Chapter 240
“Which one of these do you like the most?”
the rolling racks filling the room and the extravagant clothes hanging from them. Even when she tried to roughly count them, there seemed to be no end. And as if that weren’t enough, servants were still wheeling in more racks through the open door.
The man, lounging on the couch, spoke leisurely.
“They’re yours. All of them. If there’s a particular outfit you like, I’ll have more made in a similar style, so speak up.”
Suddenly assaulted by the memory, Jaha clutched her throbbing head.
Ah. So that had happened too.
Unsure whether to laugh at the absurdity or recoil in disgust, she stood frozen in place—until several more scenes replayed in her mind.
The Emperor watching with displeasure as Jaha mechanically ate her meal at a table laden with delicacies.
The Emperor observing with simmering frustration as Jaha remained indifferent to dazzling jewels laid before her, as though they were mere stones.
The Emperor staring anxiously at Jaha, who showed no interest in the rarest treasures meticulously displayed for her.
“Hah.”
A dry laugh escaped Jaha’s lips. A sudden realization had struck her.
So it was me. That woman.
The woman who neither enjoyed nor ate much, even when presented with lavish feasts.
The type of person she’d once thought utterly incomprehensible—that woman had been herself.
The woman I envied… was my past self. The irony was equal parts baffling and ridiculous.
What else would surface? At this point, it felt like a treasure hunt—except the more she dug up, the farther from treasure it all seemed.
Jaha trudged toward a dessert café. Not out of hunger, but simply because she needed to sit and it had caught her eye. After ordering at random, she mechanically shoveled bites into her mouth while fragmented realizations kept coming.
So that’s why.
That’s what that meant.
That glance, those words, that action—
By the time she’d pieced it all together, the window was streaked with diluted scarlet, like watercolor dusk.
‘It’d be dangerous to wander too late.’
Of course, the public safety in this world was worse than Earth’s. Just as Jaha had resolved to get up from her seat, deciding she needed to find suitable lodging before nightfall completely descended—
A shadow fell across the table.
Jaha raised her head. A man with an all-too-familiar face—one she could never grow indifferent to no matter how much time passed—was looking down at her.
She wasn’t startled. The moment she saw the cast shadow, she had already anticipated it.
“Care to sit?”
His expression was worth seeing. Clearly, he hadn’t expected her to make such an invitation.
Jaha rang the bell on the table to call for service.
“Could I get a menu, please?”
“Ah, yes. I’ll bring it right away.”
When the menu arrived, Jaha spread it open conspicuously and placed it before him.
“What would you like to drink? Should I order dessert too?”
Though he failed to hide his bewilderment, he soon regained some composure and placed a drink order with the waiting staff. Perhaps sensing from his bearing that he was no ordinary person, the server was excessively deferential.
Once the third party had left, only silence remained between them.
Jaha took a sip of her now-cooled tea. After an awkwardly long hesitation unbefitting him, he finally managed to speak.
“The ring, why…?”
He carefully unclenched his fist. On his gloved palm lay the Abrixa ring that Jaha had exchanged for flowers.
“I came looking for you. But why…? Don’t misunderstand—I’m not blaming or interrogating you. I can always take this back—it’s nothing difficult, I can do it anytime. But why… why would you just give this to some random child? Not even because you needed money… Just why…?”
He couldn’t properly finish his sentences, as if he didn’t even know exactly what he wanted to say. Or perhaps he was circling around the point, afraid that a direct question might bring an answer he didn’t want to hear.
Pale as if a single touch might knock him over, he rambled incoherently.
Jaha watched him like a rare spectacle, observing him for a moment. Now that she knew his true nature, it held an even stranger fascination.
“So you were watching me, then.”
At her accusation, his broad, straight shoulders jerked up. Clearly caught off guard, he hadn’t even considered she might notice.
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