Chapter 21: Rosewell

Knock, knock…  

“…It’s cold.”  

One drop, two drops.  

The cold stream of water falling on my forehead jolted my drowsy consciousness awake. 

If I had fallen asleep like that, I surely would have had a pleasant rest.  

“…Where am I?”  

I sat up to brush away the source of the water and go back to sleep, but the surroundings were completely different from what I had expected.  

Not mine and Alyssa’s room, but an endless, straight corridor.  

I was lying in the middle of a dimly lit hallway.  

“Ameri…? Are you there?”  

Driven by instinctive fear, I called out for Ameri, but only my voice echoed through the empty hallway.

No one answered.  

Sharen, Marybell, Mother.  

…Alyssa.  

I called out to everyone in my small circle of acquaintances, but no one responded. 

Where did everyone go, leaving me alone in a place like this?  

“…I guess there’s no other choice.”  

Staying here wouldn’t improve the situation. 

First, I should walk down the hallway…

It seemed like the only thing I could do in this situation.  

Step, step.  

The dark corridor seemed endless. 

I must have walked for over 30 minutes, but I couldn’t believe such a large building existed in this country.  

Throb, throb.  

It wasn’t the usual headache or stomach ache, but the pain rising from my overworked legs. 

The unfamiliar pain began to gnaw at my mind, weakening my resolve.  

‘…Why am I in a place like this?’  

It felt too vivid to be a dream, but it didn’t feel real either. 

My last memory was lying in bed, staring at the ceiling, so I couldn’t believe this was reality.  

What is this?  

Did Alyssa hold a grudge and leave me in a place like this?

… She did say she’d cut ties with me or that I should always stick by her side.  

No, that can’t be.

Alyssa is foolish and naive, but she’s not cruel enough to do something like this.  

Then, if not Alyssa, who? 

I can’t think of anyone… 

I haven’t made any enemies yet… 

Ah.  

An assassin sent by someone who saw Alyssa as a threat? 

That seems the most likely. 

Rather than leaving a corpse, it would be easier to leave me in a place like this where no one would find me.  

Then, that means Alyssa is incompetent. 

I told her to protect her sister with all her heart, but she immediately put me in danger.  

If I can get out of here alive, I’ll have to tell her to stop her foolish plans. 

People who take on tasks beyond their abilities are bound to meet ruin.  

Thud.  

“…Ouch.”  

Lost in thought, I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going. 

I suddenly collided with a door that appeared out of nowhere. 

Fortunately, I wasn’t seriously hurt, but my face throbbed slightly from the impact.  

However, that minor pain was quickly forgotten due to the imposing door before me. 

It was the first different object to appear in the otherwise empty hallway.  

“…It’s not locked.”  

I managed to turn the doorknob, but I hesitated to open it and step through.  

An indescribable sense of unease washed over me, as if something irreversible would happen if I stepped forward.  

Click.  

What are you afraid of? 

Staying here won’t change anything.  

I will move forward.  

Chirp, chirp.  

“…Is this a garden?”  

Beyond the door was the garden of the Rosewell estate.

The familiar and nostalgic sight made my heart ache, but my mind grew increasingly confused by the inexplicable phenomenon.  

…I should walk around.  

Step, step.  

The garden looked exactly as I remembered, but something felt off.

The blue roses I had recently started growing were nowhere to be seen…  

Tap, tap, tap.  

“Ah.”  

The source of the strangeness became clear the moment I saw a child running across the garden.  

“Alyssa…?”  

It wasn’t the grown-up Alyssa, but the young Alyssa from my childhood.  

The place I was in now was the garden of the past.  

Thud.  

Alyssa, holding a few white lilies, tripped over a stone and fell. 

The pristine white dress her mother had bought her was now dirty and ruined.  

“Sniff… Sob…”  

The lilies she had been holding were crushed, and the little girl, having lost everything in an instant, began to cry in despair.  

I instinctively reached out to her but quickly withdrew my hand.  

“Alyssa? What are you doing now?”  

It was the past version of me who had arrived.  

“Big… big sister…”  

“Alyssa, you’re filthy.”  

The past me, seeing her younger sister’s pitiful state, didn’t hide her smile. 

It was painful to see this ugly past, but there was no way to undo what had already happened.  

Splash.  

“Now, go ask Mother for a new dress. If you mention my name… you know what will happen, right?”  

The past me, splashing muddy water on her sister’s back, wore a wicked smile, unable to contain her joy.  

But even then, I already knew. 

After Father’s death, managing the estate had become difficult, and there would be no new dresses for us sisters.  

Mother, who loved Alyssa dearly, would give her the dress I cherished.  

That night, I would cry alone in my room.  

“…The past me was foolish.”  

If I really wanted to torment Alyssa, I could have taken her white dress and given her my old, worn-out one. 

I could have forced her to change by threatening her.  

But I was nothing but a half-hearted fool.  

Studying, magic, sports.  

Even tormenting Alyssa, who was better at everything, I would stop myself once it went too far.  

…Why was I being shown this painful past? Who, and for what purpose, brought me here?  

“…Another door.”  

Behind me, crying in bed, another imposing door appeared.

The interior was dark, but the wide-open door seemed to be waiting for me.  

“Alright. I won’t run away.”  

I stepped inside confidently, and the scenery changed again, showing me something unbelievable.  

Crackle…  

The Rosewell estate, engulfed in flames, collapsing.  

“…What is the meaning of this?”  

A part of me still believed this wasn’t real, but my heart was shaking uncontrollably.  

The estate I loved was being destroyed.  

It felt like my heart was breaking.  

Tears flowed even though I wasn’t in pain.  

Creak…  

The burning estate opened its doors, inviting me in. 

Even from a distance, I could feel the heat of the flames, but my feet moved as if entranced, stepping inside.  

Through the living room.  

Up the stairs.  

To my room.  

“Finally, you’re here. I’ve been waiting.”  

In my room, there I was.  

But unlike the awkward, imperfect me with black hair and eyes, it was the beautiful Amy Rosewell.  

“…Who are you?”  

“Amy Rosewell. Just call me Rosewell. Now, sit down. I wanted to have a conversation with you.”  

She looked exactly like me, but I couldn’t believe she was the same person. Or was she even human?  

Tick.  

Clink.  

With a flick of Rosewell’s hand, a teacup appeared out of thin air. 

Inside the familiar cup was the familiar pinkish tea, it’s comforting aroma filling the air.  

…It’s my favorite tea.  

“Amy, how did you feel seeing the burning estate?”  

“What’s the point of asking that?”  

“Just curiosity. Now, tell me. Go on.”  

“…It was unpleasant. Just like you.”  

“Hehe… Unpleasant, you say…”  

Rosewell, stirring her tea with a spoon, seemed to enjoy the situation, her smile unsettling. 

Her eerie demeanor only increased my discomfort.  

“You’re the one who brought me here, right? Send me back to reality. I don’t want to stay in a place like this any longer.”  

“Don’t worry. When you wake from this dream, you’ll naturally return to reality.”  

Rosewell, resting her chin on her hand, stared at me with a smile, but her eyes were sharp and piercing.  

“…That’s a relief.”  

The surrounding flames contrasted sharply with the cool air enveloping us.  

I took a sip of tea, but it wouldn’t go down. 

It felt like I would choke.  

“Amy, do you love Alyssa?”  

“…What are you talking about? If you’re Amy Rosewell, shouldn’t you already know the answer without asking?”  

Click.  

“Poor Amy. There’s no need to hide your true feelings here. Now, be honest. There’s no pain to torment you here.”  

“Disgusting. I have no obligation to tell you how I feel about Alyssa.”  

“…Is that so?”  

The flames grew fiercer, and soon our feet were engulfed in fire. 

The searing pain burned my body, but what mattered more was the woman before me.  

“It seems today ends here. Amy… be careful. If you keep rejecting your instincts, your destiny…”  

Rip.  

“You’ll end up with a gaping hole too.”  

Rosewell roughly tore off her dress, revealing a dazzlingly white chest.  

A familiar sword was embedded in that white chest.  

“…A dream.”  

As my body was engulfed in flames, I woke up.  

It was already dark, but I could tell I was in my room.  

The details of the dream were already fading, but two things remained unforgettable.  

The black-haired, black-eyed Amy Rosewell.  

And the burning estate.  

“Big sister…”  

“Alyssa.”  

I turned my head at the soft touch of a hand gripping mine and saw Alyssa, tears in her eyes, looking at me.  

She seemed to have not slept for a while, with dark circles under her eyes, but she was still beautiful, and somehow, it put me at ease.  

Alyssa hasn’t changed. 

She’s still the same as she was in childhood.  

“Come here.”  

I grabbed her flustered waist and pulled her into my arms.  

Holding her tightly, entwining my legs around hers so she couldn’t escape, so she couldn’t leave me.  

“Don’t say a word. Now, have a good dream, Alyssa.”  

Rosewell.  

I’m not a coward.  

A gaping hole doesn’t scare me at all.