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Chapter 09………………………………………………………
“Only now?”
Of course, it wasn’t that repentance itself was wrong. No—if anything, the duke’s attitude was so sincere that I almost wondered why he was going this far.
But it didn’t change the fact that it was too late. If I had truly been Erina, I probably would have been moved. I might have questioned him in disbelief, or perhaps even burst into tears from being overwhelmed with emotion.
But unfortunately, I wasn’t Erina. I was merely someone else wearing her body.
If only he had repented a few days earlier, the real Erina could have received that apology.
The thought saddened me. But I folded away both that sadness and the anger rising at the duke’s belated apology, pushing them deep into a corner of my heart.
I had nothing to gain by acting emotionally. What mattered most right now was figuring out why the duke was acting like this.
‘No… maybe why he did it isn’t what matters.’
What mattered was that the duke’s attitude had changed from the original story. And compared to the original, it was a positive change.
‘But what am I even supposed to say in a situation like this?’
This was awkward. Really awkward. Even the real Erina would probably have been at a loss if her usually indifferent father suddenly bowed his head and apologized like this.
“…It’s alright, Father. It’s only natural that you acted for the sake of the woman you loved.”
After agonizing over it for a long time, that pitifully stiff response was all I could come up with. But I genuinely couldn’t think of anything else to say.
‘Ah, as expected…’
And since I had a rough idea of how incredibly magnanimous that line must have sounded, I swallowed a sigh when I saw the duke’s expression change.
‘Should I just let him misunderstand?’
Honestly, I couldn’t think of anything better to say, and sometimes it was safer to let people misunderstand things a little.
Thinking that, I subtly avoided the duke’s gaze. Since the very fact that I wasn’t the real Erina was already a deception toward him, adding a little more dishonesty on top of that shouldn’t matter, right?
…It had to not matter. Whether I liked it or not, I would have to live as Erina from now on.
Ignoring the faint stab of guilt pricking at my conscience, I feigned innocence.
People always say it’s happier not to know the truth sometimes. Right, right. If you knew everything, even a burning heart would cool down instantly.
Still, I didn’t think I could keep looking at the duke’s expression for long, so I quickly searched for something to change the subject to. And it turned out not to be very far away.
“Father, about that.”
The duke turned his head. Confusion flickered in his eyes as he looked at the Lindwurm egg I pointed at.
“Yes, that?”
“Yes. Brother Russell gave it to me… but there’s something I’m curious about.”
“Go ahead.”
“How do you hatch that egg?”
To be honest, I was still conflicted. If I sold the Lindwurm egg, I would definitely get a huge amount of money for it.
But on the other hand, the Lindwurm’s healing abilities were undeniably tempting.
Because in the original story, Erina was assassinated. Of course, I planned to do everything possible to escape or twist the original plot so that wouldn’t happen, but people always say you never know what life will bring.
‘What’s the point of having money if you’re dead!’
It’s not like you can spend money after taking it to the grave. You have to survive first before anything else matters.
‘And I don’t even know who sent the assassin or who the culprit is.’
So the more means I had to protect myself, the better. Especially since my awakened ability was pathetic.
The duke furrowed his brows at my question, then asked with a displeased expression,
“Didn’t Russell tell you?”
“He looked too flustered to explain.”
In truth, Russell had practically fled the room, so it was true he hadn’t had time to explain.
At my words, the duke let out a long sigh. Judging by his attitude, though, he didn’t seem to be blaming Russell.
“You use a magic stone. However, the moment it hatches, it recognizes the first being it sees as its mother, so it must be hatched when no one else is around.”
“I see.”
Like a duckling imprinting on the first thing it sees. Thinking that, I nodded, and the duke added further explanation.
“In the wild, the mother carries mana-infused objects to the egg to hatch it. Once enough mana accumulates, the hatchling uses that mana to break through the hard shell. I heard the hatching process takes around ten minutes.”
After saying that, he briefly studied my expression before continuing.
“If you want, I’ll have a magic stone brought immediately.”
At the mention of a magic stone, I looked toward the turquoise egg. As I stared at the jewel-like shell shimmering beautifully, I thought for a moment before speaking.
“If the Lindwurm had been born from Mother’s hands… would she have been completely cured?”
“…I obtained it hoping something like that would happen. But now there’s no way to know whether it truly would have.”
I also found that regrettable. What would things have been like if the duchess had lived?
But just as the duke said, there was no way to know anymore. It had become something that would never happen.
Then what should I do? What would be the best way to survive?
“…Father. I want to hatch the Lindwurm.”
The decision came surprisingly quickly. A Lindwurm with healing abilities. If the duke had placed his hopes on it curing the duchess’s illness, then its powers had to be extraordinary.
If so, maybe it was alright for me to place value on that hope too.
‘There was a hint that one of the male leads assassinated Erina, though…’
But that was only according to the original story. At this point, it was practically impossible for events to continue exactly as written.
Had there ever been a possession story where someone who knew the original plot entered the world and things still followed the original exactly?
Besides, there were already three people acting so differently from the original that it could be called complete character collapse, so there was no point even bringing it up.
Ah, of course, unless some ridiculous “the world’s corrective force” nonsense applied.
‘Please don’t let that kind of thing exist, seriously!’
Because that would mean no matter what I did, a hopeless future where I died anyway was waiting for me. I absolutely refused to accept that. Which was exactly why I needed the Lindwurm even more.
‘Besides, it’s a dragon! Who could just pass that up?!’
When you think fantasy, the most iconic creature is a dragon, isn’t it? And I could actually see one in real life! There was no way I could miss that opportunity!
And besides, that eggshell. If it remained relatively intact after hatching, wouldn’t it also be valuable in its own way?
The duke’s expression brightened. It wasn’t a dramatic change, but compared to the gloomy, regret-filled look from before, it was far better.
“Then we’ll need to obtain magic stones.”
No, correction. The duke looked excited. As if he had been waiting for this exact moment, he sprang to his feet.
“I’ll prepare more than enough, Erina. Is there anything else you need?”
The way he looked at me—as though urging me to say anything at all, as though he could grant me countless more things beyond this—made me feel strangely pressured.
No, was it normal to take your daughter’s requests that seriously and passionately? I understood wanting to treat her better out of regret, but changing this suddenly was honestly overwhelming!
‘You have to seize opportunities when they come!’
They say even rolling around in dog poop is better than dying! Something I want to ask for? I have tons! Father, I’d be deeply grateful if you immediately gifted me a secluded mansion to live quietly in and enough money to laze around for the rest of my life!
‘No, wait!’
The moment he said he’d grant me anything, I was so tempted I almost forgot! I still didn’t know why the duke had suddenly started regretting things!
‘The duke is terrifying…!’
To think he could distract people with wealth and make them lose sight of the real issue for a moment… was this why he was a duke in the first place…?!
Resolving inwardly to be careful—extremely careful—when dealing with him in the future, I opened my mouth.
“There’s something I want to ask, Father.”
“What is it? If it’s something I can answer, I’ll answer anything.”
The moment I said I had a question, the duke immediately sat down and adopted a posture of attentive listening. It was almost impeccably composed.
“Father… why did you suddenly start thinking about me? I’m a little curious about that.”
But the instant he heard my question, that composed demeanor cracked.
Whether he had never imagined I would ask that, or whether he had hoped I wouldn’t ask it at all, I couldn’t tell. But the duke was clearly struggling to maintain his composure.
“…Yes, I suppose you would be curious.”
Only after a long silence did a low, ragged voice finally escape his lips.
“While holding your mother’s… Penelope’s funeral, I realized something. I thought she had left without leaving anything behind, but that wasn’t true.”
The duke’s crimson eyes met mine. Countless emotions swirled within that distant gaze.
“I realized during the funeral that you were one of the treasures she left behind. And that I committed a sin against you… one I must spend my entire life apologizing for.”
His faintly trembling voice and guilt-ridden gaze made it clear the duke was speaking sincerely. But unfortunately, it still didn’t answer my question.
‘That can’t be the real reason.’
In the original story, after the funeral he had only ignored Erina even more. He had never regretted anything. So the duke’s explanation wasn’t convincing.
‘There’s something else, but it doesn’t seem like he intends to reveal it.’
And someone of the duke’s caliber would naturally be skilled enough to hide the real reason. There was probably no way to pry further.
“…I see.”
So I simply nodded lightly and smiled.
“Thank you for answering me, Father.”
But that was alright. There were still two more people left for me to question.
