BCOM 16

Chapter 16

“Milady… are you sure it’s alright to go out alone like this?”

Inside the swaying carriage, Tarin asked with a worried face she couldn’t hide. But instead of worry, Agnes wore an expression that was almost expectant.

The words Theowin had spoken to her lingered in her heart. She couldn’t stand just staying in the mansion, worrying all the time.

It reminded her of her former self in that other dimension—shut away in a small room, making herself lonelier simply because she had no one to meet.

It’ll be good for my mental health to experience more things like this. Whether I end up the tyrant’s wife, or something inside me explodes with power… as long as I stay healthy and keep my mind sharp, I’ll be able to stop it or clean up the mess.

“I should get out and see the world a little. I’ve been cooped up in the house too much.”

As Agnes clenched her fists like she was making a fresh resolution, Tarin’s cheeks reddened slightly.

“Really, Milady… you’re so beautiful that it makes me nervous when you go outside.”

Tarin, honestly… Agnes looked at her with a straight face. How could this girl say such cringeworthy things without batting an eye?

Of course, she admitted that this body’s appearance was beautiful. When she first possessed it and stood in front of the mirror to confirm, she’d been dazed staring at the reflection for a while.

And the moment she realized that face was her face now, she’d jumped back into bed in shock.

“So… this forest we’re heading to is called the Ridlelau Forest, right?”

She glanced out at the small houses and farmland passing by and asked Tarin. Everything was new to her, so even just looking outside made her feel like she was learning something.

This forest hadn’t even appeared in the novel. She vaguely remembered the empire being said to have large forests, but there was nothing about their names or characteristics.

“Yes! They say it’s a deep, wide forest that stretches all the way to the empire’s borders. I asked Head Maid Rosa about it! She said I had to look after Milady properly and gave me all sorts of instructions.”

Seeing Tarin looking so proud, Agnes smiled, imagining Rosa rattling off advice while reluctantly letting them go. How hard must it have been for Rosa to stop herself from coming along? A clueless young lady paired with a scatterbrained maid… what a combination.

“It’s not like I came alone. You’re here, and the coachman too. Don’t worry so much.”

The boundary of the forest came into sight in the distance.

The deep woodland lay not too far from Rezern’s estate grounds.

“They say the forest edges are safe because lots of people come and go. People stroll there like it’s a park, and though it’s restricted, they also cut down some trees.”

So the forest wasn’t simply a dangerous place—it was actually tied closely to people’s lives. Agnes relaxed a little at Tarin’s explanation.

Still, stepping outside the mansion stirred some unease. After all, she was going somewhere unfamiliar, in an unfamiliar body.

And in fantasy worlds, forests usually meant danger. Huge moving trees, perhaps…

“There’s even a lake if we walk a little past the entrance! They say it’s beautiful. When sunlight streams through the sky reflected on the lake, it sparkles like jewels!”

At first Tarin’s face had been filled with worry about Agnes going out, but as she kept talking, she looked more excited herself. Agnes watched her cute, smiling face before turning her gaze back outside.

The carriage was slowing down.

“Even the entrance… it’s incredible.”

Towering trees stood as if they might walk at any moment, glinting in the sunlight like her amber-colored eyes.

Thankfully, this romance fantasy world didn’t seem to have monsters. She’d expected demons or magical beasts to show up since magic existed, but apparently not. Just wild animals to watch out for.

Carefully stepping down from the carriage, they took up a picnic basket and entered the forest, leaving the coachman to follow behind.

The entrance was clearly marked by the two towering rows of trees standing like gates on either side.

“They cut trees here, right? So how are there such huge ones at the edge?”

“Woooow.”

While Agnes muttered in curiosity, Tarin walked with her mouth wide open, gazing upward.

Agnes glanced at the basket in her arms filled with tea and cookies, but since the path was clear from other visitors’ footsteps, she let Tarin enjoy herself.

Agnes herself was awestruck. She hadn’t realized how thrilling it could be to see a new place. Her heart pounded at the sight of the majestic trees and sunlight filtering through them.

It was amazing enough to see things she had only read about come alive before her eyes. But to witness places that hadn’t even been mentioned in the book—that was extraordinary.

This was truly a world. Not some fabricated stage that ended abruptly in a cliff or plunged into a void after a few steps.

It was a living, breathing world where people really lived.

That made it all the more real. She was going to spend her whole life here.

Maybe she had been treating it like a game all this time, thinking, If I clear this, I’ll just go back to my old world. She hadn’t truly believed she’d grow old here—marry, have children, live to see sixty or seventy while wearing these dresses and watching these landscapes.

“Wow! There it is, Milady! Look!”

Lost in thought, she lowered her gaze at Tarin’s excited voice.

“The lake’s bigger than I imagined! And look—the trees and sky are reflected in it!”

Yes, but to her eyes, it almost seemed like another forest and sky existed beneath the water. That’s how vivid and clear the reflection was.

“I’m so glad we came out here.”

Her chest swelled with satisfaction. It was nothing more than stepping outside the estate with two companions, but it felt rewarding.

Is this what Theowin meant by ‘the outside world’? Agnes smiled softly.

“Milady, over here! This looks like the best spot. I’ll set up our place!”

At Agnes’s nod, Tarin turned and signaled to the coachman.

Her basket carried cookies and simple tea ware, while the coachman, Tamohan, was laden with long wooden poles.

At Tarin’s gesture, he quickly unfolded what he carried.

“Wow. This is like camping!”

Agnes whispered. He’d brought chairs and a small table. She had expected to just spread a cloth on the ground, so this unexpected comfort delighted her.

“I never imagined drinking tea outdoors, Milady. Thanks to you, I get to try something like this!”

Tarin’s cheerful voice rang as her hands busied themselves with setting out cookies and pouring the tea she’d brewed in advance.

It wasn’t steaming hot anymore, but fragrant and sweet—the very tea Agnes had once prepared for Theowin.

“But what about Tamohan? Is he just going to stand there?”

Agnes had already invited Tarin to join them, so her cup was ready. But there was none prepared for the coachman.

When Agnes asked, he waved his hands hurriedly from behind, while Tarin glanced at him nervously.

“Well… I did prepare a cup for him when I made ours, but since you didn’t say anything, Milady…”

Agnes let out an “Ah.” It was like an uncle tagging along with two nieces on a picnic. Awkward for him to join in, yet strange to leave him standing apart.

Still, there were only two chairs. Letting him stand there a few steps away felt wrong.

“Tarin, could we use this tablecloth on the ground?”

Agnes pointed at the cloth draping so far down from the table that it touched the floor. Tarin, not realizing her intention, said, “Well, we can just wash it later…”

Agnes pulled off the cloth and spread it on the ground. Then she took out another cup from Tarin’s basket, poured tea, and offered it to Tamohan.

“It’s not a chair, but come sit here and have a cup with us.”

Caught off guard, Tamohan stammered, but finally took the cup that Tarin pressed into his hands and sat down on the makeshift mat.

The three of them sat together, drinking tea while looking out over the lake. The atmosphere was even better than Agnes had imagined.

“It feels like I’m here with friends.”

It warmed her heart. She was meeting people and forming bonds here.

Even if society demanded strict class distinctions, within her own circle, Agnes wanted to create joyful relationships.

Bzzzz—

Suddenly, from across the lake, a deep reverberating sound echoed, like the rumble of air itself.

Agnes lifted her head, wondering what lay beyond.

The person who had always feared the unknown now thought—

It’s time I live properly as Agnes.