Akira followed Sayaka while Hanae followed behind her all the while humming a jolly tune. Akira lifted her suitcase with ease when they reached the stairs. However, to Sayaka, she thought her short daughter was struggling under the weight of the bag.

"Akira, let me call someone to help you with your suitcase." She stopped on the steps.

Her daughter had already refused her help, so she did not want to push further. However, she could get one of the maids or butlers to help.

Akira could not keep walking when Sayaka stopped, so she also had to stop with her suitcase in hand. She did not place the luggage on the step.

"It is alright. I prefer to carry it myself." She said.

"Auntie, you are making her stand on the stairs while holding her suitcase." Hanae chirped from behind with a small giggle. "Are you sure you are trying to help?"

The words were filled with humour and some laughter, making the sentence seem like a light-hearted joke. However, Hanae was hoping that Akira would think that Sayaka was making things difficult for her intentionally.

Often, people from poor backgrounds were sensitive and always felt inferior about themselves. Therefore, they would take everything personally and assume that everyone was looking down on them.

"Oh no, I'm sorry," Sayaka exclaimed as she realised that she was causing Akira to carry her luggage longer than necessary.

Akira did not take things to heart. But she wished her biological mother would stop trying hard. Her efforts made things more complicated, especially with the little happy bird behind them stirring her pot of trouble.

She turned her head slightly to look at the bird and levelled a sharp side glance of warning on her

Hanae was happily lost in her mind, thinking about the best strategy for defeating the intruder. When Akira looked at her with those sharp eyes that did not belong to a bumpkin, she felt like a sword had pierced her mind.

The look gave rise to a primal fear in her because it looked as if she could see through her. How did this peasant get such eyes?

With her mind distracted, she missed a step and her body tumbled down the ground. She screamed as she fell and rolled down the stairs.

Akira's face did not change as she watched the woman fall down the steps like a barrel. Her large eyes even looked colder than usual.

She turned away from the woman lying on the ground and wondered if she could keep going up the stairs. Her main regret was that she had carried a suitcase instead of her backpack. Her suitcase was more secure, but it was an obvious inconvenience.

"Hanae!" Sayaka shouted when she heard the scream and turned.

The people who had been waiting in other rooms also heard the scream and rushed to the scene. Akira placed the suitcase on a step, but she did not rush down with Sayaka.

"Hana!" Kaoru shouted and knelt beside Hanae.

"Seiji, check up on her!" Daiki was the one with the presence of mind to make a good suggestion.

Seiji was a reputable doctor with a lot of experience, so he was the best person to assess Hanae's condition. It was more useful than screaming.

Hanae cursed as she remembered that her cousin was a qualified doctor. She could not keep pretending to be unconscious. She knew her level of acting was not good enough to withstand a professional probe.

It was true she had missed a step and tripped. However, she had managed to prevent a real fall by holding on to the balustrades. However, at that moment, a plan had hatched in her mind.

After stabilising herself, she released the railing and allowed herself to roll down the stairs. They were not too high up the steps, so she knew that she would not be severely injured. She had also ensured that her rolling speed was not too high.

Slowly, Hanae opened her eyes and looked around with confusion. Seiji squatted beside her and examined her head for wounds.

"Brother Seiji…" Hanae called out in a small voice.

Seiji was not close with Hanae, and they did not interact frequently. Therefore, he had never been comfortable with her calling him 'brother'. He simply ignored it for the sake of the closeness between his mother and his cousin.

"Stay still." He said before checking on her eyes.

He looked at the pupils and eye movement before concluding that there was no concussion or head trauma.

"Is there any place you feel pain?" He asked.

He would have preferred to examine her, but he knew young ladies could be self-conscious about a medical examination, especially by a male doctor. Not to mention, there were so many eyes on her.

"My left arm is a bit painful." She croaked out softly.

She had used the arm to control her fall and minimise injuries. However, seeing all the eyes on her looking at her with concern, she felt that it was worthwhile.

"Hanae, what happened?" Kaoru cried out. "How will you play the piano with an injured hand?"

Hanae lowered her eyelids to hide the triumphant gaze. She wanted this kind of reaction. Everyone would assume that the intruder had injured her because she was jealous.

Seiji frowned as he checked the arm and hand. There was only a little bruising in the arm. The hand had not sustained any injuries.

How lucky! His eyes narrowed a little.