Chapter 4

‘…Are you kidding me?’

You’re telling someone who already died on a time limit that they’re on another time-limited life?

If I just purify the contaminated land properly and live carefully, wouldn’t that mean I won’t get some incurable disease?

Or what—system, are you in on bullying Muriel too?

…It says no.

Then what the hell is this?!

As my emotions surged and I demanded an explanation, the system even tacked on emoticons, as if to really drive the point home.

‘Fate….’

I rolled the word around in my mind, unease settling in my chest.

Does that mean Muriel’s “fate” is to die of an incurable disease, leaving Raul with nothing but searing regret?

But I can change that fate with my own efforts?

“…….”

It said there were ninety-nine days left.

Then first things first: I should probably find out how much that so-called ‘Fate Distortion’ item even costs.

I quickly opened the shop window and searched for ‘Fate Distortion.’

And then—

No item showed up in the results—just that message.

‘What the hell is a Hidden Shop?!’

“Hey, you son of a—”

Something else popped up just before the curse could leave my mouth.

…A quest?

‘W‑What… what is this?’

A chill shot down my spine, and my body locked up on its own.

“Master! What’s wrong?”

“Ah, it’s nothing….”

It was only after hearing the spirit’s worried voice that I managed to calm down, even a little.

Is this system completely insane…?

Even now, the [▶Accept] buttons were continuing to scroll upward endlessly. It looked like it had no intention of stopping until I pressed one.

‘I’ll press it, so calm down…. This is creepy.’

I had to gather coins anyway, so I didn’t really have a choice but to accept the quest.

What bothered me was why the system was so obsessively fixated on me collecting coins….

No—more accurately, on collecting coins to buy the ‘Fate Distortion’ item.

’…Does it want me to change Muriel’s fate?’

I eyed the bluish window suspiciously, then pressed [▶Accept].

What?

‘Synchronize?’

Hey—wait a second.

Startled, I reached out into the empty air.

But the next moment, my vision went pitch-black.

Thud.

My consciousness cut out.

---

I clung desperately to the hem of a man’s clothes.

“Please… please listen to me. I didn’t do it. This is all a misunderstanding—”

A frigid gaze stabbed down at me.

My husband, Raul Winterberg.

He hated me, the daughter of his family’s sworn enemy. In truth, I’d been treated like garbage in the Tierney household, but he didn’t know that.

No—he never even tried to know.

Whenever I tried to tell him what my life in the Tierney family had been like, what kind of abuse I’d endured since childhood, he refused to listen.

Not even once.

“Your little tearful performance is getting tiresome.”

He dismissed the tears spilling from me—tears born of genuine despair—as nothing but an act. There wasn’t a trace of warmth in the way he looked at me.

…Not even a shred of pity?

“We’ve secured testimony from the servants stating that you were the one who defaced my parents’ portraits. Don’t think you can worm your way out of this by clinging to me like this.”

“No! I really, truly never did anything like that…!”

“When the horse I cherished died, too.”

The murderous chill radiating from him made my body flinch and tremble.

“You claimed it wasn’t you then as well. But clear evidence was found in your room.”

“N‑No, that’s not—I….”

“And when the documents calculating the number of troops needed for the dungeon subjugation were stolen.”

“…….”

“You said that wasn’t your doing either.”

All of it had been false accusations. And the final incident was orchestrated by a maid planted by my own family—the Tierneys.

I swear to the heavens, I never did any of those things, yet I had no choice but to bear the blame.

Because everyone hated me.

Because in Winterberg, I was the enemy’s daughter who deserved to die….

And in the Tierney family, I was nothing more than a disposable tool.

In this world… was there really any place where I belonged?

“I can no longer tolerate you.”

“…….”

“Your punishment will be decided by the end of today. Return to your room and remain there quietly. If you cause another disturbance, I may have no other choice but to lock you in a storeroom—even if you are a duchess in name.”

Only then did I realize that I no longer wanted to live.

So that night, I took out the poison I’d been hiding and swallowed every last drop.

---

“Gasp—!”

My heart thrashed violently, as if it were about to burst.

When I came to, I blinked rapidly, gasping for breath.

‘What was that? A dream? A hallucination?’

If it were a dream or a vision… it was far too vivid.

It felt like something I’d lived through myself.

The emotions, the tears, the pain in my heart….

“…….”

A single tear slid down my cheek. Absentmindedly, I raised a hand and wiped away the moisture. Only then did I realize I was crying.

The tears kept pouring out, regardless of my will—like my tear ducts were completely broken.

’…Did it implant not just Muriel’s memories, but her emotions too?’

“Master! Are you all right?! Oh my goodness! You just collapsed out of nowhere! What on earth happened?!”

The spirit’s panicked voice pierced my eardrums.

I grabbed the water-droplet-shaped creature buzzing around me and spoke.

“You’re making my head spin…. Stay still.”

“S‑Sorry! Would you like some water?”

“Yeah….”

After drinking the water Ninabel made for me, my mind cleared a bit more.

The spirit hovered nearby, fidgeting anxiously, but I first called up my status window to check the quest.

…You hit me with a full-blown mental attack, and all I get is a measly 100 coins?!

And in what universe does that count as a <Let’s Gather Coins!> quest, you bastard?!

“Hey, you son of a—”

I almost cursed again out of reflex, but froze when the next line appeared.

This time it was a normal quest, with a proper explanation. Though the little heart stuck on it was somehow irritating.

‘And the reward is way too small.’

Who am I supposed to impress with 50 coins?!

You said it takes 5,000 coins just to open the Hidden Shop!

‘The “Fate Distortion” item has to be even more expensive, right? And you only give me ninety-nine days…!’

I let out a long sigh and took another sip of water, then slowly drew a deep breath.

“Haah…. Let’s calm down for now.”

The mental shock gradually eased, but before long, a realization hit me—and left me even more unsettled.

’…Muriel’s memories are way too clear.’

Like they’re my own.

So that’s why it’s called synchronization….

Even though I’d possessed Muriel’s body, I was still me. I thought that meant I could just live on as myself….

But if this kind of “synchronization” keeps happening, won’t the boundary between Muriel and me start to blur?

“Hoo….”

What a headache….

The system I’d thought was a perk of possession might actually be a trap.

‘You… what are you really?’

I stared at the bluish window, but all that floated there was the quest prompt, as usual.

---

About a week passed after the ‘synchronization incident.’

The system was still suspicious, but it was undeniably helpful in many ways.

Thanks to it, the farm had started to look fairly presentable, and my stats had improved as well.

For one thing, the ‘Sacred Touch’ skill had reached level 3….

And a useful option had been added.

Since it’s random, there’s no way to know which stat will go up, but given Muriel’s garbage-tier base stats, it was good news for me.

Thanks to that, my current status looks like this.

Compared to when my stamina was in the negatives, having even 1 point counts as a huge improvement.

And luck, too—it had “risen” a bit, to -190.

Holy Power seemed to increase probabilistically when I used skills, and among all my stats, it was growing the fastest.

Mana, on the other hand, didn’t increase even when I ate vegetables with the ‘Mana Increase’ option.

I don’t know the details, but it seems like it just isn’t compatible with me.

And there’s one more thing I should confess….

“Master~♥ Would you like to eat first? Or… would you prefer me first?”

…Our farm has gained one more mouth to feed.

And they’re a complete lunatic….