Everyone hopes for happiness as they live, but happiness is not something given freely.
Therefore, life is a continuous effort to become happy.
My father once said,
Meeting someone in this world who can sincerely wish for your happiness is a blessing in itself.
There were times when I felt lonely, having lost such people from my original world.
But Yun Si-woo told me,
He wanted me to be happy.
Lately, I've been feeling things like that.
Even though our connection was brief, there are many people in this world who wish for my happiness.
Mae, Jessi, Sylvia, and Yun Si-woo.
They were not just characters in a novel.
Each of their existences was a blessing.
Just like how an oasis exists even in the most desolate desert.
I don't know how difficult the trials ahead will be.
But to protect the connections I've built so far,
To protect the happiness I've gained from words like these,
I will try to make an effort to be happy, I answered.
*
When I returned to my room in the mansion, Sylvia greeted me with a strange smile.
"Welcome back. Have you had dinner?"
"No, not yet..."
"Then I'll have dinner prepared. Let's eat first. You can take a bath after dinner."
I responded with the excuse I had prepared.
"I... I'm fine with bathing. I've been out and already bathed..."
When I said that, Sylvia murmured quietly.
"...I see. You went out and bathed... I don't know what happened, but Miss Scarlett must have had some reasons."
Fortunately, my excuse seemed to work, and I was relieved. But then Sylvia pressed on.
"By the way, the clothes you're wearing are different from the ones you had on when you went out?"
"Oh, these? Well, my clothes got a bit dirty, so I bought a change of clothes..."
"...Even the clothes... Is that so?"
Sylvia's eyes, which had been smiling, trembled slightly.
Her unnatural smile made me ask,
"...Did something bad happen?"
I don't know what happened while I was out, but she seemed much more upset than before.
"...It's nothing. I thought it would be nice to go shopping with Miss Scarlett, and I was waiting to take a bath with you, but I was a bit disappointed when you came back already bathed."
...Hearing that, I felt like a terrible person.
Anyone would be angry if they were working hard at home while someone else was out having fun, and even more so if that person broke a prior agreement.
A sudden wave of guilt washed over me.
I'm a scumbag...
I wanted to cheer Sylvia up somehow.
After thinking hard, I remembered what she had mentioned earlier and spoke up.
"...If you have time later, would you like to go shopping for clothes with me?"
When I said that, Sylvia's ears perked up slightly.
It seemed like that was the right answer.
"...Just the two of us, Miss Scarlett and me?"
"Yes, just the two of us."
"...Okay, it's a promise, so you can't break it. I can spend hours with you then."
Hours...
I shivered in fear, mentally preparing to be a dress-up doll, and nodded.
I had gotten help from Yun Si-woo, who was known for his fashion sense in the original story, because I didn't know much about fashion when buying clothes earlier...
I felt that after shopping with Sylvia, I would be forced to become an expert.
Sylvia seemed to be in a better mood, and just then, Sebastian, her attendant, came in to set up dinner.
He looked at me with a very uncomfortable expression as he left after setting up the meal. Was it just my imagination?
Anyway, that wasn't important now.
The most important thing was that I could eat meat for both lunch and dinner.
As I savored the meat with gratitude, Sylvia looked at me with a hesitant expression and spoke.
"...Miss Scarlett, I believe students should act according to their student status."
It was a sudden comment, but it was true, so I nodded after swallowing my food.
Then, Sylvia continued in a cautious tone.
"Even if it might sound unpleasant, I think it's something that needs to be said. I think it's better for you to avoid such behavior as a student."
Sylvia looked at me with a very serious expression.
I could tell she was genuinely concerned for me, so I thought about what I had done today.
I had moved in the morning, had lunch, spent some time outside, and now I was having dinner.
Thinking about it, I had done almost nothing all day.
Realizing this, I understood what Sylvia was trying to say.
Sylvia was a diligent person.
Even on weekends, she had little time to rest due to her training and duties.
The duty of a student is to study, and for a student at an academy to become a hero, it is to train oneself.
Sylvia, who performed these duties more diligently than anyone else, was telling me to please train more.
It was a piercing comment, like a dagger to my heart, especially since I had said I would protect people but had not been doing the essential training for it.
It was a truly cutting remark.
However, I was moved by her words.
True friends are those who tell you things you don't want to hear, and despite my harsh rejection of her offer to be friends, she was still thinking about me so much.
"...So, such things should be done when you're an adult, not a student..."
When I couldn't continue due to my emotions, Sylvia's face turned pale as she stopped speaking.
"I'm... I'm sorry! I didn't mean it that way..."
She almost cried, thinking I had taken her words the wrong way.
"It's okay. You said it because you care about me, right?"
"But..."
"Really, it's okay."
I reassured her, genuinely feeling fine.
But Sylvia still seemed uneasy, and after sniffing, she looked up at me and asked,
"...Miss Scarlett, can I ask you one thing? Did you enjoy today?"
I thought about the events of the day.
Although the move was hectic, I had eaten meat and realized that there were people who genuinely cared about me.
Despite the bad things, it was a day with many good things.
So, I could say I had enjoyed it.
When I nodded, Sylvia smiled and replied,
"...If Miss Scarlett enjoyed it, that's all that matters. I'm sorry for saying that."
Sylvia kept apologizing, as if she was worried about telling me to train more.
On my side, her words gave me the motivation to work harder.
I wanted to do something to repay her, but I couldn't think of anything I could do for her.
I couldn't even suggest bathing together...
Then, while I was clearing the table after dinner, an idea came to me as Sebastian came in to clean up.
I subtly made a request to him, who was still looking at me strangely.
He looked at me for a moment, then relaxed his expression and nodded.
*
After bathing alone and returning to her room, Sylvia sat down to finish the remaining work she had done all day.
As she focused on her work, there was a knock on the door, and a voice came from outside.
"Miss, I've brought tea and snacks."
Sylvia usually asked Sebastian to bring tea when she worked late at night, so he must have brought it without her asking today.
"Come in."
When she said that, the door opened, and Sebastian came in.
While working, she naturally took a sip of the tea he had placed on the desk.
"Hmm, the tea tastes a bit different today."
When Sylvia commented on the taste of the tea, Sebastian laughed awkwardly.
"Well, it was prepared by Miss Scarlett's friend."
Sylvia's eyes widened in surprise.
"Miss Scarlett?"
"She wanted to express her gratitude and asked me to teach her how to make tea. The snacks were also made by her. It seems they are close friends, given that she knows your favorite snacks."
Sylvia looked at the plate next to her teacup.
It contained macarons, just like the ones she always received.
"I wondered if she was suitable as a friend because of her behavior, but she seems to have a good heart."
Sebastian scratched his head and said that.
After lunch, Sylvia had instructed Sebastian to follow Scarlett and report any unusual activities for her protection.
She was shocked when Sebastian reported that Scarlett had entered a motel with a man with white hair.
It was a shock to learn that Scarlett and Yun Si-woo had become so close.
It wasn't entirely incomprehensible.
Since she remembered the day she was kidnapped, she might have developed feelings for Yun Si-woo, who had come to rescue her.
Sylvia thought of her own feelings when she had fallen in love with Yun Si-woo at first sight on the first day of school.
However, what truly saddened Sylvia was not that she had gone to such a place with Yun Si-woo, but that she had broken her promise because of it.
It meant that Yun Si-woo was more important to her than herself.
But that wasn't the most important thing.
Sylvia took a bite of the familiar macarons.
She had unintentionally hurt her by suggesting that such things should be done after becoming an adult.
Three years.
She was destined to never become an adult.
But she had shown such kindness to someone who had hurt her.
Sylvia felt tears welling up and pretended to shiver as she drank her tea.
No, that wasn't the most important thing.
Even if she wasn't the most important person to her, she wanted her to enjoy as much as possible.