“I-I’d rather die than get sick.”

She had long eyelashes and was pretty like the heroine. However, she had a time limit.

“You know, I don’t want much. I'd rather live long or die, than be sick and in pain.”

Her voice was calm. I swept her hair instead of answering. It’s more like touching silk than hair.

There was a rattling sound. Even as her whole body dried up, her hair was glossy.

“But, neither my parents nor other people tell me to say that. Even if it hurts, they ask me to stay with them a little more. They said I'm so selfish.”

I looked at her dry lips.

“You’re not going to say that to me, are you?”

“You won’t be mad at me for saying bad things, will you?”

“Eung.”

“What would you say if I asked you to kill me?”

I was silent for a moment. Her eyes were on me like an awl.

“I’ll ask you to wait until we find out which method hurts the least.”

Her eyes shook.

“…Really?”

“Eung.”

“You would go to jail for me and get yourself blamed and cursed by others?”

“You’re more important than those people.”

She twisted her face like she was crying, and finally laughed. Then, she took my hand.

Even though it looked like a dried wood stick, she had beautiful and pretty hands; hands that were different from mine.

“Don’t forget me even if others forgets everything about me and don't forget to put flowers on my grave every spring.”

“Eung.”

“Don’t make friends who are closer than me.”

"Eung."

My tightly gripped hand hurt, but I didn’t show it. The child smiled faintly.

It was always when I looked at her that her pale face smiled like a spring flower. So others were jealous of me. It was funny.

Ophelia Windrose, the Marquis’ only daughter, was time-limited and had a tough personality.

A maid or a servant couldn’t be placed beside his precious, only daughter and it was impossible to have a friend of similar age next to her because of her personality.

Because of this, the Marquis brought a torn-poor girl of her distant relatives as her guardian. That girl, was me.

Ophelia Windrose’s friend, toy, and family.

If I was kicked out by the Marquis, I had to go back to the days when I was hungry because I couldn’t even eat moldy bread, so I desperately faced Ophelia.

At first, Ophelia was jealous, irritated, and annoyed at me for being healthy, while she was a sick child.

Even though she’s the only daughter of the noble Marquis, there were few friends of her age who could match up with her temperamental and harsh personality.

Marquis and his wife were so busy that they couldn’t kiss their beloved, only daughter "good night" every day.

I was her friend, her world, her family.

At this point, it didn’t matter to me at all that the world was in a game that I had played at some point in my previous life.

She rubbed her feverish forehead against my hand, I stroked her head.

“I don’t want to die…..”

It was a sad voice. Ophelia sounded weak only to me. That was her pride.

“I’m scared….”

It was a weak voice like a frightened animal.

I felt sorry for this child; I felt sorry for her. A beautiful, noble and rich life like a fresh lily was promised, but it was destined to wither too early.

In a very faintly remembered ‘game,’ she always died early at the beginning of any route. No male protagonist could bring her back to life.

She died in vain, and the male protagonists who missed her would only one day fall in love with a young lady from a Baron Family, who resembled her, from the countryside.

That was the real beginning.

Rather, all the passion and desire that they could not give to the dead lady were poured to that young lady.

But in every ending, they were destined to forget Ophelia and truly love the young lady.

Like a leaf that would soon wither away, she is beautiful and is as breathtaking as a drowned flower. Everyone’s first love.

Like a splinter in their hearts. Like it was all a daydream. It was funny.

I sympathized with Ophelia, but even though I was struggling all my life, I couldn’t get any of the things she had right before her death.

The Marquis were not philanthropists. After she dies, I’ll probably be kicked out of the Marquis’ manor, so I'll need to look for a suitable future.

“Do you want me to die?”

Ophelia opened her eyes round.

“If you’re scared, do you want me to die with you?”

The child fell silent.

“….Are you serious?”

“Eung.”

My parents sold me for money. Not all aristocrats were of the same kind. An aristocrat like me, who barely kept my last name, was not even wealthy as a commoner.

She was also my childhood friend and family. I really thought it wouldn’t be so bad to die with her.

Ophelia shook her head.

“I don’t like that.”

“Why?”

“It’s such a waste... Instead, you have to do everything for me. You should wear a lot of pretty clothes…”

Ophelia trailed off the end of her sentence.

“You should go out a lot, eat lots of delicious food…….. Go horseback riding…..”

Ophelia pinched her fingers one by one as if she's counting.

“I also wish you to experience a relationship.”

I looked down at the fingers. She laughed faintly.

“But if you bring a weird bastard instead, I will jump up from my grave.”

“I don't think I can date because I’m scared."

“You must wear a wedding dress, too. It must be as gorgeous as if you are wearing a skirt full of flowers that bloom in spring.”

Such a gorgeous dress would not go well with such a boring face like mine. But I said yes.

She laughed red with her heated face and at last,

“You have to live happily.”

Happiness... What is happiness? I couldn’t answer.

And before the summer of that year, Ophelia died.

Ophelia Windrose died late spring, near the season of summer.

One night, she insisted that she wanted to see the flowers outside and left the window open; it resulted in her cold worsening and she had become ill.

The disease, which was initially considered insignificant to her, got worse day by day. The fever didn’t go away, and she often had lost consciousness.

That month. She died.

The funeral was simple. I was dressed black from head to toe and kept still in my seat throughout the funeral. The Marquis ' wife hugged the coffin and fainted, by doing so she was dragged away from it.

The maids cowered over me, saying that I was a strong woman, keeping still on my seat with a blank expression, not shedding a single tear. Everyone at the funeral glanced at me once.

Out of those who are dressed solemnly and offer their condolences to the Marquis, the personal acquaintance of Ophelia was not even shedding a tear.

It wasn’t that I was completely out of it. Three or Four men in a corner were looking at me with disoriented stern faces, such looks were shown to me on purpose.

Ophelia Windrose was the only child of the Marquis. Knowing that it was of personal greed, the Marquis and his wife called the young men of several noble families to the mansion.

Among them were some men who fell in love with Ophelia Windrose despite her unprecedentedly feisty and unkind personality.

It could be said that the male protagonists in the ‘game’ were love targets.

They hated me.

I had no choice but to acknowledge it. Ophelia Windrose, who was harsh to everyone, had been acting like a cat without claws to me. She only showed that side of her to me.

She didn’t even try to hide it, saying, “No matter how many well-known men bend their backs and tries to court me, they’re stupid babies who are attracted to the delicacy of great beauties who will soon die.”

No, Ophelia Windrose really did hate everyone in the world. Even the Marquis couple considered her quite unpleasant. I was the only exception and they hated it.

Was it humiliating to be pushed back by me, who wasn’t a remarkable beauty, didn’t learn anything, and had no bloodline? Well, she’s gone anyways.

Instead of white lilies, I put a bouquet of bright red roses, purple irises, and spring flowers that bloomed like a bunch of pale pink cotton balls on Ophelia’s coffin.

It was a flower that was too heterogeneous to be used at a funeral, so everyone’s attention immediately caught on, but no one said anything.

Only the Marquis, who barely came, had the urge to come to the funeral. The sight of it made her veins become tense and looked at me with glaring red eyes for a while.

The eyes of the men who were courting Ophelia also seemed to be staring, but I didn’t care. By the time the priest’s prayers were almost over and the order of the meal was almost over, the Marquis' wife fainted one more time.

The Marquis helped his wife in a hurry and scrambled inside.

The priest, who had already finished praying, excused himself with a cough.

The ceremony was already over, but it wasn’t for me.

The group of people chatted with each other and headed into the mansion. Those who cared for the deceased Ophelia guided people with gloomy faces.

In an instant, outside the empty space, I stood under a large old tree, looking at the coffin.

“Well, don’t you think it’s meaningless?”

It was a very sarcastic voice that spoke out.

I turned around. A man with long blue hair was neatly tied down. The pupils of his were reflected through his glasses and looked cold.

“Those who don't care whether they live or die acting carelessly like this, it must be some kind of God’s joke.”

“Yeah.”

The man’s face became distorted by my grave answer.

“Ha! Do you mean you didn’t care even until this moment happened for you? Did you know what she thought of you…!”

“Mr. Edmund, I know her mind much better than you do.”

The man looked miserable.

Feeling defeated? Well, it didn’t matter to me either way.

I threw a heavily withered lily to the ground. The wind shook my black veil slightly. Thanks to this, I could see the man’s blue eyes look more distorted like cracked glass.

Edmund Gloucester.

The eldest son of the Count Gloucester family.

A type of hyena that will do whatever it takes to get whatever he wants, and is a troublesome type of enemy if he aims for you.

I remember most of the bad endings in the game…… confining the Baron’s Young Daughter, who was set up as a doll, was due to this person. He trapped her in a room filled with Ophelia’s collections.

However, he becomes a hot-tempered man who only covers things related to Ophelia.

I think there was a secret behind the birth of this man, which gives you a clue as to why his personality became that way. I couldn’t remember it in detail.

Well, it has nothing to do with me anyway. I don’t care about people who causes me trouble every time I see them.

“Lady Emilia is right about that.”

I glanced at the face of the person who intervened with an unwelcome heart.

Cassio Bramanderf.

A person who can laugh arrogantly at anyone as he pleases with his short blond hair, cloudy gray eyes, thin lips, and indifferent eyes. On such a topic, he is a man who speaks like a gentleman.

At first glance, he dazzled others with his nice hair and a friendly voice like honey, but he was actually the worst type of person because he only thought of people as objects.

“The person who knows Lady Ophelia best among us is Lady Emilia after all.”

At first glance, it looks like he’s taking my side, but it’s just a means of making fun of Edmund. That man also doesn’t like me.

His gray eyes which looked like they were smiling brushed past me.

“Yeah”, I was briefly positive.

“So we can’t figure out what Lady Emilia’s true feelings are, right? I don’t seem to care about being an idiot who drives out a lady for the sake of my own feelings. Mr. Gloucester.”

Edmund Gloucester’s face reddened and a sound of gritting one’s teeth was heard.

“Ha! Lord Bramanderf, are you covering for Lady Emilia? The sun might as well rise in the west.”

“Because she’s going to be the future Lady Emilia Windrose, there’s nothing you can do about it, no?”

Ha, I laughed without knowing it.

That’s right. People who loved Ophelia can’t be affectionate towards me.

Cassio’s words were clearly articulated. He was sarcastic that the reason why I didn’t feel sad at the funeral was because I was going to take over the vacancy after Ophelia died. I answered without hiding my laughter.

“That won’t happen.”

The two men who were roaring at each other stopped in an instant.

“I won’t be part of the Windrose Family.”

The laughter disappeared from Cassio Bramanderf’s face, which was smiling. Edmund Gloucester looked surprised. Cassio asked.

“What do you mean?”

I said with a calm face.

“Don’t you think it’s odd you don’t see one of the faces you usually see here?”

Raretis Hope.

Originally, if Ophelia had been healthy, the Marquis’ wife would have found her a partner and son-in-law.

He was the second son of the Hope family, but his abilities are outstanding, his personality is not bad, and he was a close relative of the Marquis Windrose. He was another man who had loved and courted Ophelia dearly along with the other two.

Cassio looked at me with a stiff face like a statue. It was rare for a man to look like that, who had been shrewd minutes ago.

“Maybe the Marquis will adopt Mr. Raretis. That’s fine. He’s a promising knight, a pedigree, and a worthy successor to the Marquis.”

“What are you talking about now?”

Gloucester intervened with a frowning face. It was a face that I couldn’t decipher. They probably aren’t bad people, but I couldn’t understand why everyone became a little idiotic when it came to Ophelia.

The girl was already dead, and these people were going to run wild, obsessed with the poor rural young lady who resembled her. Well, maybe it’s because it’s her funeral today. I thought clearly instead of sighing.

If I think of the hate I received and faces that I won’t see again in the future, I could at least only show this act of kindness once for now.

“I came to the Marquis because she needed a friend close to Ophelia’s age. Ophelia is dead.”

They looked at me to see why I’m saying that again. I spoke simply.

“So now I have to leave the Marquis.”

For some reason, the two men had surprised expressions plastered on their faces. What’s wrong with you both? Do people think I was just a fly when I was next to Ophelia?

“……did the Marquis tell you to leave?”

Cassio asked abruptly.

“If you can afford to pay attention to me in the garden after the funeral, I’ll just have to deal with it myself."

The Marquis’ wife keeps fainting and waking up, so what time is there to pay attention to the accessories she has attached to her dead daughter?

Now that the Marquis’ only daughter is dead, there will be pressure from inside and outside the manor, so they will now be paying attention. However, I don’t expect any more attention than before.

So I was going to go out on my own while others didn’t care about me.

“Ha……what the hell…”

Gloucester sighed in an amazing tone.

Perhaps because I was a girl who he had thought of as a witch who watched over Ophelia and was aiming for her position, his reaction was somewhat shaky.

Isn’t that something to be happy about?

I said I don’t seek the vacancy of Ophelia, whom they loved so much, or think about taking the Marquis’ legacy.

I was a little bit curious, but I decided not to think about it.

“Lady Emilia, weren’t you going to be the adopted daughter of the Marquis?”

Cassio asked again. Why do smart people pretend they don’t know? I shrugged my shoulders.

“That’s one of the excuses the Marquis made to soothe Ophelia when she was alive.”

It’s true. Ophelia and I from childhood fought, reconciled, and played again.

It was natural that Ophelia, who lies down for more than half of the day, did not receive a normal education, but I, who lived next to her, also lived a life far from ordinary aristocratic lifestyle.

Ophelia seemed to think it was unfair for me to suffer.

Of course the Marquis didn’t think much about it, because they were paying for a girl who would have had a hard life like a commoner. Ophelia, who cared and loved me, argued with her parents, and the embarrassed Marquis described me as a caretaker under the guardianship of the Marquis.

If I were really a commoner, I would have ended up as a caretaker who was provided money and tuition to live on, but usually a caretaker attached to a minor aristocrat is usually a firm supporter who will pour out loan and godmother-level support.

Ophelia and I were like sisters, so we talked about it in that way and comforted her. So it was only then did Ophelia vent her anger.

But all those words were just excuses to appease Ophelia.

I was well aware of the arrogance, cruelty, and solid closeness of the nobility.

Originally, I am a lower class who cannot reach their feet. I was on the far-off side of the Marquis family, so even though it has a little bit of blood, I'm practically still a commoner.

Well, even if he didn’t make her a foster daughter, there was a high possibility that she would not be exiled.

After all, I have been with Ophelia for over ten years in the Marquisate.

Even though she was just a practical servant, she was also a distant blood relative, and he wouldn’t do the hard work of spontaneously expelling her, who had stayed till Ophelia’s death.

But, in the end, that was it.

For the rest of my life, I couldn’t get old and die in the mansion of the marquis.

Maybe it’ll be okay while the Marquis are alive, but after Raretis becomes the Marquis, it’s obvious that they’ll be sorry for me.

I might marry a low-ranking aristocrat who will save face in moderation, but there was little chance that I would see good things in my situation, such as a good life.

“You don’t have to worry. The Marquis doesn’t trust me to be their adopted daughter.”

“Worried, now…..”

“I don’t have much to do with the Marquis without Ophelia.”

Gloucester hesitated as if he wanted to say something but he ended up closing his mouth.

Cassio was staring at me with a serious face, silent for a long time.

I don’t know why everyone thinks that way, but there are other people who could end up being adopted daughters.

The… poor girl who’ll appear later, who looks just like Ophelia.

Among the game routes was the Marquis wife, who was so sad after losing Ophelia that she became weak from illness, shed tears of emotion at the sight of the young baroness who looked just like Ophelia, and took her as her adopted daughter.

Maybe that’s the route that connects Raretis. It was an old memory so it seemed very vague.

After being kicked out of the original game, as a friend and servant of the heroine Ophelia, The ‘New Ophelia’ returned brazenly after her sudden death and sat down for dinner in her new home.

Then, after the appearance of the young lady, her eyes were turned over with jealousy, and after doing all kinds of things, it was an obvious ending and she was defeated in some way by those three male candidates.

Everyone endured her, who was full of hunger, for one reason that she was “a person who Ophelia was close to her in her life,” but eventually punished her terribly when the fact that she was jealous of Ophelia in her lifetime was revealed.

This body is now destined to hurt Ophelia.

She was now in a position to protect herself, and not to call out for a death flag.

“Lady Emilia. What are you going to do in the Marquisate? You’re going back to your family? Society is not easy for a single aristocrat to live alone.”

Cassio asked me with a face as if he had finished managing his expression.

Family, My Family.

It’s the most rude thing to ask even though he knew there’s no family for me to go back too.

“I have money to live on my own.”

If you sacrifice your childhood for a noble, you will have enough money to live on for the rest of your life.

Ophelia was always anxious to give me a lot of this and that, and to soothe her, the Marquis didn’t get involved in the gifts she gave me.

There are some gifts that I received saying ‘thank you’ for taking care of Ophelia.

If you sell some of the accessories I have, you’ll probably be able to buy a small house on the nice outskirts, and if you dispose of the rest, it won’t affect your living life.

If you’re not obsessed with dresses and luxurious tea leaves.

However, I didn’t want to show my embarrassment in front of these men who seemed to be able to buy a fancy mansion in the middle of the capital for a large sum because they didn’t have much of a small limit.

So I just glossed over it.

Gloucester said suddenly.

“If you leave the marquis, it will be difficult to catch a good marriage. Aren’t you too optimistic about your situation? You're just as laid back as when she was alive…….”

“There’s a lot that the Marquis have done for me in return for being with Ophelia. They don’t have don’t have to deal with me anymore.”

“Eh, that’s what you say, and later…”, Gloucester stuttered.

It was as if he had something he wanted to say, but it caught his throat and seemed to repeat only the other sounds.

I stared at him.

I’m not sure what’s the problem with the person who was sarcastic about me being dead instead of Ophelia earlier?

“No, I’m not coming back. I’m not here to be the Marquis’ Adopted Daughter.”

“You didn’t like Raretis, did you?”

Cassio suddenly threw an unexpected hit. I stiffened for a moment, then laughed.

“What the hell are you talking about? Mr. Raretis is her prospective fiance and heir to the Marquis of the future, so he’s courteous.”

And out of the three, he was the most polite person to me. I swallowed.

Sometimes I was amused. Handsome and polite. It was mostly because of Ophelia, but he sometimes cared about me.

Maybe it’s because I’m a relative and he's Marquis’ best-supported candidate for Ophelia, but I’ve been in and out of the mansion the most, so I’ve seen him since I was young.

When Ophelia was sick and lying in bed, he often spent time with me.

I’m a woman too, It would be a lie if I wasn’t excited about such a situation, But well, that’s all in the past now.

I wasn’t hungry enough to drool over something that wasn’t mine, and I couldn’t afford it because I had Ophelia.

Cassio looked at my face as if he was reading my expression. I shrugged my shoulders,

“And what, if I have a heart? I know he liked Ophelia, and now he’s the successor to the Marquis. It wouldn’t look good for me.”

Everyone liked Ophelia. It was the same when she was being as feisty as an angry cat.

She was pretty.

She was pretty even when she was sweating a lot and talking nonsense.

Even if she was annoyed as if she hated everyone in the world, everyone didn’t think any less of her.

The more they did, the more she was fed up with the people around her.

Those three men also liked Ophelia.

I couldn’t spend a long time because of her picky personality, but she kept coming to me and sending me presents.

I was sometimes jealous, compassionate and sympathetic of Ophelia. I dared to think like that in my own way,

Ophelia had everything I didn’t have except health.

Parents who love only her devotedly, beautiful as if she were blessed by God.

The name of a well-known family. Wealth.

Even many men confess their love to her despite her limited time.

They were all things I didn’t have. So I sometimes hated her.

She was like a princess of tragedy in a fairy tale and I was like a kitchen maid next to her.

But in the end, I was the only one who's truly by her side.

So I didn’t really hate those men who loved her.

I know I’m twisted because I can’t forget her forever.

Cassio’s face was subtle. His expression was near to that of a round ball so I expected things to seem fine. Despite feeling a little embarrassed realizing that it was not of a round ball but one of a round hedgehog with pointed spikes.

I hit the target while I was hesitating.

“If you have nothing more to say, I’ll be on my way.”

Gloucester hesitated and nodded. Cassio also had a serious face, but he didn’t stop her.

I was thinking of saying another greeting and turned away without saying anything. Since when were they this close? Were they always like this?

Those people always kept me in check because of their jealousy on how close I was with Ophelia. I teased them in return, such personalities matched.

Even if the child died, not all the memories disappeared.

The mansion was as silent as death. As if the funeral wasn’t over.