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Chapter 5
“Why are you sighing like that?”
“Ah! You scared me!”
It was Daniel. He jumped up, his eyes wide as he looked at me, surprised by the cursing I had just blurted out.
What have I done in front of the child…!
Panicking at the thought that I’d done something I shouldn’t, I fumbled. Seeing this, he handed me a small box.
“What’s this?”
“A gift.”
“It’s not my birthday.”
“I just wanted to give it to you.”
“Why?”
“Why not?”
“Well… I guess it’s okay, but…”
“Then just take it.”
What kind of conversation is this…?
Judging by his stance, I felt he wouldn’t move an inch if I didn’t take it, so I reluctantly accepted the box.
“Can I open it?”
He nodded at my question. I slowly opened the box under his slightly expectant gaze.
“A necklace?”
“Yeah. It’s a magic stone necklace. I split mine to make it.”
Wait a minute… you split yours to make it…?
“You mean the one Prince Leonite gave you?”
“Yeah. I wanted to give it to Riela too, so I asked my father yesterday. It’s a bit rough since it was made in a hurry, but you’ll wear it, right?”
I couldn’t even find words. He split the magic stone he received as a gift just to give it to me?
Noticing my gaze lingering on the necklace in the box, Daniel added, almost defensively:
“I wanted you to carry it like a talisman.”
That makes it even stranger!
Unable to make sense of the situation, I stayed silent. Daniel took the box from my hands and naturally placed the necklace around my neck.
‘What on earth is happening?’
A perfectly halved magic stone rested on my neck. The other half was with Daniel.
‘Something’s going on.’
I worried this might be leading to an obsessive “ending,” but Daniel stepped back calmly.
“They say in ancient times, magic stones were used to cure illnesses. Carrying one can heal a disease.”
Isn’t that just like negative ions or hydrogen water…?
Of course, in a world with cults, pseudo-science exists too. This was no recent development but an ancient method of healing, so it had to be some kind of ion-based treatment.
Even though it seemed a little suspicious, since it was given with good intentions, refusing it felt strange.
I smiled brightly and said,
“Thank you. I’ll treasure it.”
“You have to wear it every day, okay?”
“I will, every day.”
“Promise me.”
Seeing he wouldn’t leave unless I responded, I extended my pinky to show trust.
He looked at my hand for a moment, rubbed it against his pants, and then linked his pinky with mine.
To make it official, we even did a firm palm-to-palm handshake.
After that, Daniel shared what he had learned in class today and chatted about small daily matters until his butler called him away.
“Sigh… I’m tired. This is the kind of time I’d have an Americano and a donut… but I can’t even have that.”
Since the last time I vomited on Daniel’s clothes, I hadn’t been able to leave the room.
“Wouldn’t the wizards be able to find out about my illness?”
Not exactly pseudo-science, but wizards in novels were close to omnipotent. The only alternative specialists would be a spirit master or an apothecary, but this novel had no spirit masters.
Honestly, it wouldn’t be so bad if I became the world’s only spirit master.
Being weak, unable to do much, and surviving solely on affection for my favorite character made every day in this body-swapping situation exhausting.
“The Tower of Magic…”
Since Leonite ascended the throne, the Tower of Magic had essentially become a den of evil.
It was revealed that people were used for cruel magical experiments, which had thrown Aria into chaos.
To access the tower, one had to have a friendly wizard and, more importantly, a chance to leave the house.
I could make a wizard friend somehow, but I couldn’t even take a single step outside this mansion. I felt hopeless.
“Should I just sneak out?”
But if I got caught, I could be confined instead of just restricted from going out. Someone might even be punished for failing to protect me.
“I can’t use magic, no divine power, can’t do swordsmanship, weak body… isn’t this too harsh?”
On top of that, there had been no contact from my parents.
“Am I even really their child? Maybe someone with bad intentions abandoned me even though I’m supposed to be Aria’s twin.”
It sounded like a melodramatic plot twist, but it was plausible. Of course, unlike the pastel-toned Maynard siblings, I was darker and gloomier.
Even if I wasn’t the Maynard heir, I could still be a relative’s child. Then Daniel and Aria would be my cousins.
“That’s a pretty reasonable guess.”
Or perhaps I could be related to the Duchess’s siblings.
I could check the noble family tree, but the lack of contact from my parents was suspicious.
“Could there be a reason they haven’t contacted me? Maybe they don’t care for me, or they think I’ll die anyway, so they don’t show affection.”
Lying on the bed, staring at the ceiling, I sighed deeply.
“Haa…”
My head felt like it might explode, so I stopped thinking. I fiddled with the magic stone necklace, staring endlessly at the ceiling.
“Well, it’ll work out somehow.”
The only person I could trust was myself—the reader of this novel.
“Riela’s been acting strange lately.”
Daniel’s serious words made Aria nod in agreement.
I couldn’t pinpoint why, but her behavior had become odd. She often stared into space, muttering to herself, forgetting her own fatigue, and running around.
Sometimes she seemed mature, sometimes childlike.
“But should we really do this?”
Aria tugged at Daniel’s clothes, uneasy about tailing Riela to find out why she was acting strange.
“You think Riela’s changed too, right? We need to know why.”
“Why?”
“…Just come with me, okay?”
Unable to formulate a logical explanation, Daniel dragged Aria along by force.
In reality, “tailing” was unnecessary. Riela’s activities were confined to the Maynard mansion.
Even then, it was mostly her bedroom and the study.
“How do I connect the male and female lead?”
Riela muttered to herself while reading in the study. Daniel’s ears perked up.
“More importantly, the mastermind is the problem… We have to somehow bring Leonite to heel.”
Leonite?
Daniel widened his eyes at the familiar name. Was Riela plotting rebellion?
“Sigh… I don’t know. It’ll probably work out on its own. The more you meddle, the worse it gets. Everything in moderation.”
Sighing like a worried adult, Riela snapped the book shut and got up.
Daniel hid carefully so Riela wouldn’t notice. But he accidentally made a small noise when his elbow hit the book.
“…!”
Aria’s accusatory glare made Daniel’s face go pale.
But Riela didn’t seem to notice, muttering to herself as she opened the study door.
Once the door closed, Daniel and Aria exhaled in relief, glad they hadn’t been caught.
“You almost got caught because of you!”
“You were the one in the way!”
“So that means it’s my fault?”
“No, I’m just saying!”
The siblings’ argument ended there. If Riela went any further, it would be harder to follow her.
“Truce for now.”
“Got it. She’s probably headed to the garden.”
“How do you know that?”
Daniel frowned at Aria’s confident tone. She smirked and said,
“On Wednesdays, she goes from the study to the garden. You didn’t know that, did you?”
Daniel remained silent. She was right—he didn’t know.
It was understandable; he was busier than last year, preparing to enter the academy.
And on Wednesdays, Riela went to the Tower of Magic for class, so he had no idea how her day went.
But he couldn’t let his mischievous younger sister get the better of him, so he masked his composure.
“It’s fine. Riela has the same necklace as me, so I can always find her.”
Daniel pointed to the necklace around his neck and grinned.
“Ugh…!”
Aria, who hadn’t yet shown magical talent, clenched her fists at Daniel’s nonchalant attitude.
She swung her arm and hit Daniel in the stomach with all her strength.
“Ugh!”
Angry at the sudden attack, he couldn’t hit his two-years-younger sister.
Knowing this, Aria stuck out her tongue to tease him.
“Hmm? What are you doing here?”
Then Riela appeared—she hadn’t gone to the garden after all. Daniel and Aria froze in shock.
Her gaze narrowed as she scrutinized them suspiciously.
“You two were doing something behind my back.”
It wasn’t a question—it was a statement of certainty.
Riela’s behavior had clearly changed. The Riela Daniel knew wasn’t this perceptive.
“If you tell me the truth, I’ll forgive you.”
Crossing her arms and lifting her chin, she looked imposing. Aria fidgeted, unsure what to do, and tugged at Daniel’s clothes…
