Episode 15
Translator: missme
âI canât have Sir Davery by my side while talking to Agrita.â
That wonât work. What I am going to say is something no one should hear.
I sighed after looking up at Sir Daveryâs face, who was normally loose but now is pretending to be serious.
I canât help it.
I wasnât going to do this.
âSir.â
âYes, my lady.â
âIf you wonât do me a favor.â
ââ¦..â
âIâll tell Ash that Sir Davery has neglect his duty and almost get me killed by a poison bee.â
âYes?â
Sir Davery widened his eyes. His face look like trying to understand what Iâm saying now.
Yeah, this feel absurd. But Iâm afraid I have to do this. I continued to threaten him.
âIf I say so, will Sir Davery be able to see tomorrow sun safely?â
âN, no.â
âIâm glad youâll see the moon tonight.â
âWait a minute, my lady. Thatâs not true. I have no excuse for being late, but you almost got stungâ¦.â
âIs facts important?â
I cut off Sir Davery fast.
âThe most important is what I say. Who do you think will Ash believe?â
Sir Davery shut his mouth as if he were speechless.
What Iâm doing is so shameless, but this was the best way. I smiled cheerfully.
âI like someone as competent as Sir Davery. I hope you will be with us for a long time.â
In other words, donât die in vain because of this. I went on to say.
âLetâs meet again after the talk.â
Eventually, I succeeded in putting him on standby outside.
I closed the door slowly, looking at Sir Davery, who looked unfair but didnât follow me into the dining room.
All right. Iâm sorry sir, but please understand. Itâs a matter of circumstance.
I soon left the closed door behind and approached the table.
âCome sit down, Ari.â
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.
âSheâll know it soon.â
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.
âIf youâre hungry, why donât we eat first and talk?â
I didnât have much appetite, but Iâd like to wait for Agrita want to eat. But Agrita shook her head.
âI was hungry, butâ¦.ââ
âbut?â
âI was so surprised that I lost my appetite.â
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, Agritaâs speech began to grow.
âNo, how is that a poison bee? Not a honeybee? Iâve never seen a poison bee before, after coming here.â
The quietness was brief.
âIs it okay for a poison bee to fly around like that? Isnât it a disaster? God, I almost died in vain. Does that make any sense?â
Agritaâs face look blush. Itâs bound to be.
I responded to her and nodded, contemplating the timing of when to bring out the topic.
âAs I thought, yesterday, the incident on the pond yesterday, thereâs something strangely unlucky. Oh, was it really cursed? Maybe itâs not the pond, but actually this mansionâ¦â
Agrita says so. She might think it wasnât something to say in front of me belatedly, so she kept her mouth shut.
But it was a very welcome comment to me.
Thatâs it. Thatâs a good word. I was about to open my mouth at this time. Then Agrita took the lead.
âThatâs right, sister. Please speak comfortably to me.â
âHuh?â
âSpeak comfortably to me. You know, Iâm actually much younger than you, sister.â
The topic suddenly popped up, perhaps to cover up a slip of the tongue. Then Agrita lowered her voice and whispered.
âIâm 17 years old. Well.â
I thought I heard the wrong thing at this moment.
ââ¦â¦17?â
âYes. If itâs count by here age, so is it sixteen?â
ââ¦â¦â
âNo. Iâm 15. I was born in winter.â
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.
âFifty?â
15 in here and 17 in Korean? Youâre a freshman in high school?
Really?
âI slipped down from the stairs at school. Come to think of it, the day we had the mock test. I think thatâs why I went down the stairs in a hurry. Because, I feel like Iâm craving sugar after taking the test.ân/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
I was bewildered by Agrita words.
Oh, my God. My mouth didnât 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.
âOh, by the way, sister. What do you want to talk with me?â
unripe and clumsy.
âIs it serious? Is there something serious?â
ââ¦Ari.â
âYes?â
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.
âYouâre actually destined to die, so be careful if you donât want to die.â
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.
âSister?â
This had to be done. I decided Iâd do this. I did, but I couldnât speak.
Fifteen. Thatâs how young she is.
âAre you okay, sister?â
I forced my disobedient mouth open. I squeezed my voice out.
âDo you want to live?â
âWhat?â
But the words that popped up were completely different from what I originally thought.
âAri, you choose.â
***
âIâm doomed.â
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.
âLady.â
ââ¦..â
âIf you get hurt anywhere, I will die. If you have something, please say it instead. You make me scared.â
I sighed and soon finished up the stairs.
Sir Davery did not ask me why, but he only escort me faithfully.
âAri, you choose.â
At the dining room I told Agrita about her situation.
But it wasnât to keep Agrita alive, as I had decided in the first place.
âIf you die like this, the soul, not the body, may return to its original world. Of course, thereâs only one possibility.â
âLive or die. Ari, choose what you want to do. Itâs Ariâs life now, so itâs Ariâs authority.â
I gave Agrita the choice.
If you continue to live against the will of this world, Iâll helpâ¦.
If she chooses to go back and die, Iâve promised not to save her..
âYouâre crazy, Lydia.â
I tried to hit my forehead against the wall again. Naturally, it failed again.
I poked my hair with my hands instead.
âI have oneâs own fish to fry, I have got myself into a hell of fix, so I canât afford to help othersâ
Since when have I been such a conscientious person?
âYou just rationalized when you stole the beads, werenât you?â
Then when I know her age, I couldnât get my head up to the sudden surge of guilt and remorse. Iâve lost confidence to keep Agrita alive just because I need her.
âI knew I was weak with her, butâ¦.â
Ahhhh. This is driving me crazy.
My future now depends purely on Agritaâs choice.
If she chooses to die like this, I canât 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.
âLady!â
âBessie?â
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.
âHuh?â
âItâs honey water. I was going to put it in the Dukeâs bedroom for him when he woke up, my lady please do it for me.â
âHuh? Me?â
âYou can take a look at his face while you bring it, my lady.â
Ash was sleeping in his room now. He stayed up all night and now heâs 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.
âShall I do it?
ââ¦â¦no.â
I soon shook my head, looking down at the honey water on the tray.
âItâs all right.â
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. Ashâs 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 Ashâs room and I stopped.
ââ¦..â
Iâll just had to put it down on the table and come out, right?
Suddenly, it felt strange to stand in this place like this. Itâs been a long time since Ash was little. I canât even remember when was the last time. I havenât 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, knockâ
I know the answer wonât come back when heâs sleeping, but I still knock, out of courtesy. I then reached out my hand to the doorknob. Then I heard a voice from inside.
âCome in.â
â¦.huh?
For a moment, I panicked and stopped with my hands stretched out.
âIsnât he sleeping?â
I wonder if he awaked because of the knocking sound, but it wasnât 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.
âOh, my God⦠â¦you were working?â
After entering and closing the door, Ash finally took her eyes off the document. Ashâs eyes grew slightly.