Chapter: 4
“Your arm got hurt. It must have hurt a lot, didn’t it?”
“Ah—n-no, it’s fine.”
Seeing Eirin’s voice tremble in embarrassment, I bent at the waist toward her.
“S-Sister Silvia? Why… why are you doing this…?”
“I’m really sorry. Not just for what happened yesterday, but for everything I’ve done to you until now. I know that apologizing like this won’t erase everything, and it probably won’t ease your heart either—but I felt I had to apologize.”
You can’t improve a relationship—or decide not to—unless you start with an apology.
“I… I…”
Eirin couldn’t answer easily. She was probably confused.
Was what ‘Silvia’ was saying sincere? Or was she mocking her?
And even if it was sincere, could she really forgive everything she had suffered just because of a single apology?
With those doubts mixed together, Eirin stared at me blankly.
“I didn’t apologize to hurt you, so you don’t have to answer right away. I just wanted to apologize sincerely.”
“Th-then… I…”
Eirin lowered her head deeply.
“I’m sorry. Um… I just came because I was worried about you. I’ll be going now. I’ll see you next time.”
Murmuring in a small, whisper-like voice, Eirin hurriedly ran back the way she had come.
As I quietly watched her retreating figure disappear toward the main building, the butler spoke to me.
“You’ve changed, young lady.”
Was he speaking to me? It almost sounded like he was talking to himself.
Still, thinking it would be awkward to ignore him if he had spoken to me, I opened my mouth to reply.
“People are always changing. How could yesterday’s me be exactly the same as today’s me? Today’s me has lived one more day and experienced more things than yesterday’s me.”
“…That’s true. You’re right, young lady.”
I couldn’t exactly say, ‘Because my soul changed!’ so I spouted nonsense—but the butler’s reaction was strange.
It was like my father in a previous life, after reading a quote online and being deeply moved, then trying to share it with the family.
Feeling an ominous sense that this shouldn’t continue, I quickly said,
“Let’s go. I want to rest.”
Fortunately, the butler followed my words without objection.
Crossing a small garden, a modest two-story building came into view. Judging by the air of age and charm it carried, it was clearly the West Wing where I would be staying for a while.
“This is the West Wing where you’ll be residing from now on, young lady.”
As expected.
“We did our best, but since the West Wing has been vacant for a long time, the preparations may be lacking.”
“It’s fine.”
Contrary to the butler’s words, the West Wing was so clean it almost hurt my eyes.
The floors gleamed as if freshly polished, and the statues and suits of armor displayed along the corridors didn’t have a speck of dust on them.
“…If this is ‘lacking,’ then what does ‘properly prepared’ even look like?”
Even a five-star hotel probably wouldn’t be this clean.
Though I had arrived here after being cast out, the West Wing suited my tastes perfectly. It was practically like staying for free at a luxury European hotel.
After briefly looking around the antique hall and corridors, I asked,
“Which room should I stay in?”
“You may live in whichever room you like. For the time being, the entire West Wing is your space. As long as you do not leave this area.”
“Really? Well, I guess that makes sense. I was ordered to reflect and confined here. The West Wing is so nice that I almost mistook this for a vacation.”
I meant it as a joke, but the butler’s response was overly solemn.
“Young lady…”
As he called out to me, the butler looked at me with a strange expression.
For some reason…
‘He looks like he feels really sorry for me.’
Having served the Atlante Ducal House for many years, the butler was filled with pride in the family.
Seeing how he dealt with anyone who harmed the house, it was easy to imagine how strong that loyalty was.
Entrusted with the duke’s confidence, the butler had always handled matters on his own whenever he judged something—or someone—to be harmful to Atlante.
‘The duke even praised him for how flawless his work was.’
So what had Silvia Atlante been to him?
‘Of course he must’ve hated her. He probably wanted to get rid of Silvia every time she tarnished the Atlante name—but since she was also his master, he couldn’t act, which must have made him even angrier.’
The butler, being a professional, never openly showed contempt toward Silvia.
But from time to time, he didn’t even try to hide that he disliked her.
‘So why is he suddenly looking at me with that kind of sympathetic kindness?’
I felt uneasy at the butler’s inexplicable reaction, but I didn’t want to ask him why.
“Thank you for guiding me here.”
As I politely signaled that he could leave, the butler composed his expression and bowed.
“If you need anything, please call for me at any time.”
“Thank you for saying that, but it’s fine. You must be busy—you can’t possibly worry about me too.”
“Please don’t say that, young lady. You are also my master. Of course I should be attentive.”
“No. Please look after someone more important than me. I’ll be fine.”
At my words, the butler parted his lips as if to say something, then bowed more deeply and left.
Once he was gone, the West Wing became completely silent.
“It feels like a ghost might show up.”
Why is there no one here at all? I should’ve asked before the butler left.
But chasing after him just to ask felt like too much trouble.
“Well, it’ll work out somehow.”
If they assign servants, great. If not, I can live without them.
The original Silvia wouldn’t have been able to do anything without maids.
But inside was a 21st-century commoner who felt more awkward being waited on than doing everything herself.
Someone washing my body and dressing me?
‘Unless I were a little kid, that’s just not okay. Except in situations where you’re too sick to help it.’
Of course, even being forced to show your bare body or receive help because you couldn’t move properly was never a pleasant experience.
During my illness, when I relied on my family’s help, I felt just as much embarrassment as gratitude.
‘Honestly, it’s better without servants.’
Setting aside thoughts about servants, I chose a random room and went inside.
The spacious room’s layout was similar to the one I had woken up in that morning—except for one thing.
“There’s a mirror here.”
A mirror that hadn’t existed in Silvia’s original room.
Aside from that, nothing stood out, so I took a brief look around and sat back against the chair in front of the vanity.
“It’s not even noon, and I’m already exhausted.”
Maybe it was because so many things had happened. I reviewed the day in my head.
I had suddenly possessed Silvia’s body, been summoned by the duke before I could fully grasp the situation, and then practically chased into the West Wing.
‘Ah. And I met Eirin and apologized in between.’
I really lived today to the fullest.
As I sat there absentmindedly, my reflection appeared in the mirror—not a woman in her twenties from Korea, but Silvia, the ‘ugly ducal daughter’ of the House of Atlante.
I stared at Silvia in the mirror, then broke into a grin.
Her expression subtly changed—becoming more approachable, easier on the eyes.
“Still ugly, but the more I look at you, the more charm you’ve got.”
Her features were actually quite distinct, hidden beneath the weight. When she smiled, her expression improved a lot.
“Maybe it just feels that way because I think of it as my body now.”
Less than a day, and I was already thinking of someone else’s body as my own.
If this had happened to me a few years ago, I never would’ve handled it this way. I probably would’ve cried for a long time, denied reality, and only reluctantly accepted it.
But…
‘Even if it’s hard to accept, you have to deal with it somehow.’
One thing I learned during my long illness was that nothing is more foolish than thinking, ‘This can’t possibly be happening.’
When something has already happened, repeating that phrase only wastes precious time. It doesn’t make reality disappear.
Instead, it’s far wiser to think about how to respond—how to act so you won’t regret it later.
‘And then…’
I recalled Silvia’s final memory.
“I couldn’t do it—but you can.”
Silvia, just before dying, seemed to know of my existence.
How could she know that time would be overturned and a soul from another world would enter her body?
‘I remember most of Silvia’s memories, but there are gaps here and there.’
What she murmured at the end was probably one of those memories I couldn’t access.
I struggled briefly, trying to retrieve the forgotten memories, but soon gave up.
‘What I need to focus on right now isn’t pointless worrying.’
Digging into something I can’t even guess at is too overwhelming.
I can’t waste precious time on things that will eventually become clear on their own.
‘What I need to do is…’
I don’t know the exact reason, but this is a newly granted chance.
I was dropped alone into a completely unfamiliar world—but I gained a healthy body.
The very thing I had desperately longed for while writhing in pain in a hospital bed.
A healthy body.
Since things turned out this way, I should live well. I should live a happy, enjoyable life without envy.
‘To do that, first…’
Bang—
The door burst open without a knock.
“Silvia Atlante.”
The man who barged in as if to break the door down was someone with a familiar face.
The black-haired, blue-eyed young man looked as if he had been made by copying the Duke of Atlante.
The identity of such a rare, strikingly handsome man was—
“Kedric?”
Silvia’s older brother, Kedric Atlante.
‘But why is Kedric looking for me?’
Kedric was the second son of the Duke of Atlante, and the brother of both Silvia and Eirin—but he wasn’t close with Silvia.
‘It’s not as bad as it’ll be five years from now, though.’
By the time Silvia ended her life, Kedric openly despised her.
But now, five years earlier, it hadn’t reached that point yet.
He made his dislike obvious, but didn’t openly abuse her.
They didn’t go out of their way to meet, but if they ran into each other at family gatherings, they at least exchanged greetings.
‘What an awkward relationship. So why did he suddenly come here? Oh—did he come to comfort me, like Eirin did, since I was exiled to the West Wing?’
Even if they were distant siblings, maybe there was enough affection for him to visit his confined sister…
…That thought lasted only a moment. I quickly realized how ridiculous it was.
‘That cold glare doesn’t look like an older brother who came to comfort his punished sister.’
If anything, his menacing presence made it feel like he was facing a sworn enemy.
Frowning, he strode into the room and stopped about two steps away.
The distance clearly showed his unwillingness to come any closer to Silvia Atlante.
Looking down at me with contempt, he spoke.
‘What is this?’
He suddenly showed up—what was his problem?
I was about to ask, but he released his bitten lip and spoke first.
“What did you do to Eirin this time?”
…Huh?
What did he just say?
