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“The Marquis of Even’s daughter… is targeting me?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“……”
I was left speechless at Drek’s serious reply. How was I even supposed to respond to that? I never imagined those words would come out of his mouth.
The Marquis’s daughter—no, that possessor—what on earth is she thinking? Hadn’t I already heard it from Alexandra and Angelica before? That she had made me her target.
But now, not just a target—she was after my life. Why? What had I ever done to her?
Could it be because I took Tiana’s body? But technically, it wasn’t even something I stole. It was beyond my control.
When I possessed Tiana and that other possessor was ejected, it was an accident. I too had lost consciousness in an accident in the modern world and ended up here without a chance to resist.
It wasn’t as though I had wanted to take Tiana’s body. I barely even knew what “possession” really was—how could I have orchestrated something like that?
So then… is she targeting me because she covets Tiana’s position? Because she wants to return?
But if she goes so far as to threaten my life, doesn’t that endanger Tiana’s body as well? Wouldn’t that make it harder for her to come back?
Besides, even when she was thrown out of the Marquis’s daughter’s body, she had to risk a lot. There was no guarantee she could reenter Tiana’s body afterward.
So, if she still wants me dead, there must be more to it than simply wanting to return. I needed to know why.
“Drek.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“You said the Marquis’s daughter is targeting me. Did His Majesty tell you that himself?”
“No. This is something I discovered on my own. However, His Majesty is also aware.”
“His Majesty knows too?”
So that was why he had warned me. No wonder he showed such keen interest in the Marquis and his daughter. When he told me to be cautious, this was what he meant.
“When I first came to the palace, His Majesty asked me about the Marquis of Even and his daughter. When I mentioned something concerning Your Highness, he said he was already aware.”
“I see… so that was about three months ago, when you had just entered the palace…”
That was right after I married Lucius. So, she had been targeting me from that long ago? Because she knew I had possessed Tiana’s body? Does that mean everything she had done since then had been directed at me all along?
What Alexandra and Angelica told me wasn’t something I could just dismiss, after all. I didn’t expect it to be true, but…
Tiana wasn’t even a protagonist in the original story. She was a supporting character, close to the main cast, yes—but the Marquis’s daughter? She was one of the earliest minor villains, killed off almost immediately. Her death was summed up in a single line.
If that possessor had read the original story, she would’ve known her fate. Of course she’d feel wronged. That alone was enough to make her want to change her destiny.
But redirecting that resentment at me? That’s unfair. I didn’t deliberately take Tiana’s body—it just happened. If anything, we’re in the same boat, so how could one possessor treat another with such hostility?
Even so, wanting to kill me still seemed like too much. There had to be another reason.
I forced down the headache forming behind my eyes and pressed on.
“Do you know why she wants me dead?”
“I don’t know the exact reason. But I can tell you what I’ve seen and heard. As you know, this isn’t the kind of thing one talks about lightly.”
“Of course. People might not believe you, and you yourself could end up a target.”
“Exactly. Normally, I would’ve kept it to myself. But… it was too disturbing.”
“Disturbing? The Marquis’s daughter?”
“Yes. If I hadn’t personally witnessed her strange words and actions, I wouldn’t be saying this now. If it had been nothing more than petty jealousy, I would’ve simply reported it to His Majesty, and that would have been the end of it.”
“Right, that would’ve been the simplest way for you to handle it.”
Even if he hadn’t told me directly, once Raeel heard it, it would eventually reach Lucius. Then Lucius would’ve taken care of the Marquis’s daughter himself.
But the fact that Drek told both Raeel and me personally meant the Marquis’s daughter—that possessor—harbored a much deeper and stronger malice than simple jealousy. Enough that I myself needed to be on guard.
“What exactly did she say? What did she do?”
“They were unusual enough that I may not describe them well, but I’ll try my best.”
“Go ahead. I’ll listen carefully.”
Unusual? What kind of behavior had been so bizarre?
I waited while Drek wiped the sweat from his brow, then he began slowly.
“I worked in the Marquis’s household for about four years. Three of those years, I served as head chef.”
“That’s not very long for someone your age, is it?”
“Correct. Normally, noble households employ head chefs with at least ten years of experience. But I was an exception.”
“So how did you become the Marquis’s head chef?”
“That, too, had to do with the Marquis’s daughter.”
His face twisted bitterly.
“By chance, she dined at the restaurant where I worked. She liked my food and invited me to the Marquis’s estate.”
“She did? And you accepted?”
“Yes. The restaurant was struggling financially at the time, so I was about to lose my job anyway. The Marquis’s household was prestigious, and they offered a generous salary. Of course I accepted. But… I didn’t realize then what a mistake that would be.”
“So something happened there.”
“Many things. Most of them… related to her.”
He paused and sighed heavily, as if recalling something he’d rather forget.
“When I first arrived, the Marquis said, ‘Since my daughter brought you here, I’ll leave everything to her.’ And so, I was tasked solely with preparing her meals.”
“Only her meals? Not even the Marquis’s own?”
“Yes. Only hers. Meals and snacks.”
“Hmm…”
That didn’t quite match what I’d heard from Alexandra and Angelica. They’d said he had been exemplary among the chefs. Perhaps what they meant was that he catered perfectly to the daughter’s whims?
“It was… extremely difficult to suit her taste. Difficult enough that I wanted to throw my knife at the wall.”
“……”
So much for being “exemplary.” If he was driven to that point, she must’ve been unbearable.
“One day she’d reject a dish she’d eaten happily the day before, calling it inedible. Another day she’d demand only spicy food. Then she’d order dishes made with vegetables I’d never even heard of. Or she’d insist that rice be served in a bowl, shaped into a neat little mound. Ha…”
“……”
…She was Korean. Without a doubt.
“I once tracked down the vegetable she wanted and cooked it as she said, only for her to slap me in the face with it, saying the taste was wrong. Red sauce splattered everywhere, and the leaves stung painfully—like being slapped by a hand.”
“……”
That… that was a kimchi slap, wasn’t it? She actually made him cook kimchi and then slapped him with it?! This possessor was insane.
“And the foods she demanded—how did she know so many I’d never even heard of? She wanted stir-fried rice cakes, soup with rice cakes, noodles made chewy with wheat flour… She didn’t even know the recipes properly, just vague memories of having eaten them somewhere. But she demanded them anyway. What could I do?”
“You must have suffered.”
“Yes. Terribly. I scoured every cookbook I could find, yet not a single dish satisfied her.”
Another heavy sigh escaped him.
Of course not.
She had been demanding tteokbokki, tteokguk, ramen—modern Korean foods. None of which existed in this world. No recipe books could help him. And yet she ordered him to recreate them? Shameless.
She was basically outing herself as a possessor.
A noble daughter knowing about foods no one else did, yet not even knowing how to make them properly—that alone was suspicious enough to anyone around her.
Even I understood craving modern foods. I thought about them often myself. But recreating them here wasn’t so simple. In novels, sure—possessors always magically knew every recipe in detail. But reality? Unless she had been a chef in her original life, her demands were nothing but selfish burdens.
I could sympathize with Drek’s endless sighs. If I’d been in his shoes, I wouldn’t have known how to appease her either.
“I thought desserts might be easier, but that only lasted a few tries. Soon she began rejecting cakes, cookies, macarons, madeleines—everything she’d eaten just fine before.”
“And demanded something else?”
“Yes. She asked for desserts that weren’t sweet, and coffee instead of tea. I thought it might finally be easier… but I was wrong.”
“Ah…”
This must’ve been when iced Americano came up.
“I made a strawberry cake with minimal sugar and brewed coffee from beans I ground myself. But she threw them both aside immediately. And then she asked why it wasn’t iced.”
“……”
She really couldn’t hold back, huh? Asking for iced coffee—in a world that didn’t even have it? Unbelievable.
I almost wanted to scream. What was wrong with that possessor? Drek really had suffered.
I let out a sigh of my own, feeling his frustration seep into me. Imagine hearing the word “iced” without having the faintest idea what it meant. No wonder his head must’ve been spinning with questions.
“You must’ve had a terrible time, Drek.”
“Yes… I’ve never met anyone so impossible to please. The strange words, the constant demands… When she wanted that iced Americano, I nearly walked out for good.”
“I understand. It’s frustrating to be asked for something you can’t possibly know. What about the strawberry cake? How did she react?”
“She raged just the same. Said, ‘What is this garbage?’ Ah, but then she said something strange.”
“Strange? What did she say?”
So she had even more tantrums… I couldn’t help but pity him now. He rested his chin on his hand, recalling.
“I hadn’t made strawberry cake for her more than five times in total. But she said, ‘Strawberry cake again? I’ve eaten this to death already! I barely escaped, and now I have to suffer the same treatment here too?!’”
“……”
Her words hit me wrong.
Eaten it to death. Barely escaped. Same treatment.
Wait. Barely escaped? From where? From Tiana’s… body?
