—Are you done crying now?
“…Yeah.”
Sniffling, I blew my nose into the tissue and answered in a congested voice.
I’d cried so much my eyelids burned, and my vision was still blurry.
Sniff.
Eloise watched me quietly, her gaze darting awkwardly before she asked in disbelief,
—So, you… like Duke Cloud—I mean, Ian?
“I love him.”
—Love… wow….
She looked utterly dumbfounded, as though she’d heard something impossible.
Why that expression?
No, I could guess why. But still, wasn’t that reaction a bit too much?
At one point, I’d wondered if the original Eloise might have had feelings for Ian, but seeing her face now, I was sure of one thing: they absolutely despised each other.
Eloise looked at me thoughtfully and cautiously asked,
—You’re not… sick or anything, are you? Did Duke Cloud threaten you or something?
“Ian isn’t like that.”
—Ian isn’t like that….
Eloise winced as though she couldn’t handle hearing me say that.
Watching her react like this felt unfamiliar to me.
The Eloise I’d imagined was colder, more detached, and never one to show emotions.
I couldn’t help but stare at her puffy eyes, which seemed so different from what I’d envisioned.
Noticing my gaze, Eloise met my eyes and chuckled faintly.
—You’re thinking I’m not what you expected, aren’t you?
“How did you know?”
—Most people think of me like that. The second daughter of the Alpheus family, the perfect bride-to-be, an ideal duchess, the Ice Flower of society….
She rattled off the titles people had given her, but her expression made it clear she wasn’t fond of any of them.
—I’ve always hated them.
“Is that why you ran away?”
—That’s a big part of it. Every moment felt suffocating.
She tilted her head.
—You know, people sometimes assign labels to others, like the meanings of flowers.
“Flower meanings?”
—Lilies symbolize purity, red roses symbolize love, and lily of the valley symbolizes delicacy… those kinds of cliché ideas. They box you in and see you only that way.
Her expression turned unexpectedly wistful.
—I hated the labels people stuck on me. That I always had to be proper, perfect, and emotionless, playing the role of a noble lady. When I acted the way they expected, they treated me as an ideal woman, even though I never wanted that.
“…Yeah, I think I get what you mean.”
—Not that it ever impressed Duke Cloud.
She gave me a wry smile.
—That’s why I liked it here. No one assigned me any duties. I didn’t have to live up to anyone’s idea of the perfect woman. Oh, and college was pretty fun too.
While I was living her life, it seemed Eloise had been discovering her own.
—Anyway, if it weren’t for a certain ‘friend’ who helped me, I’d probably still be stuck there, wasting away.
“…Oh.”
Now that I thought about it, Eloise didn’t know Roger Duke’s true identity.
I hesitated, unsure whether to tell her the truth or keep quiet, when she suddenly reached out and gently took my hand.
—That’s why I wanted to ask you. Do you truly want to go back there? Are you absolutely sure?
“Yes. Like I said, I need to see Ian. I want to see him.”
She studied me for a moment, as if debating how to respond to my unwavering reply.
—You really do love him….
“Yes.”
—And he loves you, too.
“Yes.”
—That’s… unbelievable. Of all people, Ian Cloud.
She sighed, gazing at my tear-streaked face.
A moment ago, when I was sobbing uncontrollably and crying out for Ian, Eloise had looked so stunned that I almost laughed.
Although she carried guilt for taking over my life, it seemed she had never imagined I’d grow to love that world—or Ian.
—Well, I guess he did come off a bit charming in the novel. What’s that term… romanticized?
“…Wait, you read the novel?”
—It was on your phone.
My eyes widened in shock.
“What? How did you—”
—It was entertaining. Though it was strange not being the protagonist, the most surprising thing was Duke Cloud falling in love with someone.
She said it so casually, as if it were no big deal that she thought of herself as a character in a book.
I stared at her in disbelief, and Eloise burst out laughing.
—Why are you making that face? It’s just a story. It’s not like it mirrors my reality exactly.
“But still….”
—Come on. If magic can let us cross worlds, why couldn’t my world be written as a story? It’s no big deal.
“…You’re definitely different from the character in the novel.”
—Thanks for saying that.
She smiled warmly.
As we looked at each other in silence, I finally voiced the question I’d been holding back.
“…So, is there a way for me to go back?”
That’s all that mattered to me.
When I fixed her with an intense gaze, Eloise nodded slowly.
—Of course. I know how.
❖ ❖ ❖
I stared at the object in my hand, dumbfounded.
“So… the key to completing the spell is… this ribbon?”
—That’s right. This ribbon.
Who would’ve guessed it was literally a ribbon?
The method Eloise revealed was a broken blue thread bracelet she handed to me.
It looked just like the one I’d been holding when I woke up in this world.
—I don’t know much about it, but threads symbolize fate and connections. You have to tie it yourself to complete the spell. It’s like deciding your own destiny.
“By myself….”
—Yeah. If someone else ties it for you, it makes finishing the spell harder.
A “tying your own knot” kind of thing.
Is that why, when the old woman gave me the bracelet, it severed my connection to this world instead of completing it?
It felt like it made sense.
Starting from the moment the old woman placed the bracelet on me, I could no longer see Eloise in this world. When the bracelet broke, I ended up here.
“So, when I woke up holding the skein of thread and the bracelet…”
Was it for tying the knot for the spell?
While I was bewildered, Eloise remained calm, as if it was something she already knew.
—Right, once each of us finishes tying the knot to complete the bracelet and exchange them, we’ll permanently switch bodies. You become me, and I become you. Completely.
At her words, I looked down at the broken bracelet in my hand.
“…Okay.”
Eventually, sitting side by side on the bed with Eloise, we began tying our broken thread bracelets. Neither of us had made something like this before, so we were slow.
However, it gave us time to chat while we worked.
—…So, you’re telling me that Duke Cloud—I mean, Ian—confessed to you first?
“Yes, that’s what I’m saying.”
—Wow… Too bad I didn’t get to see it. Or maybe it’s a good thing? I might have fainted on the spot.
“Honestly, I almost fainted, too.”
Hearing my reply, Eloise chuckled and agreed, saying she could understand that.
“By the way, about your notebook… Why did you make it in the first place? Were you really planning to run away?”
—Well… something like that? I never intended to stay as the Duchess of Cloud forever. I figured someone else would take my place eventually. I just didn’t know it would be you, who switched bodies with me.
“That’s… foresight.”
—But it was helpful, wasn’t it?
“Yeah. Without it, I probably would’ve been exposed as not being the real Eloise before I could even explain myself.”
—So I was of some use to you, after all.
“In many ways. Oh, but what was the note written inside it?”
—The note?
“Yeah, it said something like, ‘If you’re reading this book…’ I saw it briefly, but then it disappeared when I tried to find it again. I spent weeks searching for it.”
—Oh, that.
Eloise, who was focused on tying her bracelet, looked up and rolled her eyes playfully. Then she gave me a mischievous grin.
—If you’re reading this book, run away immediately. It was more of a ‘You have so much to do. Run for your life’ kind of message.
“Ah.”
So it was like a hidden note in a handover file left by a departing employee.
Thinking about it that way, I couldn’t help but laugh.
—But then I thought it might be too much and erased it. You managed to see it, though.
“Well… I couldn’t find it again, though.”
As Eloise and I shared laughter over our conversation, we both completed our bracelets.
“Done.”
I lifted the bracelet, having tied and finished it with the remaining thread from the skein.
Eloise, who had also just finished, waved her bracelet.
—I’m done, too.
Looking at the bracelet in her hand, I made a curious expression.
“Eloise, you…”
—…Don’t look at me like that. This is my first time making something like this.
While my bracelet was neatly finished, Eloise’s creation was somewhere between clumsy and disastrous.
“So, you do have things you’re bad at.”
—Of course I do. I’m human, after all.
Her response was shameless and unbothered.
“Well, that’s fair.”
Smiling involuntarily, I then held the bracelet tightly, facing her with a serious expression.
“…So now, we just exchange these, right?”
—Probably. As far as I know, that’s how it works.
“If I go back, we won’t see each other again.”
—Probably not.
Eloise nodded.
It felt strange.
We had only talked for less than a day, but I felt a deep connection with her, like an old friend.
As she looked at me thoughtfully, Eloise asked,
—…You’re really not going to regret this?
“I won’t.”
Just as you’re happiest when you’re free in this world, I’m happiest by his side.
My confident answer made Eloise smile softly, as if she had no choice but to accept it.
“…Alright, then.”
She resolutely slipped the bracelet onto my wrist.
As the bracelet fit snugly around my wrist, I placed the bracelet I’d made onto Eloise’s wrist in return.
“It’s done.”
Fwaaah!
As if on cue, a brilliant light enveloped the surroundings, and the world began to vibrate.
“…Oh.”
Startled, I turned to Eloise, who was smiling as she clasped my hands together.
She rested her forehead lightly against mine.
Her touch was warm and gentle.
—Thank you… and I’m sorry.
“You don’t have to apologize.”
A small laugh reached my ears.
Whether it was hers or mine, it didn’t matter anymore.
“Goodbye, take care.”
“…Yeah, you too. Take care.”
The dazzling light consumed everything around us, and then everything went pitch black.
❖ ❖ ❖
It felt like I was being sucked into something again.
Drifting in the darkness, clinging to faint consciousness, I felt like I was floating endlessly.
It felt both like a fleeting moment and an eternity.
How long did I wander in that void?
As I sank deeper, sensation slowly returned to me.
Though my vision remained completely black, I could clearly feel the warmth of a hand holding mine.
And then, I heard a voice.
“Please, open your eyes, Eloise.”
It was a voice I had longed to hear.
• • •
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