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 - 21 - Reason
It has been a week since then. Today, Gerald, Neil, and I are meeting at my home, the Arclight Count’s estate, to talk. By the way, it’s supposed to be the first time I’ve seen Neil since the ball.
Right on time, the two of them arrived, and we gathered around the table in my room. After the maids finished preparing tea and left, Gerald opened his mouth.
“How’s your health, Sadie?”
“Thanks to you, I’m doing well. Thank you.”
“That’s good to hear.”
His emerald-like eyes gently narrowed, and he looked really relieved. He was just as calm and kind today, making me wish everything Neil told me was just some kind of mistake.
And on top of that, thinking that he might like me in a romantic way made me feel a bit nervous. I took a small deep breath and smiled, trying to act like I always do.
“Getting straight to it, that man told us everything he could.”
“What?”
I couldn’t believe that the man who took Norman’s body would just easily spill everything. While I was confused, Gerald smiled at me, lifting the corners of his mouth.
“Don’t worry. I fixed everything.”
While I still didn’t understand what he meant, Neil gave a wry smile and said, “Seriously, you really go all out.”
“But,” Gerald added, “he seems to be under a strong binding spell, so he couldn’t talk much about the most important parts.”
“I see. So they’re thorough too.”
“Yeah. But still, we got one piece of good news.”
He smiled so beautifully that I couldn’t help but stare.
“We don’t have to worry about having our bodies taken again.”
Gerald’s words made me gasp. Neil, too, was clearly surprised, widening his jewel-like blue eyes and saying, “You’re serious?”
“The way our bodies were switched wasn’t through magic, after all. Judging from the information we got from the man, I think they used some kind of magic tool or sacred relic.”
“Magic tool…?”
“Yeah. Even the people at the Magic Ministry seemed like they didn’t know about it. It might be a national treasure, or something not made public. Anyway, it looks like the power of that ‘thing’ is starting to wear off.”
That’s why we suddenly returned to our original bodies that day, Gerald said. Thinking back, it really did happen without any warning.
“That’s why, apparently, it can’t switch bodies anymore. But Norman—no one knows when he’ll return to his own body. Maybe soon, or maybe not until the end of that body’s life.”
“No way… Do we not even know where that place is?”
“No. He was ordered not to say anything.”
Even though life there was already too harsh, we suddenly went back to normal and disappeared. Just thinking about what he must be feeling now made me want to cry.
And now that I’ve returned to my own body, what happened to the people who took ours? I really can’t believe they’re just living quietly again. Too much is still unknown—it’s all very creepy and scary.
But knowing there won’t be any more victims, and that we won’t have our bodies stolen again, that alone was a big relief. When I thanked Gerald again, he just smiled softly and said, “It’s only natural.”
“Did you find out anything about Eliza?”
“Actually, every time I asked about her, the man would suddenly lose consciousness.”
“What?”
“Wow, that’s super suspicious.”
“Yeah. I think the person who took Eliza’s body is the one we should be most careful about.”
From now on, Gerald said he’s going to focus on investigating the person named Eliza.
“By the way, did you ask what their goal was?”
“Yeah. All he said was, ‘We wanted to be normal humans.’”
“Normal… humans?”
I still didn’t understand what that meant. Next to me, Neil let out a sigh and said, “I think I’m starting to get it.”
“What do you mean?”
“Don’t you think the people who stole our bodies just wanted to live freely as upper-class nobles’ sons and daughters?”
He added, “It’s just my guess.”
“I mean, if you had the power to steal someone’s body, you could take over the king’s or a high-ranking official’s, and even take control of the country. But instead, they chose to replace regular noble kids like us. It’s hard to believe unless they were really uneducated.”
“……”
“Besides, when I got into that body, the arms and legs were already in bad shape, with scars and injuries. They probably didn’t live a good life.”
It’s true. Just like Neil said, when I entered that body, some of the nails on the hands and feet were missing. I really don’t think I had been living well in that body.
“If we really lost almost ten years of our lives over something that stupid, it just makes me want to kill them even more. We could’ve lost our entire lives.”
“Neil…”
We were born into wealthy noble families, so we were definitely lucky. On the other hand, the people who stole our bodies might have been forced to live in places like that from birth, for their whole lives.
I too felt that hopelessness—wondering if that kind of life would continue until I died—while I was in that place. I think I can understand at least some of that pain. But even so, it’s not okay to steal the life of an innocent person.
“Anyway, I’ll keep talking to that man, and if I learn anything new, I’ll let you two know.”
“What about Norman’s family? Are they okay?”
“Yeah. I had him write a letter saying he’d be away for a while, so they should be fine for now.”
“I see…”
He even wrote a letter like he was told… That man really has become scarily obedient.
“I want to keep investigating where that place is. I want to help Norman as soon as possible.”
“Got it. But Sadie, try not to leave this estate. If you want to go anywhere, please let me know first.”
“Okay, thank you.”
“Oh, I’ll help too. I’ve got nothing else to do.”
“Alright.”
For now, we decided to end the conversation here, and I took a sip of my slightly cooled tea. After hearing so many things all at once, I couldn’t calm down.
Then, I suddenly noticed Gerald, sitting across from me, staring at my ring finger on my right hand. On it was the ring I’d just received recently. Still smiling softly, he spoke.
“Hey, Sadie. Where did you get that ring?”