Chapter 84

The carriage heading to the capital was rattling along, and I silently watched Lilian. I had so much I wanted to say, but even though the coachman likely wouldn’t overhear, I figured it was best to wait for a more opportune moment. For now, I was just stuck in this frustrating routine; Lilian acted without telling me anything for sure, and I had my own secrets to hide from her too.

Clatter, clatter, the swaying carriage showed me the landscape outside. The road was somewhat paved, yet the carriage still shook a bit. Even though it was a fantasy world, it was one where mana was absent and magic didn’t exist. Thinking about it, it was actually quite an inconvenient world—a place not much different from the medieval times.

In such a world, there was a maid with magical power. That maid was me. Recently, I’d become able to channel my mana without holding a sword, and ever since, I hadn’t felt like a regular person at all. What on earth was I? I often pondered these thoughts. Why was I reborn in this world with memories of my past life?

In my past life, I had been a pretty boring guy. I lived a smooth life without any highs or lows. The only significant event in my life was my death, after which I was reborn in this world—in a woman’s body, no less.

I had no memories from before the age of seven. My first memory was of the young lady picking me up from the streets when I was about to die and turning me into her maid. The first clean water I drank in this world, the first warm bread I ate, and the first clean clothes I wore. To me, the young lady was a savior.

That’s why I had blindly followed her. Of course, I wouldn’t be blindly devoted to the current Lilian like I had been. Truth is, I wasn’t even sure what I felt for her. Not just for Lilian, but I had similar feelings towards Yulia and Princess Chloe too.

It wasn’t the kind of love that burned deep; rather, it was closer to a human affection. I thought about this as I looked back at Lilian, and our eyes met.

“Lady?”

“Hmm, Catherine. Are you angry?”

“…Why would I be?”

“Because I decided things unilaterally.”

She was aware of it. Well, Lilian had always shown a clumsy side but was quite meticulous when it mattered. She couldn’t have failed to predict what her actions would lead to.

“I was a bit flustered… but the holy knight holding the sacred sword might really have awakened his magical power.”

Isn’t it a bit strange that there’s only one person with magical power? They say all humans had mana in ancient times.

“That guy? No way.”

“What makes you so sure?”

“You don’t know how greedy gods can be. That guy believes in the divine. There’s no way someone like him would have divine or magical power.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah. You don’t believe in gods, do you?”

Whether I believed or not was a tricky question. I did believe, but I just never thought of that god as omnipotent or all-knowing. If you asked if my faith lay with any god, the answer would obviously be no. In this world, I found only myself trustworthy, and I believed it was wise to doubt even those closest to me at least once. Of course, I didn’t always practice what I preached.

“Would the Church willingly hand over the sacred sword?”

“Who knows? The fortunate thing is that the current Pope is quite an upright person. He isn’t some inaccessible figure, so we should be able to negotiate somehow.”

“Is there really a reason to send me to the Church?”

“The world is at stake.”

Lilian sighed softly and lowered her voice. With the rattle of the carriage and the partition, it was unlikely that the coachman could hear, but there was no harm in being cautious.

“Whoever is holding the sacred sword can’t kill the Demon King. Only those with magical power can kill or seal the Demon King.”

“…”

“You’re wondering how I know this?”

“Did you read the ‘original work’ or something?”

“…!”

At my answer, Lilian’s eyes widened. Mentioning the “original work” in Korean felt a bit awkward, as I hadn’t spoken that language since reincarnating.

“Catherine, you…?”

“I’m a reincarnator. You’re a possessor, right?”

The words flowed smoothly in Korean. As Lilian processed what I said, her eyes slowly widened.

“…”

She hadn’t expected me to admit it so openly. Looking at her, I took a step closer and continued speaking.

“I’m sorry, but I have no idea what this original work is. I only realized there was an original work after I figured out you were a possessor.”

“…I’m not a possessor.”

“Huh?”

“I just recalled my past life’s memories a little late… Hah, otherwise, how could I remember all those manners?”

“Umm.”

That was surprising to me. Are “Lilian” and “the young lady” the same person? If what Lilian said was true, the awkwardness I’d felt until now made sense. She had shown no resemblance to the young lady at first, and she certainly hadn’t acted like someone who learned noble manners until she suddenly began behaving similarly to the lady.

Of course, their personalities were like night and day.

“Since I recalled my past life’s memories, I realized how foolish I had been. People in the medieval era were so repressed.”

Lilian answered my confusion with that and stole a glance at me. I, however, averted my gaze and spoke up.

“So, what exactly is this original work? How does the story proceed?”

“The original work… is a game. A dating sim with Yulia as the protagonist. It’s female-oriented and involves reverse harem elements.”

“Hmm.”

“It’s funny to bring up the original work now, but originally, it should’ve been Jeron, not you, awakening his magical power.”

In the original work, Jeron and Yulia were supposed to defeat the Demon King, with other male characters accompanying them, leading to either a choice between one of them or establishing a reverse harem. But now, everything was entirely different. Instead of Jeron, it was me who had awakened magical power, and Yulia wasn’t socializing with the other male characters.

It was unlikely Jeron had concealed it. Considering his arrogant personality and how advantageous awakening magical power would be in the throne competition, he really had no reason to hide it. In fact, in the original work, he reported it to the royal family as soon as he awakened.

“So, you’re saying the original work has been completely shaken up? Does this mean I might not be able to defeat the Demon King even if I go?”

“I don’t think that’ll happen. Current Yulia looks like she’s level 99, and you’re definitely way stronger than Jeron…”

“Level? Was that a thing?”

“Only for the protagonist.”

“How did you figure out what that level was?”

“Yulia’s divine power was detectable even to a regular person like me. It shouldn’t be possible unless she’s purposely releasing it, and if she were to keep emitting it, no matter how much divine power she had, she’d tire out in less than three hours. But Yulia showed no sign of exhaustion.”

Oh, I had gotten used to it now, but Yulia had felt purifying just to look at when we first met. That sensation had made me reluctant to get closer.

“That’s a bit much… Anyway, both of us have specs that are way above what’s needed to clear it, so we should handle it easily.”

“Sounds about right.”

If Yulia was that overpowered, wouldn’t it be enough to just send her and that knight to deal with it? That thought flickered through my mind, but then I recalled Lilian’s whisper that you couldn’t defeat the Demon King without magical power, and I kept my mouth shut. While we both sat in silence, Lilian suddenly leaned over towards me and buried her face in my lap.

“Lady?”

“Just let me be like this for a moment.”

“…If that’s what you want.”

As Lilian started acting cute, I gently patted her shoulder and quietly closed my eyes. Since we’d been speaking in Korean from the beginning, I didn’t think it would lead to the coachman overhearing us, but just the information I had gathered was confusing enough. So I had awakened magical power, which originally wasn’t supposed to be mine. However, if what she said was true and the original was in Korean, that made sense.

Actually, it felt like my goal had become clearer, almost like a fog had lifted. After all, if I could just team up with Yulia to take down the Demon King, that would be it, right? If I defeated the Demon King, I could live quite comfortably. At the very least, I could build a little cabin in a quiet place and live leisurely. I could just witness Lilian getting married and then enjoy a cozy retirement.

Let’s aim for that comfortable retirement. With that thought in mind, I tenderly ran my fingers through Lilian’s hair.