Chapter 1

Furina sat on the bed in her new house and looked around. Her suitcases were still unpacked on the floor, but she didn't have the energy to tidy up all her stuff now.

"A fully furnished house in a prime location, sold because the previous owners were relocating due to the noise coming from the anvil across the street. Naturally, we've also arranged for the house to be cleaned and stocked with everything you might need at first." That's what Neuvillette told her when he handed her the keys. The noise didn't bother Furina at the moment. In fact, nothing bothered her right now. She wasn't sure how she was supposed to feel. Certainly, she should be happy with her newfound freedom, but at the same time, she was so afraid of the future... of the uncertainty. What would she do with her life now? And what would people think of her?

She lay on the bed and noticed how incredibly tired she was. What was she expecting from the first night she would sleep free of her burden? She couldn't smile, but she also couldn't cry. That was a positive change, right? But now it felt like she was in a stupor. She turned to the side and shut her eyes. She knew she wouldn't get much sleep, but she had to try.

The next day, she woke up rather late. She was puzzled for a second by the room she was in, but quickly remembered that she was now in her own bedroom. She slowly started unpacking her bags. It took less time than she anticipated. She had only taken a few possessions from the Palais Mermonia. She put everything in its place, or at least out of sight for the time being, and looked around the room again. "Good", she thought, "nothing seems out of place now".

… And now what?

What was she supposed to do now? She didn't really want to get out of the house; she didn't want to meet anyone... and who could she meet anyway, even if she wanted to? She had no friends after all. She was supposed to be happy to live a normal life, but how could she live a normal life? Which normal person starts their life as an adult with no family, friends, or goals in life? Who could she meet, Neuvillette? And how would he see her now? How would he treat her? No, just the thought of her going to the Palais to have a chat with him seemed laughable.

She was just so, so lonely.

With nothing else to do, she just lay on the bed again, hugged her knees, and cried silently until she fell into a stupor once again.

Much later, as night was already approaching, something woke her from her stupor—an intense pain in the stomach. She hadn't eaten anything at all since yesterday, and even then, it was only a slice of cake before departing from the Palais. She stood up and slowly walked into the kitchen, only to be further confused by... the kitchen itself. What was she expecting—for the food to already be cooked and served to her? Of course she had to do it herself now. Only how? She opened a few of the cupboards; most were empty, but there was some spaghetti, macaroni, and a couple of jars of tomato sauce in one of them. Okay, how hard could this be? She just had to boil them and put the sauce on top, right? "You got this, Furina".

Twenty minutes later, an intense stench of burned macaroni could be felt in the entire house and probably outside of it too. Furina was again lying in bed with an intense pain in the stomach—this time not because she was hungry but because of the charred dinner she had eaten. Was she so incompetent that she couldn't boil a plate of macaroni correctly?! Before she realized it, tears were streaming down her face again. She turned to the side, hugged her knees, and tried to get some sleep, hoping she wouldn't vomit. Was every night going to be like that from now on?

The next few days, all identical, went down in a haze. Furina was mostly lying in bed, either in a stupor or crying. A few times, someone knocked on the door, but Furina didn't answer. Firstly, because she didn't really want to see anyone (or for anyone to see her), and secondly, what if it was a Fontanian who hated her now? How could she face the people now that they knew she had deceived them for generations? If someone was angry and attacked her, well, she wouldn't even be able to protect herself. And if it wasn't a disgruntled Fontanian at the door, or even worse, a journalist, then who? No one else had anything to say to her. Neuvillette was surely way too busy with all the new tasks he had, so it was impossible that it was him. On the plus side, her cooking improved dramatically; she could now boil the macaroni without burning it almost every time.

On the ninth, or maybe tenth day after moving in, she woke up to a terrible realization: there was no more tomato sauce. She checked every cupboard and scoured the entire kitchen before admitting that she needed to buy more. After all, she could just eat the macaroni without a sauce, but how would that taste?! Especially if she managed to burn them again. So, she mustered all the courage she had, took a deep breath, and walked out the door.

She walked as quickly as she could and did not stop for a second while going to the market, at the market, and on the way back. In fact, she didn't even look up; she just stared at her feet the entire time. She didn't look at anyone at any time, and no one stopped her or talked to her in the streets. Either people didn't recognize her, didn't want to talk to her, or didn't know how to react. Whatever the case was, it suited her just fine. She wouldn't know what to say or do either. So, as she took the last corner home, she was happy she managed to avoid any and all communication.

But just as she was approaching her house, she noticed someone was already at the door. Two people, in fact.