Chapter 131: Sin and the Stars

On her way back to her room after finishing her schedule for the day.

"Miss Scarlet, I'm coming in... Ah..."

Knocking on the door of the adjacent room to soothe the day's fatigue, as she always did, Sylvia stepped inside only to find it completely empty. She stared at the vacant space, a bitter smile tugging at her lips.

"...Right. She really did leave the mansion, didn't she..."

The only person in this household she could truly open her heart to—the one who let her act like a spoiled child when she had never been allowed to do so before—had departed, leaving her without even a moment to prepare herself.

Last night, when Scarlet suddenly announced she was leaving, Sylvia had thought, Ah, the time has finally come. She knew Scarlet detested being indebted to anyone, so she had guessed that Scarlet would eventually make up her mind to leave.

In the first place, Sylvia had practically kidnapped her and brought her to the mansion simply because she couldn't stand seeing Scarlet live in such poverty in that dilapidated house. She couldn't force someone to stay if they wanted to leave, so she had always intended to let her go if she asked.

But who could have imagined she would leave so soon?

"...Who on earth packs up and moves out as if they're running away?"

She had heard that the Dolos family had sent Scarlet her compensation, but she never dreamed that the moment Scarlet got her hands on the money, she would pack her bags and flee the mansion like a fugitive.

She should have at least given her some time to prepare. If she had, she wouldn't have made such a pathetic scene this morning, weeping and begging her not to go...

...No, even if she had all the time in the world, she probably still would have thrown a tantrum and begged her to stay.

Because,

"...I didn't care about any of that. I just wanted us to keep living together."

That was her true, honest feeling.

Sylvia let out a lingering murmur of regret as she closed the door to the room Scarlet had occupied. Even now that she was gone, the lingering attachment overflowed, nearly unbearable.

Scarlet had said that Sylvia was precious to her. That was why she didn't want to burden her, and why she was leaving the mansion—because she didn't want to accumulate any more debts.

But Sylvia couldn't accept that reasoning at all.

If two people were truly close, shouldn't they be willing to bear any burden for each other, no matter how troublesome? Sylvia had wanted that kind of relationship with Scarlet. A relationship where Scarlet could lean on her and trouble her, and where she, in turn, could lean on Scarlet and act spoiled. She wanted them to be close friends who could do exactly that.

Yet Scarlet refused to rely on her, to a degree that seemed almost obsessive. Feeling a deep sense of disappointment, Sylvia let out a heavy sigh. Just as she stepped back into her own room, the phone in her pocket began to ring.

Pulling out her phone, Sylvia tilted her head in confusion as she looked at the caller ID. The name flashing on the screen was Yoon Siwoo.

After they had worked together to rescue Scarlet from her kidnapping, they had exchanged numbers to share updates about her, but they rarely contacted each other. There had been no word from him since she told him Scarlet would be staying at Astra's Mansion. Wondering what this could be about, Sylvia answered the call.

"Yes, Yoon Siwoo. What brings you to call?"

"...Miss Scarlet left the mansion today, saying she was moving out. Have you seen her?"

A sudden throb of pain pulsed behind Sylvia's temples at the news.

...She left the mansion only to go straight to Yoon Siwoo's house?

Sylvia massaged her aching temples and asked him:

"...I wonder? She only told me she was leaving because she received her compensation from the Dolos family. Still, of all the places she could have gone, she chose your house. Miss Scarlet is quite unusual. Did she say anything about why she made that choice?"

Click.

Sylvia stared blankly at her disconnected phone for a long moment, tilting her head.

"...Huh? Why?"

She said she was leaving because she hated being a burden to others. But then why go to Yoon Siwoo's house?

She doesn't want to burden me, but she doesn't mind burdening him?

Wait. Does that mean Yoon Siwoo is close enough to be a friend, but I'm not?

Stunned by the deluge of thoughts crashing through her mind, Sylvia stood frozen before collapsing face-first onto her bed. She buried her face in her pillow to muffle her voice, thrashing her limbs in a childish tantrum.

"Waaah! Miss Scarlet is an idiot! Rely on me too! Why do you feel safe next to Yoon Siwoo but not next to me?! Please be my friend too... ugh..."

It wasn't that she was angry at Scarlet. She was just frustrated. Frustrated that the only person Scarlet—who normally refused to lean on anyone—seemed to have opened her heart to was Yoon Siwoo, not her.

Fuming with indignation, she whined and pouted until her head felt hot. Deciding she needed to cool off, she headed out to the terrace at the end of the hallway. However, someone was already there.

"Ah, First Elder."

"Sylvia. Would you care for a cup of tea?"

"...I won't decline."

Accepting the invitation of the First Elder, who had been enjoying his tea at the terrace table, she sat across from him and politely accepted the cup he poured. Following the tea ceremony etiquette she had practiced so many times that it was now second nature, she took a sip. The rich aroma of the brewed tea leaves gently soothed her chaotic thoughts.

Yet her mood remained gloomy. When she let out an involuntary sigh, the First Elder spoke.

"You look troubled. Is it because of that child? I heard she left the mansion this morning."

"...Yes."

She had tried to act fine in front of him, but her true feelings leaked into her voice. Noticing this, the First Elder let out a soft chuckle.

"Haha, to think that just yesterday, I was sitting across from her drinking tea and chatting, just like this. I never expected her to leave so suddenly."

"...I don't understand why she left so abruptly either. It's not like there was anyone here mistreating her."

"...Haha, indeed."

Sylvia's ears twitched at his response. It was because of a strange sensation her intuition had picked up when he answered. It felt somewhat like... the vibe of someone telling a lie.

As she pondered this, she noticed the direction the Elder's gaze had briefly drifted. Her eyes widened, and she asked:

"Elder, wasn't there a pot here where you grew your favorite orchid? Where did it go?"

At her question, the Elder offered a bitter smile.

"...Ah, that. Something must have gone wrong yesterday, for it had completely withered and died. So I told Sebastian to throw it away."

"...It died suddenly? That is very strange."

...It was indeed incredibly strange. Even if the Astra clan had fallen from their former glory, they were still High Elves, a race said to live in harmony with the forest. For a plant they tended to die so suddenly without any rhyme or reason was nothing short of a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠mystery.

She wondered what could have happened, but what bothered her even more was the suspicious vibe she had been picking up from the First Elder. As she focused her attention on it, she felt an intuitive certainty. He was hiding something from her.

While intuition often seemed like an unreliable thing to trust, perhaps because she was the sole remaining contractor of the Star Spirit in the world, Sylvia knew her instincts were not to be ignored.

Recalling the losses she had suffered whenever she ignored this feeling, and the benefits she had gained when she followed it, Sylvia decided she had to investigate. She drained the rest of her tea and stood up.

"Thank you for the tea. I think I'll take a short walk in the garden, so I will take my leave now."

"Is that so? You have to wake up early tomorrow, so do not walk for too long."

Bowing politely to the First Elder, Sylvia left the terrace and sought out Sebastian, the butler who had assisted her with her schedule earlier.

"...My Lady? What brings you to see me at this hour?"

"It's nothing major, but I heard the Elder's favorite orchid died yesterday. Did you throw it away?"

"Ah, that pot is currently loaded onto the cart in the garden. Since we also need to dispose of the pruned branches from the garden trees, I planned to discard everything together tomorrow... Is there something wrong?"

"Don't worry about it. I was just curious."

Following Sebastian's directions, she went out to the garden and found a cart piled high with branches in a corner. Peering inside, she spotted a familiar flowerpot nestled among the debris.

The orchid, which had once looked so vibrant and beautifully green as if painted by an artist, was now completely shriveled and dead, looking like a diseased plant.

To see what could have possibly happened in just a few days to cause such a healthy orchid to wither like this, she lifted the pot and reached out to touch the dead plant. The moment her hand drew near—

"Ah?!"

Crash!

Startled by a sudden burst of brilliant light radiating from her hand, she dropped the pot, shattering it on the ground.

Sylvia was flustered for a moment by the broken pot, but realizing it was going to be thrown away anyway, she quickly regained her composure. What mattered right now was not the broken pot, but the cause of the phenomenon that had just occurred.

Taking a deep breath, Sylvia knelt on the ground and brought her hand close to the shattered pieces of the pot. There was no reaction from the clay. In that case... She reached out again toward the spilled soil and the withered orchid. Instantly, her hand flashed with light once more.

Her expression hardened. Her ability—specifically, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the power of the Star Spirit—was the power to purify evil. For it to react automatically meant there was something inside this pot that needed to be purified.

The most common candidate was Magi, but it could also be black magic or curses from ancient times.

To find out exactly what it was, she wrapped her hand in starlight and picked up the dead orchid. As the plant's remains began to purify in her grasp, she felt as if a faint, agonizing scream echoed from the dead tissue.

She clenched her teeth without realizing it.

It was the trace of a curse steeped in deep, venomous malice. Although it had faded significantly over time, the sheer intensity of the remaining residue proved it was a high-tier curse, impossible to obtain through normal means. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠It had a similar effect to poison, but because it dissipated into the air over time, it was a horrific curse historically used for untraceable assassinations. Why was an artifact that belonged in a history textbook in a place like this...?

Frowning, Sylvia concentrated her power to purify the remaining traces of the curse. As she pondered why such a curse would be here, she suddenly felt the scattered puzzle pieces in her mind clicking into place one by one.

The conversations she had shared with the Elder began to echo in her head.

A wave of intense nausea washed over her, and she clamped a hand over her mouth.

The First Elder had suspected Scarlet. He had tried to eliminate her with a curse, but had he changed his mind, or had she noticed and caused it to fail?

Ah, why hadn't she realized it sooner?

The reason she had to flee the mansion as if running for her life.

To Scarlet, this mansion was never a place where she could feel safe and at peace. Sylvia might have been on her side, but Astra was not.

Then, how had Scarlet felt the entire time she stayed in this mansion? And what on earth had Sylvia done to her by dragging her to such a place?

Whom should she blame? Astra? Herself? Or perhaps her very existence for being born an Astra?

Unable to find an answer, Sylvia cast her question toward the stars in the night sky.

Why did it have to turn out like this?

But, as expected, no answer came.

Her hand, trembling with a distorted expression, reached up to block out the sky.

She could cover and hide the stars in the night sky with her palm, but she could never cover and hide the original sin of the name Astra.

Overwhelmed by the sorrow of it all, Sylvia quietly wept in the garden.