"I just can't bring myself to say it..."

In the sun-dappled courtyard, Suran finished hanging the freshly washed laundry. Hands on her hips, she let out a deep sigh.

A full week had passed since she regained her past memories. Throughout it, Suran had carried out her maid duties flawlessly, acting perfectly natural around Lyasis— all to lower the young mistress’s guard, to make her believe Suran had accepted this life.

But Suran hadn’t surrendered.

That eight-year-old wish still burned within her: to reclaim her male body, return to Earth, and live a normal life.

Her calm demeanor *had* eased Lyasis’s vigilance. Yet every time Suran seized a chance to confront her… the words stuck in her throat.

It felt like telling the child she’d raised with her own hands that she was abandoning her.

True, the Nightmare Queen had "rerolled" into this young mistress, retaining past memories—but Lyasis’s mind had genuinely reset. This wasn’t the queen playing cute. Suran had *truly* served this girl for eight years, watching her grow. This bond… was hard to sever.

"What if… I just stay?"

The thought surfaced again.

*No. Absolutely not.*

She shook her head, pushing the recurring doubt away.

She couldn’t forget being Shuran: her family shattered by crushing debt, parents gone, forced to drop out, friends and relatives vanishing for fear of association—left utterly alone. She’d been *so close* to mending it all… only to be trapped here for eight long years. She *had* to return to Earth.

"But… I just can’t bring myself to tell the young mistress!"

Her head throbbed. Torn between the past she couldn’t release and the mistress she couldn’t abandon, the conflicting emotions tightened like a vise.

*Calm down… Think.*

But after a week of circling the same thoughts? Just wasting brain cells.

Just then—a familiar voice:

"Lady Suran."

Night Raven emerged from the shadows and bowed.

"Night Raven. You’re back."

Suran smoothed her expression into graceful composure. "Were all the raw materials for Black Hare gathered?"

*(Sent a week prior to collect potion ingredients, Night Raven’s return marked solid efficiency—less than half Suran’s speed, yet impressive for a retainer.)*

"My apologies, Lady Suran. Several materials fell short. The merchant said the Solflare Legion snatched them up."

"You didn’t trouble him?" Suran asked thoughtfully.

"No, Lady Suran."

"Good. The Crimson Garden never pressures common folk. He reserved what he could—that was considerate. When the Solflare Legion comes knocking directly… he couldn’t refuse."

She understood their duty: protecting all races from demons, consuming potions relentlessly. Merchants *had* to prioritize them.

*(Though… best if that squad never came to exterminate the Crimson Garden. All their supplies would be for nothing.)*

"Potions…"

A bold idea sparked.

*What if… a truth serum?*

*No—drugging feels wrong…*

*But… if she were hypnotized? If she couldn’t show that heartbroken look…*

Suran probed her own hesitation. She feared seeing Lyasis’s sorrow—the very thought made her freeze. Lyasis *knew* this. Suran was a puppet on a string, and Lyasis probably smirked every time she saw her choke back words. This invisible control was more potent than magic.

But a truth serum… no sorrowful expression… no hesitation…

Anticipation stirred. *Worth trying.* If she could break this invisible control…

"Then, with your permission, I shall take my leave, Lady Suran."

Night Raven bowed to depart.

"Wait." Suran’s smile held quiet purpose. "I’m heading to the Thornwood Forest too. Walk with me."

...

Black Hare—real name unknown, codename given by Lyasis during her reign as Nightmare Queen.

In Suran’s memory, she was an "elite monster" in the Crimson Garden dungeon: timid, hiding in burrows, tossing wildly potent buff potions to allies. During Suran’s thousand dungeon runs, Black Hare was always priority target—*focus fire, take her out first*.

No wonder she’d been absent when Suran first met the Thornwood Forest’s Nightmare Retainers as House Virellete’s maid. Not resentment. Bone-deep terror. Even knowing Suran was "on their side," Black Hare still dared not face her. Understandable—naturally skittish, *and* eliminated a thousand times.

Yet as the Crimson Garden’s finest alchemist… Suran needed her. For the truth serum.

"Alright… so where *is* the little rabbit?"

Murmuring to herself, Suran halted.

Before her lay a quiet corner of the Thornwood Forest—the warren of rabbit holes.