Reverse Villainess

Worth.

Aurora sat beside Sera with unease, as Sera delved deeply into the book she was reading. Glancing at her, Aurora felt a bit more relaxed. In the end, her negative thoughts were wrong. Sera was clearly interested in the book. 

However, Aurora couldn't help but wonder if all her efforts were worth it if it ended up making Sera cry. Was the book causing her sadness or something?

Aurora couldn't help but hate herself in this moment. Not only had she been feeling down for too long, but her mind kept drifting towards negative thoughts. She wasn't the most optimistic person she knew, but she usually had better control over her mind. 

I guess I'm tired, Aurora thought to herself. 

She didn't feel like reading at the moment, so she sat silently, watching as Sera flipped through the pages of her book, the sound of the paper rustling filling the room.

Sera closed the book, having finished reading it quickly. It wasn't surprising, considering the book wasn't particularly thick and it was targeted towards children, with lots of illustrations inside.

Sera looked satisfied and said, "Thank you for showing me this. I thought I would never be able to read it again."

Aurora smiled, "No problem. Does that mean it's not your first time reading it?"

"Yes," Sera said, smiling reminiscently of her past. A tear fell from her eye, which she quickly wiped away.

"Do you mind if I ramble for a bit?" Sera asked.

"Sure," Aurora said simply.

"I believe this is the reason I like mystery books a lot," Sera continued. "My grandpa owned a copy and he used to read it to me. He then taught me to read it myself, and it became a habit for us to read it together every week."

"I see," Aurora said, wondering why such a backstory wasn't included in the game.

"I guess my grandpa is the reason I love books too," Sera continued. "But unfortunately, he passed away when I was eight."

"Oh," Aurora said, feeling unsure of what to say. "I'm sorry to hear that."

Aurora was always confused about what to say when someone told her news about someone's death, especially if she didn't know the person who died. It never felt right to say sorry.

"It's fine," Sera said. "I do miss him though."

Sera looked like she was going to cry again, but then she said, "My grandpa left that book for me. It was my memento from him. But around two years ago, an accident happened in my place, burning most of my stuff..."

Aurora gulped. "So the book...burned?"

Sera nodded. "When I tried to find another copy, it turned out it was a rare book. I tried my best to find it, but I never did. Until today. It's almost like a miracle."