I spent several nights working in the laboratory. I was extremely tired, but it was better to work than to dream nightmares.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
I heard the sound of knocking. It must be time for a meal.
“Come in.”
“Uh… Lady.”
“Just put it there and leave.”
“That’s not it…”
I was confused as to why Mary was hesitating, but I was in the middle of an important task. Without looking away from my workbench, I pointed to the shelf with a finger.
“The vitality potion should be over there.”
“Selena.”
This voice was not Mary’s. No matter how busy I was, I had no choice but to turn my head.
“Count?”
The Highborn Count walked in. I hurriedly fixed my appearance. This was the first time he had visited my workshop.
“What brings you here?”
While I asked, the only thing that came to my mind was one thing. Something must have gone wrong with the potion I gave to Mary last time. Otherwise, the Count wouldn’t have come all the way here.
“Is there a problem with the high-grade healing potion I gave last time…?”
Before I could finish my sentence, a spark suddenly flared in front of me. Before I realized what was happening, my body staggered and collapsed.
“What the hell were you doing here!?”
The thunderous shout seemed unfamiliar, and at the same time, I noticed the Count’s hand, which was gripping something. Only then did I feel the sharp pain running down my cheek and neck.
“What…?”
My jaw wouldn’t move properly. I felt a bitter liquid in my mouth.
“I gave you this workshop to draw. And now you’re secretly making potions here? I used to admire your little talent, but I never thought you would do something like this.”
“Suddenly, what are you talking about?”
I rubbed my chin and barely opened my mouth. As soon as I spoke, the Count immediately poured out his words.
“Ah, so you’re going to deny it. You haven’t given up your old habits and are still choosing ugly behavior. What am I to you, having raised you? Have you not thought that you’ve brought disgrace to the Highborn Count family’s name?”
I was foolish. I should have noticed earlier why the Count was suddenly putting on this show. I shouldn’t have lost my composure just because I took a slap to the face.
“Please stop, Count.”
A cold voice, like a winter breeze, suddenly rang out. It was then that I realized that someone else, not the Highborn Count or Mary, was there.
“I apologize. I never expected something like this to happen in my household.”
When the Count stepped aside, unfamiliar shoes came into my sight. A bad feeling began to rise within me.
I slowly moved my gaze from the floor upwards, as if drawing a picture. The black cashmere coat and the watch strap peeking from the pocket passed by without meaning. Perhaps I had already noticed the identity of the person. I was stalling because of my fear of facing someone I didn’t want to meet.
My attempts to ignore reality ended the moment I saw the earring swaying from the man’s left ear.
“An earring that looked like it was hanging down from a long hair.”
Was it a coincidence? I hoped it was, desperately. I hoped that such earrings had become a trend among the social elites while I had been in hiding.
I turned my gaze away from the man and lowered my head. I knew well that just because I didn’t look at someone, they wouldn’t disappear. Still, I couldn’t bring myself to confirm it.
Then, it happened.
A face appeared in my line of sight. Though it was the first time seeing it, it felt strangely familiar. “The purple eyes were as gentle as the edge of darkness, smiling softly, but in an instant, they emitted a cruel light.”
The description I had read in the book came to mind.
“It’s the Tower Master,” the Count said. “He knows you’ve been distributing potions illegally and came all the way here.”
The Count’s words felt distant. Despite all my efforts, I had been found out by the murderer. And that too, in the safe haven I considered my sanctuary.
“Why have I been hiding at home all this time… just to end up meeting him like this?”
It was hopeless.
“Good afternoon, Miss Selena.”
Hearing him call my name felt like a death sentence.
“My name is Eon de Granua.”
Eon gently took my left hand and kissed the back of it. His lips, which should have been warm, felt like snowflakes in midwinter. From the point where they touched, the blood seemed to freeze.
“Do you recognize me?”
I hesitated. He wasn’t asking if I knew he was the murderer, was he? While I was unsure, the Count answered for me.
“There’s no one in this empire who doesn’t know the Tower Master.”
Eon, as if uninterested in the Count’s answer, turned his gaze back to me.
“Your eyes are beautiful, like emeralds. They complement your luscious brown hair quite well.”
Although Eon’s eyes were on me, he wasn’t really looking at me as a person. To him, I was probably just a doll with brown hair and green eyes.
“To handle such a beautiful young lady so roughly… I see, the Count is more violent than I thought.”
“I apologize. I was just trying to discipline her…”
“Discipline?”
Eon’s hand moved toward my cheek, and I instinctively flinched. But his hand stopped mid-air. A warm something spread from his hand and enveloped my face.
“Healing magic?”
The throbbing pain in my jaw disappeared. Cautiously, I ran my tongue over the inside of my mouth. The wound had healed as if it had never been there.
“You don’t need to concern yourself with a sinner like me.”
Eon murmured the word “sinner,” as though filtering sand from his mouth.
“Shall I leave the fate of this sinner to you?”
“Of course.”
“But, you’re from the Highborn Count family. If you wish to defend her, I will allow it.”
“The one who broke the law can no longer be considered part of the Highborn Count family,” the Count replied, bowing so low it almost seemed humiliating. “I leave everything to the Tower Master’s discretion.”
“Remember, this was entirely his decision, and he acted alone.”
What is this? While I was standing there like a fool, it seemed like I was going to take the fall for everything.
‘Why does this always happen to me?’
In my past life, I was also an orphan. I could accept that I had no parents, but not having any friends was miserable. At first, people showed some interest in my exotic looks, but that was about it. We never progressed into relationships that could be called friendships.
I thought it was because I had nothing. So, I worked hard, earned scholarships, and got into a prestigious university. I used various part-time jobs to cover my living expenses. I split my spare time between improving my foreign language skills and winning competitions to build my resume.
Once I got a job, things got better enough for me to save money. But still, no one was around me. Even though people came to me with ulterior motives, I was so starved for companionship that I would have accepted them. But there was nothing.
It felt like the entire world was pushing me away, as if I didn’t belong here.
After my dog passed away, I completely lost the will to live. I tried to live through it by quitting all the medication I had been taking. I had prepared perfectly, and that night, my car crashed into the guardrail.
‘I thought that was the end.’
If I was going to live this life again, being possessed by someone wouldn’t make any difference. This time, I was an orphan again, and there was no one by my side. To make matters worse, my face looked similar to how it did in my past life. The only difference was that my hair color was a bit lighter, and my eyes had turned green.
‘What is wrong with me?’
Just as the word resignation was about to take over my heart, a deep sense of unfairness and anger suddenly surged from within me. The faces of those I had longed for love from overlapped with the face of the Count.
“You shouldn’t say that! Wasn’t this all your doing, Count? You told me to make the potion, and you were the one who sold it, wasn’t it you?”
“What… how dare you?”
The Count’s face turned bright red at my unexpected rebuttal. He had probably assumed I would quietly take the blame for everything, just like I always did.
“He is an orphan I sponsored. There’s no need to listen to the words of such a low-born person.”
“You said we were family! You told me I just had to do whatever you said because we’re family, didn’t you?”
The Count turned his head away from me and appealed to Eon.
“Perhaps the child needed money and did this behind my back.”
“I never saw any of the money from the potions!”
The petty argument continued. It was surprising that we were having this kind of bickering in front of a murderer.
“Enough.”
At a cold word, the Count’s mouth snapped shut.
“I have things I need to discuss with Miss Selena. Could you please step outside, Count?”
The polite tone carried an undeniable air of authority. In the end, the Count left, and the door was shut.
The cozy air in my sanctuary froze immediately. A lingering scent of burnt wood, the same one I had smelled in my dreams, reached me.
I spoke as though Eon was staying to interrogate me.
“I know I’ve done wrong, so I’ll accept the punishment. I’ll go to prison.”
I thought that prison might be the safest place for me right now.
“Prison?”
Eon’s slight laugh made the word “prison” sound weightless.
“How about we stop with these pointless talks?”
A few steps later, the space between Eon and me quickly closed. I hesitated and stepped back, only to find myself blocked by the desk.
Eon leaned in slightly, bringing his face close to my ear.
“I’m here to take you with me.”
