To Be Together
After two weeks of learning how to handle mana, Elijah and I were on a date in a flower-filled field under the guise of magic training.
"Therese, one bite."
"Mhm. Ah~."
We sat side by side, feeding each other bites. From the outside it looked like a noble girl in a pretty dress delicately picking choice pieces from an elaborate lunch box to offer me, but in truth we were simply feeding each other tiny wild strawberries picked from the mountains.
Elijah was the Saintess, and I was still a student learning magic, yet our daily life had not improved in the slightest.
Every day we ate tasteless bread and dried meat, and only occasionally picked fruit from the mountains.
If I had been living like this alone, I would never have been able to endure it.
I had risen early every morning, delivered packages with my small body, been looked down on as a young girl, and even endured occasional sexual harassment.
Only after running around all day could I buy enough food and water for one day.
I had been completely unaccustomed to slum life and was shocked at first, but now that I had grown skilled at it, that was the only saving grace.
Perhaps my body was suited to labor after all.
After finishing deliveries, I practiced handling mana in the remaining time. On weekends or when the weather was good, we went on picnics in flower-strewn fields.
The distance was about an hour’s walk, but for us, who had been trained by countless deliveries and child labor, it was no more than a stroll around the yard.
Flowers, a lake, and an open view.
I could not understand why no one came to such a beautiful place.
In modern times, lovers would have flocked to this romantic spot once word spread that it was a nice walking trail or flower path.
Well… it was actually better that there were no people around.
If there had been crowds, we could never have enjoyed this intimate atmosphere with just the two of us.
Three weeks after my reincarnation, I had come to understand Elijah somewhat, and I could now clearly decide what I needed to do.
Elijah was sending me unconditional affection. The level of her favor was so high that even if I immediately asked her to date, it would probably work.
Therefore, she ranked me first. It could even be called obsession.
And I suspected that this obsession was the path for her to become the villainess.
In the original novel, Therese was already dead, so only by dying in some way would Elijah turn black.
In other words, if I lived happily with Elijah for a long time, that would be the happy ending of this story, right?
It was almost Sherlock Holmes-level deduction.
Elijah and I continued feeding each other strawberries on a flower-covered hill.
Why force-feed each other when I could eat my own? Was I simply unable to read the mood?
One more bite. Two bites. Three bites. Four bites.
"Ugh… mmm."
After eating so many, my stomach felt like it was about to bite back. I had made a mistake by coming here without thinking about the aftermath and bringing so many strawberries.
I had no idea how many I had already eaten.
Ugh. I felt like I was going to throw up. Elijah looked perfectly fine, and I couldn’t just say stop eating.
What if I told her my stomach was upset?
If I said, “I don’t like being fed by you,” and she got angry, that would be terrible.
There were only a dozen left. I should just endure and eat them.
Actually, that was just my delusion. Elijah was a warm-hearted girl who would worry about my health if I said I felt sick.
Yes. I should say it. Let’s stop eating strawberries.
"Therese, say ah~."
"Elly. I have berries…"
"Hello, you must be new here, right?"
At the sudden soft, high voice from behind, I turned my head. A girl with brown hair tied neatly in a short ponytail stood there, and on her head was a flower crown woven from flowers.
"A flower crown…"
She liked wearing flower crowns, had brown hair, and kept it neatly tied back.
She was not a particularly memorable character, but she was definitely one of the heroines from the original novel…
"Ah, sorry. I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Haruna Ray."
She bowed politely.
"… Mhm."
She was not from a particularly high noble family, nor was she outstanding in mana or combat, but she was a character who had never once missed first place in theoretical classes at the academy.
If my memory was correct, Haruna was our age. Even though she was a noble, I was unsure whether to use honorifics, but Haruna cautiously opened her mouth.
"Um… may I ask for your names?"
"I’m Therese. No surname."
"Elly."
Elijah’s tone sounded displeased, as if she had been interrupted during our alone time.
"Um… what’s the matter?"
I asked while hesitating, and Haruna smiled brightly.
"Ah, it’s nothing special. I was just making flower crowns as usual when I saw two people with such beautiful hair from afar… so I came over."
"Beautiful…?"
"Yes! I’m a huge fan of the Saintess or something… You two look exactly like the Saintess! I was so surprised. Miss Therese. Miss Elly. Please… be friends with me?"
Haruna suddenly unleashed a rapid-fire speech, leaving me stunned.
Was this character always like this? In the original novel she only appeared as a minor role who saved the protagonist Chris once, and her importance afterward was basically nonexistent.
Ah, but she did have the setting of being a huge fan of the Saintess. No matter how minor a character, a heroine was a heroine.
Knowing she was a huge fan of the Saintess, I also knew that in the original story she had been an ardent fan of Elijah.
Yet in the end, that fan of hers died after being betrayed by the Saintess she admired.
Feeling a strange sense of reunion, I looked at the two of them.
Elijah stared at Haruna with a blank expression, while Haruna looked at Elijah with sparkling eyes.
In the original novel, the two would meet at the academy, but the original plot had already twisted, so our first meeting had come years earlier.
I was half curious, half worried about what kind of storm of change would come.
"Um… did you say Elly? Your eyes and hair are so beautiful…! You look exactly like the Saintess from a fairy tale!"
Elijah, who had been on guard, flinched and trembled at Haruna’s words.
A sudden compliment was one thing, but Elijah was not just resembling the Saintess—she was the Saintess herself right now.
"It’s embarrassing, but I have no friends and no one my age to talk to, so I’ve never been able to say this, but… could you please spend some time with me even for just a little while?"
Elijah had kept her status as the Saintess a secret.
One of the main reasons was that she and I would be separated if it became known.
Compared to the frequent Hero births, the Saintess was truly rare. If it were announced that the Saintess had been chosen in a kingdom that had not produced one for over a hundred years, the church and kingdom would fight over her.
Would she become a priestess of the goddess in the church, or a saint who fought on the battlefield? The compromise was to attend the academy.
That was why I had asked Elijah to hide her Saintess identity for now. When I explained the reason, Elijah had agreed.
Until we reached the age of fifteen and could enter the academy.
We had discussed this not long ago, and now a girl had appeared right in front of Elijah saying she looked like the Saintess. It must have felt like her secret had been exposed.
"Ah, I made a flower crown, and I thought Miss Elly might like to try it on…"
"Haruna."
Elijah cut her off and spoke.
She expressed her refusal gently but firmly.
"I don’t think I can be friends with you."
"Huh?"
"I wish you wouldn’t talk to me again."
Haruna froze, as if she had never expected such a decisive refusal from Elijah.
She stood there for a few seconds with a dazed expression, her cheeks twitching.
She looked like she didn’t know what expression to make, then her face twisted, her mouth opened as if she had something to say, and finally she closed it.
In the end, the last expression Haruna chose was a smile.
"Ah… I said something rude. I suddenly approached you. Sorry. I was just… excited like an idiot."
Then tears like chicken pecks fell from her smiling face.
After that, Haruna burst into tears with a wail.
I was at a loss for what to do and stood there bewildered between the two of them, while Elijah turned her head slightly and took my hand, looking a little apologetic.
"Therese. Let’s go home."
"W-wait."
Was it right to reject her so coldly and leave? Even if we left, we would eventually meet again at the academy.
In the original novel, Haruna had admired Elijah. But would she still do so now that the original plot had twisted?
And it didn’t seem right to just abandon a crying girl.
"Wait, Elly. I don’t think this is the way to end it."
"What? But you told me to hide it."
"Still…"
"Miss! What on earth is going on?"
Just then, a woman burst in. Judging by her maid uniform, she was clearly Haruna’s personal maid.
Haruna’s maid sat her down and took out a handkerchief to wipe her tears.
"It’s okay. It’s okay."
The maid comforted her, then turned her gaze toward us. There was hostility in her eyes.
It seemed I had caused a misunderstanding.
"We didn’t do anything bad."