ITIF Chapter 5

I Am Dead

 

Left alone in the bedroom after Kavelaseth departed, she was organizing her thoughts when Mikhail came to find her.

 

“Giselle, how was it? Did you have a good conversation with Kavel?”

 

“Huh? …Yes.”

 

Duke Amaterasu, who entered the bedroom afterward, asked.

 

“Are you alright, Giselle?”

 

Duke Amaterasu and the young duke looked at her with worried expressions.

 

They were concerned about Trinity’s body—or more precisely, Giselle Grante’s body.

 

It felt so unfamiliar.

 

The fact that there was someone else who genuinely worried about her wellbeing. Even if they weren’t truly her real family.

 

She hesitated for a moment, choosing her words carefully before slowly opening her mouth.

 

“…Of course. You heard, didn’t you? The news that my illness has been completely cured.”

 

“Yes, yes. I heard.”

 

Duke Amaterasu finally showed a slight smile and nodded his head vigorously.

 

“It’s truly a relief. That you’re alive, Giselle.”

 

A faint smile also crossed Mikhail’s face as he let out a quiet sigh.

 

The faces of the two, who must have been deeply hurt by the news of their family member’s death, held deep relief along with joy.

 

She alternately looked at the two of them before slightly lowering her gaze and speaking.

 

“I’d like to rest a little…”

 

Duke Amaterasu nodded understandingly and turned around.

 

“Yes, in my joy I… I’ll leave now, so rest comfortably.”

 

Mikhail, who had hesitated as if he had something to say, soon left the bedroom as well.

 

She swept her gaze around the bedroom where Giselle Grante had lived until recently.

 

Naturally, questions arose about the original owner of this body.

 

‘What happened to the real Giselle Grante?’

 

The daughter and sister they thought was dead had come back to life.

 

Whether this was truly due to the attending physician’s misdiagnosis was unknown, but watching their joy somehow made her feel a bit uncomfortable.

 

That was probably because she thought the real Giselle Grante, who was truly their family, might really be dead.

 

But her melancholy mood was brief. She wasn’t in a position to worry about others right now.

 

Above all, it was time to be concerned about the safety of her own body.

 

‘Did Giselle Grante’s body and my body switch places?’

 

It seemed like a plausible theory.

 

‘If I go to the imperial palace, it will become clear.’

 

She tried to sit up from the bed.

 

But contrary to the attending physician’s words about her miraculous recovery, her body lacked strength.

 

Instead of forcing herself up from the bed, she leaned her back against it and closed her eyes.

 

‘Since I’m borrowing someone else’s body, I should use it well and return it.’

 

After closing her eyes for a moment, she recalled the words Kavelaseth had said before suddenly stopping and leaving the bedroom.

 

[That proposal you made to me then… I wonder if it’s still valid now.]

 

She had no idea what proposal Giselle Grante had made to Kavelaseth.

 

‘A proposal worth making to someone you like…’

 

The first thing that came to mind was a marriage proposal. But she soon thought it was too extreme.

 

‘Even so…’

 

These days, there were quite a few progressive ladies who confessed to men they admired first. Giselle Grante was among the most zealous of them.

 

Even though they weren’t in a relationship where they had confirmed each other’s feelings, she wondered if she really would have proposed marriage, and if that were truly the case, she had no idea how to handle it.

 

After all, until just a while ago, she hadn’t even thought that she had switched bodies with Giselle Grante.

 

So she had no choice but to give a somewhat ambiguous answer to Kavelaseth’s question.

 

[If you’re willing to accept the proposal.]

 

At that time, Kavelaseth had stood looking at her for a while. She had also quietly looked back at him.

 

‘What is he thinking right now?’

 

She wanted to know what was on his mind. Only then could she respond appropriately.

 

But reading his mind was difficult.

 

His seemingly emotionless face contained no feelings, and she couldn’t find even fragments of emotion in his gaze directed at her.

 

[I’ll have occasion to visit the mansion again soon, so let’s talk again then. Until then, I hope you stay well.]

 

Soon Kavelaseth, having finished organizing his thoughts, spoke with a clean expression.

 

And as if his business was concluded, he immediately turned and walked away from her.

 

She couldn’t take her eyes off his retreating figure until Kavelaseth completely left the bedroom.

 

And in that brief moment, she was able to gather a few more clues about Kavelaseth than during their extended eye contact.

 

His broad shoulders that looked solid.

 

Such a fine physique was rare to see even among fairly experienced knights.

 

His posture was straight and upright, almost rigid-looking.

 

This was likely a habit ingrained in his body rather than something conscious.

 

His stride with long legs was refreshing, and there was no hint of hesitation.

 

The actual time they had locked eyes probably wasn’t very long. But for some reason, that time felt long.

 

“…”

 

After reflecting on her time with Kavelaseth for a while, she slowly got up.

 

And she began to look around the bedroom.

 

Until she could reclaim her original body, she needed to learn about Giselle Grante to avoid being suspected of anything strange.

 

****

 

While searching through various places in the bedroom for traces of Giselle Grante, she discovered a book.

 

But unlike other books, there was no title written on the cover.

 

‘…What could the contents be?’

 

Her hand, which had been quickly turning pages, suddenly stopped.

 

The handwriting was neat and uniform, so at first she thought it was just a published book.

 

But she soon realized this was Giselle Grante’s diary.

 

What could be better than a diary for getting to know someone?

 

Delighted, she began reading Giselle Grante’s diary.

 

The fact that she was stealing a glimpse of someone else’s personal secrets weighed slightly on her conscience, but the more she read, the more she forgot such thoughts.

 

Because the diary’s contents were so interesting.

 

‘Giselle Grante wrote a novel… That can’t be right, can it? If all of this is true…’

 

The content was certainly interesting, but it felt so fantastical as to seem like delusion.

 

The Giselle Grante in the diary claimed she had the ability to see the future. However, the more she used this ability, the more it consumed her life force, though she didn’t know about this backlash at first.

 

So she looked into the future out of simple curiosity. Near futures like what food would be on the dinner table that evening.

 

Then her body gradually began to deteriorate, and she looked into distant futures. Hoping that her incurable disease would be completely cured and she would regain her health.

 

But contrary to such wishes, she saw a future where she lived an unhappy life and died at an early age, and the person who took her life was none other than Kavelaseth.

 

‘Then there might also be content about the proposal Giselle Grante made to Duke Cardia.’

 

With that thought, she sat on the sofa in front of the large window and seriously read through the diary.

 

“…!”

 

Whether the contents of the diary were true or not, she finally felt she understood the series of events Giselle Grante had orchestrated.

 

‘She needed Duke Cardia’s help to survive.’

 

Knock knock.

 

Just as she had that thought, the sound of knocking came from the door.

 

“Miss, I’ve brought your medicine.”

 

It was Lindsey’s voice.

 

Trinity hid the diary and quickly lay down on the bed, catching her breath.

 

Seeing how she was panting after moving just a little, the claim that Giselle Grante hadn’t taken a single step outside the bedroom for some time seemed to be true.

 

“Haa… Come in.”

 

Soon Lindsey entered the bedroom.

 

After setting a tray down on the table by the window, Lindsey brought her a glass of water along with a round medicine.

 

“Please take this.”

 

She reached out to take the medicine as if accustomed to it, but hesitated for a moment.

 

“What medicine was this again?”

 

“Really, miss, it’s the energy supplement that His Grace went far away to personally obtain for you.”

 

Looking at the medicine Lindsey handed her, she suddenly furrowed her brow at a thought.

 

‘Come to think of it, I don’t have a headache…’

 

Trinity usually suffered from chronic migraines.

 

Because of this, she had developed the habit of consistently taking medicine at regular intervals from some point on.

 

Before a blood vessel as thin as a hair would persistently gnaw at her nerves inside her head.

 

But now it was different.

 

Though her body was weak enough that she became short of breath with just a little movement, at least there was no hazy feeling in her head like fog had settled in, or sharp, stabbing pain.

 

‘It must be because my body has changed.’

 

Instead of taking the unidentified medicine, Trinity quickly changed the subject.

 

“But Lindsey.”

 

“Yes, miss.”

 

“I…”

 

Trinity opened her mouth then closed it again.

 

Even if their relationship was a bit closer than the typical maid and mistress, she judged that Giselle Grante wouldn’t have confided everything to Lindsey.

 

Trinity also had secrets she couldn’t reveal even to the ladies-in-waiting who attended her most closely.

 

“Yes, please speak, miss.”

 

Lindsey nodded with an expression that showed she was ready to listen to whatever she had to say.

 

“Hmm… Never mind. More importantly, Lindsey, was there anything unusual at the imperial palace?”

 

“The imperial palace?”

 

Lindsey blinked rapidly as she thought.

 

‘Miss is definitely strange today somehow…’

 

But she soon dismissed it as unimportant.

 

‘Well, after what happened…’

 

Internally cursing the attending physician who had declared Miss Giselle dead without properly examining her, Lindsey spoke.

 

“Shall I look into it?”

 

“Yes.”

 

****

 

Because the attending physician had earnestly advised that she must rest absolutely, Trinity lay properly on the bed and stared only at the ceiling pattern.

 

“Perhaps it would be better to stay in this room like this.”

 

It would be more troublesome to be caught having conversations with someone and revealing that Giselle Grante’s inner contents had changed.

 

And she absolutely needed time alone.

 

Only then could she read the rest of Giselle Grante’s diary.

 

Just as she slowly got up from the bed to find the hidden diary, heavy footsteps in the corridor grew closer and Lindsey’s voice could be heard.

 

“Miss! It’s me, Lindsey!”

 

“What’s the matter?”

 

Lindsey, who had rushed breathlessly into the bedroom, shouted.

 

“Her Imperial Highness! The First Imperial Princess has passed away!”

 

“…What?”

 

“Just now, word came from the imperial palace!”

 

Lindsey’s words continued after that, but they didn’t register well in her ears.

 

“I am…”

 

Giselle Grante’s red lips parted slightly.

 

‘…dead?’