TTI 2

 The Method to Prolong Life, Rowell frowned on the story that sounded like a miracle.

[...Impossible. Stop it.]

[It's true. Just until I come back. If you endure until next spring-]

[I said stop!]

Eventually, Rowell's patience reached its limit. She shouted, forcefully pulling her wrist from Peter's grip.

[You can say that because you're not in pain anymore! You're healed now! You can do anything!]

[...Rowell.]

[Do you know what the doctor told me? I could lose consciousness tomorrow without it being strange. The maids who watch me every night are tired of waiting for me to have seizures. I don’t want to get sick either, you know?]

Countless thoughts raced through her mind. If she had a seizure at night, if her life was in danger.

Would there be someone who wanted to save her?

Everyone was exhausted from the prolonged illness. Those who once stood by, covering her with dirt as she slowly recovered, were now waiting for the right moment to lift the last shovel. When her breath stopped, they would cover her with the final dirt. When would her breath cease?

The medicine she had to swallow every day was bitter, her easily heated body was painful, but what tormented Rowell the most was the countless stares. Those who watched her illness seemed not concerned about her recovery but were waiting for her condition to worsen. The words of encouragement to live sounded like wishes for her death.

[Peter, you're the same! You'd prefer me to die soon, right? You're sorry to leave me here, right? Even if you quickly forget me once I'm gone-]

Her words were cut off. Peter's lips overlapped with Rowell's. The brief kiss felt not much different from the sensation of tasting rose petals.

Only then did Rowell realize that she was crying. Her cheeks were damp, and there was a hint of bitterness on her tongue.

In her blurred vision, she saw the face of the boy. A face contorted in pain over a topic that wasn't even painful. Blue eyes that seemed to stare only at her, as if nailed to her, whether now or in the past.

[I won't forget you, Rowell.]

Tears flowed down her cheeks and dropped from her chin. Peter's face became clearer. Rowell had never seen him cry, but perhaps due to her own tears, it seemed like he was crying now.

[Wait for me. I'll come back for you... I'll save you.]

Would there be another painful confession like that?

All Rowell knew about Peter was that he held a high status and the nickname Peter. And that he loved her more than anyone else.

Peter was the one who hoped for Rowell's next year, which no one was looking forward to.

She will die before the magnolia blooms. She will rot and crumble like the magnolia petals that have fallen to the ground. That was also Rowell's own premonition.

‘Are all people in love this stupid?’

To hope for a year even she didn't expect.

If one even slightly considered the exhausted Rowell, who had been sick for a long time, if one felt sorry for her, they should have wished for her death. Others, even her own family, were no exception.

Nevertheless, Peter asked Rowell to live. Is there anything more selfish and stupid than that? Is there anything else that can be as miserable and heartbreaking as that?

In the end, Rowell laughed through her tears.

[Okay. I'll wait. I'll try my best to live.]

She lied.

Only then did Peter smile brightly. The boy's laughter, which had reddened his cheeks, was as beautiful as dandelion seeds.

Was there any effect from that day's conversation?

Rowell, who thought she would die in the spring of that year, didn't die. She could bid farewell to Peter as he left, and afterward, she gradually recovered, spending the autumn showing signs of improvement.

And in the last month of that year, a fire broke out in the Hessen Mansion.

There were no survivors.

* * *

When the Hessen family's mansion caught fire, everyone inside the mansion died.

“The fire broke out when everyone was asleep. It is estimated that by the time it was noticed, the mansion was already almost burned down, and they couldn't escape, likely perishing trapped in the flames.”

This was the explanation of the imperial knight dispatched to control the situation. No one in the mansion could escape the burning house, and every single person in the Hessen mansion died.

Rowell sat down and listened to the mechanical explanation.

The imperial knight said that everyone in the Hessen mansion was dead, but in fact, there were people who survived.

Rowell Hessen. The only person who was outside when the fire broke out was on her way to the doctor's office.

She was returning from a consultation with a famous doctor in a distant province.

If she had come across a burning house, she would have run inside, wandered through the flames, and done something, but by the time Rowell arrived, everything was over.The fire and death.

The joy she felt at the examination results, which showed significant improvement in her condition, collapsed as she witnessed the burnt mansion.

'It can't be.'

It wouldn't be our mansion. It would be another mansion.

No matter how much she denied it, nothing changed. Although the wooden mansion burned, the iron fence and gate remained intact. The Hessen family motto was still vividly engraved on the gate.

Even after the fire was extinguished, the air still smelled acrid. Sitting there, smelling the scent of death, Rowell didn't realize tears were streaming down her cheeks incessantly.

The voice of the royal knight echoed above her frozen thoughts.

A mechanical verdict stating that her mother, father, brothers, and even the servants had all died.

"...It can't be."

Rowell, who had been quietly shedding tears without any movement, suddenly stood up. Somehow, at that moment, she forgot the pain in her body.

"Everyone died. Not a single survivor in that big mansion… It doesn’t make sense.”

Rowell was a girl who was always in the house because she was always sick. But even in Rowell's eyes, this situation was somehow strange.

"There was never a time when everyone was asleep from the beginning. We always took turns. I had to be watched all night...," Rowell said.

Due to occasional seizures at night, Rowell's parents, even after the mansion was extinguished, always arranged servants to take turns guarding at night.

The fact that Rowell had been away for a few days wouldn't make the events of the past few years suddenly disappear.

"It's unbelievable that no one woke up until the mansion was almost completely burned down. No one came out alive from this big mansion... How..."

Rowell vividly remembered when the village mill caught fire. It was also a midnight incident. She heard from the servants that people soaked large towels in water, wrapped them around their bodies, and rushed out.

The same happened during a small barn fire when there were only a few residents.

But no one came out from this big mansion? Not a single person?

It couldn't be. They should be saying something that made sense. How could there not be a single survivor?

If.

"If... someone didn't lock the door from the outside..."

In her confused mind, Rowell's thoughts abruptly stopped at the voice that suddenly emerged.

Only then did she find the answer to the perplexing question. A moment was enough for the muttering to turn into certainty.

'The royal knight is lying.'

The royal knight was preventing anyone from approaching the burned mansion. He claimed it was to preserve the scene to confirm the truth. How could anyone believe that?

Who knows if they were guarding like that, preventing anyone from coming out even as the mansion was burning.

The realization turning into anger was also enough for a very brief moment.

Without measuring the consequences, Rowell suddenly stood up from her seat and confronted the royal knight. She intended to grab the liar by the collar and demand the truth right away.

"Oh..."

If she hadn't been blocked by the suddenly appearing hand.

The anger directed at the royal knight instantly shifted to the owner of the hand that blocked her way. Rowell, with the intention of tearing them apart if they didn't move their hand, glared at the owner of the hand, but as soon as she confirmed who it was, her anger dissipated like a flame hit by water.

The other was someone she had met before.

Occasionally, a middle-aged gentleman who used to visit her father blocked Rowell with one arm and spoke to calm her down.

"Calm yourself, Annette. I understand your feelings, but isn't the fire not his fault?"

"...Annette?"

Though Rowell unintentionally questioned the unfamiliar name, the gentleman was quick to respond.

"I'll apologize to the lady. Please forgive the rudeness of the child."

"Oh, no, Your Grace. Are you acquainted with the child?"

"As you know, the Hessen family and I are quite close. This child's sister worked as a servant for the Hessens. I even wrote her a letter of introduction. I happened to pass by and couldn't just ignore it. Understanding the child's rudeness, as she seems to have suffered a great loss in her family, would you not?"

"okay. Of course I understand. Understand it.”

What is understanding? Although he was still seething inside, Rowell did not forget to laugh at the imperial knight's servility.

Understanding what? Although her emotions were still boiling inside, Rowell didn't forget to mock the royal knight's humiliation.

In front of the seemingly unremarkable girl, the attitude changed from frowning and holding out a gloved hand, which was armored, to being exceedingly lenient in front of Lord Duke.

The middle-aged gentleman who conveniently blocked Rowell was Duke Jurgen Martinek.

He had frequent interactions with the Hessen family himself, and thanks to that, he had a fairly good relationship with Rowell as well.

As the conversation progressed, Rowell also subtly caught on.

'Annette, her sister working as a servant...'

Jürgen was lying without blinking an eye. For some reason, he was trying to hide Rowell's identity.

Why?

The question was quickly answered.

"The Hessen fire was deliberately set arson."