𝙆𝙉𝙔 𝙭 𝘿𝙚𝙢𝙤𝙣! 𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧

Chapter Eighteen

Although you still had a bad feeling about that new girl, Sora, everyone else seemed to take a liking to her thanks to her outgoing personality and the great help she does for others around her.

Since she joined the cult, everything seemed to be going perfectly fine; perhaps she had a way of nicely putting everything in order while making sure that she's fully completed her duties.

You would often hear the cultists praising her even while she wasn't around, and to be fair, she's hardworking enough to earn others' respect.

"I'm going to find the secret you're hiding, you're not getting away with it." You thought, fixating your gaze on the young woman who was sweeping the floor while humming some song under her breath.

As soon as she felt your eyes on her, she turned to you as her face lit up. "Yuki-chan!" She called for you, waving and smiling.

"It's Yuki-san for you." You muttered, crossing your arms defensively.

"Sorry! Sorry!" She bowed apologetically. "I thought you wouldn't mind that since we're good friends!"

"Know your place... You're just some servant who came a week ago." You scoffed, scanning her from head to toe and that's when you noticed a familiar necklace around her neck.

"Where did you get that from?" You asked, giving her a skeptical look as you eyed the necklace.

"This?" Her eyes lit up as she took out a flower shaped pendant. "This used to be my–"

"I have the exact same necklace..." You interrupted, marching closer to her to get a closer look at the jewellery.

Sora then tucked the pendant back inside her dress "So we're matching?" She asked excitedly.

"Unfortunately, yes." You replied, frowning. "Unless you stole this from me..."

"No... that's–"

You weren't going to hear her out, and before she could say anything more, you snatched the necklace and a look of panic started forming in her pale green eyes.

As she tried to hold onto the pendant, the chain broke and the girl fell to the floor, knocking over the pail of water she needed for cleaning.

"Why... Why did you do that? Please... give my necklace back." Sora pleaded, trying so hard to hold back her tears. "That's the last thing I have left from–"

"I don't want to hear it." You interrupted, then turned to leave but there stood the cult's leader, blocking your way.

"Poor Sora-chan! Need help?" He gasped then approached her and held out a helping hand for her which she hesitantly took into her trembling hand.

"I'll get you a new change of clothes immediately, Douma-sama... You dirtied your clothes with the cleaning water... I'm very sorry." She bowed apologetically then slowly turned to leave.

"Oh no! I'll take care of that!" He said with a reassuring smile. "You just go clean yourself and get changed, okay?"

She looked up at him with her eyes wide open as she wasn't expecting him to be genuinely this kind. "Thank you..." She smiled thinly then left to get changed.

"She's just as fake as you are, Douma-sama." You muttered, crossing your arms. "You should know better."

"Oh I know!" He said with a hint of excitement in his voice. "But she has feelings, unlike me... I wonder why she's acting!"

-

Later that day, you saw Sora cleaning the books you kept on the shelves in your room. "What are you doing?" You demanded, pinning your hands to your hips.

"Cleaning." She replied shortly, standing on her tip toes as she tried to reach for the books on the highest shelf when all of a sudden, she accidentally knocked down all the books.

"You better clean this up at this instant." You gave her a judgemental look before turning on your heel and leaving.

This girl was unbelievable; if there was anything at all which she was good at it was cleaning, but turns out that she messed up even the simplest things.

"What are you planning on doing with this new girl?" You asked, standing at a distance from Douma who was enjoying his meal.

"Well... I don't think I'll devour her now." He said, munching over a human's arm. "I just ate... besides, she's fun to have around."

"Are you seriously thinking so?" You asked with a hint of disappointment in your voice. "She makes my life miserable!"

"You'll get used to her eventually!" He laughed carelessly. "I can see you two becoming the best of friends!"

You cringed at the thought of being friends with such a stupid person, then stormed off back to your room to check if she was - at least - doing her job.

Much to your surprise, everything was back in place, sorted alphabetically and by category, but there she was reading one of your books about potion making.

"You're done?" You asked dryly, but she was too absorbed in the book to acknowledge your presence.

Marching over to her, you snatched the book out of her possession. "You may leave." You said, pointing towards the door.

"My mum used to have one of those books." Sora said, pointing at the book in your hand. "Maybe it was book four or five... I can't remember."

"I'm not in the mood to listen to your sob story, please leave."

"I'm just asking if I could borrow this book." She frowned. "You broke my necklace after all... that's the least you could do."

"Do you intend to say that I owe you an apology?" You scoffed, returning the book back to its place.

"I mean what's the big deal of having a piece of jewellery similar to someone else's?" She asked, pulling out two identical necklaces. "Can I at least have mine back? I won't wear it around... I promise."

Your eyes widened at the sight of the necklaces, and that's when you realized that you've made a huge mistake. "How...?" You mumbled, still in shock.

You didn't remember anyone having an identical copy of your handmade necklace, especially someone who you've never seen before.

"This used to be my mum's... she told me that her guardian gifted it to her on her seventh birthday." Sora said, holding the pendant of her necklace in a tight fist.

Suddenly you felt yourself losing your balance before everything went black and all you could hear was the voice of the servant calling for help as she supported your unconscious body.

"Necklace? That's right..."

"Yuki-san! Can you hear me?!"

"Hold on!"

"Douma-sama!"

─── ∙ ~εïз~ ∙ ───

Word count: 1085 words

-',✎ A/n: This chapter was a bit rushed but I hope you like it nonetheless 🥲