“Let’s rest a bit here,” I said to Elena so that she could put me down.

 

We’re in front of the mansion right now, and after being much closer to it, it looks even more menacing than before. It looks like any old two-storied mansion commonly found in an old part of Europe, but there’s this aura surrounding it. Of course, I may be bullshiting, or due to the impact I’ve gone mad and am currently hallucinating. That doesn’t matter though, I’ve made up my mind and I’ll be investigating this mansion even if every fiber of my being is screaming not to do that.

I was thinking of exploring the mansion right away, but there’s an important matter I need to take care of first; It’s Elena and her mental state. She’s sitting beside me, eyes down, hands fidgeting, and not uttering a single word. Due to my weak constitution, I need her to help me go investigate, but with her being shaken up like this, I’m worried she might hurt herself while helping me move around the mansion.

 

“Elena,” I said with a soft voice. “Thank you.”

“...”

“If it wasn’t for you, I might be dead by now.”

“If it wasn’t for me… You don’t have to experience death.”

 

The tears started to well up in her eyes and her body began to shake. This is not good, if she’s like this she will undoubtedly injure herself if we go into an abandoned mansion. Usually, woods inside an abandoned mansion, especially one that’s been abandoned for years, will start to rot and be very brittle. If one were to not pay attention to their surroundings, they could end up falling and stuck under the floorboards.  So, I think it’d be best if I go in by myself, even if I need to wobble and crawl here and there. As long as I’m vigilant, I don’t think it’ll be that dangerous.

 

“Elena, I want to explore this mansion. So, can you wait here-”

“No. I’m going with you.”

“It’s okay, Elena. It won’t take long and my body has fully recovered, thanks to you.”

“No.” She denied me once more before picking me up in a princess carry.

“Wha- Elena stop! I can walk by myself-”

“Don’t lie. I know you can hardly crawl.”

“Then… please just give me a piggyback and not a princess carry, this is embarrassing…”

 

After explaining to her what a piggyback and a princess carry is, she compromised and finally put me out of that embarrassing position after chuckling a bit. She’s a bit taller than me and most definitely stronger than me, so I don’t really feel bad about making a girl carry me. And it’s good that she got her smile back due to my antics, but I don’t know how to feel about my personality. 

If I continue being like this, then I might become that tsundere who gets easily embarrassed over something. I don’t want that… If any of the guys from the isekai cult knows about this, I’ll never see the end of it. Good thing I’m never gonna meet them ever again.

 

We proceeded to walk towards the front door of the mansion, the door wasn’t a fancy door you can find in those horror movies; it was just a regular wooden door that is still intact. Elena opened the door which was then followed by an eerie creaking noise. The inside of the mansion was really dark, probably due to all the blinds that were covering the windows making light unable to get inside. Elena then pulled something out of her maid’s dress pocket — probably designed by an ‘isekaier’ since it’s very practical and strikingly similar to the maid’s dress in japan — that lights up the whole living room area of the mansion.

Yesterday, I took the liberty of breaking my mana lamp in half so that I could see what was inside. Of course, like all geodes, there are crystals inside it- or in this case, shining mana crystals. That said mana crystal is what Elena’s currently holding in her hand and lighting up the room perfectly.

 

“This thing’s pretty useful. It helped me find you in that murky water, and now it can light up the whole room with ease.”

“Of course it’s useful,” I said as I puffed up my chest. “Who do you think made it?”

“Yeah, yeah, Mr. Moldy Genius. I guess the only thing that’s not moldy is your brain.”

“Whatever, at least I don’t turn into a useless brick every time the empress walks by.”

 

After some back and forth banter, Elena seemed to have brightened up and regained her color. I’m glad that she’s smiling happily again, especially since part of her being down is my fault. If I didn’t lose my cool as an adult here, even though I’m stuck in a 10 year old’s body, I wouldn’t have yelled at a kid who’s just trying to help.

 

“Elena… I’m sorry for yelling at you before.”

“...yeah, it’s okay. It was my fault anyway; I was being hasty for no reason.”

“No, you did great. Actually, you did awesome! I didn’t know you could do healing magic and lift up a hunk of dirt effortlessly.”

“Hehehe,” she laughed trying to hide her clear embarrassment. “Maybe I should teach you a thing or two about magic.”

“Really? You’d do that for me?”

“Sure! Once we get back, I’ll teach you some basic stuff, which honestly you should’ve known already. But until then, and until you’re fully recovered, hang on tight to my back.”

 

Is this what it feels like to have a dependable older sister? To feel comfortable around her and not be scared of whatever it is that was scaring me before. What a weird and unfamiliar feeling… I like it.

After traversing the living room, which is littered with many untouched and uncovered pieces of furniture making it seem like whoever was living in this mansion abandoned the place in a hurry, we decided to go into the second floor where there are a lot of doors leading into each respective room. We opened and scouted every room behind every door. There’s a bathroom, two bedrooms, an empty room, and lastly a study room.

Unlike the other rooms, the study looks as if it’s untouched. Inside the square study room, there’s no window, cabinets filled to the brim with a plethora of books, and a single desk. The room was clean, I can’t even find a speck of dust flying in the air; it was as if the air in the room has gone stagnant. Though one thing stood out from everything else inside the room, it was a painting right above the desk that’s attached to the wall. The painting depicts a lady with purple hair, holding onto a black circle amulet with a diamond-shaped crystal at the center of it on her right hand while posing very elegantly.

 

“...The past emperor, Violet Crenada.”

“That’s the past empress? The tyrant?”

“Yeah, how do you not know this? It was only a month ago that Empress Josephine overthrew her.”

“I have… circumstances. I lost my memories.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know.”

“It’s fine, my life before is probably a lot harder than it is now. It’s probably better if I forget.”

She put me down so we can rest for a while inside a clean place before starting her lecture about the empire.

 

The Crenada Empire, a humongous empire that spans across a third of the continent. It’s an empire that’s been going strong for 300 years and will continue to do so until the end of time. The empire is split into three parts, the northern part where mountains rise from the ground and the mines produce many magnificent ores, the southern part where the people live by the blue ocean, the western part where the harvest would give energy to the people every day, and, of course, the central part where many reside and as the economic center of the empire. The royal castle itself is right by the capital, which is in the central part of the empire. If one wants to go to the royal castle, they need to go uphill for a couple of miles.

It was a magnificent empire where the land was prosperous and the people were happy. That is, until 10 years ago when Violet Crenada took over the throne. At first, things were going quite well, except for the fact that she kicked out Josephine Crenada, the current empress, even though from Arthur’s recalling they were very close; nothing much changed and Violet Crenada was a gracious empress. But 5 years into her ruling, she introduced an anomaly: a 5 year old boy who she said she had conceived before she became the empress; it was Alton Crenada, my body’s original owner. Then things started to take a turn for the worst. Famine, diseases, and wars took over the empire while the empress stood by watching and sometimes participated in the atrocities that happened to her people. One of them is slavery.

 

“Slavery is bad?”

“Of course, it is! Only the most horrible human being would know of such magic; slavery magic makes a person, not a person, but a doll. The poor souls that had to endure such magic would live the rest of their lives stuck in their own bodies with no escape.”

“... Is that so?”

“Yup! It’s — sorry in advance for my harsh language — fucked up! That’s why when news caught Empress Josephine’s ears that her very own blood sister was using such magic. She took it upon herself to take her sister down. It was an arduous 2 years of war, at least that’s what my mom said.”

 

If it’s so bad… then why would Empress Josephine… And why is it that Alton Crenada was kept secret until he was five years old? Is it so that he can become the emperor? But in a matriarchy like this, he’s almost got zero chances of getting the nobles to side with him.

I’ll ask the empress later, now it’d be better for us if we go back swiftly since I don’t know how long we’ve been here.

 

“Elena, let’s go back.”

“Yeah, let's.” She then picked me up on a piggyback again.

“Hmmm,” I turned around and waved at the painting. I wanted to say goodbye to my biological mom. “Bye, mom,” I said with a low voice so Elena wouldn’t hear. “If you didn’t become the infamous Violet Crenada-”

 

When I said her name, my heart started beating like it was trying to crawl out of my chest again. My whole body began to shake and the dam inside my eyes broke once more. Not being able to hold on to Elena’s back, I dropped to the ground, surprising Elena as she turned around to see if I was okay.

 

“What happened?! Did I hurt you somewhere? Do you need to rest some more? But we need to get you to the healers.”

“I’m… I’m-”

 

‘I’m okay,’ is what I wanted to say, but I caught something in the corner of my eyes. While Elena is still babbling and worrying about my safety, I tried to see what that certain something is. It is the painting of Violet Crenda- or should I say ‘was’. The painting… is empty.