His face, not fully hidden, was plastered with embarrassment.

“What do you mean? I need to undress to change. You are my fiancé, so it’s not against etiquette.”

Adelia shrugged nonchalantly, without averting her gaze from him and placed her hand on the shoulder of the partially lowered dress.

With a slight touch, the soft fabric slid down her arm.

‘Such a simpleton.’

Pfft. Adelia grinned playfully.

Though some skin was exposed, it was no more than a summer dress. She had no intention of undressing fully.

Sometimes actions speak louder than words.

As more of her skin was revealed, Lucian’s face grew redder.

‘This is payback for what happened on the first day. He didn’t let me off and played tricks.’

She was always full of mischief.

Seeing his usually expressionless face turn flustered triggered her playful side even more.

She fiddled with the sleeve that had slid down while staring intently at him.

Eventually, when it seemed like the undergarment might just be revealed, he stormed out of the room.

Not just his ears but his neck, visible at a glance, also turned red.

“This is even less than what a summer dress would reveal. He’s quite shy.”

Adelia chuckled as she watched him leave through the door.

Without showing any underwear and considering there were dresses that were more exposed, it was hard to say she had undressed.

Quickly adjusting her clothing, she turned with a spin to face the nervous princess.

With a flick of her hand, a soundproofing magic spread throughout the room.

“It’s soundproof magic. No sound will leak out, so you can relax.”

“Yes….”

When she sat back down, Ariana also hesitantly approached and took her seat.

A silence lingered between them as they sat facing each other.

Adelia took a sip of her tea before speaking.

“Where should I start?”

“……”

Ariana kept silent.

It wasn’t that she didn’t want to speak; she just didn’t know where to begin.

Ultimately, it was Adelia who started speaking first.

“You remember too, don’t you? The memories of your previous life when you wrote in Hangul¹Korean script.”

Nod, nod.

Ariana silently nodded her head.

“I remembered my past life a few years ago. What about you?”

Ariana naturally continued the conversation.

She didn’t mention that this was a world within a book, and that she had possessed a character in it.

Seeing her alive, breathing, and acting, how could anyone say such a thing?

‘There’s no need to tell her that.’

It’s the secret of the world. It’s better not to let too many people know.

Adelia calmly waited for Ariana’s response.

‘I know, but I can’t say I do.’

The original story showed Ariana’s previous life, her death, reincarnation, and her new life.

But now, she had to pretend she knew nothing and listen.

In the quiet wait, the princess cautiously opened her mouth.

“I’ve had memories of my previous life since I was born. I died very young…”

Starting with that, Ariana began to pour out everything that had happened to her.

Her previous life as an orphan, the traffic accident she got into at the age of seven, and even the moment she was reincarnated into a new world.

Adelia quietly listened to the princess’s long story, matching her gaze for a long time.

After Ariana’s long story ended, Adelia finally spoke.

“It must have been hard.”

“It wasn’t that hard. I have my family.”

The princess’s expression noticeably softened.

A bond formed through a brief conversation and a small expectation made her heart beat excitedly.

‘Maybe she knows. After all, she is a mage.’

Ariana loved this place. Her family loved her, and everyone around was kind.

But as her happiness grew, fear gnawed at it, growing alongside.

Afraid she might return to that place when she woke up. Afraid all of this might be a fleeting dream.

She wasn’t unhappy there. She did think of it occasionally, but she didn’t want to go back. Because she was too happy here.

Maybe Adelia, a white mage who lived even longer than herself, might know.

“Sister… can we go back?”

Ariana asked courageously.

She knew it wasn’t a dream. She knew her previous body was already dead.

But she was scared. After dying in vain and being reincarnated, everything felt like an illusion.

So, she wanted confirmation. That this place is real. That it’s not a dream and that returning to her previous life is impossible.

After Adelia remained silent for a while, Ariana looked down and sighed.

“You don’t know either…”

“There’s no way.”

Adelia firmly interrupted the princess.

“You can never go back. It’s not a dream, so you can’t wake up from it. No matter how much you sleep and wake up, you will always be here, and you can never return as time passes. Princess, you will live very long and happily here. I’m a white mage. I know a lot.”

It was an answer she could give because she knew what the princess feared the most.

“I see…”

Ariana stroked her chest.

Unable to return and able to live long and happily—those were the words she wanted to hear but couldn’t.

She tightly clenched her hands and sighed in relief.

Seeing her calmly stabilizing her heart, Adelia asked,

“Do you want to go back there?”

At her question, Ariana shook her head vigorously.

“I like it here. I do think of that place sometimes but don’t want to go back.”

“That’s good. Because you have to live here from now on.”

Adelia said with a gentle smile.

This is the future set in the book. Just as the original story goes. Ariana will live happily ever after. She could answer with certainty.

Ariana sighed in relief. Though her mind knew she couldn’t return, her heart was always uneasy. Adelia’s words brought great relief.

“Do you think there are others who remember their past lives like us?”

“Probably not. We are rare cases. Even the guardian I travel with said he has never seen such a case before.”

Adelia’s voice lacked certainty.

Just as she had possessed Adelia and knew the original story, could there be someone else who knew?

It would be too definitive to conclude that there was no one else when the person who twisted the original story was right here.

‘It’s unlikely. Even now, almost nothing has changed from the original.’

That was the conclusion she came to by herself. There are no transmigrators. There won’t be any.

As Ariana pondered for a while after hearing her answer, she opened her mouth,

“Sister… This is…”

“Let’s keep it a secret? I won’t tell anyone. Now, promise.”

Adelia extended her pinky finger as she spoke.

“Promise.”

Ariana also timidly extended her finger and overlapped it with hers.

The small finger intertwined with an even smaller finger.

As they made their promise, Adelia grabbed Ariana’s wrist firmly.

“Because of the princess, my head has become complicated, so please take responsibility.”

“Yes…?”

Ariana froze in surprise, her eyes wide open.

‘Responsibility? How am I supposed to take responsibility? I have nothing!’

Seeing her little head rolling around in thought, Adelia couldn’t help but laugh.

Amidst her sudden laughter, Ariana became flustered, while Adelia chuckled and tapped her knee.

Finally, the princess caught on to what she wanted.

Adelia jumped from the chair and brought Ariana next to her onto her lap, burying her face in her shoulder.

“I was really surprised too. That’s why I need therapy.”

“Huh?”

Adelia caressed the princess’s palm and rubbed her face against it.

At first, she seemed slightly startled but soon laughed heartily and leaned back comfortably.

“You’ve worked hard all this time. It must have been tough growing up so well.”

“It’s all thanks to Dad, my brothers, and now you, too.”

“Oh my. I’m so happy to have the princess too.”

Sharing a secret naturally brings people closer.

Having shared a secret that can’t be told to anyone else, a thin but solid bond and intimacy must have been built.

It wasn’t hard to deepen that bond.

“I was really surprised when I first opened my eyes.”

“Because they were so handsome?”

“Wow! How did you know?”

“Because they have such faces.”

The princess sat quietly, chattering away. She shared lighter and more joyful emotions than the story she had told earlier.

Thanks to Adelia, who chimed in and listened well, she lost track of time and poured out things she couldn’t say to others.

Her babbling mouth suddenly stopped with a gasp.

“Oops, the time! What should I do… Dad and my brothers must be expecting new clothes… What should I say?”

“Don’t worry about that. It’s true that I brought clothes.”

Adelia opened a door connected to a closet next to her.

The closet was filled with numerous dresses.

“Sister… why are there only clothes in my size?”

Out of thirty dresses, only five were Adelia’s. The rest were prepared for Ariana.

From fancy party dresses to casual wear. There were enough for her to change throughout the day.

Every fabric, every jewel was prepared to match the princess well.

The princess looked at the dresses with a stunned face.

“Really… They’re beautiful. They seem like the prettiest clothes I have.”

Adelia’s lips curved up at her compliment.

“It’s a bribe, so I could ask you to play with me in the future.”