[Chapter 61]
“Is Captain Renton someone you can trust?”
Ah… another dream. I wanted to squeeze my eyes shut, but in the dream, Lemonie was staring at young Deon with endlessly clear eyes. Honestly, since parting ways with Deon like that, I hadn’t wanted to face him—but I never expected we’d meet like this.
A red eye raised an eyebrow, flickering with caution and distrust. Unlike in reality, that caution and distrust weren’t aimed at me—they were directed at someone else. It was an ironic situation.
“Hey!”
Lemonie, crawling like a turtle to peek out of the cave, was about to brighten her expression when suddenly someone grabbed the back of her neck.
“What are you planning? Even if you’re caught, I’ll be the one to check.”
“Yes, it’s really Mr. Renton. I just saw his face.”
Through the trees, the flag and shield bearing the emblem of the Christina family moved. One of the knights even had a thick braided beard. It was definitely Renton.
“Are you sure it’s him?”
“Yes!”
Normally, giving someone assurance like that would make them happy, but for some reason, his expression darkened.
“…So you’re really leaving?”
At that moment, a tiny hand grabbed Lemonie’s sleeve. Deon wore a dissatisfied expression. His one-raised eyebrow gradually furrowed, and his ruby-like eyes began to darken.
“If you leave here, you won’t see me until you grow up.”
There was a hint of reproach in his tone. Seeing pouty Deon, Lemonie felt awkward.
‘What should I do?’
Lemonie knew the truth. In a month, she could roam outside freely, and in two years, she might leave the duchy to debut at the Imperial Court of the Southern Empire.
That body—‘this body’—could do that. But by then, would it really still be Lemonie inside?
Even at five years old, she knew enough. At first, she had thought the girl in her dream was just a vision, but over time, she realized the child’s perspective was inhabiting the body of Lemonie Christina, a noble girl. As time passed, her focus sharpened, and her memories of reality returned—she adapted perfectly to Lemonie’s life, a life full of privileges: desserts every day, beautiful dresses. No five-year-old would dislike such a life.
But light always casts shadows.
Once the girl realized that Lemonie’s life existed inside the fairy tale world, she was suddenly kidnapped and cried out. Among all the bad people she knew, her relatives had seemed the worst—but when faced with a true villain, all she wanted was to return to reality.
Then Deon saved her.
It was truly a fairy-tale world. The boy was handsome, like a prince.
But a five-year-old couldn’t judge how to handle the relationships formed while inhabiting Lemonie’s body. If the ‘real’ Lemonie ever met Deon, they would be complete strangers.
“Let’s meet again next time.”
“When I’m grown up?”
The girl spoke as if bidding farewell to a new friend at the playground.
“Yes. When you’re grown up. Promise me.”
So she didn’t know how serious his gaze was when he extended his pinky, nor the weight of the words that all memories live on within the soul.
“See you later, then.”
The girl stood and waved to Deon. As she walked a little further and looked back, the red eyes glittering in the darkness were watching her. He crouched alone in the cave, perhaps to avoid being seen by others.
“…I’ll give you a gift.”
Originally, she had intended only to say goodbye, but for some reason, she felt she should give Deon something, so he wouldn’t feel lonely.
She pulled out paper and pen from her bag, and he cautiously stepped to the cave entrance. Oh no. It wasn’t anything extravagant. She worried she wouldn’t meet his expectations, so with trembling hands, she wrote the only thing she could: her name.
Kim Eunji
Her small hands shook as she carefully wrote in neat Hangul. Deon, bent over to look at her handwriting, curiously asked:
“What’s this? A weird drawing?”
“It’s my real name.”
“I thought your name was Lemonie.”
“It’s a secret, but my real name is—”
At that moment:
“I’ve found Lady Lemonie!”
“Lady Lemonie!”
“Lady Lemonie, stay right there!”
From afar, the knights’ shouts reached them. Startled, Lemonie let go of Deon’s hand.
“I have to go. Take care!”
“Uh, okay. Bye.”
She hurriedly ran toward the knights, partly to protect Deon—he wasn’t human, after all. She didn’t want anyone else to notice or meet him.
But the boy at the cave entrance stayed put until she was just a dot on the horizon.
Three days. That was the time Lemonie and Deon spent together.
For young Lemonie, three days were like a dream; for young Deon, three days changed his fate. Then they returned to their own lives.
[Imperial Year 102, October 3]
I’ve gone back again. As a baby, I couldn’t write, but now, at four, I can write whatever I want. Damn Deon. Damn beast of a prisoner! You killed people and now tried to kill me? You tried to kill me? I will never forgive you. Even when I lost consciousness from his hands around my neck, I never forgot those red eyes. I want revenge, but in Lemonie’s body, I can’t—so I decided to learn dark magic. I heard there’s dark magic that can switch souls. I’ll go to a free country with many dark mages.
[Imperial Year 103, May 21]
I learned summoning from a dark mage named Reinick, but it’s not easy. I have to summon a medium to switch souls, but he says my magic keeps spilling into other worlds. He calls it fate. Is he saying I have no talent for dark magic? My second target for revenge will be Reinick. I paid a thousand gold for lessons; shouldn’t he make it possible?
[Imperial Year 103, June 10]
After about three weeks, I thought I could try dark magic, but Reinick freaked out and stopped me. He said it would take at least ten years to master summoning without mistakes, especially for someone like me, whose magic jumps around. That’s like paying a thousand gold per month for ten years! Ridiculous. I kicked him with my short legs and returned to the Southern Empire. I was spending my allowance as a princess on him—does that make sense? Whatever, I’ll try. I have no pain sense anyway, so nothing can hurt me.
[Imperial Year 103, June 11]
I drew the magic circle and attempted the summoning—but nothing happened.
[Imperial Year 103, June 14]
Who are you? Lemonie? This body’s name is Lemonie?
[Imperial Year 103, June 22]
It’s nice here with treats and princess treatment, but I’ve never seen Lemonie’s parents. Are your mom and dad dead too?
[Imperial Year 103, September 1]
You don’t feel pain? I scraped my knee in the garden but it didn’t hurt at all. Are you some kind of superhuman?
[Imperial Year 103, October 22]
It was frustrating, so I learned the Imperial language. The first thing I wanted to write was, “Mom, Dad, I miss you!” I also learned how to write my real name in Imperial script: Kim Eunji. I didn’t memorize it; I just copied what the teacher wrote.
Deon read the last part again. The clumsy Imperial script from a newly literate child clearly read Kim Eunji.
“My name is Kim Eunji. I live in Seoul, Republic of Korea…”
Ah.
The things that had seemed strange about her before finally made sense. Deon’s gaze wavered as he read the diary.
[Imperial Year 103, November 1]
Lemonie. I was kidnapped. With the help of a good friend, I returned safely, but now this place scares me. When can I go back? I don’t need cake or dresses; I just want to go back to my relatives’ house.
“…Deon?”
Closing the diary, Dean stood there, puzzled. But now, he couldn’t respond. His heart felt like it had dropped to the floor.
Back then, Deon had been confused, unable to interpret the paper Lemonie gave him. It was in a strange language.
“Don’t try to fool me with strange sentences. Prove it through actions. Except when I’m enraged, don’t order me around. Then I’ll accept that you aren’t Lemonie.”
The child had used the same strange language, yet he hadn’t noticed. Only now, realizing all the circumstances, did his understanding of her previously odd behavior click.
“It seems my soul has entered Lemonie’s body. My real name is Kim Eunji. I just turned twenty three months ago. I study Animal Welfare at Daji University. My original home is Gangbuk, Seoul, in the Republic of Korea…”
Covering his face with his hand, he chuckled quietly. She hadn’t been acting. From the moment she entered Lemonie’s body, she had shown herself completely, without a single lie. He had been the one unable to recognize her.
“Deon? Are you… okay?”
“You go straight to headquarters and tell them I’m coming within a month.”
“Excuse me? Aren’t you going now?”
“No time for questions. Just deliver the message.”
Deon, who had just disembarked, vanished instantly. The fool was himself.
