Duke Willow’s office was completely isolated from the outside world by dark navy velvet curtains. The air inside was heavy with the scent of incense mixed with expensive perfume. The furniture was luxurious, all black with intricate golden details. Behind a large desk buried beneath stacks of documents sat the duke himself.

Duke Willow’s black hair had begun to gray with age. His brown eyes—identical to his son’s—studied me suspiciously.

“Sit down, Beatrice,” he said in a deep voice.

I lowered myself into one of the guest chairs in front of the desk and anxiously waited for what he was about to say. The old man stared at me with an unreadable expression before asking quietly,

“What is the reason for coming here in such a hurry, Beatrice?”

“You… wanted to see me, Father,” I replied, trying to hide my confusion.

“Yes, but this discussion could have waited until you recovered. You need to be in your right mind to give a proper statement.”

“I’m perfectly fine, Father.”

“Are you sure? Your complexion looks pale… and you keep tapping your foot.”

Startled, I glanced down. My right foot had been repeatedly striking the black marble floor. I immediately forced it still.

It was just nerves. Normally, Beatrice acted completely indifferent whenever she entered this room, so the duke’s suspicion was understandable.

“I really am fine.”

For a while, the duke continued observing me carefully. Eventually, he shook his head, apparently deciding he didn’t care enough about Beatrice to question her any further, and returned to the papers on his desk.

“Then explain this to me,” he said sharply. “What exactly were you doing in that cave, Beatrice? Your brother found you unconscious. There were candles arranged in a circle around you.”

Shit.

Even I didn’t know most of these details. Being interrogated about this now…

My hands remained frozen on my lap.

“Well?” the duke pressed, leaning slightly forward.

“I… I don’t know.”

Those were the only two trembling words that escaped my mouth.

I didn’t know the rules of this world. I had no idea what kind of excuse would sound believable.

The duke sighed in exhaustion. Pulling a fresh parchment toward himself, he began writing with a grand feather quill. For a while, the only sound in the room was the scratching of the pen against paper before he slowly lifted his head again.

“Just before you arrived, I was with the Crown Prince. His Majesty the Emperor personally assigned his son to oversee this investigation. Unfortunately, the cave you caused to explode was the second largest cave in Solenne. That makes this matter directly connected to the imperial family.”

Solenne…

As I silently listened to Duke Willow, the word echoed in my ears with an almost melodic resonance. It was the same name as the flower I had heard about back in my own world.

Thankfully, the duke continued before noticing my pause.

“You need to give the Crown Prince a proper statement, Beatrice. And if you have nothing to say for yourself, we’ll have to resort to the usual method.”

The duke paused, as if measuring my reaction. When he saw no objection, he continued.

“Now then. You went to the cave to perform one of those luck spells young ladies are so fascinated with these days. Because you made a mistake with the ingredients, an explosion occurred. Understood?”

Wearily, I nodded.

The great Duke Willow sat before me, casually inventing ridiculous lies like a child making excuses. “A mistake with the ingredients…” If even her own father found this believable, then Beatrice clearly hadn’t shown much intelligence in the past.

“I’ll send this report to the Crown Prince before the interrogation. That way, there won’t be any trouble if you ‘forget’ again like last time. The meeting will take place in the palace library three days from now. You may leave and rest now.”

“A-Alright. Thank you, Father. I’ll handle it.”

I stood and headed for the door. Just as I touched the handle, the duke stopped me in a low voice.

“Beatrice.”

I slowly turned back.

“Yes, Father?”

Duke Willow’s gaze had become far more serious now. Even his tone sounded heavier. The old man rose from his seat and crossed the distance between us in only a few steps. The height difference between us suddenly felt overwhelming.

“Please, Beatrice,” he murmured. “Please don’t stand before His Highness this time with love letters and confession notes again.”

I froze where I stood.

As panic flooded my mind, I desperately searched for words to reassure the man in front of me while simultaneously trying not to faint from shock and humiliation.

At that moment, the only thing I wanted was the softness of my feather bed—

—or rather, Beatrice’s bed.

“Charlotte!”

“W-What?”

“Charlotte, open your eyes!”

Instinctively reacting to the voice, I slowly opened my eyes. My vision was terribly blurry, and my breaths came unevenly. As I tried to make out the vague shapes around me, I unconsciously held my breath, feeling as though I were underwater.

Blinking rapidly, my vision finally cleared.

And then I realized where I was.

I was standing beside my own bed in my own room, inside my house in my original world.

And lying on the bed…

…was me.

“W-What is this?”

In shock, I approached the body lying there. My body looked as though it were in a peaceful sleep. My stomach rose and fell gently with drowsy breaths. Strands of my red hair covered my face.

I reached out, wanting to brush the curls aside and examine my own face—

But my hand passed straight through the body on the bed as though I were a ghost.

Staggering backward in panic, my horrified eyes landed on the standing mirror nearby.

Its reflection was empty.

I had no reflection at all.

Fearfully, I covered my face with my hands.

The texture of these hands…

I quickly lowered them, and with the movement, my familiar red curls spilled over my shoulders.

I was definitely in Charlotte’s body right now.

Then the person lying in bed…

“Don’t tell me…” I whispered, staring at my ghostlike hands. “Am I dead?”

“No. Or rather… not yet.”

The moment I heard the voice, I froze.

That melodic voice…

I knew it far too well.

I spun around instantly.

“Beatrice,” I breathed.

The beautiful yet unfortunate lady of the duchy stood quietly in my room. When I spoke her name, she stepped closer to me. For a while, she simply watched me in silence.

I was the one who finally broke it.

“All of this… was it a dream?”

“No,” Beatrice replied, shaking her head slowly. “You truly are inside that hell. But yes, Charlotte, you are dreaming right now. I entered your dream because I needed to speak with you.”

She gestured toward the bed.

“You’re only here spiritually. It’s perfectly normal that you can’t touch anything.”

Hearing Beatrice’s explanation felt like being kicked directly in the stomach. My gaze drifted toward my unconscious body lying on the bed.

“So… my body right now… doesn’t have a soul in it?”

“Technically, yes. Your body in your original world has been unconscious in bed for hours now. But don’t panic just yet,” Beatrice added when she saw my frightened expression. “That’s exactly why I’m here. I’m going to help you.”

“W-What do I have to do?”

Beatrice smiled sadly.

“Why are you so desperate to return, Charlotte? Right now, you’re the lady of the most prestigious duchy in a wealthy empire. If you wanted, you could fill the entire manor with gold.”

“But… my real body… my school—”

“Don’t worry, I was joking,” Beatrice laughed bitterly. “Of course I won’t trap you in that body forever. However… if you want to return to your own body, there are tasks you must complete and ingredients you must find. Also—”

“What does the Solenne Flower I planted have to do with this empire?” I interrupted before I could stop myself.

Beatrice suddenly froze.

I noticed her pupils narrow like a cat’s.

When she spoke again, her voice carried a chilling edge.

“The Solenne Flower? What do you mean by that?” she asked with an icy smile.

“One was left at my door, and I… planted it. Then this morning, I woke up in your body. What exactly is—”

“I think you’re waking up,” Beatrice interrupted. “Look at your hands.”

When I looked down, I saw she was right.

My fingers were beginning to turn transparent.

“But… Beatrice…”

Beatrice stood before me expressionlessly and whispered softly,

“Good morning.”

“B-Beatrice!”

I tried to sit up too quickly and slammed my head hard against the bedframe.

“Ah!”

“My lady, are you alright?”

I opened my eyes at once. A worried Sarah stood directly in front of me, clutching a feather duster. Her frightened gaze was fixed on the spot where I was rubbing my head.

“Oh, my lady, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to frighten you. I was only… dusting.”

“I-It’s alright, Sarah. I’m fine. Just a little pain,” I groaned.

“My lady, should I call a healer? Your head—”

“There’s no need,” I said, slowly climbing out of bed. “Just help me get ready. I’m going out to the garden.”

“But… breakfast?”

“No need. I’m not hungry.”

“Ah… alright.”

Sarah quickly wiped the moisture from her eyes and guided me toward the empty mirror. When she opened the wardrobe, I realized it was overflowing with extravagant ballroom dresses. Hesitantly, Sarah turned toward me.

“What would you like to wear, my lady?”

I glanced briefly through the dresses.

None of them suited my taste.

“Find something simple.”

At my request, Sarah moved toward the deeper part of the wardrobe, where dust-covered hangers rested untouched. She pulled out a simple but elegant pastel green dress.

“Would this do, my lady? This color brings out the green in your eyes and matches your hair perfectly.”

“It looks nice.”

After carefully dressing me and brushing my wavy hair, Sarah quickly moved toward a nearby drawer. Inside were countless pieces of jewelry—sapphire necklaces, ruby earrings, emerald rings…

“Which one would you like to wear, my lady?”

I had never liked jewelry, even back in my own world. When I was little, my father once bought me a shiny turquoise necklace. I wore it excitedly for two days. On the third day, while helping my mother in the greenhouse, it got caught on a flowerpot and sent me tumbling into a pile of fertilizer.

I never saw the necklace again.

I was just about to say I don’t want any when a white envelope at the very bottom of the drawer caught my attention. It rested beside a pair of ruby earrings.

I took a few steps closer.

“I’d like a closer look. Bring me my fan as well.”

I reached into the drawer as though I intended to pick up the ruby earrings. While Sarah searched for my fan behind me, I swiftly grabbed the envelope along with the earrings and stuffed them into the pocket of my pastel green dress.

“My lady, would you prefer the yellow fan or the black one?”

“The black one.”

When Sarah returned holding a black lace fan, her eyes immediately fell on the earrings I had chosen. Her lips curved in satisfaction as she asked,

“My lady, are you certain you don’t want breakfast?”

“It would be nice if breakfast were brought to the garden instead. I’ll eat there.”

Sarah smiled sweetly before leaving my room to relay the request to the kitchen.

About ten minutes later, I was finally alone beneath the garden gazebo. In the morning sunlight, the ruby-red earrings I had chosen sparkled brilliantly while the sunlight reflected off my glass.

After forcing down a few bites to ease my hunger, I pulled the white envelope from my pocket.

Only one thing was written on it:

Beatrice.

I couldn’t even explain to myself what I hoped to find inside, or why I felt so excited.

Without waiting any longer, I opened the envelope with trembling fingers.