I took a deep breath and stepped into the chaotic scene.
“Um!”
I cautiously approached the Baroness and lowered myself.
“You must be very upset, Madam?”
Half doubting whether using this ability was the right thing to do, I grabbed the wailing Baroness’s hand.
At that moment.
“…”
Surprisingly, she stopped crying instantly.
At the same time, my eyes widened.
‘What? It actually works?’
I thought it would take a while.
Even I was amazed by the positive effects of the ‘Silence’ attribute.
Actually, I had only soothed children before, so I didn’t expect to be able to calm an adult Baroness so quickly.
I rummaged in the inner pocket of my dress and took out a chocolate wrapped in gold foil.
“Would you like this chocolate?”
“Is it yummy?”
“Of course. It melts like snow in your mouth.”
“Gimme, gimme!”
“Then, shall we make a promise?”
“Promise?”
“Yes, to not cry anymore. Then I’ll give you all this chocolate.”
When I took out all the chocolate, the Baroness’s eyes grew as big as saucers.
“Wow!”
With an exclamation, the Baroness nodded repeatedly.
“Uh-uh! Won’t cry anymore!”
Her eyes were brimming with unshed tears.
The sight of her wiping her snot made her look just like a child, and I even felt a pang in my heart.
I placed the chocolate in the Baroness’s hands.
“Thank you, Onni!”
Only then did I realize that everyone’s eyes were on me.
The maids’ mouths were open in disbelief, and Parker was also staring intently, his brow furrowed.
Onni…
“Everyone, please leave us.”
“Yes, Miss.”
The Baroness, captivated by the chocolate, readily accepted the maids’ support and left the drawing room.
Only after everyone had left did Onni stand before me.
“How did you do it?”
“Pardon?”
“I’m asking how you calmed Mother down.”
“Ah, well!”
I vaguely mumbled.
I couldn’t reveal the ‘Silence’ attribute carelessly.
“No one has ever been able to do that. Once Mother starts being stubborn, we’re at a standstill for half a day.”
“Hick, half a day?”
“It wasn’t something that could be easily resolved, even today.”
Onni still had a suspicious look in her eyes.
“Perhaps she just liked the chocolate I gave her today.”
“Is that really all?”
“Yes?”
“No, I was wondering if there was another trick.”
She asked so persistently that I almost hiccuped.
But who am I?
I was Chasei, an unfortunate soul who had experienced eight rounds of hardship and regressed for the ninth time.
“Another trick? There’s no such thing.”
There was no way I, who had been through thick and thin, would fall for something like this.
Absolutely not!
I hurriedly straightened my clothes.
At times like this, knowing when to leave was also a method.
“Onni, I’ll be going now.”
“…”
“I had a good time today. Next time, I’ll invite you to my house.”
“Ah! I pushed you too hard. I’m sorry for many things. About today.”
“I’ll pretend I didn’t see it.”
“Why?”
I didn’t want to touch Onni’s sore spot.
At least, I just hoped that Onni wouldn’t distance herself from me because of today’s events.
“Everyone has a secret or two they can’t tell, right?”
“As you saw, our mother her mind isn’t always sound, so she often acts like a child.”
I reacted calmly, without showing any surprise.
And there was something I really wanted to say to Onni.
“I know. But a family member being sick, it’s not a crime.”
Memories from before I possessed this body flooded back, and my heart ached.
I thought of my mother, who couldn’t use her legs due to an accident.
The accident was unpredictable, and of course, no one wanted it to happen.
Perhaps I was projecting my mother’s image onto the Baroness.
Perhaps the most painful thing was…
Not for the loved ones or the family, but for herself.
“…”
Onni was silent.
Her complexion was dark, as if her mind was complicated.
I just hoped that Onni wouldn’t feel uncomfortable.
“Accidents can’t be foreseen. I wanted to say that you don’t have to be ashamed of this.”
Having said everything I wanted to say, I quickly said goodbye.
“Then, goodbye.”
Onni didn’t stop me as I turned away.
Or perhaps she couldn’t.
My throat was choked up as I left the mansion, but there was nothing I could do.
When I returned home, Anne greeted me as if she had been waiting.
“Miss, welcome back!”
“Well, so-so.”
“Huh? But why do you look so pale?”
“No, I look the same.”
“I don’t think so. Miss, did something happen?”
Anne, who was always by my side, wouldn’t fail to notice the changes in my expression.
But I forced a smile, trying not to show it.
“What could have happened? It was just fun.”
Just then, I saw a pile of apples stacked on the table.
I quickly changed the subject, worried that Anne might ask for more details.
“Anne, what’s with all the apples?”
“Ah, that? A blonde old woman came to sell apples this afternoon.”
“Really?”
“Yes, I was going to make your favorite apple pie with them.”
Our conversation naturally shifted to the apples in front of us.
However, the problem was the sheer amount of apples.
“Hick, this many?”
“It’s a lot, isn’t it?”
Anne glanced at me cautiously.
She looked worried that she might be scolded for spending money unnecessarily.
I quickly waved my hand, having no such intention.
“No, you must have bought them because they were worth it. I was just wondering if there was a festival in the village or something.”
As I joked, Anne relaxed and chattered.
“Hehe, a festival? You’d be surprised if you heard. I bought them very cheaply. The apples are a bit flawed, but don’t worry, they taste great.”
“Yeah, I’m not worried. I’m sure Anne did a good job.”
I gave a friendly smile, rubbed an apple, and took a bite.
Anne’s words were true.
“Wow, it’s really delicious!”
My eyes widened, and I couldn’t help but exclaim.
I don’t know how many apples I ate while sitting there.
My mood improved as much as the apples.
But that night.
“Ah, my stomach.”
“Oh dear! Miss, are you alright?”
“Do I look alright?”
When I asked back with a haggard face, Anne shook her head.
“No. You don’t look alright at all.”
“That’s right, I’m not alright.”
I had a stomachache and had to go to the bathroom countless times.
I fell asleep exhausted.
My vision spun as if I was being sucked into a drain.
Soon, I saw myself as a child.
I was engrossed in a game of hide-and-seek with other children.
“Hide well, or your hair will show!”
Looking for a place where the seeker couldn’t catch me, I ended up deep in the forest.
Then I found a small mound of dirt.
‘Huh? What’s that?’
I hurried over and saw that it was a small grave.
There was a neatly carved tombstone in front of it.
But I couldn’t see the name because it was covered in dust.
‘I’ve seen this before.’
My brow furrowed at the sense of déjà vu.
I definitely had the same dream before.
Back then, just like now, the tombstone was covered in dirt, so I didn’t know who the grave belonged to and woke up from the dream.
Hoping that this dream would be different, I reached out to the tombstone.
Thud.
I heard a small sound behind me.
‘Huh?’
But before I could identify the source, my body tilted, and my hand reflexively pressed down on the tombstone.
Flash!
At that moment, a flash of light covered everything.
‘Ugh!’
I squinted, and in an instant, the situation changed to the moment of the great disaster after the ending failure.
Rumble!
The earth cracked and roared.
The ground shook so violently that I couldn’t even stand still.
And in the middle of the apocalypse, there was a mysterious figure.
‘Who is it?’
I narrowed my eyes and looked, but I couldn’t see their face because they were wearing a robe.
They immediately lowered their body and placed one hand on the ground.
Then they chanted something incomprehensible.
As if they were controlling this disaster.
‘Why are they doing that?’
I couldn’t tell if they were an ally or an enemy.
Just as I had that question, the other person raised their head.
‘Gasp!’
I was breathless.
It was as if I was being controlled by an invisible force.
Another tremendous light burst out, obstructing my vision.
‘Ugh.’
I instinctively raised my arm.
My skin crawled, and goosebumps ran all over my body.
I wanted to get out of this situation immediately.
If I stayed like this, I would be swept away without being able to do anything.
Before the wrath of nature, a human life was less than a piece of paper.
And my worries soon became reality.
A huge wave surged from somewhere and rose high, trying to swallow the mysterious figure.
‘……!’
It was like a ferocious beast lunging.
I turned pale at the terrifying situation.
At that moment.
The wave, which had been towering like a barrier, turned into a sea of fire and covered the world at an incredible speed.
The surroundings became a sea of fire, devouring people indiscriminately.
“Aaaah!!”
I woke up from the dream with a scream.
“Ha, haa, haa.”
I gasped for breath.
My whole body was soaked in sweat.
“It was a dream.”
I don’t know how relieved I was.
No matter how many times I repeated it, I couldn’t get used to it.
It was truly hell.
As I raised my hand to wipe away the sweat, I was startled once again.
“What!”
A triangular mark had appeared on the palm of my hand.
The strangely sparkling shape was also unusual.
I rubbed my eyes several times, wondering if I had seen it wrong, but it was still there.
This was the first time this had happened.
It was something I had never experienced even during the several regressions.
At that moment, Grandma Horuru’s story came to mind.
‘Little ladies, have you heard of the imperial family’s mark?’
‘Why the imperial family’s mark only appears on men.’
‘If that mark appears on a woman, it’s a sign of a great disaster. Usually, that being is called a witch. So, when a daughter with the mark is born, they kill her immediately.’
No, no way!
Am I a descendant of the imperial family?
No, that can’t be.
I had never heard of such a setting while playing the game.
I knew it wasn’t true, but I couldn’t be 100 percent sure.
‘Ha! I’m going crazy, really.’
When I heard Grandma Horuru’s story, I thought it had nothing to do with me and took it lightly.
But now, this was happening to me.
“Wait a minute!”
Come to think of it, the shape is a bit strange, isn’t it?