“Cindy!”

Jeffrey quickly covered Cindy’s mouth and glanced at Lumiere.

“Haha. It’s nothing, Miss.”

Lumiere awkwardly smiled back at Jeffrey, who was laughing awkwardly.

“It seems like you’re talking about something related to me. How about letting me in on it?”

“Ah, no, Miss!”

…Oh, no?

Lumiere widened her green eyes, which were as fresh as new leaves, and looked at Jeffrey.

“Yes, I’m sorry! But it seems we can’t tell you right now. Things aren’t quite settled yet… No, no, it might just be a trivial matter! Anyway, I’m sorry, but we can’t.”

Jeffrey shook his head desperately, saying no. Lumiere, holding the warm teacup with both hands, stared at them and then laughed.

“Oh, okay. Tell me later.”

If they were that desperate to say no, they must have a good reason. Knowing they weren’t the type to do so without reason, Lumiere could let it slide.

She had thought about teasing them by pressing for answers, but Jeffrey and Cindy’s faces looked too desperate for that. What if they cried again?

“Phew…”

At Lumiere’s words, Jeffrey and Cindy visibly relaxed. If they’re going to make it so obvious, wouldn’t it be better to just say it?

“It seems better to just say it…”

“Right. It seems they’ll be here soon…”

Arwin and Darwin, who were rubbing the tops of their heads where Cindy had hit them, seemed to agree with her. But when Cindy glared sharply at the twins, they quickly averted their gaze.

It was a strange feeling, knowing everyone else knew something she didn’t.

“Hmmm…?”

Lumiere made a peculiar sound and looked at each of them one by one.

Their startled reactions were quite amusing. Cindy and Jeffrey, who had been avoiding her gaze, quietly stood up.

“Miss, I’ll go down to prepare dinner, so please rest for a while! If you need anything, just pull the bell cord!”

“I’ll go too. H-hay! Yes, I need to prepare the hay.”

“You two, stop chattering and follow me!”

Cindy subdued the dawdling twins with both hands and dragged them out. Tamia, who was the last to remain, patted Lumiere’s shoulder as she sat there blankly.

“Miss, you should go to your room and rest. Even if you seem fine on the outside, you’ll probably feel sore somewhere tomorrow. That’s how accidents are.”

Tamia was right. Lumiere nodded and got up.

“I’ll guide you to your bedroom.”

“Huh? No, I think I know where it is. The end of the left hallway on the second floor, right?”

At Lumiere’s words, Tamia looked at her with a strange expression and then nodded.

“I can go up alone, so don’t worry about me. You go ahead with your work, Tamia.”

“Yes, Miss. Be careful on the stairs.”

Being told to be careful on the stairs when going up just one floor.

Even after ten years, Tamia still saw her as a fourteen or fifteen-year-old. It didn’t feel bad. Following Tamia’s advice, Lumiere carefully climbed the stairs and entered her familiar but unfamiliar room.

As soon as she entered the room, the first thing that caught her eye was the overwhelmingly large bed.

‘So it doesn’t creak…’

Startled by the voice that suddenly invaded her mind, Lumiere pressed her temples.

“…Who are you?”

Who are you to keep intruding into my mind?

Lumiere let out a lukewarm sigh and collapsed onto the huge bed. The incredibly soft blanket warmly wrapped around her body. It was such a sturdy and luxurious bed that it didn’t even creak, as if it wouldn’t make a sound even if she jumped on it.

The sporadic gaps in her memory.

She thought it was nothing, but she felt like she had forgotten something important.

* * *

Rumble…!

At the sound of the sky splitting, Lumiere’s eyes snapped open.

Surprisingly, she felt completely refreshed, as if she had slept deeply. She got up groggily and looked out the window to see the dark sky, completely devoid of daylight. The sound she had just heard was dry thunder, as there was no sign of rain.

‘How long did I sleep?’

She checked the large wall clock hanging on the wall with blurry eyes.

Two in the morning.

Considering she had seen the time as four in the afternoon before she fell asleep, she had slept for a whopping ten hours.

No wonder she felt refreshed.

Stretching her long arms into the air, Lumiere let out a big yawn.

“Ahhh…”

The languidness enveloping her body felt pleasant. She buried herself back into the bed. The blanket brushing against her bare skin felt strangely soft.

Lying on the huge bed, she stared blankly at the moonlight pouring through the window and sparkling on her fingertips. Suddenly, she frowned.

“What’s this scar on the back of my hand…?”

It wasn’t large, but the skin was slightly wrinkled, as if it were a burn scar.

A burn…

It meant an injury caused by fire. The thought of fire made goosebumps rise all over Lumiere’s body.

She absolutely hated fire. She wouldn’t even light the fireplace in winter unless it was unbearably cold.

On very cold days, she would place several stones heated during the day under her bed and sleep. It was a primitive method, but it was warm and cozy. That’s how much she hated fire.

“This is really strange.”

Lumiere turned her injured hand in the air and let out a faint smile. It felt like she had been possessed by a ghost and then released.

Traces of a past she didn’t remember. These traces of herself that weren’t really her felt very unfamiliar and alien.

How did my past self live?

‘…Come to think of it, wouldn’t there be a diary?’

Although she didn’t write in it every day, she did occasionally keep a diary. On particularly good days or on days when she felt especially down.

It felt like a confession, writing down everything that happened to her and everything she did. It helped clear away the emotional debris that accumulated in her heart.

She decided to find her diary right away. She jumped out of bed and walked lightly across her bedroom.

She usually kept precious or personal items in her studio. Even though her memory was a bit spotty, she was still the same person, so her diary should be there.

At that moment,

Rumble! …Bang!

A flash of light was followed by a rumbling thunder. Soon after, the sound of raindrops hitting the window could be heard.

It had started to rain.

* * *

Swoosh—

The few raindrops quickly turned into a downpour, battering the mansion. The thick mist that rose enveloped the three-story mansion in white.

Lumiere cautiously walked down the quiet hallway, marveling at the unfamiliar mansion that bore her name. The clean and neat hallway, the elegant wallpaper, and the sturdy-looking tiles.

This was certainly not a cheaply built structure.

‘The more I see, the more amazed I am.’

If she had known she would become this wealthy, she wouldn’t have just watched her mother and father struggle. It was heartbreaking to think of her parents who had passed away too soon.

‘The first floor is likely Cindy and Tamia’s rooms, and Jeffrey seems to have a separate room next to the stable. Where are the twins?’

Lumiere slowly recalled the layout of the house as she made her way up to the third floor. Her body remembered that there was a studio on the third floor without needing to ask anyone.

The small hallway at the top of the third-floor stairs was adorned with several paintings that seemed to be her own. Feeling comforted by the familiar paintings, she passed through the third-floor vestibule and stood before the studio door. Even before opening the door, the familiar smell of paint wafted through.

‘Here it is.’

She eagerly opened the door.

As soon as she opened the door, the thick smell of paint enveloped her like a wave. Perhaps because of the rain, the scent felt particularly strong.

“It’s true.”

Lumiere turned on the gas lamp as soon as she entered the room. As the light brightened, the spacious studio came into full view.

On one side were neatly arranged linen canvases, various oil paints organized on top of drawers, and brushes of different sizes placed on the desk.

“My atelier…”

Without hesitation, she stepped inside. Just the familiar smells lifted her spirits.

“Wow, so many paints?”

Seeing the increased art supplies and materials, Lumiere felt her heart swell with excitement.

At a glance, there were many things she had never possessed before.

“…What is this?”

Among them was a strange machine she had never seen before.