“I just can’t... I don’t think I can accept Adrian’s feelings.”
The blue-violet eyes that had been excited with hope sank downward.
The guilt became even more intense when I saw the slight vibration above his eyelashes.
But the more I felt that way, the more firmly I had to convey my meaning.
Because that would truly be for him.
“I truly love Cedric. And all I dream of now is a happy future with him.”
I continued to speak resolutely, but there was no way I would feel comfortable having to do so.
I barely spoke with my eyes downcast.
“The reason we are living separately now is because of Cedric and Bianca.”
“...”
“It’s to get back to those two people.”
I paused for a moment and looked straight at Adrian.
“So please do me a favor, Adrian.”
A ripple occurred in the blue-violet eyes that met mine.
“I want your feelings for me to stop now.”
The voice became more serious.
At that moment, Adrian's face looked like that of a person whose time had stopped for a moment.
He had a stiff expression on his face and could not speak for a while.
But his eyes were telling me many things.
It was about the time when the hot emotions boiled up a bit and finally subsided.
He bit his lower lip and opened his mouth with an expression of determination.
“That feeling will end someday.”
“Adrian.”
“Unfortunately, and fortunately, Rebecca is a human and not a half-blood demon.”
“....”
“So I just... I will wait for the time when that feeling is complete.”
The guilt became even more intense when I saw the slight vibration above his eyelashes.
But the more I felt that way, the more firmly I had to convey my meaning.
Because that would truly be for him.
“I truly love Cedric. And all I dream of now is a happy future with him.”
I continued to speak resolutely, but there was no way I would feel comfortable having to do so.
I barely spoke with my eyes downcast.
“The reason we are living separately now is because of Cedric and Bianca.”
“...”
“It’s to get back to those two people.”
I paused for a moment and looked straight at Adrian.
“So please do me a favor, Adrian.”
A ripple occurred in the blue-violet eyes that met mine.
“I want your feelings for me to stop now.”
The voice became more serious.
At that moment, Adrian's face looked like that of a person whose time had stopped for a moment.
He had a stiff expression on his face and could not speak for a while.
But his eyes were telling me many things.
It was about the time when the hot emotions boiled up a bit and finally subsided.
He bit his lower lip and opened his mouth with an expression of determination.
“That feeling will end someday.”
“Adrian.”
“Unfortunately, and fortunately, Rebecca is a human and not a half-blood demon.”
“....”
“So I just... I will wait for the time when that feeling is complete.”
There was not even the slightest wavering in his gaze as he said that.
“Even though you were ignored by His Highness the Grand Duke for so many years, you couldn’t let go easily, so at this moment when you have confirmed your feelings for each other, you probably don’t want to let go of him.”
Adrian continued his words as if he were denying what I had heard earlier.
“I already expected that Rebecca’s feelings wouldn’t change easily.”
A slight tremor occurred in his eyelashes.
“So please don’t tell me to give up..."
In the end, I had no choice but to take out the last card.
Because I know that vague answers are just torture of hope for him.
“I’m not the real Rebecca, Adrian.”
It must have been a sudden confession for Adrian.
As if to prove it, his eyes widened for an instant.
“I am not the Rebecca who cried by the pond in the backyard of Twins Castle.”
I added an explanation, but Adrian looked like he couldn't understand what I was saying.
After regaining his composure for a moment, he opened his mouth again.
“If you are saying that you have changed into a completely different person than you were, I already know that. I’ve seen it enough while serving you in person at the Dark Mansion.”
I shook my head.
“I’m not saying I’ve changed like everyone else. I wasn’t Rebecca just a few months ago, I was a completely different person.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“...The person I am now, not the Rebecca I used to be, is in love with Cedric.”
Adrian's square jaw slowly hardened.
Yet he still looked confused.
I had no choice but to do so.
Suddenly, one person's body is possessed by another person's soul.
Even if I hadn't experienced it, it would have been hard to believe.
But somehow I had to let Adrian know that I was no longer the Rebecca I used to be.
After much thought, I concluded that he was mistaking his guilt about Rebecca for affection for me.
To calm his mind, I thought it would be best to let him know that I was not the same Rebecca I used to be.
I calmly took a breath and opened my mouth again.
“I don’t know if you believe me, but I was actually a very ordinary person living in a completely different world from this one.”
“...”
“But one day, on my way home from work, I suddenly saw a wish fountain and put a coin in it and made a wish...”
As the words continued, the series of events felt more absurd.
Even though I experienced it myself.
'I'm like this too, will Adrian really believe me?'
I paused for a moment and glanced at Adrian.
But unexpectedly, his expression was quite serious.
“...Are you saying that a fountain that wasn’t originally on the road suddenly appeared?”
Adrian narrowed his eyes and asked.
Gaining courage, I nodded and continued speaking.
"That's right. From then on, I became possessed in the world of the novels I was reading, and also in Rebecca’s body.”
...A world in a novel.
I'm glad he doesn't think I'm crazy.
I looked at Adrian and carefully parted my lips.
“I guess... Hard to believe, isn’t it?”
However, his expression remained serious as he remained silent.
Eventually, 'a fountain, and a novel…’ He mumbled and then looked at me again.
“Then what is the ending for Rebecca in the ‘novel’ you mentioned?”
Why are you asking that?
For a split second, it occurred to me that he didn't believe me and that he was joking.
But that couldn't have been the case.
Because the person in front of me right now is no one else but ‘Adrian’.
But it was true that his question was so embarrassing that I reflexively thought that way.
'I wonder why you're asking such a question so seriously, but it seems like you believe me.'
So where would it be best to start the story?
I turned my head towards the window.
Outside the window, a black crow was watching us as if watching us.
I passed it and gazed at the tower towering in the distance.
A place that can be seen from anywhere in the Twins Grand Duchy.
This was the tower where Rebecca died.
“In it, Rebecca is abandoned by Cedric and dies. She was trapped in that tower over there, and the mixed-blood demons set it on fire, and she burned to death inside.”
Adrian's face darkened after hearing those words.
“... Yes."
I stayed silent for a long time.
He suddenly had a confused expression and slowly opened his mouth.
“She was truly a pitiful person. She constantly sought the affection of others. but...”
“...”
“No one gave her their sincerity.”
Adrian's eyes, which were hovering in the air, slowly closed.
It seemed like he was carefully drawing Rebecca from his memories.
“She looked so desperate, like someone who was endlessly clutching at the sand that was always slipping through her fingers.”
Sadness seeped into his voice as he continued.
“But in the end... You came to that conclusion.”
Adrian was speechless for a long time.
Then, like a person coming out of his thoughts, he slowly opened his eyes and saw me in front of him.
“Of course, it doesn’t happen often...
Throughout history, there have often been people who have experienced what you just described.”
My eyes opened wide as if they were torn apart by those words that I couldn't even imagine.
“There were other people who went through the same thing as me?”
Adrian calmly nodded his head.
“Yes, and they all ‘mistakenly’ thought they had entered the world of a novel.”
It was a time when I slowly frowned in confusion without even realizing it.
“Unfortunately, it is not just a novel.”
Adrian's voice became even more determined.
“Someone created an illusion to summon spirits from another world...I don’t know if it’s ‘bait’.”
My eyes opened wide as if they were torn apart by those words that I couldn't even imagine.
“There were other people who went through the same thing as me?”
Adrian calmly nodded his head.
“Yes, and they all ‘mistakenly’ thought they had entered the world of a novel.”
It was a time when I slowly frowned in confusion without even realizing it.
“Unfortunately, it is not just a novel.”
Adrian's voice became even more determined.
“Someone created an illusion to summon spirits from another world...I don’t know if it’s ‘bait’.”
***
Last night he heard that Rebecca was planning to spend some alone time with Adrian.
Cedric felt as if his heart was melting due to seething jealousy.
So he ended up visiting Adrian's villa today at the scheduled time for the couple.
Of course, he had a different appearance so he could not be recognized.
And Cedric, who came back after watching everything, couldn't sleep.
It was because of Rebecca's sincerity that he heard during the day.
‘I love Cedric with all my heart. And all I dream of now is a happy future with him.'
Cedric, who was thinking about that moment, uncharacteristically curled his lips and asked.
Otherwise, he felt like the corners of his mouth would keep turning towards the sky and he would end up with a funny expression.
The moment when he made eye contact with Rebecca, who was looking out the window for a moment.
He was worried that his identity would be discovered, but fortunately, he was not recognized.
As he was watching their conversation, trying to hold back his boiling insides, he realized Rebecca's true feelings.
It was a time when he was staring out the bedroom window, holding back the laughter that kept flowing out.
The surprising news he heard following Rebecca's confession of love passed through his mind once again.
It was the fact that Rebecca now was a completely different person than she used to be.
When he first heard the story, Cedric was as surprised as Adrian.
But he quickly realized what Rebecca said next.
'The person I am now, not the Rebecca I used to be, is in love with Cedric.'
He knows that he also loves Rebecca for who she is now, not for who she used to be.
Whatever Rebecca's true identity now, Cedric's heart for her was, as always, filled with affection.
“...Anyway, I really want to see you again and again.”
Cedric ruffled his hair nervously.
Even though he had seen that face only a few hours ago, no, even when he was looking at her, he kept missing her, and it was driving him crazy.
When will one year actually pass by?
The time that used to pass in the blink of an eye suddenly felt like eons.
Moreover, when he saw Rebecca's confused face after hearing Adrian's last words, his worry grew.
'Someone created an illusion to summon spirits from another world... I don't know if it's bait.'
Body swapping was a very rare event even in the demon world, so Cedric knew nothing more than what Adrian said.
'I'll have to ask Riemann to find out more about body-swapping events in history.'
So the only thing he could do for Rebecca right now was to console her when she was anxious.
In the end, Cedric, unable to bear his worry and longing for Rebecca, left the bedroom straight away.
Then he woke up his horse and ran towards the city where Rebecca's mansion was located.
It was around this time that the cityscape began to come into view little by little.
The horse, which had been running well until then, began to purr and let out an unpleasant breath and wince.
It was when he felt something strange and broadened his horizons to a distant place.
In the distance, near the futures exchange, black smoke could be seen rising like a huge fire.
Cedric had an ominous feeling.
Isn't the futures exchange close to Rebecca's mansion?
Cedric became nervous and ran faster.
And the moment he finally arrives in front of his lover's mansion. Cedric couldn't believe the scene that unfolded before him.
The place engulfed in fire and emitting black smoke is none other than...
Because it was Rebecca’s mansion.
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