Chapter 31
“I thought I might’ve been mistaken, but I guess I wasn’t.”
Sion spoke with a mix of irritation and disbelief on his face.
“Why is Lin here? I clearly told you she needed to rest.”
As Sion looked at Elda and Genebia as if demanding an explanation, Genebia replied,
“As you can see, both her external and internal injuries have been completely healed.”
“Even so, I’ve heard that a body healed through divine power consumes a great deal of stamina. That’s why rest is necessary—didn’t you say that yourself?”
“That’s true in general. But since Miss Lin is a fairy, it seems to work differently for her compared to ordinary humans. She was moving around just fine as soon as she woke up.”
Then she added casually, “For the record, I did try to stop her from coming.”
I waved my perfectly fine arms and legs around to prove my innocence.
“See, Sion? I’m totally fine now!”
Sion responded coldly,
“Oh really? Then who was it last night that was on the verge of dying with their limbs burned black?”
“…That would be me.”
I shrank back quietly.
To be fair, at the time I was injured, it had felt like my whole body was being burned alive—it hurt like hell. But thanks to Genebia, I recovered quickly, and since it all happened so fast, I honestly didn’t remember it that vividly.
“…By the way.”
Sneaking a glance at Sion, I scanned his appearance.
Is this for real? He’s literally glowing.
Seeing my favorite character looking unbelievably cool in the outfit I made, I couldn’t help but grin.
Noticing my expression, Sion’s face hardened as he asked coldly,
“Do fairies have dozens of lives or something?”
“Hm? Well… probably not?”
I answered vaguely.
At least I didn’t—but who knew about other fairies in this world?
As I shrugged, Sion opened his mouth, then closed it again.
Then, in a slightly irritated voice, he said,
“…You really don’t get it.”
“……”
It seemed he was upset that I was treating the whole incident lightly.
But in a way, the difference in our perspectives was inevitable.
From my point of view, “death” in this world didn’t mean real death—it just meant the end of this bizarre possession event.
But for Sion, who actually lived in this world, it was simply reality.
Hmm. When I think about it like that, I can understand why he sees this differently.
Even though we’d only known each other for a few weeks, with Sion’s personality, there was no way he’d be okay with someone dying in his place.
So, to ease his mood, I deliberately smiled brightly.
“Alright, Sion. I’m sorry. Don’t be so mad. I’ll be more careful from now on!”
Of course, if a similar situation happened again, I’d probably do the same thing—but that was my little secret.
“But try to understand. Today is your coming-of-age ceremony—the one I’ve been looking forward to! Of course I had to come!”
I nodded enthusiastically with a cheeky grin.
Sion stared at me for a moment with a stiff expression, then let out a quiet sigh.
“…The Winter Coming-of-Age Ceremony is just a formal rite that every Northerner goes through. It’s not something meaningful enough to push yourself for.”
“Hey now, what are you saying? ‘Push myself’? If I missed seeing you like this today, that would’ve been way more emotionally exhausting for me. And besides…”
I brought up something I had been thinking about ever since this event was mentioned in the original story.
“The ceremony itself is important, sure—but the banquet afterward is just as important, right?”
I recalled a small detail that had only been briefly mentioned in the original.
“In the North, it’s customary to find a lover or fiancé during the year you come of age, isn’t it? Especially at banquets or festivals after the ceremony—that’s where most people form relationships.”
“…Where on earth did you even hear that?”
Sion asked with a disbelieving laugh.
“Hehe, I’ve got my ways.”
I lifted my chin proudly.
Then, noticing that Sion seemed to have calmed down, I hopped over onto his shoulder. Genebia’s face instantly brightened like a slave freed from labor.
“Anyway, as of today, Sion is officially an adult! From now on, you’re a man of the North—cold to everyone else but warm only to your woman! A true ‘Northern man’!”
Sion frowned.
“‘Northern man’…?”
I glanced at Genebia, who was staring blankly into space, and added,
“And who knows? Your destined partner might be closer than you think.”
“……”
Sion paused at my words, then looked like he had fallen into thought.
“Alright! So let’s forget everything from before and just enjoy today together!”
I declared energetically, grinning like an overexcited office manager at a company dinner.
Good. This is my last chance. No matter what, I’m going to break down the awkward distance and mutual dislike between Sion and Genebia today!
Now that the original storyline had truly begun, the appearance of the main male lead was getting closer by the day.
Meanwhile, watching me so excited, Sion said,
“You seem full of energy. I suppose your body really is fine.”
“Yep, yep! No problems!”
Seeing how obviously he was worried about me made my heart swell with fangirl satisfaction.
Hehe… what a luxury this is.
At that moment, Genebia—who had been standing there like background scenery—suddenly cut in.
“Now that the two of you have safely reunited, may I take my leave?”
“Huh? Leave? Where are you going?!”
Startled, I asked, and she replied with a tired expression,
“I only just arrived at the castle yesterday, and before I could even finish unpacking, I got dragged here by the two of you. I’d like to go sort my things out and wash up…”
“……”
At her words, I took a closer look at her appearance.
Since she had been dragged along unexpectedly yesterday, her state… wasn’t exactly presentable.
While roughly fixing the messy hair I had thoroughly messed up, she added,
“Besides, I don’t like places this extravagant and noisy.”
“Agreed.”
Sion added bluntly.
“I dislike places that are this pointless and inefficient. Let’s return to the annex as well, Lin.”
“…Huh…?”
Looking at Genebia, Sion said,
“Was it Genebia? I’ll properly compensate you soon for treating Lin last night.”
“That’s alright. I owe the two of you from before anyway.”
“I see.”
“Yes.”
With that, the two of them turned away from each other as casually as people parting ways after a simple marketplace transaction.
“Wait—hold on! You’re just going to leave like this?!”
As I shouted in panic, both Sion and Genebia turned back, puzzled.
“What is it? Do you need something else?”
“What’s wrong, Miss Lin?”
My years of experience with romance fantasy screamed at me:
At this rate, those two are completely hopeless!
I need something drastic!
So I acted.
“Ugh! M-my body, suddenly—!”
Right in front of them, I let my body go limp and collapsed.
“Lin?!”
“Miss Lin!”
Sion hurriedly caught me as I fell.
“What’s wrong? Are you in pain?”
“Ugh… I think so. It feels like there might be some kind of aftereffect…”
“I told you to stay in the annex—”
“Move your hand! I need to check her condition!”
Peeking through half-lidded eyes at the two of them panicking, I delivered the final blow:
“I guess there’s no choice… until I fully recover, Genebia will have to stay with us at the annex…!”
“…What?”
Genebia froze, looking uncomfortable.
“Sion… that’s okay, right?”
At my question, Sion nodded with a serious expression.
“Very well. We’ll return immediately and reassess Lin’s condition.”
“Wait, that’s a bit too hasty—”
“Ugh! My arms and legs!”
I rubbed my limbs dramatically, doubling down on my act.
And beneath my lowered face, I grinned in triumph.
Perfect. First, we naturally start living together. Then we slowly build things up…
That was when—
Between Sion and Genebia, as they looked down at me, I saw a group of people approaching.
They parted the crowd of the banquet hall cleanly, like a perfect center part.
At the front of them—
It was the Grand Duchess, Priscilla.
