"That building over there is the town hall," I said, pointing to the imposing stone structure with its clock tower. "It's the oldest building in Ravensbrook. Sometimes, on hot summer nights, it doesn't strike the thirteenth hour. The townspeople say it’s a sign that something bad is coming."

"What kind of bad things happen?" Alicia's emerald eyes sparkled, filled with the brightness of a child about to embark on an adventure. For some reason, I felt a small urge to tease her. I was jealous of her.

"I don't know. I've never seen it happen," I replied.

"Sith, you could use a bit more curiosity," Alicia teased.

"Curiosity?"

"'Scientia et potentia humana in idem coincidunt, quia ignoratio causae destituit effectum'. (Human knowledge and power meet in one; for where the cause is not known, the effect cannot be produced.)"

"I don't understand."

"It means you should seek out things that excite your heart! That's how we'll grow stronger and more beautiful." Alicia smiled innocently. Seeing her smile, I felt a pang in my chest. How small-minded of me to want to be mischievous to such a sincere girl.

Alicia showed interest in every part of the town. The damp sea breeze blowing through the harbour where ships came and went. The sounds of hammers and saws echoing from the repair workshops. The market square where children ran about. The old but well-tended garden of the chapel.

I suddenly wondered how Ravensbrook looked through her eyes. Did it seem like a completely different world from the one I knew?

Every now and then, she’d casually quote phrases that seemed to pop into her head.

I barely understood what they meant, but watching her expressions and gestures, I knew they were different from the scriptures we learned in church.

How were they different? I couldn't explain it well. It was a different way of facing the world that surrounds us.

She must be much smarter than me.

Alicia stood out as we toured the town, and at first, I felt proud. I thought maybe I’d become someone special too.

But I quickly realised that was a misunderstanding.

Alicia's dress had beautiful embroidery even at the collar, and her skirt was shiny and full. The bodice fit her body perfectly, as if it had been made just for her.

When I looked back at my own clothes with this in mind, I felt very disappointed. Mine were too big and baggy, with patches sewn over holes in places.

"Good day, Miss Alicia," a voice called out. As we turned, we saw a well-dressed woman smiling at Alicia. Her movements were refined and efficient, as if manners themselves were wearing clothes.

"Good day, Miss Pemberley," Alicia curtsied politely.

I instinctively straightened my posture and bowed my head politely, imitating Alicia.

"Miss, this is Sith, my friend," Alicia said, straightening her posture and raising her chin.

Pemberley forced a smile before looking at me. As her eyes moved from my shoes to my skirt, her expression turned colder with each glance.

I unconsciously looked back at my own skirt and discovered a stain. It must have been from when I knocked over the bucket of water in Valentine's shop.

"Miss Alicia, charity is a virtue. However, please be careful in choosing your companions. It is only with dignity that one becomes human. Do you understand?" Pemberley glanced at me and smiled quietly.

My cheeks suddenly felt hot. It felt like being jolted awake from a warm afternoon nap by a splash of cold water. I suddenly felt ashamed of how proudly I had been showing her around town. Pemberley was saying that she and I lived in different worlds. Charity. Alicia had been performing an act of charity towards me.

I wanted to run, to get as far away as possible. I couldn't stand being here. But at that moment, my arm was grabbed. Alicia was gripping my arm tightly.

"Pardon me, Miss Pemberley," Alicia said resolutely.

"Mr Locke says that people are already human in nature. He says that we possess property and bodies equally based on natural law, without relying on the will of others. Isn't it rather undignified behaviour to set boundaries of wealth and status on friendship?"

"Locke? You're on about those strange ideas again..."

"There's nothing strange about it, Miss. It's just natural philosophy."

"Philosophy is a gentleman's pursuit, Miss Hunt. We women have other pursuits to cultivate the virtue of modesty."

"In that case, Miss," Alicia smiled mischievously, "perhaps you should exercise some modesty in your zealous education. All this talk of separate pursuits for men and women might remain mere theory without a partner, after all."

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Now it was Pemberley’s turn to flush bright red. "Miss Alicia! How dare you!"

Without missing a beat, Alicia grabbed my hand and started running. "Let's go, Sith!"

"I'll be reporting this to Mr Hunt!" Pemberley's shout echoed in the distance as we ran hand in hand with all our might.

We ran out of Market Street, around the Town Hall, and back to the front of the city hall with its clock tower. We ran until we were out of breath and could move no more.

We reached a spot in the shadow of the city hall and collapsed onto the ground. The mud from the recent rain hadn't dried yet. Dirt and dust clung to our skirts, but we were too exhausted to care.

Alicia thought for a moment, then sat down on the ground in the same way. Her beautifully arranged fluffy petticoat and skirt lost their shape, but she was laughing.

"Are you alright, Alicia?" I asked between gasps for air. After asking, I realised there was a hidden meaning in this question. I hesitated whether I should ask Alicia about it directly.

"I'm fine, I'm fine. Father can't get angry at me," Alicia replied, equally out of breath.

"Pemberley is my tutor. She came with us from our previous town. We've been arguing like that since I was little. But did you see her face?" Alicia laughed loudly.

"Though I might have gone a bit too far. I should apologise later."

We remained silent for a while until our breathing steadied.

"You know, in my family," Alicia began once she had calmed down, "my father works in trade. Since I was little, it's been hectic with him going on business trips, us living in different houses for short periods. My mother is a botanist. I was always alone. Even this time, they suddenly decided to move. Without even asking me."

Alicia's expression was a little melancholic. After a moment of silence, she turned to face me.

"Sith, I'm sorry. I made you feel bad, didn't I? It's because of my selfishness. I hated moving to this town, and I wanted to vent my frustrations. I'm sorry for dragging you around..."

Alicia bowed her head politely.

Her circumstances, her family, the environment she grew up in, they were all completely different from mine. Her clothes, her home, her education - even in the short time we'd been together, everything was worlds apart.

And yet, somewhere in my heart, I couldn't think of her as a stranger.

I hesitated. Should I put into words the question that had been in my heart for a while now? But I felt that if I missed this chance, I might never be able to ask. I wanted to know. But I also didn't want to know.

"Why... why did you come to Valentine's shop? Why did you talk to me?"

I found myself asking Alicia these questions. At the same time, I regretted it. What if Alicia's answer was different from what I hoped? My heart pounded at the thought.

Charity is a virtue... Pemberley's words echoed in my mind. These words, which should have been beautiful, felt like a knife stabbing deep into my chest.

What was I to Alicia? Was I just an object of charity? Had she merely given alms to a miserable, tainted little girl on a whim?

I felt a fear as if my very existence was being transformed from a person into something else. I remembered the cold gazes of Pemberley and my mother from long ago.

"It's a lovely shop, isn't it? It reminded me a bit of my father's study," she answered, tilting her head slightly. Even though she was just answering a question, her charm seemed to overflow. This was the answer to my first question.

"As for why I talked to you..." Alicia put her finger to her chin, looking up at the sky.

The desire to hear the answer and the wish not to hear it battled in my heart. I regretted asking such a question. Cold sweat trickled down my back. My hands, gripping my skirt, had tensed up.

"The signboard, I guess," Alicia answered as if it were nothing special.

"Huh?" I let out a gasp of air.

"You were swinging that signboard around in front of the shop and then brought it down on the shopkeeper's head, didn't you?"

"Ah, yes..." It was about when I tried to replace the sign at Valentine's shop. She had seen that scene. I felt embarrassed. "But it wasn't on purpose, the sign was heavy!"

"When I saw that, I thought it was interesting. I thought, 'What a strange girl.' You see, I'm always being scolded for being strange too, always reading books in my father's study," Alicia twirled her red hair around her finger. "I thought maybe we strange girls could be friends. So I followed you into the shop," she said, laughing sheepishly.

"That's all?"

"That's right."

"But... what about what your tutor said? About charity and virtue?"

"Oh, that?" Alicia looked around and then said in a small voice, "You know, I don't really like things like goodness, virtue, and righteous deeds. Don't you think? The idea that only doing good makes a pure person, that's all a lie. Both the beautiful and the ugly, that's what makes a human."

Alicia's frank words gently struck the feelings that had been aching in my chest.

"I'm tainted," I muttered without thinking.

Alicia, not understanding the true meaning of my words, took out a handkerchief and brushed off the mud on my skirt. Then, she wiped her own skirt in the same way and smiled.

"Me too."

The taint Alicia was talking about and the 'filth' I was thinking of must have been different things.

Even so, I could feel my heart becoming lighter. The things I had been worrying about started to seem trivial.

Even if it was only a small part of the truth. Even if it was hiding an enormously bigger lie behind it.

Soon, it was almost time for the afternoon bell to ring.

"I have to get back to Valentine's shop. My break is ending," I said, hurriedly rubbing my face to hide the tears that had welled up in my eyes as I stood up.

"Wait," Alicia grabbed my hand to stop me. "I said it earlier without asking for your permission. Before I cause you any more trouble, let me ask properly," Alicia said formally. "Miss Sith, would you be my friend?"

It was an exaggerated way of speaking, but I realised it was her way of hiding her embarrassment.

"Miss Alicia, I have one condition," I said, trying to be as formal as Alicia. "There’s a bakery I love on Market Street. Next time, you’re coming with me! Isn’t that what ‘natural’ means?"

Alicia froze for a moment, then burst out laughing. "That might not be quite right, but let's go with it! I'm looking forward to it!"

We looked at each other and laughed. We walked back to the shop arm in arm. We were getting quite strange looks from people around us, but that only made it funnier, and we tried to hold back our laughter as we walked.

We arrived in front of Valentine's shop. We said our goodbyes.

Finally, Alicia looked around once more, then made a gesture as if to whisper in my ear.

"By the way, Sith. Don't laugh when you hear this," I was excited to hear what interesting words would come out this time. Until I heard those words.

"Are there any witches in Ravensbrook?"