"Ivan, are you truly feeling better?"
"Yeah, I'm feeling better." If I tell her this wasn't the first time I'd had my arm like this, she might start
questioning my upbringing. "I had a fair amount of training from my father, so I'm really feeling fine."
"I'm glad you're feeling better… Ivan."
"Yeah?"
"I-I would like to apologize… Ev-even after you helped me, I've brought you nothing but trouble."
I couldn't help but stare at her before replying.
I'm not sure how long I was knocked out for, but the sun was already setting. The oversized windows in the room allowed the evening light to pour inside, filling the room with an almost magical
atmosphere.
The orange-reddish light gently rested on her hair and back, casting a long shadow across her face.
Her gentle and innocent personality seemed to disappear beneath it.
Her face was difficult to see clearly, and yet…
Her eyes.
Those ruby-red eyes absorbed the last rays of sunlight and seemed to glow.
Deep red.
For a moment, she almost looked devilish.
And yet…
It makes me wanna…
Take a picture of her.
She looks so cute and badass.
"Clarice."
"Yes?"
"I don't like making things too complicated or dragging things out."
I slowly got out of bed and walked toward the window.
"Life is too short to hold grudges against people, especially if that person had no control over what
happened."
I stopped by the window and looked outside.
"To tell you the truth, when I first saw you, my first thought was, 'She's brought nothing but trouble for me.'"
I paused for a moment.
"But then I thought, 'That cat lady' is probably some kind of slave or something. So she's probably filled with hate and just wants to protect the only thing she cares about.'"
"…"
These curtains have to be closed off for my heart to relax, or I might just die from how cute the light is making her look.
"She is not a slave."
"Hmm?"
"Roselyn, she is not a sla—"
Knock, knock.
A knock at the door cut her off.
"Yes?" I replied.
"Ivan, it's me, Rulf."
"Come in."
Hmm.
"Mother is calling you."
"Oh-kay. How is Walter doing?"
"…"
Something feels off.
"He's doing fine. Get dressed quickly and come."
"Right. Coming."
Rulf quietly turned and closed the door, but something was clearly wrong with him.
His reaction wasn't like last time.
…
"I almost forgot."
Clarice got up from the chair and walked toward a set of clothes on the dresser.
"Your clothes were covered in mud, so we had them washed. For now, you'll have to wear these."
"Thanks."
"I'll leave you, then."
"Why?"
I thought maybe I could joke around with her to make it clear that I really held no bad intentions toward her.
"You can just wait here in the room while I get dressed."
"…"
She paused, seemingly trying to process what I had just said.
Then her entire face turned red.
"Wh-what…? Why would you suggest something so—"
She started to stroke her hair while avoiding eye contact with me.
"But if it means I can make up for the trouble I have caused you, then… I suppose I will stay…"
She looked away.
"Bu-but I will stand over there and look at the wall."
Huh?
Wait… what did she just say?
She can't be serious right now, right?
"Clarice, you do realize I was only trying to make a joke, right?"
"Huh!?"
She said nothing.
She just turned around and ran out of the room.
"Oh man. I'm sure as hell going to enjoy pulling pranks on her from now on."
I looked down at the clothes I was wearing.
I really thought these clothes would feel more high-quality, but they honestly feel like any ordinary clothes from back home.
Although… if this were the real world I came from, I'd probably be living somewhere around the
1600s or 1700s. Europe, maybe.
I still sometimes have to remind myself that whatever I considered normal back home is considered noble-level luxury in this world.
And every time I think about that, I can't help but smile.
"Hehe."
The walk to the main room—or the living room, I guess—felt strangely long.
The silence throughout the mansion was almost unsettling.
My footsteps echoed through the hallway.
And the shoes I was wearing had a metal plate underneath them.
That makes them very loud for no reason.
Sniff sniff.
"You smell funny."
Hmm, who-
"Wh-ahh!"
What the hell!
"You kinda smell like Roselyn, I don't like you already."
"Wh-who are you?"
"My name is Erica, Erica Fangsteel. Nice to meet you."
Another beast-folk.
But this one seems to be the same age as Ray-maybe older but…
At a specific part of her body, she is clearly older than Roselyn.
"Why do you smell like Roselyn and why did you scream just now?"
An air head…Blonde air head.
"I screamed cause you jumped out of nowhere and I probably smell like that witch of a woman cause she broke my arm this morning and that's why I'm here right now."
"Oh, you the muddy kid that Ray brought in with his family, I just finished washing your clothe."
She works here and man…she speaks really fast.
"And when I said you smell like Roselyn, I didn't mean on you but within you," she got close and point her finger at my chest. "Your blood…it smells like her but not that strong so you might be a half-breed, your mother or father is her sibling."
The hell is she talking about, my mother is not a beast-folk.
"What are you talk-."
"Wait, if you are that kid then-we have to get going, come on."
"Wait…you are pulling my arm, that is very much still healing."
"Come don't be a baby."
My arm.
My arm.
Ahh!
As I was getting dragged around like a old rug, a rather upsetting thought popped up in my mind 'What if they know I'm from another world.' They way Rulf acted when he came to the room and how Ray was questioning me…and how can I forget what Roselyn said back there.
"Not a suppress, considering the fact that you are not from this world." she knew.
…but how?
The door to the main room grew closer and closer.
The moment I entered the room, I subconsciously searched for Roselyn.
And my search was rewarded.
The room was about the same size as the one I had been resting in, maybe even a little bigger. It had the same oversized windows, and in the middle was a large table surrounded by two sofas, one on
each side, facing each other.
My family sat on the right side, while Clarice and her parents sat on the left.
Ray stood beside the door, next to Clarice's father, while on the other side of the room, Clarice's
mother sat beside him.
And then…
Roselyn.
Her eyes were filled with burning rage.
Clarice sat between her mother and father.
On my family's side, Father stood behind Mother with his arms crossed. Walter was resting his head on Mother's lap, completely passed out.
Seriously?
Why didn't he get his own room to rest in?
Rulf stood opposite Ray, staring him down for some reason.
I could hear them talking from down the hallway, but the moment I entered the room…
Everyone went silent.
Well, everyone except Walter.
He was still out cold.
"Hello, everybody!" Erica announced cheerfully. "I brought the 'child from another world' here and he's ready to answer every question we're gonna ask him, right, Ivan?"
The soft grip that had been pulling me along suddenly became tight.
Painfully tight.
The cheerful expression on Erica's face from earlier was completely gone.
She stared at me with a frighteningly serious expression.
Everyone else was staring at me too.
My eyes slowly moved across the room.
Father.
Mother.
Rulf.
Ray.
Clarice and her parents.
And finally…
Roselyn.
Her eyes met mine.
Oh shit.