Chapter 33

I told both of them everything.

“Five years, you said?”
“For me, it felt like only five months.”

I gave them a messy, hard-to-believe explanation, but Keith and Mari believed me without any doubt. Keith even muttered, like something finally made sense: “Ah, so that’s why…” When I asked if anything had seemed strange to him, he stared at me for a moment, then said, “It’s nothing.”

He didn’t focus on the possession or the five years I lost—he was more concerned about the pain I went through in those months.

“Then… is that woman dead?” he asked.

I thought of Linus.

“No. She should still be alive. Time flows differently there. Five months in her world were five years here. I saw a few months of her life in a dream.”

“Hm. Then is there a chance she might come back into your body?”

It wasn’t impossible, but very unlikely. Her body was dying, and she wouldn’t be able to call me again.

“Linus can’t get her back. Not ever. Once he understands that, he’ll give up on me.”

“I don’t know… that guy doesn’t seem like the type to give up easily.”

“…”

“An eye for an eye. People like him don’t stop until they’ve been hurt just as badly.”

“Then what should I do…?”

“For now, we just have to keep running.”

Keith’s answer was disappointing.

But his voice didn’t match the look in his eyes. His purple eyes were filled with deep determination. I realized Keith was not exactly the simple person he pretended to be. He was much better than Linus, but he had a stubborn side too—maybe that’s something all powerful people have in common.

“Just don’t forget your grudge. When the time comes, repay it tenfold.”

“I hope I can do that.”

“First, we’ll need a new identity for you…”

Keith sighed deeply. This kingdom, Yullia, was practically under Linus’s control. And since we were near the border, the guards would be extra strict.

Keith leaned back in his chair, moving his head lazily—then suddenly sat up straight and looked at me.

“You don’t have any attachment to that face, right?”

“Take this. And don’t take it off. Here are some clothes… and—”
“W-wait. Oh.”
“Mari, come here. These are your things. Take care of them properly.”
“Yes, Sir Keith.”

Mari replied and began organizing the clothes Keith had scattered. Even though her prosthetic arm must’ve made things hard, she moved quickly and skillfully with one hand. While working, she also offered her opinion.

“I’ll handle the packing. Please don’t touch it.”
“Yeah?”
“If you try, you’ll just mess it up more.”
“Haha, let’s each do what we’re good at.”

I stood there awkwardly, watching them. I had no idea what was happening. Keith looked at me and said:

“Try it on. What are you doing?”

“Yes, hurry up! I’m really curious!”

Mari looked at me with sparkling eyes. Even Keith, who had been rummaging through bags, paused and looked up.

“You think something this small can fool Linus?”
“The smarter someone is, the easier it is to trick them with simple things.”

“…”

“You said you didn’t care about that face, right?”

Then there’s no reason to hesitate, Keith’s eyes seemed to say.

“You know you’re pretty, don’t you? But even if you don’t like it, it’s not your fault people go crazy over your face.”

“I said I hate this face.”

“Then why do you look so grumpy?”

I really didn’t care about this face. I couldn’t. The only things I ever heard about it were how disgusting it was—because I looked like my mother. My grandmother liked it, but after she died, all I got were insults. I used to wish I looked like Grace, who resembled my father. Then maybe they would have seen me as part of the family.

“I thought you’d do something worse to my face…”

Right after I said I didn’t care about my face, Keith handed me a plain silver ring. He said it had magic. Probably magic that could change my appearance. The ring was now sitting in my hand.

“What did you expect?”
“Maybe a scar… or something cut off.”
“…Really?”
“Yeah. I was ready for that.”

I thought maybe if I lost an ear, it would be okay—I had two anyway. I licked the spot where I had a missing tooth. Keith looked horrified.

“Hey, come on… I worked so hard to heal you and you’re just—”

“It wouldn’t stop me from living.”
“Don’t tell me… you were going to run away on your own?”

“…”

They both stared at me, shocked—even Mari looked horrified.

“Oh no, Lady Florence! How could you think something so awful?”
“Wow, you’re really scary…”

“I had no choice. I can’t walk around with this face. And if I messed it up, maybe Linus would give up even if he caught me again…”

If my face was burned, even if the real me came back, maybe Linus wouldn’t want me.

I touched the silver ring. I knew magic like this existed. I just didn’t consider it because I couldn’t use magic myself. Plus, even simple enchanted items were super expensive. I had nothing—there was no way I could afford something like this.

Wearing a hood wouldn’t be enough. I was going to dye my hair and scar my own face. Even small changes in appearance can make a big difference.

Maybe Keith read my thoughts. He muttered:

“Good thing I found you…”
“You really did well, Sir Keith.”

For the first time, Mari praised Keith instead of me. Keith clicked his tongue.

“Hurry up and put it on. Stop hesitating.”

I paused, then slid the heavy silver ring onto my finger. It slipped on smoothly and fit perfectly. I closed my eyes—then opened them. Nothing felt different.

“Wow…”
“Oh…”

Strange gasps came from both of them. I opened my eyes to see Mari and Keith staring at me. Mari kept looking at me and asked:

“Um… I think you look even more stunning now… Like, no one would be able to not stare at you…”

I got nervous. What had happened?

Keith handed me a mirror—the same kind he’d given me when we first met.

I looked into it—and said in disbelief:

“You want me to run away looking like this?”

“They say to hide a tree in a forest! Oh wait… maybe this isn’t the same…”

He laughed loudly. I was too stunned to laugh.

In the small mirror was a face I didn’t know. My brown hair had become beautiful golden blonde, and my blue eyes were now a lovely shade of purple—just like Keith or Lila Green. It wasn’t just the color. My whole face looked different. We looked like siblings now.

Keith stared at me with an unreadable expression.

“What?” I asked.

“…Just thinking. If I were a woman, maybe I’d look like that. It’s weird to imagine.”

“…”

I almost took the ring off.