Chapter 4

“It must have been very painful when I injured your arms, right?”

“Ah, no, it's okay.”

I bent down toward Eileen, who had a trembling voice as if feeling flustered.

“Sylvia? Why, why are you doing this…”

“I'm really sorry. Not just for what happened yesterday, but for everything I’ve done to you so far. Apologizing like this doesn't make everything go away, and your heart won't be healed either, but I thought I should apologize anyway.”

I needed to apologize first to improve our relationship or anything else.

“I… I…”

Eileen couldn't reply easily. She might be confused as to whether Sylvia was being sincere or teasing her with what she was saying now. Even if it came across as sincere, would it be enough for Eileen to forgive everything she had been through with just one apology? Eileen stared at me blankly with her eyes mixed with such doubts.

“I didn't apologize just to distress you, so you don't have to answer right away. I just wanted to sincerely apologize.”

“Um, I, I…”

Eileen sank her head on her chest.

“I'm sorry. Uh… I… I just came here because I was worried about you, Sylvia. I… I will go now. See you next time,” she murmured in a small voice as if whispering before quickly running back to where she had come from.

As I gazed at Eileen's retreating figure heading toward the main building, the butler started to talk to me.

“You seem to have undergone a change, my lady.”

Did he actually talk to me? It sounded like he was talking to himself.

Still, I didn't want to ignore him and make him feel embarrassed just in case he had actually initiated a conversation, so I opened my mouth to answer.

“People change all the time. How could yesterday's me and today's me be perfectly the same? Today's me has lived a day longer than yesterday's me and experienced more things.”

“… Absolutely. I agree with you, my lady.”

I couldn't honestly reply with ‘It's because my soul has changed!’ so I just babbled on, but the butler’s reaction was weird.

He reacted like my father from my previous life, who used to share an inspirational quote he had read online and found touching with the family.

Feeling a bad premonition that I couldn't leave him this way, I quickly urged, “Let's go. I want to get some rest soon.”

Fortunately, the butler obediently followed my words.

As we crossed the small garden, I saw a small, two-story building. Judging by the quaintness of the architecture, I was sure this was the west wing where I would be staying for a while.

“This is the west wing where you will be staying, my lady.”

Indeed.

“We tried our best, but the west wing has been vacant for a long time, so the preparations might be inadequate.”

“It's fine.”

But contrary to the butler’s remark, the west wing was so clean that it almost hurt my eyes. The floors were so shiny that I wondered what they were polished with, and there was not a speck of dust on the sculptures and armor displayed in the corridors.

‘… If this is considered inadequate preparation, what would it be like if they were fully prepared?’

I doubted even a five-star hotel could be this clean. Although I ended up here after being kicked out, I found the west wing to be very satisfying. It was almost like staying in a European five-star hotel for free.

After briefly looking around the antique hall and corridors, I asked, “Which room should I stay in?”

“You may stay in any room you like. The whole west wing is yours for now, my lady. Just please don't leave the premises.”

“Is that so? Well, I'm confined here under house arrest anyway. But since the west wing is way better than I thought, I almost forgot I was brought here against my will and not for vacation.”

I kind of made a joke, but the butler’s response was overly serious.

“My lady…”

Addressing me, the butler stared at my face with an enigmatic expression. Somehow it looked like…

‘It appears that he regards me with great pity?’

The butler, who had been loyal to the Atlante ducal family for a long time, was full of pride in his service.

Judging by his determination to deal with anyone who tried to harm this family, I could guess how deep his devotion was. The butler, trusted by the Duke, had always taken care of any problems or threats to the Atlante ducal family on his own.

‘His work was so perfect that the Duke praised him.’

How did Sylvia Atlante seem to the butler then?

‘Of course, he must have disliked her. He probably wanted to deal with Sylvia, who constantly tarnished the House of the Atlante, but couldn't because she was also one of his masters; it might have caused him more anger.’

The butler, professional as he was, didn't show direct contempt for Sylvia. However, he didn't hide his subtle disapproval, which showed through sometimes, either.

‘But why is he suddenly giving me such a sympathetic look?’

As I didn't understand why the butler was acting that way, it made me feel uncomfortable, but I didn't want to ask him the reason unnecessarily.

“Thank you for ushering me to this place.”

When I politely bid him farewell and implied that he should leave, the butler stopped giving me the enigmatic look and bowed.

“If there is anything you require, please do not hesitate to call upon me, my lady.”

“I appreciate that, but I'm fine. I'm sure you're busy enough without having to worry about me.”

“Please, my lady. It is my duty and responsibility to attend to your every need and take care of you as one of the esteemed masters of this household.”

“No, please take care of someone more important. I'll be fine.”

Upon my words, the butler twitched his lips before giving a deeper bow and leaving.

Once the butler was gone, the west wing became completely silent.

“It's so quiet that I might see a ghost.”

Why were there no people? I should have asked the butler before he left. But I felt annoyed to chase after him, who had already left this building now.

“It'll be fine, anyway.”

It would be nice if they assigned me a servant or maid, but if not, I could manage on my own, right?

The original Sylvia wouldn't be able to do anything without a maid.

But inside this shell was an ordinary twenty-first century woman who could handle anything on her own and even felt more awkward to be taken care of.

So, having someone else wash my body and dress me?!

‘If I were a little child, it might be acceptable, but it's definitely not okay for a grown woman to be taken care of by someone else, unless it's absolutely necessary due to extreme pain.’

Of course, it wasn't a pleasant experience either to have to show my bare body or receive help from others unwillingly due to being unable to handle my own body alone.

When I received my family’s assistance while battling my illness, I felt as much shame as gratitude.

‘I think it might be better not to have any servants.’

I decided to stop pondering about servants or maids and chose a random room to enter.

The spacious room had a similar layout to that of Sylvia’s where I woke up in the morning. The only difference was…

“There's a mirror here.”

This spot contained a mirror, the object Sylvia’s room didn't have.

Other than that, there was nothing special about the room, so I took a quick look around and leaned back on the chair in front of the dressing table.

“I feel drained even though it's still morning.”

Was it because so many things had happened today? I thought about the events that occurred today. I suddenly possessed Sylvia’s body, was summoned by the Duke without having time to fully grasp the situation, and then rushed to the west wing.

‘Oh, and meanwhile, I met Eileen and also apologized to her.’

I had been quite busy today.

As I sat there vacantly, my reflection in the mirror came into view––not the face of a South Korean woman in her 20s, but that of Sylvia, the ‘ugly duckling’ of the Atlante ducal family.

I glared at Sylvia in the mirror and then tried to smile. The expression changed subtly, becoming more friendly and pleasant to look at.

“It’s still ugly, but as I look at you, you have your own charm.”

Although the facial features were hidden under the fat, they were quite prominent. And with a smile, the face became quite good-looking.

“Maybe I feel this way because I'm starting to think of this body as my own.”

How could I accept another person's body as my own in less than a day? If it were me a few years ago, I wouldn't have been able to cope like this. I would have cried for quite a while, denied reality, and finally accepted it reluctantly.

But now…

‘Even if the situation is hard to accept, I have to find a way to embrace it.’

One of the insights I gained during my battle with illness was that there was nothing more foolish than believing, ‘It's absolutely impossible,’ in this world.

If a situation occurred, it would be pointless to waste valuable time simply grumbling those words and avoiding the issue. Doing so wouldn’t make what had already happened go away.

Instead, it was much wiser to think about how to cope with the situation and how to make sure not to regret our actions later on.

‘And…’

I recalled Sylvia's last memory.

“I couldn’t do it, but if it’s you, you'll be able to make it.”

Sylvia before her death seemed to know of my existence.

How could she know that an otherworldly soul would inhabit her body, going against time itself?

‘I've recalled most of Sylvia's memories, but there are some gaps.’

Sylvia's last words were probably one of the memories I couldn't recall. I struggled for a moment to remember the forgotten memories but eventually gave up.

‘That's not what I should be doing now.’

It was too overwhelming to unravel such foggy memories. I couldn’t waste my precious time on things that would be gradually revealed as time passed.

‘What I need to do is…’

I didn’t know the exact reason, but anyway, this was a new opportunity.

Although I had been dropped alone in a completely different, unfamiliar world, I gained a healthy body free from illness. A good physical condition that I longed for so much while suffering in the hospital bed!

Since this had already happened, I should live a good life. I was determined to lead a happy, enjoyable, and decent life.

‘In order to do that, first of all…’

Then the door opened without a knock.

“Sylvia Atlante.”

A familiar-looking man with an intense expression stormed in. The young man with black hair and blue eyes was the spitting image of Duke Atlante.

The identity of this man, who possessed the kind of handsomeness that was hard to come by in my previous life, was…

“Kedrick?”

He was Sylvia's brother, Kedrick Atlante.

‘But why is Kedrick looking for me?’

Kedrick was the second son of Duke Atlante and also Sylvia and Eileen's older brother, but he and Sylvia didn’t have a good relationship.

‘It’s not at its worst like it will be in five years, but…’

Around the time when Sylvia was about to end her life, Kedrick openly despised her. However, at the current time, 5 years prior, it wasn't that bad yet.

Although they showed signs of dislike, they didn't directly scold each other. They didn't necessarily make time to meet, but when they inevitably encountered each other at family gatherings, they would exchange greetings.

‘What a vague relationship. But why did he suddenly come to see me? Oh, like Eileen, did he come to comfort me who was exiled to the west wing?’

Maybe he cared enough to come and see his sister confined to this place despite their indifferent relationship… But that thought was short-lived since I soon realized how ridiculous that idea was.

‘The cold stare he's giving me doesn't look like a brother who has come to comfort his confined sister.’

Instead, he exuded an ominous aura as if he was about to grab me by the collar at any moment, as though he were facing a bitter enemy.

With a frown, he strode into the room and stopped about two steps away from me. The distance he maintained clearly showed that he didn't want to get any closer to Sylvia Atlante. His contemptuous gaze fell upon me.

‘What’s wrong with him?’

Why did he suddenly come and act like this? I was curious and wanted to ask first, but he detached his lips, which he had been biting hard, to throw me a question.

“Hey, what did you do to Eileen again?”

Eh? What was he talking about right now?