Chapter 4
. The First Turning Point’s Choice
Even though I had suddenly become the tragic, terminally ill villainess in a novel, I was determined to survive until the very end without dying.
Fortunately, the world I had fallen into was one I had read over and over again until the pages nearly wore out before I died.
With that in mind, the person I needed to be most wary of was the emperor and the male lead, Kaishis.
“Because there’s a quest I have to complete.”
Even in the original novel, he had an animal-like intuition.
If I showed even a single opening, he’d be the first to notice that I was a fake.
And on top of that, there’s the Triple S! Something that didn’t even exist back on Earth!
S-ranks alone were insane enough—what would they be like to someone who wasn’t the female lead?
Thankfully, I managed to gather a few important pieces of information over the past week while trembling in fear every second.
“First, Hilaria.”
The duchess I had possessed didn’t appear often in the original story, which was told from the female lead’s perspective.
The villainesses who tormented and shook the B-rank guide female lead were entirely different people.
Hilaria only appeared during dramatic moments to stand against the emperor or to place the female lead in difficult situations.
“Luckily, Hilaria is the quiet type, so as long as I keep my mouth shut, people will just misunderstand things on their own.”
Even in the mirror, my face looked so cold and sharp that it made my heart drop.
I couldn’t deny that I was beautiful, but if I stared silently without saying a word, I looked so frightening I might show up in my own nightmares.
Still, that didn’t mean things were easy.
Because Hilaria was—
“Ha, this is insane.”
I couldn’t help cursing.
“Should I just rip everything up?”
Those mountain-high piles of documents, the endless workload!
“I’m going to die of exhaustion at this rate!”
With a gloomy face, I picked up my quill and sat down in the office chair.
Yes. This woman was a serious workaholic and a perfectionist.
“If you’re a duke, shouldn’t you be delegating most of the trivial work to your subordinates? Why are you handling it all yourself?”
If I suddenly started delegating the work, people might get suspicious, so I had no choice but to take on all the tasks Hilaria usually did. My neck was so stiff it felt like it might snap.
“I can’t live like this forever. Thankfully, the story is about to begin, so maybe things will start to change.”
The early plot, which I had read so often I could recite it, began with the female lead suddenly appearing and calming the emperor from a rampage before vanishing without a trace.
As a result of his frenzy, the emperor had fragmented memories of that night and went mad searching for the female lead with only a few clues.
And eventually, he found her—
A mere B-rank guide, yet the perfect person to lead and save him.
Ah, in this world, “guides” were called “Inducers” and espers were called “Awakened.”
Anyway…
“I need to figure out what this so-called ‘quest qualification’ is.”
That quest message was the real problem.
[Until you obtain the qualifications for ???? do not let anyone discover that you are not the real Duke Ariel.]
Was the key to escaping my fate as a terminally ill villainess?
Was I supposed to minimize my influence by deviating from the original plot? Or—
“Should I actively destroy the original story instead?”
But wait a second.
I suddenly realized something I’d been ignoring on reflex.
“Hold on. Something’s weird.”
In the original, Hilaria was… a pure and perfect magician.
Which meant—she was neither an esper nor a guide.
So why was it that—
“Why can I sense the emperor’s energy every time? Just like a guide.”
Just like when I had been an A-rank guide back in Korea.
Goosebumps ran down my arms.
Right at that moment—
A burst of fireworks exploded in front of me, as if to mock me, and a system window appeared.
**[Born into a family of magicians who loathe awakened ones, Hilaria sealed her guide abilities in her eyes for life.
However, you are a new soul capable of unlocking and using that power without limits.
Congratulations!
You have awakened a hidden trait.
Your perfect body and soul have fused to unlock your sealed qualification.
You have obtained the S-rank Guide trait!]**
What the heck…?
“S-rank?”
My mouth dropped open.
Espers could recognize guides.
No matter how well a guide tried to hide, just a touch was enough to reveal them.
And now you’re telling me this body is an S-rank guide?
So am I supposed to do the quest or not? This world is swarming with espers!
“Hey, this—this makes no sense!”
While the system window was busy messing with me, I couldn’t even run away from the story.
So I had made up my mind: complete the quest, break free from the plot, and live a peaceful retirement with my fortune.
It hadn’t even been a few days since I set that goal—are you kidding me?
As I grumbled like I was rapping, the system window changed again, almost as if it were trying to comfort me.
**[You were an A-rank guide, but possessed near-perfect control, equivalent to an S-rank.
Do not worry.
To hide your identity, you can perfectly control your guide abilities.
No one will recognize you as a guide unless you want them to.]**
Yes, Mom. Thanks for the comfort. Ha ha… Am I supposed to be happy about this? Or not?
I slumped down in bitter resignation.
“This is ridiculous. So being an S-rank guide was this easy all along?”
As I relaxed a little, my eyes warmed and the guiding energy I hadn’t even realized was dormant began to flow.
“Ack—someone might notice.”
Fortunately, I was surrounded by magicians, so I was relatively safe, but just in case, I quickly pulled the energy back in like I was locking it down.
It vanished without a trace.
This was definitely different from my A-rank days.
An incredible power—and vessel.
I felt like I could calm any esper.
As long as they didn’t reject me.
“If I’d had this power in my past life…”
I briefly remembered the wicked espers from my previous life who had worshipped S-rank guides.
But I shook off the thought.
What mattered was here and now.
Not those damned S-ranks who had abandoned me!
So there was nothing to celebrate about becoming an S-rank guide.
If anyone found out, the magicians around me might try to bury their own leader alive.
Ah, crap. Seriously.
“I’m supposedly a great magician, but I don’t even know the ‘ma’ in magic. What even is magic? Is it something you chew and swallow?”
My shoulders trembled in frustration.
Even a five-year-old magician could cast a basic flame spell, but I couldn’t even do that.
I was surrounded by enemies on all sides.
Knock knock.
“Gasp!”
Right then, someone knocked on the door with eerie timing.
I nearly jumped out of my chair.
Thank goodness no one saw that embarrassing reaction.
—My lady, you have a visitor.
It was my aide, who helped me with my official duties.
But… a visitor?
I got up awkwardly and blinked wide-eyed.
The color drained from my face.
Hilaria was someone with no friends and was obsessed with work.
That was one of the few things that had reassured me—I wouldn’t be found out easily.
The aide, used to having a silent mistress, probably assumed I had acknowledged the message by now.
Before I could even collect myself, the door opened. Ah, wait a sec!
“……”
“……”
Oh. The visitor was the last person I expected.
That is to say…
Where did you come from, baby?
“It’s a kid.”
Through the cracked open door, a very small boy peeked his head in and locked eyes with me.
Maybe about eight years old?
Judging from his thin frame, he might even be younger.
At most, maybe ten?
“But wow, he’s really pretty.”
I was puzzled. Were there any characters this young in the original?
The boy’s appearance was so striking, it was hard to believe he wasn’t a main character.
With shimmering green eyes and sparkling silver hair, he was adorably cute—so cute I wanted to bite him.
My upper lip automatically twitched with joy.
Geez, I’ve always had a soft spot for kids!
“No, no. Control your expression. Get it together.”
I didn’t even know who this child was. If I let my face relax into a goofy smile, I might fail the quest and get killed on the spot.
In situations like this, it was usually best to stay silent. Then the other person would make the first move.
“……”
“……”
But this time, luck wasn’t on my side.
No, this wasn’t good.
Cold sweat trickled down my back. I could clearly see the boy shrinking under my cold gaze like it was a live broadcast.
Yes, sweetie. I know I look a little scary.
I adjusted my awkward posture and stepped out from behind the desk.
The child, who had barely peeked through the door, took a step toward me.
“……”
I could see the slight rise and fall of his breath.
His hunched shoulders made my heart ache.
With his big, round eyes tilted up to look at me, he looked exactly like a cat in boots…
Ugh, I couldn’t take it anymore.
I slowly approached and knelt on one knee to match his eye level.
His eyes widened in surprise.
Alright, I get it now—we weren’t on close terms.
But… what do I even call this kid?
Recalling Duke Ariel’s usual curt tone from the novel, I opened my mouth.
“You’re fine. I’m not angry.”
“……!”
“Don’t be scared.”
I gently patted the small, round head of the boy who looked like he might topple over at the slightest push.
Then, blushing bright red, the boy bit his lip as if he had made a firm decision.
Ah, he looked like a baby duck.
His puffed-up cheeks, lowered head, and focused expression were so cute I nearly burst out laughing.
After rummaging through something, the boy took out a small pen and a piece of paper.
Then, with tiny, clumsy hands, he started writing.
And in that moment—
Ah.
I realized who this child was.
