“I have many people I love.”
“That can’t be true.”
Duke Langerster scoffed and lightly walked away.
Summer felt wronged but had no energy to argue, so she tightly closed her mouth and abruptly turned her body.
What a strange male protagonist. He should hurry up and fall in love with himself or Julian Dudley.
Summer pouted.
The very Ian Langerster who said that had been unable to love anyone until he met Julian Dudley.
Suddenly, she felt a bit sorry for having only focused on Julian's narrative while reading the novel, neglecting Ian's story.
With a slightly heavy heart, Summer walked into the mansion.
“Putting on all sorts of airs.”
How did Mary see that?
However, as soon as Summer entered the mansion, something strange happened. Count and Countess Lindsey rushed over, shouting.
“Summer! Where did you put your dress, dressed like that! You’re not hurt, are you?”
The Countess was flabbergasted and on the verge of tears, while the Count stood there with a solemn expression.
Summer paused for a moment.
This is strange. There was nothing like this in the original.
Now, the Count and Countess Lindsey were talking about the changed appearance of Summer Lindsey.
A chill ran down her spine.
“Did Duke Langerster perhaps… Summer, don’t worry, just tell me. Did he hurt you? Did he threaten you with power?”
Their gazes were filled with so much affection. It felt as if they were truly her parents.
Summer swallowed hard.
They were not her parents. They were merely marionettes playing their assigned roles.
Her real parents were far away in the original world. In South Korea.
With a dry expression, Summer brushed past the Count and Countess.
“I just took it off because I was frustrated.”
“Then how did the Duke see you off?”
At the Countess's exclamation, Summer turned around with a bored expression.
“I don’t know what lewd thoughts you’re having, but it’s not like that. Unfortunately.”
“Summer!”
“The Duke was kind. Too kind, in fact. And this is not a metaphor. Nothing happened between the Duke and me.”
As soon as she arrived in her room, Summer tore off her jacket and threw it onto the bed.
The fixed pin bent and clattered to the floor.
With bloodshot eyes, Summer did not shed a single tear.
Whatever it takes, I will go back. To the world where my family, my friends, and my life exist.
The first attempt failed like that.
* * *
As she pulled the string to change her clothes and opened the door, Mary slowly lifted her head to face Summer.
“Uh, Mary. I’m back.”
“…….”
“Um, I’ll rest then.”
Summer averted her eyes from Mary.
What she had given Mary was a farewell for eternity. But it was a bit, no, very embarrassing that Mary returned as if nothing had happened.
Mary continued to stare at Summer with an expressionless face and opened her mouth.
“Miss.”
“Uh-huh?”
At Mary’s call, Summer flinched and shuddered. She felt a pang of guilt.
Both Fay and Mary must have made some resolution for this day. Yet, Summer, who was supposed to carry out the most important task, had done nothing right.
Is she going to laugh at me for saying goodbye and then coming back? As Summer thought this, an indifferent voice pierced her ears.
“Welcome back. Please rest.”
Then, Mary smiled brightly. Summer felt a strange sensation and quickly turned her back on Mary.
Only after slamming the door did her tension finally ease.
Summer sat down and stared blankly into space. That was when she saw something on the chair.
“……Summer Lindsey?”
Tied to the chair was a woman with dazzling blonde hair and blue eyes. The hazy soul was bound to the chair, unconscious.
Summer turned her head. It was a perfect reflection of her own face in the mirror.
What do you call a soul that has lost its body?
Right. A ghost.
“Ahhh!”
Instinctively, Summer screamed and fell backward.
At the same time, the window burst open, and Fay, in the form of a black cat, lightly landed on the carpet.
Mud-stained cat paws left prints on the carpet.
Mary is going to have a hard time cleaning!
“Shut up.”
“Fay, over there!”
“Yeah. You should have entered that body long ago, Summer Lindsey.”
“…….”
Summer couldn’t even voice a response and merely moved her lips.
Seeing Summer like that, Fay seemed frustrated and thumped her tail on the floor.
“Why did you quit anyway? I waited the whole time!”
At Fay’s sharp voice, Summer snapped back to reality.
Fay, now in human form, climbed onto Summer’s body, grabbing her by the collar and shaking her.
“The protagonist stopped me.”
“……What?”
“I’m sorry. I’ll definitely succeed next time.”
Summer rubbed her face with both hands. She felt like she needed to wash her face just to regain her senses.
Noticing that Summer was in poor condition, Fay quietly calmed down and got off.
The soul with black hair rippled like a lake after a stone was thrown.
“Have you thought about the next plan?”
“I need to think about it. I didn’t expect to fail like this.”
Summer repeatedly apologized to Fay. Fay found it uncomfortable to see Summer looking at her with apologetic eyes.
She knows nothing. How naive to apologize.
Fay had never lied to Summer, but she hadn’t told her everything either.
This was not for Summer’s sake. It was entirely for the preservation of this world.
It was merely a preventive measure to avoid a small crack leading to a great disaster.
Fay subtly lowered her gaze. Every time she looked at that innocent black-haired girl, her conscience pricked her.
“I’ll definitely succeed next time.”
“Take your time to think. There are still a few months left.”
Summer silently screamed and pulled at her hair.
It was a feeling that couldn’t be expressed as mere disappointment; it was close to despair. She had an easy opportunity to return to South Korea, but she had let it slip away.
Fay watched Summer quietly before transforming into a cat. Then she magically opened the window and quietly left.
Ah. The window is not a door.
Summer needed time to think. More precisely, she needed to soothe her feelings of defeat.
As thoughts of Fay leaving crossed her mind, Summer suddenly lifted her head. Her hair was tousled in places. At the end of her gaze was an empty wooden chair.
“Ha… haha…”
It seemed Fay had taken care of Summer’s soul. That was a relief. She wasn’t brave enough to share a room with a ghost.
Summer flopped onto the bed. Her head felt like it was going to explode. It felt as if all the heat was concentrated in her head, while her hands and feet grew cold.
When Summer lost consciousness and then opened her eyes again, Countess Lindsey entered and said in a kind and bright voice.
“Summer. Wake up. The sun is already high in the sky.”
Summer chuckled at her situation.
Was it because her body hurt, or was her mind going crazy? Laughter kept bubbling out.
After reciting her lines, Countess Lindsey patted Summer’s head and then left.
No one paid attention to Summer. As if it didn’t matter if a broken role was discarded.
It was sad, yet amusing.
Her consciousness gradually faded and then abruptly cut off.
* * *
After the banquet, Summer was sick for several days. The shock of failing to return to the original world weighed heavily on her.
The agony and despair of being able to return but not doing so, mixed with self-reproach, sank Summer like a swamp.
She couldn’t eat properly, and when forced to eat soup, she vomited it all back. It was terrible.
The faces of her family and the voices of her friends grew increasingly blurry.
It was frightening. She was scared of becoming a puppet that merely followed the prescribed lines and actions, devoured by this vast world.
“…….”
Today, the damn sunlight was warm. The spring sun.
Ah. I want to jump into somewhere.
Her dazed eyes lost focus and swayed erratically.
Summer slowly got out of bed. Thank goodness. Maybe it was because the weather was nice today, but she felt somewhat energized.
Summer’s footsteps stopped. The transparent window was pouring in yellow sunlight.
Click. There was no hesitation in her dry fingers as they unlatched the window.
“Miss!”
Mary rushed in and clung to Summer’s waist. With a sound of a snap, it seemed at least her ligaments had stretched.
Ah.
Only then did Summer realize she was about to throw herself out of the already opened window.
Am I really going crazy?
More shocking was Mary’s reaction. Mary, who always wore the weary face of a working adult, desperately clung to Summer.
“Miss! Where are you going, leaving me behind!”
“Let go! I’m going back!”
“If you die, what about me! What am I supposed to do! I don’t know what it is, but it’s all my fault! So come down!”
Mary screamed almost in a shriek, pulling at Summer, who was half-hanging from the window frame.
Summer, with an annoyed expression, pushed Mary away and grabbed the window frame again.
“We’re all just parts anyway. If we disappear, surely something else will replace us without a care!”
Even as she spoke, Summer flinched.
She was talking about the world in the story, but what came to her mind instead was that autumn when she had failed by two points.
The feeling she had then was not one of sorrow as if her efforts had been betrayed, but of fear.
The fear of living forever as a rusty and mismatched part, that was terrifyingly frightening.
“……Mary?”