Chapter 29
“B…blood…?”
I hadn’t been hit, yet blood was flowing from my nose.
Startled, Davién pulled a handkerchief from her pocket.
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
“I… overworked the past few days, sniff… that’s why.”
“Over…worked?”
Which part exactly?
Classes ran from 8 a.m. until 5 a.m. the next day. This was Davién’s version of a considerate study schedule—though she herself had once gone a whole week without sleep to focus on studying.
‘Three hours of sleep isn’t so bad, right?’
“I usually sleep about eight hours, sniff…”
I hadn’t slept properly, and Davién scolded and pressured me over the slightest mistake. My already weak body had reached its limit. As I spoke, I collapsed.
Panicked, Davién caught me and laid me carefully on the bed, then hurried to call the physician.
The doctor concluded it was exhaustion.
“…Exhaustion?”
Davién had assumed I was Ibeliana, at a similar level of intelligence or even above her own. She had set the study load accordingly.
But now, the woman in front of her wasn’t Ibeliana anymore. She was just Kae—a pretty girl with a weak body and a low intellect.
I had only rested for a short while.
Before sleeping, it had been past midnight, but when I opened my eyes, the sun was setting outside. Lights began to glow one by one along the trees in the duke’s garden.
How long had I slept?
I sat up in surprise and felt unusually light and refreshed.
Then I noticed, from the sound of quiet breathing, that on either side of the wide bed, two people were asleep.
Lloyd, who hadn’t shown up at the mansion after giving me the necklace and claiming urgent business in the capital, and Davién—the mental tormentor who mocked my ignorance… The sibling protagonists from the novel were here, making the scene chaotic.
Why were they sleeping here instead of their own rooms?
Their shiny black hair, long eyelashes, and neat noses made them look exactly alike.
They were truly striking in appearance.
Before possession, these twin siblings had been my favorite characters.
Davién, who had trained endlessly from childhood to become empress. Betrayed by her husband and her country, yet still willing to give her life for the empire and its people. The frail Davién, reincarnated, trained her body to the limit for revenge and for her country. Later, she became a Sword Master with powerful magic and finally took her sweet revenge on her worthless husband and the villainess destroying the empire. I couldn’t help but become her fan.
And Lloyd, always supporting his sister from behind.
For me, exhausted from work, reading the twins’ adventures before bed had been the only joy.
If only I had possessed a minor character on the good side. Why did I have to possess the villainess they hated the most?
“Lloyd… that’s mine…”
I watched Davién grinding her teeth in a dreamlike scuffle with Lloyd, who frowned deeply while lying on his stomach, and got up to cover them with a blanket.
But I didn’t expect what happened next: they suddenly opened their eyes and shouted at me.
“Are you okay?”
“You’re okay?”
Ah! I nearly jumped out of my skin!
“Lloyd! Why are you shouting so loudly? Can’t you see she’s surprised? Kae is a patient!”
Davién stormed over and shouted at Lloyd.
“S-sorry.”
Lloyd glanced at me and apologized timidly.
Davién… wasn’t your voice louder just now?
“Kae, the doctor said to rest. Go lie back down.”
Her tone, which had been harsh and scolding all week, was now gentle. She laid me on the bed and even tucked the thick blanket up to my neck.
A new kind of torment? While I was stunned by her sudden kindness, she suddenly knelt.
“I’m sorry!”
What is this? The heroine kneeling before the villainess?
I jumped up to help her, but Lloyd stopped me.
“I’m really sorry for threatening to kill you, mocking your stupidity, and… calling you brainless. I didn’t mean it. It might sound like an excuse, but I mistook you for someone else. I’m truly sorry for harassing you without checking.”
Davién’s violet eyes trembled slightly as she apologized.
Was I supposed to be angry with her?
Normally, if someone had threatened my life, harassed me with a week of study, and mocked me constantly, I wouldn’t have forgiven them so easily.
But Davién wasn’t just anyone.
She had once comforted my lonely post-work life. From the reader’s perspective, her actions toward the villainess made perfect sense.
But Lloyd, listening nearby, didn’t seem satisfied.
“Davién, do you call that an apology?”
A flash of danger appeared in his eyes. A pocket of space opened beside him.
Wait… are you two about to fight again?
“J-just a moment, Lord Lloyd!”
I rushed to stop him and grabbed Davién’s hand.
“I’m fine, Davién. Stand up.”
She flinched, but I held her hand and helped her up.
“Are you forgiving me with this?”
Davién asked, flustered.
What kind of question is that?
“Lloyd threatened to kill me the moment he saw me and even injured my shoulder.”
I shrugged, answering her question. Davién’s fierce gaze shot toward Lloyd. At this rate, the mansion might partially collapse again.
I hurriedly explained:
“I’ve been a fan of both of you for a long time. You cleared dangerous dungeons and defeated every monster that appeared. Most nobles wouldn’t do that. Even the local count ignored things like that. I’ve always respected you. So when you tried to kill me, I wondered if I’d done something wrong. Don’t worry. I’m fine.”
After I spoke, their expressions shifted slightly.
Did I say something wrong?
Then…
Knock knock knock.
A cheerful knock, and a servant’s voice:
“Meal is ready.”
“Send her in.”
Following Lloyd’s command, a maid entered with a tray. The room filled with the smell of delicious soup.
At that moment…
Rumble.
My stomach growled loudly.
How long had I been asleep? My empty stomach was screaming.
“We don’t want to disturb your meal. We’ll leave. Rest.”
Davién quickly averted her eyes, cleared her throat, and led Lloyd out. Later, I learned from the maid that Lloyd had rushed from the capital as soon as he heard I had collapsed from exhaustion. The siblings had stayed by my side all night.
The villainess collapsed from overwork, and the protagonists were protecting her. I realized they had completely forgotten revenge.
Even if the real Ibeliana returned, the protagonists—and maybe even all citizens—would be in trouble. Could I really stay by their side?
No. Don’t worry. In this body, I can’t use magic and have terrible stamina. Even if Ibeliana returned, all I could do is healing magic.
I chuckled inwardly.
Davién, who had apologized for my collapse, no longer scolded me about being stupid or brainless. The Spartan-like study sessions became calm and peaceful.
The daily 21-hour study schedule was cut down to two hours, replaced by reading novels.
Was it always this easy being a duke’s daughter? Davién visited me whenever she had a free moment. She must have been terribly bored.
I was bored too, so I spent most of the day with her.
Unlike Lloyd, who worked tirelessly at night, Davién’s days were leisurely. In the morning, she had me practice skipping rope while she crushed massive boulders in the training yard with her bare fists.
At first, I was shocked seeing her smash huge rocks in one hand, but by the second day, I had adapted to her incredible strength.
“What shall we play today?”
After training, she would scratch her head and ask me, like a child asking a friend at the playground.
She clearly saw me as her playmate.
The more time I spent with Davién, the more it seemed she had no friends.
At least among young nobles, that was true. Before reincarnation, she might have had friends while striving to be crown princess. But after returning, discarding dresses and roaming dungeons and battlefields, no noble girl would dare approach the terrifying, strong Davién.
As a Sword Master and magician, she was someone to be revered—not a friend.
This was all Ibeliana’s fault. I felt some responsibility as the one possessing her body, so I spent time with Davién.
Sometimes, she challenged my beauty limits, bringing extravagant dresses and jewelry I could barely imagine, and had me play dress-up all day, like now.
