As Elshnain’s consciousness was being led away, it suddenly came to a halt somewhere.
How long has I been floating in this empty space? She thought.
‘Is it that the orphan girl?’ A distant voice echoed.
And upon hearing that voice, she immediately knew that she was floating inside her memories from her previous life.
‘Ugh.’
Her first memory, before the transmigration, was that of a worn-out baby bottle in an orphanage.
That means she was an orphan…
When people hear the word “orphan,” they instantly assume that person must have had an unhappy life.
But some orphans actually lived happily.
Unfortunately, she didn’t belong to that group.
‘Why does she keep coming to this playground? It’s not good for the children’s emotions. She doesn’t know manners.’
Sadly, Elshnain had much better hearing than her fellow orphanage friends, and…
‘Oh, are you my partner? Um… Can we switch partners?’
She was also quick to catch on…
‘Miss, do you not know you got scammed? They stole all your money.’
But she had bad luck.
Her last memory from her previous life was of blurry streetlights after she collapsed due to a heart attack while walking.
Before she possessed Elshnain’s body, her life had been a series of misfortunes.
So, when she opened her eyes in this world, looking up at the surface of the water as the sunlight pierced through it, it wasn’t absurd for her to think she had reincarnated as a fish.
There is no such thing as luck or justice in this world. Why did it have to be a fish?
At that moment, as she was diving deeper into the lake, vowing to never be tempted by fishing hooks or get carried away by the current, a peculiar voice reached her.
‘Mother cut her wrists yesterday,’ the voice said.
That was the day she first met Killian.
Killian, who was an illegitimate child of the wealthy Haunburt family, lived in hiding with his mom, deep within the forest.
His mother, exhausted from constant persecution, had lost her mind, and Kilian, who grew up under such unfortunate circumstances, appeared smaller and weaker than his peers because he couldn’t eat well.
What’s this? Is it a human? Elshnain thought.
Kilian’s face, seen from underwater, appeared heavily distorted due to the rain falling onto the surface of the lake.
If you think about it, his heart must have been just as distorted at that time.
‘I followed the instructions from the book to stop the bleeding…but she got mad at me as soon as she woke up. Should I have just let my mother die? She let me go outside as I pleased; am I being abandoned like this?’
‘What kind of crazy mother is that?’ Elshnain spoke.
‘Huh? I think I just heard a strange sound.’
Kilian, who was sitting by the lakeside, hugging his knees, quickly looked around.
Elshnain, on the other hand, cautiously poked her head out of the water to have a better look at the kid, thinking that it should be okay for a fish’s head to be briefly out.
So cute! He looks like a baby.
The child, whose baby fat hadn’t completely disappeared, had a very adorable appearance. The fact that he placed a small pebble in front of her also added to his cuteness.
However, one side of his face looked swollen as if he had been slapped, making him look pitiful.
But why did it feel like she’d seen this kid somewhere before?
‘Stupid. I said that’s not how a real mother act,’ Elshnain spoke out again.
‘This, this voice…! Oh, are you the fairy of this lake? Mother was right! Fairy of the lake, please grant my wish!’
At that time, Killian truly believed that Elshnain was a fairy. His mother had told him there lived a fairy in the lake who would grant his wish if he fed her well.
After eating him, that is.
It’s clear Kilian’s mother had hoped for her child to fall, and disappear into the lake.
‘Ohhh, fairy!’
Elshnain looked up at him, who had a desperate expression on his face as he plunged his face into the lake.
He looked really cute, but his appearance felt very familiar somehow.
He had black hair and red eyes, just like the male protagonist in romance novels.
Haha, romance novels? There’s no way.
“Fairy, please grant my wish. My wish is… my wish is…!” he said excited.
‘What is your wish?’
‘To make my mother happy. As…as payment, I will sacrifice my life. My name is Kilian Haunbert, and I heard you like young children’s blood!’
‘Killian Haunbert…?’
And right then, she realized she had possessed Elshnain’s body, a character from a novel.
She realized she was the ‘fairy’ the male lead met by the lakeside, where raindrops were falling like beads, after being slapped by his mother.
She realized this world was a story written from Killian, the main character’s perspective.
She had become Elshnain, his childhood friend.
‘Mother says someone like me should die. Do you think so too? It would have been better if you were a real fairy….’
Surprisingly, Kilian was able to see her, a spirit, even though he was human.
Up until that point, Elshnain had little interest in Kilian. Just because she possessed a character from a novel didn’t mean she had to strictly follow the original storyline, did it?
Rather, she was delighted to know that she wasn’t just some insignificant fish and that she could breathe outside the lake.
She was ready to enjoy her second life as a spirit to the fullest.
However, that unlucky little kid was stuck in her head.
What do you mean die? Sigh.
The boy, as often happens with male protagonists in novels, embraced the tragedy of his birth, and the array of tragic events it brought, dreaming of death.
So, that’s why she offered him a chance.
‘Hey, would you like to sign a contract with me.’
‘Uh, contract? What’s that?’ The little boy asked.
Elshnain had decided to follow the cliché of possession novels, pledging to turn the original story upside down with her own hands.
‘You make your mother happy, and I will make you happy,’ she promised him.
‘…!’
What’s possession anyway.
Everything didn’t have to be exactly like in the novel, did it? So, Elshnain made a contract with the boy to change his unhappy life.
‘Now, repeat after me. My name is Killian Haunbert, would you like to sign a contract with me?’
‘My name is Killian Haunbert, would you like to sign a contract with me?’ the boy obediently said.
‘Yes, of course!’ she answered.
.
.
.
Elshnain believed Killian would be happy if he simply lived a different life from the one he led in the book.
So, she tried to save his mother’s life, and prevent his father from abusing him. She also tried to keep him away from Saint Arwen, and at that time, she was confident she could do it.
However, that confidence didn’t last long.
‘Mother! Mother! Ahhhhhhhhhh!’
Despite her efforts, Killian’s mom still took her own life right before his eyes.
‘Are you that servant girl’s child?’
She also couldn’t prevent him from meeting his biological father, who abused him in the name of training.
‘My name is Arwen, Sir Killian.’
And finally, after reaching adulthood, Killian became a paladin of the Aeterna Temple, and met Saint Arwen there for the first time.
That’s when Elshnain understood.
This world was governed by the original work’s law, and she couldn’t go against it.
But if Killian continued in that direction, he would soon lose Arwen, and go crazy.
I don’t want to see Killian go on a rampage.
I hoped that Killian wouldn’t get hurt. Why was it so difficult to make him happy?
Elshnain became increasingly frustrated with the story.
And as time passed, Killian was recognized for his talents throughout the continent, just like he did in the book and embarked on an adventure with his comrades to hunt monsters.
Everything was just like in the original.
Eventually, the day for Killian to assume the position of Guardian of The Continent came.
So Elshnain gave up.
I can’t change the course of the story.
It was heartbreaking.
Even more so because she was also destined to inflict pain on Killian.
His past, described briefly in the book, seemed much crueler since she got to see it in person.
When did Killian finally become happy? Elshnain anxiously asked herself.
And the answer came soon enough.
Killian only became happy a few years after the main story began, after his beloved Arwen came back.
So, since Elshnain knew there was no changing the original story, she decided to go along with it, thus remaining faithful to her original role.
The role of bringing Arwen back to life.
I can’t make you happy.
That wasn’t her role, it was Arwen’s.
Then I will make you happy through her, Killian.
That was her wish!
That was her new plan!
But….
But why won’t Arwen wake up? Why is the original story breaking apart now?
***
“Ahhhh!”
Elshnain took a deep breath, opening her eyes.
And her gaze immediately fell on a familiar ceiling.
Uhm, I remember I passed out next to the valley.
“How did I get back to the cabin?” she asked out loud as she held her pounding head, blinked, and slowly lifted her upper body up to look around.
“Elshnain…”
She immediately came back to her senses at the low voice she heard right beside her.
Ah yes. For a moment she forgot about the holy spell.
Elshnain quickly turned in the voice’s direction, and the first thing she saw was red eyes, as vivid as rubies, staring at her soul. Below them were a straight nose, white cheeks like those of a nobleman, tightly pursed lips, and a strong jawline that seemed stern at first glance.
However, as soon as a red tongue separated the tightly closed lips, the stern impression vanished, leaving only mischief behind.
Then, the man whispered, “Long time no see.”
His voice was dry, and emotionless, like a shadowless voice.
Elshnain’s heart raced with excitement as she gulped and tightly gripped the bedsheet she was sitting on, turning her knuckles white.
Killian is here.
Now, it was time to move to the next part of her plan.
Her heartbeat speeded up even more as she braced herself, and slowly opened her lips,
“Who…Who are you?”
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