Chapter 237
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 237
The morning of the coming-of-age ceremony banquet dawned one week later.
“It’s about time for My Lady to wake up… I hope she didn’t stay up all night again… Oh, My Lady?”
Adel, who had been cautiously drawing back the thick curtains draped around the bed, paused. Buried deep under the covers, I let out a long stretch in my half-asleep state.
“My Lady, did you actually get some sleep today?”
“Mm-hmm. I slept like a log. Good morning, Adel.”
“Oh, thank goodness. I was so worried, especially since you have to head to the Imperial Palace today.”
“Were you that worried?”
As I chuckled, my voice still raspy from sleep, Adel let out a soft sigh.
“Of course. You haven’t slept a wink for an entire week since you returned from the Temple. I’m glad I filled your bedroom with lavender, jasmine, lemon balm, and even sansevieria.”
I smiled as I slipped my feet into my slippers. Just as Adel said, my room was filled with all sorts of indoor plants known to help with sleep.
“You can finish your nap in the bathtub. You need to get a bit of a massage as well.”
“Okay, okay.”
As I headed toward the bathroom, I caught a glimpse of the dark, pre-dawn sky through the gap in the curtains.
“Adel.”
I stepped into the marble tub, which was already filled with hot water, and asked, “Corico is attending the palace banquet today too, right?”
Adel nodded and gave a brief confirmation before adding, “My Lady, the banquet lasts for three days, so you must sleep whenever you can. Please, try to close your eyes for a bit now.”
I obediently closed my eyes. As Adel said, I hadn’t been able to sleep for a week.
Even now, my mind was racing with a flurry of thoughts.
How could I possibly sleep?
[System] Let
[System] Me
[System] Let me go
.
.
.
[System] Let [System] Me [System] Let me go [System] Let [System] Me [System] Let me go [System] Let [System] Me [System] Let me go [System] Let [System] Me [System] Let me go [System] Let [System] Me [System] Let me go
.
.
.
[System] Let me go instead.
What exactly is Kim Ddong-byul?
From the moment it spoke—or rather, from the moment it started conveying its own opinions to me through the System—that jerk became a living entity in some sense of the word.
If so, what kind of entity is it?
The soul of the Southern Star’s Divine Tree, where my mother was the Guardian?
Or perhaps my mother’s lingering soul?
One that couldn’t move on and is wandering the earth?
No, no.
There’s no way my mother would have such a trashy personality.
Besides, think of how much I’ve cursed at Kim Ddong-byul all this time… If it were her, that would make me a pretty terrible daughter. It’s a bit of an unsettling thought.
Then is Kim Ddong-byul really the Divine Tree? Some kind of spirit of the tree?
But why would such a sacred being constantly torment me?
They said my mother failed some kind of ritual to protect me.
That’s what Father said.
I wanted to know more about it, but Ramus Jeremiah hadn’t turned up much either.
Wait. Did I get hit with some kind of curse where I’m being bullied by Kim Ddong-byul?
If that’s the case, then Kim Ddong-byul must definitely be the spirit of Becrux, the Divine Tree of the Southern Continent!
Then wouldn’t it be better to just go over to the Southern Continent and chop the tree down?
I mean, it’s supposedly going to torment me for the rest of my life.
My mother might not have been able to do it because of her sense of duty as the successor of the Divine Tree, but I’m different.
I could chop it into tiny pieces and set it ablaze.
I could turn it into a pile of ash and have a pork belly BBQ right on top of it! I could lay out the charcoal and spend a whole week grilling meat, mushrooms, pineapples, and corn!
You started this, Ddong-byul.
I huffed and turned my head, only to immediately let out a yelp.
“Ow!”
It was because my hair had been pulled taut.
“O-Oh, My Lady! I’m so sorry! I-I didn’t realize you would move your head so suddenly…”
The maid who had been busily styling my hair apologized in a panic. I pressed down on my throbbing scalp and waved a hand.
“No, no. It’s my fault for being lost in thought. It’s okay.”
“I’m so sorry, My Lady…”
“It’s fine, so just finish my hair. It’s my coming-of-age ceremony, isn’t it? You know your styling is my favorite.”
“My Lady…!”
Overwhelmed with emotion, the maid’s eyes filled with determination as her hands began to move even faster.
Hehe.
Thanks to that, I was able to set aside my complicated thoughts and indulge in a moment of internal triumph.
In truth, I was in a subtle competition with Leon Frezier. It hurts my pride to call it a competition, but it was more like I was competing all by myself.
In other words, Leon Frezier probably had no idea I felt this way.
Hmph. I’ll admit Leon Frezier’s visuals are powerful. I’ll give him that. But!
I was originally the only princess of this mansion!
But once the twins finished their Academy courses and returned to the estate, the number of princesses doubled!
One was me!
The other was Leon Frezier!
Lisian is more like… a sacred being. Something non-human. Our Lisian is the incarnation of an archangel…
But Leon Frezier was human. His face was incredible, and his height and build were near perfection.
Perhaps because he had a certain edgy vibe to him, the maids seemed to worship Lisian as an object of reverence, while they seemed to feel something closer to actual romantic longing for Leon Frezier.
Of course! I understand! I felt the same way when I was playing the game!
But now, he was just a sibling I wanted to bicker with at every turn!
In the past, the maids used to bake cookies just for me or bring me baskets of freshly picked red cherries and ripe apples. But they had changed.
Whenever Leon Frezier walked by, their faces would turn red, and they’d whisper among themselves while nudging each other. The fruit baskets coming my way had been cut in half.
Hmph.
That was it!
I was bitter because Leon Frezier had stolen the maids’ attention!
And to make matters worse, Leon Frezier didn't even notice their interest—typical for a male lead.
That made it even more annoying! It was beyond annoying; it was an eyesore!
To protect the maids from future heartbreak, I was trying my best to act even more like a gentleman and win back their hearts.
In other words, I was flirting with the maids every chance I got!
I, Tulia.
A woman who is infinitely kind and sweet to ladies.
A woman who coolly discriminates against Ramus Jeremiah, even if he’s waited outside for ages, by simply saying, ‘You’re here. Report. Done? Leave.’
Suddenly, my train of thought came to a halt.
Wait a minute.
Waited for ages…?
A hint felt like it was just within my reach, and I forced myself to calm down.
I began to logically piece things together, drawing a line between the ‘me’ who had experienced Han Ina’s past and the ‘Tulia’ from The Milk Bread.
If Tulia’s mother failed the ritual, doesn’t that mean the Guardian is still Tulia?
Since the qualification for the Guardian of the Divine Tree is passed down through the maternal bloodline. Technically, that means the next Guardian after her mother is Tulia.
The failed ritual… must have been related to Tulia and the Divine Tree.
That’s why her mother took the young Tulia and followed the person from the Summer Continent back there.
Suddenly, I felt a surge of gratitude toward Tulia’s father—my father.
Thank goodness!
Thank goodness Father was such a fool for his wife!
Because he remembered every single word of the conversation he had with Mother and told me!
Thanks to that, I was able to reach a conclusion without much difficulty!
Historically, this is the answer. Henpecked and devoted husbands.
Anyway.
Mother’s goal was to protect Tulia.
Which meant…
If Tulia were to take her place as the Guardian of the Divine Tree as her bloodline intended…
Tulia would die.
Mother wanted to avoid that.
That meant the Divine Tree was already having problems from the moment Mother found out.
And that was surely the work of the heretics.
So…
I revisited the thought that had made me pause earlier.
Waited for ages…
What if the Divine Tree of the Southern Star completely withered away because the next Guardian, ‘Tulia,’ had disappeared?
What if it died while waiting for the real ‘Tulia’?
Is that why that jerk is taking revenge on me now? By leaving behind a spirit named Kim Ddong-byul to torment me at every turn?
No. Wait.
A chill ran down my spine.
Because based on my current reasoning, only one answer came to mind.
Until now, I had lived my life believing I was Han Ina, who had possessed the body of Tulia Frezier.
The greatest villainess of The Milk Bread, the boss-level brat who died if things went well, died if things went poorly, died when she was bored, and died at the drop of a hat.
I thought I was just the unlucky Han Ina who had possessed her…
But if that’s the case…
If that were true, why would the Divine Tree bother sending an evil spirit—no, a soul like Kim Ddong-byul—to torment me like this?
If I wasn’t Tulia, why would it go to such lengths to bully me just because I was in her body?
Actually, it wasn’t just bullying.
I was only able to survive this long because Kim Ddong-byul was there.
My relationship with Kim Ddong-byul was incredibly complex. As much as I hated to admit it, I couldn’t deny that I had grown this much thanks to that jerk.
Which meant…
The answer was…
What if… I wasn’t possessed?
What if I was ‘Tulia’ from the very beginning?