010.
Wandering around, I arrived at the garden where I had previously met the prince. Bathed in dim moonlight, the garden looked even more enchanting than it did during the day.
‘I wish I could take a picture and show it off.’
Letting out a deep sigh, I sank into a chair—not that I could actually sit, being a ghost and all.
Left alone, my mind filled with idle thoughts.
“Ugh.”
Maybe only the lucky ones get to possess someone and live well.
I sighed in frustration when—
Rustle.
A white hand suddenly popped out of the bushes in front of me. It wriggled in the air for a long moment.
‘Is it stuck?’
Out of habit, my meddlesome nature compelled me to move toward the child.
‘Ah, right. I’m a ghost.’
Realizing I couldn’t actually help, I plopped back down onto the chair.
“What the! Why aren’t you scared?!”
A wild-looking blond kid jumped out of the bushes.
With golden eyes glaring fiercely, she had the same blond hair as the crown prince I had met in the corridor.
“You’re ignoring me! Why aren’t you scared?!”
Do all kids here naturally speak so rudely?
‘Blond hair and golden eyes…’
She must be Benefi Partia, the male lead’s half-sister.
“I’ll do it again, so make sure to react properly this time, got it?!”
She’s the only imperial princess of the empire, loved by all. With a quiet, obedient personality, she tended to step back for others rather than asserting her own opinion. She wasn’t a major character in the novel.
The only notable thing was that every time the male lead encountered her, he avoided her.
He would always frown and leave the moment they met.
‘She doesn’t seem like that kind of person, though.’
Then again, ever since the male lead’s personality fell apart, I’d stopped worrying too much about character consistency.
Clutching her long dress, she dove back into the bushes.
Her fingers parted the leaves and popped out again.
“Eek!”
Guess I’m not great at acting.
“See? You can do it if you try. From now on, react immediately.”
Even a kid who just lost her baby teeth was looking down on me—it stung.
While I sulked, she continued rambling on about how amazing her scare tactics were.
‘Come to think of it…’
I looked down, wondering if I had somehow regained a body, but the transparency at my feet was the same.
“Hey, you.”
“Talking informally? Well, I’m in a good mood today, so I’ll allow it. Go ahead.”
“Can you see me?”
“What? Are you making fun of me? Is this blasphemy? I’ll punish you! I’m the one who does the scaring around here!”
As she pointed accusingly, a certain someone overlapped with her—someone with cat-like eyes and a sharp expression.
“Ack! Ugh, what is this…?”
The hem of her dress was covered in dirt and leaves.
“Seems like your dress is uncomfortable.”
“Yeah, it is.”
“Then why don’t you wear something else?”
“Because I was told I had to wear this! Now hush so I can concentrate!”
After fighting with the dirt for a while, the girl pointed at my clothes.
“What’s with you? You look uncomfortable too.”
I hadn’t really paid attention to my outfit.
A white blouse and long black skirt.
I guess it does resemble a traditional ghost outfit.
“This is all I have.”
“Oh… th-that outfit is cool too!”
Please, don’t pity me.
“Anyway, I’m fine, but you said you’re uncomfortable.”
Her soft cheeks wobbled as she tilted her head.
“If it’s uncomfortable, wear something else. You have lots of clothes.”
“But Father…”
“Being forced to wear something uncomfortable is weird.”
“…Really? You’re smart! I like you!”
After dusting herself off, she spun toward the imperial palace.
“Normally, someone as rude as you deserves punishment…”
Her face suddenly turned blank as she glared at me. After scanning me, she smiled again.
“But since I’m in a good mood and I like you today, I’ll let it slide. If you want to keep your head attached, be careful around other people. Bye!”
…Seems like having a split personality is a requirement to live in the imperial palace.
*
“Hmm.”
Right after parting ways with Benefi, I got lost.
I hummed that tune every Korean instinctively sings when lost and wandered around desperately trying to find my way.
Passing through walls and peeking into corners, I finally recognized a familiar hallway.
Quietly, I entered the room I had visited before.
“Priest!”
With a small sliver of hope, I shouted for him.
“Why is it so chilly in here…?”
Turning his head side to side, perhaps searching for the source of the chill, the priest shivered.
Though he still couldn’t see me clearly, he had grown sensitive to my presence during our time with the prince.
“…Excuse me, but is that the one I know?”
I made a big circle in the air. Since I looked like a faint mist, he could at least see my movements.
“Yes! That’s me!”
The priest nervously adjusted his glasses over and over.
‘I need to communicate with him if I want to reach the prince.’
I was a ghost, after all. Even if the first try failed, it was worth another shot.
I reached for the pen on the desk—but my transparent hand couldn’t grab it.
“Hnnng! Move! Move already!”
Telekinesis? Nope. Total failure.
I froze in place, filled with frustration.
‘So only some ghosts get to do this stuff…?’
Unable to move even a pen, my eyes started to tear up.
I begged the one responsible for this mess of a plot.
‘Honestly, can’t you at least let me do this much…?’
Maybe wishes really do come true—because the pen began to move.
“Aaagh!”
Seeing his pen dance in mid-air, the priest turned pale.
He was face-to-face with a poltergeist. No wonder he freaked out.
‘I got lost. Please. Help.’
The shaky letters scrawled on the page resembled some form of writing.
It looked a bit like hieroglyphs, but it must be the language of this world.
‘At least they were considerate enough to make the language readable.’
The possession system was very thorough about that part. Even though the language was foreign, I could read and write it easily.
Staring blankly at the page, the priest snapped back to attention.
“Ah! I see! I’ll help you. Should I escort you to the prince’s quarters?”
His kindness nearly made me cry. Since coming to this world, no one had spoken to me this gently.
Having just been ignored moments ago, my emotional walls crumbled.
If this had been a spoken conversation, I would’ve bawled.
‘O’
“Eek! P-please stop… I meant no offense…”
As my writing turned into frantic squiggles, his shoulders trembled in fear.
From my perspective, this was a survival tale. From his, it must’ve been straight-up horror. If it were me, I might’ve fainted like the prince had.
‘The priest’s got guts.’
Anyway, it seemed using supernatural power drained my energy. Fatigue welled up from deep inside me.
‘Maybe it’ll get easier with practice.’
Even staying grounded felt difficult as my body grew lighter. Floating midair, I followed the priest.
“Miss Titi, did you know?”
Even though he couldn’t see me, he kept talking.
His voice got quieter when others were around, but he never stopped.
Even without getting a response, even when people gave him strange looks and he blushed in embarrassment—he kept talking.
“I’m sorry again that I can’t make eye contact with you.”
If kindness had a human form, it would look like this.
“I should start carrying paper and pen from now on.”
His shy smile was radiant.
I stared at him like I’d lost my mind. His gentleness, paired with such a pretty face, made me feel like I was about to be purified out of existence.
‘I need to be careful.’
And so, the long journey ended.
After saying his farewells, the priest left.
“Is the prince back?”
I peeked into the room.
“…What happened here?”
The place looked ransacked. The once-immaculate room now resembled a trash heap. My eyes widened in shock.
The prince was sitting in a corner, panting and clutching his head. Sweat streamed down his face, revealing the state he was in.
“Prince! Was it an assassin? Did they come back?!”
His eyes met mine, unfocused and wavering.
“…Titi?”
“Yeah, it’s me. Are you okay?”
“No, that’s not it. You—why did you leave the room? What if you got hit by an arrow again like last time…”
He mumbled things I couldn’t understand.
His disjointed words didn’t make sense in my context.
“I finally thought I had something of my own… but like that day, no one was there, and Mother said everyone would abandon me, so you too, Titi…”
He was overlapping the new “Titi” with me.
“Prince, look at me.”
His eyes, shadowed by nightmares, were like the depths of an abyss. In that darkness, he couldn’t see me.
“I’m a ghost. Arrows can’t hurt me. And I’m not planning to go anywhere.”
The prince’s fear couldn’t be undone by anyone else.
The confident child I knew was gone.
Whatever happened in the time we hadn’t met had clearly taken a toll on his mind.
“…Huh? What happened to your cheek?”
