CH 11

Theo was just about to respond when we heard a shout. I looked in the direction of the sound and saw Ian standing there looking serious.

I was a little surprised by his sudden appearance. I wondered if he’d heard what I’d just said to Theo.

To be honest, hearing that wouldn’t have been a bad thing.

In actuality, it was advantageous. I would be pleased if I could show him that Lethenia had made up her mind regarding him.

He walked slowly toward me. The closer he got, the more nervous I became.

I had to control my emotions if I didn’t want to blurt out something sharp like last time.

I didn’t want to offend this man’s ego and derail my plan. I played a pleasant fantasy in my head to keep my negative emotions at bay.

Theo smiled casually and greeted the emperor as if nothing had happened. However, the emperor avoided making eye contact with Theo and treated him as if he were invisible.

“I’ll take my leave now, Your Majesty, but I’ll be back soon.”

He didn’t do anything but keep staring at me until Theo left. As always, there is no emotion on his face. I was the first to speak.

“What brings you here?”

He moved a little closer to my question, and I took a cautious step back, waiting for his response.

“I think your birthday is just around the corner.”

“So what?”

“This banquet will be attended by ambassadors from various nations, so for the sake of our diplomatic standing, let’s cooperate for once.”

“Cooperate with what?”

“Because everyone knows you’re very sick. I don’t want to hear that the new empress, like the former emperor and empress, is in poor health or that there’s a bad cloud over the imperial family.”

As he said, Lethenia’s birthday was coming up, and he wanted to make sure she was healthy enough to attend the banquet without causing trouble. To be honest, I didn’t really want to attend such a formal affair.

I doubt anyone at the banquet would truly congratulate Empress Lethenia, but a birthday party without the birthday celebrant would be strange.

“I see. And you don’t have to bother coming. You can order someone to deliver that amount of business.”

A long time passed after my words, but he did not reply. The necessary conversation seemed to be over, but he didn’t even bother to leave.

He just looked at myself with a mask-like face. After an awkward silence, I spoke up.

“Do you have anything else to say?”

Actually not all that much, but.

He took a step closer, and just like last time, I took two steps back. Then, as if convinced of something, he suddenly lunged forward, closing the distance.

He acted in a way that surprised me, so I quickly moved backwards. He spoke in a suspicious voice.

“You act like I’ve developed an infectious disease or like someone who is trying to hide something.”

“……there is no such thing.”

He opened his mouth after a brief pause.

“Now that you’ve become an empress, you’d better stay away from the likes of Marquis Claflin.”

Ian’s gruff voice rang in my ears; he seemed to care that Theo was in and out of the Empress’s palace. It was not a pleasant thing to hear from the man who had killed his wife and was trying to install his mistress as an Empress.

I immediately felt some of Lethenia’s emotions stirring up inside of me as soon as the thought occurred to me.

“Theo is an old friend of mine. That’s impolite.”

Ian tried to say something more, but stopped and left. Funny, but as he walked away from me, I felt an inexplicable sense of regret.

I looked at him from afar. If only my heart and head worked the same way. The more I felt strange feelings for him, the more I realized I felt sorry for the real Lethenia.

***

Before I went to bed, I took out the magic notebook Theo had given me. It was a mysterious note that looked like an object filled with magic. It looked like something a movie star would carry around while attending a magic school.

“It’s a spirit that fulfills your wish…”

Anyway, as Theo said, if there was really a spirit that grants a wish, it would be like a savior to me.

It does feel like a scam, but there’s nothing to lose. I opened my notebook and picked up my pen with some curiosity and anticipation.

If there is such a thing as a real spirit, what would I say to it…… First, I’d have to say hello.

[Hello]

I waited for a while, but nothing transpired.

[I’m Lethenia]

[I am your master from now on].

As expected, there was no answer.

[If you’re really in this notebook, can you answer me?]

I felt a little awkward, as though I was talking to myself. That’s right. A spirit that grants wishes.

Such a honeyed environment couldn’t possibly exist in this world. It was too unlikely. I took a notepad and wrote down my needs for the settlement, putting my hopes for spirits aside.

I imagined a lovely home with a view of the ocean, sketched it out, and thought about the plants and trees I wanted to grow in the garden as well as how I wanted to design the interior. Oh, we can’t forget the pets.

[Puppy is a must ★★★★★]

I diligently drew enough puppies with my terrible drawing skills to fill a whole notebook. In my previous life, I never had a pet because my dad was allergic to animal fur, but now I can adopt a cute puppy or two.

I was excitedly envisioning my precious home, which I could never have dreamed of when I was Kim Sejin. As I was thinking about my precious nest with excitement, Words filled the empty spaces in my notebook.

[Do you like animals?]

“What the #$#$%$!!”

I was so startled that I screamed and threw the notebook to the floor. What did I just see? Was this a message from the spirit?

I picked up the notebook again. Scared and excited, I cautiously picked up the pen.

Are you…? really a spirit?]

[Yes.]

[Do you live inside the note?]

[Um… It’s kind of weird to call it home.]

A similar setup comes to mind. I don’t remember why, but I think a wish-granting genie was also stripped of his freedom and forced to live in a magic lamp for the rest of his life.

[If you’re trapped in here because of some kind of dark pact, am I supposed to let you out?]

[Let me out?]

[Why? There are many stories about fairies and animals repaying their kindness to the people who helped them]

[You’re going to save me, then ask me to grant your wish, right?]

Maybe it’s because they’ve been around for so long and been in the hands of so many people that they’ve gotten a sense of the world.

[I don’t mean that, I mean let’s help one another.]

[What’s your wish?]

[I wish I could get out of here safely and live somewhere where no one knows me and I don’t have to worry about anything].

[Why?]

[Do I have to tell you why?]

[I’d appreciate it if you told me.]

I thought about how to answer, and then said the simplest thing I could.

[I want to be happy because my life has been a little unsatisfactory.]

[Hearing you say that breaks my heart.]

[Then will you grant my wish?]

[That would be difficult.]

For a brief moment, I was unable to respond, as the spirit responded without hesitation. I once more took up my pen.

[Why?]

[I fear that I am a lowly spirit and lack that kind of power.]

[Isn’t your role a ‘magical spirit that grants wishes’……?]

[That’s a bit much. I suppose I could give you life advice when you’re having a hard time, but that’s only when I have time to spare].

The disembodied spirit seemed to have a busy schedule of his own.

[Yeah, I can’t believe I thought Theo would be scammed.]

[He’s not the kind of friend who would go out and get conned, really.]

[Do you know Theo?]

[He was my master, too.]

The Spirit seemed to know something about him.

[Theo doesn’t seem to know much about you.]

[He wasn’t particularly curious about me either.]

The Spirit seemed to know all his thoughts. It could learn everything there is to know about its master without ever speaking to him.

I suddenly thought back to a discussion we had today in the garden. Ian’s appearance left me no time to look at his reaction.

Even without the ability to grant wishes, I wondered if I could get information about Theo from this lowly spirit.

[There is something about Theo that I want to know.]

[Tell me.]

[I requested a favor from him, but I haven’t heard back yet.]

[You mean the one where you asked him to become your lover?]

For some reason, the spirits seemed to know things he didn’t tell.

[Yes. To be honest, I don’t think he fully believes in me, and I’m not sure what he thinks of me now.]

He was the one who knew the most about Lethenia.

His green eyes were kind, but I felt a faint tension in them, like he was testing me somehow.

I know Lethenia has changed so much that he feels like something is amiss, but…… I can’t help but think that Theo is even more inscrutable than Ian.

I knew it wouldn’t happen, but if it did and he realized I wasn’t the real Lethenia, it would be a disaster, because he’s her person, not mine.

[I didn’t think you’d wonder about that. Wasn’t the Emperor always the one you paid attention to?

The words of the spirit were incisive, as if it had insight into Lethenia’s past. The real Lethenia may have been, but my current interests lie solely in settlement plans and funding.

What I’m interested in about the male lead right now is how much emergency money he has hidden behind Duke Bledel

[In the past, it was like that.]

[You’ve changed a lot.]

[You know how they say when you die, you wake up as different person.]

[It certainly changed your life, Master, in a very positive way.]

[So…… what does Theo think? Does he find me suspicious or something…….]

[He’s like, “Wow, Lethenia’s a different person now.”]

[And?]

[It’s a relief that she looks well. He thinks like this.]

Is that really it? Just as I was about to write something down, the spirit’s writing resumed.