[Chapter 002] The Suspicious Countess

I had a terrible nightmare. I was struggling to escape from the water that didn't reach my feet, but eventually I drowned and died.

"Are you awake now?"

"Um, um-."

I still had to clear my throat, which felt constricted. It seemed I had indeed had a nightmare, as my back was damp. I wiggled my fingers. Since I had this glass-like body, I always wiggled my fingers when I woke up in the morning. If I moved suddenly, my whole body would ache as if it would really shatter.

"No matter… you have to go out-."

Annie's voice was choppy, but my mind was clear. Had I ever felt this good in recent years? My head was crystal clear. Apart from the cold sweat, my chest, which felt like it was setting things on fire every time I breathed, was fine.

"Are you listening to me?"

But had Annie's voice always been so old and croaky? I couldn't control my body, which felt like it was submerged in deep water, and I closed my eyelids again, which I had struggled to lift. Unlike my clear mind, my whole body ached as if it had been beaten.

"Blier!"

"… ."

Up!

"Ouch!"

Just as I was about to fall back asleep, an immense force suddenly lifted me from the bed. The pungent scent of herbs that always filled my nostrils in the morning was gone. Instead, the scent of red roses filled the entire room.

"Annie, what on earth… ."

"The Grand Duchess is dead."

"…Annie."

Annie was now telling me about my death to my face. I… wait a minute.

"Annie?"

"Who is Annie, that you seek her so?"

The middle-aged woman's grumbling voice was unfamiliar, more so than usual. It was truly a strange voice. Moreover, my voice, which was always hoarse from frequent coughing, was normal.

"Ah, what did you say just now?"

"What?"

"The Grand Duchess… the Grand Duchess is dead? Which Grand Duchess?"

Was there another Grand Duchess in this empire besides me? Only then did I notice the scenery of the room, which I had never seen before. Unlike my room, which was all green, this room was filled with white and pink, to the point of being sickening. A shiver ran down my spine. Ignoring the woman who was looking at me with a puzzled expression and offering me her hand, I rushed to the mirror.

"Haah-."

A sigh of relief. Emerald green eyes that sparkled in the sunlight and golden eyelashes. It was my reflection in the mirror, which I had seen so often that it was tiresome. My rosy cheeks, which were flushed with color, were a bit unfamiliar, unlike my usual pale and haggard appearance, but my face often flushed in the morning.

"Did, did I collapse again yesterday?"

My throat had always been sore, and I had never been able to speak loudly, but today, for some reason, my throat felt like I could sing. Let me see. But did I just get out of bed on my own and run to the mirror? My legs, which were standing firmly, trembled involuntarily.

"What are you talking about? You just lazed around all day yesterday, and you didn't get up until the sun was high in the sky… ."

"Me…?"

I was dazed by my body, which was strangely healthy and strong, when the woman said something strange. I had been sick all day yesterday, but did people describe that as "lazing around"? This middle-aged woman, whom I had never seen before, gave me a look of pity and then tidied the bedding I had just gotten out of. Everything I saw and heard felt out of place. The biggest incongruity was my body, which was standing tall without relying on anything. Knock, knock-.

"Madam."

"… ."

A servant, who should have addressed me as Her Highness the Grand Duchess, entered my bedroom without a care. And the middle-aged woman simply watched. Was this not the Grand Duke's mansion, but some large hospital in the capital? Their lack of etiquette was the only thing that didn't feel out of place in this situation.

"His Grace, the Grand Duke of Trovica, has asked if you will attend your own funeral."

"…My husband?"

Pfft. The woman, who had finished tidying the bedding, burst into laughter. I, who had finally emerged from my stupor, who had found everything in this room out of place, froze as if I had been splashed with cold water at the sound of her laughter.

"Well, you might be able to be his wife now, Madam. Since the Grand Duchess of Trovica is dead, if you, his mistress, Blier, take her place, it would be a very interesting piece of gossip."

"The, the Grand Duchess of Trovica is dead?"

Only then did I struggle against the memories that were flooding in like a tide. It wasn't a nightmare. The two doors of my bedroom, which were always tightly shut, were wide open. The maids, who had always been cynical, were pale with fear. Even Annie, who always teased me, had run out, it was that serious. The strong scent of herbs that stung my nose, the body that trembled so much that I didn't even notice it. The nightmare that came to me as I smiled, thinking of the passionate kiss with Noebian on the night it snowed. No, reality. The rough hands that tried to make me swallow the terrible-tasting medicine I took whenever I had a mild seizure. I struggled to cope with even the water they poured into my mouth, I couldn't breathe, and my mind gradually turned white… .

"Ugh-!"

"Blier!"

"Madam!"

I frantically pushed away the two hands reaching for me and rushed to the mirror I had been staring at. My emerald green eyes, which someone had praised as beautiful, and my sparkling golden eyelashes, my nose, my mouth. Everything was the same, but the name they called me, my status, everything was different. What on earth… wait a minute. As if possessed, I loosened the loose ponytail that hung down my back and let it fall. At the same time, I took off the pajama cap I was wearing. The hair that cascaded down my back was not the shimmering blonde, but the black hair like my husband's. The hair, which had naturally curled, was now sensuously thick and wavy.

It was definitely my face, but a body that wasn't mine.

"What, what on earth is this…!"

Confused, I leaned against the console, which was covered with cosmetics. I reached for the pile of papers that caught my eye. It wasn't the Imperial Gazette, which I usually read, but "Back Alley," a gossip magazine filled with all sorts of scandals. "The Grand Duchess of Trovica, Found Dead at Dawn. The Young Grand Duchess's Life and Scandals."

"Ah-."

I clutched my head and swayed. A strong middle-aged woman caught me firmly and clicked her tongue.

"Are you feeling so good that you want to faint?"

Adrienne Trovica. That was my name, and I had died last night. That painful and strange sensation was not a dream, but reality.

"If you are to attend the Grand Duchess's funeral, you will have to wait until the afternoon."

And according to the maid, I had been reborn into the body of the mistress he had been seeing.

A lavish meal was laid out on the dining table. I stared at it blankly. Nothing felt real. The opulent dining room, undoubtedly reflecting the mistress of the mansion's taste, was plastered with various works of art like tattered rags. As if she loved to fill every space, the gaps between the frames were crammed with flower vases holding artificial flowers as tall as a person. It felt like I was having dinner in a crazy artist's warehouse. Yes, if I were in my right mind, that's the first feeling I would have had. The breakfast course, which had started with a salad accompanied by breeches, finally ended when a steaming lamb stew was served in front of me.

"Don't you have an appetite?"

The middle-aged woman, who was skillfully tearing the lamb meat in the stew with a large fork and removing the bones, spoke to me.

"What, what is your name?"

"…What kind of game is this?"

"I asked what your name is."

The woman put down the fork she was holding and approached me with a serious expression, examining my face. She looked at me as if I were crazy.

"…Disgusting."

"Are you really insane?"

Good heavens. No matter how much I was looked down upon as the mistress, I didn't deserve to be insulted to my face like this. The owner of the body I had entered, this woman named "Blier," was called her husband's mistress for some reason. She was gruff, but her treatment was decent enough. But this woman, who looked like a maid, shouldn't be treating me like this. I was speechless at her rudeness, and as I simply watched, she clicked her tongue, introducing herself as "Mazi."

"You've been cooped up in your room for days, laughing and crying, making a real mess, and then you suddenly got up when you heard the news of the Grand Duchess's death, and now you're even asking my name… ."

And then, straight from Mazi's mouth came the words,

"If you're going to go crazy, do it gracefully."

My appetite vanished instantly. If she reacted like that to just a simple question about my name, she would really think I was insane if I told her I was actually the Grand Duchess Adrienne. I just gulped down some cold water.

'Countess Blier Acacia.'

The servant who had come to my bedroom had called me that all the way down to the dining room. I had never heard the name Blier, but I knew Count Acacia well. He was a vassal of the Grand Duke's family, but he didn't hold any important positions in the central government. He was so old, with white hair all over, that it wouldn't be strange if he died right now. His family was humble, so he was always running errands for his husband's estate, and he seemed quite pitiful. I had heard that he had taken a young and beautiful wife, but I was always sick and couldn't attend his wedding. Of course, a woman of my stature, the Grand Duchess, wouldn't attend the wedding of a vassal from a humble family. And he wouldn't dare to covet the wife of his master, the man I served, and find a woman who looked so much like me to live with. I had seen his face many times, but he never looked up at me, the Grand Duchess, always keeping his eyes downcast. Even then, I was often sick, and after my marriage, I rarely attended parties, except for one or two, so I didn't know many nobles, including the Count.

'It's a very unpleasant coincidence.'

This woman looked exactly like me, not just in her hair color or overall atmosphere. A lady's image could change with a swipe of lipstick or a feather hat… but I had only seen my own reflection in the mirror, so there was no way I wouldn't recognize a woman who looked so much like me.

"You're eating well."

As I thought about it and forced food into my mouth, Mazi smirked and continued to offer me plates. She seemed like a rough but not bad person. Was she like a nanny who came from Blier's family? Ah, come to think of it, I…

'When was the last time I ate with my own hands?'

Blier's body must have been very hungry, because I didn't feel full at all. I was stuffing food into my mouth like someone who had been starving for days. It wasn't a wrong statement. I hadn't eaten a proper meal in a long time, because of the childish bullying I had endured at the Grand Duke's mansion. Munch, munch. At first, I was eating mechanically, my mind elsewhere, but at some point, I found it so strange to be eating with my own hands that I couldn't stop. Blier's hands were as white, thin, and long as mine, but her strength was completely different. Even though I had been sick, compared to my previous body, this was "health I would never have again."

"Um, Madam. What should I tell His Grace…?"

The servant who had come from the Grand Duke's mansion was standing beside the dining table, fidgeting. He was waiting for my answer. The answer to the question, 'Will you attend the Grand Duchess Adrienne's funeral?' Was this Blier really my husband's secret mistress?

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