Charlie panted as she sprinted through the back alleyways of the towering office buildings and apartments. The chilly air made it quite difficult for her to breathe.

'How did things turn out this way?'

After exiting an alleyway, she leaned against a wall and stopped to take a deep breath.

"Ah, jeez! All I wanted was some root beer and chips. Was that too much to ask for?!"

Charlie couldn't begin to understand why a convenience store manager kept illegally charging her while accusing her of haggling. What's worse was that the cashier was in on it too!

"Excuse me, why is the current price, not twice, but triple times the usual price?"

"The tax rate has been raised due to the economy, ma'am"

'Oh my, what a pathetic excuse… I wonder how long it took him to come up with that?'

"I'm sorry? What is this? The Great Depression? What nonsense are you talking about?"

"Either pay or leave, ma'am."

Charlie sighed.

She can't just throw away money like this.

She was on an extremely tight budget after all.

Charlie could have gone to another convenience store so she wouldn't have to deal with this.

But they were all sold out on root beer and chips and Charlie really wanted root beer and chips. So the arguing continued until the police (that the manager dared call) came to try and cuff the supposed haggler.

Before that could happen, Charlie dashed straight out of that store and left all that hypocrisy in there.

"Stop, miss! Quick! Catch her!" The police yelled.

Without so much as a glance behind her, she ran and ran until she was sure they were far behind. Charlie exhaled, a wisp of her breath disappearing as quickly as it appeared.

She lifted her eyes to observe the city in front of her.

The culture rich buildings, the blinding lights, and the iconic Ferris Wheel... All were specifically decorated and lit for the public this Christmas Eve.

Looking at all the groups of people laughing with one another, made Lily notice how lonely she was feeling.

Her colleagues already had plans but so did she.

Her original plan was to purchase root beer paired with chips and maybe, some KFC.

But that plan was thrown out the window and now, she's a fugitive on the run because she couldn't pay for some overpriced snacks.

She also planned on rereading the novel, It Wasn't My Intention, My Little Lord.

A romance novel with a generic plot.

The only trait that differentiates this novel from other novels was its unusual jump-start of a beginning. One that includes an unstoppable chair, undivided attention, and royal swords clashing.

Another thing that made it popular for some time was that the ending was open to all possibilities of the female lead's chosen partner since the author died in a fire and the last remaining chapters burnt up with him.

'Hmm… I guess all love interests are suitable. Will she have a harem? Probably-'

"Found her! Don't let her escape this time!"

'Oh right, I forgot. They still exist. How annoying...'

Lily wasted no time when she returned to being a track star. All this running vaguely reminded her of a deer poaching commercial.

Deer. Their slim nimble legs built only for escaping the clutches of the predator… Heh, just like what I'm doing right now.

Thinking too hard about deer and their legs made Lily unconsciously enter a high-end hotel.

(* BAM! *)

After slamming her face on the elevator, Lily was yanked from her thoughts and was finally conscious of where she was.

"Owwwieee… Oh, man that hurt." Lily muttered under her breath.

She lightly touched her forehead to find a bump that stung under her fingertips.

'And that's why you should always pay attention to your surroundings, dummy.'

The lobby started to get noisy.

She took a quick peek behind her to see that a majority of the crowd turned their heads to find out where that loud sound came from.

Embarrassed and and trying to lay-low, Lily lowered her head.

Even though she didn't find any police guards anywhere, she wasn't going to take any chances.

'Although they can't read the situation correctly, they are still the police and the police have authority.'

Lily pressed the elevator button.

(* DING! *)

"Thank goodness…" Lily sighed in relief while stepping into the elevator.

A large array of buttons lay before her. Out of thirty-one buttons, the one labeled, Aria Plaza, piqued her interest the most.

'Why does that name sound so familiar? Where have I heard it before?'

Suddenly, the last people she wanted to see appeared, saw her, and tried to catch the doors. Luck was on her side (for now) because the elevator closed in time.

Lily clutched her chest and sighed in relief once more.

'Goodness gracious, that almost gave me a heart attack!'

＊＊＊

Being alone for three minutes straight in an elevator gave Lily some time to think about the life she is trying to live. She was and has always been tired of all this crap. Charlie rubbed her temples. From these inconvenient circumstances to her slave driving boss… Her head was starting to throb. Heh, all this unnecessary stress made her question whether or not the words "peace" and "longevity" were mere pipe dreams.

"What a shitty situation, haha… I wish I could live a life full of happiness and luxury."

When the elevator doors finally opened at the designated floor, Lily could not believe what she was looking at.