The Weight of a Red Garnet
"Astra never forgets a debt of gratitude or a grudge."
That phrase, hanging in various places throughout the mansion where Sylvia lived, was the family motto of the Astra, widely known even to the outside world. They were people who repaid both kindness and vengeance with interest. Because the Astra were not merely people of empty words, but those who truly acted upon them, people naturally treated the High Elves bearing that name with generosity and took care not to incur their wrath.
For a long time, Sylvia had loathed those words hanging on the walls. "Disgusting people. Do they really think it doesn't show that they are filled with the expectation of receiving more than they gave?"
Those who approached her not out of pure goodwill, but because they wanted something. She had believed that all the hurt she felt from such people was entirely due to that family motto. However, lately, whenever Sylvia looked at the framed phrase, she found herself lost in a different sentiment than before.
It was because of the red-haired girl who had approached her first and shown her kindness. The image of her, always hand-making macarons for her own sake for no reason other than the fact that they were friends, kept lingering in her mind. The macarons she made were admittedly inferior compared to those sold at the school store. But to Sylvia, the macarons she made were something far more precious than a mere snack, so neither the taste nor the shape mattered in the slightest. In fact, when she thought that the clumsy taste and shape were proof that she had worked hard to make difficult sweets while thinking only of her, her own tastes seemed to be changing to match them. She liked that clumsiness, and she was moved by that sincerity. And Sylvia wanted to return that heart.
"Scarlet said it was fine even if I didn't give her anything, but..."
Astra never forgets a debt of gratitude.
On the weekend, after finishing her spirit magic training, Sylvia stepped out onto the street to get some fresh air. "My Lady, an evening gathering is scheduled in two hours, so you must finish your walk within 30 minutes."
"I know. I'll make sure not to be late for the evening gathering, so could you please be quiet while I take my walk?"
It would have been truly wonderful if not for the attendant trailing behind her and nagging. Sylvia exhaled a complaint under her breath and walked slowly down the street. While repeatedly smiling and waving at passersby who recognized her face, an ornament shop caught Sylvia's eye. Since she already had an overflowing amount of ornaments received as gifts at home, Sylvia, who was about to pass the shop naturally, came to a sudden halt. It was because she had seen the words "Friendship Ring" written on the shop's sign.
"A friendship ring... what a wonderful resonance that has."
The moment she saw those words, Sylvia pictured Scarlet in her mind, wearing the same ring as her and laughing together. Just imagining it made the corners of her mouth twitch. Passing by the attendant who was stunned, perhaps never imagining that the young lady she served would enter such a shop, Sylvia walked into the store as if possessed.
"Could I see the friendship rings?"
"...Ah, yes! Friendship rings, you say! Would you like to come over here and take a look?"
The clerk, who had been unable to collect their thoughts, never having imagined that a High Elf lady famous even among ordinary citizens would visit such a place, was startled by Sylvia's words and showed her the display case. Sylvia, who had scanned the display case, discovered a ring with a red gemstone set in the center. It was a hue that reminded her of her close friend, and that alone was enough to please Sylvia's heart. Noticing where Sylvia's gaze was fixed, the clerk explained the ring.
"The red gemstone in the ring is a Garnet, the birthstone of January. It carries the meaning of 'true friendship.' Isn't it a gemstone that suits a friendship ring?"
At the clerk's explanation, Sylvia's desire to purchase soared. "A red gemstone with the meaning of true friendship. It must be fate that I found this ring in a place I happened to enter after becoming friends with Scarlet."
Thinking such thoughts, Sylvia gazed at the ring with her blue eyes, which sparkled like starlight. The attendant, who had entered at some point, tried to dissuade her. "My Lady, if you are going to wear it with your friend, I think it would be better to have it custom-made to the highest quality. That ring looks too low-class for you to be wearing."
"Didn't I tell you to be quiet earlier?" Sylvia coldly snapped at the attendant who was spoiling the mood. Because she had been raised under oppression within her family since she was young, Sylvia still harbored the heart of a girl who dreamed of romance as a reaction. In her eyes, the attendant looked like a bad person, like Yoon Siwoo, who had pretended to be a prince on a white horse and tried to drive a wedge between her and Scarlet.
"If you're going to go with this one, I'll engrave the phrase you want on the inside. I'd normally have to charge an extra fee, but I'll do it for free for you, miss! What would you like me to engrave?"
The clerk spoke in a voice filled with emotion to Sylvia, who had silenced the attendant for saying their product looked low-class. Recalling the conversation she had shared with Scarlet while having a meal together last time, Sylvia opened her mouth.
Before long, as she left the shop, a ring with a red gemstone was worn on the index finger of Sylvia's left hand. Holding the other ring—completely identical to the one she was wearing now, down to the phrase engraved inside—in her arms, Sylvia smiled and imagined. She imagined the face of her friend, who would laugh with joy when she personally slipped the ring with the red garnet—resembling her—onto her left index finger, which signified friendship, and read the phrase engraved inside the ring.
Wishing for the weekend to pass quickly, Sylvia longed to see that sight as soon as possible. The ring on her left index finger, and the words engraved on its back, made the girl happy.
[First, And Best Friend]
On the back of the ring she would gift to her first and most precious friend, those words were engraved.
Monday morning dawned, and although she encountered Scarlet at school, Sylvia could not deliver the ring. A warning siren had sounded, and she had been drafted as someone to go guard the border region.
The hero who had come to lead her said it was a strange occurrence. They said that since the Witches were subjugated, it was rare to see monsters observed on such a large scale as today, and it was even rarer for those monsters to attack all at once as if they had planned it. However, perhaps because they were students and placed in a safe area, the number of monsters that attacked the place where they were was not very large, so they were able to handle them easily.
However, when she returned home after the battle, the packed schedule given to her could not be handled easily. The Astra, who had lost their home 500 years ago and settled in the cities of humans. They themselves considered that they had fallen, but as those who had once swayed the world, they were a prestigious family even in their decline. Their touch reached every corner of the city, and Sylvia, known as the successor to the family, had to show her face in various places due to the events that had occurred this time.
It was clear that she would have to run around restlessly after school for several days, but Sylvia did not mind. Although delivering the ring was delayed by a day due to an unexpected event, she felt as if she could summon strength she didn't have when thinking of her friend who would be happy to receive the ring tomorrow.
However, when she went to school the next day, her friend's seat was empty. Hearing that Scarlet had been seriously injured, the anticipation that had filled Sylvia's heart instantly turned into despair. "How could this be..."
A schedule packed tight after class. The smile she had always worn as a matter of course was shattered, and she was nagged after the schedule ended. To her, who was spending the hardest day of her life, that nagging was too terrible.
The next day, a classmate who had visited Scarlet in the hospital told her that her condition was not that bad. Thanks to that, Sylvia was able to ease her mind a little. When the classmates were selecting someone to visit her in the hospital, Sylvia had to desperately suppress the urge to throw away all her schedules and run to her friend.
In the position of a successor, there is no right to act as one pleases. Since entering Aegis Academy on her own whim, Sylvia lamented her situation due to the schedule that had become even tighter. She was nothing more than a symbol to let the world know that the Astra were still alive and well. Although the name 'successor' was attached, in reality, most of the family's intentions were decided by the elders of the family discussing them, so she was just a puppet that had to move as the family wanted.
Sylvia hated the position of successor, where she couldn't even visit a friend in the hospital as she pleased. "Will I be able to make time by the weekend..."
While stroking the ring in her arms, Sylvia endured day by day.
On Friday, there was a commotion. It was because Scarlet, who should have been in the hospital, had come to school, albeit late. She had heard that she was seriously injured, but now that she was all better, her expression didn't look bad at first glance, and there didn't seem to be any major problems with her body. Sylvia was relieved by that fact, and then blamed herself. How could she call herself a friend when she hadn't visited her even once until she was discharged?
"I'm sorry I couldn't visit you in the hospital..."
Apologizing to her like that, Sylvia took out the ring she had kept in her arms. She wanted to repay the kindness she had received, she wanted to be forgiven for not being able to visit her in the hospital, and she wanted her friend, who must have struggled because she was hurt, to be happy. With that heart, she reached out her hand to put it on her personally, just as she had thought of when buying the ring.
And the moment Sylvia had been looking forward to did not catch in her hand like a mirage.
"......Eh?"
In her eyes, frozen by an incomprehensible phenomenon, she saw her removing something from her left arm. Then, what should have been visible was not visible. The arm with the finger that signified friendship was no longer there for her. Her heart, too, could no longer reach her.
"I'm sorry, Sylvia..."
To her, who was frozen with her breath caught in her throat due to guilt, she said that. She, who was apologizing to her, was wearing a sad smile. Sylvia could not understand why she was apologizing to her.
Don't apologize. I'm the one who did wrong. Preparing something like this as a gift. I thought you would be happy. I didn't intend to make you wear that expression. Sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry for hurting you again.
She wanted to apologize like that, and she had to, but choked by great sorrow, Sylvia could not say anything and wept.