“I don’t get it. His Highness the Second Prince clearly doesn’t have feelings for Lady Burkell.”
Even as the visions continued to play out, I could still hear the voices of the nobles.
“She acts like a villainess without a care in the world, just because she’s a direct heir of House Burkell. No wonder the Duke and the young Count despise her.”
The problem child of House Burkell, madly obsessed with the Second Prince. A disgrace of a daughter and sister.
I’d begun to suspect something from what people said, but to think I was infamous enough to be called a villainess.
The scene before me shifted. The Second Prince had appeared at the party, and the other me approached him with a confession.
“I like you, Your Highness.”
“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that.”
His Highness looked troubled as he replied.
But the other me didn’t give up. When the Second Prince stepped out into the garden, she followed him.
“Why won’t you understand my feelings? Don’t you know how much I care for you…?”
With a dreamy look, she clutched the hem of his coat. And the Second Prince flung off her hand in irritation.
“Please, just stop already!”
“Your Highness…”
“Don’t you realize the more you do this, the more I hate it?”
“Do you hate me… that much?”
“Of course I do. I despise you. You’re utterly unbearable!”
So that’s what they meant by a harsh rejection. It was indeed as cruel as the diary had said.
I could clearly see how wounded she looked after that.
The scene changed again. The other me was holding a small vial — likely the potion.
“With this… everything will change.”
She uncorked the bottle and drank it. The hope in her eyes was the last thing I saw before the vision vanished.
So she drank the potion hoping it would make her love come true?
Thanks to the old woman’s vision, I could be sure of one thing now.
The person these people knew as me wasn’t really me. And the people around me weren’t the same ones I had once known either.
They were all completely different.
All those strange feelings I’d had — they were real.
“…Is there really no way to go back?”
I wanted to return. To the place I’d come from. To the people I loved.
My voice trembled with hope, but the old woman slowly shook her head.
“You saw it, didn’t you? You’re already dead.”
“…How… how could that be…”
“Accidents can happen to anyone. Status and birth mean nothing in death.”
“…”
She lifted her hand and pointed directly at me.
“You died… and came into this body.”
That was possible?
A new question suddenly hit me.
How did this old woman know all of this?
I was just about to ask when—
“My Lady! Lady Vanessa!”
The voice of my escort knight snapped me back to reality.
“…Sir Hans?”
Only then did I remember he’d been standing behind me the whole time. I’d been so focused on the old woman that I’d completely forgotten about him.
“Are you all right? You’ve been standing there in a daze.”
“…?”
He must’ve heard me talking with her.
But when I turned back toward where the old woman had been—
There was nothing there.
Not even a trace of where she’d been sitting.
“Where’s the old woman who was just here?”
“…Pardon? There was someone here?”
He tilted his head, genuinely puzzled.
“She was sitting right here on a mat, and— Never mind.”
I cut myself off mid-sentence.
Everyone already thought I was strange. I couldn’t afford to make it worse.
So there really is another me — like a mirror reflection…
And I died and took over her body? Like I’m possessed or something?
It was hard to believe, but the old woman hadn’t seemed like she was lying.
If she had been, there was no way to explain what I’d seen.
What do I do now?
There’s no way back. The original me had died in that accident.
If I’d known I was going to die, I wouldn’t have gone to that party…
Too late for regrets.
But who was that old woman? How did she know all of this?
With my thoughts tangled in confusion, I returned to the mansion.
The moment I stepped into my room, Anna approached me.
“The Duke has summoned you to his office upon your return, my lady.”
“Father has?”
So much for catching my breath. I had no choice but to head straight to his study.
For the first time, the path to my father’s office felt unbearably heavy. Probably because I now knew… there was no way out of this place.
As I arrived, the attendant was about to knock when I heard Milan’s voice from inside.
“You must forbid Vanessa from going outside.”
They were talking about me.
I paused and raised my hand to stop the knock.
“Stop her from going out?”
It was my father’s voice.
Why would Milan bring that up now?
The intent behind his suggestion made me uneasy.
“Can we really allow someone mentally unstable to roam freely?”
“She has an escort, doesn’t she?”
“And you think the escort can stop her?”
Father fell silent. A silence that seemed to agree.
“She was already a disgrace to the family. Now she’s lost her mind on top of that. Who knows what kind of scandal she’ll cause next? Even when she was sound of mind, she only brought shame to House Burkell.”
“…So what do you propose we do?”
His tone grew more serious. And Milan’s next words were heavier still.
“Lock her in her room. Until she comes to her senses.”
What—?
“Once she’s fully recovered, then you can consider letting her out again.”
Milan clearly didn’t believe the physician’s assessment. He was convinced I was faking it.
But why was he telling Father this?
Then I remembered what Milan had said to me before.
“Aren’t you just pretending to be mentally unstable because you don’t want to be scolded by Father?”
So now he thinks if Father threatens to confine me, I’ll crack and confess?
That must be it. Otherwise, there’s no way he’d sound so concerned.
“She ran off again right after meeting His Highness the Second Prince. Doesn’t that make you nervous—?”
“Father!”
I couldn’t take it anymore. I flung the door open.
Father and Milan turned to me.
They had to know I’d overheard them — but Milan looked utterly unfazed.
As if daring me to say something.
But this wasn’t the time to confront him. The one who held the power was Father.
“Father.”
“Yes. Speak.”
“Oh? So you remember now?”
Milan asked with smugness in his voice.
“Are you ready to tell us why you took the tiara? Or how you lost it?”
“I told you before — I don’t remember. I really don’t know.”
Milan’s brow creased in disbelief.
“That’s all you have to say?”
“It’s the truth. I honestly don’t remember anything.”
If the visions the old woman showed me had included that, maybe this would be easier to explain. But all I’d learned was that I’d entered a different world.
“I may not remember it now, but I promise I’ll tell you as soon as I do.”
“Didn’t you say before that you’d never taken the tiara out of the mansion? Now you’re saying something completely different.”
“That was… I must have been confused when I first woke up. I didn’t realize what was going on.”
There was no point in explaining my accident. The truth would sound like nonsense to them.
It was better to pretend not to remember anything at all.
“I’m sorry for everything I said before. Please blame it on the medication.”
I glanced at Milan as I spoke. With that, he wouldn’t be able to push the she’s crazy narrative any further.
“But I think it’ll take time before my memories fully return.”
“So this is your excuse now?”
Milan latched on like a leech, but I ignored him and looked straight at Father.
“There really are gaps in my memory.”
“So… you’re saying you don’t remember how you lost the tiara?”
“Correct.”
“And you don’t recall what you did with it after taking it?”
“No…”
“But you do remember where you got the potion?”
Milan again.
“You’re just denying things because you don’t like the implications.”
“No, I’m not!”
Why won’t he just believe me?
I stared at him in frustration, but he only looked back with cold suspicion.
“Since you say you don’t know, I’ll tell you.”
Father finally spoke.
“The day after you drank that potion and collapsed, I realized the tiara was missing.”
I stayed quiet and listened.
“You once asked me if you could examine the tiara. A knight saw you take it out, so I assumed it was you.”
So I did show open interest in it?
By the time I woke up, I’d already been labeled the culprit. Seems the other me had laid the groundwork.
“The knights are already searching for the tiara across the entire territory. But so far, there’s no sign of it.”
The man before me was the Duke of Burkell, but not the father I’d known.
Still, he looked at me with calm detachment.
“You should know I’m not after the tiara because of its monetary value.”
“Yes, Father.”
“It’s the most precious keepsake I have. So if you recall anything — anything at all — you must come to me immediately.”
He still showed no concern for me. But at least he wasn’t trying to lock me up like Milan.
“I understand. I’ll be sure to tell you.”
After giving a polite bow, I stepped out of the room. Milan followed behind, sneering.
“Finally giving up the whole ‘crazy’ act, are you?”
“I was never faking.”
“How long do you plan on keeping up this amnesia story?”
He walked away, muttering to himself. I watched his back with a hard expression.
It only made me think more of the brother I once knew.
His Highness confessed to you?
When I told my brother I’d received a confession from the Second Prince, he had looked completely flustered.
“What are you going to do?”
“I already accepted. We’re officially dating as of today.”
“…What?”
His face had gone pale.
I’m nineteen. Having a boyfriend isn’t that strange.
You mustn’t marry him. Father wouldn’t approve of that soft-faced little prince.
We’re just dating. Who said anything about marriage?
I’d laughed as he panicked.
If this is how he reacts to dating, I wonder what he’d do if I actually tried to marry someone.
He really needs to find someone himself.
“Vanessa…”
Even as he frowned in disapproval, I’d kept smiling.
That man… and my brother… they’re not the same.
I had to make a clear distinction.
If I kept comparing them, I might tarnish the precious memories of the brother I had loved.
That man isn’t really my brother.
He’s the brother of another me.
So I comforted my wounded heart with that thought.
