That's why Sylvia asked Scarlett, who was lying in bed due to her poor health from yesterday's incident:
"......You never thought of me as a friend?"
In response, Scarlett slowly nodded.
If she was going to say such a thing, she should at least have a cold expression, not a face so sad. What was she supposed to do now?
Sylvia's face contorted.
She had always hated those who lied to her and approached her to use her.
She had hated them.
But when the person she considered her first and most precious friend said she had never thought of her as a friend, the first thing that came to mind was:
She wished Scarlett hadn't said such a thing, even if it was a lie.
So, Sylvia asked, almost pleadingly:
"Is it a lie?"
"......"
"Please tell me it's a lie......"
But Scarlett didn't respond to her words.
Realizing from her reaction that Scarlett wasn't lying, a single word slipped out of Sylvia's mouth involuntarily:
"......Why?"
That one word expressed all of Sylvia's feelings at that moment.
What purpose could have made her pretend to be friends with her to such an extent?
And if there was a purpose, why confess it now, when she could have kept it hidden until it was achieved?
As if answering Sylvia's question, Scarlett murmured in a small voice:
"......I wanted to live. So......"
Sylvia felt a shock as if someone had hit her head hard.
The primal desire to live, something everyone naturally has.
She had approached her for that reason, she said.
Sylvia recalled what Luke had told her yesterday.
Scarlett had undergone experiments so horrific that they were hard to describe to Sator.
Perhaps she had burned down the laboratory and escaped because she didn't want to die.
Now that she could finally live a normal life, she met the heir of the family that had tortured her on the first day of the academy.
What had Scarlett been thinking?
In a situation where she might return to that horrific life, perhaps she thought that if she became friends with someone who didn't recognize her, it wouldn't happen.
If Scarlett had approached her because she was the heir of Astra, then Sylvia, herself, would have no value to her.
At that moment, Scarlett's murmuring voice was heard:
"......I'm sorry, Sylvia. I'm really sorry......"
A voice filled with regret and guilt.
Sylvia, who might have approached her for the same reasons she hated, but she didn't feel any resentment.
Her heart just ached.
Who could blame her?
She just wanted to live, and the one who should feel guilty was Sylvia, because she was the reason Scarlett had suffered such horrific pain.
Yet, Scarlett kept apologizing to her.
Just as Sylvia was about to tell her it was okay, she realized something was wrong with Scarlett's condition.
Scarlett's body, breathing heavily, was drenched in cold sweat.
"Miss Scarlett! Are you okay? Oh...! What is this! Your body is like a burning fire!"
Holding Scarlett's hand, which didn't look good, Sylvia was startled by the heat.
Even for a pyrokinetic, whose body temperature is higher than average, this was abnormally hot.
She quickly fetched a towel from the bathroom, soaked it in cold water, and placed it on Scarlett's forehead, but her fever didn't seem to be going down.
Her heart was pounding.
At most, three years.
Scarlett was a patient with a death sentence.
And "at most" also meant she could die sooner.
Sylvia, suddenly overwhelmed by fear, looked at Scarlett, who was breathing heavily.
No, I don't want her to die. I absolutely don't want that.
Desperately thinking of ways to reduce the fever, Sylvia remembered a pharmacy on the way.
Would taking medicine help reduce the fever?
"Wait a moment! I'll go get some antipyretics!"
The moment she thought it, her body was already moving.
Running out, she realized it was raining.
The pouring rain soaked her clothes and body, making her look like she had sold her dignity, but that didn't matter now.
"Give me antipyretics! Quickly!"
The pharmacist, startled by the sudden appearance of a drenched customer, handed her the medicine. Sylvia threw some money from her wallet and took the medicine.
"Whoa! A check?! Sir... Sir! Customer, your change!"
"I don't need it!"
The pharmacist, shocked by the strange amount of the check, called out, but Sylvia was already running with the medicine in her arms.
She ran as fast as she had never run before.
Returning to Scarlett's house in no time, Sylvia opened the refrigerator to find some water.
Then, she sobbed and shouted:
"Why is there no water in this house!"
Leaving the refrigerator door open, she quickly filled a cup with tap water and handed it to Scarlett with the antipyretics.
But Scarlett, breathing heavily, didn't seem to have the presence of mind to take the medicine.
Sylvia, hoping to help, used a calming spell.
A sphere of starlight settled on Scarlett's forehead.
After a while, her breathing became more regular, indicating some improvement.
"Take the antipyretics quickly."
Scarlett, with great effort, swallowed the medicine with water.
Sylvia felt the heat from Scarlett's body gradually subside.
It seemed the urgent situation had passed.
Sighing in relief, Sylvia approached the refrigerator to close the door.
Then, she noticed the contents inside, which she hadn't seen clearly in her haste.
The refrigerator was filled with ingredients like cream, butter, and chocolate, which were a bit too specific to be just food.
The only things that could be considered food were eggs and bean sprouts.
Closing the refrigerator, Sylvia went to the bathroom to wipe off the rain with a towel, but felt a sense of unease.
Realizing the source of the unease, she went back to the refrigerator and opened it again.
Looking at the ingredients one by one, she felt a sense of suffocation.
Except for the bean sprouts, everything else was for making macarons.
Hearing someone getting up from behind, Sylvia quietly asked:
"......Miss Scarlett, do you only eat bean sprouts at home?"
A response came from behind:
"......Bean sprouts. I like them......"
Even elves in stories don't live on just grass.
Moreover, Sylvia knew better than anyone that Scarlett was a big eater.
At the academy, she ate so much for lunch.
An old, small house.
Insufficient meals.
Yet, she was making macarons for her.
Even when it was difficult with one arm missing.
Scarlett had said she wanted to live, but if that was the only reason, she didn't need to go to such lengths for someone who was already her friend.
It was sad, but it was also heartwarming.
Sylvia closed the refrigerator and turned to look at Scarlett, who was sitting up in bed and looking at her.
Usually, Scarlett had an almost expressionless face, but today, Sylvia saw expressions she rarely saw, like a sad smile or a troubled look.
Sylvia murmured, recalling their past:
"......When we first met, Miss Scarlett asked me to be her friend."
Their first meeting was when she asked Scarlett to buy macarons from the cafeteria on the first day of school.
At the time, she thought Scarlett was approaching her to use her, like others.
"......Every time you gave me macarons, you said it was just because we were friends, with no other reason."
Even though she knew Sylvia was being mean, Scarlett always gave her macarons, saying it was because they were friends.
Sylvia had thought there must be some reason for her to approach her so much.
"When I told you I never thought of you as a friend and that you didn't need to buy macarons anymore, you made them for me, didn't you?"
Despite the hurt she had caused, Scarlett reached out to her again.
Sylvia had thought Scarlett truly wanted to be friends with her because of her consistent attitude.
She had opened her heart to Scarlett from that moment.
Even with a purpose, Scarlett had put in so much effort to be friends with her.
If there was a reason for her to suddenly tell Sylvia she only wanted to live, it could only be one.
"Did you hear our conversation yesterday when you were supposedly unconscious? It seems you didn't know until then."