“God…”

I stared at the blood on my hand in complete shock.

I had coughed up blood.

I had actually coughed up blood!

“Charlotte, what are you doing near that cursed flower?”

Beatrice’s voice!

I turned around in panic.

Beatrice was standing only a few steps away from me. The moment she saw my face, the calm expression on hers shattered instantly.

“Charlotte, you… what?”

Beatrice stared at me in shock.

I couldn’t answer.

I had no idea what was happening.

Suddenly, Beatrice glanced between me and the yellow flower floating in the air. The panic on her face immediately shifted into quiet understanding.

“Step away from it, Charlotte.”

“What?!”

“Move aside.”

Still confused, I slowly stepped back while Beatrice walked toward the gazebo with confident strides. She reached her hand toward the flower.

“S-stop!” I said in a trembling voice. “It could be dangerous.”

“It’s fine,” Beatrice cut me off. “I know what I’m doing.”

Beatrice grabbed the flower by its green stem. The flower continued rapidly withering and reblooming as if it were struggling to survive. Then, at the exact moment it spread its petals in full bloom, Beatrice released it.

The flower remained frozen in its most beautiful state.

Still floating in midair.

“How do you feel now?” Beatrice asked.

“B-Better…”

The moment the flower stabilized, the blood dripping from my chin stopped as well.

The dizziness faded.

The weakness disappeared.

“H-how did you know?” I asked weakly.

“Know what?”

“The flower…” I panted. “How did you know?”

Beatrice stared at me blankly for a second before turning toward the now-calm flower.

“The Solenne Flower,” she said. “You told me about it. Since I was already wandering around the spirit realm, I decided to examine it.”

I looked back at the flower too.

I was stunned.

So this flower was what had brought me into this world?

“Beatrice,” I began carefully. “This flower—”

“There’s no time to talk,” Beatrice interrupted. “Listen to me carefully. Have you looked inside the jewelry drawer in my room yet?”

“Y-Yes. I even found an envelope.”

“Good.”

I waited for her to continue, but Beatrice fell into thoughtful silence.

“Um… Beatrice,” I said hesitantly. “The envelope was empty.”

“I know.”

“Then what—”

“Look at me, Charlotte,” Beatrice said quickly. “Has anyone in the manor mentioned the attic?”

“Yes. Sarah even brought the painting supp—”

“The moment you wake up, you need to go there first. Among my belongings, you’ll find the same letter paper. The paper looks like some kind of list. Your task is to gather the materials written on it.”

I nodded slowly in understanding, repeating her instructions in my head.

“The attic. A paper with a list on it. Got it.”

“You must gather all the materials and perform a ritual I’ll explain later,” Beatrice continued. “Once the ritual is complete, you’ll return to your own body, and I’ll return to mine.”

“But Beatrice…”

As though reading my thoughts, Beatrice silently pointed toward the blood still staining my hand.

“The answer is simple,” she said. “Your soul doesn’t belong here. This world rejects foreign souls.”

“Then…” I whispered. “I need to complete the task as quickly as possible…”

“Before we both die,” we finished at the same time.

Driven by a strange instinct, I lowered my head slightly.

My body was becoming transparent.

“Ah… I think I’m waking up.”

My vision darkened.

The sounds around me became muffled.

Just before I woke completely, I heard Beatrice whisper softly:

“Don’t open it. If you find the box in the attic that belonged to my mother… don’t open it.”

“…open your eyes. My lady, wake up. Please open your eyes.”

“Mm… Sarah?”

“Yes, my lady, it’s me. Something very important has happened. You need to wake up and prepare immediately.”

Rubbing my eyes, I slowly opened them.

Because I was still sitting in the chair beside the window, my entire body felt stiff and sore.

“How long was I asleep?”

“About two hours, my lady. But you must get up now. The meeting has been moved to today—exactly one hour from now.”

I turned toward Sarah in alarm.

“What meeting?”

“The interrogation with His Highness the Crown Prince, my lady.”

“Wasn’t that supposed to be tomorrow?” I asked, my eyes widening in horror.

“His Highness has duties at a festival opening tomorrow, so the meeting was moved to today, my lady.”

After that, everything felt unbelievably rushed.

Sarah prepared me in record time and hurried me outside.

I wasn’t even allowed to eat breakfast.

“Watch your behavior, Beatrice!”

“Don’t forget your statement, Beatrice!”

“Don’t cause any unnecessary trouble, Beatrice!”

“And do NOT talk about your feelings for His Highness, Beatrice!”

Those were the final shouts echoing in my head when I was shoved into the duchy carriage.

My family’s endless trust in me was obvious from their words alone.

There was no one else inside the carriage besides me.

They hadn’t even bothered assigning a servant to accompany me out of courtesy.

The coachman drove at terrifying speed, the crack of the whip constantly striking the poor horses pulling the carriage.

And on top of that—

“Ah…”

I clamped both hands over my mouth, trying desperately to suppress the violent urge to gag rising in my throat.

An overwhelming sense of déjà vu flooded my mind.

It felt as though I were reliving a memory from a dream all over again.

“Coachman,” I shouted hoarsely. “Stop the carriage!”

“What? Did something happen, my lady? Your father said no matter what—”

“I said stop the carriage!”

A moment later, the coachman halted the carriage near the edge of the forest.

Without even waiting for him to open the door, I practically threw myself outside.

I stumbled toward a cluster of bushes deeper in the woods, collapsed to my knees, and emptied my stomach onto the ground.

God, I refuse to go into detail about that.

Skipping breakfast had probably made it even worse.

When I finally finished, I weakly lifted my head.

If it were possible, the sight in front of me would have made me throw up all over again.