🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter : 8
“You missed me?”
When on earth had you ever seen me?
“Hmm, this place isn’t very nice.”
I was confused by the words spoken so abruptly.
But unlike me, the man acted as if everything were perfectly natural.
As if he had known this moment would come.
‘Wait… his eye color.’
The man slowly swept his gaze over the iron bars imprisoning me.
Each time the darkness shifted slightly, it felt as though his figure might appear—yet never fully did.
Still, I caught a glimpse of his eyes. They looked vividly blue, like shards of glass…
“Do you need anything? If it’s something I can get, I’ll do it. Just say the word.”
And then it hit me—this setup felt familiar.
It was exactly the same distance as when I used to watch monitors back at headquarters.
“Of course, there’s nothing I can’t obtain, so don’t feel burdened.”
“……”
I let his words go in one ear and out the other.
‘Was there ever a guy like this?’
Instead, I examined his silhouette from every angle.
Hmm, the more I looked, the more he seemed like a unique character.
‘But I can’t see his face, so no control window pops up—I can’t tell who he is.’
Even at a glance, he looked less like a side character and more like a male lead.
“Stop staring and answer. What do you need?”
A dimension that had collapsed and then been restored.
A character I had never seen in the original story.
That meaningful tone, as if he’d known I would be here.
‘Even the vibe he gives off feels strangely high-class.’
And on top of that, that generosity—saying he’d grant me anything.
Though he spoke casually, it felt more like the confidence of a predator at ease.
“Then… get me out of here.”
It was suspicious, but the atmosphere somehow made it impossible not to believe him.
“Get you out?”
“Yes.”
“Out of where?”
“Out of here.”
The wordplay-like exchange didn’t last long.
“So where exactly is this ‘here’ you’re talking about? Inside this prison?”
The man’s lips, curved in a faint smile, paused for a long moment before opening again.
“Or else…”
I hadn’t even heard the rest of his sentence.
Yet somehow, I felt like this man already knew something.
“Tell me first. Who are you?”
Still, I couldn’t just blurt out things about headquarters.
“If I tell you, will you really grant everything? Why? Just who are you, anyway?”
“Before that, let me ask you one thing.”
“What…?”
“Do you have any money? Or a house, jewels, land—things like that.”
Ha. The moment I heard that, all my strength drained away.
So that impressive silhouette belonged to nothing more than a thug shaking me down for money.
“I don’t have any.”
“You knew that, so why ask?”
“Then I’ll exclude money. What else can you give me?”
“Stop beating around the bush and negotiate properly. What do you want?”
At that, the man chuckled softly and asked back,
“Seems your head still hasn’t cleared.”
In an instant, the playfulness vanished from his tone.
“Negotiations are done by the one who can give. Not you—me.”
“……”
“What you can do isn’t negotiate. It’s beg.”
Well, I wanted to argue, but since I really was a beggar, I had nothing to say.
“Say it. ‘Please get me out of here.’ Politely.”
“What?”
“Don’t want to? Then forget it.”
As if telling me to take it or leave it, the man turned his back.
I thought, What kind of bastard is this? but—
“Please get me out of here! Please! Get me out, you crazy—please—you—cool—luck!”
I pleaded with all my might.
“You’re coughing pretty badly…”
His voice sounded incredulous, but I didn’t care.
“The air here is terrible. Anyway, please get me out of here. I don’t know who you are, but if I get out, I’ll definitely repay you.”
Up to now, not a single guard had passed by.
If I missed this man, I might not be able to get the Ariyan fruit before meeting the Crown Prince!
“Repay me, huh…”
The man, arms crossed, murmured as he looked at me.
“You’re even cuter in person.”
And then—
“Alright.”
Flash! My vision flickered, and all the strength drained from my body.
As my consciousness faded, one clear memory flashed by.
‘Blue eyes.’
Yes. Those eyes that had scanned the inside of the cage like a hunter searching for prey…
But my thoughts couldn’t continue any further.
“Wait patiently. I’ll come get you soon.”
Those words were the last thing I heard before I lost consciousness.
“Ugh… my head hurts.”
It was an unusually hard morning to wake up.
‘What time is it?’
I barely opened my eyes and reached for my phone to check the time.
‘At least I’m not late.’
I’d woken up later than usual, but there was still time before work.
Even after coming to a possession fantasy world, the instincts of a Korean office worker who lived and died by commuting hadn’t disappeared.
But when I glanced at the mirror one last time before leaving—
‘Red hair and amethyst-colored eyes.’
The person reflected there wasn’t me.
“Diel Yekaterina?”
It was unmistakably Diel Yekaterina from Everyone Is Afraid of Me.
Why is Diel here? What about me? Where did I go?
I reflexively reached out toward the mirror—
Crash!
“Ha—!”
With the sound of shattering glass, my head went blank.
‘Where am I? Is this a dream?’
In an instant, the entire world was swallowed by darkness.
As if someone had flipped off a light switch—pitch black.
Everything around me vanished.
The bed I’d just risen from, the front door that should have been in front of me, even my shoes and coat.
‘That woman…’
Only the shattered mirror remained, lying there in pieces.
And within the fragments, dozens of broken reflections of that woman.
A woman with a blank, foolish expression, as if she didn’t know who she was, where she came from, or where she should go.
—That’s a look I’ve never seen before.
“……”
—You really do look prettier when you smile.
I snapped my head up toward the voice.
‘There’s someone in there.’
Inside the broken mirror, a blue, mist-like haze was now wavering.
“Who… are you?”
But I knew.
That wasn’t just mist—it was someone’s shadow.
—Me?
A low, amused laugh echoed through the darkness.
—How disappointing. I waited for you for so long.
“……”
—Remember my voice.
It was frighteningly gentle.
—From now on, I can even visit your dreams.
That voice—I’d definitely heard it before…
“Ha!”
My eyes flew open, and my vision snapped back into focus.
Where the darkness had been, only a chandelier swayed gently.
“Your Highness, are you all right?”
As I blinked silently, a maid I’d never seen before approached me.
‘Was it a dream?’
If it was, where did it start and end? The iron bars? Or the shattered mirror?
That man—was he the same one as the voice in my dream?
“I’m so glad you woke up.”
That voice, and the red hair falling over my shoulder, told me—
This wasn’t a dream.
“Where am I?”
“This is the Palace of Sophea. His Majesty ordered that you be brought here.”
…What? The Emperor called for me?
“I remember being inside iron bars. How did I get here?”
“Iron bars? Oh dear. It seems you don’t remember anything at all.”
The maid looked at me with pity.
“You collapsed in the corridor just before entering the palace. You were waiting to be searched by the priest.”
The corridor? I remember being shoved somewhere and trapped.
“Duke Ferzen found you and brought you to the imperial palace.”
“Duke Ferzen?”
The dream and my memories overlapped.
I couldn’t tell what was real and what wasn’t.
And why did my head hurt so much?
‘Well, I did end up inside the imperial palace.’
As I looked around the place where I’d woken up, a woman walked in.
“Hm, you’re awake.”
“E—Emma.”
“Why are you standing around like an idiot? Didn’t I tell you to inform me immediately when she woke up?”
The maid hastily stepped back, trembling.
“I’m sorry. She just woke up, so I didn’t have the chance—”
“Tsk. Such a long excuse for something so trivial.”
What was with that sharp gaze?
Even through my blurry vision, it was obvious she didn’t like me.
[Emma, Rank D, Head Maid of Empress Mary’s Palace]
I had a bad feeling about this.
“Please get up now, Your Highness. His Majesty is calling for you.”
Emma smiled thinly.
‘What is this?’
At the same time, knights stormed into the room.
