I sat awkwardly at the large, worn dining table, forcing a smile.

It seemed like everyone from the Estanya family had come out.

From the dolled-up Mrs. Estanya, to her family members, and even Herold.

I let out a silent sigh.

“Come on, help yourself.”

Herold smiled, pretending to be kind as he offered me some unidentifiable bird meat.

“Haha, thank you. But about the carriage…”

“Why are you in such a hurry for a carriage? It’ll take at least two days, so just rest for now.”

“Ah, two days… Yes, two days…”

Damn it! I kept feeling uneasy.

I hope nothing happens to Calix.

I swung the knife he gave me four times at that creature who was the High Priest of Fate, so there’s no way that terrifying being wouldn’t hold a grudge.

What if something corrupted by dark magic comes to the Crown Prince’s palace and causes trouble, like what I saw in Desart?

‘That absolutely can’t happen!’

There was nothing I could do anyway since I was stuck here for the next two days.

I stared at the strange bird’s foot on my plate and thought.

The Estanya family is at the bottom of the noble hierarchy anyway.

‘They probably want to advance to the central government, no doubt.’

And now, coincidentally, the daughter of a long-banished cousin is close to the current Crown Prince? What a great opportunity for him.

If played right, he could use Rose as an excuse for family ties to advance to the center.

If only I cooperate well.

“How’s the taste? Is it to your liking?”

I cut a tiny piece of meat with my knife and chewed it.

It tasted bad.

It was just like the pigeon steak I had once eaten on Earth.

I remembered a friend who took me to some strange alley restaurant, saying they eat pigeon steaks in Europe.

Surely this couldn’t be pigeon again…?

“Ah… Haha, it’s delicious.”

As I politely said it was tasty, Aaron next to me frowned deeply and whispered,

“Rose, is your sense of taste broken?”

“Shut up.”

I quickly rinsed my mouth with the water beside me.

‘I can’t eat any more of this!’

Being a rural territory, the quality was clearly different from the palace food.

“By the way, how’s life at the palace? Is it not too difficult?”

Hmm. His attitude seemed as if he had long ago traded his conscience for the territory and some candy.

If it were me, I wouldn’t be able to lift my head in front of Rose.

He was remarkable in many ways.

“His Highness the Crown Prince is so benevolent and wise that it’s not difficult at all.”

Of course, saying Calix was benevolent was an obvious lie.

But some appropriate lies are necessary to improve Calix’s image.

“Ahem, that… Rose, has His Highness shown any particular interest in the Estanya family?”

Herold asked, moistening his lips with the wine beside him as if his mouth was getting dry.

“His Highness always shows interest in all families.”

Huh, trying to get a piece of the pie from somewhere.

It’s not that I have any personal grudge against Herold, but I didn’t feel like helping him much because he seemed unsavory.

He’s not of any help to me either.

Besides, I need to distance myself from Calix anyway…

I paused for a moment, my hand stopping as I held the knife.

Suddenly, I felt strange.

“Haha, I know that. What I mean is, since His Highness favors you…”

“The rumor that His Highness favors me is a false one spread by forces trying to slander His Highness.”

Do I really have to leave Calix’s side?

“So, as His Highness’s faithful servant, if you continue to mention such baseless rumors, I won’t let it slide even if you are my uncle.”

The atmosphere around us became tense at my sharp response.

I didn’t need to react this strongly, but the words came out harshly before I knew it.

“I am merely working as His Highness’s faithful servant. Nothing more, nothing less.”

Even that with an expiration date that’s not far off.

I felt bitter.

In fact, I had grown quite fond of Calix, and after seeing Calix’s end in the Temple of Fate and realizing the identity of the book I had read, even more so.

Calix is a better person than I thought.

‘Rose Estanya! Breathe!’

I bit my lip hard at the sudden memory. I tried to ignore it, but when Calix kissed me that day, I…

“The meal was delicious. If it’s not rude, I’d like to excuse myself now.”

It seemed I needed to cool my head a bit.

“S-Sure, go ahead. Well, we have more than just today. Dear? Please show Rose to her room.”

***

Finally, I had some time alone and could leisurely open my diary.

‘The system is operating normally.’

Is Mellory completely gone? I asked slowly, stroking the surface of the diary.

“What exactly happened?”

In response to my words, Korean characters appeared one by one in the diary.

Current user status: Possession due to forced summoning.

Solution: Leave the body, wait in a soul state, and await the guide’s instructions.

I stared at the diary with cold eyes.

Are you telling me to just die now? Are you joking with me?

“I’m asking for an immediate solution, not that. No, before that, reveal your identity first.”

As if it had voice recognition, the diary answered my question precisely.

Artificial Intelligence Dimensional Management System AI.

I held my forehead. What on earth is going on?

It’s a system automatically introduced to protect the soul when illegal soul transfer is detected.

-This system is configured according to Earth’s current stage of development.-

According to the diary, it seemed that this ‘system’ was at least on my side.

“Where did the original Mellory go?”

At my words, the diary vibrated on the desk as if in anger.

First-class criminal Mellory Estanya.

As a minion of Morisias (God) of planet TRAPPIST-1d, he has been eliminated on charges of attempting to use and exploit the current user.

Wait a minute, Mellory Estanya?

I pointed at Mellory’s name with my finger.

The content along with the name was shocking, but the surname was even stranger.

What? Isn’t Rose’s surname also Estanya?

This system prioritizes the user’s safety 🙂

I thought while pulling at Rose’s pink hair.

To summarize, the Priest of Fate, Estiago, said that Mellory was a servant of Morisias.

Then that means Mellory was a priest of Morisias, right?

‘I need to see the family tree, the Estanya family tree.’

There was no need to think further.

Time was of the essence.

I needed to know what secrets surrounded me, and what the intentions of Morisias and Isis were.

Knowing it was inappropriate, I still ran to Herold’s room and knocked frantically on the door.

“Uncle, I have something urgent to discuss!”

Of course, they had been just as inappropriate to me, so I didn’t feel too guilty.

Bang bang bang, as I knocked on the old master bedroom door of the Estanya family, Mrs. Estanya, whom I had seen earlier, tightened her robe and looked at me with a bewildered face.

“Rose?”

“Where is my uncle?”

I eagerly looked for Herold through the open door.

“Rose? You rushed away earlier, but now what’s the matter?”

Herold spoke to me, sounding a bit annoyed.

Regardless, I didn’t have time to care about his attitude.

“Could I see the Estanya family tree and history books? It’s urgent.”

At my words, Herold frowned for a moment, then quickly brightened up and grinned.

“Ah… Unfortunately, only the head of the family can see the family tree and history books…”

Damn. He’s being difficult.

I smiled sweetly at Herold  and said, “How are your connections with the local nobility?”

“…Huh?”

Can’t be helped. His goal was obvious.

‘Advancement to central politics.’

I wonder what he’s trying to achieve. But if that’s his wish, I could easily throw some bait.

‘If I’m going to throw bait anyway, it would be best to do it in a way that helps Calix the most, right?’

Calix was severely lacking in support from the nobility.

“I’ll give you a week. Gather some useful local noble factions.”

“What are you talking about…”

“If you do that, I’ll specially mention to His Highness about your loyalty to him, Uncle.”