“Maybe the target was either me or the Duchess.”
“We don’t know who they were aiming for yet, but since it could have been you, Seraphina, you need to be careful.”
“Ahhhh….”
I sincerely hoped that Princess Eva didn’t know I was here.
Ugh, I have no idea why she’s so obsessed with me. This is just…
– “You must stay in this magic tower.”
The tower master, supposedly the strongest in history, tried to confine me.
“Lady Viviana, please be on my side.”
A princess from another country was desperate to get involved with me.
“Sera, let’s see you try to run away again.”
And now, even a princess from the kingdom was fixated on me?
Why is everyone suddenly acting like this?
It’s like the synopsis for a romance fantasy novel practically writes itself….
As we were wrapping up the disassembly of the automaton, Simone spoke up.
“Seraphina, by the way, why do you think Aurora’s maid is so suspicious?”
“Oh… It’s just that she looks oddly similar to the people from my world. I suspect she might not actually be from the Eastern Continent but, like me, came to this world from another one.”
“Ah, I see. Hmm.”
Simone tilted his head, seemingly deep in thought.
Meanwhile, I continued speculating about that dimension traveler.
‘Could she be a reader like me? Or maybe she’s the author? Oh, she could even be a troll.’
A troll who got dragged into the story after leaving complaints in the comments section, a reader hit by a truck while walking and reading, or an author who got transported into their own completed story… all of these were common cases.
“What was your world like?”
“The city I lived in had really tall buildings. Since the land was small but there were so many people, everyone built high-rise structures.”
The faint image of Seoul’s skyline, now blurred in my memory, came to mind.
“People usually traveled by subway. It’s kind of like a train… but it runs underground. Oh, and there are buses too, which are like large cars.”
“A train running underground? That’s impressive.”
“Some technologies were more advanced than here, while others weren’t as developed. Especially automaton technology—it couldn’t compare to what exists in this world.”
Talking about the world I used to live in after such a long time made me feel nostalgic. Is everyone back there doing well? Will I ever be able to return to that world?
“Simone, are you interested in the world I used to live in?”
“Well, it’s not so much that I’m interested in that world….”
Simone whispered gently.
“I’m interested in you, Seraphina. You’re an intriguing person in many ways. Naturally, there are differences between someone from another world and someone from this one. The more I get to know you, the more curious I become.”
“Hmm….”
His words might have felt a bit overwhelming, but I understood Simone. For someone’s first real friend, having thoughts like that wasn’t too strange.
“Do you consider our companions your friends, too?”
“For now, yes. Raffaelo, Ghieuspe, and Arkhangelo are all special to me in their own ways. Not as much as you, but they’re still friends.”
“Then why not take a bit more interest in them, too? Having more friends is a good thing, isn’t it?”
“Of course, I plan to open my heart to them….”
Simone muttered with a thoughtful expression.
“But I don’t know if they can ever be as important to me as you are, Seraphina.”
“But they’re all good people.”
“I know that. Raffaelo is fun, Ghieuspe is reliable, and Arkhangelo is… hmm….”
“He’s funny.”
“Yes, that’s true. Arkhangelo is funny.”
For some reason, Arkhangelo seemed to be getting the short end of the stick here.
“But I realized earlier—Seraphina means something more to me.”
“…Huh?”
“When I saw you standing so dangerously in front of the automaton, I felt it.”
“You did?”
“The thought of you getting hurt scares me. You’re the only person I’ve shared my inner thoughts with.”
…Is this really okay?
I felt a little odd, but I decided to accept it.
Right, this must be the deficiency the original male leads have…. And I’m the one who understands that deficiency.
“When you say it like that, it makes me feel like I’m someone really special to you. But I guess I am.”
“Don’t worry, I think you’re special too, Simone.”
“What about Arkhangelo?”
“Huh?”
“You’re close with Arkhangelo, aren’t you?”
“Arkhangelo is funny, and even though he doesn’t seem like it, he’s surprisingly warm. So yes, I consider him a friend.”
Even though I hadn’t done anything wrong, I felt the need to explain myself, so I said that.
“And Ghieuspe? You seem to have grown closer to Ghieuspe lately.”
“Oh, Ghieuspe is the type who draws attention, too. He’s a friend as well.”
This is strange. Why am I explaining myself like this?
As I was trying to process the meaning behind his words, he suddenly asked another question.
“I’d like to know now—can you tell me?”
“Tell you what?”
“What I should call you.”
“Well, Seraphina works since that’s who I am….”
“No, but I’d like to know your original name.”
I hesitated for a moment. For some reason, revealing my original name felt embarrassing.
But at the same time, I felt a desire to share my true self with someone. Humans all have a longing to leave traces of themselves, and in my case, it seemed that trace was my name.
For some reason, I felt it was okay to tell Simone my name. Slowly, I opened my mouth.
“…My name was Sera.”
My parents had given me that name, hoping it would be easy to use even in foreign countries. Coincidentally, it was quite similar to Seraphina.
“Sera, huh? It feels like fate that you ended up in this body.”
“I’ve thought the same sometimes.”
“Then, is it okay if I call you Sera?”
“…Yes.”
Damn, I didn’t understand why I felt so embarrassed. It was like living my whole life behind a mask and finally taking it off for the first time.
But after sharing my name with him, I felt closer to him than before. It was as if he had become one of the most intimate connections I had in this world.
Just then, Simone tilted his head toward me and spoke in a hushed voice.
“Sera, if you’re afraid of Princess Eva….”
“Yes?”
“Would you run away with me?”
“…What?”
I stared at him in shock, but Simone seemed entirely serious.
He was looking at me with an enticing expression, genuinely suggesting we escape together!
“If you want, I can run away with you. There’s really no need to force yourself to fight Princess Eva. If we head to the Northern Continent, she won’t be able to follow us.”
I couldn’t understand why Simone was making such a suggestion and could only blink at him in confusion. Seeing this, he kindly explained.
“What I mean is that you don’t have to feel burdened to confront her directly.”
“Oh….”
“What do you think? Shall we escape together? I’ll follow you.”
He is so smart and sly. Making her his and leading her to the path he wants. Love them all