Chapter 139

“First of all, the place I came from was a world without nobles or commoners.”

“No nobles or commoners?” Caldeon’s eyebrow arched in puzzlement. He skewered a perfectly cubed piece of steak from the plate in front of him and held it out to Enria.

She accepted it naturally, nodding as she chewed. After swallowing quickly, she continued, “Yes. It was still a class-based society in a way—we were divided by things like occupation and wealth into ‘gold spoons’ or ‘dirt spoons’… Oh, that’s just a metaphor. Anyway, there was no actual legal line between a noble and a commoner.”

Enria gave a brief explanation of democracy, describing a world where everyone was equal before the law. Caldeon knit his brows, wondering if such a world could truly exist. To him, the absence of rank was an alien concept; he had been born and raised in a world where he was treated as someone more special than anyone else.

“In any case, money played the biggest part in one’s life there. Of course, there are exceptions, but most people studied and worked hard just to earn a lot of money and live well.”

“…”

In this world, nobles were generally more comfortable than commoners; even if they didn’t ‘earn’ money themselves, they had the income from their estates. While some greedy lords exploited their subjects to line their pockets, most nobles weren’t as sensitive to the minute fluctuations of wealth as commoners—or as the people in Enria’s original world seemed to be. Of course, there were always those few obsessed with using wealth to solve every problem.

“Then what about you, Jagi? Did you live a life of great wealth?”

“Me? No, I was just a normal… Wait, that ‘Jagi‘ title again.”

Enria’s brow twitched as the pet name caught her off guard in the middle of a serious conversation. Caldeon looked at her as if wondering what the problem was and held out another piece of steak.

Enria took it instinctively. As she chewed, a sigh escaped her. She realized she was becoming entirely too accustomed to him feeding her like this.

‘When did this become such a habit?’

It was flustering to realize how naturally she accepted it, but she also found it impressive how Caldeon had managed to domesticate her so thoroughly in such a short time.

“What’s wrong with the title?”

“That name… don’t you think it’s better to use it only in the right time and place?”

“You want me to pick and choose when to use the title we promised to call each other?”

“I mean… you could just use it when it’s just the two of us.”

“It is just the two of us right now.”

When Caldeon tilted his head with a genuinely puzzled look, Enria shook her head awkwardly. “No, I mean… only when the ‘mood’ is right. We’re having a pretty serious talk right now…”

“When the mood is right?” Caldeon interrupted, his expression turning subtle. “For example, what kind of mood? Like when we’re kissing?”

Realizing she had walked right into that one, Enria quickly shut her mouth. Caldeon held another piece of meat to her lips and pressed the issue.

“Tell me, Jagi. What kind of mood are you talking about?”

He really was doing it on purpose—that voice and expression were enough to melt anyone. Enria ignored the fluttering sensation in her stomach and forced the subject back on track.

“Anyway, let’s talk about that later. I was just an ordinary citizen.”

“A citizen.”

“Yes. We called our territories ‘cities’ or ‘provinces.’ Honestly, the details aren’t that important, but I was just an ordinary working citizen of a country called the Republic of Korea.”

“I assume you had a lover then.”

“What? If I had one, do you think my life would have been a constant loop of office-home-office-home? I spent every day after work reading web novels.”

She explained that she had never dated or even had a one-sided crush, as her life in that world had been far too busy with studying and finding a job. At this, Caldeon let out a very satisfied smile and nodded.

“That’s a relief. It saves me the trouble of going there to kill someone.”

“…Excuse me?”

“It’s a joke.”

Enria blinked rapidly. He offered her another piece of steak with a face that looked absolutely nothing like he was joking. She knew it must be a joke since he had no way of traveling to her world, but since almost everything this man said eventually became reality, she couldn’t help but feel a little flustered.

She watched him while chewing. When their eyes met, Caldeon smiled tenderly and offered more. Enria chewed and swallowed quickly to keep up with his pace.

“Eat slowly.”

“I’ll eat slowly if you give it to me slowly.”

Without realizing it, they were both acting as if Enria didn’t have hands to feed herself. Caldeon watched her with the gaze one might use for a hopelessly cute small animal, a small smile playing on his lips, while Enria blushed and dutifully accepted every bite he offered.

“So, in your original world, did you suddenly just… possess this body?”

“Huh? Oh, no. There was an accident.”

“An accident?”

“Yes. I died in a car accident. Oh, a car is a means of transport, like a carriage.”

She spoke quite calmly, as if it were a simple fact—like dying in a carriage accident. However, unlike Enria, who seemed unfazed, Caldeon looked visibly shaken by the mention of her death. Enria gave him an awkward smile, trying to lighten the mood.

“Actually, the memory only came back a while after I arrived here. It’s not like I have a vivid memory of the moment of death; it’s more like a factual thought: ‘Ah, right, I died in a car accident.'”

She explained that she didn’t remember the pain of the moment at all. It felt like reading a book about someone else—a detached “Oh, so that’s what happened” feeling. Therefore, she didn’t feel uncomfortable or scared about it.

Caldeon looked somewhat dissatisfied as he picked up his water glass. “Did God kill you just to bring you here?”

It seemed his grievance was with the fact that the original ‘her’ had to die. Enria let out a small laugh, thinking she would probably react the same way if Caldeon had been killed and placed in another body.

“Why are you laughing? When the God—”

“I thought you were calling me ‘Jagi‘?”

“…Ah.”

“I guess you can’t keep up that cheesy title when you’re angry,” Enria teased. She looked at him and told him not to worry. “I really don’t remember any pain, and if I hadn’t died there, wouldn’t I be worried about the ‘other me’ still living there while I’m stuck here?”

“…”

“So, the fact that the original me died isn’t a problem at all. In fact, it’s better that I don’t exist in that world anymore.”

The tension in Caldeon’s face softened slightly at her words. He nodded and handed her the glass of water. As he watched her drink, he spoke again.

“Then the moment your appearance and personality completely changed… that must have been when Jagi entered this body.”

Enria’s lips curled into a small smile at the return of the ‘Jagi‘ title, but then she paused, puzzled by his words. “My appearance changed completely?”

She knew about the personality shift—Caldeon had mentioned several times that she felt like a different person. But she hadn’t realized he felt her looks had changed too. In truth, even Enria was a bit confused as to whether this was her original face or the face of the original Enria. She had never considered the possibility that the possessed body would morph into her true self.

“You certainly felt like a different person than when you first arrived at the castle.”

“That’s because…”

“It wasn’t just your personality. I didn’t pay much attention back then because I wasn’t interested in humans in general.”

“You’re still like that,” Enria remarked with a shrug. In response, Caldeon reached out and gave her cheek a playful, gentle tug.

“Ouch.”

At her instinctive whine, Caldeon let out a pleasant laugh. “Anyway, thinking back on it now, the Saintess I brought from the Great Temple and the ‘Jagi‘ I have now are two entirely different people.”

“…Well, but I wasn’t this pretty in my original world.”

Enria thought of her past self—black hair, brown eyes, perfectly ordinary—and compared it to her current self. If her original appearance had truly overwritten the body, there was a clear discrepancy. Her old self was a typical Eastern woman, neither beautiful nor ugly, while the current Enria was a lovely woman with sparkling blonde hair and blue eyes.

‘Wait, this sounds like I’m obsessed with my own looks…’ Enria felt a bit sheepish at the thought.

Caldeon spoke up. “If this wasn’t your original look, then perhaps this is simply ‘your’ look in this world.”

He told her that, in the end, she had only borrowed the name and status of Enria; the person standing before him was entirely herself. A wide smile spread across Enria’s face. Caldeon told her she could stop worrying about the fact that she was in a “possessed body.”

She was deeply moved. He had seen right through her lingering insecurity—the feeling that she wasn’t the ‘real’ owner of this life—and offered her exactly the comfort she needed.