Episode 3
“Oh my! Sebin, what are you doing here?”
My eyes flew open.
A familiar sight. A familiar smell. And a familiar voice.
“…Deputy Manager?”
“I was wondering where you’d gone—turns out you were here. Did you finish the documents I gave you this morning?”
I jolted upright and checked the watch on my left wrist.
I’d leaned against the sofa just to rest my eyes for a moment…
Exactly five minutes had passed.
“Ah—well, I was so tired I just meant to close my eyes for a bit…”
“Oh dear, now I’m feeling a little hurt, Sebin. You do know we’re in the middle of our busiest season, right?”
“O-of course! That’s why I worked overtime yesterday too—”
“That’s enough. Since we’re on the topic, let’s be honest. You know it’s rare for a company to hire inexperienced newcomers and teach them everything step by step, right?”
The deputy manager shrugged, the iced coffee in her hand sloshing gently. I ran out of things to say and fell silent.
“A break room is nice, sure. Employee welfare is important these days. But don’t you think disappearing on your own for so long during a time like this is a bit much?”
“……”
“I mean, even if I am your senior—were you really someone who needed to be taught something this obvious, Sebin?”
She let out a small sigh after finishing.
The barrage of rhetorical questions made my head spin.
Then why are you in the break room yourself…
The words rose to my throat—but I swallowed them back.
Honestly, this was nothing compared to what I’d endured before.
So I needed to stay calm.
You’ve handled worse. You’ve endured worse, Lee Sebin.
“Don’t take it too personally. That’s just how working life is. What—are you a building owner? A gold spoon baby people talk about these days? No, right?”
“……”
“Let’s all just be a little more considerate of each other, okay?”
I reluctantly nodded as she gestured toward the door with her eyes.
My throat felt painfully dry.
As I slowly walked past her and toward the break room door, a deep sense of futility washed over me.
Are you a building owner? Or some kind of silver-spoon kid?
Her words echoed in my head.
As if. Not unless I get reincarnated.
I sighed and grabbed the doorknob.
The moment I pulled it open—
Blinding light poured through the gap.
I squinted reflexively, the brightness nearly overwhelming.
And then—
“Still no word from Duke Tigeris?!”
“Well, th-that is…”
Voices gradually came into focus.
Listening closely, I could sense several people nearby.
“You mean you can’t figure out what went wrong?! What if she never wakes up—!”
“Father, please calm down.”
A familiar voice gently intervened.
Estellin.
A strange sense of relief washed over me—completely at odds with the situation.
Clenching my fist beneath the blanket, I took a quiet breath.
So… I’m still in this world.
The deputy manager had felt far too real to be just a dream.
That look of disdain. That mocking tone.
The vividness of it made my body tremble even now.
As I tried to steady my emotions—
“Th-this is all my fault… If only Lady Selenia hadn’t drunk it because of me…”
A young, trembling voice.
…Aria.
I cracked my eyes open slightly and looked around.
Through my blurred vision, I saw Aria—her face pale, shoulders shaking.
She must’ve been terrified, watching me collapse after taking the glass meant for her.
Feeling a bit sorry for her, I nodded inwardly.
Then she continued, sobbing.
“I had no idea there was poison in the glass… If you don’t wake up like this…”
Her words trailed off, and she burst into tears.
“Wh-what am I supposed to do…?!”
“It’ll be all right, Aria. The physicians said the diagnosis isn’t bad. Let’s wait a little longer—”
That was when it happened.
A sharp ache surged through my entire body.
The pain was intense enough that a groan slipped out of my mouth.
People rushed toward me all at once.
“Lady Selenia!!”
Startled by the sudden attention, I had no choice but to slowly open my eyes.
I let out an awkward groan, pretending to have just woken up.
“Mm… ngh…”
“Lady…! Are you conscious?!”
Someone grabbed my hand tightly.
It was Aria—her face soaked with tears.
“…Wh-where am I?”
My voice cracked.
Even to my own ears, it sounded painfully weak.
Estellin stepped closer, worry written all over her face.
“Y-you’re in my room. We meant to move you to a guest chamber, but this was the closest room to the banquet hall…”
She trailed off apologetically.
Before I could respond, Aria cut in again.
“Lady Selenia, are you really okay?! Does it hurt a lot?! Someone must’ve poisoned the glass… and you drank it—”
Her lips trembled.
Fresh tears welled up in her reddened eyes.
I blinked in awkward silence.
…She really is just a kid. She was so bold earlier, too.
No matter how brave she tried to be, twelve was still twelve.
My tension eased just a little.
“I… Aria. I’m fine, so please stop crying.”
But that only made her cry harder.
I froze, watching her struggle to breathe between sobs.
Then someone gently patted her shoulder and stepped forward.
Neatly combed brown hair.
A refined face that didn’t look his age.
Duke Laurent?
One of the central figures of the original story.
Calypso Laurent—the father of Estellin and Aria.
“It’s been a long time, Selenia. Is this the first time we’ve met since you were a child?”
I tried to sit up to greet him—
But another wave of pain forced me to lie back down.
Seeing me wince, the duke looked down at me with concern.
“Just rest. You need to stay still for now.”
Then, narrowing his eyes, he added,
“Aria is correct. The drink you consumed contained poison. Someone tampered with the banquet.”
He pressed a hand to his forehead and sighed deeply.
I cleared my throat and avoided his gaze.
That ‘someone’ would be me…
My neglected conscience poked at me sharply.
“We still need to investigate further, but it doesn’t seem to be any known poison. Given that, it’s a miracle you’re in this condition.”
The duke spoke gently.
I nodded stiffly.
That no poison was detected made sense.
God’s Tears wasn’t a poison in the first place.
If anything, it was closer to a specialized drug.
Dangerous only in excess.
As I worked through my thoughts, the duke spoke again in a grave voice.
“If Aria had drunk something like that…”
He shook his head, his expression dark with guilt and unease.
A brief, awkward silence followed.
Then he said quietly,
“…I owe you a great debt.”
I was just about to smile awkwardly—
When he suddenly bowed to me.
My eyes widened in shock.
Even without knowing etiquette well, I understood.
A duke.
The head of a great house.
Lowering his head to a young lady of another family—
This was an extraordinary show of gratitude.
Panicking, I glanced around.
Others were bowing as well.
Not polite nods—
They were bent at perfect right angles.
That’s a full bow…
I blinked blankly and swallowed.
Th-this is… a little too much…
It seemed that, to everyone in this estate, I had become—
The benefactor who saved Aria’s life.
Technically, that wasn’t wrong.
Still, unable to bear the awkwardness, I muttered softly,
“I-it’s enough that Lady Aria is safe. And I’m mostly fine too, so there’s really no need to—”
I stopped mid-sentence.
Something about the atmosphere felt… off.
“I thought she’d be angry…”
“Didn’t the rumors say she was ill-tempered?”
The servants whispered.
And that wasn’t all.
“Lady Selenia…”
Aria, who had just stopped crying, was tearing up again.
Estellin stood behind her, covering her mouth, staring at me in shock.
Even Duke Laurent murmured, deeply moved,
“…Such a kind child.”
I rolled my eyes slightly.
Then, understanding dawned.
Right.
The original Selenia would never have let this go.
She would’ve screamed about nearly dying.
She might’ve demanded compensation from Estellin—the host of the banquet.
Honestly, if that were all, it would’ve been merciful.
I quietly avoided everyone’s gaze.
My conscience stabbed me again.
Embarrassed, I cleared my throat.
A maid hurriedly offered me a glass of warm water.
I accepted it with both hands without thinking.
And once again, sighs erupted all around.
“How humble…”
“My goodness, how gentle.”
“So different from what we heard—she truly embodies noble virtues.”
…Things were starting to go in a very strange direction.
