The princess scoffed at Ian, who had been left speechless.
“Anyway, this banquet is under my management, so both of you just stay put! Especially you, Duchess—don’t even think about lifting a finger to help.”
“Your Highness, are you sure you’ll be okay with this?”
“I’m already fifteen, you know!”
…That’s exactly the problem.
But it was clear the princess had no intention of understanding my conflicted feelings.
“Why don’t you both use this opportunity to leisurely get fitted for clothes and draft the guest list? Don’t you know how many people in the capital are dying to attend the Duchess’s birthday banquet?”
“I wouldn’t say it’s that many….”
“Oh, really? You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
The princess let out a frustrated sigh at my muttered response.
“Everyone’s been eagerly waiting for their invitations. Have you seen the buzz surrounding the ducal couple lately?”
I awkwardly cleared my throat at her pointed look. Recently, there had been a lot of talk about us.
While Ian and I were visiting the Nomos Empire, an issue of the Aria Gazette had apparently featured a massive article about us. There were reports about our grand arrival and glowing reviews of my eloquent speeches.
Honestly, even Kyle was part of the reason behind this attention.
As I got lost in thought for a moment, the princess’s expression became triumphant.
“Now that you understand, both of you just do as I say!”
I exchanged a subtle glance with Ian. Somehow, I had a feeling this birthday preparation wouldn’t be simple.
❖ ❖ ❖
The princess had been completely serious about her words. From that day on, she started coming and going from the duchy as if it were her own home.
The knights assigned to escort her always looked exhausted, yet they seemed unable to do much against her bulldozer-like determination. Judging by the lack of complaints from the imperial palace, it seemed the Emperor was quietly supporting the princess’s antics.
This only fueled her efficiency.
Initially, she showed up with stacks of plans from the palace, discussing them in hushed tones with Harold, the steward. Before long, she went as far as claiming a guest room in the east wing as her “operations headquarters” and spent entire days buzzing around the duchy.
“Hmm. Good, good. Hey, Harold, did you get everything I asked for?”
“Yes, Your Highness. Everything has been prepared as instructed.”
“Excellent!”
…They worked alarmingly well together.
It got to the point where I couldn’t tell if Harold was the steward of the duchy or her personal secretary.
The two were so tight-lipped about everything that Ian and I weren’t even allowed near the “operations headquarters.” If I so much as peeked in, the only response I’d get was a dismissive “No, go away!”—like a teenager shutting out their parents.
So here I was again, stuck in the study, focusing on my duties since I couldn’t get anywhere near the princess.
“When will this ever end?”
While the princess was taking care of most of the heavy lifting for the banquet preparations, the daily work of managing the duchy hadn’t decreased.
With the estate’s size, documents requiring review and approval piled up relentlessly.
“Maybe it’s time I hire a personal assistant….”
Honestly, I couldn’t fathom how Eloise had managed all of this without any help.
My gaze shifted to Eloise’s notebook, which had taken up a permanent spot on my desk.
“This is definitely a handover document.”
At this point, there was no denying it.
For reasons unknown, Eloise had planned to leave the duchy and had prepared this notebook for her successor.
“Why on earth was she planning to leave?”
I wanted answers, but the information available to me was far too limited.
If only I could uncover why Eloise wanted to leave or how she went about it, most of the mystery might be solved.
Ever since meeting that unfamiliar child in Marisen, unanswered questions had been gnawing at my mind.
Lately, thinking about Eloise even gave me occasional headaches.
“It seems to have gotten worse since that dream I had in the Nomos Empire.”
I murmured to myself, idly twirling my pen on the paper.
“Ah, my head….”
A wave of dizziness suddenly hit me, blurring my vision.
—It doesn’t matter, as long as I can leave.
—Even if someone else takes my place….
“What… is this?”
An intense sensation pierced through my mind as a vision of the past unfolded.
I saw Eloise sitting in the very spot I was in now, her desk covered with countless sheets of paper as she busily wrote something.
Instinctively, I knew I was witnessing Eloise’s memories.
“Are these memories imprinted in this body?”
I struggled to make sense of the scattered papers in the hazy vision, but they were written in a complex, unfamiliar language I couldn’t decipher.
Then, suddenly, I felt the world flip upside down.
‘Ugh, dizzy!’
Unlike the earlier visions that unfolded only in my mind, this time, my body felt weightless, as if I’d left it entirely.
And soon, what appeared before me was…
‘What is this…?’
A very familiar scene. Familiar, yet strange because it had been so long since I’d seen it.
A vast eight-lane road, towering buildings, people bustling by…
It was the world I originally lived in.
But before I could fully process what I was seeing, something even more unbelievable came into view.
‘…No way.’
It was none other than me, walking down the unfamiliar street.
I rubbed my eyes roughly, but there was no mistaking it—that was undeniably me.
‘Why am I over there?’
I couldn’t hide my confusion.
The “me” I saw had short, bobbed hair and was wearing clothes I’d never owned, walking confidently down a street I didn’t recognize.
I instinctively reached out, half-dazed, when the other “me” abruptly stopped and turned around.
Our gazes locked midair.
In the next moment, the other “me” widened her eyes, as if she’d seen something she shouldn’t have.
“…No way. Why is that here?”
Muttering something under her breath, she quickly turned and hurried away.
And then—
“Gasp!”
I woke with a sharp intake of breath.
The scene that had just unfolded before my eyes was gone, replaced by the sight of me slumped over my desk in the study.
The notebook I had been looking at earlier was still lying open, its pages untouched.
“…….”
I had no idea how much time had passed, but the sun, which had been high in the sky earlier, was now sinking low, casting long shadows through the window behind me.
Turning stiffly, I gazed at the twilight beyond the window and pressed a hand to my forehead.
“What… was that? Did I fall asleep?”
I murmured in a daze, my mind still reeling.
Sweat clung to the back of my neck, dampening my collar.
‘When did I even fall asleep?’
I sat there for a long while, catching my breath, my trembling hands trembling as I tried to steady my thoughts.
In that final moment, I had clearly read the words on her lips as she muttered with a stricken expression:
—Why so soon? No.
—I don’t want this.
“…She said no.”
Unless I’d gone completely mad from stress, that person was undeniably someone else in my form.
‘And most likely, the original Eloise.’
That would explain why I was in Eloise’s body and why her soul had disappeared from this world.
If this wasn’t just a coincidence, and some spell Eloise had been searching for caused her to swap bodies with the “me” from that other world…
The thought alone made it hard to breathe.
‘Why?’
Had Eloise really run away? Was I placed in this body because of her?
As I sat there, unable to calm my chaotic thoughts, there was a knock at the door.
“Madam, may I come in?”
Vivi’s voice from outside snapped me out of my daze. I hurriedly hid my still-shaking hands under the desk.
“Come in.”
At my permission, Vivi carefully opened the door and peeked in.
“It’s nearly dinner, and you hadn’t called for me, so I came to check. Do you still have a lot of work left?”
“Oh, no, I’m almost done.”
“That’s a relief. The princess left a short while ago. The master has asked if you’ll join him for dinner. Shall I tell him you’ll come down?”
I stared blankly at Vivi, nodding slowly just before her expression turned puzzled.
“…Yes, let him know I’ll be down shortly.”
“Understood, Madam. But…”
Vivi hesitated, studying me closely before asking cautiously, “Are you alright? You don’t look well.”
“Yes, I’m fine.”
I forced a smile, though it barely reached my lips.
Still looking unconvinced, Vivi finally relented, closing the door behind her as she left.
I remained seated for a long time after that, before finally standing up, though it took twice as long as usual to reach the door.
“…….”
Before leaving the study, I turned back to look at the desk.
For some reason, it felt as though the space didn’t belong to me.
• • •
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