2. There Is a Supermarket Between Dreams and Reality
“Eilein, what’s wrong?”
A future villain… no, little Louis, tilted his head and asked with an innocent face.
“Oh, it’s nothing.”
I shook my head quickly.
‘So, their names are Louis and Evan, right?’
The boy who begged for food was Louis Richard, and the boy who was wary of me was Evan Richard.
‘Let’s see. They are 7 years old now…’
The twins would awaken their magic at age 8. That was the trait of the Richard Imperial family, also known as the “Land of Dragons.” The first Emperor had taken a dragon as his partner, and that blood gave special powers to his descendants.
‘Every royal had different abilities.’
High physical strength, overflowing mana, or sometimes even the power of prophecy.
‘And with those powers, they will kill Eilein and escape the palace.’
As I remembered more, my face turned pale. There was only one year left before the twins turned dark.
‘Oh my god. Am I going to die next year?!’
I covered my mouth, but the truth didn’t change. The princes were thin and didn’t even look their age.
‘It’s all Eilein’s fault.’
She stole the money meant for the children, ignored them, and gave them barely enough food to survive. Sometimes, she even threw food on the floor like they were animals.
“The floor suits you princes best!” she would say. Other times, she gave them rotten tarts as a “special treat.”
“Gasps!”
I snapped out of my thoughts at the sound of Evan’s voice. While I was spacing out, Evan had pulled Louis away from me.
‘I’m just a supporting character.’
The female lead gets to enjoy all the handsome men; I was destined to be torn apart by these children.
‘What do I do now?’
I finally entered a novel, and I’m going to die without even a single romance? That felt unfair, but everyone already thinks I’m the cruel Eilein. I looked at the children hugging each other. I had no special “reincarnation powers”—I was just in the body of a nanny who gets murdered.
Whoosh—
A cold wind blew through a hole in the window. The sun was setting.
“Should we… go ‘night-night’?”
“What’s night-night?” Louis asked.
“Oh, it means sleep. It’s time to wash up and go to bed. Let’s go.”
I pushed them toward their room. I needed them to sleep so I could think. But the moment we arrived at their room, I regretted my life.
‘What is this?’
The room was a wreck.
‘Look at these spiderwebs. You could weave cloth with this much silk.’
The children didn’t seem to care; they were used to it. Eilein’s own room was like heaven compared to this. She spent all the money on herself.
“Oh my god.”
Did I really do this? Well, the “old” Eilein did. I looked at the kids with shaking eyes.
‘It was because of the tarts.’
That’s why Evan didn’t trust the ramen at first. He was just too hungry to refuse.
“That ramen from earlier was real food. Even if it was instant.”
I muttered an excuse. At least I gave them food that wasn’t expired.
‘Where are the parents? Ah, right.’
The mother was dead, and the Emperor ignored them. They were the children of a concubine who used to be a maid, so the Emperor didn’t care.
‘Your sons are going to become the worst villains, you know.’
They were abandoned because they were seen as “useless.”
‘Healing novel my foot. This is a dark, obsession story.’
This book was famous for its title being a lie. Every man in this book—from the Duke to the 7th Prince—was obsessed with the female lead, Elshius.
‘The men were so handsome, though.’
I remembered the descriptions of the hot guys in the book and felt my mouth water.
“Louis, come here.”
“Do you want to sleep in my room…?”
Evan glared at me with sharp eyes.
‘His gaze is intense.’
Well, if someone who hated me suddenly acted nice, I’d be suspicious too.
“Wow! Are we going to Eilein’s room?” Louis asked.
“Um, maybe next time. Sleep here for today.”
I brought over the cleanest blanket I could find and tucked them in.
“Sleepy time, sleepy time.”
“Hey, Eilein,” Louis said, his eyes sparkling while I was half-asleep.
“Yes?”
“Why are you being so nice today?”
My hand stopped for a moment. All I did was give them ramen and help them brush their teeth, but Louis was already warming up to me. My heart ached.
“I’m going to keep being nice from now on.”
“Really? Then I hope tomorrow comes fast.”
Louis closed his eyes. Evan, lying at the edge of the bed, sighed.
“Goodnight, Eilein.”
Louis opened his eyes for one last sweet word before falling asleep.
“……Goodnight, Princes.”
I stayed there because Louis was holding my hand tightly. I couldn’t pull it away, so I ended up lying down next to him.
‘If I fall asleep… will I go back home?’
With that hope, I drifted off. But it wasn’t a rest; it was a new beginning.
“This is…”
I blinked.
‘A dream?’
I saw familiar tiles. Bright lights, a huge space… meat section, seafood section, organic vegetables…
“It’s the supermarket!”
Was I back? But it was empty. No customers, no workers. Just me.
I walked to the clothing section and looked in a mirror.
“Eilein?”
The reflection was still Eilein.
“Kyu.”
“Kyu?”
A small, white ball of fur appeared.
“A ball?”
“Kyu!”
The fur ball seemed angry at being called a ball. It puffed up and ran away.
“Wait!”
I chased it. It was incredibly fast. By the time I caught up, we were at the checkout counters.
“Kyu.”
It was hiding in a black container. I picked it up, and the fur ball jumped onto my shoulder.
“Why did you run away then?”
“Kyu!”
“What’s your name?”
“Kyu-kyu!”
I couldn’t understand it, but it purred like a cat when I stroked it. I looked at the container in my hand.
“It’s chocolate.”
‘The kids would love this.’
I thought of Louis and Evan in that cold palace.
“Ugh…”
I woke up. Sunlight was hitting my face. I was still in the princes’ room.
‘It was just a dream.’
But then, my hand felt heavy. I was holding a black container.
“Cacao 12%”
It was the chocolate from my dream.
‘Why is this here?’
A modern chocolate container in this old, ruined room made no sense.
‘Did I bring an item back from the supermarket? Through a dream?’
I rubbed the Korean text on the bottle. I opened it and smelled the sweetness. I tasted one.
“It’s real chocolate.”
‘If I sleep again, will I go back to that mart?’
I tried to sleep again to find clues, but I couldn’t. I had to find the kids. I left the room, worrying about them.
‘They must be hungry.’
I felt bad for them, even though the image of Eilein being killed in the book kept flashing in my mind. The kids were so innocent right now.
I reached the kitchen, but I stopped when I heard voices laughing.
“If you do it, I’ll give it to you.”
I froze. Around the corner were Louis, Evan, and two women.
