“But that doesn’t mean I’m the main character in this world.”
Her heart was telling her to stick to the original story, even though she knew it might not be the best idea.
“I don’t have any powers.”
Unlike most possessed protagonists, she wasn’t wealthy, she didn’t have access to spirits, and she wasn’t a saint with divine powers.
“Just an extra maid.”
If she had to summarize her talents, she’d say she was good at cleaning, good at bargaining, and knew a bit about herbs.
‘Oh, and she thought she was a little bit pretty, too.’
Eugenia wasn’t gorgeous, but she was pretty, There were quite a few servants who flirted with her.
She had never been able to wear pretty clothes because she had no money, so perhaps she would be more beautiful if she made up her mind.
‘After all, I don’t know how things will turn out for now.’
After a short pause, Eugenia decided to hold her tongue.
“I think I’ll just wait and see how things go.”
“What do you mean, Eugenia, you’re being unnecessarily logical.”
She smiled vaguely at Joshua, who was glaring at her unnecessarily bluntly, then cleared her throat.
‘But according to her memory in the original, she was coming today, so……. We’ll just have to wait and see.’
Eugenia said she would stay with the children until Eileen arrived, as she didn’t want to leave them alone.
But Joshua didn’t seem to believe her.
“Then let’s sit in the closet together.”
“I’ll pass on that, I really don’t feel comfortable in a closet.”
As she shrugged her shoulders and dismissed the question, she felt Joshua’s grip on the hem of her skirt grow a little stronger.
After a moment’s consideration, Eugenia backed up against the opposite wall of the closet.
With her back pressed firmly against it, she lowered herself to the ground.
“I can’t go in the closet, but I’ll sit here instead.”
“…… Then I’ll sit next to you.”
“I know it’s hard and uncomfortable for you, so sit somewhere fluffy.”
Despite her concern, Joshua defended himself.
“It’s okay, I can sit here too.”
Joshua insisted and sat down next to Eugenia.
“It’s dirty…….”
“It’s never been very clean, when my dad and mom aren’t around, everyone gets away with it.”
Joshua clicked his tongue briefly, then drew his knees up and wrapped his arms around her.
Then she stared at his toes.
‘He’s too young to carry the burden.’
Feeling sorry for him, Eugenia reached up and touched the top of Joshua’s head.
She stroked it lightly, and the blue hair tickled gently between her fingers.
The boy paused for a moment, then his eyes lifted to hers.
“What are you doing? Are you trying to pick a fight now that you’ve been fired?”
“No, why are you so good at making a fuss? That’s not it…”
Eugenia hesitated for a moment and blurted it out.
“I just thought you were cute, so I petted you.”
Joshua’s golden eyes wavered for a moment.
“Me, cute, did I?”
But the embarrassment was short-lived. The boy began to giggle.
“Ha! I’m not cute! I’m past that age!”
He sounds like the arrogant little brat he knows he was.
Eugenia smirked and patted him once or twice more, then pulled her hand away.
“Yes, yes. I see.”
She pursed her lips.
‘Eileen, come quickly.’
Hopefully it won’t be a long wait.
Inwardly hoping, Eugenia swallowed a heavy breath.
* * *
Dang-.
How much time had passed like that?
The loud ringing of the bell woke Eugenia up.
“Oh, my God, look at me.”
She probably fell asleep. Her heart sank as she brushed a strand of hair behind her ear a few times and quickly glanced around.
“Is Eileen……? Is she here?”
If she could see her, she would say something about taking care of the twins and wish her luck.
But there was silence.
No tearful, emotional reunion, clutching at each other? No such thing.
An uneasy feeling of overwhelming silence washed over Eugenia.
“What time is it…….”
the sound of the clock tower’s bell, which she had clearly heard in her sleep, made her uneasy.
It was then that he heard a faint voice beside him.
“It’s two o’clock.”
The answer came from the mouth of Joshua, who had buried his face between his knees.
“What the hell, Master, you’re not sleeping?”
“……Yes.”
Joshua’s voice was low and tired.
“Well, it’s better than that…….”
Eugenia gulped and looked around again.
She listened intently, but there was no sign of anyone else here but them.
She scraped her voice out of its tightness as if someone were squeezing the life out of her.
“By the way, Master, how long did you say it’s been?”
Joshua lifted his face from between his knees.
“The bell rang at two in the morning, just now.”
At that moment, Eugenia realized something was wrong.
“Is that…… really true?”
“Why would I lie to you?”
Joshua said bluntly.
“Are you sure you haven’t been sleeping?”
“Uh, yeah. No.”
“Then did someone come by in the meantime or…….?”
she asked nervously.
But Joshua answered right away as if to destroy any hope she might have had.
“No, no one came.”
Not that he knew, of course.
As if to confirm it, the boy added, “It was just the three of us the whole time.”
“It’s been just the three of us here the whole time.”
At that moment, Eugenia’s face contorted in an indescribable expression.
‘Eileen, what the hell is going on?’
Why the hell isn’t she coming?
Is it tomorrow, not today?
No, it couldn’t be.
‘Should I wait more?’
‘But what if Eileen doesn’t come tomorrow?’
‘What about the next day? Four days later? A week later? A month later?’
There were no guarantees.
Eugenia knew instinctively that it would be useless to wait any longer.
Once the original was messed up, it would be tough to fix it, no matter what she tried.
‘She’ve been uneasy since Joshua offered to be my guardian…….’
What now?
Eugenia frowned as she brushed a stray strand of hair out of her face roughly.
Just then, Joshua spoke up.
“Eugenia.”
“What it is, Master?”
“How long do we have to stay here?”
Ah, to be asked so directly what she least wanted to be asked right now!
Eugenia’s mind flashed back to the answer she had given Joshua earlier.
“You’ll be our guardian, won’t you?
“Yes, yes. I got it!”
‘I didn’t know it would be like this then…….’
Eugenia swallowed a heavy sigh, wanting to slap her past self, but in the end, she sided with him.
‘First, let’s fix what I said.’
She looked at Joshua with a serious face and opened her mouth.
“Master, I have something to tell you, and it’s very important.”
“What is it?”
“It’s…… I was in a hurry earlier, so I just answered offhandedly, but on second thought, I don’t think I should.”
“……what?”
Joshua shocked.
“What does that mean all of a sudden?”
The look on his face weakened her for a moment, but Eugenia steeled her resolve to be tough once more.
“The knights of the duchy are looking for the two children.”
“Besides, the deaths of the Marquis and Marquise are not unexplained.”
“Anyone in my shoes wouldn’t want to be in charge of children.”
She kept telling herself that she didn’t need to intervene, but she felt a dull ache in the pit of her stomach.
She was a very reserved person. She didn’t want to be the center of attention,
So the last thing she wanted to do was raise a dead flag by trying to change the original story like any other possession.
Worst of all, the moment She gets involved in the twins’ escape from the mansion, she was one step closer to death.
And that was never the ending she wanted.
She doesn’t want to be some noble character who dies in the place of the main character!
In the original story, the twins remember Eileen clearly, and not just because she was the only one to reach out to them.
Not long after they set out together to found the Marquess of Keraton, Eileen died at the hands of mysterious assailants who targeted the twins.
‘Which means that the moment I become Selmia and Joshua’s guardian, it will be me who dies to protect them…….’
Eugenia’s goal was to let the original story play out the way it was supposed to and to live far enough away from the original so, she wouldn’t be killed.
She continued with a shameless expression.
“It’s a burden, and I don’t think I dare to be responsible for your well-being, and it’s not financially possible.”
Joshua didn’t say anything for a while, and then Eugenia, who had been watching him closely, slowly pushed herself up.
She felt bad for Joshua, who was crouched down as if in a crouch, making him look even smaller than he already was.
“I’m sorry, Master,” she said, “but I think I’ll leave you to it…….”
“Wait a minute, Eugenia.”
Joshua caught her, his voice and expression serious for his age.
“Yes, Master, what is it……?”
“Just one more thing. The reason you can’t be our guardian is because you don’t have the money, right?”
Eugenia nodded quickly, eager to end this conversation.
“……, yes. That’s the main reason.”
Joshua took a deep breath after hearing Eugenia’s answer.
For a moment, he looked at Eugenia with a proud, arrogant expression, and then he blushed.
“Of course, I didn’t ask for a free favor either.”
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Translator Note:
This chapter was translated by Gon. Next post will be released on March, 24.
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