The Knight Who Broke Off Our Engagement and Told Me to Never Show My Face Again Still Clings to Me Today, Even Though I Was Possessed and Turned Into a Villainess for Ten Years - 12 - Letter
“From Neil? To me?”
“That’s right.”
“Wh-what do you mean…?”
A letter from Neil to me? That doesn’t make any sense. As I stood there confused, Gerald said, “Let me explain everything step by step.”
According to Gerald’s research, there’s only one young noble named “Neil” in this country of the same age as us. By the way, there are six Elizas and three Normans.
Right now, the marquis family is checking if any of those people with the same name have shown strange behavior recently. But he said that might take some time.
Since people say there’s no way to switch bodies, we have no choice but to continue looking for answers ourselves. I can’t rely only on Gerald or the marquis family—I have to find something I can do too.
Anyway, regardless of what’s inside the letter, there’s a high chance that the person named Neil has the same body as that Neil.
“The other day, I sent a letter to Neil Bassell. I wrote that I wanted to meet and talk. By the way, he’s the only son of a frontier marquis.”
“A frontier marquis… Oh, yeah, I think he said something like that before.”
“Yeah. I got a reply right away. He said he’ll be coming to the capital for the ball next month and would love to meet then. And along with that reply, this came. Even though I didn’t mention you at all.”
“Huh?”
“If he returned to his original body at the same time as us, he might’ve guessed something—like getting a letter from me and hearing the recent rumors about you and me.”
Still, Gerald said it was way too unnatural. He opened the letter, saying we should read it anyway.
“Hmm… huh? There’s nothing written.”
But no matter how many times I looked, the letter paper was completely blank. Gerald peeked over at it too, tilting his head.
“Did he make a mistake?”
“I don’t know. This is creepy.”
Even when I held it up to the light, there was still nothing. To me, Neil had always seemed smart and dependable.
“Anyway, I’ll let you know if I find anything else.”
“Thank you. You’re amazing, Gerald.”
“I’m two years older than you, Sadie. And I also spent three years less than you in that place.”
Saying again that he’d be in touch, Gerald gently patted my head and left. I was really glad he was here.
After seeing him off, I returned to my room alone. I remembered the blank letter still on the table, so I picked it up, thinking I should keep it just in case. And then I couldn’t believe my eyes.
“Huh…?”
There was one sentence written on the paper that had been blank just moments ago:
“Be careful of Gerald.”
◇◇◇
“What happened to your face?”
“My father hit me.”
“What? Why?”
“Because I got involved with Sadie.”
One morning, Rufus came to work as usual. But his right cheek was red and swollen—you could see it even from far away. When I asked what happened, he answered smoothly and started changing into his knight uniform like nothing had happened.
I told him he should go see a healer, but he refused. So, I brought out an ice bag, filled it with water and ice using my magic, and handed it to him. He just said “Sorry” and quietly held it to his cheek.
“My father said if I don’t cut ties with that girl, he’ll disown me.”
“…I see.”
The other day, Sadie Arclight saved a child with out-of-control magic from a fire, together with her former fiancé and bodyguard. That story was the biggest gossip in the social scene right now. And of course, it must have reached the marquis.
Considering the seriousness of what she did and the obvious fact that Rufus hasn’t gotten over her, it makes sense that the marquis would say that. In fact, I was surprised he didn’t call off the engagement sooner, even after ten years.
“Still, saving a life should be praised, not punished.”
“…Have you heard about the archbishop being found in a strange condition?”
“What? I heard some rumors.”
I wondered why he suddenly brought that up when we were talking about Sadie Arclight, but I nodded.
The archbishop, one of the central figures in the church, had gone missing for a while. When they finally found him, it seemed like he’d been involved in some kind of incident. His mind was gone—he didn’t even recognize his own family and started acting strange.
Now, he’s lost his position and is recovering in the countryside.
“And now, I heard even the pope’s health isn’t good.”
“What did you say?”
“The Langridge marquis family has always belonged to the church faction. Maybe that’s why my father is panicking. He’s been in a terrible mood lately.”
In this country, nobles are divided into three groups: the king’s faction, the church’s faction, and the neutral faction. The Langridge family has always been part of the church faction.
The church has a long history, and even the royal family can’t interfere much with it.
That’s because the pope, seen as a miracle-like being, has existed since the founding of the country. Because of that, the church has always had many followers and great power.
The pope is treated like a god. You never hear about the pope getting sick. If anything happened to him, the balance of power in the country would change quickly. It’s no wonder the marquis is feeling nervous.
When I looked at the clock, there was still time before work began. I made coffee for both of us and sat down.
“…Did Sadie Arclight really use water magic to save that child?”
“Yeah.”
“She really is acting strange lately.”
From what I saw at the café and from what Rufus said, she was nothing like she used to be.
She used to yell at children without mercy. Now she was risking her life to save one. Unless her insides had been replaced with someone else’s, it just didn’t make sense.
“Do you think switching bodies is really possible?”
“…As far as I’ve researched, it’s not.”
“I figured.”
If such a thing existed, the world would fall apart. People wouldn’t be able to trust anything or anyone.
That’s why, no matter how strange she’s been lately, I couldn’t believe such a thing. I was sure Rufus understood that too.
“What will you do now?”
“I’ll stay away from her completely.”
“That’s probably best.”
But the look on his face was full of sadness.
He clearly still had feelings for her. But he made that choice for his family and for himself. It must have hurt.
But that afternoon…
When Sadie Arclight visited the knight order,
Rufus’ vow was easily broken.