CH-02
“Eilin. Why are you like this?”
Growing up, the dark-haired dream tree… no, Louis, with an innocent face, asked with a smirk.
“Oh, it’s nothing.”
I quickly shook my head.
“So, your names are Louis and Evan?”
The little one who had pleaded for food, Louis Reichardt.
The one eyeing me suspiciously was Evan Reichardt.
“Stay still. You’re turning 7 now….”
Twins awakened to magic at the age of 8.
It was a characteristic of the Reichardt nobility, also known as the “Dragon Kingdom.”
The first emperor of the Reichardt Empire welcomed dragons as companions. The bloodline bestowed special powers even to their descendants.
“Each noble has different abilities.”
Exceptional physical abilities or overflowing magical power.
Sometimes they possessed special energies surpassing clairvoyance or telepathy.
“With those powers, he killed Eilin and escaped the palace.”
As I fumbled with memories, my face turned ashen. There was only one year left until the twins turned evil.
“Oh my, am I going to die next year?!”
I screamed, but nothing changed.
The princes were thin and didn’t even look their age.
‘It was all Eileen’s fault.’
She stole the palace’s budget, neglected the children, and gave them barely enough food to keep them alive. Throwing it on the floor like they were stray dogs.
‘The floor is fit for princes!’
Another day, she served them rotten tarts as a special treat.
“Oh my God.”
Did I do that?
No, that wasn’t me, but I’m the nanny now, right?
I looked at the kids with trembling eyes.
‘It was the tart.’
That explained Evan’s refusal to accept the cup noodles.
‘He was hungry and couldn’t help himself.’
She hadn’t thrown him a piece of bread today.
“The cup noodles were good, even if they were instant.”
I mumbled as if to excuse myself.
What I gave him was literally normal food, not good for you, but not past its expiration date.
“What do parents do…. Oh, right.”
I thought of their parents, but immediately sighed.
‘The mother died, and…. the emperor neglected the children.
I sighed, ‘The Emperor neglected the children and the sons became the worst villains.’
That was the future of the twins, abandoned for uselessness.
‘Healing? What a joke. A novel full of petty romance.’
It turned out this novel was famous as a healing genre only by its title.
A sub-male aristocrat with monster-like charm, the 7th prince who was the pinnacle of beauty, and even other men not belonging to the main cast.
“It was fun watching the men.”
The handsome men with unique charm, from the sub-male aristocrat to the 7th prince who was the epitome of beauty.
Moreover.
“All men not belonging to the protagonist.”
They showed great obsession and possessiveness towards Elsia, the female protagonist.
“The fun of looking at men was amazing.”
“The most handsome… Also, the 19+ scenes were the best.”
Churp.
Thinking of the sweet descriptions in the book, saliva gathered in my mouth.
“Louis, come here.”
“…Hup!”
Awakening from my imagination at Evan’s voice, I wiped away the drool. While I was lost in thought, Evan had taken his younger brother Louis away from me.
‘There are only cute babies in front of me, not handsome men now.’
Enjoying various handsome men was the role of the female protagonist, and I was just a supporting character.
And, to make matters worse, I was fated to be torn apart by the children as soon as the original story began.
“Now, what should I do?”
Even though I managed to possess, I couldn’t even flirt with handsome men and was destined to die!
On top of that, I was stuck with the consequences of Eilin’s actions.
I looked at the children, embracing each other, with melancholic eyes.
Without even the usual buffs from being a transmigrator, I found myself in the dreadful body of a nanny who was about to be brutally killed.
So, what should I do…”
“Whew-”
The wind blew in through the open window.
Unbeknownst to me, the sun had set, and evening had fully arrived. The wind was chilly.
After dinner, the next task was…
“First… shall we take a nap?”
“What’s a nap?”
Louis asked innocently.
“Oh, I mean sleeping. It’s time to wash up and go to bed, so let’s go, come on.”
I nudged Louis and Evan towards the bedroom. I thought I could assess the situation after putting these kids to sleep.
“How negligent can one be.”
The moment I arrived at the children’s room, I regretted my decision.
“What’s this?”
The room was in complete ruins.
“Look at the spider webs. At this rate, even ghosts would avoid it.”
I glanced at the children, but the owners of the dilapidated house seemed unfazed.
“I bet Eilin’s room is better than this.”
It wasn’t just better; it was a paradise.
Eilin spared no expense in taking care of herself.
“Would you mind going to my room…”
“….”
Evan glared at me with fierce eyes.
“Your gaze is different.”
Well, if someone who disliked you suddenly changed their attitude, anyone would be suspicious.
“Wow, are we going to Eilin’s room?”
“Well, we’ll go there later. For now, sleep well.”
I brought a relatively clean blanket and tidied up the bed after putting the children to sleep.
“Sweet dreams. Sweet dreams.”
“Hey, Eilin.”
In the midst of consoling, Louis asked a question.
Unlike me, who was forcing back sleep, Louis’s eyes sparkled.
“Yes?”
“Why are you being so nice today?”
Pause.
My hand, which had been patting his stomach, momentarily stopped in mid-air before resuming its movement.
“What did I do that was nice?”
Even though I only fed them cup ramen and helped with brushing their teeth, Louis seemed to appreciate it.
Looking at the child’s mixed expression, my heart stung.
“I’ll continue to be nice from now on.”
“Really? Then I hope tomorrow comes quickly.”
With those words, Louis closed his eyes.
At the end of the bed, Evan sighed. It seemed like the moment he had been waiting for had finally arrived.
“Good night. Eilin.”
Quietly opening his eyes again, Louis left behind a tender word and closed his eyes once more.
“….Sleep well, Your Highnesses.”
Responding to the whisper-like words, Louis quickly fell into a peaceful sleep, snoring lightly.
I hoped for the children to fall asleep, but it only made my emotions more complicated.
“I should go to Eilin’s room.”
Just when I thought Louis was asleep, he tightly grasped my hand.
“It won’t come off.”
Subtly trying to pull away was futile.
“Ah, whatever.”
In the end, I lay down next to Louis.
Perhaps due to fatigue, drowsiness washed over me.
“If I fall asleep like this…”
Could I return to the way things were?
Hope subtly raised in me.
Soon, consciousness submerged into darkness.
However, this was not rest but the beginning of another adventure.
“Where is this…?”
I slowly blinked my eyes.
“Is this a dream?”
As I lowered my head, familiar tiles greeted me.
Feeling a sense of warmth from the familiar space, I instinctively looked around.
Bright lights and an incredibly spacious interior that couldn’t be fully grasped with the eyes.
Meat and seafood sections lined up on either side, with an organic vegetable counter in front.
“Is this a market?”
Could it be that I had returned?
Anticipation rose, but things still felt strange.
“Why is no one here?”
There were no customers or sellers. I was the only one living here.
“What’s going on?”
I stopped in front of the clothing section and looked at the mirror next to the counter.
“Eilin?”
Reflected in the full-body mirror was unmistakably the figure of ‘Eilin.’
“What is this…?”
“Kyu.”
“Kyu?”
A small, white furball made a sound.
“…A cat?”
Perhaps calling it a ball of fur made it angry. The furball swelled up and then darted away.
“Wait a moment!”
For some reason, I felt the need to catch the furball.
But the furball was faster than I expected.
“Heck… Heck…!”
Why was this tiny thing so fast?
Chasing after the furball, I suddenly found myself in front of the checkout counter.
“Kyu.”
The furball had hidden behind the counter.
“Heck… Heck…!”
Wait, why did it run away if it was going to hide there?
“Heck… Heck…!”
Panting, I approached. Surprisingly, the furball waited silently.
“Wait a moment!”
For some reason, I felt like I had to grab the furball.
But the furball, seemingly angered, leaped onto my shoulder.
“Why did you run away like that?”
“Kyu!”
Was it annoyed at being called a cat?
The furball made grumbling sounds as I gently stroked its white fur.
“It’s just like a cat.”
Silently petting the white fur, I looked at the container in my hand.
“It’s chocolate.”
The chocolate with almonds inside seemed perfect for slowly nibbling.
“Kids would love it if I bring this to them.”
Louis and Evan, the abandoned twins in the cold palace.
The face that used to carefully feed them even a cup ramen flashed in my mind.
I was still Eilin.
“Ugh…”
The large window seemed to have been wetted, letting in the sunlight.
I tried to roll my body into the shadow, but the light followed.
I raised myself, my face contorted.
“It was just a weird dream.”
When I opened my eyes, it was still the princes’ room.
I had to admit the fact that I had been reincarnated into a novel.
“Where did the kids go?”
Looking around, I couldn’t find the children.
They probably went to find something to eat.
“They won’t wake me up.”
Well, they probably wouldn’t believe that I had been good to them for just one day.
“I should look for the kids.”
Just as I was about to get up, one of my fingers throbbed with pain.
In my hand was a black cylinder.
“Cacao 12%?”
Signed with gold foil, the black tube clearly had the words ‘Cacao 12%’ printed on it.
It was the chocolate I had seen in the dream.
“Why is this here?”
The chocolate tube and the dilapidated room had nothing in common.
“Did I bring items from the mart?”
Through a dream?
It sounded unbelievable.
I cautiously touched the Korean written on the chocolate tube.
“Is this fake?”
Just to be sure, I opened the lid, and a sweet aroma wafted up.
Taking a piece of chocolate, I tasted it.
“It’s real chocolate.”
It was just like the sweet taste I remembered.
“If I fall asleep now, will I have that dream again?”
A dream about the mart, about being in a book.
Maybe there were clues in the dream.
Curious, I lay down again, but sleep wouldn’t come.
“Let’s not think about it right now.”
It was time to find the kids.
I stepped out of the room, trying to calm my excited heart.
“They’d probably be very hungry.”
Thinking about the kids who were satisfied with cup ramen, my nerves tensed.
“But scenes of them being abused keep coming to mind.”
Thinking about the pitiful-looking children, the gruesome description of Eilin dying in the novel also came to mind.
That scene was still terrifying.
But the children were still too young, and their appearance was the complete opposite of the pitiful Eilin described in the novel.
“It should be okay for now.”
Suddenly, the kitchen was right in front of me.
As I was about to enter, a giggling voice made me pause.
“If you do it, I’ll give it to you.”
I stopped at the peculiar atmosphere.
Around the corner were Louis and Evan, accompanied by two women.
