“Oh my! Sebin, what are you doing here?”
My eyes snapped open. The familiar sight, the familiar smell, and the familiar voice.
“…Team Leader?”
“I was wondering where you went. So you were here? Did you finish all the documents I gave you this morning?”
I quickly sat up and checked the watch on my left wrist. I had only leaned back on the couch to rest my eyes for a moment…
Exactly five minutes had passed.
“Ah, I was just so tired I thought I’d close my eyes for a bit…”
“Oh my, I’m about to get really disappointed here. Sebin, don’t you know we’re in the middle of a busy season?”
“Ah, of course! That’s why I worked overtime yesterday too…”
“Enough. Since we’re talking about it, let’s lay things out clearly. You do realize it’s rare for a company these days to hire a newbie who knows nothing and take the time to train them, right?”
As she shrugged her shoulders, the iced coffee in her hand sloshed. I had nothing to say and shut my mouth.
“Having a break room at work? Great, right? Workplace welfare is super important nowadays. But in a time like this, disappearing alone for a long time—isn’t that a bit much?”
“……”
“I mean, I’m your mentor and all… but were you really someone who needs to be taught even the most basic things?”
With that, she let out a small sigh. The relentless barrage of passive-aggressive questions made my head spin.
‘I could ask why you came to the break room, then…’ The words rose to my throat but I swallowed them.
Compared to other things, this wasn’t even that bad.
So I had to stay calm. You’ve survived worse and meaner things than this, Lee Sebin.
“Don’t take it too personally. It’s just… to survive in the real world, what choice do we have? You a landlord or something? Got a silver spoon in your mouth like those kids they talk about these days? No, right?”
“……”
“Let’s just try to be more considerate of each other, okay?”
I reluctantly nodded as she gestured toward the door with her eyes. My dry throat ached as I swallowed.
As I slowly passed her and walked toward the break room door, a deep wave of despair crashed over me.
“You a landlord or something? Got a silver spoon in your mouth?”
The team leader’s voice echoed in my head.
“Like hell. Not unless I’m reborn.”
Just as I grabbed the doorknob and let out a sigh—
A dazzling light burst through the crack of the door as it opened.
I instinctively scrunched my face. The light was so blinding it felt like it might scorch my eyes. And then—
“Has there still been no word from the Duke of Tigerris?!”
“T-that, well…”
The voices became clearer. I focused and could feel the presence of several people.
“What do you mean you can’t figure out what’s wrong?! If she doesn’t wake up—!”
“Father, please calm down.”
It was Estelline’s voice, trying to soothe someone in a panic.
A strange wave of relief washed over me. I clenched my fist beneath the blanket and inhaled softly.
‘I’m still in this world…’
The team leader’s face had been too vivid to be just a dream.
That look of disdain, the mocking tone of voice—so real it still made me tremble.
As I quietly calmed my emotions—
“I-it’s all my fault… Lady Selenea… it’s because of me…”
A trembling, childlike voice choked with tears.
‘…Eria.’
I cracked my eyes open just a bit and looked around.
Through blurry vision, I saw Eria, her face pale and shoulders shaking.
It seemed she was absolutely terrified because I had collapsed after drinking from her cup.
I felt a pang of sympathy as I watched her.
“I-I never imagined there’d be poison in the cup… If she doesn’t wake up like this…”
Eria’s voice trailed off, and then she burst into tears.
“I… I really don’t know what to do…!”
“It’ll be okay, Eria. The doctors said her pulse wasn’t bad. We just need to wait a little longer—”
But at that moment—
A dull ache began spreading through my body, and a wave of real pain hit me.
A strained groan escaped my lips, and people rushed over at once.
“She’s waking up!!”
Flinching at the sudden attention, I slowly opened my eyes.
Then, pretending I had just woken up, I let out a groggy sound.
“U-ugh…”
“You’re awake?! My lady!!”
Someone grabbed my hand tightly—it was Eria, her face soaked with tears.
“…W-where am I?”
My voice came out cracked. Even to me, I sounded painfully sick.
Estelline stepped closer, worry written all over her face.
“Y-you’re in my room. I meant to have you moved to a guest room, but it was closest to the ballroom, so…”
She trailed off apologetically. But before I could respond, Eria jumped in again.
“My lady, are you okay?! Are you in pain?! There was poison in the drink… You drank it…”
Her lips trembled, and tears welled up again in her reddened eyes.
I blinked, overwhelmed.
‘…She really is just a kid. She was all bold earlier, but now…’
No matter how tough she pretended to be, she was still twelve. I let my guard down a bit.
“Um… Miss Eria, I’m okay. So please don’t cry.”
But her crying only got louder.
Seeing her sobbing so hard she could barely breathe, I froze.
Then someone gently patted her shoulder and stepped forward.
His neatly combed brown hair and surprisingly handsome appearance for his age immediately caught my eye.
‘Duke Lorant?’
A supporting character in the original story—Calypso Lorant, father of Estelline and Eria.
“It’s been a while, Selenea. I haven’t seen you since you were little.”
I tried to sit up to greet him, but pain shot through me again and I fell back.
He frowned and looked down at me with concern.
“Stay lying down. You need to rest right now.”
Then he added with a furrowed brow,
“Eria’s right. The drink you had was poisoned. Someone tried to pull something vile at the party.”
He rubbed his forehead and sighed deeply.
I looked away and let out an awkward cough.
‘That “vile act” was… actually me…’
My buried conscience gave a hard jab.
“We’re still investigating, but the doctors say it’s not any known poison. Honestly, it’s a miracle you’re in this good of a state.”
Duke Lorant spoke gently. I nodded uncomfortably.
It made sense that no poison had been identified. After all, Tears of the Gods wasn’t an ordinary poison.
If anything, it was closer to a functional drug.
It was only dangerous in high doses.
As I was racking my brain—
“If Eria had drunk that instead… who knows what could’ve happened…”
The duke’s voice grew serious. His expression was mixed with guilt and something else hard to describe.
An awkward silence passed before he said,
“…I owe you a great debt.”
I was just starting to force a smile when—
He gave me a short, respectful bow.
I froze, eyes wide.
Even without fully understanding, I knew.
A duke and head of a noble house bowing to a young lady of another house? That was a grand gesture of gratitude.
Flustered, I glanced around—and saw that others were bowing as well.
Not just slight nods either.
‘That’s… a perfect 90-degree angle.’
Blinking blankly, I swallowed hard.
‘I-I really stumbled into this one…’
To the people in this manor, I had become the savior of Eria’s life.
It wasn’t entirely wrong if they didn’t know the full story.
Awkwardly, I mumbled,
“R-really, as long as Lady Eria is safe, that’s all that matters. Besides, I’m fine, so there’s no need to…”
I meant it. But I couldn’t finish the sentence.
Because something about the atmosphere suddenly felt… off.
“She’s not angry…”
“They said she had a terrible temper…”
The maids whispered among themselves. And not just them.
“My lady…”
Eria, having just calmed down, was tearing up again.
Estelline looked like she was in shock, covering her mouth.
Even Duke Lorant looked at me with admiration and murmured, “…Such a kind soul.”
I glanced around, then nodded inwardly.
Yeah. Now that I think about it, the real Selenea would never let this go.
‘She would’ve raised hell about nearly dying.’
She might’ve even demanded compensation from Estelline as the host.
No, not might’ve—she definitely would’ve. Probably wouldn’t have stopped there either.
I quietly averted my eyes. My conscience jabbed me again.
Too embarrassed, I gave a fake cough—and a maid quickly rushed over with a warm cup of water.
Startled, I took it with both hands.
And again, soft gasps echoed around me.
“She’s so humble…”
“My word, how noble…”
“She’s nothing like the rumors—she’s the image of a true lady!”
…This situation was spiraling way out of hand.
