The sunlight filtering through the curtains wakes her up.

As she slowly opens her eyes, she sees the familiar ceiling of her room.

For a moment, Sylvia stares blankly at the ceiling, murmuring to herself, “Did I come home and sleep yesterday?”

Feeling perplexed that she has no memory of returning home despite not drinking, Sylvia slowly raises her body.

She clutches her throbbing head in pain, trying hard to recall what happened yesterday, and gradually, fragments of memories surface.

Surely, yesterday, we were all summoned to a meeting…

What happened at the meeting again?

……Be well, Sylvia.

“……Ah!”

Suddenly recalling the moment just before she succumbed to sleep magic, Sylvia gasped in shock.

This was no time to be napping.

She had to stop Elder One from heading out to hunt Scarlet…!

With that thought, Sylvia hastily jumps up and makes a dash for the door.

“Have you risen, Miss Sylvia?”

Just before she could step outside, she sensed a presence, and upon opening the door, she spotted the servant, Sebastian, who had come in to greet her.

“Sebastian! Where is Elder One? Where is my grandfather right now—!”

“……Miss.”

And at his response, Sylvia realizes.

“The hunting squad has already left.”

The fact that it was already too late to stop them.

“…! Miss!”

However, how could she accept such a conclusion so easily?

Amidst Sebastian’s cries from behind, Sylvia charged out of the room, heading towards the mansion’s exit.

Even if the hunting squad had already left, she thought that if she could at least chase after them, she might be able to avert the worst situation.

But then—

“Augh…?!”

As soon as she stepped outside the mansion, a sudden sensation clamped around her ankle.

Falling unexpectedly to the ground, Sylvia looked down at her ankle in confusion.

The bracelet that had somehow fastened itself around her left ankle was shining brightly.

“……This is a magical tool developed to prevent prisoners from escaping, limiting your range of motion. If you try to venture outside the mansion, this will become heavy like shackles.”

Sebastian’s voice reached Sylvia as she stared at the bewildering bracelet.

“It was prepared before Elder One left, just in case you attempted something reckless.”

For some reason, he looked at the guards stationed by the mansion’s gate with a bitter expression as he said this.

“For the time being, it seems you will have to stay quietly inside the mansion until things settle down.”

With even her last hope stripped away, despair contorted Sylvia’s face.

——

“……Miss, I’ve brought your meal.”

In despair for failing to prevent the worst situation, Sylvia lay collapsed on the bed when she heard Sebastian’s voice announcing the meal.

Turning her head slightly, she glanced at the spread of food on the trailer he had brought, which looked delicious enough to tempt her empty stomach since she hadn’t eaten anything since yesterday’s lunch.

Yet strangely, she felt no desire to eat, so Sylvia slowly shook her head to decline the offering.

“……Take it away. I don’t feel like it.”

“……You must eat. No matter how emotionally distressed you are, you need to take care of your body.”

Sylvia chuckled softly at Sebastian’s stubbornness.

Am I even deserving of a meal?

Scarlet and Elder One…

What right do I have to eat when I’m the one who brought this irreversible situation upon us?

Filled with self-reproach, she nearly blurted out her self-harming thoughts but had to hold her tongue at the sight of Sebastian’s concerned expression watching her.

Because his worry brought to mind something she’d learned during etiquette training.

Even if you feel sad and frustrated, you shouldn’t hurt others.

If she were to say such a thing, Sebastian would probably feel twice as sad.

Not wanting to see him like that, Sylvia suppressed the urge to voice her earlier thoughts and quietly replied.

“……I understand, so just leave it there. I’ll eat if I feel like it.”

With that, Sebastian paused for a long moment, laden with worry, then nodded and departed.

As he exited the room, leaving her behind, Sylvia slowly rose and walked to the window.

Peeking through the curtains, she noticed the guards vigilantly stationed around the mansion.

It was funny how they were not watching the area outside the mansion but were instead facing the mansion itself.

Sylvia thought Elder One was exceptionally thorough.

He even went so far as to put on shackles and set up guards to watch in case I decided to follow.

Chuckling at her sudden confinement, she eventually arranged the meal that Sebastian had left on her desk, murmuring with resignation.

“……Well, it seems there’s nothing I can do now. I have to give up. It was foolish from the start to think I could follow the hunting squad.”

From the beginning, it was an impossible task.

Giving up would be the right choice.

Without knowing the precise location of Scarlet, how could she possibly think of setting off after the hunting squad when they had magical tools?

It wasn’t a matter of being wronged because she couldn’t do the impossible.

“……I should just accept it and have my meal.”

Saying that to herself, Sylvia took a bite of the food.

Yes, it would be easier to just give in and accept it.

It was simply a matter of acceptance.

If she could just accept it, that would be all there was to it.

But…

“Sniff… Huh…”

With a quiet sob, tears rolled off her cheeks and splattered onto the tray.

Accepting it is the right thing to do.

Though my mind understands this…

I simply cannot, cannot do it.

“……Sebastian is going to worry.”

Because of the tears that spilled forth with her muffled cries, Sylvia ended up leaving most of the meal untouched.

——

“……I’m here.”

Having skipped her meal, Sylvia sought out Yoon Si-woo’s room in the mansion.

She watched him lying lifelessly on his bed for a while before holding his hand and quietly pouring her strength into him.

The sparkling starlight flowed from Sylvia’s hand into Yoon Si-woo’s body, but there was no sign of movement or change.

“Will he awaken…?”

What were the odds of him waking up?

In terms of probability, it was undoubtedly despairing.

Yet, Sylvia tried to speak to Yoon Si-woo in a bright tone.

“……Well, don’t worry. Even if the circumstances are desperate, I will do my best for you, Yoon Si-woo. Better be grateful.”

Just like those words.

Even if there was only a 1% chance, or even 0.1%, if there was something—any hope at all—Sylvia could do her best.

Thus, it made this struggle even more difficult for her.

“……You know, Yoon Si-woo, what am I supposed to do?”

Suddenly, Sylvia asked Yoon Si-woo.

Of course, she received no response from the comatose Yoon Si-woo.

“……I understand this is a situation I must accept, but I can’t. I don’t know what I want to do. What should I do…?”

Knowing there would be no answer, Sylvia spoke out, as it felt like she would go mad if she didn’t.

“Truly, I wish there was at least a glimmer of hope…”

If only there were a hint of hope, she felt she could do something.

With no way to approach Scarlet and not an ounce of hope in sight, Sylvia spoke with a voice as if she were going to cry.

As if lamenting, as if pleading.

Then—

“……Ah.”

At that moment, a faint light began to emanate from Yoon Si-woo’s body.

Could this be a sign that he was about to awaken?

Sylvia gasped in astonishment, scanning Yoon Si-woo for changes, but his condition remained the same.

However, Sylvia couldn’t help but think he might’ve heard her voice.

With the faint light, a white dagger appeared above Yoon Si-woo’s body.

It was the dagger he had used when searching for Scarlet during her kidnapping, and now it possessed the ability that Sylvia desperately needed.

Of course, simply having the dagger wouldn’t solve the situation.

There was still the shackles on her ankle and no specific ways to handle the guards monitoring her.

But the possibility…

A sliver of possibility…

Had appeared.

In a moment of surprise, Sylvia turned to Yoon Si-woo and asked.

“……What should I do?”

There was no special answer to the question.

The dagger simply glimmered in the air, as if offering to lend its power.

Yet that alone was enough for Sylvia to find her answer.

The answer had already emerged within her heart.

“……Thank you. For lending me your strength. I will be going now.”

To seize her own hope, Sylvia grasped the dagger.