Daisy watched as the young man kept singing. Admiring his performance, she thought there was something in his voice that she found charming. Was it because it matched well with the notes of his guitar or did the song itself give it an extra flavor? Whatever it was, her heart couldn't help but skip.

She exhaled, telling herself she was only admiring his singing skills. There was nothing wrong with that.

The song played for a minute more before silence fell in the atmosphere.

"So," said the young man, "what are your thoughts? I'm still working on the lyrics, so things might change."

"My thoughts are that you have a girl as your guest who isn't your sister or one of your future sisters-in-law," teased a voice with suspicion in the background, "and you didn't tell us."

Daisy hadn't noticed that she had gotten so close that she could see beyond the dark-haired young man and observe the three people on the tablet's screen. Each person was in a different box.

"What?" asked Federico, his tone confused.

One of the people on the screen, a honey-haired young man, pointed at the screen as if he were telling Federico to look behind him. Which is exactly what he did.

"You?" His expression revealed a mix of surprise and annoyance, probably more annoyance.

"Hi, um," said Daisy, waving awkwardly.

His ocean-blue eyes focused on her as he said nothing. Daisy gazed around nervously, thinking that he didn't look friendly. A goodhearted person would have attempted to start a conversation, yet he stared at her with an expression that made her want to hide in the nearest corner.

"Hey~" the honey-haired young man on the tablet broke the brief silence. "May we have the pleasure to know who you are?"

"She's no one," said Federico before Daisy could say anything.

Yep. He's definitely not friendly.

She was grateful that she didn't feel anything with his words since they were still strangers.

"Don't mind him," said the same voice from the screen. "He's just embarrassed that someone caught him practicing."

A timid laugh escaped Daisy's lips, not sure if the person on the tablet was serious or was only making fun of him. Who in the world would be so embarrassed to be seen practicing?

Since she guessed he was a member of a band, she didn't think he had stage fright unless his performance was supposed to be a secret or something.

"Shut up, Giacomo," said Federico, his voice firm yet Daisy could see a slight warmth on his cheeks.

So he really was embarrassed. Cute.

His embarrassment came out as a surprise since for Daisy, he appeared to be confident with a troublesome aura. Embarrassment and fear were emotions that she thought young men like him didn't have.

"Is she your promised bride to irritate you so much?" asked a quiet voice from the tablet.

Daisy saw that the voice belonged to a young woman with long, wavy, dark brown hair. From the small box, Daisy could see that she wore glasses and her lateral bangs covered a side of her forehead. Daisy thought the young woman looked too innocent and good to be friends with these people.

"Elena, I told you before, I'm not part of this family," said Federico, his tone serious. "Why would she select a bride for me if I'm not going to be part of this family's business?"

As Daisy gazed at him, she studied him. It could be that he was going through a rebellious phase to not consider himself part of this family, but it wouldn't hurt to ask him his reasons.

Time to follow Mom's advice and get closer to him.

After all, he was the main ticket to her throne.

"Um," she said, her palms starting to sweat. "I didn't have the opportunity to introduce myself yesterday, I'm Daisy."

His eyes struck her as he gazed at her. He didn't even try to break the awkward silence that fell once again. Daisy understood that based on what his brothers said on the day they met, he was shy and could become anti-social.

But he could at least try to say something. He was just having a conversation with his friends right now.

"Um." Daisy awkwardly tried to break the silence. "I don't know if your father and brother already told you, but I'll be staying here for a year...I hope we can become friends."

Gasps came from the tablet as Federico's brows rose, assuring Daisy that he didn't know about this news.

"A housemate," teased Giacomo from the tablet. "I'm seeing great developments ahead."

Federico glared at the tablet before he closed the device and started picking up his stuff, preparing himself to leave the area. Daisy stared at him nervously, wondering if he didn't like the news.

She could already feel that it would be difficult to help him find his happy ending as he didn't look very cooperative. At least with her, he wasn't.

Daisy felt small when he stood up. He must be a small number of centimeters shorter than Marcello, but she could see a resemblance between him and the fourth son. There was something in his face that reminded her of Marcello, even though his slightly tanned face looked like a boy who was still growing.

"What?" He asked, tilting his head.

"What? What?" Daisy blinked twice.

A quick chuckle escaped Federico's lips as he looked away for a few seconds.

"You've been staring at my face for too long," he said, touching his face as if he was trying to find out if there was something on it. "Am I too attractive for you to be stunned?"

Daisy's chin fell. Not in amazement but in shock. She couldn't believe there was another overconfident sibling besides Manuele.

Do these people think they're the center of the world?

"N-no, of course, I don't find you attractive." Daisy's voice wouldn't stop cracking. "W-Why would I find you attractive?"

For a moment, Daisy caught a smile...or was it a smirk? Not sure if he was enjoying her nervousness or trying to be social. Whatever it was, at least they were finally having a conversation, or she thought they were. He soon started to walk away from the spot.

"Federico," he said after strolling a few steps away from her.

Daisy turned around to look at him all confused. His guitar covered his back and part of it hid his messy dark head.

But he was mannered enough to show a bit of his face when he said, "My name."

And he immediately left before Daisy could respond.

She stayed there with her mouth open as she wanted to say 'Nice to meet you' but was left there hanging.

She sighed as she looked around the area. There was every kind of person in this family, she only hoped they wouldn't bring her trouble.

There are two paths to your future.

Daisy slapped her cheeks slightly with both hands, well one was more of a fist since it was holding the phone.

I have to forget Kara's words at least for now.

Her eyes met the round steel table where Federico's tablet was placed before he left in a rush. Before she didn't notice the other things that were there. A small box of hamburger and fries and a can of coke.

"This is his dinner?" she wondered as she picked up the empty can of coke.

"The young master would rather eat junk food than eat what the mansion prepares," replied a quiet voice behind her.

Daisy turned around in time to see a slim man in a black suit. It was only now that she noticed that the majordomo had his shoulders lowered, giving him a small curve around his back.

"Ah, Mr. Livio," she said, handing him back the phone. "I've been looking for you everywhere."

"So, I heard, Miss Daisy," he said with a quiet chuckle. "There was no need to wander around, one of us would retrieve it personally."

She knew that one of the employees would retrieve the phone personally, but she wanted to leave her room and distract herself. It had been a long day.

"What do you mean that Federico would rather have junk food than have the excellent delicacy the house offers?" she asked curiously.

It took a few minutes for Livio to reply as if he were thinking what he should say without getting in trouble.

"He says he doesn't want to have another debt with this family since his father is already paying for his education," he said.

Daisy's forehead wrinkled.

"Why would he be in debt?" she asked. "He's Mr. Pietro's son, of course, he's going to do everything to sustain him."

"That's the obvious thing." Livio nodded. "The problem is, the young master doesn't consider his father as part of his family."

"Huh?" Daisy's eyes widened. "Why?"

She wondered what Pietro had done to make his son hate him. That or maybe Federico was going through a rebellious phase. It made more sense for him to be in that phase since from the looks of it, he seemed to have the same age as Daisy.

Pietro must have committed the biggest crime ever to make someone hate him. From the first impression she had of him when they met at the airport, he looked like a kind and friendly person.

"To make it short," replied Livio, "he blames his father and grandmother for his mother's death."

His mother's death?

Daisy connected the puzzle in her head. If she wasn't mistaken, Marcello's mother died.

Could it be?

"Was his mother Mrs. Elisabetta Piemonte?" she asked.

"Oh, so you already know about Lady Elisabetta?" Livio's brows rose. "Yes, she was his mother. She brought joy to the master's life, may the heavens be with her."

Daisy smiled and the puzzle in her head connected itself. She guessed that Pietro married three times. His first wife was the mother of Raffaele, Gianluca, and the mysterious third sibling. Elisabetta was his second wife and mother of Marcello, Manuele, and Federico. The current Mrs. Lee was the mother of the mysterious seventh child.

With that many marriages, she now understood why he had so many children and she understood why Federico reminded her of Marcello. They shared the same mother.

"Sorry if it sounds rude," she said. "But didn't Mrs. Elisabetta pass away ten years ago? Why is he blaming his father and grandmother for her death?"

The majordomo exhaled.

"I'm afraid that I can't tell you that, Daisy," he said. "I've already spilled the beans about him and I'm sure he'll hate me for it. You should ask him yourself."

"I'm sure he'll act cold and abandon me," she said, remembering today's episode

Livio chuckled.

"That's his personality," he said. "Try getting close to him and he'll open up."

Daisy folded her arms. "The shy excuse again."

"He is," said Livio with a louder laugh.

Daisy exhaled. She never met a shy person who instead of feeling awkward and staying quiet, actually acted cold. 

She gazed up, hoping that things between him and her would get better.