After dropping my bombshell statement, Sabine showed no particular reaction.

Or perhaps it was too dark to see her expression clearly.

“Sabine?”

When I cautiously called her name, a slightly trembling voice responded after a moment.

“Yes, Miss.”

“Um, so… did you hear what I said?”

“Yes.”

“I’m sorry, are you very shocked?”

I continued speaking with an awkward smile.

“The truth is, I—”

At that moment, Sabine extended both hands forward to stop me.

“W-wait a moment, Miss.”

“Hm?”

“Are you saying you’re not our Lady Leonora?”

When I nodded, a cute burst of laughter came from across the room. Sabine quickly covered her mouth with both hands.

“I-I’m sorry, Miss. But what exactly are you saying?”

Sabine seemed both guilty for her rude behavior and unsure how to respond to my statement.

“Yes, it’s natural for it to sound strange.”

I quietly considered how to explain so that Sabine would understand and believe me.

Oh well, there’s no perfect way to do this.

Being completely honest about what I know is probably the best approach.

“Sabine, do you remember the day a year ago when I got out of bed?”

“Yes, of course. How could I forget that day?”

“Me too, it’s certainly an unforgettable day.”

“Indeed.”

“For all of us.”

I explained calmly so that Sabine wouldn’t be too shocked.

I told her that my current understanding might not be completely accurate, that Leonora’s soul being in the Empress’s body was just speculation, but regardless of all that, the fact remained that I was not Leonora but Empress Sienna.

“……”

After I finished my explanation, Sabine remained silent.

Perhaps she was trying to understand my lengthy story, or maybe she simply couldn’t believe it.

She might even think Leonora had completely lost her mind.

“Sabine, please say something, anything.”

“Miss.”

Sabine stood motionless, as if her feet were glued to the floor.

But judging by how she clasped her hands together and fidgeted near her mouth, she seemed quite anxious and uneasy.

‘Maybe this sounds like a ghost story to her.’

While I was thinking this and smiling awkwardly, Sabine finally spoke.

“So… you’re not our Miss?”

I nodded.

“But you are our Miss.”

“Even so, I’m not Leonora.”

“……”

“Really, what can I do to make you believe me?”

I hadn’t expected her to believe me easily, but Sabine seemed far more shocked than I had anticipated.

“I told you I would believe anything you said, even if you claimed the sun in the sky was the moon… but now you’re saying you’re not our Miss, and I don’t know what to do. So you’re really the Emp—no… Her Majesty the Empress?”

“Yes.”

“Oh, my goodness.”

Sabine collapsed to the floor.

Alarmed, I approached her, and she prostrated herself flat on the ground, bowing her head deeply.

“Oh, it makes no sense, yet somehow it does… What should I do? No, first I should greet Her Majesty properly—”

“Stop it, what are you doing? Get up now.”

“Then… you haven’t been Lady Leonora since the day you got out of bed?”

Sabine looked up at me with tear-filled eyes.

I discreetly avoided her gaze, sensing a hint of resentment mixed in those tears.

“I’m sorry, I never meant to deceive you.”

“……”

“If I had told the truth then, nobody would have believed me. Even I couldn’t believe what was happening.”

I had simply woken up to find my body changed. I couldn’t explain what had happened to me when I didn’t understand it myself.

Moreover, I was much more exhausted by loneliness back then compared to now.

I had suddenly gained a family that was overjoyed and moved just to see me up and moving, and I wanted to enjoy that happiness and freedom.

Looking back, it was a terribly selfish thought.

“Nobody would have believed me, just like you’re struggling to now. They might have thought I was not only sick but delusional, and I would have been forced to undergo treatment and take medication.”

I continued speaking as I slowly helped Sabine to her feet.

“I enjoyed seeing people happy, believing I had become healthy. And I was truly happy.”

“……”

“If I had known right away that something was wrong with the Empress, I might have been suspicious.”

But the imperial court only revealed that the Empress had fallen into a coma after quite some time had passed.

‘The Emperor, or my father, must not have wanted it known.’

They only made it public when the Empress repeatedly failed to attend important imperial events.

If the timing had matched up, I would have immediately suspected our souls had switched.

“Then… how should I address you from now on?”

Sabine asked me with a shrinking expression.

“Sabine, nothing needs to change. I want you to treat me just as you have been.”

“But how dare I treat Your Majesty so—”

“You said you would believe whatever I said and work for me, right?”

“Yes.”

“I just want that feeling to remain unchanged. I think I’ll need your help a lot from now on.”

When I took Sabine’s hand and spoke emphatically, she stared at me intently.

“Me?”

“I’m going to find out who orchestrated this and how we can return to our original places.”

It would attract less attention if Sabine moved around rather than me doing it myself.

“I can’t do it alone. So if you help me, it would be a tremendous support.”

Sabine nodded slowly.

“You want to… return to being the Empress?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“And Lady Leonora would return as well.”

Sabine seemed to have a lot on her mind.

I gave her some time to organize her thoughts.

After a while, Sabine tapped her face lightly and began to speak.

“But Miss, I mean, Your Majesty, why would you accept a dress bestowed by His Majesty—”

Sabine covered her mouth again mid-sentence.

“I’m sorry, I spoke out of turn.”

At this point, I considered how much I should tell Sabine.

But if nothing else, I needed to make it clear that I wasn’t trying to return to that position because I loved the Emperor.

I didn’t want any unnecessary misunderstandings.

“Sabine, the truth is…”

I briefly explained to the question-filled Sabine how unhappy I had been as the Empress.

Then, I told her why I had been behaving so strangely.

“So all this time… you’ve been acting?”

Once again, Sabine suppressed a laugh and fanned herself.

“To distance yourself from His Majesty’s attention?”

“Yes, isn’t it a plausible plan?”

Sabine seemed uncomfortable answering and changed the subject.

“I’m surprised Lord Merten suggested such a thing.”

“Sabine, what do you think? Is this okay? I can’t figure out His Majesty’s intentions at all.”

Sabine kept touching her face again.

Then she smiled awkwardly and said:

“But His Majesty seems completely smitten with you.”

Oh, seriously.

“That’s the problem. Even if I demand bigger necklaces, act impertinently, or say whatever I want, he just accepts it all.”

“His Majesty seems to like everything you do.”

I shook my head in exasperation.

“That’s why I’m going to act more boldly now. I’ll make everyone around him try to dissuade him, no matter how much he likes it.”

Sabine nodded slowly, as if the puzzle pieces were finally coming together.

“So… when you secretly went to the Empress’s chambers recently…”

“Yes, that’s right. I wanted to confirm what I looked like while sleeping.”

“And I didn’t even realize…”

Sabine covered her mouth with both hands and lowered her eyes.

“I’m sorry. Of course I didn’t think like others that you went to curse the Empress, but I did find it strange.”

“It’s natural to think that way.”

“So when I told you that you seemed different, I was really working up my courage… I was being very brave in my own way.”

Sabine spoke her mind despite her obvious discomfort.

This is why we get along so well.

“That’s why I need you, Sabine. Will you help me from now on?”

“Yes, of course. I’ll do anything.”

“That’s reassuring.”

“So you won’t have to disguise yourself in my clothes and sneak around anymore.”

“But that was kind of fun.”

When I shrugged my shoulders, Sabine couldn’t hold back her laughter.

“I never said anything, but do you know how worried I was? Wondering why our Miss was behaving that way, and how concerned the master would be.”

“I’m sorry.”

Sabine waved her hands dismissively and smiled brightly.

“Don’t say that, Miss. I’m just relieved you’re not actually ill. I don’t know how helpful I can be, but I’ll do my best. For both of you.”

“Yes, for me and for your mistress.”

“So what’s your plan now?”

Sabine looked at me with quite serious eyes.

“First, Avery will bring many young ladies to tomorrow’s tea time.”

“Yes.”

I spoke languidly, imagining Ainberg’s twitching brow.

“And I’m going to cause a proper scene there.”