NOVEL NEXT Chapter 94 - Another Possibility (2)
[Translator - Peptobismol]
[Proofreader - Demon God]
Chapter 94 - Another Possibility (2)
"The Duchess... is dead?"
I couldn't believe it.
No, I couldn't accept it.
In neither the original story nor the official settings was there any record of the Duchess meeting such an end.
It simply didn't exist.
So according to the original story, the Duchess should still be alive.
But.
"Yeah, she's dead."
"What?"
"Why? She died in a car accident last year."
Luna said it with an astonishingly calm face.
She said the Duchess died in a car accident last year.
"Is she lying?"
I narrowed my eyes and stared at Luna.
She tilted her head innocently, sensing my gaze.
"Kyle, did you know you're acting really strange today?"
"......"
"Did something happen?"
"...No, it's nothing."
"Hmm, is that so?"
Luna got up and started to circle around me.
But Luna's actions weren't important right now.
I had clearly drunk the Tears of Lethe.
And everything I was experiencing now was part of the "forgotten past."
Luna Winfred, the heir candidate, the Duchess's death...
Everything was unexpected.
'I don't have enough information.'
I barely suppressed a sigh that was rising to my throat.
Then I lifted my gaze from the floor and looked directly at Luna.
"What about the Black Mist?"
"Huh? The Black Mist? What's that?"
What do you mean, what's that?
The periodic disaster that floods and releases monsters...
"What nonsense are you talking about?"
"What?"
"There's no such terrible disaster. I've never heard of it. Have you been having nightmares or something?"
No Black Mist.
The disaster that was central to every episode of the original story, the one that threatened Kyle, that horrible past—all of it was gone.
Without a trace.
"...Hah."
A laugh of disbelief escaped me.
My head was spinning, and I felt nauseous.
I couldn't believe this reality.
After all the trouble I went through to get into the safe and drink the Tears of Lethe, everything was a mess.
I needed to figure out what the forgotten past was, and how everything I had seen and heard was possible.
But I still lacked information.
So, I needed Luna.
"Luna."
"Yes, Kyle?"
"I have something to ask."
I smiled as brightly as I could.
"Merlin Trivia."
I put on my most harmless smile and slowly enunciated.
"Do you know who that is?"
Luna looked a bit surprised.
"Why do you ask about her?"
Her?
Wait, more importantly, she knows Merlin?
"Just curious."
Luna's eyes narrowed.
She was trying to gauge if I was being sincere.
Regardless, I kept smiling.
I needed to get an answer from her somehow.
After a moment, Luna studied my face and then smiled faintly.
"I know."
Gulp.
I swallowed hard.
"Merlin Trivia."
Luna pronounced the name clearly.
"She's known as the Saintess of her time."
Wait.
What?
"Saintess?"
"Yes. And she's also a candidate for the Pope."
A fallen cleric.
That was the line used to introduce Merlin in the official settings.
I knew she was a former cleric who fell into despair after a terrible tragedy.
But this was strange.
Something was definitely wrong.
At that moment, Luna, who had been watching me closely, stepped closer.
"Hey."
Luna looked at me and smiled.
"Can I ask you something too?"
Then, with a voice that turned cold, she asked.
"Who are you?"
Luna, who had come right up to me, grabbed my neck.
Then she pushed me onto the bed.
"Who are you?"
The world spun.
I saw the unfamiliar ceiling and Luna's fierce eyes glaring at me.
The pressure on my throat made it hard to breathe.
How can a teenage girl be this strong...!
"How did you get into Kyle's body?"
A moment later, a gentle hand covered my mouth.
Then, she leaned in close and whispered in my ear.
"It would be best for you to stay quiet."
Her hot breath scattered by my ear.
The heavy pressure, the entanglement of our legs—I couldn't move at all.
Her scent was overwhelming, making me feel dizzy.
"Answer me."
This crazy...
How am I supposed to answer with my mouth covered?
"Oh."
Sensing my furious gaze, she finally released her grip on my neck.
Cough, cough.
I gasped for air, coughing roughly.
I glared at her while rubbing my sore throat.
"Now, answer me."
This is insane.
What kind of woman is this?
"Luna, what the hell..."
"Don't play dumb. You're not Kyle."
Luna paused.
Then, with a voice as cold as ice, she added.
"Something was off from the beginning. So I watched quietly, and what? Who's Merlin?"
"......"
"If you were really Kyle, you'd remember the name of your own guardian."
Wait, what?
"...guardian?"
"See, you don't know anything. Answer me quickly. Who are you? What happened to Kyle?"
Merlin is Kyle's guardian?
What kind of low-quality joke is this?
I needed more information.
But just then, my vision blurred.
"...Oh?"
A faint ringing filled my ears, and an overwhelming sense of fatigue washed over me from head to toe.
It felt like being pinned down in a nightmare; I couldn't move a finger.
"Wait..."
I couldn't even speak properly.
The ceiling grew distant.
And soon after.
My consciousness faded.
****
Blink.
My heavy eyelids opened on their own.
'This is...'
I quickly turned my head and looked around.
It didn't take long to figure out where I was.
'My room?'
And then, knock-knock—a knock sounded at the door.
"Young master, are you inside?"
The urgent voice of the old butler came from outside.
I glanced at the door and asked in a tired voice.
"What is it?"
"Oh, young master, you're here!"
"Yes, what's the matter?"
A brief pause.
Then, after a moment.
"A guest has come to see you."
"A guest?"
"Yes, young master."
"Who?"
I asked, and a kind voice responded.
"Lady Isabel has come to see you."
As soon as I heard that, I jumped up.
I opened the door to find the old butler with a gentle smile on his face.
"...Did you say Isabel?"
"Haha, yes, you heard correctly."
Isabel Yustia.
She had come to see me at the Duke's estate.
The situation was all too familiar, but I couldn't let my guard down.
In this chaotic state, I had no idea how Isabel might have changed.
But I couldn't avoid meeting her.
Before fully uncovering the past, I needed to gather as much information as possible.
So, my conclusion was clear.
"...Lead the way."
****
The place the butler led me to was none other than the mansion's reception room.
The morning sunlight slanted through the glass windows.
Following the white patches of light with my eyes...
'Isabel Yustia.'
Right in front, she was leisurely sipping tea.
I narrowed my eyes and stared at her.
A woman who had once been my wife.
But that was a past only I remembered.
'What is our relationship now?'
Everything had changed.
The Black Mist was gone, the Duchess was dead, and Luna had become the strongest candidate for head of the house.
So, what was my relationship with Isabel?
'I need to know before I speak...'
She had come to see me, so we still knew each other.
Which meant we were still engaged?
Everything was unclear.
The frustration was eating me up inside.
As I stared blankly at her, Isabel turned her head, sensing my gaze.
"Kyle?"
Our eyes met.
She blinked in surprise and then stood up.
And then.
"Kyle—!"
Isabel started walking towards me hurriedly.
No, she was running towards me.
'What the...'
Her rush towards me was almost comical, like a mischievous child.
But more than that, her fiercely blazing eyes.
As she ran, she looked only at me.
Beyond her ice-blue eyes, sparks flew.
At this moment, her eyes were filled only with intense joy directed at Kyle.
A young girl overwhelmed by madness.
She looked nothing like the Isabel I remembered.
And then.
"......!"
She approached and hugged me tightly.
She buried her face in my chest and gently rubbed it against me.
"Kyle."
A soft, warm voice.
A gentle tone filled with only affection scattered in my ears.
Her golden hair, shining in the sunlight, her hands softly wrapped around my neck, the devoted love in her eyes.
This woman holding me now was...
Isabel, really?
"..."
I was so shocked I couldn't speak.
I stood there dumbfounded as Isabel slowly lifted her head and met my eyes.
Then, she smiled with her eyes.
"I missed you."
[Translator - Peptobismol]
[Proofreader - Demon God]