Naturally, I was being particularly careful around him
Even though he knew that I was someone else, he was a sinister person whose true intentions were unknown.
“It seems like Simone is watching over you.”
“What?”
“Earlier today, when we’re raided the bandits’ hideout.”
Arkhangelo began to explain.
“Simone sent you to check the barracks in the back. He said he would stay behind to untie the kidnaped people.”
“Yes, that’s true.”
“That’s unlike Simone. Normally, he wouldn’t put others in danger.”
“Oh…”
“Moreover, at that time, Simone had me stay behind to help him. In other words, Simone deliberately sent you into a potentially dangerous situation alone. Isn’t that strange?”
“Yes, it’s definitely strange.”
I suddenly felt a chill and tensed up.
Did Simone deliberately put me in danger?
What could he have seen in me that made him do that?
“Why would he do that? Did he want to kill me?”
“I don’t think so. In the end, didn’t Simone save you? Maybe Simone…”
He spoke while narrowing his eyes as though he was thinking.
“He would have just wanted to confirm something.”
“Confirm something?”
“How you would act when alone, or how you would react when in danger.”
“What would he gain from confirming that? I’m just an ordinary person without exceptional magic skills.”
“Simone’s intuition is remarkably accurate. There must have been something he wanted to verify about you.”
Ah, I see.
So, he wanted to confirm that I was indeed someone else in that moment.
Like my magical abilities or mathematical skills.
“Well, I don’t care what secrets that you have. But now that Simone has noticed, you should be careful.”
“I don’t really have any secrets, but I’ll be careful.”
After finishing our conversation and returning to the inn, I couldn’t stop thinking about Simone.
It seemed like I would need to talk to him soon. I doubted I would sleep tonight.
***
Contrary to my expectation of not being able to sleep, I slept very well that night. Perhaps it was the effect of the alcohol.
And that night, I had a dream.
It was a memory from before I possessed this body, a memory of the original Seraphina.
“Dad, Dad!”
“Dad, let’s solve a puzzle together!”
“Father, thank you for raising me.”
“Father, my debutante ball is coming soon! I’m so excited!”
It was a memory of the young Seraphina when she lived with Maquess Viviana.
Until she was seventeen and debuted into society, Seraphina had a very good relationship with the Marquess. Even during her adolescence at fifteen and sixteen, she got along well with him.
Having lost her mother at a young age and being raised by her father, Seraphina seemed to lack nothing in her life.
Marquess Viviana was a good father to her and raised her well.
Even though she struggled with feelings of inferiority because she couldn’t use magic, the Marquess assured her it was okay. Instead, Seraphina learned to play the piano, embroider, and arrange flowers.
Seraphina’s childhood seemed perfect…
“Wow.”
As soon as I woke up from the dream, I let out a gasp. It felt like something had changed in my body.
“I have memories now.”
I now had memories of Seraphina’s childhood.
I didn’t understand the mechanism, but after dreaming, her memories had transferred to me.
‘She was really interested in the humanities.’
As her memories absorbed into me, I also learned about the philosophical and scholarly trends of this world.
The knowledge I originally possessed wasn’t very different, so I could see that the scholarship in this world and mine had developed similarly.
‘But how did I gain these memories?’
Could this also be a trick played by the original Seraphina Viviana?
Anyway, it was time to leave this village again, so I packed my bags and went down to the first floor of the inn.
It seemed like the male leads were already downstairs, preparing a meal.
Their ordinary appearance was the same as usual, but what surprised me was something else.
“Seraphina, did you sleep well?”
Arkhangelo greeted me first!
“Oh my goodness!”
When I covered my mouth in shock at Arkhangelo’s voice, it seemed I wasn’t the only one surprised.
“……….!”
“That’s truly astonishing.”
“Oh my goodness! Arkhangelo called someone name! And he even greeted someone! Hey, are you really Arkhangelo? Just be honest!”
“Ugh, even when I try to be nice, you guys make such a fuss!”
Arkhangelo got angry again, but we were all moved by his change. The fact that he greeted someone was truly unbelievable.
When we started teasing him exaggeratedly, Arkhangelo frowned deeply. To appease him, I said,
“People can change. Even someone as stubborn and ill-tempered as Arkhangelo can improve a little.”
“Are you on my side or teasing me?”
“Humans always shed their skin and renew themselves. And they always move towards a new life.”*
* Friedrich Nietzsche, The Joyous Knowledge
“What do you mean?”
“Uh, I was just saying.”
Everyone looked at me curiously, so I cleared my throat.
To change the mood, I brought out Aurora’s golden box.
“It seems there’s something in this box. But I couldn’t open it right away.”
“…It’s a code.”
As Ghieuspe said, the box required a code to open.
There was a letter from Aurora attached to one side of the box.
“Hello, my friends!
You must be tracking me. This letter is written assuming you have tracked my traces well and come to Berlena.
First of all, thank you for coming all the way to Berlena to find me! It must have been hard to get here. But don’t worry, I’ll guide you from here!
My next destination is written inside this box. You can find out if you solve it!”
“What kind of creative method is this?”
“……..?”
“Aurora, she really gives me a headache.”
While everyone was dumbfounded by Aurora, I smiled confidently.
“There’s no need for that. I can easily find out Aurora’s location with my tracking magic.”
After saying that and confidently initiating the magic, I was taken aback.
“What, what is this!”
Aurora’s location was nowhere to be found, and the light just flickered!
This is strange, this magic usually never fails because I use it quite often.
As I was getting anxious and fidgeting, Ghieuspe spoke up.
“It’s a magic interference wave.”
“A magic interference wave? Does it interfere with magic?”
“That’s right.”
“But how did Aurora… Ah.”
When I frowned, having guessed something, Ghieuspe nodded as if confirming my thoughts.
“She hired a mage.”
Ah, so she probably hired a mage from the Magic Tower?
“Damn, Aurora….”
Now we can’t even use tracking magic anymore, and we have no choice but to use Aurora’s hints!
In the end, we started deciphering the code Aurora had written.
[A valuable painting disappeared from the museum in the capital city of Pérez.
The museum curator was able to secure a testimony from a witness who saw someone stealing the painting. However, the witness couldn’t identify the thief’s face.
As a result of the police investigation, they were able to identify one thief. They also found four suspects.
These suspects said the following:
A: I did not steal the painting.
B: A is lying.
C: B is lying.
D: B stole the painting.
Later, it was revealed that three of them were lying and only one was telling the truth.
Who is the thief?’]
“Why do we have to figure out who it is?”
“Just use the lie detector! Didn’t Princess Eva develop one?”
Raffaelo and Arkhangelo grumbled, and Ghieuspe and I exchanged glances.
Ghieuspe, seeming reluctant to explain, signaled for me to explain to the group. So I opened my mouth to speak.
“We can solve this.”
🍓 :
By the way, there seems to be a typing error in the previous chapter regarding Seraphina’s father’s status, in the initial raw I believe it was written that Viviana’s family had the status of a Count, but now he is referred to as Marquess Viviana. So in the near future I will fix the previous chapter so you guys won’t be confused about the sudden change.
