Chapter 31

"……Why, why..."

Why am I here? And the other person also seemed to find it unbelievable that I was here.

Her attire was the same as what I used to wear, and her body was still in tatters. No matter how you looked at it, her treatment hadn't changed from that of a slave. Seeing my agitation, the woman laughed as if it were amusing.

"Haha, nice to meet you, Sadi."

"..."

There were so many things I wanted to say. I wanted to curse, blame, and interrogate her. This woman had taken away most of my life.

But when the moment came, my mind went blank, and no words came out of my mouth. Various emotions overflowed, and my vision blurred.

Eliza, who was standing next to me, gently took my hand.

"Do you intend to escape from here?"

"...Yeah, that's right."

When Norman answered, the woman's lips curled up again.

"Hey, take me with you."

"What are you saying, you—"

"I know everything."

At those words, we were taken aback.

"If you take me with you, I'll tell you everything. I'm as angry with Mabel as you are, and I don't want to die in a place like this. You still have things you want to know, right? It's a win-win, isn't it?"

To return to our original bodies, we definitely needed information. Of course, there was no guarantee she would tell the truth, and it was extremely frustrating to do as she said. But in this situation, it might be best to take her with us.

"...Alright."

Eventually, I clenched my fists tightly and muttered those words.

◇◇◇

After we safely returned to our country, I first took Eliza and Norman to the Earl of Arkwright's residence. I let them take a leisurely bath and have a full meal, and then we decided to talk in my room.

When I explained everything that had happened after we returned to our original bodies and the current situation, they were greatly surprised.

They seemed to think that even if they returned to their families in those bodies and told the truth, it was uncertain whether they would be believed. Especially the woman who had taken Eliza's body would undoubtedly handle the situation skillfully.

I told them to stay at this house and relax until they felt better, and they nodded.

"For now, just rest well today. I'm going to Kevin's mansion, so if anything happens, tell the servants to contact me."

"Got it. Sadi, thank you so much."

"No, I'm sorry for being late. Thank you."

"You have nothing to apologize for, thank you."

After seeing them off to their respective guest rooms, I quickly wrote letters to Gerald and Neil, then put on my coat and got into the carriage with Tim.

"Sorry for being late."

"No, it's fine. Are they both alright?"

"Thanks to you, yes. Thank you."

As soon as we arrived at the earl's residence, Kevin greeted us. In the spacious room we were led to, Rufus was there, still looking as if the world had ended.

"Looks like mushrooms might grow where Rufus has walked."

"Rufus, don't worry about it. Thanks to the two of you, we were able to save Eliza and Norman."

"......I'm a hopeless person."

"That's absolutely not true!"

"Let's just leave Rufus alone for now."

After telling Rufus, "It's really okay," I sat in the chair Kevin offered.

Then I explained everything to them again. After seeing that place and meeting Eliza and Norman, they seemed to fully believe my story.

However, the atmosphere around Rufus became even heavier and more oppressive.

"Where is that woman now?"

"She's locked in the dungeon. After she woke up, she seemed hungry, so we gave her a light meal and some water."

After that, Kevin had knocked the woman unconscious and brought her back. I wondered why there was a dungeon in the mansion, but I was grateful that there was no risk of her escaping.

By the way, we decided to have the discussion at Kevin's mansion because it was difficult for me to enter the Langridge Duke's residence. Another reason was that if we brought the woman to the Earl of Arkwright's residence, my parents would not be able to stay calm.

To hear the woman's story, the three of us moved to the basement.

The woman, who was sitting on the floor of the dungeon, looked up when she noticed our presence. A smile still lingered on her lips.

"Rufus, you used to be so kind to me, but now you're so cruel."

"Stop it!"

I didn't want her to hurt Rufus any further. I went up to the cell and glared at her.

"Your name is—"

"Tabitha."

I remembered that the man who had taken Norman's body had mentioned this name. It seemed she wasn't lying.

"Why did you decide to talk?"

"That bitch, she's living a good life in that body, but she treated me like a slave when I returned to my original body. She even told me she was going to kill me soon because I was just in the way."

It seemed they had turned against each other, and she genuinely hated the woman who had taken Eliza's body, Mabel.

From what I heard about the man who had taken Norman's body and this woman's story, their relationship seemed quite twisted.

"What about the ones who took Gerald and Neil's bodies?"

"I don't know about Neil, but that guy is dead."

"Huh?"

"The one who was in Gerald's body couldn't stand this life and this body, so he killed himself right away."

The woman laughed as if it were amusing.

"Really, what an idiot."