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‘…It’s a trick.’
That was the answer that my head, which had barely begun to spin, came up with.
‘It’s a trick because these people knew everything about me, Gabriel, and Cassius… He’s acting.’
I struggled to regain my composure as I opened my mouth again.
“If your intention is to shock me, I can only say that you’ve succeeded. Why are you pretending to be a dead person?”
“If you want to keep thinking that way, I won’t stop you.”
Cesare answered in a soft voice.
“But, what’s the benefit of pretending to be a dead person?”
“…To embarrass me and cloud my judgment—”
“Well, it seems to me…”
He paused for a moment and gazed at me before finishing his words.
“…It seems Eve’s judgment has always been clouded.”
“….!”
My face flushed red from the blatant insult. Even more that I didn’t even expect this situation, so it was cheap to hear this kind of mockery. Still, I didn’t feel any remorse.
‘Even if I turn back time, I’ll act the same way.’
Because I couldn’t let Cassius Brudenell die. I couldn’t watch him die in that dungeon, and I was determined to give my everything.
For that reason, if it was a crisis like this…
I stared Cesare straight in the eyes.
“This is getting out of hand, what do you want?”
“…You.”
He whispered in a very low voice.
“To have you… I’m back from Hell, Eve.”
Goosebumps sprouted. Did this lunatic really think I’d believe this? No matter how much this was, the dead came back to life…
I decided to make up my mind.
Perhaps Cesare would bring up memories of Gabriel and me to convince me. Still, that was probably all the facts that the members of the Aisle under Cassius’ orders found out while monitoring me. Whatever he said wouldn’t shake me anymore.
“Why don’t you stop saying nonsense?”
I calmly opened my mouth.
“Lucifer Bynell is dead. There were more than ten eyewitnesses, and there must have been many more who saw the body. Even though we didn’t put up a tombstone, he even has a grave. If you open it right now…”
“It’ll be empty.”
Cesare let out a chuckle.
“Did you move him somewhere else?”
“It can’t be.”
He answered me slowly.
“This is going to be a long story, so you’d better sit down, Eve.”
I swallowed dry saliva.
Would it be better to take my time? Nonetheless, just because I was dragging my feet… was there anyone who could come to help me?
‘…There isn’t.’
I gritted my teeth.
I was the only one who could get myself out of this situation right now.
‘No, maybe…’
As I slowly met Cesare’s eyes, it was difficult to find a trace of Gabriel in his gaze, which I couldn’t see his intentions.
It was natural, since the person in front of me was never Gabriel.
When I finally sat down, he dismissed everyone from the room. I didn’t know if I should be relieved by that fact or if I should be even more vigilant.
“Are you seeking revenge?”
“Revenge?”
Cesare snorted.
“I’m rather grateful. That body was so conspicuous, I’m glad I changed it to something less conspicuous like this.”
“….!”
I caught my breath. It was because I finally understood what he was implying.
‘It’s a possession.’
…Possession that expelled another person’s soul and took over their body.
“Then… that body, originally…”
“You’re right.”
He laughed before finishing his words.
“It wasn’t my body.”
“….!”
“The body I was born with was very weak, so my parents wanted a new body. Unfortunately, there’s a limit to how much the soul can be transferred unless it’s murder…”
The shock almost made me faint.
‘It wasn’t… a lie.’
If I were the real Evelyn Garneid, I wouldn’t have believed Cesare’s words even more. How could I believe him saying such a thing?
…To change your body like you changed your shoes.
However, I had to believe him… because I wasn’t Evelyn Garneid. I was just an unfortunate soul that took over her body one day.
“I asked them to choose the method of killing me, but my dear parents disagreed.”
My blood went cold.
“…You killed someone else.”
“Please. Do you see my parents as being so callous?”
To my surprise, Cesare gazed at me with a look that seemed genuinely resentful.
“….”
“They took a completely different approach. Instead of transferring my soul into the body of the immature prince who just happened to visit my house…”
…Crazy.
I barely suppressed the urge to run away from this place.
Lucifer Bynell, too, was the unfortunate victim whose soul was stolen by him. Apparently, the ability he possessed also belonged to his body.
“Then, what happened to the soul that was originally in the Prince’s body?”
My voice trembled on its own.
“It’s none of my business.”
Cesare shrugged, answering me.
“Perhaps he’s wandering somewhere… or he could have disappeared altogether.”
“….”
“Anyway, let’s go back to the original story. My parents had to pay the price of transferring my soul into the Prince’s body without any sacrifice.”
I didn’t want to hear it.
I didn’t want to know what the story would be like after that. Nevertheless, Cesare’s words continued unabated.
“But, they didn’t pay the price. As for who did…”
No way.
I muttered a word with my mouth. It wouldn’t, it wouldn’t be…
I didn’t think it would be like what I was thinking. Still, his calm voice only confirmed that what I thought was right.
“Unfortunately, the very moment my soul was transferred, a soul that was on par with me in another world was lost.”
Cesare placed his hand on the back of my stiffened hand.
“Eve, I knew it the moment I saw you… I knew that you were the one I’d been looking for all along since the boat! You’re my destiny, my partner that God has given me…”
“Is… is it because of you that I came here?”
I spat out a word in a trembling voice.
“…Because of you, I’ve come here?”
He tilted his head at my words.
“You don’t like that body? If it’s a problem like that, I can change it as much as you like, so just tell me the body you want. I’ll change you to that body right away.”
“It’s not like that..!”
“Oh, you’ve always liked your sister. Then, how’s your sister’s body? If you’re worried about her soul, you can take her soul out to someone else beforehand. What do you think? It’s not bad, right?”
I never thought he had been keeping an eye on Ophelia…
As my emotions rose uncontrollably, I closed my eyes tightly as the new truth I had learned was too difficult to handle.
“So now accept your fate, Eve. You’re no different from me… a parasite that took the body of another person and took its place…”
“Shut up.”
I stood up from my seat. I couldn’t bear to listen anymore. It felt as if I would go insane if I heard one more word, so I screamed.
“I’ve never wanted anything like this. Who wanted this? Who would have wanted something like this…?!”
In my mind, I wanted to run out of this room right away, but outside the room, there would only be members of the Aisle who turned their backs on me.
All I could do was rebel here, albeit feebly.
“…Eve.”
Cesare, no, Gabriel Vecchio smiled.
“Do you think I wanted this?”
“Huh…?”
“I didn’t want it either. I just wanted to die, but my parents forced me to take part in the ceremony.”
“….”
“Though once I changed, it really opened up a new world, just like my parents said. As a prince, there was nothing I couldn’t get my hands on. Except for one thing…”
Gabriel whispered softly.
“…Except for the person of my destiny.”
“….”
“On the boat, when I first saw you…”
Raising up from his seat, he pushed me slowly against the wall. There was a whiff of body odor that wasn’t supposed to belong to him. At the same time, eyes that shouldn’t have been his were gazing down at me, and a voice that wasn’t supposed to be his tickled my ears.
“…My heart started beating.”
I thought as I looked up at him with terrified eyes.
‘Why.’
…Why was I missing Cassius Brudenell at this moment? Why, the man who said the same thing as this man…!
“So, whatever you’re thinking with that pretty head, you’d better give up.”
Gabriel let out a grim laugh.
“Because I’ll never let Eve go.”