I didn’t know much about wine.
In fact, I didn’t even like wine that much.
"Try this. This is a Champarion from 1975. It’s one of the finest wines that you can have. Honestly, the taste is neither too sweet nor too bitter. It’s got the right amount of fruitiness and acidity."
I took a sip.
"Wow...!"
"Right?"
"More. Give more."
Things were different now.
I was now starting to enjoy the taste of wine.
I was also learning a lot about the blends and the different tastes of them.
But that wasn’t all.
The food was good, and the people were really nice. But above all, the beds were really comfortable. Even though I had been sleeping a lot more than in the past, the number of tis when I felt satisfied with my sleep could be counted on one hand.
But here...?
It felt as though I would have the best sleep every single day that I woke up.
This place was no different from paradise.
’Yeah, who cares if I’m dead and stuck here. At the end of the day, I no longer feel so tired and no longer have to struggle for so bullshit disease that has been eating away at my sanity each day.’
This right here was the life that I had always desired.
"Co, Seth. Try this snack."
"What is this...?"
"This is a steak tartare with a drizzle of white truffle oil and toasted bread."
"This is good!"
Not only the wine, but even the food was spectacular. Mingling with the other people in the courtyard, I started to enjoy myself. So much so that I started to lose track of ti. I didn’t even know how much ti had passed, but the days just seed to zoom past .
Every day, I would wake up, go down to the party, chat with the others, learn new things, and enjoy the food and the wine.
This felt like paradise on earth.
But at the sa ti, sothing stirred within my chest.
The more ti I spent in this place, the more I felt like I was losing sothing.
But what?
What was I losing?
"How are you feeling, ■■■■? It looks like you’ve started to mingle well with the others."
Hm?
What was it that he said?
I think I’m drunk.
I looked at the wine glass in my hand.
"Can you say that again? I didn’t hear you properly."
"That’s alright."
He smiled warmly.
"I’m asking how you’re doing. Are you enjoying yourself here? Is there sothing that is not to your liking? If you want more food, I can get more. If you want better wine, I can provide you with better wine."
"Is... that so?"
"Of course. I can get anything that you want, ■■■■. Just ask, and I’ll provide it for you."
I blinked slowly.
There it was again.
In the midst of his sentence, there was sothing blank.
Sothing that my mind couldn’t quite perceive.
But what? What was it?
"■■■■? Is everything alright? Do you want to get so rest? It seems like you’ve had quite a lot to drink."
"...Maybe."
I smiled, twirling the wine in my cup before taking a sip.
"Maybe."
Was I drunk?
There was a good chance that I was drunk.
Looking down at my cup, I stared at the blood-red liquid inside. Twirling the wine slowly, I watched it swirl along the glass, glinting under the harsh light of the sun above. As the liquid continued to circle, I suddenly stilled the glass, having noticed sothing.
My reflection...
Why was there no reflection?
But above all—
’What do I even look like?’
I closed my eyes and tried to think.
I think... I had brown hair. Brown hair, correct? No, was it yellow? I was blonde, right? Hmm. No, I don’t think it’s that either. But what about the color of my eyes? Were they green? No, they were blue.
Gray? Black? Purple?
’What? Why is it so difficult to rember?’
Swirling my cup again, I raised my head and looked around. The world around seed to tilt and spin, my head growing lighter with each passing second. I couldn’t understand what was happening.
Above all, I couldn’t rember.
How did I even look like?
No...
What was my na?
Ah, my na.
I think I know that much.
"My na is ■■■■."
Huh?
"■■■■."
That’s...
"■■■■."
I touched my mouth.
Why?
"■■■■."
I couldn’t hear a single thing. Every ti I opened my lips to say my na, sothing appeared to block . The na flowed out, but my mind refused to register what ca out of my lips.
It was as if it had been permanently removed from my mories.
It couldn’t be, right?
’No, it can’t be.’
Taking another sip of the wine, I moved away from the spot I was in.
"Hey, ■■■■. Co over here, I’ve got sothing new that you should try."
"■■■■! ■■■■!"
"Oh, ■■■■! Where are you going, ■■■■? Co! Try this! There’s also soone that I wanted to introduce to you!"
Walking around, everyone tried to grab my attention. In a way, it felt strange. It almost felt as though everyone was targeting at once.
My usually calm heart started to beat faster as my steps hurried.
Without even thinking, I moved toward the castle windows and stared at the reflection looking back at .
But...
"....."
What greeted was just an outline.
A faceless outline of what used to be a person.
Ba... Thump! Ba... Thump!
Sothing started in my chest.
It grew louder and louder as the noise around ceased for a brief mont. And when I looked back, I saw several eyes directed my way.
They were all smiling.
"■■■■, what are you doing? You’re acting strange."
"Have a drink with us, ■■■■. Why are you acting so strange?"
"■■■■?"
I opened my lips, trying to say sothing.
But I couldn’t.
■■■■. Who was ■■■■?
No, who was I?
"Haa... Haa."
Subconsciously, my breathing grew heavier and heavier. I couldn’t understand what was happening, but I felt that sothing was wrong. For just a split second, my mind seed to clear as I tried to think back about my situation.
About my life.
My mories of the past.
But—
"..."
It was blank.
I couldn’t rember anything at all.
No, there were bits and pieces, but they were faint.
I couldn’t quite tell what was real and what was fake.
’Who...? Who am I? What is this...? What am I even doing? What is happening? Why am I here?’
Questions flooded my mind every second.
They echoed loudly inside my mind as I struggled to find an answer to each of them. Then, suddenly, a sharp pain began to build in my head.
"Akh!"
"■■■■? Are you okay?"
"Are you okay, ■■■■?"
"S-stay, back!"
I stumbled back, raising my hand to stop the people from approaching . Holding onto my head, I looked around .
For just a mont, my mind felt clear.
I started to recall things, but at the sa ti, the very things I recalled started to fade from my mind.
I still couldn’t recall my na.
My features, or even my identity.
But I did recall sothing.
Certain words.
’One has to sacrifice sothing important to them to see the way.’
’Only through such a way can you show that you can let go and not cling to the thing holding you down.’
I didn’t even know who the voice belonged to or who said the words.
But in that mont, sothing clicked inside my mind.
And—
Smashing the cup in my hand against the wall beside , the glass shattered into jagged pieces. Gripping one of the sharp fragnts, I pressed it against my face and drove it into my right eye.
SPURT!
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