Chapter 4
Bell came rushing in with the invitations. It wasn’t an exaggeration to say they were piled like a mountain. Looking at the towering stack—enough to repaper the walls—I sighed again. Bell, noticing my mood, spoke cautiously.
“I’ve set aside the ones with expired dates, my lady.”
That wasn’t what I was concerned about. Forcing a smile, I began opening the invitations one by one.
Carla’s handwriting wasn’t difficult to mimic, but replying to this many invitations was pure manual labor. My mood sank immediately.
‘I guess… I have to reply to all these…’
I sighed and began writing responses right there at the vanity.
There were only two things to watch out for when mimicking Carla’s script. She had a habit of elongating certain strokes and replacing circles with dots in some letters.
Thanks to being possessed, I could read the language of this world fluently. But if I wasn’t careful, my original handwriting would slip out. Still, with just a bit of caution, it was enough to fool those who weren’t close to her.
A careful observer could tell the handwriting was slightly different from Carla’s, but no one had noticed so far. Thankfully, Carla had always written very short replies.
“My lady, shall I refill the ink?”
“Yes, please.”
I didn’t need to respond to every invitation. For those who had invited me multiple times, I wrote a quick apology for the delayed reply. As for the mass-distributed ones without names, I ignored them altogether. Still, there were so many that the ink bottle needed to be refilled.
As Bell poured ink into the bottle, I casually looked through the invitations. There were quite a few interesting ones: tea parties, banquets, flower viewings, boat rides, horseback riding…
“Bell.”
“Yes, my lady?”
“Which of the riding outfits I’ve worn looked best on me?”
I asked, feigning curiosity.
“Pardon?”
Bell looked flustered, clenching her hands nervously. Worried that she might have thought I was scolding her, I softened my voice.
“I’m just asking.”
“Well… I’ve never seen you ride a horse, my lady.”
Apparently, it wasn’t that she feared I was angry—she was just confused. For a maid who had served Carla for over a year to have never seen her ride meant Carla likely wasn’t skilled at it.
Smiling slyly, I handed her an invitation to a horseback riding event.
“Oh? Really? Well, it is a bit embarrassing to show others something you’re not good at.”
I said shamelessly. It was a solid excuse. If Carla wasn’t a good rider, then no one would suspect anything if I wasn’t either. My heart thumped nervously—it would be my first time riding.
Bell gasped after reading the invitation.
“My lady, are you really going to the riding grounds?”
“I thought it might lift my spirits.”
“I’m not sure if we still have riding clothes.”
“If not, we’ll just buy new ones.”
Chatting lightly with Bell, I eagerly wrote my reply. I was so excited that I forgot something very important.
This world was insane.
The ladies who had invited Carla to ride weren’t interested in the actual riding. What they really wanted was an excuse to sneak away to a secluded place and spend time with their lovers.
I only realized that once I arrived at the riding grounds. Ridiculous.
“Look at that knight, isn’t he handsome?”
“Oh my, his shirt is soaked with sweat…”
Everywhere I looked, there were tall, muscular men flashing charming smiles.
They were all dressed in smart suits or knight uniforms, and the ladies could identify which order they belonged to just by the clothes.
When a lady saw a knight she liked, she would pretend to be a poor rider and hesitate.
“My lady, is this your first time here?”
“Oh, n-not at all… I’m just a little clumsy…”
“Ha ha, then step on my knee to mount.”
Then the man would gallantly approach and help her up. As the lady mounted using his knee, the knight would offer to teach her how to ride, then guide the horse into the woods for “instruction.” What a world.
The other ladies quickly paired off and disappeared. Some winked at me, as if expecting I’d soon snag someone too.
“Unbelievable…”
Left alone, I clicked my tongue and got on the horse. Thanks to watching others out of the corner of my eye, I managed to mount easily. Maybe Carla had at least learned the basics.
Riding was fun. Even though it was a small horse, the elevated view made the scenery look fresh. The horse was gentle and didn’t bolt or change directions on a whim.
“Oh… how pretty.”
I slowly circled the edge of the riding arena. Red flowers were planted along the boundary, which had seemed like weeds from the ground but now looked beautiful from above.
It was a decent little stroll—except for the part where I had to quickly turn my head away from the woods every now and then.
It was more like a densely wooded park than an actual forest. If you looked closely, you could see peach-colored silhouettes tangled together. If you listened carefully, you’d hear someone moaning in pleasure.
I tried not to look or listen and steered my horse as far away as possible. With the horse’s rhythmic movement and the dizziness of it all, I felt like I was losing my mind.
“I want to burn it all down.”
The words slipped out without thinking. More of a criminal threat than a complaint. Maybe it was the despair of not knowing how much longer I’d survive in this world. I began ranting like a madwoman to the horse.
“How is this even real? Why couldn’t I have been possessed into a healing romance? A hot guy on my left, a cute guy on my right, a pretty girl in front, a cat in my lap…”
The more I spoke, the more frustrated I felt. Why did I have to end up in this kind of novel? A cheap, forgotten title I probably paid a thousand won for. I hated my past self for buying it.
“It’s not like I asked for much! Why did it have to be some insane adultery plot I only read once? It’s not even like the husband’s hot—he’s ugly! Damn you, god! What did I ever do to deserve this hell?!”
After ranting my heart out, I looked up and saw a different view. There was a horse tied among the trees. I’d wandered into the middle of something… inappropriate.
In panic, I accidentally kicked my horse’s side.
“Ahhh!”
The horse suddenly bolted.
The world blurred as the speed increased. All I could do was cling to the reins to keep from falling.
The reins felt like they would snap at any second. I was too scared to even scream.
I didn’t want to die—not here, not like this. If I died, Carla’s life would be taken from her. I couldn’t let that happen.
My skirt flapped wildly against my calves. I did not want to die.
“Save me!”
Suddenly, the horse slowed down drastically. I had to tense my body just to stay on, but I tilted sideways—
“Lady, are you alright?”
—but I didn’t fall. A passing knight had caught me. He rode up alongside my horse and grabbed both me and the reins, pulling me safely to a stop.
Thankfully, the horse calmed down quickly.
Half seated in the saddle, half clinging to the knight, I gasped for breath. My heart was pounding. I looked up to see his face.
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
He asked gently. I opened my mouth to answer, but no words came out. Because something even more shocking had just happened.
A gorgeous man’s face filled my vision. Radiant blonde hair, bright blue eyes, flawless skin, a tall, lean figure. He was stunning—so beautiful I was mesmerized.
And he was wearing a knight’s uniform. Is there a woman on earth who doesn’t love a man in uniform? Certainly not me. It was a miracle I hadn’t screamed or fainted on the spot.
“Were you very frightened?”
They say shock ruins your vocabulary, and I guess it’s true—I could only mumble incoherently. The knight furrowed his brow slightly.
“My lady, forgive my rudeness.”
He slipped his arms between my back and knees and effortlessly lifted me up. For a moment, I thought I was in an R-rated romance novel.
Could I trust him? What if he took me somewhere and did something horrible? The thought chilled me. Though his arms were warm and secure, I stiffened in fear and embarrassment.
Then I blurted out the only defense I could think of:
“I’m a married woman!”
