I felt a chill run through my veins, as though my blood had gone cold.
For the first time, I understood what it meant to feel your mind go completely blank.
Every muscle in my body tightened, and it felt as though my thoughts had come to a grinding halt.
I couldn’t even close my slightly parted lips, frozen stiff in place as I blankly stared up at Ian.
“…What….”
Ian gave no reply.
At the same time, I saw certainty in the depths of his calm, azure eyes.
Though it took the form of a question, it wasn’t one at all.
“Ian, right now…”
“If you’re thinking of feigning ignorance, I suggest you reconsider. I already know what you’re after.”
Before I could even finish speaking, his cold voice cut through the air.
Thud.
The heart I thought couldn’t sink any lower dropped even further.
He knows about the magic.
He wasn’t guessing or trying to test me.
One look at his eyes told me he knew.
Meanwhile, Ian, who had been staring intently into my eyes, briefly shifted his gaze to my wrist.
“…Your pulse is quick.”
He pressed his thumb firmly against the inside of my flushed wrist.
And I realized it instantly.
I’m doomed. He has no intention of letting this slide.
I’d noticed recently that Ian Cloud had been unusually kind to me—almost excessively so.
And that only made the current situation feel even more dangerous.
He didn’t seem like someone who would let me go without hearing an answer.
What do I do?
But at this moment, what I felt wasn’t anxiety or frustration—it was fear.
Not because I didn’t know what to say, but because I couldn’t predict how he would react once I told him the truth.
In the worst-case scenario, I might have to leave him right away.
How much should I tell him? Should I admit I’ve swapped bodies with the real Eloise? What if he questions my identity? How am I supposed to explain this? Would he even believe that such a thing happened?
If someone told me that my life was nothing but fiction, that the path I had walked was fabricated by the whim of another’s pen…
It would be impossible to accept.
So would lying be better…?
As my gaze darted nervously, it eventually fell downward.
And my lips pressed tightly together.
…No, I can’t. How could I lie, even now?
Ian might not know the real me, but I… I love the man standing before me.
To me, he’s no longer just a male lead in a novel.
In this moment, at least, I’m standing face-to-face with the person I love.
If he hadn’t found out, maybe I could’ve kept lying. But not now—not when he already knows everything and is confronting me about it.
“……”
Since I said nothing, Ian also remained silent, staring at me for what felt like an eternity.
As though he were waiting for the truth to come from my lips.
I couldn’t lift my head, staring anxiously at the tips of his shoes instead.
How long had I been like this?
“…I’ll tell you everything.”
I whispered so softly that, had he been any further away, he wouldn’t have heard me.
To be honest, I was terrified.
I had no guarantee that Ian would still look at me with warmth after I confessed.
But even so…
This is something I have to bear.
Even if I might leave this world someday, I didn’t want to deceive him any longer.
I opened and closed my mouth several times, swallowing dryly, before finally forcing myself to speak.
“…You’re right. I’m not the Eloise Cloud you know… not the second daughter of Marquis Alpheus.”
What kind of expression was Ian wearing now as he looked at me?
Even though I could feel his gaze falling heavily on me, I couldn’t bring myself to look up.
“I came from another world.”
“……”
“A world completely different from this one. A world without the Levant Empire, without an Emperor, without a Grand Duke… A world where magic and sorcery are considered nothing but myths.”
My vision blurred as I tightly closed my eyes.
I wanted to faint, but my senses were painfully clear.
“It sounds absurd, doesn’t it? Especially when I knew you from the moment I arrived. But I couldn’t not know you. Because in that world…”
My hands trembled first, then my body, and finally even my voice began to shake.
I bit my lip tightly without realizing it.
“…It was a novel.”
I felt Ian flinch, his grip on my wrist pausing for a moment.
Unable to meet his eyes, I stumbled over my words as I continued.
“You were the male lead of this novel, and Diana Lawrence was the female lead. I was an avid fan of Diana Lawrence. And Eloise, your wife…”
“……”
“…was a supporting character who brought the two of you together.”
Ian gave no response.
Of course, it must be hard to believe.
He must think I’ve suddenly gone mad, spouting nonsense.
The unhappy childhood caused by the Empress, the countless assassination attempts, the pressure from the nobility…
I was telling him that all the misfortunes he endured were nothing more than part of a storyline in a novel.
“I don’t know how the real Eloise managed to switch bodies. I was brought here without knowing why.”
I tried my best to speak clearly, but despite my efforts, my breath quickened bit by bit.
“…At first, I wanted you and Diana to fall in love. I thought that was my role, and I was confident I could do it well. But…”
I couldn’t summon the courage to open my eyes.
“I ended up falling for you. And now, I’m terrified of the possibility that I might have to leave your side. I want to find answers somehow, but I don’t know what to do.”
“……”
“I… don’t want to lose you.”
My voice trailed off, unable to finish the sentence.
My entire body felt heavy, as if I were submerged in water, and my throat was tight, as though someone had poured water down it.
Even so, I had said everything I needed to say.
Even if Ian looked at me with betrayal or disgust in his eyes, I didn’t deceive him.
“…I’m sorry. I know this must be confusing. You’ll need time to think.”
I quietly pulled my hand away from his grasp.
His grip loosened so easily, as if it didn’t matter to him whether I left or stayed.
I had expected this, yet my vision blurred with sadness.
Don’t cry. You can’t cry.
“…I’ll leave you alone for now. When you’ve sorted out your thoughts, we can talk again.”
Perhaps that would be the last time Ian and I ever spoke.
I’ve already prepared myself for that.
I turned around, ready to leave.
“…Wait, Eloise.”
Ian called out to me, just a beat too late, hastily grabbing my arm.
I reflexively looked up and saw his troubled face through my blurry vision.
At that moment, the tears pooling in my eyes fell, sliding down my cheeks.
“…Ian?”
He pulled me into his arms.
“Don’t go.”
The next words that followed came out in a mix of confusion and urgency.
“I believe you. Whatever it is, if it’s your words, I’ll believe them.”
“You… believe me?”
I couldn’t help but ask in disbelief.
How could he believe such a ridiculous story?
Still holding me, Ian gently cradled my head, nodding slowly.
“Yes.”
I was too stunned to close my slightly parted lips and simply stayed in his embrace before finally asking,
“…Why?”
My voice trembled, soaked with emotion.
“Doesn’t it sound insane to you?”
“Then I must be even crazier.”
“Don’t joke around.”
“Do I look like I’m joking?”
“But…”
I couldn’t finish my sentence.
Ian interrupted me, pulling me even closer and murmuring softly.
“Of course, I don’t completely understand what you said about the novel or protagonists. It’s beyond my comprehension, and it doesn’t align with my understanding of the world. But…”
He paused to take a breath.
“You’ve already taught me that my understanding and my standards might be wrong.”
“……”
“So I believe you. Even if it means denying myself.”
Ian gently pulled back and cupped my face.
Through my tear-streaked vision, his face came into clear focus.
He was looking at me with unwavering sincerity.
“So please, don’t cry anymore. I beg you.”
Those words felt like a spell, making my chest ache.
The dam I had desperately held back broke, and the sobs I had been swallowing spilled out uncontrollably.
“Hah…”
“…Eloise?”
I crumpled like a child, burying myself into his arms.
“Hahh… You’re such an idiot. You should have just said you don’t trust me. Why…”
You fool.
I invalidated your entire life.
You should be angry. So why are you looking at me like that, speaking to me like that, telling me you believe me?
All the sorrow I had been suppressing poured out at once, soaking his shoulder.
“You’re really… such an idiot. Hnghh.”
With trembling, pale hands, I reached out to wrap my arms around his back.
Ian responded by tightening his embrace around me.
“That would be far too difficult for me. From the very beginning, not trusting you was never an option for me.”
Feeling his steady hand patting my back, I thought to myself:
What do I do? I love this man so much.
I don’t want to part from him.
• • •
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