???????????

Even though I knocked and knocked, my fist was the only thing that hurt. I held my painful fist and cursed standing in front of the door for a long time.

After blowing off some steam, I looked around the small room, feeling like I had been there before.

Ah, a boarding house!

I used to live in a 300,000-won(234.87 USD) boarding house for about six months when I was twenty. It was just as small as this one, but at least there was a bed. Here, however, there was only a hard floor.

“…Damn it. What kind of boarding house is this? It’s more like a prison.”

As I spat out these words, I suddenly remembered the contents of the novel I had read.

This place was one of the things owned by Etienne. It was called a monastery, but in reality, it was more like a prison.

Especially since they were imprisoning black magicians who used forbidden magic.

Later on, Etienne even used them to plot a rebellion.

He’s a sneaky guy.

I wandered over to the window while muttering to myself. I needed to figure out where I was.

“Ugh, don’t they ever clean around here?”

I rubbed the thick layer of dust off the glass with my hand.

As the dust cleared, a stranger’s face appeared in the window. My busy hand came to a sudden stop.

The eyes, which were raised like a cat’s, stared back at me. They were sharp but also looked innocent in some way.

Especially her violet irises, which were mysterious and mystical, like they had gathered all the dew from the dawn.

As if possessed, I raised my hand and touched the window. My hand met with the woman in the reflection.

It was me.

I couldn’t believe it, my mouth hung open. Between her small, pink lips, I could see two cute front teeth.

The newly-rising sunlight reflected off her skin, making it glow a pure white.

Her pink hair cascaded down to her waist, covered in yellow leaves, but she still looked like a doll.

“…I must have really possessed her.”

On the way to the monastery, no matter how many times I thought about it, the conclusion was always the same.

And now, the reflection in the window proved it all.

I gently touched my cheek, feeling a softness I had never experienced before.

“Dahlia…were you this beautiful?”

I looked down at my hand for a while. It was small and delicate.

When I looked back up, I met her large pupils. Her lashes fluttered like butterfly wings.

“And that beauty is me?”

Her lips curved up into a smile.

If I’m going to possess someone, it’s better to be a beauty, right?

Mumbling to myself, I plopped down onto a pile of blankets in the corner. It was dusty, but it didn’t matter.

“But what kind of situation is this? I was imprisoned as soon as I possessed someone? Others receive warmth and hospitality when they possess someone, but why not me?”

I went over the memories of my day.

“I remember coming home from work…right… the power was out. That’s why everything in the fridge had gone bad…”

I lived in a basement room, filled with mold, with no electricity or gas.

I was in extreme poverty.

I had been working non-stop since I was old enough to work, but my parents’ debts kept piling up. I lay on the cold floor with a sense of despair.

My long-starved stomach wasn’t even growling anymore. I was slowly dying.

<In this day and age, if someone says they’re starving to death, no one would believe them, right?> I let out a bitter laugh.

At that time, I felt like all the energy was leaving my body like smoke.

It felt like I was falling into a deep sleep, but also like my body was freezing cold.

In my last moments of consciousness, I made a wish.

“In my next life, please let me eat beef every day. Or make me incredibly rich or a beauty.” It was a silly wish, but it was sincere in its own way.

“So, that wish came true…?”

That too…

Number 1: Please let me eat beef every day.

Number 2: Please make me incredibly rich.

Number 3: Please make me a beauty.

Among all three, the one which came true the number 3 was the most useless one…?

Holy shit…

* * *

“Hurry up and move. Laziness is a sin.”

The priest following behind me poked me in the back with a stick.

What the heck! I’m already hunched over from sleeping on the stone floor… It feels good there? A bit lower, yeah there, there!

As I hesitated, the priest looked at me strangely.

“Ahem.”

Was that too much? Okay, let’s read the atmosphere…

Feeling embarrassed, I coughed for no reason.

“But where are we going? Are we going to eat?”

“….”

And not even a response.

Unable to hide my dissatisfaction, I pouted.

I wish we are going for food. I’ve been starving since yesterday, so it’s obvious that I would want food.

Gurgle, my stomach growled loudly. It was hard to resist the hunger, probably due to memories of starving to death.

After walking for a while, I followed the priest into a strange room. Unlike the place I stayed last night, it was a clean place with plenty of sunlight.

I saw one of the few familiar faces in this world, my husband and the one who imprisoned me here, Etienne.

“Sit down.”

He flicked his chin towards the chair opposite him.

Wow, his appearance looks even more severe in this bright place.

I took my gaze off him and sat down.

???????????