Chapter 1 : Ophelia Windrose

“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.

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