“Oh! That’s Lady Holst over there!”

“You’re right. Wow, so that’s what she looks like.”

As they headed towards a secluded area of the garden, a familiar figure came into view. Summer observed Lady Holst with curious eyes.

It was somewhat interesting to finally see the faces of names she had only read about in novels.

If the party continued into the night, she would quietly slip away with Julian, hide in a suitable spot, and chat together.

Julian was a much better person than described in the book.

She had an open personality but was unwavering. Due to her thoughtful nature, she never crossed uncomfortable boundaries.

Summer gazed steadily into the pink eyes shimmering under the night sky.

She felt a bit regretful. When she returned to her original world, she wouldn’t be able to see Julian again.

“Hm? Summer, is there something on my face?”

“Yes. Lots.”

“That’s strange, I didn’t eat anything today!”

“Beauty. Beauty. It’s sparkling even under the night sky.”

Julian smiled brightly at Summer’s words. Just then, cheerful music leaked out from the mansion behind them.

“Summer, you’re my most precious person.”

“…Thank you.”

Summer couldn’t bring herself to say she felt the same. Because she would have to leave soon.

If Summer’s predictions were correct, her soul would appear at the imperial banquet a week later. At that time, Summer would depart.

“Summer! Look over there!”

“Since this party is larger in scale, there seem to be many more nobles participating.”

This party showed no signs of ending. Carriages were lined up again at the distant main gate. It wasn’t like a second round of a company dinner. Summer felt drained just looking at it.

The host of this party was Marquis Sepher, who was very close to Ian Lancaster.

So when she first entered the party and saw him, it felt like seeing a celebrity.

Julian tugged on the arm of the tired Summer.

“Shall we go see who’s arrived and then leave?”

“Alright.”

Now that this was a world inside a novel and the method to return to her original world had become clear, Summer was more relaxed than ever before.

Enough to enjoy this fictional world to some extent.

As they re-entered the party hall, Ian Lancaster’s close associates were gathered in abundance.

“So that’s what they look like.”

Summer muttered. It was fascinating. This wasn’t a live-action adaptation, but rather the exact manifestation of characters the author had imagined while writing. In a way, it was a perfect realization.

“…Huh?”

Summer’s eyes widened as she spotted one person. The man standing at the center of the largest group of nobles was someone Summer knew well.

Blue hair with eyes tinged with light purple. A face as pure as an orchid, yet somehow cold and aloof. Looking thoughtful and cultured, yet giving off a sensitive and chilly impression.

“Russell Bertrand.”

He was the third most important character in the work after Julian and Ian. As if sensing her gaze, Count Russell Bertrand’s head slowly turned.

“Summer! What are you thinking about so intently?”

“Ah.”

Summer finally snapped out of it at Julian’s voice and tore her gaze away from Russell.

Their eyes might have briefly met, but he wouldn’t think anything special of her, a mere minor character.

“Julian. Do you see those people?”

Summer covered her face with a fan and pointed at each person one by one.

“Yes.”

“They’re people who can help you, Julian. Make sure to remember them.”

Count Russell Bertrand, Marquis Sepher. Among others, there were occasional figures who could be potential allies for Julian.

“Summer?”

“And over there, that side. Do you see the people gathered around Count Holst?”

“Yes, I see them.”

“If you get the chance, get rid of them. They’ll self-destruct anyway. In any case, they’re villains.”

Summer whispered in Julian’s ear. It was a half-impulsive act. Now Summer was concerned about the arduous trials Julian would face in the future.

She hoped Julian would just be happy like this. So she recited information to Julian one after another. Hoping she wouldn’t have to walk too difficult a path.

“Summer. Why are you suddenly telling me this information?”

“Because it will be helpful. You don’t have to believe it. Just keep it in mind.”

“No, that’s not what I mean. I believe you, Summer. It’s just that your face right now looks like…”

“What about my face?”

“It looks just like someone who’s about to leave, and it makes me a bit sad.”

Summer’s breath caught at Julian’s straightforward and honest words. Because it was true.

“The desserts here are delicious.”

So Summer quickly changed the subject, forcing a smile.

It started to bother her to leave Julian alone in this harsh world. This was troubling. Summer knew all too well what kind of twists and turns Julian would go through in the future.

That’s why, even though her ending was a happy one, it was difficult to just stand by and watch.

“Julian.”

“Yes?”

“Why does damn happiness only come in fleeting moments after exerting all our strength?”

“Not just happiness, but survival itself is inherently difficult.”

“…”

Summer recalled a passage from the original work.

That brief explanation of how she lost her parents as a child and lived happily with her village aunt, but then lost her farmland to the lord’s tyranny and nearly got sold off herself, losing her aunt while resisting.

That’s when she met Ian Lancaster. Even in such a difficult situation, Julian used her healing power to save him.

“By the way, Summer. You know what?”

“…”

“Surviving is easier than you think. It’s living well that’s hard.”

Julian had been adopted after being noticed while lurking around the charity event held by the Dudley Count’s family.

At that time, Julian was in a state of emaciation, wearing tattered clothes and emitting a foul odor.

However, she suffered a lot more after entering the Dudley family. To the point of contemplating death, which she had never considered before.

Summer found it hard to understand. She even thought it was a setting error.

Julian, who had barely survived by begging in the slums and wiping restaurant floors with her bare hands where customers had vomited, now cries out in pain while living in a noble family receiving love? That’s a lack of plausibility on the author’s part, she thought.

But at this moment, anyone who saw Julian’s pink eyes would…

“Understand that for some people, living can be harder than surviving, and taking a step forward from enduring can be more difficult.”

“…Summer.”

“I understand, Julian.”

Summer thought she couldn’t bear not to say this.

Today’s party also came to an end.

Late at night, Summer bid farewell to Julian with a smile and returned to the mansion by carriage. But Summer’s mind was noisier than ever before.

A place to leave.

A strange and dazzling world where she shouldn’t get attached, where she thought she wouldn’t get attached.

As soon as she entered her room upon arriving at the mansion, she felt a breeze.

“Fei?”

“Yes, it’s me.”

Fei, who had naturally entered through the window, took off her hood. Her long purple hair shimmered under the moonlight. It had been a week.

“Fei!”

Summer hugged Fei tightly. Fei stiffened, bewildered by the warm sensation.

“Get off.”

Feeling ticklish, Fei deliberately pushed Summer away more harshly.

“Where have you been?”

Ignoring her attitude, Summer asked, and Fei climbed onto the desk with a sullen face.

“You said this is the world where the protagonist exists. My sisters know more about those parts.”

“Your sisters?”

“Yes. They’re all witches like me. Well, officially we’re called sorcerers, but you call us witches.”

“…”

Strange. Summer recalled a natural question she had never thought of before.

In the original work,

There were no witches, let alone Fei?

Summer’s eyes narrowed. Fei’s chattering voice became distant.

. That book had no witches or sorcerers. There was only holy power.