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 - 9 - Fools in Love

“…Lord Rufus?”

I didn’t miss the moment when Rufus looked slightly pleased at Eliza’s words: “Sadie still hasn’t given up.” I really think he’s a hopeless friend.

But then he must’ve remembered his position and her wrongdoings, because he only answered, “Ah, I’ll be careful.”

That said, I never really thought Sadie Arclight was attached to the marquis family. Maybe she just got overconfident and only started panicking after losing her position.

“She’s planning to tell some weird lies. Like saying it wasn’t her all along, that she was possessed by someone else…”

Now that I think about it, she said something similar when the engagement was broken. Maybe her recent changes are also to fit with that lie. That would make sense. The sewing skills, though, are still a mystery.

“But her feelings seem to be for Lord Gerald now.”

“……”

“Lord Gerald, who used to be such a playboy, now seems to be totally into her. He’s only been seeing her lately.”

“………………I see.”

He didn’t show it on his face, but he was clearly shaken.

The champagne glass in his hand seemed to scream in pain.

◇◇◇

“Well then, let’s start the meeting.”

“Okay.”

After Rufus left, we rented a private room in the library and sat facing each other.

We prepared paper and pens to look like we were doing something serious, but honestly, neither of us are good at complicated things.

“It’s great that Gerald’s parents believed him too.”

“Yeah. They’ve really been kind to me.”

He reunited with his family after seven years and seems to be living happily. Though apparently, he’s troubled because he gets lots of letters from women every day.

My letter nearly got mixed in with them too. I’m so glad it reached him safely.

“So, where should we start?”

“Let’s organize everything from the beginning.”

“Yeah, let’s do that.”

And so, while writing messy notes, we started to recall the past we didn’t even want to remember.

It was the summer ten years ago when my body was taken.

I was walking through the capital hand in hand with my mother. Then I bumped into someone I didn’t know—and in the next moment, I was inside an unfamiliar cabin. A man I didn’t recognize pulled me up by the arm and forced me to walk without explaining anything.

Outside the cabin, there were just endless fields and forests.

“…Ouch, no, I don’t like this… Mommy…”

“Shut up, be quiet.”

As I walked, I noticed my arms and legs had become much longer. My clothes and shoes were different too. And in my view, instead of the silver hair my mother always praised, I saw long, messy brown hair.

Even the voice I cried with, out of fear and confusion, wasn’t mine. I remember crying endlessly because I was scared and disgusted.

“Are you okay? Did you also wake up in that cabin and find yourself in someone else’s adult body?”

“Yeah… why…?”

“I don’t know why, but the same happened to me and him. I’ve been here since last month. I’m Eliza. What’s your name?”

“Sadie…”

“What a cute name. Sadie, we’re here for you.”

That’s when I met Eliza and Norman, who were already there and comforted me.

Eliza said she had been there for a month, Norman for half a year. The two of them stayed by my side the whole night as I cried. Thanks to them, I survived. I couldn’t imagine how lonely and painful it must’ve been for Norman, who was the first one there.

Then from the next day, we began living like slaves. We got up early to do farm work and spent the night sewing and doing other small jobs. For a pampered seven-year-old noble girl, it was a very harsh life.

My mind was worn out, but the body I had seemed to be around thirty years old, and fairly strong. I didn’t collapse or anything and could manage basic physical labor.

When I first saw my reflection in the water, I was so scared and disgusted that I threw up many times. I couldn’t eat properly for days after that.

There was a collar from the beginning that shocked me if I tried to skip work or escape.

We lived with about twenty people in that place, surrounded by fields and forests. Some had been bought as slaves, others like me had suddenly found themselves in someone else’s body.

There was me, Eliza, and Norman. A year after I arrived, a boy named Neil came the same way.

“I wonder if we died.”

“Maybe. We didn’t do anything bad, but maybe we ended up in hell anyway.”

Every night before bed, the four of us would talk together. But no matter how much we talked, we couldn’t figure out why this happened to us.

If this was a bad dream, I wanted to wake up soon.

Three years after I became like this—

One day, during a short break, I was chasing a cat and ended up near a small cabin where I heard voices. Curious, I peeked in through the window.

Inside, a chubby and hairy man suddenly put on a slave collar—just like the one I wore. For some reason, he looked very happy.

“Ow, finally my turn. I’ve dreamed of living as a noble.”

“Who are you going into?”

“A marquis’ son. He had a handsome face, and I’ll probably get to live freely. Plus, I’ll be rid of this awful back pain.”

As they spoke nonsense, suddenly the man’s body twitched. Then, looking around, he spoke with a voice that didn’t match his looks:

“…Where am I? Why am I here…?”

Just like that, it was as if his inside had turned into a child.

That reaction—it was exactly the same as what happened to me.

From their earlier words like “dreamed of being a noble” and “going into someone,” even I, a child, understood.

We weren’t dead. This wasn’t hell, but a horrible reality.

I don’t know how, but they were purposely switching bodies with others. Eliza, Norman, Neil, and I were probably also switched like that.

That means—the original owner of this body is now inside me.

Thinking that made me terrified. Is she living with my beloved parents, pretending to be me?

Am I going to live my whole life in this body, in that place?

Ten painful years passed with that fear… and then one day, we suddenly returned to our original bodies.

“Hey Gerald, Eliza, Norman, and Neil… they also returned to their own bodies, right? It’s not just us… right?”

“…I don’t know. They all said they were originally nobles. We should look up people with the same names and age group.”

“Yeah! Maybe someone’s acting differently lately.”

If the others are still there… the thought of us being the only ones living comfortably like this—I hate it.

“By the way, there’s someone I’ve been getting along with lately. Her name is also Eliza. She’s so beautiful and kind. She believed me right away when I told her my body was taken over, and she’s been helping me a lot.”

“…Really? Which house is she from?”

“Baron Haynes. People say she’s the perfect lady.”

“……”

Gerald seemed to be thinking about something for a while. But then, he smiled like usual and spoke.

“Can I meet her too, sometime?”

“Yeah, I’ll ask Lady Eliza.”

It’s rare for Gerald to say he wants to meet a woman.

Anyway, we decided Gerald would research people with the same names as our three friends, and that we’d all meet with Lady Eliza soon. Then we ended for the day.

◇◇◇

Six days later, Gerald, Lady Eliza, and I gathered in my room at the Arclight Count’s estate.

“Sadie said you’re a wonderful person, so I really wanted to meet you.”

“Fufu, is that so? Let’s be friends.”

They got along quickly, and the three of us chatted about random things. Lady Eliza also told us about the recent trends in high society.

Then I remembered something I had been curious about.

“Um, Lady Eliza. Do you know someone named Lloyd?”

That was the name Rufus mentioned that day. Lady Eliza seemed like she had a wide social circle, so I thought she might know him.

She looked like she remembered something and said, “Sorry, I forgot to tell you.” After gracefully sipping her tea, she spoke.

“The person who took over your body… was in love with him.”

That unexpected answer left me speechless.