None of us expected that Erica would suddenly want to pressure the stall seller.
But, to my surprise, it worked.
It seemed he was very frightened by the gaze of Erica's red eyes, which she did not take off him for a single moment. Besides that, a very cold aura now surrounded the girl. So, after hesitating, the seller let out a nervous chuckle. Sweat appeared on his forehead.
"I... I..." the man swallowed. "Well, actually... Since you insist so much... Maybe I'll look for more."
After that he disappeared into the depths of the stall and for some time did not show himself from there. When he finally appeared, he was smiling widely. Too widely. That is how people smile when they really want you to leave as soon as possible.
"Ah, what luck!" he exclaimed. "One ticket really did get left lying around with me!"
"Really?"
"Yes, girl, you are incredibly lucky today!"
I was glad that one ticket had remained after all, and bought it. Nevertheless, I also decided to thank Erica, who had unexpectedly intervened and helped me.
But the girl only became embarrassed and cleared her throat.
"Nothing like that..." she muttered. "Sometimes it's really useful to use this."
Ah, it seemed she meant her red eyes.
Well, you can't argue with that. Besides the downsides, this trait had to have some upsides too, right? And there were. Besides the fact that such eyes looked incredibly beautiful and resembled shimmering rubies, in some cases it was also useful in contacts with people. So to speak, a kind of leverage without much effort.
But in any case I was very glad that everything turned out this way.
After returning to the dormitory, I immediately decided to check the lottery ticket.
In order to get the main prize, it was necessary for three symbols on the ticket to match. In this case, that symbol was a little pot of money. Sitting on the bed, I vigorously rubbed certain places on the ticket to reveal these signs.
By that time Amalia had already returned from the shower and, sitting on the neighboring bed, watched my actions with interest.
I rubbed off the first symbol.
There really was a little pot there.
Then the second...
Here I already believed less, but, to my happiness, I really did get a second little pot in a row! Now, holding my breath, only the third remained to be rubbed off.
I felt that now almost nothing separated me from the prize fund of one million gold.
And then... when I finally rubbed off the third symbol, there turned out to be... a sword.
I experienced disappointment unlike anything else.
"No! This is definitely a scam!" I angrily threw the ticket out of my hands.
When I started loudly swearing, cursing this lottery, Amalia couldn't hold back and laughed at me. She laughed so sincerely that tears appeared in her eyes.
"Hazel, your face..." she groaned between fits of laughter. "Are you really that upset?"
"Of course I'm upset!" I protested. "Where is the justice here?!"
"There's no justice in lotteries. I told you."
"Shut up!"
But despite the failure, I still felt some kind of hope.
"But I still got two little pots in a row, right?" I asked hopefully. "Will they give me at least some kind of prize for that?"
Amalia, having calmed down, shrugged.
"I don't know. I've never taken part in lotteries."
I sighed heavily.
"Well, all right... Then, when we're in the city next time, I'll ask the stall seller about it."
After that, having shoved the losing lottery ticket into the drawer of my desk, I fell onto the bed in upset feelings.
Now, after such a long tiring day, I was too lazy to do anything. But I still got up and forced myself to go to the shower. After returning, I dried my hair just a little and changed clothes, and was already about to lie down to sleep. But then Amalia unexpectedly stopped me.
"Hazel, you're not going to go to sleep with wet hair, are you?" she inquired.
I froze in confusion.
"...And what's wrong with that?"
Amalia sighed, as if explaining obvious things to a child.
"Don't you know that you can get sick if you sleep with wet hair? You mustn't do that."
I was a little surprised. Honestly, right now I was so tired that I had no desire at all to dry my hair additionally. I simply wanted to go to sleep as soon as possible.
"But it's summer now!" I objected. "So there's nothing wrong with that."
"That's not true. Even in summer you can easily catch a cold."
Since Amalia insisted so much, I had no choice but to sigh and obey. I sat on the bed and was going to dry my hair myself, but then Amalia decided to help me. She very carefully wiped my hair with a towel.
Ah, and still it really is inconvenient that we don't even have a hairdryer!..
For some time I sat on the bed and waited while Amalia beside me dried my hair. And suddenly she spoke:
"Hazel..."
"Hm?" I was already very sleepy, but still responded.
"What do you think... can we stay friends for life?"
I was a little surprised that she suddenly started a conversation on such a topic.
"What? What are you talking about?"
"I mean..." Amalia hesitated. "Even after we leave the orphanage, we'll still be friends, right? Even in ten years, will we still be friends?"
Ten years?..
For a moment I thought about this considerable period.
Well, in ten years Amalia and I would already be twenty-two. And Erica would be twenty.
By that time Amalia would already inherit the title of Duchess Sirinix and become one of the most influential figures in the empire. As for Erica, she would also head the criminal business of the Blackwell family and become the shadow queen of the empire. And as for me... at best, by that time I would finish college and be able to get a job in some school for commoners.
Imagine that even in ten years we would still be friends?
Ha... that was impossible.
"Who knows..." I shrugged. "Life can be quite unpredictable."
When I said this thoughtfully, Amalia's hands, which until then had been holding the towel on my head, suddenly stopped.
"Do you really think so?" she asked anxiously.
I cleared my throat awkwardly.
"Well... I mean that no one knows what will become of us in ten years. Such things are not subject only to human will... Fate is fate."
Amalia fell silent for some time, reflecting on my words.
"Yes, you're right..." she muttered. "We can't know what will happen to us in the future."
Her hands slowly continued wiping my hair.
"That's why..." she hesitated. "How good it would be if time could stop right now. If nothing changed, and we could simply stay together, like now."
When I heard this, I froze.
Huh? No... Honestly, I didn't really want time to actually stop.
Even though I sincerely enjoyed spending time with the villainess and the heroine, I still wanted each of us to be able to go our own path, destined by fate.
Nevertheless, I decided to cheer the heroine up a little.
"...Whatever happens, I think everything will be fine," I said. "Whatever happens, we will surely find a way to remain friends even in ten years."
Although at that moment I couldn't see her face, since Amalia was sitting behind me, it seemed to me that she smiled.
"All right, let it be so," she said warmly. "I will hope for that."
I also smiled faintly.
I will hope for that too.
At least, even if in the future we couldn't keep in touch, I hoped that at least sometimes I would be able to learn about their lives from newspapers.
For someone like me, that would be quite enough.