Chapter 92

I instinctively denied it.

“What are you talking about? Did you eat something bad?”

The fact that my identity—the one I had blurted out without being asked at the time of the possession—had leaked from a man I’d only known for a few days made me instinctively wary.

But he finished me off with a confirmation.

“The soul in that body isn’t my sister Cornelia, is it? Am I wrong?”

“…”

I hadn’t heard that a temple priest could have such an ability.

Olgard’s gaze was so certain that denying it would be useless, so rather than waste energy I decided to accept it calmly.

“That’s right. How did you know?”

This time Olgard was taken aback. He must have expected me to pretend to be Cornelia until the end.

“The moment I was possessed here, I told Marcella, Julie, and Rio. They know as well.”

The problem is they don’t believe me.

Olgard looked noticeably surprised at my words.

“They know? But how… like this, continuously?”

“You probably don’t want to believe it. They think it’s because some memories are missing and jump to conclusions.”

“Ah.”

“I haven’t deceived the Cornelia family except for you. I didn’t steal your sister’s body; I just happened to wake up like this, so I hope you don’t take out your anger on the wrong person.”

Olgard stood and paced the room busily, as if trying to sort out his thoughts. But I had no patience to wait for him.

“This time I’ll ask. How did you know?”

If this priest had some ability to know this, he might be able to tell me why the possession happened and, more broadly, whether I could return. That was the most important question to me right now.

After a moment, he stopped walking.

“Alright. I expected it would take some time to unmask you… but now that it’s come to this, I have no reason to hide it either.”

He put a small statuette of a goddess from his desk onto the table I was sitting at. I raised an eyebrow at him, asking what it was.

“It’s the patron deity Lemer.”

“A god…”

It was a patron deity’s name I hadn’t heard in a long time. Since imperial citizens worship the sole patron deity, they usually use the title ‘patron deity’ rather than the name.

“Right. The patron god bestowed an oracle upon me.”

“…An oracle?”

He began to explain calmly.

“An oracle is when a god conveys its will through something. In my case, it was a spirit creature.”

When he whistled, a white dove flew in through the window and landed on his shoulder. He said that one day the dove had come to his room and when their eyes met, the oracle descended. It had stayed with him ever since. Usually it was just a clever ordinary dove.

“With that oracle came divine power. The strong divine power that arose during that was felt by Deputy priest Yuno, who brought me here. Since then I’ve trained constantly. The moment I felt the god’s power, I knew this was where I had to go.”

He went on at length saying that my possession here was related to that patron deity.

“So what was that oracle?”

“It was…”

At that moment, Olgard’s eyes suddenly went pale white, as if possessed. An unfamiliar, alien voice filled the room.

A being from another world will appear,

They will be very near to you.

It is a pitiful soul; help it to get through the thorny path.

All will be made peaceful.

“…”

Goosebumps rose all over my body until the hair on my arms stood on end.

The patron deity had known I would come here. That I would be close to Olgard meant his family—blood relatives. It was true I was a pitiable soul, having fallen suddenly into another world. Life to this point had not been easy.

Everything fit together—except that I’d never specifically received help from that deity.

“The moment I saw you I instinctively felt you were the protagonist of the oracle. At the same time I realized my sister’s original soul was gone. You can’t sense a switched soul unless you see it directly. Then I understood all the patron deity’s words. I’m sad, but I don’t blame you.”

Even after hearing the oracle’s content, nothing was clear. There was something else I most wanted to know.

“Then what happens to me?”

My future. Whatever had happened before, I was somewhat settled here now, so the future mattered. Perhaps… unlike my previous life I could have some money, love, hobbies, and a little leisure. If possible, I hoped for a future where I could keep seeing one person who kept appearing before my eyes.

“Did the god say whether I have to go back, or if I should live in this body as it is… anything?”

Contrary to my urgency, Olgard spoke calmly, as if resigned.

“All I know is that I was told I’d meet you and to help this pitiful soul. It said you’d suffer many hardships because it’s another world. But now that I’ve met you… there doesn’t seem to be anything special I can do to help you.”

I couldn’t believe it.

“That’s… all?”

To bring someone here at will, command others to help because it’s going to be hard, and then stand by? Do they have any idea what I’ve been feeling… how anxious every day has been…!

I had found what could have been a clue, only to learn it was the god’s meddling….

Is that it?

Olgard, trying to calm my trembling, spoke.

“Now that I’ve met you, there could be a change.”

“…Change?”

“Yes! Another oracle might descend again…”

I couldn’t help but sigh.

“Since the day you received that oracle, have you ever received another?”

“No…”

“So I have to live waiting for a promise-less oracle, not knowing if I’ll be gone today or tomorrow? Right?”

“I firmly believe there is a reason for all of this. It’s the god’s will.”

The ending left me hollow. I felt foolish for having had even a sliver of hope.

“What a godly line.”

“…!”

“I don’t believe in that crap.”

I shouted that boldly, a statement that might have been damned in a world where gods clearly existed, and stormed out the door.

“Cornelia!”

Olgard’s voice, trying to stop me, was stunned.

“You said I am not your sister.”

Heavy rain was pouring outside.

“Ha, really…”

The work of stepping through tasks and leading projects to success felt like a distant past.

I wasn’t asking for money to fall from the sky, nor was I asking for someone dead to be brought back to life.

I just wanted to know. Why I had suddenly fallen into this world.

I just wanted to know whether I had to continue living here in instability.

But I got no answers to either. The oracle the god supposedly gave only issued directives and offered no explanation. The only certain thing was… the soul in this body had completely left this world.

I don’t know what state of mind I was in when I returned to the palace. I’d run out of the temple and kept running in the rain aimlessly. If I didn’t do something like that, I didn’t think I’d be able to keep my sanity. To be honest, when the word ‘oracle’ came up I had secretly been hoping—maybe there would be a clear prophecy about the future.

‘Nothing has changed.’

The pouring rain blurred my vision. I was so exhausted I wanted to give it all up. The palace was quiet and empty; only the sound of rain echoed in my ears. Even so, the face of the Duke who had sat awkwardly beside me at lunch came to mind… and it even felt like he was walking toward me from afar.

“I’m crazy.”

I stood dazed, giving a bitter laugh.

“You’ll catch a cold.”

With that low voice, the cold sting that had been hitting my body stopped. The rain that had been blurring my sight vanished, and the person I’d just been thinking of stood before me holding an umbrella.

“…Du…Duke?”

His cold-cheeked face looked as if he’d been waiting outside for hours.

“What were you thinking walking in this rain? What if you got sick! If you’d come by carriage, do you think I’d not have come to meet you? That’s not like you!”

I stared at him blankly, and only after a long moment realized this was real and quickly tried to turn away. But his hand grabbed my wrist. The hand that held me trembled slightly.

“Do you… hate me that much?”

Seeing his red, saddened eyes, I couldn’t say anything. I couldn’t even lie. I kept my mouth shut and just shook my head.

“Do I make you uncomfortable?”

Once again I shook my head.

“Then why do you keep avoiding me?”

“That’s…”

My words trailed off and I clamped my mouth shut again. If I opened my mouth to say any more, I felt the tears would spill out.

“Did the Crown Prince threaten you?”

I shook my head again.

“Or did someone threaten you not to be close to me?”

I could do nothing but silently deny it.

“…Then, is something going to happen to me?”

“…!”

The tears I had been holding back trickled down. How on earth…?

The Duke, silent for a moment, raised a hand and very gently wiped my tears. Then, using his other hand, he very carefully grabbed both my shoulders. Expecting him to scold me, I squeezed my eyes shut.

“I’m… fine.”

Unexpectedly, his voice was very low and tender.

“Even if liking you means I get hurt or be put in danger, I’m fine with that. As long as you don’t hate me terribly, I can wait forever.”

“…sob… but…”

“I pretended it didn’t matter, but every time you avoided me I felt more pain than when the shadow of death hung over the battlefield.”

Now that I looked, his complexion was pale as if he hadn’t slept for days. Veins stood out under his dark eyes; he looked utterly exhausted. Yet he smiled as if he didn’t care.

It was an expression I’d never seen before.

“If that’s the reason, then it’s fine.”

The rain had drenched his shoulders and ruined his shirt, but the jacket he draped over me felt as dry and fresh as new. I finally collapsed.

“Sob, sob, ugh…!”

Once the tears started, they wouldn’t stop.

I cried as if the world were ending.

“Why… do you like me this much? You recommended me for the clerk job… sob, bought me a wig… sob… What did I do… I didn’t even know it then, Your Grace…”

The Duke’s eyes widened in surprise then softened. It was another expression I’d never seen before.

“Because I fell in love at first sight.”

He wordlessly pulled me into his arms and patted my back comfortingly.