CH 10

With a serious expression, he unfolded the map he had brought and began to explain in detail the benefits and drawbacks of the locations he had discovered. He was more sincere than anyone else in finding a suitable island for me.

I glanced at his profile while listening to the explanation. He was definitely too good to be a supporting character.

I recently realized how beautiful his features were after seeing the portraits of my lover candidates. I don’t want to think about it, but he was comparable to Ian, the male lead, in every way.

He was the complete opposite in appearance, and his personality was far from Ian’s coldness.

“For now, these are the only places you can choose from.”

Each place Theo suggested had a fatal flaw.

Some were prone to frequent raids by dangerous monsters that would require major subjugation. Others were hiding places for the refugees of Xenos, who would kill me if they knew I was the Empress.

It was disappointing because it was not as easy to find a suitable place as I thought. Theo offered words of consolation as if he had read my expression.

“Given the conditions, I think the last island should work.”

He pointed to the eastern end of the map, an island called Ios, far from land. However, just beyond the warm climate of the island of Ios, there was a sea of death where harsh winds could take people’s lives in an instant.

A place where the legendary water dragon lives, and where the weather is so fierce that superstition has it that it will not tolerate ships carrying unclean humans.

“We’ll need to build a special sailing ship to bring Her Majesty safely there. Can you give us more time? We will find a way.”

“Take as much time as you need.”

Theo asked curiously.

“Ios belongs to a country called Pekov. In order for foreigners to settle down, they have to buy ownership of the island. Do you have any plans because I think it will cost a lot of money to do that?”

“How much do you think should I prepare?”

“You should have at least 1 million knets.”

One million knets……? I was mildly shocked at the amount. It was much more than I had expected.

“That much……?”

“Well, that’s about the minimum amount you need for a decent piece of land; I was looking at islands that can be purchased for a reasonable price, but it appears to be very difficult; if I could help you, I would, but even if I gave up my family’s land, it wouldn’t be enough…”

“Thank you for your kind words, but I’m not going to take Claflin’s land. I’ll find a way.”

“Oh, and…….”

Theo pulled a small notebook from his pocket and handed it to me. The cover was worn leather, with strange symbols and mysterious writing that looked like it had been engraved in gold. It looked like a magic notebook from a fairy tale..

“This is a hard-earned magic notebook.”

“What is this?”

For a moment, a sharp gleam flashed in Theo’s eyes.

“You don’t know what this is?”

Theo asked, as if he was thinking about something. Does Lethenia know about this? I was a little nervous. I couldn’t even pretend to know.

I tilted my head nonchalantly, recalling what the palace doctor said on the first day I possessed this body.

“I don’t know, it’s just that since my last major illness, I’ve been having trouble remembering little things……”

“Hmm, this isn’t something so trivial that you could easily forget. It seems the aftereffects are worse than I thought.”

He said, sounding concerned.

“Her Majesty has always wanted to have this magical notebook. Every time I travel a long way, you always ask me to find this.”

“This is a very undeserved birthday present for me.”

“You don’t have to feel pressured, in fact, it’s been bothering me…… that I didn’t get you a wedding present then.”

There seemed to be a faint bitterness in Theo’s voice. Lethenia and Theo’s last meeting before I possessed this body must have been hurtful.

Rather than resenting Lethenia’s harsh words, Theo had been keeping in mind that he couldn’t congratulate her on her marriage.

I felt guilty, even though it wasn’t me. As if to lighten the mood, Theo seemed to be trying to change the atmosphere as he looked back and forth between the notebook and me with a strange smile.

“Legend has it that this magical notebook is imbued with spirits, so when you have a problem, you can write it down and the spirits will give you the answer… Well, there’s also a story that the spirits sometimes grant small wishes when they feel like it.”

……if it’s real, I don’t have to suffer like this, do I? But what’s this about spirits only granting wishes when they feel like it?

I have never seen such a strange setting in the original work or in any other novel.

“When they feel like it?”

“The spirit is said to be a picky being that only appears to certain people. Still, it could be a useful item for Her Majesty the Empress.”

Something was off.

“Well… Marquis So, how much did you pay for this?”

“I didn’t pay for it myself.”

“I’m glad you didn’t buy it. I was worried that the unsuspecting Marquis might have gotten ripped off by a con artist.”

Theo burst out laughing as if it was ridiculous.

“I doubt it, but even if the claim that there’s a spirit in it is false, an artifact bearing the markings of an ancient wizard is worth a fortune in its own right. Judging by the quality of the paper and leather, it must be at least a few hundred years old.”

The strange diamond-shaped pattern on the cover of the magic notebook seemed like the mark of a mage. In this life, it was some sort of genuine sticker.

“But as you know, anything related to magic is strictly forbidden in Asha, so you really should keep it to yourself.”

In the original story, when Theo traveled somewhere, he would always bring a gift for Lethenia; if there was something she wanted, he would get it, and if he couldn’t, he would bring something similar.

Maybe this was something Lethenia wanted. I looked at the strange-looking magic notebook. Theo stared at me.

“I’m glad you look happy.”

“I’ve never seen such an amazing gift before.”

“You always seemed depressed as your birthday approached. The thing you said about being born in this world was like a curse. It always bothered me.”

“Ah…… did, did I.”

Lethenia disliked her birthday. She was a woman with many similarities to me.

“I used to think that things like birthdays were something to be comforted about, not celebrated, but now it appears that my life wasn’t all bad.”

Theo and I locked eyes. It was very fortunate that Lethenia met someone like Theo Claflin during the most miserable time of her life.

I sent him a small smile and said, “Theo Claflin, I’m lucky to have a friend like you.”

He smiled affectionately, too. His smile warmed my heart.

“But…”

He looked a little different, as if he had something to say. I nodded slightly, indicating him to continue.

“I’ve heard that Her Majesty is looking for beautiful men, and while I don’t believe most of the rumors that float around, it’s bothering me for some reason.”

The rumors Stella had spread had seemingly reached Theo’s ears.

“Oh, that’s…… part of the plan we talked about last time.”

“You’re preparing pretty thoroughly.”

Theo continued in a meaningful voice.

“To be honest…… I still can’t judge how firm Her Majesty’s will is. It’s something you have to be careful about.”

“My will will not change.”

He looked into my eyes and asked in a serious voice.

“Did you truly give up on him?”

“Well…”

“Because the Lethenia I know…… there’s no way that’s possible.”

I thought I saw a hint of condescension in Theo’s soft smile. No wonder he wasn’t convinced by my words.

Lethenia would never leave Ian, and even as a reader, I found her frustrating enough to turn away. His reluctance to grant my request was probably because he knew her too well so he needed more time to think.

In many ways, Theo seemed to genuinely cherish Lethenia, unlike the cold-hearted male lead.

While reading the original work, I often thought it would be great if Lethenia ended up with Theo. If she had left with him at that time before the wedding, even without love, wouldn’t she have lived happily?

At least it would have been a better ending than staying in the palace and facing such a terrible death.

I was lost in thought for a moment, wondering how to tell Theo that I really had given up on Ian.

I paused for a moment, then cautiously called his name.

“Theo.”

I could see Theo’s face slowly harden at my call. I remembered the words he said the day before Lethenia’s wedding.

<Lethenia, you know this marriage is going to break you even more. You can be as happy as you want to be, even without him.>

Unfortunately, Lethenia did not take Theo’s heartfelt advice and chose to become the Empress. This was her own choice, not because of the Duke of Bledel’s threats or coercion.

Little did she know that this choice would cost her her life. Maintaining dysfunctional relationships while having an insecure ego is poison.

Theo already knew that. I wondered what he wanted to hear from Lethenia as I opened my mouth.

“I realized that anyone who makes me suffer is not worthy of love, and no amount of excuses will change that fact. I was stupid, and I will be unhappy for the rest of my life if I stay with him.”

His expression changed subtly.

“I regret betting my precious life on someone like that, and I regret not listening to you then, because now I want to live for my own happiness.”