OIPM 5

Chapter: 5

The next day, when I woke up, my headache had completely disappeared.

“I was worried it might last longer, but thank goodness.”

If it had continued, performing would have been really difficult.

Feeling refreshed compared to yesterday, I left my room to go eat breakfast and immediately ran into Veloca coming out from the opposite direction.

“Good morning, Ena! You look better than yesterday. Are you feeling okay now?”

“Yes. I rested well, so I think I’m fine now.”

“I’m glad! I was worried I might have to go to the market alone today if you were still sick.”

“The market?”

“Did you forget? The marketplace sets up in the square once every two weeks.”

“Ah….”

I tried to recall it, but nothing immediately came to mind. Seeing this, Veloca added kindly,

“The perfume merchant you always use comes too. Didn’t you say your perfume was almost running out and you should buy another bottle last time?”

“Oh, right. I remember.”

I nodded.

Now that she mentioned it, I did say something like that to Veloca. Though it wasn’t really me—it was the original Ena.

“So? Do you want to go together?”

Hmm, what should I do?

I fell into thought.

Since becoming Ena, I had only gone between the stage and my room, never once going outside, so it was hard to decide so easily.

Of course, through Ena’s memories and the dreams, I roughly knew what the outside looked like and how people traveled.

“But it’s my first time experiencing it for real.”

That made me a little nervous. But I couldn’t stay inside forever either….

Well, should I just go? I’m not going alone anyway.

“I’ll go!”

“Then let’s eat breakfast, get ready, and head out. Okay?”

“Huh? I thought we were going in the evening. It’s a weekday—what about performances?”

“Did you forget? Today is our regular holiday.”

The regular holiday was a day the theater company itself set aside to give rest to actors who performed almost every day except Sundays.

Since it was once every 30 days regardless of the weekday, there were days like today when even weekdays became holidays.

“So today was that day….”

“You really did forget, huh. Anyway, we’re going together later, okay?”

“Yes.”

I nodded.

“I’ve been feeling guilty about causing trouble for Rael last time….”

Maybe buying the perfume I use could be a small way of showing appreciation as well.

After that

“Alright! All done!”

I pulled the bonnet strings under my chin and tied them into a neat ribbon, then looked in the mirror.

Unlike the revealing stage dress, the modest outfit felt strange—but emotionally, I felt much more comfortable.

I had no choice but to wear stage costumes, but I had always felt quite burdened by them.

“Should I head out now?”

I tried to leave confidently, but then realized I hadn’t taken my purse.

“Right, money!”

I was going to buy perfume, and I didn’t even bring money—what was I thinking?

When I opened the drawer, I saw a small pouch bag.

Here, aside from imperial-certified checks, all money was in coins, so people used pouches like wallets.

“It feels strange using coins after relying on cards and phones.”

Looking inside, there were quite a lot of coins.

“There’s enough money…. Hm?”

Between the small copper and silver coins, there was a piece of paper.

“What is this?”

I pulled it out with my index finger. It was a performance ticket. One that allowed free entry to watch plays anytime.

“Why do I have this?”

Tilting my head, I soon realized it functioned somewhat like a business card.

“It doesn’t seem like I need it, but I’ll just keep it. It can’t hurt.”

I put the ticket back into the pouch, grabbed a parasol, and headed to the market with Veloca.

“Wow….”

I whispered in admiration so softly that Veloca couldn’t hear.

I already knew roughly what it looked like through Ena’s memories, but seeing it in person was fascinating.

I had expected the market to be a bit dirty, but it wasn’t at all. The streets and shops, with a distinctly Western feel, were extremely clean.

“It’s hard to believe this is a world inside a book.”

While I was looking around in wonder at a scenery I had never seen as “Jiso-eun,” Veloca spoke.

“Ena.”

“Yes?”

“I’ll stop by a clothing shop for a bit, so why don’t you go buy whatever you need too?”

“Aren’t we going together?”

“What’s gotten into you? Normally you always say it’s annoying and just do your own errands even when I ask to go together.”

Ah, right. That was true.

Seeing Veloca’s surprised expression reminded me belatedly that the original Ena was like that.

“I’d actually like to stay with Veloca… but if I act too differently from usual, she’ll find it strange.”

She might even realize I’m not Ena.

And then she wouldn’t treat me so warmly anymore.

“I don’t want that.”

If I had just become Ena recently, it might not have mattered. But now, I had grown quite attached to this world—and to Veloca as well.

“I don’t want to drift away from Veloca now.”

Even if it meant deceiving everyone.

I forced a smile and spoke.

“I was just thinking of going together today. But on second thought, it’s probably better if we split up. When should we meet again?”

“Well, well, your moods really change quickly. How about meeting in two hours at the clock tower in the square?”

“Okay. See you later, Veloca.”

“Yeah. See you later.”

Fortunately, Veloca didn’t suspect anything and said goodbye.

After that, I carefully retraced my memories and began finding my way.

Not long after walking confidently, I started to feel quite lost at the unfamiliar streets.

“…This should be the right place.”

According to my memory, the perfume merchant should have been here. But what I saw was an entirely different street and different shops.

“Did I take a wrong turn?”

I looked around, but everything was unfamiliar.

Why did I get lost? I clearly followed my memory.

No, that wasn’t important right now—I needed to find my way first.

“Maybe I should ask someone passing by…?”

As I looked for someone to ask, a delicious smell that made my mouth water drifted into my nose.

Following the scent, I saw a vendor selling skewers not far away.

The skewers grilling over charcoal looked delicious even from a distance.

“Just one… I’ll just eat one.”

I need to conserve my energy anyway. Yes.

Drawn by the smell, I approached, and the vendor greeted me warmly.

“One skewer, please.”

“What kind of sauce would you like? We have sweet and spicy.”

“Sweet sauce, please.”

The vendor took the skewer he was grilling, brushed on the sauce, and expertly wrapped it in paper.

It looked like he was preventing the sauce from dripping.

Still, the skewer retained its elegance—the meat looked tender, coated in a brown sauce with a scent like teriyaki, extremely appetizing.

“Here you go, miss.”

“Thank you. Here’s the money.”

“Thank you as well for your purchase. If you’re not in a hurry, eat here before you go. It would be troublesome if the sauce gets on your clothes while walking.”

Hmm, that made sense.

I decided to take his advice and sat on a small chair in front of the stall, eating the skewer for a while when the vendor spoke again.

“By the way, miss, you’re very beautiful.”

“Oh, thank you.”

I smiled bashfully while eating. I didn’t feel like being modest. Honestly, Ena really was beautiful.

Being modest with this face would almost be a kind of deception.

“I’ve been selling here for a long time, but I’ve never seen anyone as beautiful as you. Even the Chloe Troupe’s seductress would be jealous.”

The Chloe Troupe… isn’t that the troupe I work for?

“Seductress?” usually refers to a woman who lures men, so it didn’t sound like a compliment.

There’s someone like that in our troupe?

“Seductress…?”

“Oh my, you don’t seem to know the rumors. You know the Chloe Troupe ahead, right?”

“Yes.”

I nodded.

Of course I knew it—it was my own troupe.

“The female lead of their current performance is called a seductress. I heard she’s extremely bewitching.”

“The female lead?”

“Yes.”

Was there another female lead in this production besides me…?

“Well, apparently men just collapse on their knees the moment they see her. And even with a single gesture, they fall down calling her name and suffering from longing.”

“Wow, is there really someone like that?”

“That’s why she’s called a seductress. Even Viscount Casaro from the neighboring territory is completely smitten.”

Viscount Casaro… wasn’t he the one I kicked in a very sensitive place?

“Don’t tell me… this so-called seductress of the Chloe Troupe….”

A growing sense of unease crept in, but I forced myself to deny it.

No way. Surely not.

“I even heard that a knight working at the imperial palace visits her every day with flowers, begging her to just make a single gesture. There are many witnesses to that.”

“Cough!”

Just then, while I was swallowing the skewer, I choked.

Panicking, the vendor quickly handed me a glass of water.

“Miss, are you okay? Please drink this.”

“T-thank you.”

I took the water and drank it.

Thanks to that, I no longer looked so disgraceful—but my heart was still pounding wildly.

Because the “seductress” they were talking about was me!

“Why are such ridiculous rumors spreading…?”

In any case, I couldn’t just ignore false rumors spreading like this.

“If I reveal the truth, it won’t do any good either….”

For now, I should act like I don’t know and try to subtly steer the conversation while finding out who started the rumor.

“To call her a seductress seems a bit exaggerated, doesn’t it? Unless someone gave her their entire fortune….”

“I haven’t heard of anyone giving away their entire fortune. But maybe there’s something to it if the rumor is that strong.”

“I-I see.”

What do I even have? Nothing comes to mind.

“This is just my opinion, but I think Viscount Casaro being involved is why people believe it. I do too.”

“Why is Viscount Casaro involved?”

“You may not know this, but apparently he used to visit the troupe every day. But recently he stopped going, so people asked why.”

“And then?”

“He apparently called her a seductress himself and was horrified. I heard he warned everyone to be careful, saying it was very hard to escape her influence.”

The vendor flipped the skewer as he continued.

“Hearing this, don’t you think there must be something about that woman?”

Ah.

So the source of the rumor was Viscount Casaro.

But instead of clearing up my confusion, it only made things more complicated.

He was the man I had kicked in a very sensitive place and driven away.

And he was calling me a seductress and spreading rumors?

If he wanted revenge, that would at least make sense—but spreading something like this was hard to understand.

“Wait… he said that?”

Suddenly, I remembered what Veloca had once said when I worried about retaliation—that he would be too ashamed to say anything.

Was this his way of protecting his pride by twisting the story so he wouldn’t have to admit what really happened?

That actually sounded plausible.

“No, but still… to say something like that….”

I let out a hollow laugh at how ridiculous it was.

“Come to think of it, the seductress has blackish-purple hair. People say purple is a color of sorcery, so it fits perfectly—oh! I’m sorry! Now that I look at it, your hair is also purplish….”

“I-I’ve eaten enough!”

I quickly grabbed my bonnet and the parasol beside me and stood up in a hurry.

“Huh? Huh? Miss!”

Ignoring the vendor calling after me, I ran away.

“Haa… haa….”

I finally stopped after running far enough.

I caught my breath while holding my neck. My feet hurt from running in shoes.

Only then did I start regretting things.

“I should’ve just laughed it off as a coincidence…”

But it was too late. This was the problem—whenever I solved something, I always thought of a better response afterward.

Anyway, what was I even trying to do before eating the skewer…?

“Ah! I was supposed to ask where the perfume merchant was!”

Ugh, you idiot! You should’ve asked for directions!

No, calm down. I can still ask someone passing by.

As I lifted my head, I immediately lost all motivation.

“Where am I now?”

There wasn’t even a single person passing by anymore.

Not only that—the atmosphere was terrible. The narrow alley felt dark and eerie, like it wouldn’t be strange to run into thugs at any moment.

I had run aimlessly after the vendor’s words without even knowing where I was going.

“Let’s get out of here first.”

Maybe it was the atmosphere, but I had a bad feeling….

“Hey, miss.”

I flinched.

Just as I thought that, a deep voice came from behind me, and my body stiffened.

“Just ignore it. Ignore it.”

It was clearly calling me, but getting involved would bring nothing good.

I tried to ignore it and quickened my pace.

And then someone grabbed my left arm and forcefully pulled me back.