Right now, at this moment, I was more curious about the contents of the box than the purpose of the Imperial Guard’s visit.
Impatient, I opened the box right away.
“…!”
I instantly covered my mouth.
My mind went blank, and tears welled up in my eyes.
“Milady?”
Anne approached with a worried look.
“Anne.”
“What is it? Is there something scary in there?”
“No!”
Sniffling, I tilted the box to show her.
Inside the box were a rabbit pin and chocolates wrapped in gold foil.
The rabbit pin wasn’t the one I had lost.
The color was the same white, but it had black eyes.
“Oh my, a rabbit pin and your favorite chocolates, Milady?”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
“You were so upset about losing your rabbit pin. Lady Lagenne must have noticed and gifted you something similar.”
“How did my sister know?”
“You two are so close. Maybe she sensed her best friend’s sadness?”
“Do you think so?”
“Of course.”
Despite Anne’s kind answer, I was still doubtful.
I hadn’t seen my sister since we met in the forest.
Anyway, it was definitely something to be grateful for, so I decided to put aside my doubts.
‘I have to tell her how I feel when I see her next time.’
The moment I thought that, a message popped up in front of me.
[Affinity with your next-door sister has increased, automatically matching her as a target.]
Huh!
Just a moment ago, my eyes were brimming with tears of emotion.
Overjoyed, I jumped up and down in place, making a fuss.
“Kyaa!”
Anne’s eyes widened at my sudden change in behavior.
“Milady, are you that happy?”
“Huh? Totally!”
Happy doesn’t even begin to cover it.
I received a gift from my sister, a gift!
Of course, the rabbit pin was nice, but the fact that it was a gift from my sister meant so much more.
‘I’m so happy. I don’t know how to express it.’
Anne, unaware of the situation, seemed to be watching me carefully, as if my wildly enthusiastic reaction was awkward.
“I didn’t know you liked rabbit pins so much, Milady. I’ll be sure to remember that!”
Hmm.
My intuition, honed from knowing Anne for so long, told me that something felt uneasy.
But since today was a special day, I decided to enjoy the moment.
‘Alright! Now all that’s left is to properly target my sister!’
Is this when I finally get to use the ‘Love Goggles’ that I’ve been saving?
Hehe!
‘I’ll have to use them next time we meet!’
Even though this was a life after eight failures, I wanted to believe in the change that this small success would bring.
That I could use the hardships and adversities of the past as a stepping stone to climb even higher.
* * *
After a sleepless night, I rushed to my sister’s house as soon as it was light.
I wanted to express my gratitude as soon as possible.
But it seemed like I had terrible luck.
“The Lady and Lady Lagenne have left for a vacation.”
“A vacation?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Then, when will they be back?”
“They said it would be a week at the earliest, ten days at the latest.”
In the end, I had to return home with a disappointed heart.
Thinking that I could easily wait ten days.
And so, ten days passed.
In the meantime, I didn’t forget to send a letter to Cherry Boy.
I hated being bothered, and I didn’t want to ruin this life with a small mistake.
After taking care of these and other things, peace finally came.
As always, Anne had gone out to the market, the employees were fulfilling their duties, and I was enjoying the leisure.
A languid atmosphere spread throughout the house in an instant.
“Haa! It’s so quiet and nice.”
I stretched and yawned widely.
I was sitting by the window, enjoying the warm sunlight.
I raised my left hand and looked at it in the sunlight.
“It’s really seamless.”
What would have happened to me now if it weren’t for the Karkee grass?
“Anyway, I shouldn’t have listened to Old Woman Horuru.”
I often felt uneasy about the fact that it was related to the Imperial Family.
Until I knew the answer, the curiosity that lingered in my head wouldn’t disappear.
And I also had this thought.
Maybe my unconscious actions had some effect on the mark.
“It’s not impossible.”
I nodded to myself when.
Grumble.
A cheerful sound disrupted the quiet atmosphere.
My distractions also disappeared.
I skipped breakfast because I didn’t have an appetite, but the signal came late.
“Agh, I’m hungry.”
Only now did a ravenous hunger strike.
I immediately got up and headed to the kitchen.
Fortunately, there was an apple pie that Anne had made on the table.
‘Milady, this is a pie made with apples frozen with magic stones.’
‘Yeah, so?’
‘Um, you still hate apples, right?’
‘Well, yeah.’
‘Yes, I thought so, so I won’t recommend you try it.’
‘Thanks for understanding, Anne.’
‘Then, just leave it there. I’ll take care of it after I go to the market later.’
‘Okay. Don’t worry about me and go.’
Recalling the conversation I had in the morning, I hesitated for a moment.
Should I eat it or not?
It was quite a serious dilemma.
But.
Grumble, grumble.
A loud sound rang out as if asking what I was hesitating about.
I really hadn’t wanted to look at apples for a while.
But when I saw the apple pie in front of me, contrary to my thoughts, my mouth kept watering.
“How can I just pass this by…”
That’s because there’s no one who’s only eaten it once, but no one who hasn’t eaten it at all!
It was Anne’s pie, who was a golden hand at cooking.
Anyone who tasted this apple pie wouldn’t deny it.
In the end, I completely forgot about my past hardships and committed the atrocity of putting a piece of pie in my mouth.
“Crazy! So delicious!”
It was exquisite, melting in my mouth.
The sweet and sour taste of the apple spread on the tip of my tongue.
Haa! This is really crazy!
‘Should I just eat one more bite?’
What’s one more bite?
My hands and mouth were busy moving non-stop.
‘Should I ask Anne to open a bakery later?’
I would open a bakery with my money and hire Anne.
Anne’s skillful bread would spread by word of mouth, and this would gradually expand from the first store to the second and then the third?
If I were to manage all of those places.
‘Hehe! It would be so much fun counting money.’
Just thinking about it was thrilling.
I was imagining things endlessly, even though the person who would give me the rice cake wasn’t even thinking about it.
“What’s happiness? This is happiness.”
One bite became two bites, two bites became three bites, and in the end, I completely emptied the plate.
“What, who ate it all?”
I patted my full stomach, played a one-person two-role act that didn’t even work, and then smiled.
I had completely succumbed to my instincts, but I didn’t regret it because the pie was delicious.
I thought my trauma about apples would be forgotten.
‘Ah! What. No way!’
No!
Indeed, humans are definitely creatures of forgetfulness.
I finally received a biological signal to go straight to the bathroom.
‘Hee-yoo, it’s hard.’
I don’t know how many times I went back and forth to the bathroom.
My face gradually became haggard.
‘What a dog’s life this is.’
If I ever eat an apple again, I’m not a human, I’m a witch!
But the problem wasn’t just this.
I finally calmed my stomach and came up to the bedroom.
‘Ugh!’
I had no choice but to be shocked once again.
The mysterious mark that had disappeared without a trace had reappeared on the palm of my hand.
‘What!’
I woke up with a start.
No, I felt like my blood was running backwards.
I had seen the Imperial Guard come and go with my own two eyes, so my anxiety was amplified more than ever.
I bit my lip tightly at that moment.
The conversation I had with Old Woman Horuru, which I had only half-listened to, came to mind.
‘Some ancient books describe efforts to find witches.’
‘There’s something like that? What is it?’
‘Usually, there’s the act of using magic to put poison on fruits or dishes. So that the person involved can’t notice it.’
As long as I was possessed in this place, I couldn’t guarantee that I wasn’t a witch.
So I always had to keep the possibilities open. Whether it was good or bad.
I swallowed hard and thought of several premises.
What if they were really using that method to find witches?
What if I was the victim?
What if the Imperial Guard, who noticed this, rushed in here?
Then what would happen to my house, my family, my dad?
Thoughts rained down endlessly.
Then everything would be over.
Because I would be branded as a witch and killed first.
‘I, I don’t want to!’
In a situation mixed with anxiety and complexity, there was only one thing I could do now.
I hurriedly took out the Karkee grass that I had stored with magic stones.
Then suddenly.
‘……!’
A thought flashed like a spark.
In a moment of crisis, a solution suddenly came to mind like a bolt of lightning.
Perhaps, the fact that this happened to me.
“Maybe it means the manifestation of another ability.”
In most cases like this, the main character gains a special ability and awakens to perform amazing magic.
There was no reason why that couldn’t happen to me.
Besides, this wasn’t just a fantasy game.
“This is a world where magic exists. It’s possible enough.”
I quickly got up and stood in front of the mirror.
I put my hands together and took an action as if shooting a wind blast.
“Wait. Don’t I need something like a spell?”
I quickly expanded my thinking.
I began to recite the basic skills that I had seen in various games in order.
“Fireball!”
“Ice Maker!”
“Thunder Effect!”
“Shadow Attack!”
“Water Spike!”
But my expectations were shattered miserably.
Surprisingly, nothing happened.
“Hmm, is that not it?”
I looked back on the game methods I had used in the past.
Certainly, there was a time when I learned magic to complete the ending.
At one time, one of the male lead candidates was also a magician.
But no matter how hard I worked my brain, I had never heard a spell to cast magic.
That’s because the game “Happiness” was not a game that grew through hunting or combat.
But I was reluctant to give up like this.
This time, I turned my gaze to the vase on the side table, thinking of one of the most commonly known spells.
And I said seriously.
“Soo-ri soo-ri ma-soo-ri! Rise up, eeyap!”