.
Even the emperor himself comes here once in a while to pay tribute to her."
Amelia vaguely explained as she grabbed all three of their suitcases and backpacks before putting them into her pocket dimension.
"Who's her? Why make this place so special?" Sophia asked in curiosity, as they looked just as confused as earlier.
"You guys really don't know? She's the empire's grand archmage... She's also your great great great grandma something.
I lost count at this point. But it really doesn't matter since none of us probably get to see her at all anyway."
All three of them looked in shock, as the grand archmage was mage level 9, the highest level ever recorded in the textbook.
There were only a few people in the world that were mage level 8 reaching archmage, with less than a handful that were mage level 9.
"Anyway, it's a good thing you guys learn it now so you won't embarrass yourself when the time comes."
"What time?" Sophia curiously asked.
"You'll learn it soon."
As Amelia pushed the wooden door open, they were right on top of a castle wall, with endless buildings stretching past the horizon.
"Misses and Mister, how may we call you?" The senior maids asked.
"Just call me Sophia. He's Alex, and she's Mary."
As soon as Sophia said the word 'he,' almost all the guards' attention turned towards Alex.
Even the maids that were standing by the doorway were looking at him as if they wanted to be the ones guiding him.
"Very well. Nice to meet you, Miss Sophia, Mr.Alex, and Miss Mary. I'm Luqing."
I'm the head maid of this castle. I had been working under Lord Fredrick for over twenty years."
"Miss Luqing, can I ask why you look so different? I'm sorry if this is a little rude."
Mary asked as she was just too curious to see someone who looked so different from everyone else.
"Please don't call me Miss Luqing. I'm just a maid... Lord Fredrick saved me when I was being trafficked from the East to the capital.
Ever since then, I have been serving under him as a thank you for saving me," Luqing explained.
"I see..."
As they followed Luqing around the mansion, they started to realize how big the place was.
It was almost like endless hallways, with rooms on top of rooms and multiple living rooms.
There was even an indoor park with a glass panel ceiling blocking the snow from the outside.
Yet, the more surprising part was the fact that they were only on the first floor, with the building having at least two floors looking from the outside.
After walking for a bit, they finally arrived at a hallway that had six doors indicating a room behind it.
As the other two maids guided Sophia and Mary to the third and fourth rooms, Luqing guided Alex to the second room.
"Who sleeps in the first room?" Alex asked, just wanting to confirm his theories from earlier.
"Miss Katherine... Sorry to ask this, but is your mom Miss Katherine?" Luqing asked with a little nervousness in her voice.
As soon as Alex nodded in agreement, Luqing seemed a little excited before calming back down.
"You know my mom?" Alex curiously asked.
"Miss Katherine and I used to be good friends..." Luqing explained as she started to zone out a little before snapping back.
"I see... Ahem, I can unpack myself. Can you wait outside for a bit? I'll come out after I finish unpacking."
Luqing didn't question his order as she stepped out of the room and closed the door.
"Shit... They're going to find out sooner or later. How can I hide this?"
Alex started to panic internally as he could see all of them putting him up on a pedestal because he was a 'male.'
Yet, he still had two pairs of leggings and skirts that Sophia didn't want back after the prank she did.
On top of the pad and panties for the upcoming period and his bra that he still hasn't started wearing yet, it was building up to be a disaster.
"I can't tell them this... But why didn't Mom ever tell me about this?"
Alex crosses out the idea of confession, as the only people who know about his condition are his mom and his two sisters.