After that night conversation Sain confirmed my health condition with a physicians several times. They confirmed that there was nothing wrong with my physical condition. They only concluded that the "amnesia-like" condition I was experiencing was a result of psychological stress.
"are sure doc, there's nothing wrong with my friend?, Sain pressed again, wanting to know if the physician had examined me fully.
"That's right, I've examined miss Anna thoroughly. And as before, the results remain the same: she is healthy. Please believe me… and let me go to examine another patient…", The physician looked tired and eager to leave. He gave me a pleading look, silently asking for my help in convincing Sain to let him leave.
Even though she seemed obsessive toward me, I am incredibly grateful to her. Sain is very supportive and understanding of my (changes). this isn't just about the lost memories, but also daily habits; the way I spoke, my mannerisms, expressions, and especially my drastically big appetite. Because I am indeed a different person from Anna, though of course, I couldn't explain this plainly to Sain. Another silent cry moment.
"as long as you're still a good person and still want to be friends with me, any changes that happen to you don't matter. Because I know, you're still you, my best friend", she said while hugging me and gently stroking my head.
I could only remain silent, lost in her embrace that warmed my soul.
***
Two months has passed since I was first stranded here. I'm trying really hard to adapt to life here. And after observing and studying the situation around me and the place where I am right now, I'm getting more convinced that this is matches with the setting description where the novel takes place.
Thanks to Sain, slowly but steadily I can adapt to the daily routine here. I even got the job at orchard where she work for. But of course, I'm not good with labour job like her.
The lack of strength in my hands and feet when I help Sain pick fruits, the almost fainting shock when an insect lands on my face, the screaming when I find a caterpillar while I'm sorting fruits. I can only last a week working on the orchard. The supervisor, Mr. Gerick Wright was very annoyed with my performance, which was actually a nuisance to many people.
"No, no, not again. Is Anna causing trouble again? What is it this time? Did she faint again?"
But he became so kind and considerate to me, that he even gave me a job as his assistant (with better pay, naturally), ever since I accidentally give him some suggestion for his report that I found scattered around. Mr. Wright was very satisfied with the results of my report which was more accurate, simple and easy to understand.
On the other part, I'm still very bad at housework and some daily routine; screaming in disgust when I had to clean fish or meat, inability to control the fire when cooking so the food was often burnt or not cooked properly, experiments that always failed in combining spices to create new flavors that were indescribable and difficult to enjoy. I am a 21st century human with minimal to none ability to survive in the wild world, and now I've been stranded here and have to do everything manually. I can only butterfly-hug myself and scream-out silently when I remember this fact.
"With your poor skills, you won't be able to work as a maid anymore, Anna,' Sain sneered. "People wouldn't believe you if you had worked as a maid for 8 years before."
I just glared at her.
"You know, you used to be like a superhuman who could do everything even if you ate little or nothing at all," Sain teased me even more, but then her expression turned bitter and sad. "ahhh,... but now I'm happy to see you eating so well and your expression looks more alive,... with your silliness,' Sain smiled warmly. I could only grin at her comment. Again, I'm very grateful to Sain. And with my big appetite, I managed to survive here.
Sain is no longer surprised at my inability to do things properly here; The clumsiness and frequent tangling from long dresses (I used to wear a shirt and pants which allows me to move freely when I'm hunting for news), the long hair which annoys me because it takes longer to comb, style or tie, so it doesn't get messy (since my parents passed away and only live with my older brother, I always have my hair short). I'm glad that I'm just a commoner here, not such a noble woman with all of their custom with dressing or mannerism. but why i become some no-name character from the novel? My character not even appear in the novel. Is it God's way to give me a life experience that's really different from my previous one, which was quite comfortable? Is it some sort of life test to make me more grateful for my previous life?
As I try my hardest to adapt here, I keep searching for information and a way to return to my world. At weekends, Sain also accompanied me to the local library to look for the latest news, information about history, law, social or daily life in general, and any reading material that might give me a clue as to how I was thrown into this world and how I could return to my own. It's not easy for commoner, even less so for women to access the library. But with Mr Wright's help, we were able to get access to the library at weekends in exchange for extra hour to do administrative job at the orchard. Besides that, I also made notes on the plot of the novel that I still remembered. I also referred to some of the information in Anna's daily diary while work at Mollota's residence.
From Anna's diary, she is one of the servants at the Mollota's residence. She wrote a lot about how people there were violent towards Riella. It wasn't just the master and mistress of the house, but practically all the servants and workers there looked down on her as well. She also express her feeling; guilty and helpless to help Riella. She even wrote the diary in secret, as it was not usual for a servant to be able to read and write. Although Anna doesn't seem to have been involved in the harassment, she can't do anything to help Riella either. Sometimes she secretly gives Riella some food. But most of the time she can only watch without being able to do anything. I don't recall any maid or servant characters being specifically mentioned in the novel, but if Anna was able to write down the details of how Riella was mistreated, she may have seen these incidents first hand.
The novel I was reading was called 'My Elixir of Hope', and it depicted the struggle of Riella Mollota, a young apothecary, against her father who was spreading the plague to destroy the glory of Ethira Empire. Through various failures in her experiments, not to mention the harrasment from her stepmother, Riella finally succeeded in formulating a remedy to stop the plague, and together with Prince Claude uncovered the crimes of her father, Lord Mollota, who was collaborating with the Crown Prince and the enemy kingdom. I thought, from the storyline that I still remembered, maybe I could provide some tip-off about Lord Mollota's scheme. While I was looking for information on how to return to my world. This is what I can do as my gratitude to Sain, in the hope that she doesn't have to experience the plague situation.
Lord Mollota is a Marquis trusted by the Emperor as his principal advisor on imperial defence and security. He also runs a medicine trading business with other kingdoms. As both of these are vital for the survival of a nation, Lord Mollota has become one of the key figures in the Ethira Empire. His wife Madam Isthar, the second daughter of Count Slawovsky. But after 5 years of marriage with no offspring, Lord Mollota decided to find another woman to carry his child. When Lord Mollota went on a business trip to a remote area known for its medicinal plants, he met a woman who captured his heart. 6 years after that meeting, Lord Mollota had almost forgotten that memory until a courier arrived with a letter in his right hand and a little girl in his left. The letter was from the woman Lord Mollota had almost forgotten. The letter said that the little girl was his child. One look was enough for everyone to know that the little girl was Lord Mollota's daughter, they looked so alike. Silver hair with emerald green eyes is a combination that only descendants of the Marquises of Mollota's have. There is absolutely no trace of the woman's resemblance on this little girl, all aspects of her physique resemble him very much, which makes Lord Mollota feel troubled. Especially when he knows that the woman died of a long illness after giving birth to this little girl.
Since then, Riella has officially joined the Mollota family, which madam Isthar has accepted with a heavy heart. There's nothing she can do about it, because even after 11 years of marriage she still hasn't had a child. Initially, the marchioness torments Riela without Lord Mollota's knowing. Her cruelty intensified when she noticed Lord Mollota's unconcerned attitude toward Riella. He caught her grabbing and dragging Riella in a soaked state, but do nothing about it. Lord Mollota only warns his wife, "Don't torture her to death unless you manage to give me offspring. We should at least take care of her until she comes of age, so that I can marry her off to whoever offers me the best deal. Her future husband may succeed the Marquis, but I decide".
My blood boiled up remembering that good-for-nothing-donor-sperm. How could such a jerk live as a noble man, and become the emperor's confidant in the defence and security of an empire? this only strengthened my conviction to expose Lord Mollota's plot as long as I was still in this world. Even so, my top priority remains finding a way back to my world. Is it still possible?
...