Summer checked the gossip magazines that Mary had collected all night. It was just as Mary said.
‘Why did the Duke of Lancaster go to the Countess of Lindsey?’
‘Who is the lark of the Duke of Lancaster?’
The gossip magazines were filled with rumors about Summer and Ian. However, since Julian's appearance, all stories about Summer had vanished.
“I need to test this.”
“What do you mean?”
Mary asked as she placed coffee in front of Summer, who was engrossed in reading the gossip magazines.
Without taking her eyes off the magazine, Summer took a sip of her coffee.
“I want to see how the world perceives me.”
If it was bothersome, they should have been deleting all mentions of Summer from the start.
But initially, they had let Summer be featured in the gossip. It seemed something had drastically changed since the poisoning incident.
“I need to go see Julian. Help me get ready.”
“Yes. I’ll prepare right away.”
Letters are unnecessary in a novel. It’s about going first. As soon as Summer finished preparing, she hopped into a carriage and headed straight to Julian's mansion.
When she arrived at the Dudley Count's residence, there were no guards in sight. It was strange.
Summer cautiously opened the door and stepped inside. The mansion was eerily quiet.
“Is anyone here?”
No one answered Summer's question. Feeling a sense of foreboding, she clutched her skirt with both hands and ran.
The mansion was tidy as if someone was managing it, yet there was no one around.
As the thought of being the only one in the vast mansion crossed her mind, Summer felt a chill run down her shoulders.
Despite being an aristocratic mansion, Summer entered without any hindrance and climbed the stairs briskly.
“Julian, please...”
Summer rummaged through the rooms as if searching for something.
And then she found him. Julian Dudley lying in the room as if dead.
“Why...?”
Summer opened her eyes wide in disbelief and covered her mouth with her hands.
She instinctively took a step back.
Julian Dudley is the main character.
But given the atmosphere of the mansion and everything else, she was not receiving any attention from the creator...
“Dust.”
A being as insignificant as dust, merely an extra.
Regaining her composure, Summer rushed over to check on Julian. He looked as if he were merely asleep.
“Julian! Julian, wake up. It’s me, Summer!”
“......”
But Julian's closed eyes showed no sign of opening. Summer lightly touched Julian's neck with her fingertips.
Fortunately, there was a pulse, and he was breathing. It simply meant he was asleep.
Then there should be someone to wake him up. Who would that be?
Summer jumped up. There was no time to think.
She hurried down the stairs again, searching each room for anyone.
Not even a maid or servant, who would usually be attached to an extra, was in sight.
“Please, just one person, just one!”
As Summer forcefully swung open a large door, a middle-aged man was quietly reading documents.
The room, filled with the smell of books, was eerily calm and peaceful as if nothing was happening.
“Excuse me!”
At Summer's call, the man slowly lifted his head.
“Who are you? There should have been guards at the door.”
“I am Summer Lindsey from the Countess of Lindsey! Please listen to my story!”
“Lindsey? Ah, I know well. So, what do you need from me?”
“Excuse me, but who are you?”
“What?”
“Are you perhaps the Count Dudley?”
The man let out a scoff, looking incredulous. Julian glanced at the man with a tense expression.
This was oddly more nerve-wracking than a job interview.
“Yeah. I am Count Dudley.”
“Please, can you just take a look at Julian once?”
“Julian?”
“Yes. The Count's adopted daughter, Julian! It’s a bit of an unusual request, but could you please go upstairs and check on Julian right now?”
“Even if she is a mischievous noble lady, this is too rude.”
Count Dudley’s eyebrows twitched.
“I’m begging you. Please just check on Julian once!”
“Ha. I will definitely report this to the Countess of Lindsey.”
“I don’t mind.”
Count Dudley stood up.
He shot a stern glance at the unexpected visitor and headed up the stairs toward Julian's room.
The door opened, and the sight of the sleeping Julian came into view.
Julian still had her eyes closed, not waking up.
“Ugh!”
At that moment, Summer jumped into the room as if having a seizure and stared at the open door.
The noise of a bustling crowd. The sound of cleaning tools lightly clashing against each other.
“Oh, good morning, my lord!”
A servant who seemed to have gained some trust bowed to Count Dudley and left.
Summer stood there, dazed, staring blankly at the now bustling hallway.
“Is it done now?”
“Y-You saw it, right? There was no one when we came up!”
“Too aristocratic. Does that mean the servants are not treated as people?”
“That’s not it, my lord!”
“Enough. Julian seems to be sleeping, so I’ll take my leave.”
Julian seemed like she was about to lose her mind. Perhaps she already had.
“Summer? When did you arrive?”
Summer, who had been looking at the Count, turned her head with a gasp. Julian was waking up with a refreshed face as if she had just fallen into a deep sleep.
“Summer. Were you that worried about me?”
“Yes?”
“Summer. What’s wrong? You’re sweating so much. Are you okay?”
Julian approached with a worried expression and lightly wiped Summer's sweat with her sleeve.
Only then did Summer realize that cold beads of sweat were trickling down her neck.
It was terrifying. An instinctive fear.
“W-What about Julian?”
It was a probing question. There was no way Summer would have rushed over to worry about Julian.
“I don’t know why the Legacy Lady poisoned me. We didn’t really talk much.”
“You... drank poison?”
“Summer? Are you really okay? You seem to be quite shocked. It seems like it affected you more than me.”
She was shocked, but for a different reason.
Julian's memory had also changed. Then why was Julian alone, unconscious in a mansion with no one around?
She had come to find answers, but instead felt lost.
“I met the Legacy Lady in the underground prison.”
“Oh my, Summer! You need to be careful of the Legacy Lady.”
“She said she was wronged. It seemed like there was someone else behind it.”
“Someone behind it...?”
“Yes. It seems someone instigated her. Someone so terrifying that even the Legacy Lady couldn’t speak out of fear.”
“Oh my.”
“Julian. Be careful. Please remember what I said.”
“Thank you, Summer.”
After repeatedly urging Julian to be cautious, Summer finally left the mansion.
Even after leaving, her questions remained unanswered. Julian was the main character, after all.
But just moments ago, she had seen Julian lying unconscious in the empty mansion.
What was going on?
“I should just hurry back.”
People have instincts.
Since the moment she fell into this world, a growing unease had been building within Summer, as if something had gone terribly wrong.
“If things go really wrong...”
She might not be able to return and could be trapped in the book forever.
In a panic, Summer hit the wall and called for the coachman.
“Yes, miss.”
“Take me to the central square.”
She had to conduct the experiment she had hesitated over, right now.
Once Summer arrived at the central square, she hurriedly scanned the shop signs as she walked in a daze.
“I found it.”
What Summer found was a weapon shop.
Upon entering the weapon shop, an elderly woman glanced at Summer indifferently before returning to polishing a sword.
“I need a dagger.”
“It’s on the right.”
The woman’s voice was curt.
Summer quickly went to the right and examined the daggers one by one, looking for one that was as neat and inconspicuous as possible.
Just then, a small dagger with no decorations and a compact size caught her eye.
Without hesitation, Summer took the dagger and placed it in front of the woman.
“I’ll take this one.”
“...You have a good eye, young lady.”
After completing the payment, the woman handed the dagger back to Summer, who held it close to her chest as she stepped back out onto the street.
This wasn’t about wanting to die. It was to gain certainty.
Summer ventured deeper into a deserted alley, step by step, splashing muddy water with each footfall.
Still, she didn’t care. The accurate expression would be that she had no time to care.
The main character was also in an unsafe, cursed world. Cursing under her breath.
“Here, there shouldn’t be anyone.”
Summer carefully surveyed her surroundings.
The alley was so filthy and deep that aside from the occasional scurrying of rats, there was no sign of life.
Slowly, she drew the dagger she had been holding close to her and took a good look at it.
As she pulled the blade from its sheath, the gleaming, sharp blade was revealed. It looked like it could cut with just a touch of a finger.
The sheath fell to the ground with a thud.
Summer gripped the hilt of the dagger tightly with both hands and slowly lifted it, her eyes tightly shut.
The resolve in her mind and the fear in her body seemed to be two different matters, as her hand holding the dagger trembled.
She wanted to go back; she didn’t want to die. She wanted to go back. To the time when she could smile with her shoulders back.
To the time when she was happily laughing.
To the day when she was searching for something interesting without a care in the world.
As the dagger was poised to strike at Summer's neck, a large hand swatted it away.
The blade barely grazed Summer's neck, leaving a faint scratch. With wide eyes, Summer captured that moment as if it were in slow motion.
A long, white hand, his rarely agitated expression, and the beautiful face revealed as the deep hood was pulled back.
“...Seongha?”
“What are you doing!”
“Seongha, how did you end up here...?”
“...Summer.”
His voice, murmuring ominously, was chilling and eerie.
“It doesn’t make sense. How could you be in such an alley? Especially wearing that suspicious hood.”
“......”
Who did she want to argue with? Summer opened her mouth, feeling a sense of helplessness.
“I think I finally understand.”
She couldn’t die in a normal way. The world was intervening. The world wanted something from Summer.
Her vague speculation solidified into certainty.
From the very beginning, the world had no intention of letting Summer go easily.