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~Chapter 94~
The faces of her former mother-in-law Mrs. Kim Si-eom, her brother-in-law, and her ex-husband Seongmin came to mind.
Faces she thought she would never see again—faces she had buried away along with her resentment.
Could they have transmigrated here?
Then there was a chance they might meet again someday.
And if that happened…
…No. Put it aside for now. It’s only a possibility. I need to focus on what’s more important.
Riden unfolded the note again, her mind still in turmoil.
A plain heart wouldn’t have been strange, but a heart drawn inside a circle wasn’t common.
Still, was that enough to confirm Marie was the manager?
One thing was certain.
She might not be the manager, but whatever’s inside her isn’t the original heroine—it’s another transmigrator.
Until now, Riden had focused on pushing this world back toward the original plot.
That’s why she had ignored the sense of wrongness she felt from Marie.
She had to, in order for the story to flow as it did in the book.
But now that she realized Marie wasn’t the heroine…
It doesn’t matter who’s inside her, whether she died and transmigrated or came here some other way.
If the heroine who was supposed to carry Part 2 of the story was gone, the only one left to handle this mess was her.
Riden stepped into the grand ballroom.
The current dance had just ended.
At the reappearance of the evening’s most talked-about guest, the young men who had been waiting swarmed toward her.
“Lady McCreary, may I have this dance?”
“Join me for the next piece.”
“I hear you haven’t danced yet—shall we?”
With only her eyes visible among the crowd of eager bachelors, Riden searched for Ethan.
Where is he?
Marie had gone to him, so she looked for the pink hair that should be beside him—but saw neither of them.
She had no time to waste dancing.
Hiding her dance card, she smiled.
“Oh dear, I think I left my card in the powder room. I’ll have to go fetch it.”
She turned to leave, but a hand suddenly reached out, taking hers and leading her straight onto the dance floor.
Who’s grabbing my hand without asking—!
When she saw who it was, her lips parted in surprise.
It was Ethan, dressed splendidly for the ball.
He lightly placed his hand at her waist.
“Focus, Riden.”
“…!”
“Hand on my shoulder.”
She followed his instructions and set her hand on his shoulder.
Around them, couples had already paired up.
At that moment, the orchestra began to play a graceful melody.
“You can manage one dance, right?”
He must have heard from Marie that she wasn’t feeling well.
Meeting his gaze, she nodded.
Ethan guided her with practiced skill.
He seemed to be good at anything physical—his steps glided smoothly across the floor.
Thanks to his lead, Riden moved fluidly, almost like a ripple on water.
She had practiced dancing for the ball with Glen, clumsy at first—but now it was different.
Even without thinking, her movements were smooth under Ethan’s guidance.
“I didn’t expect you to come today.”
“If I hadn’t, you’d have spent the whole night dancing with other men.”
“Well… probably. It’s a ball.”
He gave a short laugh, spinning her effortlessly.
“See?”
“….”
“I want you to realize I like you.”
Ethan now said such things without the slightest hesitation.
She looked up at his eyes, then glanced away.
“Did you meet Marie?”
“She said she came to deliver your message.”
Just then, Riden spotted the pink-haired woman standing stiffly, looking straight at her.
When their eyes met, Marie’s slightly twisted expression smoothed out as if nothing had happened.
Why didn’t I see it before?
Riden returned her smile with one just as bright.
Was Marie the manager—or some other transmigrator she didn’t know?
If she was the manager, had she transmigrated here after dying, like Riden?
If she tried to dig too deeply into it, Marie would suspect her identity in return.
If she were exposed as a transmigrator, Marie might try to use that information against her.
Was it worth the risk to find out who she was?
No, it’s not.
Who Marie was didn’t matter to her at all.
What mattered was that the heroine who was supposed to lead Part 2 was gone—and her own safety.
Her husband and in-laws, whom Marie had once coveted and tried to ruin, now meant nothing to her.
Of course, that was on the condition Marie didn’t cross the line again.
If she tried to ruin what was hers again, Riden wouldn’t stand by.
She turned back to Ethan.
His black eyes moved as if gauging her mood.
“I thought about what you said—and I think you’re right.”
“…?”
“You’ll always need me, and I need to marry before autumn to inherit my title and estate.”
The thought made her want to laugh.
If Marie was the manager, would she have tried to take the man beside me in this life, too?
“We’re destined, aren’t we?”
Ethan’s graceful movements slowed.
“Let’s do it. Let’s get married.”
As soon as she said it, she couldn’t stop a laugh from slipping out.
She realized she’d been wanting to say this to him.
She tugged on his stalled hand.
“What are you doing? Keep dancing.”
A broad smile spread across Ethan’s face.
“Finally, we understand each other.”
They danced on, moving as one beneath the glittering chandeliers.
The ending of Part 1 of the novel went like this:
Wanting to help Ethan, Marie went to the church to receive the name of Shiraka—just like Riden had.
Even if she couldn’t gain the same tranquilizing ability as Riden, she believed she would get a power that could help Ethan.
Her desire to save him was that strong.
And indeed, she awoke to a power along with Shiraka’s name—
The ability to locate the scattered relics of Shiraka.
That was why Riden had wanted to find Marie and put the story back on track.
She hadn’t read Part 2, but she knew Marie was given the ability to resolve it.
Riden herself could calm Ethan’s curse, but she couldn’t find the relics.
I know where one is from Part 1, but the other five… what should I do?
Unlike Marie, she could at least suppress and slow Ethan’s curse by staying near him.
So there’s time. I just need to find them.
Which was why she wanted to test something with Ethan.
No matter how I think about it, I’m sure he knows something.
“My lady.”
She was pulled from her thoughts by a voice calling her.
In her office at the ducal estate, Victoria was looking at her warmly.
“The Madam is asking for you.”
“Oh—yes! Let’s go.”
Standing beside Victoria, Riden looked up at the enormous door.
She had been to the ducal estate many times, but as a guest, she hadn’t entered many rooms.
“The Madam is inside.”
“Thank you.”
Inside, she immediately saw the Duchess—and beside her, Ethan, dressed casually.
“You’re here.”
“Yes, Madam.”
Samantha took Riden’s hands and gently drew her into the middle of the room.
“I want to hear what you think of this room.”
Hmm.
Riden looked around.
The midday sunlight streamed through large windows, striking the crystal fixtures on the ceiling and scattering into countless fragments.
The light spread across the space, making it especially bright and warm.
And the most eye-catching thing was the grand canopy bed.
She had never seen a bed so large.
Every line and surface was decorated with exquisite detail—there was nothing lacking anywhere she looked.
It was like a perfect recreation of a beautiful medieval art piece.
“I’ve never seen a room so luxurious and beautiful.”
“Is that so?”
Samantha’s lips curved with satisfaction, pride in her voice.
“This is the Duke and Duchess’s room—it should be beautiful.”
“….”
“From now on, the two of you will use it together.”
…What?
Riden’s eyes widened as she glanced at Ethan from the corner of her eye.
