≈ Chapter 2 ≈
Time goes back about ten months.
“Do you know what the Marquis of Austin’s daughter said? She said this is ‘the world inside a book’!”
“Oh my. Again? I thought it was finally over.”
“She must have a death wish…”
The young ladies whispered over their teacups.
The sunlight was beautiful.
Stories about crazy people who called themselves “possessors” were no longer anything new in the social circles of the Imperial Capital.
But this was the small kingdom of Belfast.
A small, peaceful place about four days by carriage from the southernmost city of the Empire.
Many ships came and went, but to young noble ladies in the prime of their youth, it was terribly boring.
So they became completely absorbed in the latest gossip from the Imperial Capital.
Especially the story of the newest possessor.
People who had started appearing all over the continent a few years ago.
People who claimed they had come from another world…
And that they knew the future.
“Which number is this one?”
“I wonder… around the thirty-second, maybe…”
There really had been a lot of them.
The very first one—at least according to Belfast’s social circles—had been the daughter of a ruined noble family from the countryside.
After falling from her horse, she woke up and insisted that this world was “the world inside a book.”
Everyone pitied her.
After all, it wasn’t unusual for someone to lose their mind after a riding accident.
But things changed when she desperately insisted on meeting the Crown Prince and declared,
“I know the future. You will marry me.”
A mad person causing trouble wasn’t unusual.
But bothering the Empire’s Crown Prince was another matter entirely.
In the end, the brave young woman who had traveled all the way from the countryside just to meet him ended up in prison.
Everyone thought it was just an amusing incident.
But where there is a first…
There is also a second.
The second appeared only one month later.
She also claimed,
“This is the world inside a book, and I know the future.”
Then she went alone to the household of the Grand Duke of the North.
She boldly proposed a contract marriage to the Grand Duke, who was said to be as cold as an iceberg.
When the news spread, everyone clicked their tongues.
“Mad people are certainly brave.”
But the Grand Duke shocked everyone.
Ignoring all the ridicule…
He actually married her.
Those who had called her insane quickly pretended they had never said such a thing.
The second woman’s success led to the appearance of the third.
She showed up about two months later.
At first, she said exactly the same thing.
This was the world inside a book…
Something about another world…
The future…
The usual nonsense.
The Crown Prince ordered that she be put into the prison cell next to the first woman.
But then…
The third woman suddenly said something completely different.
“I am your first love!”
The Crown Prince was stunned.
Because no one except the Crown Prince himself knew that he had an unforgettable first love from childhood.
The third woman had almost succeeded.
If only the fourth, fifth, and sixth women had never appeared.
There were now four women claiming,
“I am the Crown Prince’s first love.”
The social circles of the capital exploded with gossip.
Had the Crown Prince been seeing four women at once?
No.
The women must all be mistaken.
One strange thing was that every one of them had blonde hair.
One underground newspaper in the capital even published an article titled,
“Does the Crown Prince Secretly Prefer Blondes?”
It was immediately shut down for insulting the Imperial Family.
The Crown Prince, who had suddenly gained the reputation of being a womanizer, no longer needed to prepare four more prison cells beside the first woman’s.
Because the Dragon appeared.
Surprisingly, the women who claimed to be possessors weren’t appearing only in the Empire.
They appeared in small kingdoms, island nations, and neutral countries alike.
Some even appeared before the Black Dragon himself.
There were three people brave enough to stand before the Black Dragon, ruler of the continent, and say,
“I will tell you the secret of this world.”
And there were seven people who approached the Commander of the Azure Dragon Knights, who served the Dragon respectfully as the Dragon Lord, saying,
“You must kill the Dragon.”
Naturally…
Every single one of them claimed they had come from another world.
Because of this, the Dragon Lord who ruled the continent finally made a decision.
“I cannot allow these ‘possessors,’ who disturb the order of the world and claim to know the future, to remain.”
However, the merciful Dragon Lord also said,
“Since they have indeed crossed the Rainbow, they shall be returned to their original world.”
In simple terms…
He meant they would be killed.
After all, every one of those possessors had said they came to this world only after experiencing something close to death.
The Commander of the Azure Dragon Knights, who served the Dragon, personally took on the duty of capturing the possessors and bringing them before the Dragon.
It wasn’t an easy task.
Most possessors were children of nobles or influential families.
People pitied the young commander for having such a troublesome responsibility.
It took about three years to “send them all back.”
The process wasn’t easy.
But in the end, the Azure Dragon Knights succeeded.
The appearance of possessors gradually became less frequent.
Even so…
Every now and then, another person would still appear claiming to be one.
“I suppose Sir Lesaloniki will take this one away too?”
“Lucky Number Thirty-Two.”
One young lady casually said that.
Everyone immediately looked at her as though she had gone mad.
Embarrassed, she hurriedly waved her hands.
“N-No, that’s not what I meant! Sir Lesaloniki is simply such a handsome man! I only meant that I’d like to see him at least once, even from far away. I didn’t mean anything else!”
“Ah, well… that’s true.”
“But it was still an inappropriate thing to say.”
“If the Marquis of Austin’s family heard that, imagine how heartbroken they would be.”
In truth, the Marquis of Austin would probably be even more hurt by hearing his precious daughter called Number Thirty-Two.
But no one pointed that out.
The moment the Marquis’s daughter—Number Thirty-Two—announced she was a possessor…
She had practically disappeared from high society.
After exchanging a few apologies, reassurances, and reminders to be careful—even though this wasn’t the Imperial Capital—the conversation gradually settled down.
The sunlight grew stronger.
The servants quickly set up a gazebo.
Only after the flushed cheeks of the noble ladies had finally cooled did someone speak again.
“By the way, Miss Fleur, I heard you weren’t feeling well.”
“That’s right. Are you all better now?”
The conversation turned toward one of the young ladies sitting there.
She had long, softly curled pale blonde hair.
She had recently celebrated her nineteenth birthday.
The famous “Princess of Belfast.”
It was Anais Fleur.
She covered half of her face with a fan.
Even so, her green eyes alone were enough to show how lovely she was.
She laughed brightly.
“Thanks to everyone’s concern, I’ve recovered.”
“That’s wonderful. Spring colds can be quite frightening.”
“They certainly can.”
“You don’t even look like someone who was sick. You’re just as lovely as ever.”
Although they called it a spring cold, it was already early summer.
A brown-haired young lady sitting quietly in one corner rolled her eyes with curiosity.
Her name was Emily.
She was visiting her cousin’s estate and attending this tea party for the first time.
Thankfully, her cousin spoke up for the shy Emily.
“Ah, Miss Anais is the eldest daughter of the famous Fleur family. She’s rather delicate. She got caught in the rain two months ago and suffered from a terrible cold. This is my cousin, Emily.”
“So you’re Emily. It’s nice to meet you!”
“Are you feeling better now?”
“Of course! If I hadn’t been sick, I would have invited you to my nineteenth birthday party!”
Emily had thought Anais looked like the typical proud noble lady.
But she immediately changed her first impression.
Anais smiled warmly and held out her right hand in greeting.
Emily froze.
“…Um…”
A handshake?
That was how gentlemen greeted each other.
Emily blinked her large eyes.
Thankfully…
She wasn’t the only one surprised.
Every young lady there was staring at Anais with wide eyes.
“Miss Fleur…?”
“Oh my…”
Someone quickly stepped in.
“That’s the greeting gentlemen in the Imperial Capital are using these days. Lord Fleur must have taught her.”
She was obviously trying to cover for Anais’s unladylike behavior.
Emily carefully glanced at Anais.
Anais blinked twice with wide eyes.
Then she let out a small “Ah,” and smiled shyly.
“Yes, that’s right. I saw Father teaching it to my younger brothers, and I wanted to try it too.”
“How adorable.”
“So catching a spring cold makes people this cute?”
“What are you saying? Miss Fleur has always been adorable.”
As praise poured in from every direction, Anais took it one step further.
She grabbed Emily’s hand and shook it.
“This is how you do it. Isn’t it a wonderful greeting? You get to share the warmth of your hands.”
“When you put it that way… it really does sound nice…”
“Should we all try it?”
Just moments ago they had thought it wasn’t ladylike.
Now every young lady began shaking hands with the person beside her.
Watching Anais let go of Emily’s hand and happily shake hands with the others, Emily’s cousin quietly whispered,
“That’s the girl I was telling you about.”
“Anais Fleur.”
