“Excuse me? What did I say?”
“N-no, it’s nothing. I-I must have misheard…!”
The old gentleman adjusted his hat once, then hurried away with a red face.
Cynthia shrugged awkwardly. I forgot to watch my words in front of people…
Anyway!
Then how am I supposed to get out of this novel?
There was no answer.
‘Maybe….’
If Elizabeth Bailey quickly became an adult and, just like in the original novel, mastered all kinds of XX and XX with various men…? In other words, if that R-19 reverse harem dark novel safely reached its ending…?
Then she might be able to return to where she originally was.
So from that moment on, Cynthia secretly watched Elizabeth.
“They said Elizabeth and Teshion are about to get engaged. That means the main story hasn’t really started yet!”
The original novel truly began after the two leads got engaged. Since it was just entering the early part, there was still a long way to go before the ending—but it meant there was hope.
Feeling somewhat relieved, Cynthia simply waited calmly.
For Elizabeth to safely meet many men. And in the end, to build an incredible reverse harem and reach the novel’s happy ending.
But then…
That very Elizabeth suddenly died in a carriage accident right before her eyes!
****
“Ahhh!!”
Cynthia, sitting alone, grabbed her hair and screamed loudly.
Even when she first realized she had been transported, she hadn’t felt this hopeless.
Was Elizabeth really dead?
“There’s no way she survived after losing that much blood….”
Cynthia tightly shut her eyes, recalling the horrifying accident scene. The Bailey family crest attached to the shattered carriage flashed in her mind.
‘Of all things, Elizabeth Bailey getting crushed by her own family’s carriage. Why wasn’t she already inside it?’
“…No way, am I going to be stuck living in this novel like this?”
Cynthia jumped up from her seat.
She had to go back to the place where Elizabeth had collapsed right away.
Because in that brief moment just before the massive horses struck her, it felt like she had made eye contact with Elizabeth.
‘It even looked like she was trying to say something….’
When she returned the way she came, the place where Elizabeth had the accident was being handled by several guards.
Behind them stood several people with serious expressions, all dressed elegantly with neat hairstyles.
‘Are those people from the Bailey family?’
Cynthia cautiously approached them.
Looking closely, everyone standing there had light green eyes.
Though the brightness and tone varied, they were clearly light green—the trait of those who carried the Bailey family blood.
“Sigh… what are we going to do now?”
“No, of all times, she had to die now? Wait, let me think. For now, we should hide it….”
Hmm…? Hide what?
“…What about the engagement…?”
“The Grand Duke will soon….”
“…She really was nothing but trouble until the end….”
Cynthia’s expression turned puzzled as she overheard their conversation.
Something felt strange. Not a single one of them…
‘…is sad about Elizabeth’s death?’
It was true that Elizabeth had been treated like a burden in the original story, but she didn’t expect it to be this bad…
More importantly, was Elizabeth really dead? Cynthia took a step forward and spoke.
“Excuse me, I have something to ask—!”
At that moment, the noisy street filled with chatter suddenly fell completely silent, as if water had been poured over it.
It was as if all the sound in the world had been cut out and locked inside a black box.
“…Huh?”
Startled by the sudden change, Cynthia froze mid-sentence.
She blinked in confusion. W-what is this?
Everyone standing there had their light green eyes fixed in one direction.
At her.
Did… I say something wrong…?
Cynthia quickly replayed what she had just said in her head.
No, I didn’t even say anything yet…?
I just said I had something to ask…?
“You there! Open your mouth again, quickly!”
At that moment, a noblewoman standing near a guard who was wiping blood off the ground shouted at Cynthia.
Her bright green eyes were filled with shock.
The problem was, Cynthia had no idea what exactly had shocked her.
“E-excuse me?”
“More! Say more, quickly!”
The noblewoman waved the fan in her hand in a circle as she urged her again.
At her insistence, Cynthia quickly spoke.
“Um… I mean, I have something to ask about this carriage accident….”
“My goodness!”
“This can’t be!”
As soon as Cynthia properly started speaking, gasps and exclamations burst out from all around the street.
What about what I’m saying is so amazing…?
Cynthia stopped speaking again, looking confused. This time, a nobleman across the street with a neatly groomed mustache shouted.
“Don’t stop, keep going!”
“Ah! O-okay… so, the person who collapsed here….”
“This is truly astonishing!”
Completely unable to understand what they were focusing on, Cynthia shut her mouth awkwardly. The noblewoman with the fan looked around at the others and exclaimed excitedly.
“What do you think?”
“It’s incredible. This is really….”
“It’s amazingly identical!”
“It really is…!”
What is? What exactly is identical…?
Cynthia frowned openly.
She couldn’t understand the Bailey family members who kept talking among themselves while ignoring the person asking the question.
“…Then as expected….”
“Yes, for now….”
Soon, the Bailey family members exchanged subtle glances with each other. The corners of their mouths, once full of complaints, were now hanging with suspicious smiles.
****
“You expect me to believe that?”
“Yes, exactly as you heard.”
Cynthia stared at the man in front of her with a shocked expression.
Expensive clothes, expensive-looking glasses, neatly styled blond hair… The clean-cut man introduced himself as Dale, the butler of the Bailey family.
“Th-that’s ridiculous….”
“This is the Bailey ducal residence. It’s a place where such ridiculous things can happen.”
Dale spoke with a very serious and sincere attitude.
Cynthia looked at him as if she had just encountered a strange creature for the first time in her life, then suddenly stood up.
“I don’t want to hear any more. I’ll be going now.”
“Five million mint.”
“…What?”
The moment she heard that unfamiliar amount, Cynthia stopped in her tracks.
She wondered if that number she just heard really came out of his mouth.
“For exactly three months.”
“……”
“If you take on the role of the late Lady Elizabeth for just three months, we will pay you 500,000 mint in advance, and after everything ends smoothly, the remaining 4.5 million mint.”
W-what? 500,000 mint upfront and 5 million in total…?
The average monthly living cost for a family of four commoners in the Dirotein Empire was 20,000 mint.
And just by pretending for a few months, she could get 5 million mint…?
Cynthia clenched her fists.
In her mind appeared the shabby hut on the verge of collapsing. The Cynthia of this world had no savings at all and was buried in unknown debts.
She thought of the violent debt collectors who came almost every day. She had been hoping the novel would end quickly just so she could escape the burden of paying it off…
‘Five million mint….’
It was definitely a tempting offer, but their proposal was completely absurd.
She spun around and shouted at Dale.
“No, no matter what, how can you ask me to replace the deceased Lady Elizabeth? That’s completely ridiculous—!”
“As I said, this is a place where ridiculous things happen.”
“Do you not know that impersonating a noble as a commoner is a serious crime under Dirotein law? If I get caught acting carelessly, I’ll be thrown into prison!”
“In that case, we will reach an agreement through appropriate means.”
“Seriously….”
Cynthia’s mouth fell open.
The Bailey family members from earlier and this man in front of her were clearly all out of their minds.
“Fine. But even if I accept, as you can see, I have nothing in common with Lady Elizabeth. My facial features are different, my height is different, my hair color is different, even my behavior is completely different—how am I supposed to act as her?”
“Your voice.”
“Ha.”
“Your voice is astonishingly identical.”
Dale said firmly.
That voice, voice…! Cynthia was fed up.
Earlier, those strange reactions from people were all because her voice sounded exactly like Elizabeth’s.
I mean, all young women’s voices sound pretty similar anyway…!
“Lady Elizabeth had a unique resonance in her voice. And Miss Cynthia, I can feel a similar resonance from you.”
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