Sarah closed the door behind her and walked down the quiet hall. Her footsteps echoed until she stopped in front of a smaller wing of the manor. The storage room—where all the artifacts passed down to her and her mother before her mother vanished—waited beyond the locked door.
Lyra, her maid, walked alongside her. The woman's soft steps were calculated, more assassin than servant.
"Miss," Lyra broke the silence, "are you sure this is a good idea?"
Sarah tilted her head, pretending not to understand. "What are you talking about?"
"Making him your subordinate."
There was a small pause before Sarah replied. Her voice was low, measured.
"I don't trust him yet. That's why I'm going for the contract paper."
The two walked in silence for a while. Lyra followed a step behind, hands folded, eyes sharp.
"What do you think about him?" Sarah asked suddenly.
Lyra's answer came quickly. "Smart and calm. He didn't panic, even when questioned. He spoke smoothly to the end, analyzing every detail. Strong-minded. He'd make a fine assassin. But…" her gaze narrowed, "how will you explain him to the family head?"
Sarah's lips curved. "We'll go to Elder Sister tomorrow. I'll tell her I found him—pitiful, desperate to prove himself. I'll say I brought him here out of kindness. We'll give him trainee clothes, let him sleep in the training grounds, and keep an eye on him."
Lyra raised an eyebrow. "And you think she'll accept that?"
Sarah's smile turned playful. "She'll accept. After all… my cute face always melts her resolve." She put on an innocent, wide-eyed expression.
Lyra chuckled, shaking her head. "You're impossible."
Before leaving, Lyra pulled a small pouch from her sleeve. "You forgot this in the training hall." She pressed it into Sarah's hand. Inside was the storage room key.
Sarah clicked her tongue. "Tch. I almost forgot again."
Lyra only laughed lightly and vanished into the shadows, her presence fading like mist.
---
Sarah unlocked the storage room door. With a low hiss, the mechanism gave way, and she stepped inside without hesitation.
Rows of shelves greeted her, lined with magic books, faded parchments, potion bottles glowing faintly, and neatly stacked weapons. The air smelled faintly of dust and alchemy.
In the center of the room, ten feet away, stood a plain box. Small compared to the rest, but important.
She opened it carefully. Inside was a neat stack of contract papers. She pulled two out, slipping one into her hand and the other into her dimensional pouch—a small artifact that could carry up to fifteen kilograms.
Her eyes drifted across the shelves until she spotted a body-strengthening potion. She picked it up, tucking it into her pouch. A gift. Bonds grow stronger when you give something first, she thought.
Next to it was a small pink vial. Sarah picked it up curiously, swirling the liquid. A beauty enchantment potion.
For a moment, memories of Earth rushed back.
---
She remembered her friend Jenny's teasing voice:
"You're getting fat eating all that chicken and burgers. At this rate, you won't even get a boyfriend! Your dad will probably marry you off to some uncle-aged 'successful man.'"
Sarah rolled her eyes in the memory. "Ugh…"
Jenny had smirked, then pointed. "Look, your adopted child is here."
Mary. Quiet, introverted Mary. Unlike Sarah, she was diligent, good at studies, and always dependable. Sarah had helped her when she was too shy to ask teachers for answers, and in return, Mary never left her side. Friends teased, calling her "Sarah's adopted child."
They were annoying, but those were good days.
Sarah's chest tightened. How would they react if they knew how I died?
She remembered the night too clearly—reading the web novel Strongest Hero in Sleepiand on her phone while eating chicken. She'd grown thirsty, reached for a Coke. The bottle slipped, rolled under her foot. One wrong step, a backward fall onto the sofa's edge—then blankness.
A stupid death. A laughable one.
"Jenny would never let me live it down," Sarah muttered. "She'd laugh forever. Mary though… Mary would cry. She always cared too much."
Her eyes stung. "I miss them."
But the sorrow only lasted a breath. She shook her head. "No. Thinking about the past won't help me here. I need to move forward."
She placed the pink potion back, closed the box, and stepped out. Locking the door behind her, she adjusted her pouch and straightened her shoulders.
The training ground waited. Sai was there.
And tomorrow, their fates would intertwine under the Winchester name.
---