I Thought It Was a Common Transmigration - Chapter 30

‘What’s going on? Why did the original story change there yesterday?’

I’ve tried to change the outcome of episodes before, but even though I acted differently from the original, it didn’t change the outcome.

But last night, the episode where Edith tries to seduce Killian was completely different.

I tried to seduce Killian with my body as Edith did, but he acted differently from the original story.

Now that Killian has embraced Edith, he is no longer a virgin for Lizé. Moreover, Lizé is supposed to be Killian’s first kiss.

‘Of course, Lizé’s first kiss is Cliff. However, Killian’s position as the second male lead has been shaken. What’s going to happen now?’

My head was spinning, but somehow a smile escaped my lips.

I couldn’t stop thinking about Killian calling my name and holding me, his kisses, his hot gestures.

He seemed to believe I was trying to seduce him with my body, but……

“Oh, I don’t know. Be that as it may.”

Anna’s mouth is tightly shut, so no one in the mansion probably knows that we’ve become a “real couple”.

But I do.

I couldn’t help but smile from ear to ear, but I was too embarrassed to show it to Anna, so I pulled the covers over my head.

‘We’re a real couple…… my God, what should I do!’

I must have fallen asleep while I was kicking the covers and giggling hysterically, remembering the night with him.

Suddenly, I heard that announcer-like voice again.

[The first exception condition has been met. An exception has been granted and the author’s control has been reduced. The first exception condition will be removed.]

‘What?’

It was a bizarre explanation.

The first exception condition has been met? And what is the author’s control?

I doubted the voice would answer my questions, but I asked it anyway with all my might.

‘What is the first condition?’

To my surprise, the voice answered.

[The first exception condition: Follow what Edith failed to do in the original story.]

I felt goosebumps all over my body.

First of all, the voice knows that this world is a novel that I have transmigrated into. It knows that I’m a different person from the original Edith.

And the “exception conditions” sounds like conditions that I have to fulfill in order to make an “exception” that allows me to twist the original story in this situation, where I am dragged along by the flow of the story.

The last time the voice rambled on about three levels, and this time it was just one, so it seemed like there were two more levels.

It was like someone was looking down on me, mocking me for possessing a character in a novel without knowing what was really going on.

‘All this time, I’ve been trying hard not to follow the path that Edith in the original story failed, but in the end, that’s what strangled me.’

I don’t know who set the conditions, but it’s clear that their tastes are unusual.

Who would have thought that you’d have to follow a method that failed in the original story to get the “exception” condition?

But it isn’t a very hopeless situation.

I still don’t understand everything the voice said, but I do know one thing that gives me hope.

‘The story can be different from the original!’

The voice in my dream was not to be dismissed, and I couldn’t tell anyone about my situation.

I was lucky enough to meet the first exception condition and change the original episode.

I’m sure I’ll be able to change the ending, where I die a miserable death, beheaded by Killian.

‘Yeah, it’s too early to give up. You can do it, Choi Soo-na! You can do it, Edith!’

A glimmer of hope flashed through my eyes.

***

I took two more days of rest.

During those two days, I locked myself in my room, embroidered, and thought about my future.

After organizing my thoughts, a few questions came to my mind.

First, who is the “author” that the voice was talking about?

‘Who is the author of “I Refuse Your Obsession”? It is a pen name starting with K……’

The voice said that because I met the first exception condition, an exception has been granted, and the “author’s control” has been reduced.

What on earth does it mean to reduce the control of the author of a completed novel?

At first, I thought it was this world’s will to stay true to the original, but then I realized it was something else.

Control.

The extent to which someone’s rights or power extend. In other words, its scope has been diminished.

And it means that there is an entity that wields that right or power.

‘Is it the god of this world?’

An author is like a god in his work, right?

Whatever the identity is, if the author’s control has been reduced, which part has been reduced?

Is it all of it, or just one part of it?

And how is the author moving this world?

Is it reflecting the author’s will in real-time, or is it reflecting the original story as it was written?

If the author’s control is reduced, but the story goes on, is there a power greater than the author that keeps this world going?

‘It’s too vague, there’s not enough information.’

I feel like I am playing an unfair game.

Since I have created an exception situation by meeting the first condition, the setting of the character Killian has changed significantly.

Will Killian continue to follow the original storyline? If so, wouldn’t the probability be diminished?

Then will the story keep going as the original? If not, can I continue to change the story as I create probabilities?

But seeing that there are three levels of “conditions,” I realized that I probably can’t change everything at this point.

‘My head hurts…… anyway, I’ll just have to keep an eye on Killian for now.’

I need to see what choices Killian makes when a new episode happens.

If he follows through with what I wanted, my future will be brighter.

‘If he doesn’t, then…… I’ll die the way I’m supposed to.’

I sighed, but I had to do what I could for now.

On the third day, just as I was preparing to dust myself off and get up, the Duchess called to me.

“Edith, are you feeling better?”

“I’m sorry to have worried you. I’ve been feeling better for a while now. You’ve finally returned from out of town, sorry I’m late in saying hello.”

The Duchess has been in the palace with the Duke these past few days. They had probably discussed the movements of Archduke Langston and Count Riegelhoff and prepared a defense without their knowledge.

“The Duke has been worried too. He is afraid he has pushed you too hard. He is a man who had lived on the battlefield for a long time so his tone is harsh.”

For a man who’d been on the battlefield for so long, he has quite a soft voice when talking to Lizé.

But I couldn’t possibly say it out loud.

“It’s even more strange for him to speak so softly when he’s inquiring about important matters within the mansion. Please tell him that I’m fine and not to worry too much.”

“Thank you for your understanding, Edith.”

I smiled as brightly as I could, not wanting to give the Duchess any cause for concern.

“What would you like to do in the future? You don’t have to help me with my work if you don’t want to…… but I think it will only reinforce people’s misunderstanding of you.”

“I would like to keep helping you if you don’t mind, but I’m afraid that the person who framed me might do the same thing again.”

I had a suspicion that it was Lizé.

“So, I’d like to work under the surveillance of someone you trust, Mother.”

“Edith, honey, what do you mean, under surveillance……”

“Oh, is that a bad way to put it? I mean, what I’m trying to say is……”

“No, I know. You want a place where you can work without being misunderstood.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

The Duchess took a moment to think.

I wondered if she might ask Lizé to keep an eye on me, but the person she assigned was her aide, Renon Filch.

“Renon is the one who inspects the tax-related documents from each estate and prepares them for the palace. He can be a bit stiff and unfeeling because he deals with money, but he’s never one to be swayed by emotions or be partial.”

“He is exactly what I want.”

I sincerely hoped he wasn’t a softie who would be swayed by emotions.

When I worked at a company, I hated my boss who loved company dinners and liked socializing the most, saying ‘bonding’ was paramount.

He always labeled people like me who vaguely had boundaries as ‘socially awkward’ and disparaged my work skills.

The next day, I met Renon Filch, who turned out to be even more stiff and unfeeling than I’d hoped.

He’s also much younger than I expected. Late 20s, early 30s?

“Nice to meet you, I’m Renon Filch, but please feel free to call me Renon.”

A blunt voice without much in the way of accent flowed from the grayish-pale man’s mouth.

“Nice to meet you, Renon. I’m Edith Ludwig, and I’ll be helping you from today. So what can I do for you?”

“Well, for starters, I need you to categorize all the receipts here…… by year. Later on, I’ll need you to categorize them by issue, but for now, just by year.”

He handed me a large box full of jumbled receipts.

Some are wet, some are dry, and some have footprints on them.

“How did this get……”

“It’s from the last stupid worker I had, who ran off with years’ worth of receipts scattered across the floor because he was offended by me.”

“He made such a mess of the duchy’s documents and ran away? Did he get caught?”

“Sure. He is a baron’s scion, and it only ended in restitution thanks to his father.”

“Oh, my God……”

I shook my head, and Renon continued, his face impassive.