I Thought It Was a Common Transmigration

“Are you crazy?”

 

“I did it because I wasn’t crazy.”

 

She felt like the first consonant of a harsh curse was going to come out of her mouth, but she tried her best not to get excited.

 

“I guess you’re the one responsible for the yacht incident, then?”

 

As expected, Lise nodded her head. She answered so obediently that she actually felt discouraged.

 

“Try to talk calmly. Why on earth did you do that? Why me?”

 

She asked her with a half-empty smile. Perhaps she was being manipulated by the original author, but Edith was hoping she would give her a more plausible answer. But Lise, who was just staring at the floor, suddenly burst into laughter.

 

“Of all the Ediths I’ve dealt with, you were the best. Still, I didn’t think I would lose.”

 

“What…?”

 

When Lise spoke informally in the past, she also spoke informally to her, but there was something strange about her this time.

 

“Edith ‘s’?”

 

“You are the 13th Edith.”

 

“What?”

 

She was confused by her strange expression. What was she talking about? Was she saying Edith, the character, was possessed 13 times without her knowledge?

 

“No, before you talk about ‘Ediths’, tell me about yourself. Who are you?”

 

Feeling an ominous and strange premonition, she suddenly asked about Lise’s identity. Somehow it felt like it had to be that way. And her hunch was not wrong.

 

“I am the original author of <I Refuse to Be Obsessed>. I possessed a character like you, the main character of the novel I wrote.”

 

It seemed to be a reflex condition for people to widen their eyes and open their mouths when they were too surprised. And she made that expression without even realizing it.

 

“The original author? You were the original author who accused me of being a villain and tried to kill me?”

 

“Huh.”

 

As if Lise didn’t know what it meant, she answered harshly.

 

“Why… Why did you do that?”

 

“Why did I do that? I did it because I had to be the main character of this world forever, and you had to be the villain who got jealous and got in my way and died. That’s the original content, right?”

 

Because she answered so shamelessly, Edith even thought, ‘Oh, really?’ However, she came to her senses by pressing her forearm where the bruise had not completely gone.

 

“Earlier, you said I was the 13th Edith, right? So, there were more Edith besides me?”

 

“There were 12 more people ahead of you.”

 

“Uh, how…?”

 

“I made them possess Edith.”

 

It was difficult to hold on to Lise’s shocking confession. This kind of possession wasn’t accidental, it was intentional!

 

“Why?”

 

When she asked with a trembling voice, Lise answered rather shamelessly.

 

“You’re dead anyway, so shouldn’t you be thankful to me for giving you one more chance to live?”

 

“Who asked that? I’m asking you why you made me possess Edith, now!”

 

As her voice grew louder, Killian knocked on the door from outside.

 

“Are you okay, Edith?”

 

“Whoa… I’m fine. Please don’t come in.”

 

While she was barely able to control her excitement, Lise looked towards the door with a sad expression on her face and answered obediently.

 

“I’ve been living this story ever since I possessed Lise. It was fun. But it was a bit boring because the same content was repeated over and over again.”

 

When she heard that, she almost knew why she was made to possess Edith. However, Lise did not pay attention to her and continued to speak harshly.

 

“So, after thinking about it, I decided to have readers of my book possess Edith. So, as life became more thrilling and the story itself became richer, I stood out more. It was like that until you came.”

 

“Then it couldn’t be… Are you saying that all 12 people before of me died like in the original?”

 

“Huh.”

 

It was a very natural ‘yes’ without any sense of guilt.

 

“Wha…! You really don’t see crazy people like this all the time.”

 

“Why are you saying such harsh things?”

 

“So you think you’re normal now? You drove others to miserable deaths for your own satisfaction!”

 

“They’re dead anyway. They were going to die after living a bonus life as a supporting character in an interesting novel, so they should be thanked instead.”

 

“If you think about it that way, you are already a dead human being, and if you could live the same life over and over again in Lise’s body, you would be grateful. Why did you look for thrills?”

 

“Well, that’s… I’m different from you! I’m the original author?”

 

Her blood pressure was rising and she felt like she was going to die. Should she call Killian? 

However, Lise let out an even more angry sound as if she was really targeting her brain blood vessels.

 

“Plus, I provided a device for Edith to win. ‘Exception conditions’. Thanks to that, you are alive now.”

 

“Ah, that condition where you have to expect to catch a mouse while the cow is backing away? If it’s a fair game, why don’t you try the opposite? I set the conditions, and you meet them. Of course, risking your life, how is it?”

 

The eyes that were staring at her as if they were going to attack her at any moment quickly ran away to the side. She spoke in a firm voice, as if she was making a judgment.

 

“You are just like me to begin with. The same goes for the last 12 Ediths. You took advantage of your somewhat advantageous position and trampled on them as if it were a joke, then brutally murdered them.”

 

“Do not be ridiculous! I’m different! I was like a god here!”

 

This was the level of a child throwing a tantrum. It suddenly dawns on her that this kind of person was the author of a novel she enjoyed reading.

 

“God? Yes, you proud and almighty being. So what can you do now?”

 

Lise’s face immediately turned bright red at her sarcasm.

 

“If it weren’t for you, I would still be perfect! Everyone in this world would be happy! Because of you, I have no idea where this story will go! How are you going to take responsibility?”

 

The back of her head throbbed. How did such a monster come to be born? She slowly got off the bed. Lise hesitated and took a step back, but she grabbed both of her forearms.

 

“This is normal, Lise. Life is about not knowing what’s ahead, and living a life like this is what it means to be human!”

 

“Stop talking nonsense!”

 

“Don’t be such a fool! Everyone else is living through unknown times day by day! The same goes for the characters in this novel. You probably looked down on them because you already knew the future, but you know what?”

 

She turned Lise around in front of the mirror on her dressing table.

 

“You have already forgotten how to fight an unknown future and have the mental strength of an insignificant extra in this novel, but everyone except you is used to this. Everyone knows that there is no such thing as a fixed ending.”

 

Lise’s eyes were shaking frantically.

 

“It’s unfair… This is a story I wrote…! I’m the main character!”

 

“You must have thought something like that since you took the test of life while looking at the answer sheet. I’m sorry for throwing cold water on that illusion, but I was the protagonist of my life from the beginning. Not an extra for you!”

 

A thought that she couldn’t have done as Choi Sona in her previous life finally came out of her mouth. She wished she had been able to think like this back then. If that were the case, she wouldn’t have kept her mouth shut even after being treated unfairly at work, she would have sternly scolded the ex-boyfriends who betrayed her, and she would have been able to completely abandon her brother.

 

‘The reason I possessed Edith may be because I lived my life carelessly.’

 

At the same time as feeling guilty, it was also the reason why she couldn’t push Lise. If it weren’t for Lise, if it weren’t for her experience as Edith, she would have even thought of her own death in a sad way.

 

So she faced Lise again. She was just a child who stubbornly tried to deny this reality.

 

“Of course <I Refuse to Be Obsessed> was an interesting novel. But this world will not fall just because the ending you decided on does not come. In fact, a more fun and happy ending may come to you.”

 

“Do not be ridiculous! There can be no happier ending than the ending of the original. Besides, I’m going to get old and ugly from now on! It’s all your fault!”

 

“Have you ever felt old?”

 

“What?”

 

“Are you saying such things when you grow old?”

 

Lise reflexively shook her head.

 

“Then stop saying that already. I plan to have fun even when I get older.”

 

“But with a wrinkled and ugly face…”

 

“It will look forever beautiful to Cliff. As long as you don’t continue to be greedy like this, trying to be ‘everyone’s love.’ If you can’t give up that greed in the end, you… Instead of being everyone’s lover, do not made Cliff miss you.”

 

She let go of Lise’s arm.

 

“I heard you were a writer? If so, think about a happier ending. That’s all the advice I can give.”

 

Her blood pressure rose and she was quite tired after talking a lot.

 

“Killian!”

 

At her call, Killian immediately opened the bedroom door.

 

“Lise says she’s going back now. Goodbye, Lise.”

 

She smiled brightly at Lise, gritting her teeth as if she was about to cry.

 

‘Hey Lise, I know it may be a bit snippy right now, but I prayed for you to come to your senses and get on with your real life.’

 

* * *

 

Once Edith had regained her health and Lise was able to maintain her composure, the Duke of Ludwig opened the door to the mansion. The Duke of Ludwig, who won the battle for territory and became the Emperor’s closest confidant in name and reality, was flooded with  all kinds of victory congratulatory gifts, invitations, and visit requests. Among them, the Count Sinclair family was a family that was allowed to visit the Dukedom quite early. That alone made Sinclair’s siblings’ arrogance soar to the sky.

 

“Congratulations on your victory in the Territory Battle, Excellency the Duke. Your two sons also performed brilliantly!”

 

Count Sinclair greeted Duke Ludwig with a bright smile. In response to a greeting that praised his two sons more than himself, Duke Ludwig nodded his head, looking at Cliff and Killian sitting next to him as if he was proud.

 

“These guys had a hard time.”

 

Count Sinclair paused for a moment at the sight of Duke Ludwig looking proud, and deliberately brought up a story that would displease the Duke.

 

—————————————————————

Translator Note: