Chapter 2

"......sama......o......sama! ...Ojou-sama!"

Martha, my personal maid, was panicking in an unbelievable way... In the hazy state of my consciousness, I tried to get up, not wanting to worry Martha, but at that moment, I felt a shock as if a bucket had fallen on my head... Huh?

What is this expression? Why would a bucket fall?

...!

Ah, right, it's The Drifters? It must be The Drifters, right?

Huh? What are The Drifters again? Oh, The Drifters, right? Ignoring the fact that it's an old gag...

What is this? My head is all jumbled up.

What's wrong? I... my head feels all jumbled up?

Me? Me? Me? Is this me?

What? ...This?

"Ojou-sama? Are you aware? Ojou-sama?"

Martha is shouting, holding me as I sleep.

What happened? Martha? Yes, Martha, I know. She's been in the house for a long time.

Then, what don't I understand?

"Ojou-sama? Emma-sama?"

Emma...? Emma?

Right, right. I am...? Emma?

My head is spinning.

I feel like my head hurts because of the bucket.

Huh? Bucket?

So, The Drifters... The Drifters?

What? What is this? The spinning is getting faster and faster.

I can't hold on to my consciousness anymore.

The amount of information in my head is increasing rapidly. People I've never seen before... yet... I know them. Unfamiliar vehicles... yet... I know them. I'm not me...?

"Sorry... Martha, just... let me lie down... for a moment..."

Thud

...To sort out my jumbled head, I lose consciousness as if resetting and shutting down.

"Ojou-samaaaaaa!"

When in trouble, just sleep. I should wake up feeling refreshed and energetic... Probably...

After that, my consciousness became muddled.

I ended up sleeping for a full 10 days.

Finally, as Emma Stewart, the daughter of a count, I am listening to Martha, the maid, recount what happened 10 days ago.

"Please, never do it again! Sneaking mushrooms from the garden onto the dining table! It's a good thing everyone is fine, but a food poisoning death in the count's family would be a terrible scandal!"

"S-Sorry...?"

Martha scolds me for the mushrooms I found in the garden being the cause.

By the way, why is it known that I mixed them into the dinner? There should be no evidence. Is it because of my usual behavior...?

But... you see... Martha doesn't know, but they were matsutake mushrooms? Matsutake!! The shockingly delicious flavor of wild matsutake reminded me of my previous life. I can't say that now... At least, I can't explain it.

...?

Huh? Did Martha just say everyone had food poisoning?

"I wasn't the only one who collapsed!?"

I don't understand, but it seems my family was also affected in some way?

"Those who ate the mushrooms—Mr. and Mrs. [Count], Georg, and William—all suddenly collapsed after saying strange words."

What does that mean?

Is it because they don't have the custom of eating matsutake in this world?

Matsutake... is so, so delicious.

Just thinking about it makes me sigh.

The rich aroma and the crisp texture when I ate it!

The taste and aroma of Japanese cuisine brought back memories of my previous life in an instant. What a sinful matsutake...

So... the first thing I remembered when I ate it was, ironically, the scene right before I died.

The last moment of my previous life, as Tanimura Minato.

The sound of a hiss followed by a jolt, unable to stand even if I wanted to run. The intense pain after seeing the walls or ceiling collapse with a loud noise...

"Ojou-sama...?"

Martha looks worried, noticing my furrowed brows.

It's no wonder. I just recovered from an illness.

I don't even hear Martha's question, lost in thoughts of my last moments in my previous life.

What a painful way to die.

'Ah... I wish I could have had a sip of beer!'

Without thinking, I mutter in Japanese, and Martha looks surprised.

"That's what everyone said! What kind of spell is it?"

Martha's words bring me back from my thoughts of my previous life.

"Martha, it's not a spell, it's Japanese... Wait? Everyone!?"

Right... The Tanimura family loved alcohol.