Chapter 13: Special Chapter

One day in the Stryker Manor

Ka-ching!

[slot reels whirring]

Clink! Clink! Clink!

“Congratulations! You won a rare item for this week’s slot game! To claim your price, pick one character you want.”

There's only Adam, Lyra and Nayeli.

Ping!

“You picked Lyra Cinderheille! Prepare yourself to act as her for a day in 10… 9… 8…”

Her last name… I feel like I’ve read it somewhere.

“3… 2… 1… Your 24-hour countdown starts now. Good luck, player!”

How is possessing someone a price? For someone who hasn’t done that, sure, but certainly not for me! I feel cheated. Tch.

By the way, Lyra’s room looks so cozy despite it being so small.

Hmm?

“My, this dress is beautiful. I wonder where she is going to wear it.”

I walked out of her room and went to the kitchen. Ah, the smell makes me hungry!

“Lyra! Why are you zoning out? Weren’t you about to go and wake up Madame?”

Err, what was this girl in the pigtails’ name again?

“Uh, yeah. I just had something in mind. See you later.”

I went upstairs and entered my room. Wow, it feels weird seeing the body I possessed these days lying motionless in bed.

You know, now that I think about it… Leonora’s actually a beauty. I haven’t paid much attention to it because I see the same reflection every day and got used to it but now that I see her from other people’s eyes, I can tell that the player who customized Leonora’s face did it for hours.

I leaned in closer to spot any marks on her face and there is none. It’d be nice if the player added some texture like a cool scar on her eyebrow.

I nudged her a little and there were no reactions whatsoever so I left the room and locked the door. On the way back to the maid’s quarter, I met Adam.

“Good morning, Miss Lyra. Have you gone to Madame’s room already?”

“Good morning to you too, Mr. Adam. Yeah, I went to roll up the curtains.”

“Is Madame awake?”

“She is, however, she said she doesn’t want to be disturbed for a day.” It’s a lie of course. I could only imagine the panic they’ll go through when they find out that they can’t wake Leonora up no matter how they shake her off.

Adam tilted his head.

“That’s odd. She told me yesterday that we will continue sorting out the files today. Are you sure she said that?”

I squinted my eyes at him. “Do you think I’m lying?”

“No, no. I’m just trying to make sure.”

I crossed my arms and sighed. “It’s the time of the month. Are YOU sure you want to go there just to check whether I’m lying or not?”

He immediately froze when he realized what I said. “Oh, I see. You could’ve just told me that in the beginning. In that case, make sure you send her the meals on time.” He went closer to whisper. “Madame is pretty scary when she’s at that time of the month. Don’t try to provoke her.”

“How scary exactly?”

He scratched his head. “Well, she gets annoyed at the smallest mistake she can find. One time, I also saw her yelling at the curtain that apparently touched her and she also burned the chair that stubbed her toe. Imagine if it were people that accidentally touched her or stepped on her toes.”

I pat his shoulders. “You can only understand why if you will be in pain for at least 5 days every month.”

Man, dysmenorrhea is a normalized torture that women must go through every month. To think that they’ll even add such detail to the game. Assholes.

“That’s an exaggeration.” I wanna kick his balls.

Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

“I’ll let Miss Nayeli know about this. An exaggeration huh.”

I flipped my hair for a dramatic exit. Seeing how he doesn’t feel strange about the way I respond to him, having this conversation with Lyra must be pretty normal.

Now, what does Lyra normally do every day?

“Lyra, have you thought about it?” Oh, it’s the pigtail girl again.

“Thought about what?” I absent-mindedly answered.

She squinted her eye. “Have you already forgotten? Ow geez~ I’m talking about going to the festival together! Last time you said you have to think about it!”

“Well, seems like I still need more time to think about it.”

“Merrie! Come over here! We could use some help lifting the blankets!”

She turned around. “Oh shoot! Miss Annie called me! I’ll wait for your reply tonight. Make sure you already make up your mind! See you later!” So her name’s Merrie.

Is there even a point in having Lyra’s body for a day? I don’t know what to d— OH! There is! I’ll find out Lyra’s secret on brewing the tea. Since it’s her body, I should be able to brew it naturally, right?

NOPE. I didn’t. I already wasted enough tea leaves that Lyra could probably make at least 5 servings with it! How the heck does she do it?

“Hah~ Let’s just give up on that.” Let’s find another activity to do.

I went to the training ground to take a walk.

“Hey!” A man holding a sword called out when he saw me. Oho~ who could this man be?

“Hey,” I greeted back. He froze for a second then cleared his throat.

He put his sword on the weapon rack and walked up to me.

“It is nice hearing you say that.” Say what? The ‘Hey?’

He cleared his throat again and put his right hand on the back of his neck. I almost laughed out loud when I saw how red his face is. I am sorry Lyra! I feel like I saw something only you should see.

“So… uh… cough how was the dress I sent for you to wear to the festival? It matches mine.” Heh~ Is he Lyra’s boyfriend?

“It’s beautiful. Thank you!”

His face flushed so hard and his eyes are rapidly moving. What the heck is that expression?

“I’ll be sure to wear it to the festival. Anyway, I have to go. Duty calls.” Let’s get out of here quickly.

Quick, quick!

A hand stopped me from my tracks so I looked back and saw him bowing his head. Oh no, how does Lyra normally treat him to be flushing this hard?

“Duty. Calls.” I tried to make my voice as stern as possible and he immediately let my hands go.

“A-Ah! I see! I-I’m sorry! Off you go t-then! See you at the f-festival!” He quickly left and returned to training. Seems like Lyra doesn’t use a friendly voice with him. Hah. I almost messed that up.

I walked around a little bit more and only went to the kitchen when it was almost lunchtime.

“Will this be Madame’s lunch?” I asked. The chef nodded so I pulled the trolley and went up to my room. When I arrived there, I ate all of the food and returned to the kitchen with empty plates.

“Looks like Madame liked what we prepared today.”

For him to say that, is Leonora picky with food?

“This is just our secret okay? Madame actually said she likes everything the kitchen prepares,” I smiled and left the kitchen.

The day ended up with me doing nothing exciting in particular. I just went on doing the things that I think Lyra does normally such as gardening, laundry, cleaning the halls, changing the curtains, and more stuff. It was 8 pm when I returned to her room and finally called it a day.

“Are you all right, Lyra?” I asked, completely aware of the things I did to her body yesterday.

“Yeah… It’s just… my body is aching all over. It’s also weird that I can’t remember what I did yesterday.”

It’s because of the stupid game price. Why did they even think it is all right to possess someone’s body? Not that I can have a say about it.

“You should try exercising so that your body won’t be shocked when you move so frequently all of a sudden.”

She looked sideways while her hand is pinching her chin.

“I guess so. I can also tell that my body has been inactive lately. I should join Merrie’s yoga lessons.”

Oh, there was something like that? I see. The game writer is a bit crafty for that one.

“Just make sure it won’t affect your daily duties.”

“Of course, Madame. And oh, Miss Medea is already waiting in the chamber. Should we go now?”

Miss fairy!

“Let’s go! I’m excited about what designs she will show me this time.”

I went inside the room and saw Miss Medea. As usual, she showed me her magnificent designs and left after she took some measurements of my body in case I lost or added some weight. While I walked in the corridor on the way to the office, I overheard the conversation between Lyra and Merrie. I silently stepped back and hid to eavesdrop.

“Are you also going to the stable today?”

“Huh? What do you mean? I never go to the stables”

“Eh? But I heard from Mr. Douglas that you said you’ll come back today to help him out again.”

“He said that? But I’ve never been to the stables, let alone helped him clean the horses! What are you talking about?”

“That’s strange. The gardener also looked for you earlier. Even Thaddeus asked about you when I was sending some stuff to the training room. You two broke up a month ago, right? Did you two get back?”

Crap. CRAP!

“What? I cannot follow what you are trying to say.”

“Oh stop denying it! You even agreed to go to the festival with him! I can understand if you won’t go with me. Good luck, Lyra!”

I turned my back and ran away quickly. I cannot listen to more of this. I’m so sorry Lyraaaa~ I hope you can fix the mess I made!

Meanwhile,

“OH, SO YOU SAID THAT ME BEING IN PAIN IS AN EXAGGERATION? HUH?! LET ME DEMONSTRATE THE PAIN I HAVE TO GO THROUGH EVERY MONTH SO YOU’LL UNDERSTAND!”

Adam gulped when he saw how mad Nayeli is.

“Miss Lyra wasn’t kidding when she said she’ll tell Nayeli! I should apologize to every woman at the manor when I get back.” Adam thought while running away from Nayeli who was ready to throw a chair at him.