CHAPTER 93………………………………………….
Adrina seemed tense, unsure of what words might come out of my mouth.
I had a lot I wanted to say to her.
Wondering what I should ask first, I finally spoke.
“You mentioned before that you didn’t know anyone named ‘Kan.’”
As expected, Adrina’s brow furrowed slightly.
She sighed with a somewhat conflicted expression.
“You mean that person again? As I’ve said before… I don’t…”
“Of course you wouldn’t know. After all, in this life, Miss…”
A ripple flashed in her blue eyes, but it quickly subsided.
She spoke calmly, her voice even.
“So you do know, then.”
Some words were left unsaid, yet both of us understood the meaning—an ironic situation.
She’s not as surprised as I thought… so she must have guessed.
That I knew she had experienced a reincarnation.
Of course, I didn’t know everything about her, but there was no need to make that obvious.
I nodded, doing my best to appear relaxed.
“Yes.”
Adrina gave a wry smile.
“Since you seem to know everything, I suppose I don’t need to hide anything anymore either.”
Her smile seemed less bitter and more weary.
Her reaction isn’t quite what I expected.
I had wondered how she might react if I mentioned my previous life—anger, threats, feigned ignorance, caution… perhaps suspicion.
“Somehow, I feel a little relieved.”
Her face looked genuinely refreshed, which made me a little nervous in turn.
“…Relieved?”
“My secret. I’ve never told anyone before. I even considered confiding in someone, but I was afraid they’d think badly of me, so I never said a word.”
Seeing Adrina genuinely relieved made my own mouth itch to speak.
Because I also had a secret I couldn’t tell anyone.
And our reasons for keeping it secret are similar!
Since she had openly acknowledged her own secret, I felt like I should share one of mine as well.
But I’m not sure yet if I can trust her completely.
I personally liked Adrina and wanted to trust her.
But that didn’t mean I fully trusted her.
As a reader familiar with the story, I knew enough to recognize she might not be someone trustworthy.
Adrina asked:
“How do you know about my previous life?”
Her question came with perfect timing, as if she had read my mind.
“That’s…”
Do I just tell her? My secret isn’t even valuable.
As I groaned over the thought, Adrina suddenly proposed:
“If the truth is hard to say, how about this?”
“…?”
“We each ask three questions. The other person can answer truthfully or lie, but at least one of the three must be answered truthfully.”
“But then how would we know which answer is true?”
Her smile deepened.
“Exactly why it’s better. You can subtly reveal the truth hidden among lies. But no vague, evasive answers are allowed.”
Truth hidden in lies.
Not bad.
Even better, I could ask her all sorts of things.
It’s like a truth game—there’s no harm in that.
I nodded.
“All right. Let’s do it.”
“Good. I’ll ask first. The you from your previous life seems very different from the you in this life. Why is that?”
At first, I had planned to lie, but then I hesitated.
No matter what I say, Adrina doesn’t know the truth.
Then the more absurd the answer, the less likely she’ll guess it’s false.
Good.
“Because I’m a different person.”
“…I see.”
Adrina looked genuinely puzzled.
Of course. It would be hard to believe such a ridiculous answer.
I said, proudly:
“Now it’s my turn, right? You made the medicine the Crown Prince seeks, correct? Why do you deliver it while hiding your identity?”
“…Anyone involved with me ends up unhappy. I don’t want him to be unhappy. At least in this life.”
She smiled gently.
But it was a smile that made one feel melancholy.
It couldn’t be faked.
This must be the truth.
There was no reason to doubt it.
“Second question.”
I was ready to answer any question with a flashy lie—but Adrina’s question made my confidence falter.
“Do you want a divorce now?”
Huh?
I didn’t know why she would ask that.
Did Blake tell her?
I wasn’t entirely sure what kind of relationship they had—perhaps just some sort of assistant-like connection.
Still, she must have asked because of something Blake said.
I shook my head slightly, uneasy.
“No. I don’t intend to divorce.”
“May I ask why?”
“Is this the third question?”
“No. You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.”
I hesitated a moment, then spoke.
It wasn’t a question I needed to hide the answer to anyway. I would have answered the same regardless.
“The reason I don’t want a divorce is simple. I love my husband. I want this relationship to continue.”
As I said this, Adrina’s expression shifted slightly.
Why? Was my answer not to her liking?
“…I envy you. Now it’s your turn to ask.”
“You’re not a weak person, but why were you bleeding then?”
A simple curiosity on my part.
“You seem to know me well. Hmm… perhaps a side effect of the time reversal.”
That wasn’t in the original story.
It must be a different timeline.
“Since we each asked two questions, we have one remaining.”
I swallowed.
“Ask it.”
“Who are you?”
“….”
I was caught off guard. I blinked, confused.
“Huh?”
“Think of it as a continuation of the first question. If you were someone else, I mean—who?”
My mind went blank.
It wasn’t that her question was confusing—it was that I didn’t know the answer either.
Who am I?
Lilia Ashitria? Or someone from Korea…?
Ouch.
A sudden headache made me frown.
Again.
Whenever I tried to recall anything about my previous life—about “me” in that life—my head ached strangely.
Looking back, the reason I’ve managed to live here as Lilia without much trouble is because I rarely remember my past life.
Since I don’t remember, longing and regret are faint.
“Is this question difficult to answer?”
I instinctively opened my mouth. I planned to brush it off with a lie—but then I gave up.
What would I even say to lie here? Another dimension person? A reader of this book? Or just some previous inhabitant of this body?
Then the fact that I know Kan would seem weird.
My thoughts were a mess.
I exhaled sharply and said:
“Please change the question.”
“Done.”
“Huh?”
“Your silence counts as an answer, too.”
“…Is that okay? Won’t that be a loss for you?”
She chuckled softly.
“Since you didn’t answer, it means one of the two responses must be true. That alone is enough for me.”
Ah…
I bit my lip.
It seemed she considered the first question’s answer as the “truth.”
Fine. That’s okay.
Being possessed here is something even I don’t fully understand. Even if she knows, nothing really changes.
Nothing changes, so it won’t be a weakness.
“Now it’s my turn. What is your relationship with ‘Kan’? How did you come to know him?”
“I’m sorry, but I cannot answer that question. I cannot reveal anything about him.”
Unexpected.
I had hoped to learn about the medicine, but this was really the main point.
“Can’t you even say why?”
“I’m sorry. But if you change the question, I’ll answer sincerely. Or you may accept my silence as my response.”
Not answering must mean she already revealed the truth in a previous answer.
But even if it might be a lie, I wanted to ask.
I didn’t want to lose this chance or be unsure of the truth.
But what should I ask?
I had run out of prepared questions.
I wracked my brain.
Should I ask about the medicine’s identity? No, that would be similar to what Kalak told me…
I couldn’t ask about Blake.
Then what’s left?
I searched her eyes, thinking of something only she would know. Something I could ask her.
Reincarnation.
How many times had she gone through it?
“Miss…”
The words froze on my lips.
Whatever I ask, this answer will probably be a lie anyway.
If it’s going to be a lie anyway, why not ask an easy question?
One that doesn’t need to be evasive.
“…Do you consider me a friend?”
