‘I can’t have Sir Davery by my side while talking to Agrita.’
That won’t work. What I am going to say is something no one should hear.
I sighed after looking up at Sir Davery’s face, who was normally loose but now is pretending to be serious.
I can’t help it.
I wasn’t going to do this.
“Sir.”
“Yes, my lady.”
“If you won’t do me a favor.”
“…..”
“I’ll tell Ash that Sir Davery has neglect his duty and almost get me killed by a poison bee.”
“Yes?”
Sir Davery widened his eyes. His face look like trying to understand what I’m saying now.
Yeah, this feel absurd. But I’m afraid I have to do this. I continued to threaten him.
“If I say so, will Sir Davery be able to see tomorrow sun safely?”
“N, no.”
“I’m glad you’ll see the moon tonight.”
“Wait a minute, my lady. That’s not true. I have no excuse for being late, but you almost got stung….”
“Is facts important?”
I cut off Sir Davery fast.
“The most important is what I say. Who do you think will Ash believe?”
Sir Davery shut his mouth as if he were speechless.
What I’m doing is so shameless, but this was the best way. I smiled cheerfully.
“I like someone as competent as Sir Davery. I hope you will be with us for a long time.”
In other words, don’t die in vain because of this. I went on to say.
“Let’s meet again after the talk.”
Eventually, I succeeded in putting him on standby outside.
I closed the door slowly, looking at Sir Davery, who looked unfair but didn’t follow me into the dining room.
All right. I’m sorry sir, but please understand. It’s a matter of circumstance.
I soon left the closed door behind and approached the table.
“Come sit down, Ari.”
Agrita seemed to tilt her head slightly and soon sat down in her seat.
Maybe she was wondering why I do that so only two of us can have talk.
‘She’ll know it soon.’
The table was set with the meal that Bessie had asked for.
For breakfast, it was a lot of cooking and quite plentiful.
I asked just in case.
“If you’re hungry, why don’t we eat first and talk?”
I didn’t have much appetite, but I’d like to wait for Agrita want to eat. But Agrita shook her head.
“I was hungry, but….””
“but?”
“I was so surprised that I lost my appetite.”
Agrita frowned at the thought of the bee.
Then, instead of the meal, she gulped down the water that had already been poured.
And thanks to it, the hiccups stopped. From then on, Agrita’s speech began to grow.
“No, how is that a poison bee? Not a honeybee? I’ve never seen a poison bee before, after coming here.”
The quietness was brief.
“Is it okay for a poison bee to fly around like that? Isn’t it a disaster? God, I almost died in vain. Does that make any sense?”
Agrita’s face look blush. It’s bound to be.
I responded to her and nodded, contemplating the timing of when to bring out the topic.
“As I thought, yesterday, the incident on the pond yesterday, there’s something strangely unlucky. Oh, was it really cursed? Maybe it’s not the pond, but actually this mansion…”
Agrita says so. She might think it wasn’t something to say in front of me belatedly, so she kept her mouth shut.
But it was a very welcome comment to me.
That’s it. That’s a good word. I was about to open my mouth at this time. Then Agrita took the lead.
“That’s right, sister. Please speak comfortably to me.”
“Huh?”
“Speak comfortably to me. You know, I’m actually much younger than you, sister.”
The topic suddenly popped up, perhaps to cover up a slip of the tongue. Then Agrita lowered her voice and whispered.
“I’m 17 years old. Well.”
I thought I heard the wrong thing at this moment.
“……17?”
“Yes. If it’s count by here age, so is it sixteen?”
“……”
“No. I’m 15. I was born in winter.”
Agrita now seemed to be slowly getting out of the shock of the poison. I could feel it in her face and voice.
Instead, I was shocked anew.
‘Fifty?’
15 in here and 17 in Korean? You’re a freshman in high school?
Really?
“I slipped down from the stairs at school. Come to think of it, the day we had the mock test. I think that’s why I went down the stairs in a hurry. Because, I feel like I’m craving sugar after taking the test.”
I was bewildered by Agrita words.
Oh, my God. My mouth didn’t drop.
She was really young. She went to high school only this year, and that was almost like a child to me. Such immature and tender age.
“Oh, by the way, sister. What do you want to talk with me?”
unripe and clumsy.
“Is it serious? Is there something serious?”
“…Ari.”
“Yes?”
How should I tell her?
The words I had originally prepared to say were stuck in my throat.
I decided to tell Agrita the truth and came down.
‘You’re actually destined to die, so be careful if you don’t want to die.’
I tried to make it any easier to save Agrita by raising her alert. Because I need her. I need to keep Agrita alive by doing that for my future.
“Sister?”
This had to be done. I decided I’d do this. I did, but I couldn’t speak.
Fifteen. That’s how young she is.
“Are you okay, sister?”
I forced my disobedient mouth open. I squeezed my voice out.
“Do you want to live?”
“What?”
But the words that popped up were completely different from what I originally thought.
“Ari, you choose.”
***
‘I’m doomed.’
Instead of going up the stairs, I tried to hit my forehead against the wall by surprise.
Then, like a ghost, Sir Davery put the back of his hand in to stop it.
“Lady.”
“…..”
“If you get hurt anywhere, I will die. If you have something, please say it instead. You make me scared.”
I sighed and soon finished up the stairs.
Sir Davery did not ask me why, but he only escort me faithfully.
‘Ari, you choose.’
At the dining room I told Agrita about her situation.
But it wasn’t to keep Agrita alive, as I had decided in the first place.
‘If you die like this, the soul, not the body, may return to its original world. Of course, there’s only one possibility.’
‘Live or die. Ari, choose what you want to do. It’s Ari’s life now, so it’s Ari’s authority.’
I gave Agrita the choice.
If you continue to live against the will of this world, I’ll help….
If she chooses to go back and die, I’ve promised not to save her..
‘You’re crazy, Lydia.’
I tried to hit my forehead against the wall again. Naturally, it failed again.
I poked my hair with my hands instead.
‘I have one’s own fish to fry, I have got myself into a hell of fix, so I can’t afford to help others’
Since when have I been such a conscientious person?
‘You just rationalized when you stole the beads, weren’t you?’
Then when I know her age, I couldn’t get my head up to the sudden surge of guilt and remorse. I’ve lost confidence to keep Agrita alive just because I need her.
‘I knew I was weak with her, but….’
Ahhhh. This is driving me crazy.
My future now depends purely on Agrita’s choice.
If she chooses to die like this, I can’t change my future. After sending her away, I had to go on and prepare myself for a grim and miserable end. There was no objection for resentment because it was self-sustaining.
I walked weakly, holding back what I wanted to scream for the place. Then someone called me across the hall.
“Lady!”
“Bessie?”
Bessie came up to me with a hint of good company.
She had a tray in her hand, but she came up and gave it to me.
“Huh?”
“It’s honey water. I was going to put it in the Duke’s bedroom for him when he woke up, my lady please do it for me.”
“Huh? Me?”
“You can take a look at his face while you bring it, my lady.”
Ash was sleeping in his room now. He stayed up all night and now he’s sleeping.
What do you want me to do when I see his sleeping face?
But Bessie handed me the tray before I said anything and then disappeared again.
The back figure that diligently moved away seemed quite busy.
Standing in a huddle holding a tray, Sir Davery spoke.
“Shall I do it?
“……no.”
I soon shook my head, looking down at the honey water on the tray.
“It’s all right.”
The honey water in the glass was quite clear after being lightly burned.
Ash just went into the bedroom to catch sleep because of me anyway.
I walked with a tray in my hand. Ash’s bedroom is on the same floor as mine but in different hallways so I need to walk a little. Sir Davery followed with a little gap. Soon I arrived in front of Ash’s room and I stopped.
“…..”
I’ll just had to put it down on the table and come out, right?
Suddenly, it felt strange to stand in this place like this. It’s been a long time since Ash was little. I can’t even remember when was the last time. I haven’t being here, especially since our parents died and Ash became the Duke. Since then, Ash spent most of his day in the office.
This is was nothing, but I was slightly nervous. I breathed in and after exhaling I knocked on the door.
knock, knock–
I know the answer won’t come back when he’s sleeping, but I still knock, out of courtesy. I then reached out my hand to the doorknob. Then I heard a voice from inside.
“Come in.”
….huh?
For a moment, I panicked and stopped with my hands stretched out.
‘Isn’t he sleeping?’
I wonder if he awaked because of the knocking sound, but it wasn’t seem the case. I hardened for a while and soon opened the door. Somehow the fine squeaking sounded clearly in my ears.
What I saw as soon as I entered was the figure of Ash sitting at his desk. Ash was looking down at the document in his hand.
‘Oh, my God… …you were working?’
After entering and closing the door, Ash finally took her eyes off the document. Ash’s eyes grew slightly.\n