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Chapter: 34
It seemed that Bin, who was in charge of selecting the advance team, was thinking the same thing.
“Relax your waist. Those fussy nobles will pick a fight, saying things like, ‘Who do you think you are, just a guard?’”
Just look at him—his head was already filled with thoughts of putting me on display at the banquet hall.
“You don’t need to exaggerate it that much. I’ll relax.”
“I’m not exaggerating. Those are things I’ve actually heard. Since you’re a woman, they might take you lightly and be even worse.”
“That’s a horrible thing to say. Is this enough?”
“Don’t let your shoulders droop too much either. Do you have time today?”
“Like this? …Yes.”
I was speaking as usual when I suddenly became aware of the gazes around me and hastily added the last word.
Bin let out a small laugh and nodded.
“That’s it. Like that.”
“What about my head?”
“If you don’t want to look weak, you still need to maintain a certain level of confidence. If you have time, after training, with me—”
“Like this?”
“That looks just right. What do you think?”
“Hmm…”
“Want to have dinner with me?”
“I think that sounds good. Uh—what did you say?”
I had been so focused on my posture in the mirror that I hadn’t properly heard Bin’s words.
Had something gone wrong with my ears? I felt like I’d just heard something strange.
He meant sparring together, right? Not having dinner together.
“Let’s have dinner together, Irlin.”
…So it wasn’t my ears—something was wrong with Bin’s brain.
Just yesterday, he was talking about how he might be a burden. Did he have some kind of change of heart?
There was no way he was suggesting a sweet little date like he did with the Crown Prince. He probably had something he wanted to say to me.
I did want to hear it, but unfortunately…
“Sorry. I already have plans.”
“Something important?”
“Yeah.”
“Very?”
“Yeah. Extremely.”
I had a promise with myself—to beat the hell out of that damn doppelgänger bastard.
* * *
“Um… Captain. Do you have a moment?”
Despite my original resolve to grab Rafel by the collar the instant I saw her, I ended up asking for a meeting in a rather submissive manner.
And so, when the two of us were alone in Rafel’s office—
I finally said it.
“This may be rude, but I’ve been holding a lot against you, Captain. So I’m going to grab you by the collar.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
At the same time as she spoke, the hand I had stretched out toward her collar was caught by Rafel.
That was when it happened.
A strange sensation ran through my entire body, and at the same time, an unfamiliar scene completely filled my vision.
* * *
She—Mona White—was the strongest being in the world.
That was an unchanging truth, a reality everyone in this world understood from the moment they were born.
As if someone had decided it beforehand.
Perhaps because it was such an obvious fact, no one ever questioned it.
No one except herself.
She often wondered, like clouds drifting through the sky—
Why was she the only one who lived forever, walking this lonely path? Why her, of all people?
She wanted to prove—to herself—that she was worthy of being the strongest.
She wanted to believe, with pride, that she deserved her special existence.
So, not content with excelling only in magic, she lived many lives over countless years, striving to become the best in every field.
At times, she was a physician who cured all the world’s diseases.
At other times, she was a wise ruler who embraced all the citizens of the empire.
And eventually, she became Rafel Isdun, a knight so powerful that no one could defeat her.
The only drawback was that, due to a treasure she had hidden in the imperial palace for fun, she had to remain there constantly.
But with magic, disguising herself with a new identity was never particularly difficult.
“…It was a novel?”
Then, one day—
She sensed an anomaly in the world.
Not something that could happen within the world’s natural cycle, like a natural disaster or the emperor’s death.
This was a catastrophe far beyond the world’s established boundaries.
At its center stood the creator of the world.
No—just an ordinary human who happened to be a writer.
“You? You’re the creator of this world… and of me?”
She sought out the creator.
The creator was trapped inside the body of a boy named Sys Header.
Why he created the world and her, and how he ended up trapped inside the world he made…
They talked about many things, and that was the end of it.
She had believed she held the world in her grasp, like a god.
But learning that everything was nothing more than the delusion inside an ordinary human’s mind—
That humiliation was unbearable.
So even though the thoughts of the people of the world often flowed into her mind, she consciously avoided paying attention to the creator.
If she treated it as though it never happened, perhaps she could return to her former life—beyond the strongest, dreaming of godhood itself.
That’s what she thought.
And yet—
Another anomaly occurred.
This time, right near the creator.
She didn’t seek out the girl named Irlin Header immediately. Later, they crossed paths by chance, and she passed by as if she knew nothing.
But she couldn’t stop paying attention.
Perhaps because the girl formed the foundation of her existence—unlike with the creator, she couldn’t control herself, no matter how much she tried to ignore her.
So she kept watching.
And in doing so, she realized something.
The creator’s love—a love that had never once been directed at her.
She couldn’t understand it.
“Why?”
Why love something you didn’t create—something that was simply born, unavoidable?
“Why?”
Why create them the same, yet love only the “real” one?
Was she nothing more than a fake?
“If…”
If she became real—
Would she receive love too?
The sky, dyed red by the setting sun, filled the window with crimson light. Her black eyes reflected the red glow as she stared into the distant void.
She made her decision.
She would steal what the real one had.
She would become real herself.
And finally receive the love she had never been given.
* * *
“…Hah!”
I gasped and yanked my hand away.
What the hell was that?
Had Rafel—no, Mona White—just shown me her memories?
“What is this?”
But Rafel looked just as shocked.
What was that reaction? Like she hadn’t expected it either.
“So it wasn’t intentional?”
“I didn’t do this.”
As if she’d read my thoughts, she explained, then added with a confused expression:
“You did.”
“Me?”
“You forcibly took my memories. Do you know what that means?”
“…What does it mean?”
“It means memories won’t be the only thing you take from me. How do I know? Because just now, some of my mana was drained. Only a little—but still.”
Now that she mentioned it, I did feel a strange energy surrounding my entire body.
So this was mana?
The original Irlin could use simple magic, so she was able to generate a small amount of mana.
But right after possessing this body, I had been too busy gripping a sword to pay attention to magic.
Because of that, I hadn’t felt or used mana even once until now.
‘She could use mana before, so why can’t she feel it at all now?’
That question had troubled Irlin’s parents as well, so this was actually convenient.
It might even help me perform my duties as a knight.
“You look pleased. After stealing something precious from me.”
Rafel sneered darkly, her face flushing.
Seeing that, I smiled even more brightly and sneered back.
“Of course I’m pleased. I finally get revenge on someone shameless enough to try and steal someone else’s family. Oh, and unlike you, I’m not shameless—this wasn’t intentional, so don’t take it too personally.”
The difference between me and Rafel was simple.
I had lived seven years as Irlin.
The original me was nothing but a rabid dog that bit and lunged at everything.
But Irlin was different.
She possessed the refined, cutting speech of high society—an ability to crush opponents politely and elegantly.
I had made her personality and skills my own, striving to act more like Irlin Header.
Rafel, still clinging to her original self, seemed at a loss over how to deal with me.
Her ragged breathing was proof enough.
How did I know?
Because that’s exactly how I breathe when I’m cornered.
“Captain. No—Mona White. Give my sister back.”
“……”
“Did you not hear me? Remove that damned magic wrapped around my sister’s neck. Right now.”
“I don’t want to.”
“…You don’t want to?”
“That’s right. I don’t! Who are you, barging into my world, humiliating me, and stealing what’s mine?”
“Get your facts straight. Did I start this? I didn’t do it on purpose. Just give my sister back, and I’ll disappear from your sight. So undo the magic.”
“I said no! No! She’s mine—mine!”
From that point on, Rafel started shouting hysterically, like a spoiled child throwing a tantrum.
What the hell? Is she really my doppelgänger?
No matter how awful my personality was, I was never this bad…
Come to think of it, the way she mocked the Crown Prince in my sister’s notebook had seemed excessive—even for me.
Unless…
“Oh.”
Could it be that using me as a motif meant my childhood personality—the phase when people called me a ‘tantrum-thrower’?
If that was the case, then what kind of horrific hybrid was this?
A brat with godlike power, rampaging and destroying everything in sight.
Alright. Think.
When I threw tantrums, how did my sister calm me down?
She explained, gently and patiently, why she couldn’t give me what I wanted.
“This is my world! Only I get to have everything in it! Go back to the world you originally lived in!”
“Okay, calm down and listen. I want that more than anyone. But why do you think I’m still trapped in this body? Because I can’t leave.”
“What’s with that attitude? Why are you treating me like a child? Do I look like a kid to you?”
“Honestly, kind of—ah, wait. Captain.”
I suddenly sensed danger and urgently called out to Rafel.
I felt someone approaching.
“Get out of my sight.”
But perhaps due to her agitation, she didn’t listen at all and thrust her hand forward.
That strange energy I’d felt earlier slammed straight into me.
Boom!
With a deafening crash, my body was hurled all the way to the door of Rafel’s office.
And at that moment, what collided with my back wasn’t a hard crystal door—
But the soft embrace of someone else.
“Ugh….”
