I knocked on the door, first politely, then more insistently. I didn’t know what had triggered this response out of Lady June, but I was worried. Not only about the ball now, but also about losing credibility in front of her. Beyond my feelings, there was also the trust that we’d built, and if I were to lose that, then, well it would all be over and June would be paying the price.

“My Lady! Please open the door! I – I have an explanation.” I tried to say what I thought would encourage her to let me in.

In truth, I wasn’t ready to tell her about my transmigrator status. But, I had read enough isekai novels to be able to make something up. Or so I’d hoped -

She did eventually open the door, but the look that was painted over her face at that moment made me bite my lip and take a step back. She looked tired; the kind of tired you get from a lifetime of hardships. There was resignation in that look, and I could not for the life of me figure out where it was coming from.

“My Lady,” I spoke up, “there – the – are you alright?”

“I’m fine, Naomi.” She replied in a tone that matched her expression. “You said you had an explanation?”

“Ah, right,” I proceeded to reiterate the events that were to occur this evening and came up with some excuse about how a close friend of mine was an oracle when she insisted on a proper explanation.

That of course did not convince her, but she brushed the issue off. In retrospect I should have insisted at the time, because when Ludwick joined us for lunch, and questioned my statement, I was forced to come up with a new, no less false, explanation.

This was the exact reason why I hated lying. One thing always led to another, and it was so easy to get tangled up in words. Three more excuses, one about me finding secret documents detailing Rose’s plan to kill June, one about me overhearing a conversation about it on the train here, and one other variant of the oracle one, this time with me meeting a talking prophetic cat (I was getting desperate at that point), and I was properly kicked out of lady June’s quarters, just as I was meant to help her get dressed as well.

And you already know the rest.

Lude and I had an argument in front of her door, I got distracted by how gorgeous she looked, and now I was locked in my room, with a metaphorical ticking timer.

My first idea was to ram into the door. Of course, it did not budge, bud did earn me a pretty sore shoulder. Plan number 2 was to try and lockpick the lock. By some miracle, I did find a bobby pin under my bed, but I very quickly realised that movies had lied to me. It was not easy, and I gave up after breaking the metal hair accessory.

Plan C was slightly more elaborate, but also way, way more stupid. It relied on a built-in sprinkler and smoke detector system within the mansion. I wasn’t sure if this system was actually installed, as there was no mention of it in the book. But I knew for a fact that these kinds of things were present in other homes, including that in which Rose Pinkstar stayed (it had been used as a pretext to get both her and her love interest Cedar wet, and have them change clothes).

So, I went through my pockets, and using one of Lady June’s spare lighters and a spare shirt, I climbed on my bed and lit the fabric on fire. It did take some jumping around and waving the shirt around, both to spread the smoke and to prevent it from setting my own hand and hair on fire for the sprinkler system to turn on.

“Yes!” I celebrated my victory as the door lock clicked, freeing me.

In ‘Summer Flowers’ this part of the fire prevention system had malfunctioned, locking the two lovebirds in the same room, instead of unlocking all doors and windows within a residence, as it should.

I threw the still flaming shirt to the ground, and stomped on it, putting out the flames, before rushing outside. I grabbed one of June’s jackets, a longer one that would cover my now wet outfit. While I was in her room, I was also considerate enough to put away the magazines she had on display on her desk, before they got too soaked, ignoring the life-size foldable spread of a poster one of them had been left open on.

I closed the mansion door behind me, as the sprinklers kept going, and paused to take a breath.

Just like when I’d arrived in this world, I didn’t really have a plan. But, now even more than back then, I had to act. A quick glance over the train tracks before me made me settle on a decision. This was one of those situations where there were no right choices.

I hopped on the tracks and dashed towards a train that was stopped some ways away from the mansion. Its driver was smoking a cigarette, as they leaned against one of the wagons. I knew I had no persuasion skills, so I ran past them, and hopped into the cabin, locking the door behind me.

“Hey!” they yelled in protest, as they knocked on the window.

The parallels between this, and how I was trying to get to my lady earlier this morning did not escape me, but I had no time to focus on them. I had no idea how to drive a train, let alone a mana-powered one. I glanced towards the conductor, hoping for some kind of clue.

Their eyes widened, as they realised what I was trying to achieve.

“No!” they yelled, knocking on the window once more, before reaching to their pocket for something.

I hit some random buttons and pulled a random lever. Nothing happened.

The window shattered.

The conductor reached inside, dropping the pair of scissors they’d used to break the glass, and tried to open the door from the inside.

“Please, I need to get to Capital City.” I bargained. “You’ll just hurt yourself.”

They didn’t respond, ignoring both me and the growing maybe of cuts on their arm, as the lock still remained a few centimetres out of their reach.

Slowly, as I fought my morals, I reached down to grab the scissors on the floor. Then, I unlocked the door, letting the conductor stumble in.

“Get me to Capital City,” I said, pointing the scissors at their chest.