The scene abruptly stopped and moved ahead quickly. After the annual hunt, William saved Mary after she was tricked by Ilene into going to the wrong location. Once she was saved, she coincidentally gave him a tassel. Ilene heard about the incidence and grew furious. Her bullying intensified.

Seri watched from the sidelines as Mary came home more and more depressed. However, whenever the two were alone, Mary would seemed extremely cheerful. Although Mary didn't seem to mind the bullying, Seri felt frustrated and upset to see Mary suffer. One day, she came across Ilene, Sel, and Mel bullying Mary so badly, Mary actually ran off crying.

Seri stepped forward. Her voice shook, "Y-You should l-leave Mary alone."

Ilene turned to her with a wicked expression, "What's this? Did Seri the little mouse actually say something?!"

Mel giggled, "Were those words? They sounded like squeaks to me."

Sel taunted, "Just go find some trash little mouse."

While Seri would have usually ran off by now, this time she was determined. She clenched her fists and summoned all the courage she had. "I-I said to s-stop b-bullying her!"

Sel mocked her, "I-I-I'm S-Seri and I-I can't t-t-talk!"

They burst out into annoying laughter. Ilene chuckled, "Oh Sel, you shouldn't laugh at her stutter. Don't you know you shouldn't make fun of slow people?"

Seri felt her words dealt a blow to her confidence, but she recalled Mary's reaction earlier and couldn't allow herself to back down. "L-Leave Mary a-alone! O-Or else!"

The three's faces collectively grew malicious. Ilene stepped forward, "You dare order me around? You dare threaten me!?"

Sel stepped forward, "You are just a lowly noble."

Mel stepped forward as well, "Yeah, a noble whose own family doesn't even like her."

Seri bit her lip in fear. Even though they were deliberately trying to hurt her feelings, it's not like they were lies. Ilene glared at her with evil behind her eyes, "It looks like we ought to teach this girl a lesson. We should remind her where her place is."

The three girls violently pushed Seri down and began to kick her. Seri was unable to fight back. As the girls ganged up on her and vented their frustrations, all Seri knew what to do was to curl up in a ball on the ground to protect herself from their attack. She was kicked repeatedly and was soon covered in cuts and bruises.

"What's going on over here?"

The assault suddenly stopped and the three girls turned to see Artie glaring at them. Ilene turned away haughtily, "Nothing's going on. We were just leaving."

Once the three disappeared, Artie rushed over to help Seri up. She slapped away his hand. Her voice was uncharacteristically dark, "Leave me alone."

He stopped and watched as she forced herself to stand up and hop over to pick up her discarded bonnet. She wiped off the dirt as Artie walked towards her. "Are you hurt? It looks painful." He winced as he saw her covered in dirt and bruises. Her lip was bleeding and one of her eyes were bloodshot from a kick.

She answered in a cold tone, "This kind of pain is nothing."

Seri would rather be beaten until she was bloody than to see Mary cry like that again.

Artie looked at her carefully, "You... Really like her... Don't you?"

Seri glanced at him before placing her bonnet back on, "It doesn't matter."

Then she turned to walk away with a limp in her step. Artie watched her leave with a painful expression.

I turned to the Original Seri, "D*mn, Seri."

She sighed, "Yeah... I know... I got beat up pretty bad."

"No. Not that. You actually called out Ilene and her goons. I'm impressed."

She turned to me speechlessly before looking away. Although I couldn't see her face, she seemed to look a bit bashful. The scene changed once more. This time Seri was sitting in the library reading a book about flowers. Someone sat down across from her.

She spoke quietly, "What do you want..."

Artie spoke innocently, "I was just wondering if you were feeling better."

She didn't answer him.

He sighed, "I've been watching you."

Seri moved the book slightly, "C-Creepy..."

He chuckled, "It may be a bit creepy, but I can't help it. Whenever I see Mary and you together, I can't stop watching."

"...Definitely creepy..."

He gave her a weak smile, "It probably is."

Seri timidly peered over her book, "D-Do you... Also... Like M-Mary?"

He laughed quietly, "You don't have to worry about that."

Seri let out a sigh in relief.

I was surprised to hear this. I turned to the original Seri in confusion.

She shrugged, "The novel you read didn't always tell the truth."

Yeah... That's becoming more and more clear.

Artie slunk down looking a bit like a sad puppy, "I am jealous... Since you two are girls it is more acceptable for you two to be closer to each other. Girls get to hug each other and hold hands while men can't."

Seri placed her book down, "T-That's true... However, t-that's all we can do. I-If anything, it hurts m-more to be so c-close yet so far."

Artie looked out the window and caught sight of someone surrounded by girls. His face smiled gently, "I wish I could have the chance to do that. Even if that is all we could ever do, it's better than not being able to touch at all."

Seri followed his gaze as I did the same. We both saw that he was looking at the red-haired playboy.

Lucius.

Her eyes widened, "Him?!"

Artie peeled his eyes from Lucius's laughing face slightly panicked, "No. That's. I-"

Seri reached out and gently pat his hand. She spoke in a reassuring voice, "It's okay. I don't judge you."

Artie bit his lip as it trembled. He looked down, "Does it ever stop hurting? Does it ever get better knowing that you can never be with the one you love?"

Her gaze turned downward as well, "I'm not sure..."

The original Seri narrated next to me, "Artie and I both wanted someone we could never have. Because of that... We sort of became comrades."

I was still reeling from the surprising blow, "So Artie was like this in this life as well?"

"Why wouldn't he be?"

I chuckled nervously while scratching my cheek, "For a moment there, I was worried that he only liked Lucius in my head..."

She giggled, "Why would you think that?"

"Well how was I supposed to know? He always acts like he is irritated with Lucius. I thought that it was a one sided love on Lucius's part."

"I thought Artie hated Lucius at first as well. However, I quickly realized that Artie acted like a nagging wife."

I looked at the Artie from the memory. Sh*t. Now I can't unsee it.

The scene abruptly changed. Seri came home late at night and found it strange that Mary wasn't home. Usually by this time, Mary would be waiting for her with a plate of cookies. She knocked on Mary's door, but there was no answer. Seri moved towards her bedroom, but paused. Several thoughts rushed through her mind.

Mary was never this late. Could she have gotten lost?! Could she have spent the night with someone?! What if Mary was dead!?

Too panicked to relax, Seri sat down and faced the door impatiently. She spent the remainder of the night staring at that door. She refused to sleep until Mary was back at home safe. Then, the door flung open and Mary rushed in crying.

Seri stood up anxiously, "What's wrong!?"

Mary caught sight of her and started wailing. She ran at Seri and buried her face into Seri's chest. Seri panicked as her hands waved wildly. She didn't know what to do in this situation. Although everything was screaming at her to push Mary off, she also couldn't deny how nice it felt. However, her hands didn't know whether they should embrace her back or not.

Mary sobbed, "He killed them!!!"

Seri blinked in confusion, "He killed them?"

Mary nodded still with her head buried, "D-Dante... I-I was kidnapped and-and-"

"You were kidnapped?!"

Seri was overwhelmed by this. She instantly cursed the people who kidnapped Mary and wanted to make them pay. However, she was just a weak and poor noble. There was really nothing she could have done to help Mary. Seri felt completely helpless.

Mary sniffed, "I-I was... B-But then D-Dante killed all of the kidnappers... There was so much blood..." Mary picked her head up and gazed under Seri's veil. Her eyes were still watering, "D-Do you think I'm stupid?"

"Stupid?"

"Do you think I am stupid for caring about them dying?"

Seri bit her lip slightly then released it. She hesitantly put her arms around Mary, "No..." Seri loved this pure hearted baby. How could she think she was stupid when she loved her so much?

Mary's sobs slowly got under control. When she was no longer crying, she looked at Seri hesitantly, "Can I sleep with you tonight?"

Seri nearly fell over in shock, "S-Sleep?! W-With!?"

"Please?"

"N-N-No I-I couldn't p-possibly-"

"Pleaaaaaaaaaaase?"

In the end, Seri was no match for Mary's insistence. They changed into their nightgowns and crawled into Seri's bed. Seri was as stiff as a board next to the relaxed Mary. Seri had just realized her feelings towards Mary; there was no way she could relax sleeping next to her unsuspecting body.

Her face twitched when she felt someone staring. She gradually opened her eyes and peeked. Mary was staring unapologetically at Seri's face with extreme proximity. Seri immediately forced her eyes closed as her face flushed red. How could Mary just stare so shamelessly?

Mary whispered, "I get to see your face again..."

Seri suddenly regretted her decision to allow Mary to stay in her bed. Before Mary could be kicked out, she wrapped her arms around Seri and snuggled in, using her chest as a pillow. Seri's eyes snapped open as her eyes slowly traveled down to see Mary sleeping peacefully on her.

Mary's face was peaceful and flawless. If someone had said Mary was an angel, Seri would have believed them. As she admired Mary's sleeping face, her eyes trailed down and hesitated on her lips. As she stared at those plump lips, she fought off the urge to lean down and place her own upon them. Seri's heart raced and echoed in her ears. She was surprised that her racing heart didn't wake Mary up.

Seri spent the rest of that night unable to sleep.

The next few days, Mary used the same excuse in order to sleep in Seri's bed. Seri looked extremely tired, but she still didn't say no. It was worth losing sleep over. Mary was packing up a suitcase and noticed that Seri was not doing the same. Mary walked over to her, "Are you not going home for the week long break?"

Seri flinched and shook her head slowly, "N-No... I-I don't want t-to go back there."

"So... You are just going to stay here all alone?"

"Y-Yes..."

Mary frowned, "That sounds lonely."

Seri didn't answer. She didn't mind being alone. She much preferred to stay in her room or her garden in solitude. She could never relax when she was around other people.

Mary smiled, "How about you come home with me?"

Seri arrived with Mary at her house in full panic. She said yes because her mind had went blank. However, now she found herself in a small two bedroom house. Mary tugged on her arm, "Come! I will show you to my room. It's upstairs in the attic."

Mary dragged her upstairs to a small bedroom that only had space for a bed and a dresser. It was small, but Seri found it surprisingly comfortable. Mary placed their bags on the bed. Seri looked around in surprise, "I-It's small..."

Mary looked up with a timid expression, "Ah... Yeah, I forget you are a noble. You are probably used to much better lodgings than this... I'm sorry it's small... You probably think I am insulting you..."

Seri shook her head quickly, "No! I like it.... I-It's comfortable..."

Mary's face quickly lit up, "Well I hope you don't mind sharing a bed!"

"S-Sharing?! Again?!"

Mary pouted, "It's the only way I get to see your face..."

Seri tugged at her bonnet in embarrassment. Mary dragged her down the stairs to where her father was waiting. He smiled, "Hello Seri. It's nice to finally meet you. Mary has been telling me all about you."

"F-Father!" Mary shouted in embarrassment.

He chuckled, "I will make dinner soon. I just need to go out to the garden to collect some herbs."

Seri perked up, "Garden?"

Mary nodded, "My father has a garden in the back yard. He likes to do research on herbs and flowers to make medication. He is really good at it too."

Mary's father smiled, "If you'd like, you can come see it. Perhaps I can teach you a few things."

Seri nodded in excitement, "Can I?"

Mary followed the two out and watched as her father explained the plants to Seri as she listened earnestly. She also shared her knowledge without ever uttering a single stutter. Seri's back was turned so she couldn't see Mary's expression. I glanced at it and noticed her gentle and tender smile as she watched Seri closely.

Once they collected the correct herbs, they all cooked dinner with Seri watching them hungrily. Mary made sure to make extra portions and slide it towards Seri. Seri didn't notice and ate every piece. Mary's father was surprised to see such a small girl eat so much. As he watched the two of them together, he understood something.

He smiled gently, "Even if my daughter has a forbidden love and won't be able to give me any grandchildren, I don't mind. As long as my precious daughter is happy then I am as well. Although I don't quite understand these kinds of things, I won't disown my daughter over it. I love her no matter who she loves."

Seri choked on her food from surprise and started coughing.

Mary looked at him in confusion, "What are you talking about father?"

He ignored her and looked at Seri closely, "You will take care of her, won't you?"

Seri glanced at the confused Mary then turned back to Mary's father. She gave a small nod.

He chuckled, "Great! Then welcome to the family."

For once, she felt the warmth of a loving family.