“Episode 35”
Even her smile was extremely impolite. Just before Ereyna could express her irritation, the woman greeted the Empress with a light gesture as per the palace etiquette, but it was too casual, bordering on disrespectful.
“Empress Mama. You came here without my invitation. Isn’t that too much surveillance?”
“Well… Lady Yuliana is my friend.”
Ereyna blushed suddenly, as if feeling embarrassed even as she answered.
Observing her, Yuliana somehow felt like the one desperately trying to restrain Yun, which made Yuliana protective of Ereyna.
“After the party, you must have wanted to see my face once before parting without saying goodbye. Since you are a stranger named ‘Yun,’ please don’t speak so bluntly.”
With a laugh louder than her response, Yun plopped down on a nearby rock chair and gestured for the Empress and Duchess to take their seats.
Her attitude was truly outrageous, as if she didn’t belong in this world, a demeanor that would be considered madness by imperial standards.
Suddenly, Yuliana realized why Ereyna disliked her. No one had ever blatantly ignored the Empress like this. The caste system was the deepest-rooted institution in this world. Visible ranks dictated people’s behavior and even determined their worth in life and death.
That wasn’t necessarily a good thing. But clearly, Yuliana, as a reincarnate bound by fate to be born and die here in this world, was aware of it.
Looking Yun in the eye with her mocking attitude, Yuliana spoke coldly.
“Guest of the palace. Please respect the Empress Mama. Even if you have the power through the Emerald Lake or are a person with the power to influence the palace, you won’t have much impact on the laws of this palace.”
Surprisingly, Yun chuckled and affectionately replied, as if speaking to a child.
“Why. Isn’t the biggest framework of this world whether you have the power through ‘Ariakne’ or not? I am a special person born with that power, and Your Majesty has agreed to it. It is me who decided not to abuse such power but rather help the palace. So, even if you call me a saint, it’s okay.”
Both Yuliana and Ereyna were surprised by her impertinence. And in response to the insulting attitude, Yuliana, feeling angry, spoke more sharply.
“The temple’s judgment has not yet been made. If you are judged to be a demon appearing in the Emerald Lake, all the mages of the empire will chase after you. Even you, who boast about having the power of Ariakne, cannot touch the ownership of the Emperor. The inheritance of the magic stone passed down through generations in the family must follow the law of the family’s rightful owner.”
No matter how much power one had through Ariakne, one could not break the biggest principle.
Even though one could wield power, it was only a part of it. Ariakne, used for the ‘imperial succession’ for thousands of years, would have been fully integrated into the royal family. And even Yun, boasting such power, could not touch the ownership of the Emperor.
Yun looked at her as if mocking her and laughed softly. And then, patting her soft cheek, she replied affectionately. It was a tone as if she were educating a child.
“I’ve heard you’re quite a remarkable mage, but I didn’t expect you to threaten like this. If I were to play around, would the Duchess also chase after me? Since you’ve survived this far, you might as well live a little longer.”
“What did you say?”
Yuliana approached Yun step by step.
The saint with black pupils, like black beetles’ eyes, looked up at her.
Yun didn’t flinch at all. Yuliana suddenly felt afraid of her strange self-confidence.
In the end, the one who had approached first stepped back. With a smiling face, Yun turned her head and called Ereyna.
“Empress Mama.”
“W-What is it?”
At that moment, Ereyna felt a foreboding sense in the air and looked around.
It was strange.
There were no sounds in the garden. Even the birds raising grass were holding their breath. In that strange silence, only Yun smiled and spoke.
“I heard that you have horses raised in your hometown for a long time. Horses are sensitive animals, so if the environment changes, they can become seriously ill. Is it okay?”
“K-Kendal is a strong horse.”
Ereyna lowered her head.
“That, that’s… Right now, the stablemaster is checking on the horses, but some food from the northern region got mixed in.”
“What, what?”
Ereyna was taken aback. Not knowing what to do, she froze, and Yuliana supported her, trying to hold her up.
“Hurry, escort Empress Mama! Empress Mama, it’ll be okay. You need to go see Kendal.”
“I, I’ve taken care of her all this time. S-something like this has never…”
Yun, who was standing on the opposite side, suddenly stood up and supported Empress Mama. Ereyna, leaning halfway into her arms, was still shaken.
It was a precious horse that had protected her during her abusive childhood. She had raised and cared for newborn foals, and together they had traversed the rugged mountains and fields of the north. Ereyna suppressed the urge to cry like a child. Her legs were trembling.
What should she do? What should…
“Empress Mama, you need to go. Quickly…”
Yuliana gripped Ereyna’s small shoulders.
Ereyna, who was belatedly regaining her senses due to the intentionally applied force, finally regained her composure. She staggered but managed to walk steadily, following the maidservants as they disappeared.
Soon, a silence akin to death followed. As the slight commotion vanished, a sense of impending doom pervaded the air. Yuliana, with a smile now back on her face, looked sharply at the strange guest who had resumed her seat.
“You, what are you?”
“You’re the one who should answer that.”
Yun said languidly. Tying her thick black hair behind her head, Yun continued without a care in the world.
“Why are you still alive? That’s not how the original story goes.”
She casually spread her legs and sat down. Seeing Yun’s attitude, Yuliana stiffened.
She clearly didn’t fit into this world. Yun, who exuded a strange presence, which was so out of place, was acknowledged by Yuliana.
“So, you’re really from the ‘outside’?”
“Oh, now there’s someone I can talk to. Who are you? Are you a possessor?”
“I was born here.”
Tired of the confrontation, Yuliana approached a nearby tree.
Leaning against the massive trunk, she closed her eyes, pressing her stiff eyelids and opening them abruptly.
“So, there really are ‘dimensional travelers’ who come to this world.”
“You’re the one who’s fascinating. You were born here. What’s that about?”
Yun chuckled as if she found her intriguing. With a big smile fitting her face, she looked eerily like an innocent murderer.
“You… were you supposed to be dead? That would’ve been nice. Reality is just so boring.”
“What?”
Yuliana, bewildered, was met with Yun’s mocking gaze as she spoke disdainfully.
“You’ve come back to life here, so you must have died. That must have been nice. Reality is too dull.”
“Understandable. Speak so that I can understand.”
Yuliana furrowed her brow. Yun, the owner of the garden where they were, spoke arrogantly to such a woman.
“I don’t know why it turned out like this, but when I suddenly opened my eyes, it was your home lake. At first, I was clearly confused. But as I kept looking, I realized this world was where I read about. Maybe it’s because I’ve been immersed in novels since I was a child? It wasn’t bad. Besides, with just a flick of my wrist, everything ends here. It’s too amusing, isn’t it?”
“Even if you entered as the protagonist, it wouldn’t be so easy.”
Yuliana scoffed.
And she tried to continue speaking, but she stopped. The surroundings distorted, and even the impending silence began to envelop her heavily. Some force from outside was suddenly pulling her.
“Huh!”
Yuliana squeezed her eyes shut and then opened them wide.
The place she had turned to was a strange ‘room.’ There were no windows, only a computer blinking in a studio apartment. And in front of it lay a small girl, lying face down.
Yuliana turned around. At that moment, Yun, who met her eyes, shrugged her shoulders. Yuliana, without permission but with permission, trembled as she reached out her hand to the girl lying down. It was soft and damp flesh.
“Ar-Are you dead?”
“I’m not dead. Unfortunately.”
Yun clicked her tongue and licked her lips. Then she looked at Yuliana’s face after staring at her own for a while.
“You’re lucky. You were born not so bad. Well, I’m not bad as a dimensional traveler. Of course, it would’ve been better if you hadn’t scattered the stories I know.”
“Another perspective, huh?”
Yun tapped her foot while still smiling. And then, she smiled even more broadly.
“But can you really accept this world? You were supposed to be a supporting character, and I entered as the protagonist. You’ve tried so hard to live in such an unfair world. How pitiful.”
“What?”
Mocking Yuliana’s bewildered appearance, Yun spoke contemptuously.
“You’ve already died since you’ve been born here. Wouldn’t it have been nice? Isn’t reality too dull?”
“Speak in a way I can understand.”
Yuliana furrowed her brow. Yun grumbled, adopting a mocking tone that questioned how she could be so stupid.
When she reached out her hand, the world immediately changed to Yuliana’s world. Yuliana knelt down, her knees trembling under the pressure. Her throat boiled as if she were about to vomit.
“Tsk, tsk.”
Yun tore off random leaves from a nearby tree, right above the suffering Yuliana’s head.
The torn leaves fell onto Yuliana’s head, entangling in her hair like a broken crown.
“Hey.”
“Ugh…”
Yuliana scratched her throat.
It was hard to breathe. As the world changed once, her vision swirled, her hands and feet trembled, and her breath became short.
