The heroine of the original work did not appear, and instead of her, I found myf guiding the Emperor and forming a semi-bond with him.
The story threads that revolved around the heroine of the original work were skewed from the beginning, and they were not a guide to guide me in any direction.
'Even my memories are starting to fade.'
So, what should I do now?
“That's how things change, Meow.
No one knows how big a storm a butterfly's wing can cause, Meow.
Get ready, Meow.”
Knock, knock,
The cat's tail hit the ground.
I saw Louis, muttering silently with his lips moving in his sleep, holding the cat's tail.
In contrast to her rebelliousness, resentment and anger in front of me, Lucy calmly allowed him to hold her tail.
When did their relationship become so strong?
“What do you two want me to do?”
The guide.
And the system window.
They definitely had a direction they wanted me to follow.
Perhaps they were urging me to engage more strongly in the world of this novel.
I have never felt such a terrifying and ominous feeling as I do today.
As if I had become a puppet connected to invisible strings...
That was very disturbing.
“You already know, don't you, Miao?
Either you actively look for someone else to be the emperor's consort, or you take this place yourf, Miao.”
What you both want is definitely the second option, right?
I didn't say that, but stared with a fiery look, and the cat laughed in a somewhat terrifying way.
At that moment, a familiar voice rang out.
“…Huh, today I don’t want that.”
Sparkling system window.
Information about a person was turning orange.
'This damned man, used his power recklessly again.'
I frowned severely.
Honestly, even if I understand Casey's reaction, his disappointment, and his intense anger, I'm human too.
From the beginning, our relationship had started with hatred without me even doing much wrong.
I didn't want to, but he approached me of his own free will, and I had to trick him at night and get close to him.
I was not impudent enough to boldly enjoy the division of day and night in this way.
As time went on, it became more annoying and embarrassing.
His wary and suspicious looks during the day.
His friendly and gentle looks at night.
“In my current mood, I don’t have the confidence that I can use my strength in front of him as if nothing had happened.”
At first, I tried to think simply.
Cayces' strange appearance was unfamiliar, but I felt free because I didn't have to act like a duchess in front of him.
But now, especially tonight after what happened during the day, I couldn't treat him carelessly.
I wanted to scream out loud.
I am not the companion you look at with love!
Your original partner is somewhere else!
This is just a fragile relationship that can change at any time!
Don't look at me kindly as if I'm going to be deceived!
You don't know anything about me after all, do you?
But unlike my inner turmoil, the cat guide was calm.
"Don't complicate matters, Meow.
The choice is yours, and the responsibility that results from it falls on you, Meow."
Yes, this is exactly what is called irresponsibility!
I felt angry at Lucy for no reason, so I turned around.
The more I remembered the experience of losing control over my body today and the system window that was not helpful, the more doubt grew in my heart.
I no longer trust anything.
“I'll go.”
I didn't feel any movement behind me, so I looked back and saw that Lucy was not moving from Louis' side, but was licking with her tongue.
“Aren't you coming?”
The cat shook its head like a human, then scolded me.
“Don't you feel sorry for this child, Miu?
I will stay by his side with my body's warmth, Miu.”
Ah, okay.
Why do something you're not used to doing?
I laughed sarcastically, closed the door, and went back to my bedroom.
After sending the maids who wanted to serve me, I put on my pajamas myf and lay down on the bed comfortably.
“What is this now?”
I discovered the familiar status window.
Something I've seen before.
Choose a turning point.
[An important turning point has emerged.
Gateway call.
The lost person desperately longs for the light of salvation.
He hates you and is wary of you, but he trusts you unconsciously, which has caused a change in the level of friendliness.
Will you accept the portal invitation?
Decide carefully.
Choice carries responsibility.
Saving someone's life can connect you deeply with them.
Your choice will determine the course of the future.]
So, this means…
'If I accept, I will enter the portal?
It is the Emperor who invites me, but why the gate?'
I frowned.
Now it's very late at night.
Sure…
Something happened in the imperial palace.
“What the heck is this?”
My fingers hesitated for a moment.
The text in the status window was an exact match to Lucy the Cat's warning, which made me terrified.
I felt as if someone was pushing me to replace the absent heroine of the original work, while watching and mocking me.
Is this world real?
Am I really living in Hilaria's body?
I felt confused.
What about the portal?
“I…”
When I was a guide in South Korea, unlike the f-protective S-Rank, I was called here and there without the protection of the team, and I had experience entering the gates many times.
I wasn't as skilled as the Martial Masters, but could I really enter the portal?
Will I be able to think rationally in front of the monsters and creatures inside the portal?
I swallowed.
I didn't understand why the Emperor suddenly needed emergency guidance inside the gate.
But what can I do?
I still sleep like a normal person, and I feel happy when I eat delicious food with this body.
I feel good when I wear soft, luxurious clothes, and I get upset when the work is hard.
At the same time, I began to find the witches following me cute and interesting, and the presence of the Awakened who ed me for salvation attracted my attention.
So, now, Hilaria is me.
I'm alive.
And also Kaysis must survive.
Not because he is the hero of the original work, or because he is an important character.
Rather, he is the most powerful Awakened SSS in this empire.
Even in South Korea, I was trying hard to mentor the woke people who rejected me and found me disgusting.
If they live, I will live too.
“I don't like to follow the status window, but...”
I pressed my fingers hard on the “Do you accept?” button.
In the window.
─Yes.
“This is optional.”
To save Kaysis.
At the same moment, everything in front of me turned white.
After a fierce confrontation with the Duchess in the Imperial Palace during the day, Caisis rushed like a madman to every gate he could enter.
The gates that needed urgent entry due to the risk of explosion, and those that were still stable and did not require immediate action, did not differentiate between them.
His knights were quietly observing his unusual actions, trying to keep up with him.
And he was...
'This isn't funny.'
He couldn't understand himf.
'Why did you move?'
Everything was confusing.
Bright red blood.
The woman's cold, annoying expression.
An unchanging relationship.
But why did he feel disappointed and angry about that?
'What changed between me and Duchess Ariel to make me feel this disgusting feeling?'
Doesn't feeling disappointed mean that I was expecting something?
Me, who is that woman?
since when?
Why on earth?
'A while ago, there was something strange.'
It did not happen once or twice that his body moved to protect her in dangerous moments.
In a similar situation in front of the awake.
In front of strangers when she was hiding her face in a back alley.
And this time too.
'I didn't move for Louis.'
He rushed like a trained dog to protect her.
When he suspected, irrationally, that the Duchess might not be able to use magic, she showed him a teleportation magic that most magicians wouldn't dare try.
It was a mockery of her in the end, and a neglect of Louis, and he knew it.
─Gurgling!
Ice rose.
His heartbeat quickened due to the feeling of foreboding.
It was like...
'It is as if I am awake, standing in front of his guide and companion.'