Chapter 6: The Surface

On the golden table of feast, Camille resigns herself to gluttony, satisfying her palate, relishing the moment when both good taste and bad memories clash.

"Camille, remember to be prim and proper," Mrs. Clair Rousseau, Camille's mother's voice echoed through, hitting a pang of discomfort. Her hands are soft, but firm. "Sit up straight when meeting with men. Keep in mind to please them with a good smile and a good bow."

Camille tightened her grip on the spoon, annoyed with these words in her memory.

"Camille, you must excel in speaking and writing. Try taking up some arts and music, too."

"Camille, wear your dress and drink some tea with your friends."

"Camille…"

She ate and ate until a hand stopped her arms. She looked up and saw Haru, flashing off a concerned look on his face.

"Hey! Why are you eating?" He yelled, though it sounded distant.

Camille shook off his hand and stared at the almost-finished meal on her plate.

"The food's okay," She grumbled. "I ate a whole meal and I don't feel bad."

Haru's expression softened. "Are… you sure you're okay? Look, we saw a part of your memory. Is that really you?"

Camille's eyes widened when she heard that. "What are you talking about? I didn't know that!"

"Oh…"

"W-What did you see?!" She stammered, panicking. "How much did you see? Tell me!"

"I…"

"We just knew that you're a really, really lonely girl," Alicia interjected. "You suffered from depression and insomnia. And that you grew jealous of your baby brother who's a genius."

"How… How did that happen?!"

"We don't know either," Haru assured. "It just suddenly appeared in our mind. We don't know what's going on as well."

Camille bit her lower lip and clenched her fist. "J-Just so you know, I wanted to tell them about it," Her voice was shaking. "I wanted to tell my parents what I was going through because I thought there should be nothing wrong with me. We're well-off and they're aristocrats. I… just didn't think I have the right to be sad or feel that way since I'm fortunate and I'm in a really good place."

Silence unfolded for a minute before Camille stood up and walked out from the palace.

Haru, Alicia, and Ali followed her outside and stayed at the meeting place, lodging a stifling stillness in the air.

Minutes of waiting have passed, but the old man Mr. Wang still wouldn't come back.

"Why don't we try looking for Mr. Wang?" Haru proposed. "He might've gotten himself lost or something."

Alicia sighed and stood up. "I'll look for the old man. You three young'uns stay here and be safe. I'll also get us some of that food that Camille ate."

"A-Alright," Haru hesitantly agreed.

As he watched Alicia's figure getting devoured back inside the castle, he sat closer to Camille.

"When I mentioned suicide earlier about myself…" Haru timidly opened the conversation. "You told me that it's okay to talk about it."

Camille let out a sigh. "It's fine now, you know. You don't have to be so gentle. I was just shocked earlier. To be honest, I'm still not used to being here and everything feels so nostalgic rather than unfamiliar, which scares me more than being thrown into some foreign world."

--

Meanwhile, in the household of the Rousseau family…

"What do you mean my daughter just suddenly disappeared?!" Mr. Albert Rousseau exclaimed, aghast. "Where is she?!"

Rosalina, Camille's personal maid, breathed out heavily, trying to explain. "It's exactly how I said it, sir. Your daughter, Camille, just suddenly disappeared. She was locked up inside her room with Arthur earlier and when I entered a few minutes after, she's nowhere to be found."

Mrs. Claire and Arthur walked up towards the room where Mr. Albert and Rosalina are.

"This is preposterous!" Mr. Albert exclaimed again. "How could that happen?"

"It's true, though," Arthur said. "She told me not to come after her and that she… wanted to die."