~CHAPTER 70~
Her skin was white and soft like snow.
Her blue eyes were round like a rabbit’s.
Her lips were full and red, and her features looked delicate.
On top of that, her build was small and slender like a fairy.
In a romance fantasy story, she would have a ninety-nine percent chance of becoming the female lead.
Hmm, but she looks familiar.
But I soon stopped paying attention to her and focused on the person standing behind her.
No way, that’s her.
The woman who called me Esther.
She recognized me too, and her eyes widened.
The pink-haired angel also looked at me and whispered in shock.
“Sister…?”
After almost three weeks, I had finally found the woman I was searching for, and I reached out to grab her.
If I missed her again, who knew how long I would have to wait.
But before I could touch her, my hand slipped and I accidentally grabbed the angel’s sleeve.
A wave of dizziness hit me hard.
My head spun, and all strength drained from my body at once.
Just then, Greta returned with water and shouted loudly.
“Lady Jenna!”
That was the last thing I heard before I fainted.
***
I had a dream.
The real Jenna appeared in a pitch-black void and grabbed me by the collar without remorse.
She looked desperate and was yelling at me, but I couldn’t hear anything.
I grabbed her back and shouted, demanding to know what was going on, then woke up with a jolt.
Huh, unfamiliar ceiling.
For a moment, I blankly blinked, reminded of the day I first possessed this body.
The door opened.
I turned my head and saw Greta and the pink-haired angel walk inside.
“Lady Jenna, are you awake?”
“Yes…”
“Please drink some water first.”
While Greta poured water from a pitcher, I stared at the pink-haired angel, and she stared back at me.
She looked exactly like the heroine of a romance novel, but there were too many heroines who looked like this for me to know which one she was.
As I tilted my head in confusion, she looked at me with a tearful face full of emotion.
Greta handed me a glass of water.
“This is the Granger County estate. The young lady of House Granger generously offered a room and called for a physician.”
Granger…?
That sounded familiar.
“Fortunately, you collapsed from heatstroke, and there are no other health issues.”
“Really?”
“Yes, she was very worried about you.”
“Ah… thank you for helping me.”
I put my hands together and bowed politely, but the angel shook her head in panic.
“N-no. It was only right to help you.”
She came close enough to make me uncomfortable and held my hands tightly.
“Do you not recognize me…?”
“Um…”
I had no idea.
Seeing my troubled face, she introduced herself with a trembling voice.
“My name is Ariana Granger.”
…Ariana Granger?
Ariana Granger…
No way. Ariana Granger?!
My eyes widened.
Like lightning, a buried memory surfaced.
A novel I used to read called .
I enjoyed it a lot in my previous life, but I never finished it because of work.
The story was simple and cliché.
A girl from an insignificant count’s family met the Crown Prince by chance, fell in love, overcame hardships, and reached a happy ending.
That girl was Ariana Granger.
Wow, this world is from “Rec. of the Crown Prince’s Love.”
It took me over half a year after being possessed to realize which story I was in.
I stared at Ariana with my mouth hanging open, and she asked carefully.
“Sister, you’re Esther, right?”
“…I don’t think so.”
I stiffly shook my head in denial.
It was fine that she was the heroine.
But…
I can’t be Esther Granger!
Why?
I didn’t know who Esther was at first, but once I heard the full name Esther Granger, there was no mistaking it.
She was Ariana’s half sister.
A villainess who tried to harm Ariana because she loved the Crown Prince, and later died for her crimes.
No. I refuse to be Esther. I don’t want this.
I forced an awkward smile.
“My name is Jenna. I’m not Esther. I’m Jenna.”
“But before you came to live in our house, you said your name used to be Jenna.”
“What? Oh—sorry for cursing.”
I slipped up and quickly apologized.
Esther Granger was a child born from the Count’s affair.
After her mother died, she was taken into the Granger family.
Because of this, she had a deep inferiority complex and grew obsessed with perfect noble Ariana.
And Esther’s original name was Jenna?
No way.
But looking at Ariana’s face, I couldn’t deny it completely.
We look alike…
Even if we had different mothers, we definitely looked like half sisters.
While I panicked internally, Ariana teared up and whispered emotionally.
“I’m so happy we met again, Sister. I missed you so much. I thought you were dead.”
Even in my shock, that last part bothered me.
She thought I died? Why?
Why would Esther use her real name while spying?
In the original story, she was ignored by her family and treated like she didn’t exist socially, but she was still a noble.
This whole spy situation never appeared in the novel.
“Why did you think I died?”
Ariana hesitated, and the woman from before entered with a tray of food and answered instead.
“Lady Esther was arrested for attempting to poison Lady Ariana.”
“…!”
Greta and I both widened our eyes.
Ariana bit her lip, unable to deny it.
I had hoped I hadn’t committed any crimes yet, but that hope was shattered.
That means I’m already doomed to a death ending.
The maid placed the tray on the table and continued.
“After that, His Highness the Crown Prince announced that she died in prison.”
“…Right. Rai said that.”
Ariana nodded sadly and held my hand tightly.
“But I didn’t believe it. Rai wouldn’t show us the body or give her back to us.”
Well, that was because she was a criminal.
“I wanted to bury Sister in our family cemetery, but they wouldn’t allow it.”
That was because Ariana was a kind and naïve heroine, even willing to forgive her cruel sister.
“I kept saying you didn’t want to hurt me from the start, but no one believed me. It was so sad and unfair.”
Ariana’s tearful eyes sparkled like jewels.
Yes, I remembered now.
She was gentle, kind, and almost too forgiving in the story.
“Anyway, I’m just glad you’re alive now.”
She suddenly hugged me tightly.
Her fragrance was sweet like flowers.
“Let’s never be apart again. I’ll listen to you this time. I won’t let you go.”
Her thin arms tightened with surprising strength.
I silently met Greta’s eyes over Ariana’s shoulder.
Should we run?
We should definitely run.
Our gazes agreed instantly.
No matter what Ariana believed, I was now a convicted would-be murderer and an escaped criminal.
If my identity was exposed, I was finished.
***
Fortunately for me, Ariana was the only one at the Granger estate right now.
Her father, the Count, had gone to their territory on business.
As expected of a heroine, Ariana was loved by everyone around her.
Not just the male lead and the second male lead, but even the estate servants adored her.
It made me nervous.
Someone might report me.
My stomach twisted with anxiety until night finally came.
“Sister, can we sleep together? I’ll tell you stories from the past so you remember everything.”
I used amnesia as an excuse to deny my identity, and Ariana became desperate to help me recover my memories.
I refused and sent her back to her room, then lay on my bed.
Greta and I planned to meet at one in the morning.
Until then, I only wanted to pretend to sleep, but…
Oops, I really fell asleep.
I met the real Jenna again in a dream.
No, the real Esther Granger.
She grabbed me by the collar, glaring fiercely, and mouthed something over and over.
What was she saying?
I grabbed her wrist and focused on reading her lips.
…East?
She was telling me to go east?
She nodded happily, and I woke up.
Why is she suddenly appearing in my dreams…?
I had never dreamed about her before, then suddenly twice in a row.
It felt eerie.
I checked the time, then grabbed my things and headed out.
Greta was waiting at the end of the first-floor hallway.
“It may take some time to escape. I don’t know the estate layout.”
Greta frowned while scanning the garden.
She didn’t know which direction to run.
I suddenly remembered Esther’s message in the dream and made a suggestion.
“Greta, should we head east?”
Who knew?
Maybe Esther was showing us the escape route.
