Chapter 34
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 34
Chapter Title: True Feelings at the Bedside
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‘Maybe she wants to talk about something related to the original story?’
The princess’s figure, cheering her on as if she knew everything while leaving with something like that, sparked such a thought.
Well, she’d probably get to the main point soon anyway, so no point dwelling on it.
Once the two women left and the bedroom door closed, only Leonier and I remained in the room.
A suffocating silence descended for a moment.
I leaned deeply against the bedhead and gazed at her.
“So, what is it you want to say? Something you had to send everyone else away for.”
“...”
But despite my attempt to break the awkward silence with those kind words, Leonier didn’t respond right away.
She stared at my face for a moment, then gave a bittersweet yet affectionate smile.
“You haven’t changed.”
“...Pardon?”
“Teasing Princess Roselia while pretending not to know, even though you know everything. You looked like you were enjoying it quite a bit.”
“...”
I furrowed my brow.
Why is she suddenly acting like this?
“I have no idea what you mean. Me, teasing the princess?”
“You don’t have to play dumb. I heard it from Roselia earlier. About what happened in the carriage.”
Leonier slowly rose from her seat and took a step toward the bed.
“She said you coolly brushed it off when she confessed she was a character from a book. You even knew about her muttering to herself in that strange language...”
“......”
By now, I had a rough idea of what she wanted to say.
But even so, I kept my expression unchanged and responded calmly.
“I was just playing along with her dragon’s whim. Is there a problem with that?”
“It wasn’t just playing along.”
Her voice carried conviction.
A certainty that she knew I was acting through and through.
“You understood everything. What Roselia meant by ‘novel,’ her strange words, even what Korean is.”
“...”
This wasn’t mere speculation or probing.
Her demeanor made it seem like she already knew the answer.
And as if to confirm my thoughts, Leonier stood by my bedside, looking down at me as she whispered softly.
“You... you’re from Earth too, aren’t you?”
“...!!”
“A reincarnator... right?”
“W-What do you...”
Her shocking follow-up made me hold my breath without realizing it.
My mind went blank.
No one in this world knew I was a reincarnator.
Not even my parents, a secret I planned to take to my grave.
Yet here was a southern duke’s daughter I barely knew, a woman I’d met only a few days ago, claiming to know my greatest secret?
As my eyes wavered in flustered panic—forgetting that I needed to stay composed in moments like this—Leonier gave a sad smile.
“Don’t be startled. I’m not here to expose your secret.”
“...You, what exactly are you? How do you...”
“Because you told me yourself.”
Her gaze shifted from my face to somewhere on the ceiling.
“You said it while drunk, gazing at the night sky. That the moon here is much bigger and brighter than the one on Earth. That sometimes you miss the convenience store beer from there...”
“...”
I had no memory of saying that.
But chillingly, it matched the thoughts I’d murmur to myself every time I drank alone.
I swallowed dryly and eyed her warily.
“I’ve never said anything like that to you.”
“Yes, the current you hasn’t.”
Leonier nodded matter-of-factly, her voice growing misty.
“But the you I knew did. Playful on the outside, cynical inside despite pretending to be perfect... even inwardly thrilled and teasing when you first found someone else from Earth.”
“......”
“I dropped enough hints in our first meeting back then, so you must’ve realized she wasn’t an ordinary possessor—maybe even a regressor. That’s why you’re not as shocked as I expected. That mischievous personality of yours is the same, even without the memories, Noxion.”
She called my name.
Not ‘Your Grace’ or ‘Duke,’ but my name.
The emotion in her voice was so deep and profound that I lost the words to argue.
A woman who knew my deepest secret as a reincarnator.
And looked at me like a lover she’d cherished for ages.
I was confused.
I couldn’t judge how to handle this situation.
One thing was clear, though: as I’d suspected, Leonier Baldinmar was a possessor—and a regressor.
“I get it. It must be hard to understand why I’m suddenly spilling all this out of nowhere.”
Leonier continued as if peering right into my mind.
“The reason I’m laying all my secrets bare is simple. I’m getting impatient.”
“Impatient?”
“...Yes. Originally, I planned to stay silent until the right opportunity came and until I figured out the cause of this phenomenon. I wanted to gather as much information as possible first, then approach you slowly so you wouldn’t feel repulsed.”
Leonier paused, her lips trembling slightly.
She seemed to be trying to finish her explanation calmly, but the underlying anxiety seeped through clearly.
“But the situation started veering in a completely different direction from what I knew. Because of a sudden new variable—another possessor, Roselia.”
“...Another possessor was the variable?”
“Yes. After she appeared, you and Kaltstein have been progressing much faster—and in a better direction—than in my memories. Seeing that... it scared me.”
Her eyes quivered slightly.
Not jealousy, but fear that her own place might vanish.
“I felt like if things kept going like this, your life would be complete before I even had a chance to step in. And you—the duke, no, you—seem determined to send me away as quickly as possible.”
“That’s...”
Leonier gave a self-deprecating smile.
“So I couldn’t help getting impatient. I fought so hard to stay by your side, and I was terrified of losing you again.”
Her shocking confession was calm, yet laced with profound sincerity.
I stared at her intently for a moment, then let out a long sigh.
“Haa...”
With her baring everything like this and acting like she knew it all, pretending otherwise was pointless.
Continuing the northern duke act in front of someone who knew my deepest secret—even specifics like convenience store beer—would just be laughable.
I relaxed my stiff shoulders, leaned comfortably against the bedhead, and brushed back my disheveled bangs.
“Fine. I admit it.”
For the first time in over twenty years, I dropped the rigid formality.
Switching to the tone of a young man from South Korea.
“I still don’t have a clue what’s going on, and my head hurts... but for now, I’ll drop the mask. No point acting when you’ve seen through everything—it’s just tiring.”
As my demeanor shifted noticeably, Leonier’s eyes widened round.
But soon, her expression softened in relief.
“Does that mean... you’ll take my story seriously?”
“Yeah. I don’t get what’s what yet, but I’ll hear you out. About that ‘previous timeline’ you went through.”
I nodded toward the chair.
“Don’t just stand there—sit. This’ll take a while.”
“...”
Leonier obediently pulled the chair over and sat by the bed.
After steadying her breath for a moment, she slowly opened her mouth, as if dredging up distant memories.
“In my previous life... I was just like Princess Roselia is now.”
“Just like her?”
“Engaged to the original story’s male lead, the crown prince, and dying out of jealousy for the original heroine, Elina—the villainess Leonier Baldinmar from the novel. I came to you to escape that fate. I proposed a contract marriage, and you accepted. We made a pretty good partnership.”
Her gaze drifted briefly to the window, where the snowy landscape stretched out, then returned.
Not the right moment for this, but... her eyes are beautiful.
“It started as business. A contract based on mutual needs. But as time passed... I crossed the line. I fell truly in love with you.”
“...I see.”
Her voice began to tremble faintly.
“You were gruff but kind. Seria was uncomfortable and grumbled at first, but eventually became a true friend to me when we were alone. In that cold northern castle, the three of us lived quite happily. It was... like a dream.”
A dark shadow fell over her face as she recalled those happy memories.
“It happened overnight. Everything crumbled without warning. I went to sleep as usual and woke up... back in the past. In the Baldinmar ducal residence, before I’d even met you.”
At some point, Leonier’s eyes brimmed with tears, unable to meet mine directly.
“That’s all I know. I don’t know why I regressed or why my previous life ended that way. But one thing’s certain: I absolutely don’t want to repeat the same mistakes this time.”
“......”
Even after her story ended, a heavy silence filled the room.
I couldn’t say a word.
Contract marriage, love, regression.
Too specific for novel lore, too raw with emotion to dismiss as someone else’s fantasy.
Above all, what gave me pause was that the word “curse” from Arkaios somehow felt connected to the regression.
I crossed my arms and clamped my mouth shut.
My mind tangled with tens of thousands of thoughts.
A past or future I didn’t know.
And two possessors suddenly invading my ordinary life of twenty years.
After a long silence, I slowly closed my eyes, my complex feelings weighing on me.
“For now... could you give me some time alone to think?”
That was my conclusion.
Avoidance, for the moment.
“...I understand. You must be exhausted, and I’ve taken up too much of your time already.”
She rose slowly without protest.
Having unburdened herself completely, Leonier’s expression was brighter than before.
“Then... I’ll see you at dinner.”
“Yes. See you then.”
Creeeak—thud.
The bedroom door closed, and quiet returned.
But my mind was more chaotic than ever.
‘...This is tough.’
From my parents suddenly dumping the family head position on me overnight, to a possessor showing up and getting engaged.
Now a regressor from a life I couldn’t remember was trying to weave deeply back into mine.
I’d said I’d think about it, but honestly, I just wanted to clear my head and rest.
“I’m tired.”