[You will realize it someday.]

……It’s noisy.

[And someday, you will end up like me.]

……I said it’s noisy.

[Rather than being betrayed, getting hurt, and feeling sad, you’ll end up thinking that it’s better to burn everything down.]

……I will not become like you.

I promised to live strong.

So as long as there are still people who believe in me, I can somehow endure.

*

I felt my fading consciousness gradually waking up.

At the same time, a sound came as if it were obvious.

[딩딩딩~ Good morning~ 띵딩딩~]

The sound that started softly grew louder and louder.

[빠빠빠 빠빠 빠빠빠빠 굿모닝~]

It continued to echo endlessly in my head, as if it was eating away at me.

A noise I didn’t want to hear reverberated in my mind incessantly, growing louder and louder.

It was so noisy.

With a thud, I packed my fist and struck my head hard.

“……Ugh, that hurts so much…”

Tears welled up at the pain that made my head ring.

But still, I preferred this.

Thanks to it, the sound echoing in my head had diminished a little.

[빠빠빠 빠빠 빠빠빠빠~ 빠빠빠 빠빠 빠빠빠빠 뷰티풀데이~ 잇츠 어 뷰티풀데이~ 띵딩딩~]

To collect myself, I shook my head a few times and then rose my body.

Looking around, I saw my room in Sylvia’s mansion.

It seems Sylvia brought me here after I lost consciousness.

When I checked the time, it was already afternoon, past lunch.

Ah, am I late?

Just as that thought crossed my mind, I noticed a note placed beside my bed.

Curious, I unfolded the note; it was written in a graceful handwriting that didn’t need any further explanation to know it was from Sylvia.

– Miss Scarlet, is your condition better? The medical staff said there weren’t any major issues with your body, but I thought it would be better for you to rest today, so I didn’t wake you. Please don’t wander around or overexert yourself, okay? Don’t worry; everything from yesterday has been taken care of, so just rest well. I’ll see you for dinner later.

A faint smile crept onto my face at Sylvia’s note, filled with concern.

Thinking about it, today would indeed be better spent resting, just as she said.

My current condition isn’t all that great.

I felt that it might take a little time to get used to not letting others see that.

[딩딩딩~ Good morning~]

I carefully folded the note and placed it back on the bed before lying down again.

As I lay there blankly, memories of yesterday drifted hazily through my mind.

…It was just vague memories, but I could tell that being alive at this point was a fortunate thing.

How many times did I overcome life-and-death situations in just one day?

If it weren’t for the people who helped me, perhaps I would have gone to the afterlife long ago.

I should find a time to thank them separately someday.

With that thought in mind, I decided to make some macarons as a token of appreciation for Sylvia.

In fact, I made them almost every day, but…

Today, let’s make them with a bit more sincerity.

Resolute, I left my room and headed to the mansion’s kitchen.

I greeted the staff I passed on the way and arrived at the kitchen.

Since it seemed to be break time, the kitchen staff were absent, leaving me alone to begin preparing the macaron ingredients.

It felt like a routine at this point.

I even thought I could make macarons with my eyes closed at this stage.

Should I ask to be hired as Sylvia’s snack supplier once I’m out of things to do?

Even though the only snack I could make was macarons…

While entertaining such impractical thoughts, I completed the macaron batter with efficient movements. Just as I was reaching for the piping bag to shape the batter,

Suddenly feeling a dizziness, I stumbled and grabbed onto the dish rack beside me to steady myself.

Then I heard a foreboding sound as if something was falling, and I watched as all sorts of items from the dish rack tumbled down.

In slow motion, a few particularly expensive-looking bowls and teacups came into view.

If those break, it’ll be a disaster.

Thinking that, I stretched out my hand with superhuman reflexes, trying to catch as much as I could.

Fortunately, the things I couldn’t catch fell to the ground with a sound that was more of a bounce than shattering.

Letting out a sigh of relief, I carefully placed the remaining dishes and teacups down, when suddenly red droplets of blood plopped onto the floor.

I belatedly felt a sharp pain in my arm.

What happened was I must have cut myself on something sharp that had fallen.

Thinking I needed to disinfect before applying pressure, I turned on the water and held my wound under it.

Imagining the sting I would feel at the cool touch, I was a bit tense, but it turned out to hurt much less than I expected.

I turned off the water and gently dried my arm with a cloth.

“……Since it’s probably stained with blood, I should wash this separately.”

Muttering that, I glanced at the cloth and tilted my head.

No matter how much I washed it, there weren’t any visible traces, which felt odd.

Feeling something was off, I looked at my arm—there was just smooth skin where the wound had been moments ago.

[빠빠빠 빠빠 빠빠빠빠 굿모닝~]

……It seemed wrong, but the red marks on the floor indicated that the wound hadn’t been an illusion.

Biting my lip slightly, I took a deep breath to prepare myself and held the knife with the clear bloodstain in my hand.

Then, I swiftly sliced my fingertip to create a tiny wound.

With a muted pain, a bead of blood formed on the tip of my finger, and after a moment, I wiped the droplet away with the cloth and observed my finger.

And then let out a deep sigh.

My finger was already healed without any signs left behind.

[빠빠빠 빠빠 빠빠빠빠~ 빠빠빠 빠빠 빠빠빠빠 뷰티풀데이~]

“……What on earth am I becoming?”

I asked with a sigh, but there was no answer.

Only the alarm continued to echo emptily in my mind.

*

I had a lot going on, but after some time, I finished making macarons and was on my way back to my room.

“Hey there, are you feeling better?”

Hearing a voice calling out to me, I turned to see an elderly man enjoying tea on a terrace-like area in the corridor.

I recognized him; he was the elder who sat beside Sylvia during the interrogation yesterday.

I bowed my head at him in greeting.

“……Yes, thanks to you, I’m feeling better.”

“Really? That’s good to hear. I wanted to say something briefly, would you join me for some tea and keep me company?”

He asked while pointing to the table across from him.

To be honest, I wanted to calm my troubled mind in my room since the situation was quite chaotic, but it wouldn’t be polite to turn down an elder’s request, so I nodded.

Once I sat down, there was already a teacup placed in front of me as if it had been prepared beforehand.

As I sipped the tea, I could tell right away it was an expensive brew.

I’m not entirely sure, but it had a very refined flavor.

While I was sipping carefully, thinking to make it last, the elder asked me.

“So, you’re called Scarlet, right? I realize I haven’t had the chance to properly greet our guest staying at the mansion since I’ve been busy. So, you are a friend of our Sylvia, huh?”

“……Yes, I feel ungrateful, but I have been indebted to her.”

While I hesitated at the word ‘friend,’ I didn’t want to contradict him, so I gave in.

Saying I wasn’t friends with Sylvia at this point would just be my stubbornness.

In any case, hearing my answer, the elder chuckled and shook his head.

“Ha, do not feel ungrateful. It’s no big deal to give a room in the mansion to a friend of Sylvia’s.”

“…It’s not just that; I feel I receive help every time… Just yesterday, I received help again.”

“Help? We received much more help from you. I heard you saved Sylvia. Compared to that grace, this is nothing at all.”

In truth, it was rather the opposite—I was the one who caused everyone to be in danger.

Feeling a bit guilty, I couldn’t raise my head and just sipped my tea while the elder smiled at me kindly.

“Besides, didn’t you say that you were friends? True friends don’t keep tallies on such things. Being able to help each other without expecting anything in return defines real friendship.”

“……I am not the type to live under the debt of others.”

When I replied that way, the elder gave a playful smile and whispered softly.

“Though you say that, our Astra is not different from you. We always remember and repay our debts. So be careful not to earn ill will from Sylvia. You never know what might happen. Hehehe.”

He looked quite dignified, so I didn’t think he would make such a joke, which caught me off guard.

What a surprisingly witty person…

As I pondered this, I noticed the little stone the elder had been fiddling with in his hand.

What is that stone? Curious, I stared at it, and noticing my gaze, the elder presented the stone towards me.

“This seems to be catching your attention.”

“……Yes, what is that stone?”

“Ha, although it looks like an ordinary stone, it is actually a magical tool. It glimmers to notify you when something is wrong with your body. For an old man like me, health is my biggest concern, so I always carry something like this around to take care.”

Oh… It really looks just like an ordinary stone, but it has such effects.

While I was marveling at it, the elder asked me.

“Would you like to hold it? It looks fine, but considering what happened yesterday, there might be something wrong with your health. You should be especially cautious when you feel fine.”

At the mention of a health problem, I flinched slightly and involuntarily trembled my arm where I had injured myself earlier.

Is this an issue too…

While I was thinking this, I cautiously accepted the stone the elder offered and grasped it gently.

Of course, I held it with my right hand instead of my prosthetic left arm.

“……It seems like you’re fine. Ha, that’s a relief. I’m glad.”

The elder, who had been looking intently at me, muttered in a relieved voice when the stone showed no reaction.

After all this, was he really worried about my health…

Feeling a bit moved but slightly embarrassed, I sipped my tea, only to realize my cup was empty.

…This was tasty; I want more, but will it be okay to have more?

Feeling a bit distressed, I shut my eyes tightly and reached for the teapot on the table.

But my outstretched hand was stopped by the elder, who firmly grasped my wrist.

So…it seems the expensive tea could indeed only be served once.

Thinking that, I glanced at the elder with caution, but he smiled at me and said.

“……Ha ha, the tea is getting cold.”

“Oh, I’m fine even if it’s cold….”

“I’m the one who isn’t okay. I cannot serve cold tea to a precious guest. It seems you really like this tea. This tea tastes better hot. I’ll brew some fresh tea, so just wait a moment.”

With that, the elder took the teapot and poured its contents into a flowerpot as if he were watering it.

Is it really cold? Wasn’t there still warmth to it?

By the way, he just wasted such expensive tea just because it was a little cold…

Is that the mindset of the bourgeoisie?

I was utterly baffled by his actions, and before I knew it, the elder returned with freshly brewed tea.

And true to his word, the hot tea was indeed much more delicious.

Yet the thought that this might be a waste didn’t leave me; it seemed I wasn’t cut out for living as a bourgeois, after all.

*

After Scarlet left for her room, Elder 1, who continued to sip tea while fidgeting with the stone-like magical tool on the terrace, noticed a servant walking down the hallway and called out to him.

“Sebastian, could you come here for a moment?”

“Ah, Elder 1, what is it?”

“Here, it seems this orchid has died.”

“Really? No, when I checked it this morning, it looked fine…”

Sebastian tilted his head at Elder 1’s words, but upon seeing the completely wilted orchid as the elder said, he muttered in disbelief.

“……This can’t be. It shouldn’t be like this when nothing had been wrong…”

“Don’t worry about it. Just throw the whole pot away.”

“……Are you sure it’s alright? Wasn’t this the orchid you cherished, Elder?”

“It’s fine. It’s just an orchid. Consider it a small misfortune.”

With a bitter expression, Elder 1 looked at the dead orchid in the pot and quietly murmured in a tone that no one else could hear.

Better this than cleaning up a corpse.