Hug Me and You'll Die

4: I should proceed with poisoning myself.

"Young mistress!"

Desmia grumbled as she flipped over and tried to block out the noise.

"Young mistress!"

Just leave me alone! I'm tired!

Desmia felt a hand shaking her firmly. "Young mistress, you have to wake up and have breakfast so that you can take your medicine!"

With her eyes still closed, Desmia turned over and fiercely bit the hand that had been on her.

"Ah!" The other person sounded shocked. "Young mistress...you b-bit me?"

I can do a lot more than that if you don't get the hell out right now!

Suddenly, ear-splitting cries erupted in the room.

Startled, Desmia's eyes fluttered opened and was met with an out of focus silhouette of what appeared to be a young girl weeping grievously.

"Young mistress is m-m-mad at me at me after all!...Young mistress m-must blame me for l-l-letting you almost drown! I shouldn't have l-let you go in the stream!"

Desmia blinked a couple of times in order to get a better look at the girl. When her eyes had adjusted, she wrinkled her nose slightly. "...Who are you?"

This one sentence caused the girl's red rimmed eyes to grow wide in utter dismay as she began to weep even more passionately. "Young m-m-mistress, you hate me so much y-y-you're even denying my existence?!"

Desmia grew increasingly more bewildered and agitated. Why in gods' name are you leaking so much saltwater, stranger girl?! I'm the one that was rudely awakened! I should be the one crying here!

"Y-you, you j-just shut up for a second!" shouted Desmia exasperatedly as she tried to forcibly close the other's mouth with her hands. As someone who had only ever been on the receiving end of consolation, she really didn't know how to stop someone's else's tears. Not sure of what else to say, she randomly blurted out, "Y-you have a really ugly crying face so you should just stop already!"

Her poorly chosen words, of course, had the opposite effect as the girl's bottom lip trembled uncontrollably as more tears streaked down her face. The girl turned away as she prepared to flee from the room. "B-B-rie your uguwhy and useless serbant will dishapeer fom your eyes nau!"

By this point the other's words were nearly incomprehensible but Desmia managed to make out a name. Brie...? Why does that sound so familiar?

All of a sudden, Desmia felt her head hurting as a flood of fragmented images and bits of conversation frantically flowed into her brain.

[This is Brie, she's only six years older than you but from now on she'll be your personal maid.]

[I may be inexperienced and clumsy, but I'll do my best to serve you, young mistress Marysol!]

[Marysol, my precious daughter, would you like to have some rose petal tea cake with your mother?]

[Brie, you have to be more careful! Those are mother's treasured roses!]

[Of course, I'm happy! I'm spending time with my beautiful wife and daughter, aren't I? What more could a man ask for?]

[Thank you! It's because I take after my mother!]