HNDTO 31

Chapter 31
Who Am I, Where Is This? (2)

My face flushed as my eyes met Rudolf’s.

“You!”

His face leaned in through my dizzy vision, likely caused by the heat rushing to my cheeks.

“Jina.”

His whispery voice knocked the breath out of me.

“Y-You! Don’t say that!”

I screamed in shock, as if I might stop breathing any second.

Was I having arrhythmia or something? My heart and lungs were going berserk.

Feeling like I was on the verge of suffocating, I held my breath.

When I was called ‘Odelia’, I hadn’t realized it because it didn’t feel like the words were meant for me.

But now that I knew that unfamiliar affection was directed at me, my whole body tingled and felt nauseous.

I felt a strange sensation like my body wasn’t my own.

“You said earlier I could call you that.”

At my protest, Rudolf looked on the verge of tears and buried his face in my shoulder.

Maybe because his soft fur touched my most sensitive skin, a ticklish feeling started at my neck and spread to my throat.

“Wait, Rudolf, stop—!”

“Can’t I just call you Jina? I really want to call you that. Please?”

If I kept looking at him acting all cute like he did when he was Ruby, I’d probably lose it a hundred times over. I quickly blocked his face with my hand.

Ah, his cheek is so soft.

As I caressed his tender cheek, Rudolf poked out his lips through the gaps of my fingers.

“I want to call you by name again. Please?”

“Y-You still can’t!”

“Jina—”

“Just shut your mouth for a second!”

I squeezed my eyes shut and took a deep breath, trying to forget the sensation of his lips against my palm.

Now was not the time to be flirting with Rudolf like everything was sunshine and roses.

Get a grip, me.

To all the philosophers and ancestors who preached that humans are rational beings—please lend me strength.

“This… This is something no one else can know.”

“Why?”

Rudolf tilted his head in confusion, and I removed my hand from his face.

“Think about it. One day, the soul of another world suddenly inhabits Odelia’s body.”

“…Well, the Magic Tower folks would definitely want to experiment.”

“Exactly. And if regular people find out, they’ll freak out too… They might think it’s some kind of disease. Maybe even label it as a mental illness and lock me up for treatment.”

“…Should I kill them?”

His usual nonsense managed to jolt me back to my senses.

“No killing.”

“You’re so picky, Jina.”

“Shut it.”

You’re way pickier, always arguing back about every little thing.

We stared each other down without backing off.

But in the end, it was Rudolf who surrendered first.

“Okay. I won’t call you that in front of others anymore.”

“Good.”

“But when we’re alone, can I still call you Jina?”

He rubbed his face against my hand, and the throb in my chest felt like a direct hit.

This guy… does he have no sense of danger at all?

That’s exactly the problem! Doesn’t he know that half the world is women, and half of those women are wolves?

And the most dangerous person in front of you right now—is me!

“Please? I’ll call you Odelia in front of others, I promise?”

His adorable face tilted in a pleading gesture, and I turned my head away, gripping my heart.

At that moment, the sound of a door opening made me turn toward it.

“…Oppa?”

Through the cracked door appeared the face of Weizenne.

On that familiar face was a strange mix of emotions I’d never seen before.

Betrayal, joy, and a cocktail of anger and jealousy.

If I turn away now, will he disappear?

Even that irrational fear crept in.

“Who is that…?”

Weizenne stepped into the room and asked.

It was my first time seeing him this way since possessing this body.

The pressure in the air felt the same as the first time, but he didn’t seem like the obsessive male lead anymore.

What is this deep sense of betrayal he’s feeling?

If I reach out to him now, what kind of expression will he give me?

Just thinking that made me unable to extend my hand.

I quietly withdrew and stepped away from Rudolf’s embrace.

This moment was not one where I could joke around like usual.

Then should I tell him the truth?

Someone whispered from deep inside my chest.

Would he accept me if I told him the truth, like I did with Rudolf?

At that thought, fear surged up and froze my whole body.

Until now, only Ginger and Rudolf had accepted me.

No—strictly speaking, only Rudolf.

Ginger only wanted Odelia’s body.

Then what about Weizenne?

Would he accept me?

Of all the men, Weizenne was the first and most obsessively attached to Odelia.

He even wanted her soul.

What would he do if he found out I wasn’t really her?

If I told him I’d return everything to Odelia one day and asked him to wait… would he believe me?

…This is what makes human relationships so terrifying.

But that didn’t mean I could just give up.

If I gave up now, I might end up dead at Weizenne’s hands.

“Oppa, I—”

“The real ‘Odelia’ came yesterday.”

Weizenne’s calm voice trembled with a dangerous undertone, and his eyes turned red.

His normally kind, purple eyes were bloodshot.

A stinging pain pierced my chest.

He hadn’t rested once until now, clearly.

This is insane.

“I met her too. And I know who she really is.”

“…”

“Duke Starwood was there too. And Rudolf. They can both vouch for me.”

I shot Rudolf a glance, hoping he’d back me up.

To my surprise, despite his usual cluelessness, Rudolf nodded.

“See?”

“What exactly is she?”

“…Why?”

Weizenne’s eyes turned cold and sharp.

“What are you going to do?”

Before I could even finish, his jaw clenched and I heard his teeth grinding.

“Yeah, like hell I’d let someone impersonating Odelia live.”

“…Don’t.”

“Hah—”

Weizenne dodged my hand as I reached out to stop him and let out a bitter laugh.

“Who do you think you are?”

It felt like my chest dropped with a thud.

Being denied my existence by someone I thought I could trust most since waking up in this world—it wasn’t anger or betrayal. It was something closer to sorrow.

Yeah.

To be honest, I was mad.

I wanted to scream, “Who asked you to like me?!”

It wasn’t like I possessed her body on purpose.

This wasn’t something I wanted in the first place.

Like any other transmigrator, I was a victim too.

So how dare he say, “Who do you think you are?”

…Should I punch him?

Anger tinged with annoyance began to rise inside me.

Sure, Weizenne was furious. But was this really my fault?

“Fine. Then I’ll tell you who she is. Do whatever you want.”

“…”

“Then you’ll have to kill me too, right? Since you don’t even know what I am.”

“…Ha!”

Weizenne let out a scoff of disbelief.

But honestly, I was just as dumbfounded.

If you called me family—if we’d lived as family—then acting so recklessly like this was just wrong.

“You think I won’t?”

“Try it. You already killed your father. Killing a fake little sister must be easy.”

At my provocation, Weizenne’s fist clenched.

“Even if you rip open my stomach, you won’t find out where the real one is.”

“You dare—!”

Weizenne reached for me in a rage.

If he hit me, maybe I’d finally have an excuse to hit back.

Thinking that, I shut my eyes.

“Argh…!”

Suddenly, I heard the sound of bones cracking.

But it wasn’t mine.

When I opened my eyes, I saw Weizenne doubled over, clutching his wrist.

Rudolf stood before me protectively.

D-Did he break it?!

“Did you break his wrist?!”

“No. I don’t like breaking bones. I just made it hurt a bit.”

I looked at Weizenne’s wrist.

“‘A bit’” was an understatement—his wrist was already red and bruising.

“Oppa!”

I ran over and checked his arm.

Unlike with Ginger, it wasn’t broken, but it still looked pretty bad.

My god.

Is there a curse where anyone who touches Rudolf ends up with a broken arm?

I was scared to touch it in case I made it worse.

“Are you okay? It’s not broken, right? Can you move it?”

“I controlled my strength.”

“You shut up! No—go call Strana Arcon! Tell her to bring a doctor!”

A splint! He needed a splint or something!

Panicking, I didn’t know what to do. Weizenne let out a hollow laugh as he watched me.

“You didn’t do this, so why do you look so sorry?”

“Well, I feel like it’s 30% my fault… More importantly, stabilize your wrist! What if the ligaments are torn?!”

As he released his wrist, I quickly held onto it again.

It was hot to the touch.

I considered using magic to heal it, but Rudolf was long gone to fetch someone, and I couldn’t do anything.

Ugh, he’s never around when I actually need him!

“You… who are you really?”

Weizenne asked quietly as he looked down at me.

It felt like he was asking me, or maybe himself.

I couldn’t answer.

Maybe Weizenne had already known deep down.

That I, Odelia, had changed.

Was he, like Ginger, just pretending not to notice because he wanted her body?

Or had he, like me, chosen to remain comforted by the illusion?

“Treat your arm first. People will be here soon.”

“Why?!”

Weizenne shouted as he grabbed me, trying to keep me from standing.

His voice was raw and desperate—almost like a scream.

He wasn’t crying, but it sounded no different.

He clutched my hand.

“Why… when I can’t even have you… are you still trying to stay in my arms…?”

He was crying.

His face, covered by his hand, was clearly that of a man in tears.

“Don’t get the wrong idea.”

Lately, I’ve been thinking this a lot.

Whenever I feel the urge to comfort someone pitiful, I also know—I must not.

They must stand on their own and walk alone.

If I hug them, tell them it’s okay, that I’ll be there and they don’t have to cry—will that fix everything?

Maybe.

But if I do that, they might forget how to walk for the rest of their lives.

So Weizenne… he must also walk alone.

Neither I nor Odelia is his crutch.

We are simply people walking our own paths beside him.

“I don’t belong to anyone. I belong to myself. And I’ve never been in your arms to begin with.”

“…You’ve never run away until now.”

Weizenne’s trembling fingers reached out, as if asking to be held.

Even if it looked cold, this was the moment I had to push him away.

“That’s exactly why it was all a misunderstanding.”