CH 87

Chapter 87: The Choice is Yours

If you read this on other websites, it means it was stolen. Read the translation only on itsladygrey.wordpress.com.

My eyes were wide open even though it was early in the morning. Yeah, I had not closed my eyes all night long. My brain could not help but be preoccupied with thoughts of the recent events. I came to the realization that, by nature, human beings were constantly betrayed by themselves. 

Well, in other words, it was just that I could no longer believe in the content of the story I wrote. 

Since everything had developed in this way, besides the way to break up with Sigren, I now have to think about all the possible chain of events that could happen next and the best way to face them. It would be too late if I worried about something after the fact. Especially when the characters I would often be in contact with in the future were Eunice and Sigren. 

Now that I had thought about it, what happened between the two during the monster attack was not part of the original storyline. They shouldn’t be at odds with each other but they were. 

Right, it was all my fault. It was a mistake to think that once the story began, everything would be taken care of, and I only need to keep my body healthy. The guilty feeling for the young Sigren, then the affection that followed, really complicated my situation. Well, at the same time, my heart couldn’t help but to have those feelings. 

Other than those two, Arrendt was a person that I knew well, as he was the person who was in touch with Fiona in the story. But the thing was, the real Fiona was not here. Speaking of which, honestly, where did Fiona go? This question has sometimes popped up in my mind ever since I possessed this body. Everytime that happened, I would think of different possibilities, but there was one possibility that I strangely believed. Maybe she had disappeared. Her life was not a happy one. Maybe she had rather disappeared and felt fortunate that she was not here anymore. 

Another thought that occupied my mind, aside from my feelings for Sigren, was I had to consider Eunice’s power. In the original story, it took three people to dispel the Darkness. Eunice, Fiona, and Sigren. Why was Fiona needed? It was because she was someone who could keep her body alive while interacting with the Darkness. The Darkness could not be removed simply because it had no form. So in the original story, Eunice’s power made the Darkness merge with Fiona’s body completely, and Sigren managed to win the battle after he killed Fiona. 

Those three held important roles. Amongst them, Fiona’s role was the only one who could be replaced by someone else. It was because that role only needed a person who could maintain their body even when they touched the Darkness. 

‘It’s highly likely that someone else would have died if I did not fulfill that role.’

Even so, I still didn’t think I had to sacrifice myself first. 

It was completely understandable that some people would think I was moderately selfish. Because I also felt that way. But, I couldn’t help it, I preferred not to die, so I chose to stand on that. 

Well, in any case, before that happened, Eunice had to restore the Dead Land soon. This.., I wondered if she was aware of this. 

‘Is now the time she has to know?’ 

But I haven’t heard of Eunice being sent to the Dead Land yet. 

‘I’ll have to check out Eunice’s abilities and investigate the Darkness.’

I had the information. I had the knowledge of the world and the basic tendencies of the main characters. I could probably come up with something if I used this information and combined it with the practical experiences that I had accumulated while living as ‘Fiona’.

That was what I had thought. But with my recent event, I’ve come to the realization that my decision was wrong, and it was fucking crazy because that meant the whole story I had written would be twisted. And it would be more twisted if I were to make another wrong decision.

With the way things were going, didn’t that mean, even the possibility of everyone dying could be considered a happy ending?

“My lady, are you awake?”

Celine knocked on the door.

“Come in….”

Celine opened the door. Even though it was early in the morning, she was dressed neatly. Her appearance made me subconsciously brush my tangled hair by hand. 

Celine was an exemplary person. It said that she was Abel’s nanny when he was still a kid. But, sometimes, I kind of question that information. With how bad Abel’s personality was, I couldn’t help but to doubt that it was the gentle and kind Celine who took care of him. 

“Do you want to wash your face now?”

I yawned. I couldn’t sleep well because of all my thoughts. 

“Yes, please…”

Celine smiled softly. She felt like a grandmother who loved her granddaughter. She also had asked me to speak informally to her a long time ago. But seeing that smile made me not want to do it. Because she felt like a real grandmother. And these respectful words were a habit of my original world. Well, should I say it was like a basic stat that everyone should have in social life? 

Although, since I became the adopted daughter of the Heilon family, I’ve been trying to fix that habit. In fact, I could now talk comfortably to most of the knights. 

But still, speaking like that to Celine was unreasonable. Aside from that reason, she was the manager of Abel’s mansion and his nanny. And she was also actually from a noble family. So I didn’t think it was a problem if I continued to behave this way. 

Even Abel was helpless facing her. Therefore, I could not lessen the respect she deserved to have. 

After thinking about this and that, I washed my face with the water the young maids brought, and then went down to the dining room.

For the past couple of months, I usually ate with Abel, but now I ate alone. The spacious dining room felt empty. From now on, let’s just tell them to bring the food to my room. 

“My lady, what is the schedule for today?” The maid who usually attended to me asked. 

“First, the invitation…. Well, was today the day of the ball hosted by the Priscilla family?”

“That’s right, My Lady.”

I nodded. 

With Livya, things went haywire at the hunting competition, and since then we only had one or two face-to-face encounters. Still, it seemed like she didn’t forget me seeing she had sent me an invitation. 

‘Well, it’s not bad to be close to each other.’

It was a good thing to have a connection with the Priscilla family. 

“Then, do the preparation. I’ll have to work a bit.”

“Yes, My Lady.”

I then locked myself in the office. There was quite a pile of paperwork to go through because of Abel. 

‘Time.., do i have it..?’

As I went through my days working, I couldn’t help but to think about this often.

‘The Dead Land has appeared one more.’

And the current Darkness has appeared in a different form from the original novel. The reason was unknown.

‘Why?’

This difference-from-the-original was unlike Sigren where there was a good reason that convinced me why he started liking me first. The imprinting effect. That was it. But this difference on the Darkness case was really unknown. Originally, it would not have appeared so often and randomly. In addition, the time of appearance was early. Also, sometime ago, I marked the places where the Dead Lands appeared on the map. There was not even one pattern found. 

‘The Dead Land that was created during the hunting competition did not bring much information.’

It was said that the scale was small, and the delegation could not find anything other than the berserk monsters. 

“My Lady, it’s time to get ready.”

I had been working all this time, so it was time to prepare for the ball. 

I got out of the office. Now that I’ve gotten used to people attending to me, I just quietly entrusted myself to the maids. In addition, Celine and the maids seemed to be happy that they had a girl they could decorate and adorn.

“Today, let’s pull your hair up.. Oh my, have you been bitten by an insect?”

Oh, right.

“Maybe?”

“It’s a hot day, I can’t help it. Let’s keep the hair down then.”

Sigren has turned into a bug. But, he deserved it. 

Fortunately, the maid in charge of attending me was still young and innocent. 

‘From now on, he should do it where it would not be seen.. What, no! Let’s tell him to not do it at all!’

“My lady, you can’t move.”

“Ugh, sorry.”

After thinking about so many things, I finally finished preparing and got onto the carriage.