🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter – 04
Before I could even dwell on that strange feeling, Akkelte approached me.
With a tense expression, I looked up at him as he stopped in front of me. I couldn’t help suspecting he’d come over to pick a fight about what happened earlier.
“W-What is it…?”
At my awkward question, Akkelte let out a small sigh.
“Why are you acting like this? Just talk like before.”
“A-Ah, that’s because I didn’t know you were the young master of House Isis… I thought you were just a new orphanage kid.”
I immediately bowed my head deeply in apology.
If I’d possessed the body of an extra, then I ought to behave like one.
I didn’t want to get tangled up in anything that might threaten my life.
Living quietly and for a long time—that was my motto.
“If my mistake offended you, then I apologize!”
“Apologize?”
At my words, Akkelte looked away as if considering something.
Then suddenly, the corner of his mouth curled upward into a dangerous grin.
“Just with words?”
“…Huh?”
“If saying sorry fixed everything, then why would imperial law even exist?”
“W-Well…”
Unable to argue back, my words trailed off weakly.
As expected, my first impression of him as an arrogant, overconfident brat hadn’t been entirely wrong.
‘But we were getting along just fine in the backyard earlier!’
Besides, I’d even told him the name of the flower he was looking at!
Honestly, after seeing how willingly he’d offered to help me find my pendant, I’d stopped worrying about being punished.
But seeing the serious look on his face now made me think he was being a bit too harsh—and it was honestly a little scary.
‘I-I thought at least I could avoid execution…’
Flustered, I darted my eyes around before answering meekly.
“I don’t really own anything… but is there perhaps something you want…?”
“Of course there is.”
Just my luck. They say rich people are greedier, and apparently it was true.
Seeing him nod immediately, I swallowed my tears internally.
What could a noble possibly want to squeeze out of a lowly commoner extra like me?
“If I may ask… what exactly do you want?”
“Speech.”
“Huh?”
Did he mean a horse?
Let me repeat: I was an extra who couldn’t even afford a chicken, let alone a horse.
When I blankly asked again, clearly not understanding, Akkelte brushed his hair back from his forehead and answered.
“I mean stop talking so formally. You acting like this is awkward as hell. Look, I’m getting goosebumps.”
So… he meant he wanted me to speak casually again?
Though Akkelte jokingly stretched his arm toward me, I still didn’t answer.
I was suspicious.
Perhaps noticing my doubts, Akkelte let out a disbelieving laugh.
“What exactly are you suspecting? If I really intended to hurt you, why would I drag the director into helping search for your necklace?”
“T-That’s… true, but…”
He had a point.
I glanced around.
Off to one side, the children were lined up one by one while the director inspected their pockets. Those who had already been checked were searching every corner of the orphanage for the necklace.
“S-So… really, I can talk casually like before?”
“You already are.”
“…B-But not in front of adults! Only when it’s just the two of us!”
As expected, a good face came with a good heart. Like Ruruka, Akkelte seemed genuinely kind.
Nothing like the arrogant nobles who usually visited the orphanage.
My attitude flipped instantly like turning over a coin.
Smiling brightly, I looked at Akkelte.
“You know, thanks, Akkelte. For caring this much about my problem.”
“It’s repayment for telling me the flower’s name earlier.”
“Ahh, chamomile?”
Akkelte slowly nodded.
Feeling proud, I grinned confidently.
“If there are any other flowers you don’t know, ask me!”
“You know a lot?”
“Of course! I know a bit about flowers and herbs.”
“How?”
At Akkelte’s curious question, I eagerly answered.
“Because they’re pretty. I like everything pretty.”
“…What kind of weird reason is that?”
“Is it weird? Anyway, that’s how I got interested in them. And I studied a lot from books too.”
Studying with the orphanage’s limited collection of books hadn’t been easy.
I repeatedly read the same worn-out books over and over until they practically fell apart.
And recently, I’d even gotten lucky enough to acquire a new book.
“Someday I want to study magical potions too! Though I’d probably need talent for that.”
At first, Akkelte had looked at me like he didn’t understand at all.
But gradually, his expression became more serious.
Seeing him listen so attentively made me excited, and before I knew it, I was rambling nonstop about all the things I wanted to do in the future.
‘Wait… am I the only one talking too much here?’
The thought suddenly crossed my mind, so I stopped and glanced beside me.
“…Whoa, you scared me!”
Akkelte’s face was way too close.
At some point, he had sat down beside me.
At some point, he had completely turned his body toward me.
And… at some point, he had started looking at me with that intensely curious expression.
“What are you so startled about?”
“N-Nothing.”
Apparently, I was the only one bothered by how close we were.
Trying to calm my racing heart, I hurriedly changed the subject.
“What about you? What are you going to become when you grow up?”
“Me?”
Afraid he might hear my pounding heartbeat, I quickly hugged my knees and asked.
Beautiful people were seriously hazardous to the heart.
Every time I looked at pretty plants or at beautiful Ruruka, my chest would swell with emotion.
‘And now it’s Akkelte too.’
Though this feeling seemed slightly different somehow, I didn’t have the leisure to think deeply about it and quickly suppressed my emotions.
“I’ll probably become the Duke of Isis.”
Though he said it as if it were obvious, somehow his voice lacked energy.
Curious about that, I asked,
“Being the Duke of Isis is an amazing position, right? Is something bothering you?”
“Who knows…”
Murmuring vaguely, Akkelte silently lowered his gaze to the ground.
After a brief moment of thought, his eyes slowly turned toward me.
“You shine more than I do.”
“Shine? Me?”
At his words, I gaped openly in disbelief.
Maybe Ruruka could be called dazzling, but I was about as far from shining as possible.
Yet Akkelte nodded firmly, as if he truly believed it.
‘This guy… don’t tell me he…?’
Before my ridiculous misunderstanding could spiral out of control, Akkelte continued.
“When you were talking about what you want to do earlier, your eyes were sparkling like crazy. Didn’t you realize?”
“I-I didn’t know…”
Right. Of course.
He didn’t mean my face was shining.
That could’ve turned into a horribly embarrassing misunderstanding.
So what Akkelte meant was that my eyes had lit up passionately while talking about my dreams.
Scratching my cheek awkwardly, I swallowed my embarrassment.
“Magical potions, huh? I hope you really achieve it.”
“Yeah…! Thanks. I’m going to work hard.”
After possessing Elia’s body, I spent a long time seriously thinking about how I should survive.
I hadn’t become some wealthy villainess.
Nor had I become a kind heroine.
I was merely an extra.
And one from an orphanage, at that.
Which meant a bleak future awaited me the moment I left the orphanage.
At first, I’d begun studying simply to earn money someday.
But before long, I became genuinely fascinated.
‘Healing wounds, restoring energy instantly… it’s so amazing and cool!’
Gradually, my affection for potions deepened until it became a sincere dream.
Besides, magical potions were said to be incomparably more effective than ordinary potions, with many mysterious effects still undiscovered.
The thought of creating things like that with my own hands was incredibly exciting.
‘Though magical potions must be insanely difficult to make.’
Unlike normal potions, magical potions were extremely difficult to handle and required magical knowledge as well.
That was why demand was high while supply remained desperately low.
I hadn’t attempted making them yet, but if I ever succeeded, I could both earn money and gain a huge sense of accomplishment.
Two birds with one stone.
“I’ll be your first customer.”
“Huh? Y-You?”
“What’s with that weird reaction?”
I thought he was joking, but Akkelte’s expression was completely serious.
‘How exactly would he become my first customer?’
Even though he told me to speak casually, I still hadn’t forgotten the difference in our statuses.
Akkelte was the only son of House Isis, one of the empire’s founding duke families.
I was merely Extra #1.
Once today ended, any connection between us would disappear.
Meaning we’d probably never exchange another word again.
‘Then how could that even happen?’
As if reading the question in my eyes, Akkelte tilted his head.
“Ahh… so you think our connection only lasts for one night?”
“Cough, cough! T-That’s not what I meant!”
Caught completely off guard, I nearly choked.
I hurriedly covered my mouth and waved my hands frantically.
At my vehement denial, Akkelte’s eyes narrowed suspiciously.
“And w-what do you mean ‘one night’? What kind of thing is that to say?!”
“…?”
“You’re a kid—how do you already know how to say stuff like that?!”
At my scolding, Akkelte tilted his head like someone who genuinely didn’t understand.
Then he casually pointed toward the sky.
“It’s nighttime right now.”
“Ah…”
When… had it gotten this late?
I could’ve sworn the sun was setting when I first met Akkelte, but now everything around us was dark.
My embarrassment faded quickly as worry began rising instead.
“It’ll be harder to find the necklace now that it’s dark. This is bad.”
“Don’t worry too much. We’ll definitely find it before today ends.”
“Really?”
Akkelte’s voice was full of confidence.
And somehow, hearing him say that calmed me too.
It truly felt like we’d be able to find the pendant necklace.
And before long, that feeling turned into certainty.
“I found it! Elia’s necklace!”
Someone shouted loudly nearby.
“…!”
The instant we heard the voice, Akkelte and I looked at each other.
Then, almost simultaneously, we rushed toward the sound.
“Who was that just now? The person who said they found my necklace?”
It seemed everyone had gathered after hearing the shout, and the area was crowded with people.
Pushing through the crowd, I called out.
“Elia! This is your necklace, right?”
“…Ruruka!”
The one standing there smiling brightly while holding my necklace—
was none other than Ruruka herself.
