The Weight of Happiness
No one lives to be unhappy. Everyone hopes for happiness as they go through life, and happiness is not something that is simply handed to you. Therefore, life is a continuous series of efforts to become happy. My father once told me that in this world, meeting someone who can sincerely wish for your happiness is, in itself, a blessing.
There were times when I felt lonely, having been dragged here against my will and losing the people who were like that to me in my original world. But Yoon Siwoo told me he wanted me to be happy. Just like that, there were things I had been feeling lately. Even though our connections were short, there were many people in this world who wanted me to be happy. Mei, Jessie, Sylvia, and even Yoon Siwoo. They were not merely characters in a novel. Each of their existences was a blessing. It was as if, no matter how desolate a desert might seem, there was an oasis within it.
I do not know how arduous the trials ahead will be. But to protect the bonds I have built, and the happiness I have gained from every single word spoken today, I answered that I would try my best to be happy.
When I returned to my room in the mansion, Sylvia greeted me with a mysterious smile. "You've arrived. Have you had dinner?"
"No. Not yet..."
"Then I shall have them prepare a meal, so let's eat first. It's perfectly fine to bathe after dinner."
I gave Sylvia the answer I had prepared in advance. "Um... I'm fine with the bathing. I had some things to do, so I already bathed while I was out..."
As I said that, Sylvia muttered quietly. "...I see. You went out and bathed while you were away... I don't know what happened, but I suppose Scarlet had her own circumstances."
Just as I was relieved that my excuse had worked, Sylvia pressed me with a question. "By the way, your clothes are different from when you left."
"Ah, these? Well, my clothes got a little dirty, so I bought these while I was changing..."
"...Even your clothes... Is that so."
The corners of Sylvia's eyes, which had been smiling, trembled. Seeing her somewhat unnatural smile, I asked, "...Did something bad happen?"
I didn't know what had happened while I was out, but she looked much more displeased than before. "...It's nothing. I just wished I could have gone out and shopped with you, Scarlet, and I was waiting to bathe together today, so I'm just a little disappointed that you already bathed and came back."
...Hearing that, I felt like a terrible person. It's enough to be angry that someone is working hard at home while another is out playing, but the person who went out to play had even broken a promise made in advance. A sudden, sharp wave of guilt washed over me. *I, I am trash...*
I wanted to cheer her up somehow. So, as I thought hard, I remembered what she had hinted at earlier and opened my mouth. "...Later, when you have time, would you like to go buy clothes with me?"
At those words, Sylvia's ears perked up slightly. It seemed this was the correct answer. "...Just the two of us, Scarlet?"
"Yes, just the two of us."
"...Alright. It's a promise, so you mustn't break it. You'll be able to spend hours with me then, won't you?"
Hours, she said... Trembling in fear, I resigned myself to becoming a dress-up doll and nodded. Today, I had received help from Yoon Siwoo, who was described in the original work as having excellent fashion sense, because I didn't know what to do when buying clothes... I had a feeling that if I went shopping with Sylvia, I would be forcibly turned into an expert.
As Sylvia's mood seemed to lift, the dinner was ready, and Sebastian, Sylvia's attendant, set the meal in my room. It felt like he looked at me with a very uncomfortable expression while serving the food and leaving, but perhaps it was just my imagination. Anyway, that wasn't important right now. The most important thing was that I could eat meat for lunch and meat for dinner as well.
As I was savoring the meat with a heart full of gratitude, Sylvia looked at me with a hesitant gaze and opened her mouth. "...Um, Scarlet. I believe a student should behave in a way befitting their status."
It was very sudden, but since it was true, I nodded while swallowing my food. Then, Sylvia continued in a cautious tone, as if wondering if she should even say this. "You might not want to hear me say this, but I feel I must. I think it would be better to refrain from such behavior as a student."
Sylvia was looking at me with very serious eyes. Feeling that she was speaking purely out of concern for me, without any other motives, I thought about what I had done today. I ate breakfast, moved in, ate lunch, killed time outside, and now I was eating dinner. Thinking about it, I really hadn't done anything, which was surprising. Realizing that, I could guess what Sylvia was trying to say. Sylvia was a diligent child. Even on weekends like today, she barely had time to rest due to her training and work. The duty of a student is study, and for an academy student aiming to become a hero, it is self-discipline. Sylvia, who was fulfilling that more faithfully than anyone else, was telling me, who had spent the weekend like a surplus human, to please train.
It was a remark that pierced my heart like a dagger, even while I was saying I would protect people. It was truly a cun tie sha ren—a remark that hits the nail on the head. However, I was moved by her words. How could I not be moved by Sylvia's heart, which thought of me so much even though I had coldly rejected her request to be friends, knowing that a true friend is one who tells you the things you don't want to hear?
"So, such things should be done when you're an adult, not a student..."
As I was unable to continue speaking due to being moved, Sylvia saw my reaction and her face turned deathly pale. "I... I'm sorry! It was a mistake! I didn't mean it that way..."
Thinking that I had taken her words the wrong way, Sylvia cried out that she was sorry, almost on the verge of tears. "It's okay. You said it because you were thinking of me, right?"
"But..."
"I'm really okay."
Because I was truly okay, I comforted the teary-eyed Sylvia. However, perhaps because some uneasy feelings remained, Sylvia stopped crying and looked up at me, asking, "...Um, Scarlet. I'll ask you one thing. Were you happy today?"
I thought back on the events of today at Sylvia's question. Although the move had been a bit hectic, it was a day where I ate meat and realized that there were so many people who sincerely cared for me. Rather than bad things, there were more good things. If so, couldn't I say I was happy? As I nodded, Sylvia smiled and replied.
"...If you were happy, Scarlet, then that's enough. I'm sorry for saying that."
She was so concerned about having told me to train that she apologized until the end. On my part, I had gained the strength to work even harder because of her words. I wanted to repay her, but when I thought about what I could do for her, nothing particularly came to mind. I couldn't ask her to bathe together...
Then, while Sylvia went out to bathe alone after dinner, I saw Sebastian, who had come to clean up the meal, and remembered what I could do to repay her. I quietly told my request to him, who was still looking at me with strange eyes. He looked at me for a moment, then softened his expression and nodded.
Sylvia, who had returned to her room after bathing alone, sat down to finish the work that remained even after she had worked hard for half a day. As she focused on her work for a while, there was a knock at the door, and a voice came from outside. "My Lady, I have brought tea and refreshments."
Since she always asked Sebastian for tea when she worked at night, it seemed he had brought it on his own without her saying anything today. "Come in."
At her words, the door opened and Sebastian entered. While working, she naturally took a sip of the tea he had placed on the desk. "Hmm, the tea today tastes a little different than usual."
As Sylvia commented on the taste of the tea, Sebastian smiled awkwardly. "That is because your friend prepared it herself, My Lady."
Sylvia opened her eyes wide at those words and asked. "Scarlet?"
"She asked me to teach her how to brew tea, saying she wanted to express her gratitude to you. The refreshments there were also made by your friend. Seeing that she knows the refreshments you like, you two must certainly be close."
At Sebastian's words, Sylvia looked at the plate placed next to the teacup. It contained macarons that looked exactly like the ones she had always received from her. "I did think about whether she was a suitable friend for you, My Lady, given her promiscuity... but she seems to be a kind-hearted person after all."
Sebastian said that while scratching his head. After lunch, Sylvia had instructed Sebastian to follow Scarlet to protect her and report if anything unusual happened. How shocked she had been when she received a report from Sebastian that Scarlet had entered a motel with a white-haired man. It was shocking that she had developed such a deep relationship with Yoon Siwoo so quickly.
It wasn't that she couldn't understand. Since she said she remembered the day she was kidnapped, perhaps she felt an attraction to Yoon Siwoo, who had come to save her. Sylvia thought so, recalling the feelings she had when she fell in love at first sight with Yoon Siwoo, who had helped her on her first day of school. However, what truly saddened Sylvia was not that she had gone to such a place with Yoon Siwoo, but that she had broken her promise to her because of it. It meant that Scarlet's priority was Yoon Siwoo, not her.
However, that was not what was important. Sylvia took a bite of the familiar-tasting macaron. Without realizing it, she had said it would be better to do such things after becoming an adult, and had hurt her once again. Three years. She was destined never to become an adult. But she had shown such favor to her, who had hurt her like that.
Sylvia suddenly felt like she was going to cry, so she drank the tea and pretended to choke on it. Yes, that was not what was important. Even if she was not Scarlet's top priority, she wanted her to enjoy everything she possibly could. Delicious food, good clothes, a warm bath, and a soft bed. A fun school life, a like-minded friend, and perhaps even a love that might be a little early. If, when she closed her eyes, she could say that she had been happy until then... Sylvia thought that would be enough for her.