/
Just the thought of it made me feel so conflicted. Just by saying useless things to the trash booger king, it wasn’t only my life that got twisted.
Ha. It’s a mountain beyond a mountain.
It was dizzying enough to have seen the trash booger king at the imperial palace, but now, even Noah’s situation was making me dizzy.
Just what did I do?
Why did I reveal such a secret and now Noah has to go through this?
I couldn’t blame anyone because it’s entirely my fault, so I tried to find another way.
“And I heard that Baron Castilla is in critical condition. I don’t even know, he might pass away anytime,” the man said.
The debts still hadn’t been repaid and the Baron was about to fall to his demise. If so, they wouldn’t miss the opportunity to take hold of the collateral.
Perhaps Noah was already being watched and being pressured by the other side. It was a situation where anyone would sigh automatically.
“I looked into Count Elrand as well, but nothing much came up. So while investigating their past together, I heard something interesting.”
Something interesting?
While I was lost in thought for a moment, the man continued to talk.
“The fact that Liam Elrand, the deceased previous Count, was a homosexual.”
What’s that?
I was looking forward to what he’s going to say, but just hot steam came out. I really can’t do anything with this information. Seriously! I should just pour spicy sauce into this guy’s eyes.
Perhaps he didn’t feel my glare on him, or perhaps because the man’s proud eyes weren’t looking back at me, but he continued talking anyway.
“But what’s amazing is this—I don’t know who the lover is, but after the previous Count Elrand was abandoned by his lover, he attempted to take his own life.”
What? He tried to commit suicide?
I couldn’t control my own facial expression because I had no idea. And this was unpleasant news.
“Is it amazing that a person tried to take their own life? Do you think people’s lives are laughable?”
At my response, the man shrugged as though he couldn’t understand my sentiments. This gesture alone shattered this man’s clean image that I’d seen so far.
No matter how harmless he looked, did this mean that he really was from the underworld?
As expected, you couldn’t judge a book by its cover. As if the topic was insignificant, the man continued to speak.
“I’m not very interested in other people’s lives, but I don’t think this alone is the amazing part. Let’s keep listening, Lady Elrand. Isn’t this about your father?”
And at this, I could no longer remain composed.
Right. I already expected that someone from an information guild would notice. But why did he stop pretending that he didn’t know my identity at this moment?
Was he picking a fight?
Sensing my displeased mood, Damian took a step forward. The same was true for Oscar.
The two pressured the man on the opposite side, standing where they could attack him at any given time.
“Oh, I don’t mean to offend you. I just hope that the information I found would help the Lady. I have to provide what I’ve been paid to do, after all. It’s like an unwritten law here, but there’s no way that this agreement would be broken.”
“So, what’s this amazing thing you’re talking about?”
It’s true that I felt emotional for a moment, but he wasn’t my real father. But as long as I’m in this body, he and his wife were people I continue to keep apologizing to and keep trying to repay because of their kindness.
That’s why I should listen until the end.
“This is from one of his closest friends, so this information is accurate.”
The man continued to talk after a moment.
“After he tried to commit suicide, he started acting like a different person, that even his taste in both tea and food had changed. And even his sexual preference.”
“What do you mean?”
“He denied that he liked people of the same gender. He said he absolutely couldn’t. Then, he brought in a woman and said that he would never marry unless it was her.”
There was a sense of incompatibility in me after hearing these words. And what Oscar said before came to mind as well.
Didn’t he say something about non-humans living within humans?
Perhaps it was like that.
Or perhaps, it could be a case like mine?
My head was spinning. If it was someone else, I might not have heard this or even got to think about it.
However, I could easily recognize the identity of this sense of incompatibility.
A reincarnated person.
Of course, I also reincarnated into a webtoon, but if it wasn’t that, what if it was the ghost of an ancestor who once lived in this land taking over his body?
Was that also a case of reincarnation or possession?
In an instant, goosebumps rose all over my body. I could also lose my body to Cassandra any time.
And there might be another person around me whose body was possessed.
Lastly

The duke was the one who got rejected by my father. If he loved that person yet denied his own love like that, to the point that his entire being had changed

What on earth was he thinking?
My mind became heavy, as though chaos itself had taken over.
As I was unable to say anything, the man in front of me spoke again.
“I haven’t provided enough, so I’ll let the Lady know a much more interesting story next time. Are you also curious about your mother’s family?”
At his question, I couldn’t even breathe. I never thought deeply about my mother, who didn’t even appear in the original work.
I just thought of her as a character, that she was someone who gave me affection, and that I felt both grateful and sorry towards her.
“Oh, and another thing.”
Where did that first innocent demeanor go? The man’s eyes flashed as he spoke once more.
“You don’t really think that your parents truly died in a carriage accident, do you, Milady?”
I couldn’t stand it anymore. I rose from my seat.
I tried not to show that I was being shaken by his words, but my body wouldn’t follow.
The chair I was sitting in fell harshly behind me. However, I wasn’t sure whether the sound of my breathing had become louder, or if the chair’s crash was echoing.
“Master, are you okay?”
“Master, should we kill him?”
Oscar and Damian stepped up to cover me the moment I reacted. They both flanked my sides as though ready to attack.
“I’m a useful person. Please spare me.”
The man had both his hands raised above his head, and he looked harmless. His slightly lowered eyebrows and his facial expression also made him seem like it.
But his eyes were different. How come I hadn’t noticed until now? This man’s eyes glinted more than I thought.
And what that man said had pierced straight through my heart. There was a time when something similar to this had happened.
I had a headache again. The words I heard just now made my mind so conflicted, but there was something more to it. It hurts.
When I grabbed my head in pain, Oscar and Damian reached out at the same time. I almost fainted just as I did before, but when I felt the heat of their hands touching my skin, I barely kept myself conscious.
“Master, it would be better to leave now.”
“That’s right, Master. Let’s go back first.”
I also thought it would be good to do as they said. I couldn’t show any weaknesses in a place like this.
I guess I’ve really become a noble.
Seeing as I’m now struggling to save face.
But there was one thing I needed to say before I left.
“Fine, I’ll spare you this time. Until you provide for what you’ve been given, as you said.”
Now I know perfectly that he wasn’t the type of person who’d cower from this much.
And just as I thought, the man smiled humbly, but his eyes glinted just the same.
I think I’m really going to pour spicy sauce on him. Then he wouldn’t be able to look at me with that kind of gaze

“Then, please be careful on your way.”
The man hurriedly bowed as though he was reading my thoughts. I turned around without paying him any more attention.
With Oscar and Damian’s help, I passed through the door hidden by the bookshelf. In the meantime, I calmed down quite a bit, so I let go of their hands.
“I’m okay now.”
“Master, are you really okay? When your face is still this white?”
Oscar asked as he stroked my cheek. Then, Damian threw off Oscar’s hand.
“Don’t touch Master’s body, Oscar.”
“I’m just worried. You’re being too strict.”
“You
”
“Fine, I got it.”
When Damian grimly reminded him, Oscar just answered coyly.
“Quiet now, both of you.”
Again, I left the bookstore while frowning over this flaring migraine. I stumbled while rushing to take a rest.
My cloak fluttered in the wind, and before it could settle down again, someone grabbed my shoulder tightly.
The person who held me back caught the hood of my cloak, and so it flowed down.
I knew who it was even before I could see the person’s face.
It was a scent I smelled everyday, and it was Lucian’s scent so I couldn’t help but know.
“Brother?”
At my question, Lucian sighed briefly. Or perhaps, it was more of an exhale.
“Yes, Ray.”
When I heard his voice, I raised my head. Still with a hand on my shoulder and as he stood tall, he smiled when our eyes met.
“What brings you here?” I asked him.
The bookstore was situated in a back alley. Why would Lucian have come to such a place?
Maybe

“Is Brother also here to find a good teahouse?”
What I said seemed to have cracked Lucian’s expression just a tiny bit. Why did he react like that?
I’m happy that he’s showing a variety of facial expressions recently, but I don’t understand this one.
Lucian took in a small breath and said quietly.
“I’m here to pick you up.”
Huh? Really? My Lucian, you missed this Noona, huh?
Of course, it’s nice to see him. My bias came to pick me up. But a question suddenly popped up.
Did I ever tell him about the location of the bookstore?