CH 24

“For some reason… Your Majesty the Empress feels familiar to me.”

“What do you mean….”

I was taken aback and stumbled over my words for a moment. According to the original story, Lethenia’s first meeting with Rosetin would have been at her birthday banquet the following year….The only time the two could have met would have been before Rosetin disappeared from the Count’s estate.

But that doesn’t make sense. Rosetin was too young at that time. She carefully observed my bewildered expression and tried to rectify her words.

“I must have been mistaken. It was a slip of the tongue, so please disregard it.”

Rosetin excused herself, claiming it was a mistake, but I could still sense lingering doubt in her eyes. At that moment, I saw Ian approaching with his attendants toward the entrance of the Star Palace.

It was unusual for him to visit Vanessa’s palace. As the footsteps drew nearer, an inexplicable tension filled the air. Was he here to find Rosetin?

As that thought crossed my mind, undesirable emotions surged up, as if ready to explode.

Rosetin’s expression changed slightly as he approached. It was a different look from the one she had given me earlier. It was somehow softer and…… more affectionate.

It was clear that Rosetin had developed a definite liking for him. No, maybe they were already madly in love. The two of them fell in love with each other at first sight.

It was a fact I already knew, but Lethenia’s sorrow deeply resonated within me. Ian came closer, glanced at me briefly, and then spoke to Rosetin. 

“Rosetin, it would be best if you don’t go outside the Imperial Palace.”

I couldn’t shake the feeling that he was uncomfortable with Rosetin encountering me. I wondered if he was already wary of the Empress, who might become her nemesis.

Lethenia’s emotions flared up again

“Are you saying that because of me?”

In response, Ian met my gaze and retorted indifferently.

“For some reason, I feel concerned because it’s you.”

“Rosetin will be joining the Empress’s court as a maid in a little while anyway, so it seems like a silly thing to worry about.”

“Lethenia.”

He called my name with a slightly exasperated expression. It was a habit of the protagonist that came out whenever Lethenia didn’t go along with his intentions.

This would always break her heart. Realizing that, I blurted out the words.

“What do you want to say?”

“Do you really need Rosetin as a maid?”

His pleading attitude, as if he was in some annoying situation, bothered me greatly. The reason I took Rosetin in as a maid was to get to know her and naturally tie her up with the male lead. Knowing the original story, it was inevitable, so I took the initiative. 

Ian, unaware of this, seemed to think I was trying to keep Rosetin on the sidelines and bully her. For a moment, I was overcome with anger and resentment. My heart pounded fiercely.

I looked him in the eye for a moment and let the angry words slip out.

“I’m doing this for you.”

I realized that if I stayed here, I wouldn’t be able to stop the overwhelming tide of Lethenia’s emotions, so I hurried out of Vanessa’s palace.

I felt Ian and Rosetin’s eyes on my back, but I didn’t look back.

It had been a long time since I’d gone to bed, but somehow I couldn’t sleep. The events of today lingered in my mind, tormenting me. Lately, controlling my emotions had become even more difficult, and I was restless.

I had to be extremely careful in my conversations with Ian to keep from letting my emotions get the best of me like they did on the first day I possessed this body.

I thought I was getting the hang of it, but the intensity of the unpleasant emotions I felt whenever I saw him had been upgraded ever since Rosetin appeared.

Whenever I saw Ian and Rosetin together, Lethenia’s emotions felt like a shaking leg on a cliff in a storm. It was the same during the last birthday party.

I had the strange sensation that the hidden spirit of Lethenia was pressing down on the real me and slowly expanding its territory. I wonder if I’m becoming the real Lethenia.

At this rate, I could be mistaken for being jealous of Rosetin. It seems that Ian already thinks that way.

I wonder if Lethenia is destined to be a wicked woman regardless of my will.

I shake my head. I can’t accept such a fate. If that happened, I would really be burned to death.

My chest felt tight, as if a heavy boulder was pressing against it. Then it happened.

Thump, thump…

Suddenly, I felt a vibration coming from the drawer next to the bed. It was coming from the compartment where I kept my magic notebook. I opened it carefully.

The magic notebook was fluttering around like a live fish. Watching an object move so diligently on its own was somewhat unsettling.

What is this……? As soon as I unfolded the notebook, words appeared on a white background.

[It’s me, Master.]

It was the spirit. I hurriedly took out the pen I had put together in the drawer.

[What was that? The notebook moved on its own!]

[I did it.]

[You can do that?]

[If you write an invocation spell, it is possible.]

In one corner of the notebook, I noticed strange characters that I couldn’t understand the meaning of.

So this is an invocation spell. It was truly a bizarre magical item.

[You freaked me out.]

[You’re still up]

[I just couldn’t sleep.]

[Do you have a problem?]

[There’s none]

[Hmm, you’re lying again].

Since the last time, I had felt that spirits have extraordinary senses.

[What made you think of that?]

[It was always that man who kept you awake at night.]

The spirit spoke as if it had been observing me for a long time. It was half right and half wrong.

Letenia is ‘in love’ with Ian and I’m ‘in fear of dying’ because of him.

[That’s not entirely wrong.]

[My master would be much happier than she is now if she had a better eye for men].

The spirit’s remark seemed strangely reminiscent of Kim Sejin’s situation. In any case, I agreed with those words.

If it weren’t for Lethenia’s love for Ian, I wouldn’t be so stressed out. Of course, when I remembered the portraits of the lover candidates the other day, I felt a little sympathetic to Lethenia’s feelings.

Having the most perfect man in the world by her side from a young age her standards must have been incredibly high. So, who else could compare to him? In this vast world, there were only two handsome men.

Ian and Theo. What a tragic set-up for so many women in this world.

[It must be because Ian is so ridiculously good-looking.]

[If that’s the reason, then there’s also Theo Claflin. He’s an excellent young man who can’t even be compared to the Emperor, to be honest.]

The picky spirit seemed quite friendly towards Theo. I thought about Ian and Theo from the original story based on the spirit’s words

Of course, Theo was much better than the cold-blooded male lead, but when I looked at him with the eyes of an ordinary woman, he had some flaws that prevented him from being called a perfect man… He was slightly lacking.

In the original story, Theo was very, very popular with women, and he was always causing scandal wherever he went.

Ian, on the other hand, despite his good looks, had an ice-cold demeanor that made it unlikely that he would cause any misunderstandings or romantic problems. When I imagined them as my lover, wouldn’t the latter be better?

Well, anyway, Ian was meant to be with Rosetin, the heroine. The trauma that arose after breaking up with my ex-boyfriend even turned the personality of a sociopath-like male lead into an advantage.

[Well, Ian also has some good qualities… I’m close to Theo, but I’m not sure if he’s that perfect.]

[…What? Are you serious?]

[I don’t like guys with complicated personal lives.]

[Ha, what kind of nonsense is that?]

[He’s a famous troublemaker in Asha. According to what I’ve heard, when it comes to Theo meeting women, it’s like he’s pondering over what dessert to choose.]

[Who’s going around saying that? Please reveal their identity. People who spread that kind of rumor shouldn’t be tolerated.]

The person who relayed that information to me was Stella, but it seemed that the spirit didn’t know about it. The spirit seemed greatly shocked by my words, even showing a slight tremor in the text.

Although it wasn’t visible, the spirit seemed slightly excited. The more I looked at it, the stranger the spirit appeared to be.

[It’s not just her… Wouldn’t all the people in Asha think that way?]

[Is that how you always thought of Theo?]

[Then, he’s not?]

[Of course not! How can you judge a person like that?]

[Because the rumors that follow him are out of the ordinary. That doesn’t mean Theo’s a bad person, he’s a dear friend of mine, it’s just that he doesn’t seem like the kind of man you’d love with all your heart.]

[…That sounds even harsher.]

[Is that so?]

[It’s really sad. Just because he is popular because of his good looks, people think he’s a womanizer.]

The stubborn spirit seemed to be quite loyal to its former master. I could hear the spirit’s frustrated voice in my ears even though I was talking to it in writing.

Something was really strange… Could it be that this notebook spirit… has a crush on Theo? With a skeptical mind, I asked the spirit.

[Do you…… have a crush on Theo?]