Finally, alone!

I have never been this tired of people in my whole entire life. I know they were here for my birthday but being surrounded by so many unknown faces was suffocating.

It also made me realize how small my world was. There were probably millions of people in this empire but up until today I was always surrounded by only a few dozen people. Even within the estate itself, I didn’t interact much with the people that lived here.

After today, I wasn’t sure I wanted to interact with more nobles though. Although they were offered plenty of delicious-looking food, they didn’t eat; Although music was continuously playing, they did not dance; they simply hovered around the tables, whispering to each other.

Same for their kids. Despite being around the same age as Hazel, they were already perfectly imitating their parents in their mannerisms and attitude.

It was jarring.

The only reason I stayed there that long was the desserts, but even that was ruined by three women harassing me about their sons or whatever.

Thankfully, I was able to run away, pretending I had to go to the bathroom. I already had to worry about the capture targets, I didn’t want to have one more guy to be wary of.

“*Sigh* I want to run away.”

I had already fled my own birthday party to hide near the gazebo, I might as well just climb over the walls of the estate or go through the surrounding forest.

I was really curious what the outside world looked like.

It was not every day that you get to travel to an alternate world after all. I should use this opportunity to live a better life, more fulfilling and worthwhile than the last one.

I never got to travel abroad so maybe I should take a horse and go on an adventure. Maybe I could even go out of Prath and see what other continents were like. Being so far away from the capture target would be safer and probably better for my mental health.

I didn’t really intend to run away.

Well I had no money and I was a 9-year-old little girl, no matter how old my soul was or how resourceful I could be, it was unlikely I would be able to survive long in a world I knew next to nothing about.

Should I steal some gold coins and climb over the wall?

I was tempted to do exactly that. Screw the consequences.

… Nah, let’s not do that… for now at least.

I hated to admit but I was actually living pretty well here. I was pampered, cared for, and apart from the Duchess, the people of this house seemed to like me quite a lot. Life was boring but good. I didn’t have much to complain about.

It would be hard to give up this comfort for a life of misery and starvation.

If you leave out the unnecessary social conventions and the tedious etiquette, being a noble was pretty neat.

Without the capture targets, Hazel’s life is not so bad. Why should I give up this comfort just because of what might happen?

I was getting frustrated just thinking about it. I didn’t intend to die again and definitely not for such a dumb reason.

I also doubted that the world I was currently in was 100% similar to the game.

There had to be a relation of cause and consequences for things to happen, right? Technically, I wasn’t Hazel Vedar so it was unlikely I would end up like her, right? I just had to stay away from the characters of the game to remain alive, right?

I kept asking myself these questions, half hoping that the goddesses of this world would answer me, half hoping they wouldn’t. Not having a definitive answer meant I could blindly put my faith in the belief that everything would be okay for me.

I just have to live as myself and my fate would be different from Hazel’s. Yep! Magic exists, sure. But nobody’s fate is already written.

As my mood brightened again, I decided a change of scenery was needed and moved my location to the nearby pond. I lied down on the grass, looking at the clear sky.

The sky here was blue, there was only one sun and one moon. With the exception of magic, this world abode by the same rules of physics as the Earth I once lived in.

That, combined with the silence and the closeness of the pond managed to appease me enough that I started to doze off.

 

***************

“Ouch”

I was awoken by a pain in my hand. Someone was stepping on it and twisting.

I cried in pain and I suddenly opened my eyes to see who was the rude bastard who didn’t have the decency to watch where he was going. Although I was prepared to go off on someone, I only came face to face with a little girl, she was surrounded by 4 other girls.

“Oh! I seem to have stepped on you. I apologize, I have mistaken you for a rock.”

I would have believed her and accepted her apology if it wasn’t for the small smirk tugging at her lips and her foot still firmly stepping on my hand.

“Why would you purposefully step on a rock. It could have a sharp one. Be careful next time, okay.”

As I said that, my gaze went from her face to her foot still planted on my hand. She wasn’t stomping and twisting hard on it anymore, so I could easily remove it from under her shoe, but I didn’t.

Judging from her attitude, she was obviously looking down on me. And she was being very direct with her disdain.

“Now that you know I am not a rock, do you still plan to keep on stepping on me?”

I decided to stay calm. They were kids, no matter how rude they were acting I couldn’t go around slapping other people’s kids.

I should be the bigger person and let it go, right? Just this time.

The girl didn’t answer my question but she removed her foot from my hand.

Not liking that she was literally looking down on me, I rose up to my feet and curtsied as I introduced myself.

“I am Hazel Vedar. You are?”

“Pardon?”

“I asked you who you were. Did you not hear me?

“Are you pretending not to know me now?”

Have we met before?

I had been here for almost a year, if I had met another child I would have remembered.

Her face did look familiar though. I mentally went through the guest list. Although I had perfectly memorized the information about the adults attending this party, I hadn’t been as diligent when it came to their children. I didn’t think it would be of any use since I didn’t really plan on socializing.

“Oh! I remember! You are Sarah Menaget.” Keeping the same pleasant smile, the gracious host that I was added, “Did you get lost? I could have someone escort you back to the hall if you wish.”

There were no servants around but it wouldn’t be hard to find one if we got closer to the building.

“Do not worry about us, we are exactly were we wanted to be. Since you failed to greet us, we decided to take the initiative and do it ourselves. We are friends after all.”

Friends?

This didn’t feel life being greeted by friends. It felt like I was getting cornered by bullies who wanted to beat me up.

These kids are quite gutsy.

My status was the highest out of all of us and they still had the audacity to try and bully me. What could possibly have made them so brave?

“Are we really friends? I mean, it is quite bizarre that my friends mistook me for a rock. Is there perhaps something wrong with your eyesight? If so, we can call my family’s doctor, he is the best in the southern region.”

She seemed offended by my words which gave me great pleasure.

Sure, I decided to let it go and be nice, but she still stepped on my hand, I wouldn’t be true to myself if didn’t react.

She looked like she was about to strangle me with her tiny hands.

Ha! How cute. They were lucky they were children or else their rudeness wouldn’t have been so endearing.

“Anyway, now that we have greeted each other, you can go back and enjoy the party.”

“Are we bothering you?”, she asked mockingly.

“To be honest… “

Yes. You are bothering me.

That was what I wanted to say. But just thinking of them going back to the party and tattling to the Duchess made the hair on my skin stand up.

So instead of telling them to ‘go play elsewhere’ like I wanted, I opted from a more… diplomatic response.

“As you know, I was ill a few months ago and it seems I have not completely recovered. I am quite tired at the moment so I do not think I will be able to entertain you as a good host should.”

I still tried to be as courteous as possible, but I wasn’t good at beating around the bush.

“Is that so? Then we should go, we would not want to make your condition worse than it already is.”

They took a few step away from the pond before stopping and turning back to face me.

“Who would have thought! The villainess being a victim of her own bullying tactics.” I whispered to myself.

Something seemed weird about their reaction though. They were being way too obedient for brats that came at me with such audacity earlier.

What are they up to?

As I was about to walk away in the opposite direction, the Menaget kid spoke again.

“You should go back inside as well Lady Hazel. Lady Zinger here is very good at predicting the weather and she just told me to expect rain today.”

Hmm? The sky had been blue all day and the few clouds that  had passed through the sky did not look big enough to be the heralds of a bad weather.

I looked up to check again but what I saw wasn’t the sky but a gigantic water bubble hovering over my head and threatening to fall at any moment.

It didn’t have the time to step aside before the bubble dropped on my face and drenched me from head to toe.

The girls were cackling in the least discreet way possible.

It was obvious that this was their doing. They didn’t even try to hide it.

That Lady Zinger was not a meteorologist but a water mage and what was covering me right now was probably water from the pond behind me.

“Oh my, the rain came sooner than expected.”

They were seriously testing my patience with their nasty tricks.

“Is this how a noble lady should act Lady Menaget? You stepped on my hand earlier, but I turned a blind eye to it. Did you pull this stunt because you are dying to see me angry?”

“I cannot possibly take credit of a natural phenomenon. Concerning your hand, I made a honest mistake, how could you interpret my actions in such a way?”

This bitch!

I contemplated dragging her to the pond so she could have a taste of her own medicine.

It wouldn’t be considered child abuse since I am also a child.

“Do not worry Lady Hazel, I am benevolent enough not to take offense to your accusation. Here, you can use this.”

She handed me a small piece of cloth.

“How is this tiny napkin supposed to dry my whole body.”

“It is a handkerchief. Are you not able to see the difference? Even a lower echelon maid knows that. You are most certainly not supposed to wipe yourself with it. It is a sign of friendship.”

As though on cue, her entourage started giggling, their attitude was clearly indicating that I was below them.

“Apologizing would be more appropriate in this situation and insulting me is rather counterproductive.”

“Why should I? As far as I know, I have not done anything wrong. I even offered you my most treasured handkerchief, which, might I add, you demoted to napkin.”

“Oh... Is that so? Because of you I'm drenched from head to toe on my birthday and you dare say you have done nothing wrong?" As I went through the events that led to our current standoff, something in me cracked. The disrespect must have been too much for my already thinned-out  layer of patience to handle. "Ha. Ha ha. Hahahahahahahahahahahaha. You seem to have forgotten your manners Lady Menaget. I'll have to help you find them again. We are friends after all and I happen to be very generous to my friends.”

They had taken a few steps back when I laughed hysterically but now that I was approaching them with a maniacal look, they seemed confused by my reaction. Did they expect me to cry?

Not giving it more thought, I grabbed Sarah Menaget’s hand. She struggled but to no avail, I managed to drag her to the pond and push her in it.

She screamed in both surprise and horror.

“Aaaaaaaah! Have you gone insane? How dare you-“

“How dare I? But- but- Didn’t you say we were friends?”, I asked in fake confusion. “As friends we should share everything, even our misfortune, right? Is the water not to your liking? Do you perhaps want a napkin? You could try and dry yourself with it.”

She tried to get up and step out of the pond but I pushed her right back in there.

“You think you can get away with this?!”

“What did I do that was so reprehensible? I only copied your actions. I am only following your example my friend. Was my imitation not good enough for you? Should I have come to intimidate you with a whole clique, waited for you to be alone before I used my magic on you.”

Her frown immediately turned into a smug smirk, “Everyone knows that you cannot use magic. They all say that the Duke will most likely banish you very soon. When you become a lowly commoner, I will make you regret treating me like this.”

The duke was going to banish me? Well she wasn’t wrong, but her timing was way off.

You should have waited 8 more years, girl.

Her words made me think back to her mother’s information sheet and helped me remember a crucial piece of information

“Why don’t you make me regret it now?”

I crouched down so I was at her level and could thoroughly enjoy the constipated look she sported. She averted her eyes, obviously thinking I wouldn’t guess her secret if I couldn’t see her face.

I didn’t give her the time to think of a response.

“Oh that’s right! You can’t. There is nothing you can use against me right now. Not magic nor status.

You followed me here and stepped on me like I was a mere insect below your foot. But turns out you’re even worse than me. You don’t have any magic, that’s why your parents had to adopt a commoner, right? Does it hurt seeing someone you despise being treated better than you are? It hurts, right?”

She looked like she was about to cry. Maybe she was already crying, I couldn’t tell since her face was already wet.

Was I too cruel?

Nah.

According to one of the finest philosophers of the 21th century: ‘Talk shit, get hit.’

She should be grateful I didn’t slap her. She should actually be thanking me, I had whispered low enough that her friends didn’t hear her secret. I felt like I was quite generous considering that they attacked me first.

I decided to be even more generous and offer her a piece of advice as a parting gift.

“If you didn’t want me to hit you where it hurts, you shouldn’t have come for me. That is a lesson you needed to learn. Thankfully for you, I’m charitable enough to give it to you for free.”

Sarah was now a crying mess. She didn’t even try to get out of the pond anymore.

“What have you done to Sarah! You are even worse than the rumors. You mannerless and rude ogre.” One her minions tried to defend her honor.

“You didn't leave me much of a choice. You came to my house, on my birthday and tried to drown me. What kind of host would I be if I didn't thank you for your thoughtful present?”

I explained in a matter of fact way, shrugging innocently.

A second bubble of pond water fell on me.

I lifted my head, looked to the sky, took a deep breath and prayed for Pradma Hazn to grant me a few shreds of patience because mine had died, been reincarnated and died again.

Is today the day I become a child murderer?

When I finished my prayer, I looked back at them with a sinister crazed smile:

“You want to be friends too? Come.” I took a step toward her, but she took one back. “Come closer, I don’t bite. I promise it won’t hurt. I’ll just rectify your education with an enlightening slap. Consider it my gift to you for the generosity you showed me, hmm.”

“Get away from us!”

“What’s the matter darling? What harm could a magicless person like me could possibly do to you? Hm?”

One of the girls suddenly extended her and I felt myself being lifted from the ground and thrown up in the air. I was sent flying, unable to grab onto anything. My back violently hit a nearby tree. I could hear the thud my body made as it connected with the hard tree before collapsing on the floor. Both impacts took my breath away and left me panting of the floor.

As soon as I realized what happened, surprise gave way to pain. I had landed on my left arm.

“Fuck! Ugh”

The cursed escape my mouth before I could hold it back. It hurt like a bitch.

I had been careless. I forgot I wasn’t dealing with normal children; they could actually do way worse than pouring a little water on me.

I struggled to get back on my feet when a second gust of wind sent me flying back to the tree.

“Ugh! Ah”

“Stop it Jenette! Have you gone mad?!” I heard one of the girls scream before my back collided once again with the tree.

“Let go! She deserves it. She always treated us like servants, she thought she was above us. Now look at her, she cannot even counter such a weak attack. We should use this opportunity to teach her a lesson.”

I have to get out of here before they kill me.

I didn’t even have the time to get up on my feet before I was lifted up again. I fought against it, hoping that if I fought hard enough, I would somehow manage to get back down. It didn’t work, I only felt my body going higher and higher in the sky.

Is she going to make me fall from this height? It would break my neck.

“Excuse me? Have you perhaps seen my sister?”

Haron approached the group. He did not see me since I was still hovering high in the air.

“Haron!!! Help me!!!” I shouted as I struggled again, fighting against air.

Thankfully my voice reached him, he looked up and saw me. His eyes grew wide and panic washed through his face.

“Haze?!” He then turned to the 4 girls and the freshly-out-of-the-pond Sarah Menaget, his gaze was like a sharp, shining sword that had been pulled out of its sheath. “Which one of you is doing this?”

The girls flinched and looked at their friend, giving her away.

Looking straight at Jenette, he said in a controlled but menacing voice, “Put her down. Carefully. If she gets injured, even a little, I will burn you to a crisp and send what is left of you with your parents on their way out.”

Psycho Haron made an apparition at the right moment. I never thought I would be thankful for him, but I was.

“Oof”

My body descended from the sky and landed on the grass with the grace of wingless bird.

He left the trembling girls and came straight to me. Haron helped me back on my feet and uselessly dusted my wet and dirty dress.

“Are you hurt anywhere?” He asked patting me all around and checking my skin for bruises.

I flinched when he pressed my arm a little too strongly.

“You arm! Is it broken? I told them not to hurt you…” He was seething. “I will deal with them—"

He turned around but the girls had already disappeared. They probably ran away in fear of being on the receiving end of Haron’s anger.

I would have done the same.

“They dare run away after doing this to you. When father hears of this their families will bear the consequences of their actions”

“Just let it go Haron. I’m okay.”

“I will make sure something like this never happens again. I promise.”

At the moment, his promise didn’t mean much. It wasn’t like he could control everyone around me or force people to respect me. I didn’t even know if I could fully trust him and for how long.

It would be better if I could actually protect myself with my own power.

“Our family is known for its magic and military power, all of you are great haftan mages but I am the only one who cannot use magic. It is expected that some people look past my status and see me as inferior.”

“What are you saying? Did they tell you that you were inferior? I will have to personally teach them a les—"

“Calm down! They didn’t.” I grabbed onto him before he could run after the girls. “That is not what I meant. It’s just that—What I want to say is that situations like this one are bound to happen again. You cannot spend the rest of your life following me around.

“I do not mind—”

“I do! You and Father are too overprotective. It is annoying.”

Haron looked like a kicked puppy. I could clearly picture droopy ears on each side of his head. It was cute but I wasn’t giving up.

“I do not mean to hurt you Haron. I know you care about me but I might get hurt even more if the both of you keep sheltering me like this.”

Haron was full-on sulking now.

He didn’t reply but I could tell he wasn’t going to be convinced that easily.

“We could spend more time together if I were allowed to train with you.”

“But you could get hurt again”

You stubborn brat

I was starting to get annoyed with his stubbornness. Like father Like son.

Tsk.

“I could get hurt no matter what I do. I got hurt today!”

He didn’t answer but turned around so I was talking to his back.

Is this your way of showing your disapproval? How childish.

“Pleaaaase Haron!” I shook him but he still wouldn’t budge. “You know I’m right.”

Still nothing.

“Haaaaroooon!”

I tried to shake him harder, he still didn’t budge, I only managed to hurt myself.

“Ouch”

Hearing me cry in pain, Haron finally turned around worried.

I thought he was going to ask me if I was okay but he didn’t, he only sighed.

“Fine”, he finally agreed. “What do you want me to do?”

“Yay!!! You have to help me convince father to let learn magic. And also swordsmanship. Okay?” I didn’t give him the time to retract his agreement. “You already agreed so it is too late to refuse.”

As I was gloating, Haron’s attention seemed to be focused somewhere else.

He was looking towards the bushes.

“What is it?”

Ignoring my question, he shouted: “Come out! I know you are here.”

A brown-haired girl sprung from the bushes.

“I did not mean to spy on you”

“Then what could lady Velpassi be doing here when the party is on the other side of the mansion?” Haron asked with a snarky tone.

Today I got to see sides of him I had never seen before.

I had almost forgotten who he was but seeing how different he was when interacting with other people helped me remember.

“I was just passing by when I heard the commotion.”

The girl didn’t seem scared. She was calm and met Haron’s pointed gaze with her own.

“I trust you will be able to find your way back to the hall on your own.”

The tension was thick.

I watched the two of them closely. They were still glaring at each other, both refusing to lower their gaze.

Do they know each other?

I decided to butt in: “You must be Miraella Velpassi, right? Nice to meet you.”

She replied to my greeting with one of her own.

“Nice to meet you Lady Vedar. I am a bit late but I wish you a happy birthday.”

She was the first person to actually wish me happy birthday. I was touched.

“Oh thank you.” I took both of her hands in mine, forgetting that I was still soaked. “Would you like a tour of the estate?”

“Yes”

“No”

Miraella and Haron both answered at the same time.

Haron leaned toward me and whispered: “She has been here for a while. She was watching them hurting you.”

“She was scared. They were 5 against 1, she could not have protected me all on her own.” I whispered back.

“You are too trusting.”

“Am I? You can come with us if you are worried.”

“What about your arm?”

“I will be fine. It doesn’t hurt anymore.”

“You will catch a cold if you walk around with wet clothes.”

“Why are you being stubborn again?”

“I am not.”

“You are.”

“Only because you are being unreasonable.”

“When did you become a nagging mother?”

Where did my cute puppy go?

“When I realized you could not be trusted with your own health.”

“I told you it doesn’t hurt anymore.” I tried to demonstrate by stretching my arm but my pained grimace gave me away. Still, I pretended it was nothing: “See? I have been healed by the power of… determination.”

“Ha! Say that again when you have been examined by the doctor.”

“I don’t want to.”

“You do not have a choice. If you want me to help convince Father, you will do as I say.”

“Are you really going to use this against me? Who taught you to be this sly?”

I did not raise you to use my own weapons against me!

“Hm? Sorry to interrupt but I agree with your brother Lady Hazel, it would be wiser for you to seek medical attention. You have to make sure your arm is not broken; you fell on it quite hard after all. Perhaps I could come back another day for the visit?”

I almost forgot she was here.

"Oh...yeah why not.”

“If you agree we could start a correspondence so we could keep in touch and set a date.”

A correspondence between nobles was a sign of friendship or a deeper bond. I was quite surprised she offered something like that right away, especially since we just met.

She seemed quite eager.

I didn’t feel any animosity from her compared to the previous group of girls but I felt like she wanted something from me. I just didn’t know what.

In spite of my wariness, my curiosity led me to accept her request.

I mean, it couldn’t hurt for me to make friends, right?

 “With pleasure.” I answered with a placid smile. “I will have someone escort you back to the party while I get treated. Thank you again for your wishes.”

She left with a maid while Haron and I headed toward the main building.

“I still do not trust her.” He suddenly said as we were walking.

“Well you don’t have to. She is my guest, not yours.”

“She is our guest. It is also my birthday.”

"Oh yeah that’s true. Happy birthday Haron.”

He stopped sulking, smiled a toothy grin and hugged me.

“Happy birthday to you too Haze.”