-18-
It was astonishing how perfectly timed her arrival was—it hadn’t been that long since the letter was sent. It felt like she had prepared and come immediately after receiving it…
Caught off guard by the sudden situation, I stood up abruptly, intending to go out and greet her, but just as I turned toward the entrance, I locked eyes with the princess who had already arrived at the reception room.
“…!”
Her voluminous red hair cascaded down to her chest, fluttering with her steps, and her large green eyes sparkled like gemstones, flawless and gleaming.
Time seemed to freeze between us amid the palace maids trailing behind her and the startled servants overwhelmed by the princess’s sudden intrusion.
Her gaze bore into me without even a blink. The intensity made my palms sweat. Although I’d received her letter, I hadn’t had time to prepare myself, and now, meeting her like this, my heart pounded wildly. I never thought she’d really come so soon…
While I was still reeling from her sudden appearance, Alfred quickly composed himself and, glancing between us, said,
“I’ll bring some tea. Please have a seat, Your Highness.”
He cleared the crowded entrance of both palace maids and the startled household staff, then respectfully guided the princess further into the room. After giving him a fleeting glance, she entered slowly.
Seeing the distance between us wasn’t closing, Alfred gave me a look and quietly shut the reception room door behind him.
“……”
“……”
What was I supposed to do now? The air was thick with awkwardness and tension, and all I could do was fidget with my fingers. It felt weird to greet her formally in this situation. Maybe I should suggest we sit down first…
“Um… would you like to sit here?”
I struggled to guide her to a seat, carefully watching her expression. After a moment of silently staring at me, her lips still sealed, she finally moved toward the seat.
Even as she sat down, her gaze never left me. Under such an intense stare, I had no idea where to look. I was doing my best not to avoid her eyes, but the way she was observing me made me feel… unsettled.
It felt like she was scrutinizing me… but how was I supposed to respond?
She probably knew about the accident, which meant she also knew I’d lost my memory. Introducing myself now seemed pointless—she likely knew more about the “Tiana” of this body than I did.
She would know both the pre-possession Tiana and the Tiana from two years ago. That meant she could be a valuable ally—someone who could tell me the things others wouldn’t.
…Though before that, I needed to figure out how to even start a conversation with her.
Knock knock.
“Come in.”
Thankfully, Alfred arrived with tea, breaking the long silence. The teacups the maid placed on the table were different than usual—a green cup I’d never seen before and a deeper, richer aroma of black tea.
Curious, I glanced at Alfred. He spoke cautiously, watching the princess’s expression.
“Since Her Highness has returned after such a long time, I brought the tea you both like. The teacup is the one Her Highness once gifted to you.”
With that, Alfred left with the maid. I stared blankly at the beautiful green teacup and the fragrant red tea, turning his words over in my mind.
So, he deliberately picked these… how thoughtful.
But why hadn’t he ever served it before? Was it because it was a gift? The teacup was clearly expensive, and the tea leaves looked like high-quality loose-leaf tea. The color and scent were exactly to my liking.
The tart, sweet fragrance teased my nose, and I unconsciously reached toward the cup. My throat was dry, and the tea looked too tempting to resist—but I held back.
“……”
“……”
I glanced at the princess, who still hadn’t said a word. Her eyes had shifted from me to the teacup, her expression suddenly wavering with surprise, as if something was wrong.
Her stare was so intense, it felt like I was facing an enemy. Did she hate tea? But Alfred just said it was the tea we both liked…
Had there been a mistake? I anxiously watched her as her lips slowly parted.
“This… isn’t coffee?”
“Pardon?”
Coffee? Not tea? Confused, I looked at her, and then she abruptly raised her head and glared at me.
“You don’t drink coffee?”
“Uh, well… I usually don’t…”
“Why not?”
“Um… I just prefer tea?”
“Liar.”
No… I wasn’t lying… Her sharp tone made me want to protest, but I couldn’t bring myself to say it out loud.
She looked between me and the teacup, clearly stunned, her lips pressed tightly together. Did the old Tiana drink coffee? Not tea?
It had never occurred to me before—everyone had always offered me tea so naturally that I just assumed Tiana had always preferred it.
But if the princess even gifted her tea, that meant she must’ve enjoyed it at least a little. Then why was the princess reacting like this? As if Tiana had only ever drunk coffee…
At the very least, I’d just learned something about the previous Tiana: she liked coffee. I’d have to remember that.
By now, the tea had cooled. I stared at the cup with regret, and suddenly, the princess blurted out:
“Do you wake up well in the morning?!”
“Huh? Um… I don’t have trouble waking up…”
“Which do you prefer, sandwiches or bagels?!”
“I like both…?”
“Do you take walks often?!”
“Every morning, afternoon, and evening…”
“How many sugars in your tea?!”
“One…”
It felt like we were playing a game of twenty questions. With each answer, the corners of her eyes grew redder, tears threatening to fall. Eventually, she couldn’t hold back anymore.
“You were… so cold to me… You said, ‘Even if I freeze to death, I’ll still drink iced Americano…’ sob…”
…Wait, what?
“I waited so long, even while people said weird things to me…”
“……”
“Why did you come back so late… why only now…!”
I stared blankly at Princess Alexandra as she burst into tears. If I hadn’t misheard her, she just quoted me as saying: ‘Even if I freeze to death, I’ll still drink iced Americano.’
This world had modern elements—there were cold drinks, even iced coffee—but the phrase “iced Americano” didn’t exist here.
Let alone “even if I freeze to death”—that kind of modern slang only someone from my world would know. And Tiana supposedly said that?
I’d had my suspicions, but this all but confirmed it. Just like me, someone else must have possessed Tiana before.
Was that person unaware they were in a novel? Did they not realize they were giving away modern knowledge so openly…?
Even if they were clueless, surely they would’ve noticed the differences in this world? How could someone act so recklessly?
Just what kind of person had they been?
I needed more information—and luckily, the person who could provide it was right in front of me. I hadn’t expected this opportunity, but I couldn’t let it slip away.
“Sniff… hic…”
“…Your Highness.”
…First, I needed to calm her down. I couldn’t ignore her sobbing like that if I wanted to continue this conversation. We had time—I’d need to talk to her slowly.
I stood from my seat and cautiously approached her. Sitting beside her, I took out a handkerchief and gently wiped her tears.
“Was I… really that cruel to you?”
“Hic… sniff… yes…”
“How much, and in what way?”
“You said awful things… sob… and strange things too…”
She seemed even more distressed now that I was showing her kindness. It was clear she wanted to lean on me but was unsure if she could; she needed to cry, but also wanted to answer my questions—it was all written on her face.
“What did I say?”
“You said I was just like the rest… told me to get lost… said no one would understand…”
“…And?”
“You asked why I even drank tea… said you never had… even though you had…”
“Ah…”
“You said I wasn’t even really alive… asked why I acted so bold… sniff… What does that even mean… I’m not dead…”
“……”
Oh my god. She really said that? That meant she knew this was a novel world. Was she really that out of her mind?
Even if she hated the situation, how could she say such things to someone clearly alive?
Just because she knew this was a story didn’t mean she had to treat the people in it like fiction.
This world was too real. I could understand wanting to deny it—but the people here hadn’t done anything wrong.
Was that why she ignored everyone—Lucius, Edwin, and the rest of the ducal household? I’d suspected something, but it seemed she had truly rejected every character outright.
…I don’t not understand, but…
I let out a long sigh. If I had possessed this body, then that meant she had returned to her world—after leaving behind this mess. And now I had to clean it up.
This was nothing like the usual “transmigration into a novel” scenario. Most of the time, the people who ended up in these stories liked the genre or the book itself—they adapted well.
But someone who rejected the world this completely? I’d never seen that before.
Still, what’s done is done—and now that she’s gone, I’m the only one who can fix it. Honestly, I was starting to fear meeting new people…
If she treated everyone she met like this… my head’s going to explode.
“Sniff…”
“Please don’t cry. I must’ve really lost my mind back then.”
“I mean… I understood after hearing you hit your head…”
“My head?”
“They said… two years ago, in a carriage accident… you hit your head…”
A carriage accident two years ago?
