Chapter 119……………………………
“…I don’t quite understand what you mean.”
Terrence said, his eyes wide at my sudden confession.
No wonder. I claimed I wasn’t from this world.
Even to me, it wasn’t surprising if he treated me like a madwoman.
‘Of course, it would be sad if Terrence looked at me that way. But…’
Since he had approached me sincerely, I felt I had a duty to be just as honest with him.
Above all, I didn’t want to deceive him any longer.
“Do you know how I realized that you weren’t just a simple mercenary, but the Marquis of Freyheiden?”
Even though it was an unexpected change of topic, Terrence earnestly retraced his memories.
“You guessed my identity when you heard Jack mistakenly call me ‘Marquis.’”
“Actually, that’s not the case.”
“Huh?”
“I knew who you were even before we first met.”
Yes. My confession to him had to begin here.
“Our meeting was not a coincidence. From the start, I sought you out to trade for the medicinal tea recipe.”
I laid out the truth piece by piece in front of him, who still seemed to only partially understand.
“The recipe for the tea, the fact that it would help your headaches, even that you often spent time in the Wanderer’s Forest… I knew it all.”
I paused for a moment, then continued.
“So, I want to apologize.”
“…For what?”
“I’m sorry. Even knowing all this, I approached you as if I didn’t. It was almost like deceiving you.”
This was why I chose to reveal the truth about my possession before giving a direct response to his confession.
If he learned that I had been deceiving him, his feelings for me might change.
The day he first called me a friend:
“Isn’t it amazing? That I, who met you by chance, could be someone who helps you—and that you also possess this miraculous medicinal tea.”
“Isn’t this what you’d call a fated connection?”
He had said that about our relationship, but it was neither chance nor fate.
“No, before that.”
Terrence shook his head, seeming confused.
“If what you say is true, how did you know all of that?”
“That’s the important part. As I said before, I’m not from this world.”
Please, let it sound even a little less insane.
“In my world, I read a novel—a story written about this world.”
“…A novel?”
“Yes. Its title was Walking Only on Flowery Paths After Rebirth, and the protagonist was Riena Cassius. It was a story about her thriving, triumphant life.”
After saying that, I gave Terrence a moment to process the information.
He sipped his wine silently, but his mind was clearly elsewhere.
I wondered what thoughts were running through his head. Hopefully, he wasn’t thinking he should send me to a hospital immediately.
Our gazes met, and he spoke.
“You must be hungry. Eat quickly.”
“Huh?”
“The food the palace chef prepared will get cold. It’s actually quite good. Hurry.”
Unthinkingly, I picked up a fork and tried some shrimp from my plate.
The springy texture and salty flavor spread in my mouth.
It was indeed as Terrence had said—delicious. Hunger I had forgotten due to tension resurfaced, and I kept bringing the fork to my mouth.
Chewing, I glanced at him.
‘Eating in this situation…’
Was it boldness or absurdity? I wasn’t sure.
Still, it was proof that he cared for me, so I didn’t feel bad. In fact, I felt… good.
Once I had eaten a decent portion and set down my fork, Terrence also placed his wine glass on the table.
“Shall we continue our earlier conversation? You said that Princess Cassius is the protagonist of the book you read?”
“Yes.”
“How should I put it… I’ve always felt that woman seemed to receive all the blessings of this world, all love and attention…”
Terrence’s eyes narrowed.
“To be honest, it’s hard to believe.”
Understandable. Who could easily believe such an absurd story?
“Therefore, please tell me in more detail.”
I looked up at him in surprise.
“I want to believe you.”
“…Alright, I will.”
Whether it was because Terrence wanted to believe me, or because I was full from eating, my words came more naturally now.
“Riena was originally a girl who lived unhappily and died. But the goddess Miella gave her a second chance.”
I summarized the novel’s plot and then began recounting my experience in this world.
“The real Idel was a minor character with little significance. But in her body, I—having possessed her—married Riena’s brother Riandro, just as in the novel. However…”
Terrence occasionally twitched his eyes or moved his lips, seemingly about to ask questions, but he listened patiently to my story.
Though, there was one moment he interrupted:
“The wind has turned chilly. We’d better go inside to continue.”
As summer turned to autumn, staying on the terrace for long had grown cold.
We moved to the room I used as an office to continue.
Sitting across from me, Terrence occasionally refilled my glass at just the right time, when I felt thirsty.
Thanks to his considerate actions, my story continued until the dim dawn light appeared.
“That’s why I missed our dinner, Terrence.”
By now, I was explaining even yesterday’s events to him.
“I went to the old orphanage building and caught a glimpse of Idel’s past life…”
I was almost done, but yawns kept coming and my eyes drooped.
After seeing Idel’s past life, my body had grown very fatigued.
It seemed that observing her past life consumed as much energy as using the original novel’s content.
I leaned back on the sofa, trying to continue.
“In fact, Idel and Riena… were friends at the same orphanage…”
But my eyelids were too heavy.
“Then one day…”
Eventually, I dozed off completely.
“Idel?”
Terrence checked that her eyes were fully closed and called her name.
But only the steady sound of her breathing answered him.
“No, it’s not Idel.”
If her words were correct, it was the name of this body, not hers.
Terrence rose and approached the woman leaning on the sofa.
He gently ran his hand through her soft pink hair.
To be honest, he still couldn’t fully believe her confession.
Not that it sounded like a blatant lie or the ramblings of a madwoman.
The scriptures spoke of realms with gods or demon realms—why couldn’t another world exist?
Though the claim that this world was merely a story felt hard to accept, she had already presented evidence.
“One of the imperial treasures, the emerald ring, is said in the novel to cure headaches. But there is only one, so only His Majesty can use it, right?”
It was true. Long ago, the goddess had gifted a raw emerald containing divine power to the first emperor.
The processed ring was, until the medicinal tea appeared, the only way to alleviate the side effects of headaches caused by royal power.
Including Terrence’s father, every emperor had worn the ring to relieve their excruciating headaches.
But this was a closely guarded secret, passed only to direct descendants.
If the emperor’s weakness were revealed, who knew what chaos would ensue?
Others assumed the ring was just another royal treasure, like the gem casket or ceremonial sword, and that the emperor always possessed it.
So how did she know such information?
Terrence had never told her about the emperor’s ring.
Nor could she have learned through the emperor or Mihail.
There was only one explanation: she could obtain knowledge in ways ordinary people could not.
Thinking this way, it also made sense why she knew the inner workings of the Iver guild and noticed the sacred beast in the mine ahead of others.
The motion of his hand, playing with her silky hair, came to a stop.
“And she confided that critical secret to me.”
To someone who had appeared in the novel as an untouchable villain.
That person could have easily used the information to threaten her.
Yet she now slept defenseless before him, trusting him entirely.
He found that deeply satisfying.
And the fact that she had approached him deliberately, not by chance, was equally satisfying.
She sought help from him specifically, and despite the many characters in the novel, she chose only him to approach.
If their meeting were not by chance, he might have expected disappointment—but it wasn’t.
Better than mere chance. If it were chance, someone else could have been in his place.
That was unacceptable. Absolutely unacceptable.
Terrence smiled warmly and reached for her.
She had revealed she wasn’t the real Idel, but that was fine by him.
The Idel he had known from their first meeting until now was this one, and the person his heart followed was her.
The one now in his arms was Idel.
He lifted the sleeping Idel carefully and placed her on the bed in the bedroom.
“Sweet dreams.”
After tucking her in thoroughly, Terrence whispered softly in Idel’s ear.
