Episode 68

Upon reflection, there was nothing wrong with Rosalind’s concerns. I needed to reconsider meeting the princess.

Rosalind’s detached attitude—one that could easily let go of people or things she had once cared for—was something I had observed many times. Whether it was with people or the shop she’d worked so hard on, it was all the same.

She had lived far more lives than I could imagine, and undoubtedly, her life was far more complicated and full of stories than I could comprehend.

I tossed and turned on the small bed all night, the silver hair reflecting the moonlight, making it hard to sleep.

* * *

The guest sent by the princess arrived at the shop the next afternoon.

A tall woman entered, her sharp posture betraying her identity as a knight.

She seemed somewhat out of place in the shop, casting uncertain glances around the room. Her eyes eventually landed on the partition in the sitting area.

She strode across the shop, her movements hampered by the voluminous skirts of the women around her.

Watching her, I realized why her sword’s scabbard pattern seemed so familiar—she was one of the Crown Prince’s knights.

I approached her and held out my hands.

Startled by my sudden approach, her eyes narrowed with caution.

Slowly, I drew a small rectangle in the air with my fingers in front of her.

After a moment of hesitation, she seemed to remember something, her eyes widening.

“Ah.”

She said softly, as if confirming my identity.

I nodded in response.

She reached into her coat and handed me a small letter. I accepted it, tucked it away, and bowed my head in thanks.

She returned the bow and turned to leave.

Before she left, I held up a perfume sample, offering it to her with a smile.

She hesitated briefly, then nodded, seemingly shy.

I sprayed the perfume into the air, releasing Rosalind’s signature deep floral fragrance, natural and not overly artificial.

“This scent… it’s really lovely,” the knight remarked, a soft smile curling her lips.

I smiled back and pointed to the display of perfumes for sale.

She walked over, still a bit awkward, but clearly charmed by the scent, since she didn’t refuse and made her way to purchase one.

Watching her leave, I smiled contentedly.

Moments later, another customer entered the shop, and I greeted them with a polite bow.

***

That evening, I opened the letter.

It was sealed with a special kind of magic.

Back in Evelyn’s body, I pricked my finger to break the seal and began reading.

The content wasn’t much different from the previous letter. It contained more brief news about the Empress’s suspicious activities and a request to meet as soon as possible.

The handwriting was firm and deliberate, more rigid than usual.

At the end, she asked me to burn the letter once I finished reading it.

As always, I threw the letter into the fire above the stove, watching it burn to ash.

I understood the princess’s concern. Given that it involved the Empress, her caution was warranted.

However…

Had she asked me to burn the letter last time too?

My head felt foggy, perhaps due to fatigue. I couldn’t remember clearly.

She must have asked last time as well. That’s why I burned it immediately after reading.

I lay down on the bed and closed my eyes, only to open them again in Evelyn’s body.

When the soul hadn’t fully transferred, this happened frequently during sleep, causing the bodies to switch at random.

Even though the body had been lying in bed all day, my mind was so exhausted that I quickly drifted off to sleep again.

* * *

A sharp, biting wind cut through me like a blade.

My body jolted, and with a sudden pang in my stomach, my eyes snapped open.

I couldn’t see anything.

“Ugh!”

I gasped.

A sensation of suffocation gripped my chest, almost as if my heart were being squeezed in terror. Before I could scream, a cloth was shoved into my mouth.

I twisted my body, not knowing what was happening.

I bit down hard on my lower lip.

I prayed this was just another nightmare, a product of my weakened mind.

If it were a dream, I could at least wake up from it.

But it wasn’t.

Any flicker of hope was shattered by the cold air and the chilling sensation against my skin.

Even as I tried not to panic, the overwhelming fear turned my mind completely blank.

Get it together.

You’ve seen worse things in your nightmares.

I needed to calm down and assess the situation.

The cold wind scraping against my legs told me that I was wearing the thin nightgown I had on when I went to sleep.

The pain in my stomach and the blood rushing to my head made it clear—I was being carried over someone’s shoulder. The darkness was caused by a blindfold over my eyes.

In short, I was being kidnapped.

I twisted my body again, but fear washed over me like a tidal wave.

Why? How?

I cursed my lingering attachments.

If I hadn’t been so reluctant, if I had fully transferred my soul, I wouldn’t be going through this now.

I could barely breathe.

How do I inhale?

How do I exhale?

It felt like I was going to suffocate.

Whose body was this?

Whose body was I kidnapped in?

I tried to summon my senses to move into another body.

But I couldn’t feel another body.

There were only two possibilities: either the bodies were too far apart, or one of them was dead.

No, no, no, no, no!

Shaking my head in denial, I imagined the worst-case scenario when my body was suddenly thrown down.

“Evelyn Rodore.”

The voice that called my name made me freeze, my eyes widening under the blindfold, even though I couldn’t see.

I had heard this voice before.

A woman’s voice—elegant and…

“Filthy, despicable wretch.”

It was even more terrifying than someone yelling. The venom in her words felt like a promise of death.

While shouting might imply a mere beating, this voice felt like it carried a threat of murder.

The woman in front of me had the power to make that threat a reality, and my fear only grew.

“You Rodores should have stopped when I turned a blind eye to your disgusting actions.”

My son…

A booted foot slammed into my shoulder and stomach.

“Ugh!”

Something surged up from within me, and I gagged.

Insults and raw violence rained down on me, and I was powerless to stop it.

The beating continued for what felt like an eternity.

Eventually, the blows stopped, and I was left gasping.

“Take her away.”

Someone grabbed my arm roughly, pulling me to my feet.

Only when my nose scraped against something rough did I realize I was bleeding.

My legs trembled uncontrollably.

I couldn’t stand properly.

Something sharp pressed against my neck.

“Walk straight.”

The voice was as cold as the night air.

I could faintly smell a familiar scent coming from the metal-clad figure beside me.

It was the perfume I had recommended the previous day—Rosalind’s perfume.

I remembered the person who had purchased it.

I had thought they were one of the Crown Prince’s people.

Nausea rose within me.

Run!

Someone shoved me from behind.

For a moment, I thought I had simply been pushed, but no.

My soul was being forced out of my body.

I could feel the sticky, sluggish pull as my soul clung to the body, refusing to let go.

I twisted, trying to break free, but the blade sank into my shoulder.

I screamed in pain, my body convulsing violently.

Run, run, run!

I shouted the words, though I wasn’t sure if they were audible.

I yanked at the part of me that remained attached to my body, forcibly tearing my soul free.

An excruciating pain, like being torn in two, flooded my senses.

My vision blurred, growing bright and then turning pitch black.

I gasped.

I could breathe again.

“Haaah.”.

I had to breathe.

My heart pounded in my chest like a fish gasping for air on dry land.

“Gah, gah…!”

I coughed, retching up something I couldn’t quite identify.

My throat stung as if it had been scratched raw.

I pressed my palms to the ground, feeling the rough, grainy dirt beneath me.

But there was more than that.

My head felt drenched, sticky with some kind of liquid.

My whole face was smeared with it.

Where am I?

I lifted my head, squinting at the sliver of light seeping through a crack in the door.

That’s when I realized I was in a dark, unfamiliar room.

This wasn’t Rosalind’s house.

This wasn’t where I had been staying… this was…

“A storage room.”

The voice, so close, startled me so much that I shuddered violently.

Trembling, I turned toward the source of the sound, and there was Rosalind, approaching me.

Tears welled up in my eyes, blurring my vision.

Her arms were bound, but mine were free—both hands and legs.

“How did you end up in this body? How is that even possible? You…”

Rosalind trailed off, as if unable to finish her thought.

“First, let’s think about getting out of here,” she said.

I nodded in agreement.

I tried to undo the ropes binding her, but I was clumsy and only ended up cutting into her skin.

Rosalind gestured toward the door with her chin.

“Stop that and try the door. I haven’t heard any movement outside for a while.”

I twisted the doorknob.

Of course, it was locked.

I threw my body against the door.

Thud. Thud.

My shoulder ached as if it might pop out, but I didn’t care.

We had to escape.

After what felt like an eternity of slamming into the door, it finally burst open, and I tumbled into the light.

Outside the storage room, a table and two chairs were set up.

I helped Rosalind out of the room.

“They came to kidnap Evelyn. They know about me, but they don’t seem to realize who you are in that body. They must think you’re someone unrelated who got caught up in this.”

I grabbed a candle and used it to burn through the ropes binding Rosalind.

It seemed like she might have burned herself in the process, but she didn’t show any sign of discomfort.

On the table, I noticed a deck of cards scattered across it.

It looked like the people guarding this place had been passing the time playing games.

‘Passing the time?’

A shiver ran down my spine.

Why hadn’t they dealt with us right away?

Were they waiting for someone?

Whoever it was, the thought of that person arriving filled me with dread.

From the way the cards were laid out, it seemed they had left in a hurry, possibly to fetch whoever was supposed to come.

Realizing this, I grabbed Rosalind’s arm, shaking her.

She seemed to have already reached the same conclusion before I did.

Without a word, she began drawing a magic circle with the candle wax.

Footsteps echoed from above.

It wasn’t just one or two people.

Rosalind grabbed my hand.

She muttered an incantation, and flames sprang to life, forming a protective ring around us. The fire didn’t burn or feel hot—it just enveloped us.

In an instant, the scenery shifted.

It felt like my body had been spun around in circles.

Even the air was different.

The musty smell of the underground cellar was gone, replaced by the fresh, crisp scent of the forest.

My knees gave out beneath me, and I collapsed.

When I came to my senses, Rosalind and I were standing in front of a small cabin.

“If I hadn’t prepared ahead of time, we would’ve been finished…” Rosalind muttered, letting go of my hand without a second thought.

I took a step toward her, intending to ask something, but before I could, a horrible scream erupted from my mouth.

I hadn’t intended to scream, and the sound of my own voice startled me. I clapped my hands over my ears.

“Hey!”

Rosalind rushed to my side, shaking my arm.

I looked up at her and saw an expression I had never seen on her before—she was genuinely alarmed.

I wasn’t screaming by choice. It felt like a part of me inside was dying.

Tears poured down my face, soaking it completely.

Rosalind, looking down at me, gave a bitter smile, more than I had ever seen from her before.

“You’ve finally become yourself.”

I lowered my head.

My hair, which hung down before me, wasn’t silver under the moonlight—it was crimson.

Only then did I realize that the sticky liquid covering my face was blood.

“Congratulations on your new life, Lily.”

‘The lily drenched in blood.’

I heard Rosalind call me by that name as I collapsed into unconsciousness.