Miss, It’s Just a Cold

Chapter 41: Just Like That

If I think about it in terms of the old world, it’s around the age when someone might be in middle school.

Come to think of it, Ellie seems to fit perfectly into that age group.

Arrogant, ignorant of her own limits, pure in some aspects, and wicked in others.

She might actually like me as family.

Because of puberty, though, she’s unable to admit it openly, constantly deflecting my words and putting me down. 

At some point, even that behavior probably became a habit.

“Don’t come near me. Stay away. Or I’ll just push you off.”

Not that she’d really push me.

If she leaned back far enough to fall, at most, she’d hit her head on the way down.

And if that happened, my head would stop being a head.

It’d probably splatter everywhere like a slightly crushed watermelon, pink chunks flying all over the place.

Ellie, with a stupid expression on her face, nodded and backed away from me as far as she could.

Watching her, I smirked, climbed off the railing, and stepped onto it instead.

Balancing on that narrow space like a tightrope walker, I swayed back and forth.

Feeling giddy, I lifted my toes and even bounced up and down.

There was no one around to see me anyway.

It wasn’t like I was making any noise.

“Ah.”

Then, I momentarily lost my footing.

Even that felt amusing, and the smile on my lips didn’t waver.

It’s probably similar to people in the old world going paragliding or bungee jumping. Except, I didn’t have any safety gear.

Safety gear? That’s for cowards. It’s actually pretty fun to move my body however I want.

I’ve never been able to do anything entirely my way—not breathing, learning, walking down the street, taking a stroll, or even growing a single weed. Never my way.

Ah, now… Now, for the first time. Finally, I might actually be free.

The one thing I truly own—my body, my life—might end if I use it like this, but isn’t this the very moment I finally live freely?

What a pitiful life that must be. And yet, probably a very common one.

Why? Every morning, people in carts come by the tower to clean up the bodies. Prostitutes, lovers whose parents opposed their union, debtors, young runaway kids who made extreme choices, gamblers who lost everything, married couples shattered by infidelity, those who found life so dull they’d rather die, and the hopeless fools who might have wanted to live but couldn’t find a way.

Fortunately, since they fall from such high places, it’s enough to gather their remains and load them onto carts. The rain will take care of the bloodstains eventually.

And if it gets too unbearable to deal with the smell, the people around here will take care of it on their own.

Ellie was staring blankly at me. My body tipped backward.

For a moment, the sensation of falling gave me chills. That distinct, tingling feeling in the back of my knees—it was that.

Of course, I wasn’t going to land headfirst.

It’s not like this was some massive tower or a building with ten or twenty stories. At most, it’s just three stories.

Who could die falling from the third floor? I guess someone might.

As my body leaned halfway back, Ellie’s face stiffened, and she reached out toward me.

Her outstretched hand seemed almost mocking. She must have incredible reflexes.

I was too weak to push her away. We really aren’t blood-related, are we?

Anyway, Ellie grabbed my wrist.

“Hey, Ellie. Even if I fall, I don’t think I’ll get seriously hurt.”

“Are you serious? Why are you doing this in front of me!?”

“It’s hard to hold on. My wrist hurts. Let go, will you?”

To be honest, I didn’t even want her fingers touching me.

“I told you I hate you. It’d be fun if you got into a bit of trouble.”

“It’s not like anything bad will happen. Ellie, do you think Mother would even scold you if she thought you pushed me?”

My wrist ached.

The lack of circulation was making it numb.

“Ugh! What—what are you doing?!”

I clenched my fist and struck Ellie’s wrist as she held onto mine.

She didn’t even flinch.

Maybe I should start exercising once I’m better. My body is absurdly weak.

It’s not like I suddenly don’t want to fall anymore. It’s not like it’ll hurt that much anyway.

At least, it won’t hurt as much as having my whole body shredded by shards of glass.

Anyway, Anyway, Yeah, what was I trying to say? I tilted my body slightly, catching a glimpse of the sky, and forgot.

It must not have been important if I forgot it so easily.

Anyway,

It’s not that high, so even as I tipped backward, I ended up falling feet-first.

Three stories, that’s all.

I hit the ground.

My shins and ankles hurt quite a bit. Judging by the fact that I couldn’t stand, they’re probably broken.

Feeling oddly refreshed, I sat on the ground and chuckled for a while.

It’s not like anyone died, so nothing major happened. Other than Ellie looking a little shaken, nothing will be said about it back at home anyway.

But her expression earlier was absolutely priceless.

The kid who parroted everything Mother said, bossed me around, and always looked down on me—making that face.

I know very well that this is a petty, lowly emotion.

But I’ve lived as a garbage bin for feelings like this.

In the end, is this all I can do?

Even so, I don’t want to let these thoughts and feelings eat me alive, ending up dead and alone like so many others.

I still love myself.

Unlike the common folk, I won’t succumb to self-loathing.

“Ow, this hurts.”

It wasn’t enough to bring me to tears. I just kept sitting there.

People began gathering around me, but most of them left when they saw I was fine.

Since I wasn’t crying from the pain, I must’ve seemed fine enough.

Well, I guess watching someone fall is more entertaining than couples making out.

Still, it’s not very amusing if the person doesn’t get seriously hurt.

Some people pointed at Ellie, whose face was peeking out from the terrace.

Murmur, murmur.

The buzzing of whispers surrounded me.

“Didn’t they just throw themselves off?”

“But I swear I saw that girl push them just now.”

“What on earth happened to make them fall?”

“Are they crying?”

“Wait, so they pushed them and now they’re crying about it?”

Well, Ellie did push me.

She shoved me, probably hoping I’d just die on impact. But by some miracle, I landed on my legs.

Murmur, murmur.

The chatter around me sounded like that in my ears, though it’s possible they weren’t actually saying those things.

When I looked up, Ellie’s face peeked out from the railing.

I squinted, and her crying face came into sharper focus.

For some reason, she was covering her face and sobbing loudly enough for me to hear her clearly from down here.

“…Excuse me, are you alright?”

A woman approached me, holding a fan in one hand and locking arms with her lover. She spoke in a tone that seemed genuinely concerned.

“I’m fine, thanks. I fell by accident while fooling around.”

At my response, the crowd gave Ellie and me a look as though we were lunatics. 

Then, they slowly drifted back to their corners to resume whatever they’d been doing—probably gossiping and making out.

Honestly, I wasn’t pushed. I just couldn’t muster enough strength to push her back, so I decided to fall for the hell of it.

How much could she have eaten to make herself so impossibly heavy to budge?

After some time, Aria—not Ernst—arrived.

“Could you help me up? Or, better yet, carry me?”

“…I heard you fell from up there. That’s a lie, right?”

Aria stood with her arms crossed, looking at me like a teacher confronting the class troublemaker.

“Ah, no, I did fall.”

“Then why the hell are you so fine…?”

“Oh, should I start bawling and whining instead? ‘It hurts! It hurts so much I could die! God, this hurts like hell!’ Would that suit you better?”

I shrugged and planted my hands on the ground.

“If you don’t believe me, well…”

The moment I tried to stand, my ankle gave out, and maybe because it hurt so badly, I collapsed right back down.

“Ahh…”

With my face smacking the ground in such a pathetic display, Aria rushed over, startled.

She hiked up her skirt to check my ankle.

It wasn’t red so much as tinged with a faint purple hue.

Aria stared at me for a long moment before lifting me up in a bridal carry.

She placed me into a rather luxurious-looking carriage. 

Though my leg throbbed slightly, the soft cushioning made me feel oddly deflated.

“Hey, can you put me down now?”

“…Be quiet.”

“Loosen that frown a little. If you keep scowling like that, it might ruin your pretty face.”

At worst, she’d just become one of those sharp-featured beauties.

Though right now, her expression had a slightly gentler vibe.

“Where are we going?”

“…To the mansion. You’ve been visiting cheap clinics since you won’t even call for a proper physician.”

“There’s nothing wrong with that.”

“…The medicine there is cheap.”

“Aria’s maid friends and even those well-off commoners all use that cheap medicine, you know. Brilliant Lady Aria.”

“Why are you so snarky!? Can’t you just stay quiet for once?”

I struggled and squirmed, trying to sit back down on the ground, but of course, it was a futile effort.