ESMLT 90🔐

Chapter 90

Jaeger was also listening attentively while wiping the blade with a handkerchief.

“I’m curious. Does it really exist? The artifact that can turn back time.”

The Crown Prince tilted his head and glanced at Danha, as if probing her thoughts.

Danha let out a quiet smile, showing not the slightest agitation.

“Artifacts are treasures of the royal family. Unless it’s Your Highness, no one can even know whether they exist.”

“Ah, what a shame… I was quite interested.”

The Crown Prince raised an eyebrow and made a disappointed expression.

“However—”

Danha paused for a moment and then looked at us.

“My mentor said that an artifact capable of reversing time does exist. But he warned me not to be tempted. That one must not go against the natural order.”

“What happens if someone defies the natural order?”

Even I, who had been silently listening, felt curious and joined the conversation.

Danha blinked lazily at me.

“Well, I suppose only the gods could bear the consequences.”

Speaking in a monotone, she smiled faintly and resumed stroking the crow.

A silence fell over us. The strange atmosphere felt exactly like after sharing a spooky tale.

The Crown Prince, as if all his interest had vanished, leaned his head against a tree and looked downward.

Jaeger resumed cleaning his sword, and Xian was still fiddling with my hair.

After scanning them all, I put down the cup of milk I had finished.

‘Maybe I should finally organize my pocket dimension.’

To be honest, I’ve never been good at tidying up, even in my previous life.

‘I didn’t even like it.’

Honestly, what’s the point of organizing things neatly if they’ll just get messy again?

So I often left things wherever I used them or piled them up, just like in Hayton’s room.

‘I wonder who I got that from…’

I sighed and began tidying up my pocket dimension. I mentally numbered each item—one, two, three—so that later I could recall them easily.

After organizing for a while, I nervously picked up a leather notebook that had caught my eye.

It was Hayton’s notebook, the one I had deliberately avoided looking at since spying into the desert pocket dimension, sensing bad luck.

‘I should return this to its original place too.’

I fished out the note I had stuffed in my pocket. It was so ominous I wanted to burn it rather than have anyone see it.

I sat down, pretending to stretch, and slipped the crumpled note between the pages of the notebook.

Just as I was closing it, I caught sight of the faint writing and froze. The Imperial language appeared sporadically, barely readable.

I squinted at the half-open notebook.

Curious.

But ominous.

‘What should I do?’

I pondered briefly, then shook my head and closed it.

‘Sometimes, ignorance is bliss.’

No point in trying to read something I can’t understand. My mind is already uneasy enough. Finding the warp scroll was a higher priority.

I put the notebook into my pouch, pushing aside my curiosity, and silently prayed again.

I hoped the zombie incident wasn’t Hayton’s doing.

I hoped it was just an innocent caught up in the temple’s schemes.

Day 30.

Today was exactly the day the Saint would descend.

I knelt under a tree, hands clasped tightly, praying as if gathering all the energy of the universe into the World Tree.

Passing by, the Crown Prince gave a hollow chuckle.

“My lady, what are you doing so early in the morning?”

“Shh. I’m praying to my goddess before we depart.”

I don’t believe in superstition. Prayer? I’ve hardly ever done it.

Except maybe once, asking to win the lottery without buying a ticket.

But today, I was desperate.

Saint, please, don’t become a variable.

Come save me.

I don’t want to be alone with Marquis Lafran.

And if you’re coming, it would be better to find the warp scroll and send the male leads back first.

‘Even if my purpose is muddled, I might as well do something worthwhile while I’m at it.’

I was about to finish my prayer when I suddenly clasped my hands again.

I was struggling to survive, but I was also the one who accidentally ruined the Saint’s harem. That I had to acknowledge and apologize for.

In the original story, the male leads were wild dogs saved by the Saint and given special attention… but my interference meant there would be no dramatic build-up, no heightened emotions, so I didn’t even know how their relationships would turn out.

But for now, I decided to be shameless.

‘Is this really my fault? It’s Kim Deok-su’s fault for making me read the book in the first place.’

I gave the tree a sour look and then spun around.

Immediately, I checked the pouch, hammer, and other supplies we were to carry.

We dispersed to our places, finished preparations, and removed the makeshift rope fence.

While they finished up, I went into the forest for a quick errand.

An errand. Well, of course. This is reality, not a novel.

Why would there be no bodily functions?

I couldn’t just skip it or create a mental flush toilet for the protagonists.

The only fortunate thing was that once the Saint arrived, this would all be over today.

‘Ugh, such a hassle.’

I finished and returned to where the others were. Pushing through the underbrush, I froze for a moment at the sight before me.

The place we stayed overnight was easily visible, smoke from the campfire rising. But next to the blackened firewood lay a woman surrounded by the group, collapsed.

Silver hair down to her back, a white shirt with sleeves rolled up, muddy boots.

A woman who looked exactly like me, Redria.

I hesitated.

‘Could a soul leave the body like a possession?’

I clenched my fists and opened them again.

Since I could see and touch her, probably not.

Yet, there she was—an exact replica of me, collapsing right where I had been.

“Ugh.”

Clutching her stomach, she groaned in pain.

Rustle, crunch.

Panicked, I stepped back and accidentally snapped a branch.

The group, who had been staring at the woman, now looked at me.

The woman flinched and turned to me with tear-filled eyes.

With a bloody hand, she pointed at me.

“That’s the one! That’s the one who attacked me!”

???

Three question marks instantly appeared in my mind.

How often do you hear “That’s the one!” so suddenly?

But I could figure out the situation in three seconds.

‘That must be that demon from before.’

I scratched my chin and squinted.

‘Looks like she’s framing me as the demon, pretending I attacked her…’

How strange. It was both fascinating and irritating to see a demon that looked exactly like me.

“Ugh.”

Just then, the woman groaned painfully, struggling to rise, and a clot of blood fell to the ground.

‘Wow, even demons bleed? Or can they mimic blood too?’

I straightened and tilted my torso sideways to inspect her face.

“Hey, does it hurt?”

“What?”

The demon opened her eyes wide, tears spilling.

“Wow, she’s crying. She’s crying.”

I was amazed and pointed at Danha, closest to me, but it came across like mocking, “She’s crying.”

“My lady…”

Danha sighed, watching me.

Even the demon glared at me like I was a lunatic; I felt like a psychopath.

I straightened my posture indifferently.

‘Well, I guess the joke’s over.’

Just as I sighed and stepped closer to the demon,

“Hey, stop right there.”

Whoosh—. A spear gleamed in the sunlight, thrust under my chin.

Startled, I swallowed and lifted my chin. Facing forward, I realized the Crown Prince had approached, supporting the demon while pointing the spear at me.