“You said you wanted to meet me.”

The hand lifting the teacup was graceful.

Indeed, as I had heard, Sylvia was the epitome of an elegant elderly lady.

“Yes. Thank you for inviting me.”

I felt tense, as if facing a strict teacher.

It must have shown, for Sylvia gave a gentle smile.

“Relax. You’re not here to learn etiquette from me.”

As I hesitated, unsure how to respond, Sylvia pulled something out.

‘Those are the things I sent.’

Indeed, they were the snacks and chocolate pies I had prepared.

She pointed to the writing on the red wrapping paper.

“This is writing, not a picture, isn’t it?”

“Pardon? That’s…”

Until now, no one had treated Hangul as writing rather than pictures.

‘Could this person also be a transmigrator?’

Amidst my confusion, Sylvia picked up a pen and wrote something.

“…!”

What she showed me was Hangul.

Seeing that I couldn’t hide my surprise, Sylvia smiled gently.

“Evelyn liked to teach me new languages. Like this: [Hello, Sylvia.]”

Sylvia knew Hangul.

She took a sip of tea before continuing her story.

“We were best friends since we were very young. She was truly a peculiar child. I think it was when she was twelve, she came to me all excited, saying she had suddenly fallen into a strange world.”

Sylvia hadn’t forgotten what Evelyn had told only her.

“I thought she had dreamed it, but she kept telling that story for years. She had always been unique, so I thought she had finally lost her mind.”

Still, Sylvia concluded that she had been a good friend to her.

“She told me she came from another world.”

The transmigrator was real.

And it seemed Sylvia also had something she wanted to ask me.

“I was shocked to see Hangul on the desserts you handle. Tell me, does that child’s other world really exist?”

My throat felt oddly constricted.

I nodded.

“…Yes. It’s a real country.”

Not in this world, but it really existed.

Sylvia smiled with satisfaction, though her eyes held a hint of sadness.

“I thought Korean was something she had made up. So it’s a real language.”

Her voice carried a longing for Evelyn, suggesting they truly had been best friends.

“She was a brilliant friend. Being so sharp-minded, she often had novel ideas. I was always the first to taste and critique the food she made or her sketches. These are her keepsakes.”

Then a basket emerged from under the table.

Inside were old-looking cans, lollipops, and various letters.

At a glance, the names written on the envelopes were all in Hangul.

It was hard to believe even as I saw it.

Even now it’s before the original story, but the transmigrator had existed long before that.

“You must be very sad that your friend passed away.”

At my words, Sylvia gave a subtle smile.

Setting down her cup, she continued with shocking information.

“Evelyn didn’t die. She just disappeared suddenly one day.”

“What? Suddenly?”

“Yes. Overnight. She was such an unpredictable child that I thought she had gone on a trip without saying anything. I didn’t know I would never see her again.”

Evelyn, who had come to visit Sylvia’s mansion, vanished without a sound.

“The Count’s family thought I had harmed her. After Evelyn disappeared, they treated me like a mortal enemy. My family spent a fortune to cover up the incident regarding Evelyn.”

Evelyn’s case was ruled an accidental death.

“Even the fact that we were close friends.”

The Valut family pointed to Sylvia as the culprit, but there was no evidence.

In the end, the Valut family came to hate her, and Sylvia too was left with emotional scars, leading to a long period of seclusion.

“At first I was sad and angry. Later, I came to think that maybe she had returned to her original world that she had talked about so much. That was easier on my mind.”

Sylvia’s face showed she had been waiting for this day to speak candidly.

“This is the first time I’ve talked about Evelyn in such detail.”

“…While other worlds do exist, I’m not sure if she returned to her original world.”

I wanted to say something comforting to Sylvia, but that wasn’t the truth.

Even I didn’t know how I had come here.

‘She disappeared?’

Why did that one phrase keep echoing in my mind?

“I see. It would be nice if she were living there. Still, at least one of my curiosities has been resolved, so I feel quite relieved.”

“Lady Ailid. Did Lady Valut ever mention that this was inside a book?”

“Inside a book? She never said anything like that.”

Sylvia’s eyes widened as if she hadn’t heard such a thing.

“It’s nothing. I must have misspoken.”

“That’s possible.”

Sylvia gently brushed it off.

She seemed quite excited.

“It was enjoyable to talk about Evelyn after so long. If the opportunity arises, how about continuing our conversation?”

“I’d like that.”

As I accepted her proposal, she smiled as well.

“If you need my help in high society, feel free to ask.”

“I will. Um, if it’s not too much trouble, could I borrow the letters you exchanged with Lady Valut?”

Sylvia nodded and handed over the entire basket.

“Of course. Just return them safely. Ah, translation… won’t be necessary, I suppose.”

“No, it won’t.”

Our gazes met.

It was the look of those sharing a secret.

I left the garden with the basket. Ludvion, who had been waiting, took it from me.

“I’ll carry this.”

“It’s alright. It’s not that heavy.”

Despite my words, he persisted.

In the end, I walked towards the carriage empty-handed.

“…Did your conversation go well?”

“Yes. She’s a nice person.”

I wasn’t sure how to start talking, but since Sylvia brought up Evelyn first, it went more smoothly.

‘She’s lived with this misunderstanding.’

Not only did she lose her closest friend overnight, but she was also branded a criminal.

Even her own family was more concerned with burying the truth than uncovering it, so she must have suffered alone.

The carriage carrying Ludvion and me started moving.

As the wheels rolled, my thoughts became increasingly complicated.

‘Evelyn was from at least 30 years ago.’

I could tell from the design of the sikhye drink bottle that was said to be her keepsake.

Back then, this novel didn’t even exist.

‘And she suddenly disappeared.’

Did she enter a book that didn’t exist and then return to her original world later?

‘If so, why?’

Everything was full of questions.

At that moment, a cold sensation tickled my cheek.

“Ah, cold!”

Giggle.

The laughter of a child came from somewhere.

When I looked up, there was a sphere made of water floating in front of me.

“A spirit?”

“Yes. It’s a water elemental. I was able to summon it this time.”

The lower-ranked water spirit, finding my reaction amusing, splashed cold water droplets at me.

“Cold!”

When I reached out, it quickly fled, looking completely like a child.

‘The first one I saw was calm, but…’

While wind was shy, water was lively and active.

Ludvion, seeing the spirit continuously playing tricks on me, seemed to think this wouldn’t do and drew the water back.

“That’s enough.”

His voice was uncharacteristically gentle.

The water spirit pretended to be cowed, nuzzling against his hand before disappearing.

“First it was wind, now it’s water? At this rate, you’ll become a great spirit master.”

“…Not at all, it’s not to that extent.”

Ludvion’s face turned bright red as he hastily waved his hands.

‘It’s fun to tease him.’

I burst out laughing, finding his vehement denial cute.

After listening to my laughter for a while, Ludvion spoke up.

“You seemed lost in thought… I wanted to lighten your mood.”

As he said, I had completely forgotten about the transmigrator for a moment, brief as it was.

“Thank you. It helped. Does the spirit you called before listen well?”

“You mean the wind spirit?”

“Yes.”

He immediately summoned the wind spirit.

“These days, I’m practicing imbuing my sword with wind.”

“That’s impressive. Please show me sometime.”

As I played with the spirits Ludvion summoned, we had already reached the forest surrounding the Duke’s castle.

As always, the forest was enveloped in a thick fog, making it impossible to see even a foot ahead.

“Huh?”

“What’s wrong?”

It was before opening the barrier’s gate with the magic tool.

I pointed outside the window and said,

“I think I see someone over there.”

“That’s impossible.”

Without the ability to open the barrier, one would wander in the fog forever.

Everyone knows this, and there are no houses nearby, so no one approaches the Duke’s castle carelessly.

‘Did I see wrong?’

It could have been an animal that lived in the forest.

I was about to dismiss it as nothing when I really did see a person. And they were being chased by a beast.

“Stop for a moment!”

I hurriedly stopped the carriage and rushed into the forest.

“My lady!”

Ludvion chased after me.

I stood in front of the person I had spotted, facing off against the beast.

The brown-furred beast pawed the ground roughly with its hind legs.

Thump thump-!

“…Thump thump?”

As I mimicked the cute sound, a small body soon appeared from the fog.

The identity of the predator I thought was a fierce beast turned out to be a rabbit.

“Huh?”

While I was making a dumbfounded sound, the man who had been chased clung tightly to my back.

“P-please save me.”

A trembling, delicate voice spoke in fear.

‘Did you just get chased by a rabbit?’

It was absurd, but well, if someone’s afraid of animals, I suppose it could happen…

The rabbit, still quite angry, was glaring at us.

“No, go away!”

Shoo, shoo.

As I made sounds to drive away the animal, the rabbit stomped its hind legs furiously.

The enraged rabbit soon disappeared.

Thump thump. Thump thump.

The sound of the rabbit’s stomping feet echoed through the foggy forest.

“Lady Eileen, you mustn’t run off so suddenly!”

“I’m sorry. It was too urgent.”

My body moved before I could think.

‘I have the magic tool anyway. And there aren’t any truly fierce beasts here.’

At least, a rabbit wasn’t a threat to me.

The frightened young man was still hiding behind me.

“Um, the rabbit’s already gone. So…”

Before I could ask him to let go, he called my name.

“…Eileen Hallen, is that you?”

His voice, now free of trembling, was excessively delicate.

As I turned around, I could finally see the man’s identity.

“I’ve truly wanted to meet you.”

Delicate platinum blonde hair as if woven from sunlight. The tears pooled in his deep blue eyes looked like precious gems.

‘…Mihail?’

Undoubtedly, the most beautiful man in this world was embracing me.