Episode 12
I know there are a lot of people in this world who aren’t honest with themselves, but…
Isn’t this guy taking it a bit too far?
If I look closely, it doesn’t seem like he dislikes me.
But does he like me?
I honestly couldn’t tell. I didn’t even know if this was all an act or if he was serious.
When I glanced at Inos Aubrey, his eyes were wide and his fists were clenched tight.
…This is awkward.
Yeah. He definitely hates me.
“Thank you! I’ll be heading off now. See you tomorrow, Father.”
“Alright.”
“I’ll be leaving as well.”
“Go on.”
Inos Aubrey stood up and followed me.
Of all times….
I should’ve just left right away.
Why did I say I wanted to go sightseeing?
Inos followed me outside. I quickly sped up, trying to get back to my room.
“You’re just a fake, but things are nice for you, huh? You even get Father’s attention.”
Not that it actually meant anything special.
“You act like you don’t want to be part of the family, but Father’s never taken me to the capital even once.”
I’d said I was going alone from the start.
The misunderstanding was the duke’s fault, not mine. And I couldn’t exactly refuse him.
I could explain that, but I didn’t feel like spelling everything out.
“I don’t want to waste energy arguing over pointless things, Brother.”
The Duke of Aubrey cared about Inos in his own way.
“Fine. So let’s do this.”
“Do what?”
“Tomorrow’s difficult since I have plans. But the day after, I’ll prove that Father loves you more than me.”
“…What are you talking about?”
“If I prove it, will you stop fixating on me, Brother?”
This was just a waste of time and emotions.
I knew exactly when people like him—people who couldn’t be honest—ended up revealing their real feelings.
“Does Father have a place he goes walking every day?”
“…There’s a pond in the garden. He walks there once a day, every morning after breakfast.”
Just as I thought.
With the nickname ‘Lord of Greenery’, the Aubrey estate was full of lush vegetation.
I didn’t know much about landscaping, but it was obvious that skilled gardeners took care of it.
The greenery around the estate was so beautiful that it felt like a real forest.
There was no way the duke—who loved nature and beautiful things—didn’t take daily walks.
“Alright. Then let’s meet by the pond after breakfast, Brother.”
“What are you planning to do?”
“To prove you don’t need to be jealous of me?”
“…That makes no sense.”
Ino muttered in confusion, but I didn’t bother explaining.
“See you later, Brother.”
Completely drained from just one breakfast, I gave him a small smile and went straight back to my room.
“Miss! You’re back! How was breakfast?”
“It was good!”
“That’s a relief.”
Mary smiled brightly. Gold, standing behind her, bowed slightly.
“I’m so glad you’re adjusting well. I can’t believe someone this adorable was hidden away until now…”
Mary bent down to meet my eyes. The faint sadness in her smile caught my attention.
“What would you like to do now?”
“I’m a bit tired. I want to rest.”
More accurately, I needed to sort out whatever strange memories were mixed up in my head.
“Then we’ll step out.”
“If you need anything, just pull the cord!”
I nodded lightly and flopped onto the bed.
“Novel… male lead… female lead…”
The words kept popping up in my head.
I knew the Duke of Aubrey’s past and future.
Before my regression, I definitely read newspapers left behind by the mad scientist.
But did those papers include the duke’s past, too?
His future death had been front-page news, sure.
But how did I know he was the third son?
That he’d grown up facing assassinations and poison, making him unable to trust people?
How was I so sure he loved Inos?
And the rampage—there was never a detailed account of it.
So how did I know he hurt himself instead of Inos during that time?
“What is this…? What actually happened to me?”
My memories were a complete mess.
It felt like someone had added commentary to the past I knew.
Rolling around on the wide bed in frustration, something dark blue began to glow from inside my sleeve.
“What the—?”
I rolled up my sleeve, and light was leaking out from inside.
Just as I tried to get up in panic, my head spun.
My thoughts went fuzzy, and my body pitched forward.
My vision went black instantly.
It felt like my soul was being sucked somewhere. I flailed and quickly opened my eyes—
Only to realize I was face-down on an empty floor, awkwardly moving my arms and legs. Embarrassed, I jumped up.
I thought I was in darkness, but it was the opposite.
It was too bright.
So white it felt unsettling.
In the center of the white space sat a pitch-black shadow.
“What is that?”
When I muttered, the shadow turned toward me.
Or at least, it felt like it did.
Because it had no eyes, no nose, no mouth.
Hi.
“Ugh—!”
The voice echoed so loudly through the white space that my ears hurt, like someone screaming into a microphone.
Oops, my bad. Is this better?
The volume dropped, but now it was too quiet.
Even an ant would be louder than this.
I slowly removed my hands from my ears.
“Not really. I can barely hear you.”
Hmm… How about now?
“…That’s fine.”
Finally, a comfortable volume—though the voice still came from everywhere.
Good. We finally met.
“…Who are you? And where is this?”
—No need to be so cautious. I’m the administrator. And this is… here.
Shadow lifted one finger confidently.
That explained absolutely nothing.
“Where is ‘here’?”
The Archive Room!
Shadow spread both arms wide, sounding pleased.
Its mouth—if you could call it that—was just more darkness, which didn’t help at all.
This is the only place in the world that only you can enter.
The Archive Room?
“Then why is there nothing here?”
—Nothing? Look properly. It’s all here.
Look at what?
The endless white fog made my skin crawl.
Then—
Shapes slowly emerged.
“…Bookshelves?”
Two massive bookshelves appeared, stretching endlessly on both sides.
The left shelf was entirely black.
The right shelf was entirely white.
The books were also either black or white, making it hard to tell where the shelf ended and the books began.
“Bookshelves? What are these?”
They contain the truth of this world.
That explains nothing, you know.
—Seeing is believing! Try reading one.
“…Reading what?”
A book floated toward me and stopped right in front of my face.
Unlike the others, its front and back covers were different.
The front was black.
The back was white.
Confused, I looked at the shadow. It nodded.
I grabbed the floating book and flipped to the middle.
On a black page, white letters were written.
[August 8, 2019.
After being scammed out of all my money, I jaywalked and got hit by a bus. Died.
Damn it. This seriously sucks.]
What… is this?
Panicking, I flipped the page.
This one was white.
[Imperial Calendar XXX, X Month, X Day
διαρπάζω παρανομία, ἄς, ἡ ὄλεθρος, οὗ, ὁ]
A line was aggressively crossed over the strange words.
—Yeah, the back part’s in an ancient language. You can’t read it yet.
Also, you don’t have permission.
Shadow waved it off casually.
At some point, it had drifted closer—hanging upside down in midair.
“…What?”
Look at the front.
The pages flipped forward on their own.
“…This—”
I sucked in a sharp breath as I read what was written.
