Chapter 87: The Choice is Yours
My eyes were wide open even though it was early in the morning. I hadn’t closed my eyes all night long. My mind was preoccupied with thoughts of recent events. Read the translation only on itsladygrey.com. I realized that, by nature, human beings were constantly betrayed by themselves.
In other words, I could no longer believe in the story I had written.
Since everything had developed this way, I now had 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 to worry about things after they happened, especially when the characters I would often interact with in the future were Eunice and Sigren.
Looking back, 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.
It was all my fault. I had mistakenly thought that once the story began, everything would take care of itself, and all I needed to do was keep my body healthy. The guilt for young Sigren and the affection that followed really complicated my situation. Yet, at the same time, my heart couldn’t help but have those feelings.
Aside from those two, Arrendt was someone I knew well, as he was in touch with Fiona in the story. But the real Fiona was not here. Speaking of which, where did Fiona go? This question had sometimes popped into my mind ever since I possessed this body. Read the translation only on itsladygrey.com. Each time it occurred, I would consider different possibilities, but there was one possibility I strangely believed: maybe she had disappeared. Her life was not a happy one; perhaps she had vanished and felt fortunate not to be here anymore.
Another thought occupying my mind, aside from my feelings for Sigren, was the consideration of 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 completely with Fiona’s body, and Sigren managed to win the battle after he killed Fiona.
These three held important roles. Among them, Fiona’s role was the only one that could be replaced by someone else. This role only required a person who could maintain their body even when touching 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 might think I was moderately selfish. I also felt that way. But I couldn’t help it; I preferred not to die, so I chose to stand by that. Read the translation only on itsladygrey.com.
In any case, before that happened, Eunice had to restore the Dead Land soon. I wondered if she was aware of this.
‘Is now the time she needs to know?’
But I hadn’t heard of Eunice being sent to the Dead Land yet.
‘I’ll need to check Eunice’s abilities and investigate the Darkness.’
I had the information. I knew the world’s lore 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 I had accumulated while living as ‘Fiona’.
That was what I had thought. But with the recent events, I realized my decision was wrong, and it was incredibly troubling because that meant the whole story I had written could be twisted. It would be even more twisted if I made 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 with my hand. Read the translation only on itsladygrey.com.
Celine was an exemplary person. It was said she had been Abel’s nanny when he was still a child. But sometimes, I questioned that information. With Abel’s difficult personality, I couldn’t help but 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 hadn’t slept well because of all my thoughts.
“Yes, please…”
Celine smiled softly. She felt like a grandmother who loved her granddaughter. She had also asked me to speak informally to her a long time ago. But seeing that smile made me reluctant to do so. She felt like a real grandmother, and these respectful words were a habit from my original world. It was like a basic skill everyone should have in social interactions.
Since becoming the adopted daughter of the Heilon family, I had been trying to break that habit. In fact, I could now speak comfortably with most of the knights.
But speaking like that to Celine was still unreasonable. Read the translation only on itsladygrey.com. Aside from her role as the manager of Abel’s mansion and his nanny, she was also from a noble family. So I didn’t think it was a problem to continue showing her the respect she deserved.
Even Abel was helpless in the face of her authority, so I couldn’t diminish the respect she earned.
After considering all this, 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 had usually eaten with Abel, but now I ate alone. The spacious dining room felt empty. From now on, I decided it would be better to have my meals brought to my room.
“My lady, what is the schedule for today?” the maid who usually attended to me asked.
“First, the invitation… Was today the day of the ball hosted by the Priscilla family?”
“That’s right, My Lady.”
I nodded.
After the incident at the hunting competition with Livya, we had only had one or two brief encounters. Still, it seemed she hadn’t forgotten me, as she had sent an invitation. Read the translation only on itsladygrey.com.
‘Well, it’s not bad to maintain connections.’
It was beneficial to stay connected with the Priscilla family.
“Then, make the necessary preparations. I need to focus on some work.”
“Yes, My Lady.”
I locked myself in the office. There was a considerable pile of paperwork to get through because of Abel.
‘Time… do I have it?’
As I went through my tasks, I often wondered about this.
‘The Dead Land has appeared again.’
The current Darkness had manifested in a different form from the original novel, and the reason was unknown.
‘Why?’
This difference-from-the-original was unlike Sigren’s case, where there was a clear reason why he started liking me first: the imprinting effect. But the discrepancy with the Darkness was truly unknown. Originally, it wouldn’t have appeared so often and randomly. Read the translation only on itsladygrey.com. Additionally, the timing of its appearance was early. I had even marked the locations of the Dead Lands on a map, and I couldn’t find any pattern.
‘The Dead Land created during the hunting competition didn’t provide much information.’
It was said that its scale was small, and the delegation found nothing beyond 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 left the office, and since I had grown accustomed to being attended to, I quietly entrusted myself to the maids. Celine and the maids seemed happy to have a girl they could dress up 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 your hair down, then.”
Sigren had turned into a nuisance. But, he deserved it.
Fortunately, the maid in charge of attending to me was still young and innocent.
‘From now on, he should do it where it wouldn’t be seen… Actually, no! Let’s just tell him not to do it at all!’
“My Lady, you can’t move.”
“Ugh, sorry.”
After thinking about so many things, I finally finished preparing and got into the carriage. Read the translation only on itsladygrey.com.
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