I’m Just a Counselor

After dropping the bomb, Estella continued in a burst of words.

 “Before I died, I read a novel called “If Spring Comes to a Winter Castle”, and it was a novel where Estella was the heroine…” “…….” “After I died, I woke up and realized I was that Estella.” 

The pen slipped from Vanessa’s hand and fell to the floor.

 

She picked up the rolling pen and placed it in front of her, and Estella looked up at her with sparkling eyes. She looked like a puppy with a wagging tail.

 

Vanessa pursed her lips and barely managed to mumble.

 “Yeah, right…” 

Her head, which had been rolling slowly and the flow of thought had stopped for a moment, began to spin rapidly again.

 

If anyone else had heard what Estella had just confided in her, they would have wondered if she was seriously ill.

 

But she couldn’t.

 

‘Because I’m also possessed!’

 

The more she listened, the more Estella’s story sounded like hers.

 

Like dying and waking up in a strange world, in a strange body. She hadn’t realized that this world was fiction.

 “Wait, so I’m a character in the novel you read?” 

While Vanessa  was scratching her head at this sudden question, Estella continued.

 “In a previous life, I lived in a country called Korea, in a place called Earth.” 

My eyes widened as the familiar place name came out of her mouth.

 “What? South Korea?” “How do you know? Korea! The country of Eastern courtesy, Confucianism!”

Estella exclaimed, her eyes twinkling as if she expected something from her.

 

Vanessa looked nervously at Estella.

 

When she didn’t answer, she dropped her head sullenly.

 “I guess this is too much…” 

She was at a loss for words. Should she pretend to know, or should she pretend not to know when she was talking about something she could relate to 100%?

 

But her hesitation was short-lived.

 “No, Estella. I know that place.” “Yeah, well, of course you don’t…? Do you?” 

Estella, who had sounded dejected, was taken aback by her abruptness.

 

It’s been three years since she possessed a stranger in a strange world who didn’t speak English. If she didn’t take this opportunity, she would be alone with her secret for the rest of her life.

 “Estella, actually…” 

Estella swallowed hard at the first words out of her mouth since her arrival in this world.

 “I was actually possessed, too. I lived in a country called Korea.” “…….” “So what you’re telling me now is that I was also…” 

Before she could finish, Estella jumped up in excitement.

 “I knew it!!!” 

Estella hugged me once and jumped in place.

 “I knew it! I was counting on it! What am I going to do… I don’t know!!” 

She looked up at her, her face flushed with joy. She looked nervously into her eyes.

 

Estella reacted violently, bursting into tears, overwhelmed with emotion, muttering to herself for a few moments, then becoming agitated again.

 

Then, without warning, her body collapsed.

 “I finally found it, ahhhhh…” “Eh, Estella?!” 

Vanessa exclaimed, scooping her into her arms. Estella was shaking and flailing.

 

She doesn’t even know what the hell is going on.

 

* * *

 

When she opened her eyes for the first time in this world, Estella was unfamiliar and frightened.

 

A large, luxurious room she’d never seen before. A magnificent castle, many people called her Lady and loved her dearly. And a loving brother.

 

And the face in the mirror wasn’t hers. It was the face of someone else.

 

A very beautiful, very loving duchess. The heroine of

“If Spring Comes to a Winter Castle

“. Estella Oppenheim.

 “This is not me.” 

The heroine’s place, her family, her home. Nothing was hers.

 

If they found out she wasn’t the real Estella, they would leave her alone.

 

Filled with fear, Estella smashed all the mirrors in her room and cursed them.

 

But they wouldn’t listen. Not even her brother, the only family she had. They just told her she was sick, called the doctor, and watched her with fear.

 

Estella grew tired of their reactions.

 

She had been trapped in the novel for five months. She had lived like a helpless princess trapped in a castle. She was getting thinner and thinner.

 

Then she heard a rumor.

 “There is a counseling center in Hazel,”

she heard,

“and a woman gives counseling.” 

There was no such thing as counseling in this world, so the idea of a counseling center intrigued her.

 

She wondered if someone talking about a concept that didn’t exist in this world could be from another world, like herself.

 

It was a very unlikely possibility, but Estella was desperate enough to grasp at straws, so she went to see her and confessed her possession, risking that she would be thought crazy.

 

And when she finally said,

 

“Actually, I was possessed too, and I lived in a country called Korea.”

 

Estella nearly burst into tears.

 

She wasn’t alone in this strange world! She wasn’t crazy!

 

Vanessa came from the same place as her, knew the same places and shared similar memories.

 

A feeling of joy and excitement washed over Estella for the first time since she had arrived in this world.

 

She was so embarrassed that she collapsed, but she opened her eyes and hugged Vanessa tightly.

 “Now I have someone to talk to about everything!” 

Estella choked out to Vanessa, her last hope.

 

She couldn’t wait to hug her and tell her everything she’d been holding back, and for the first time, she was excited to be a heroine who was easy to like.

 “Hey, Vanessa, there’s a beautiful flower blooming outside, let’s go see it!” “Hey, Vanessa, did you miss lunch again today? I brought bread!” “Sister Vanessa, let’s share this!” 

Every day, Estella would sneak out of the castle to visit Vanessa without anyone noticing. 

 

Luckily, Vanessa never turned her down.

 

Once she got comfortable talking to her, she felt like she and Vanessa were like big sisters.

 

Estella clung to Vanessa and giggled.

 “I wonder how old she is in Korea? She looks so grown up.” 

Now she has to tell her about her sister and the possession. As Estella was laughing happily to herself.

 

There was one person who didn’t see her coming.

 

Estella thought she was sneaking out of the castle unnoticed, but she was mistaken.

 “There she is, Your Excellency. That’s where the princess has been coming and going lately.” 

The man let out a small groan as he stared where the adjutant pointed. His brilliant silver hair glistened and shone in the darkness.

 

The man blinked his light green eyes and spoke with concern.

 “I wonder why I’m walking all the way out here in the middle of nowhere…” 

The man stared at a small sign in the distance.

 

Secret Garden. Apparently, it was a well-known counseling center in the neighborhood. A place where you could tell any secret.

 “A counseling center.” 

The man’s eyes turned sad as he remembered his sister.

 

Normally, he wouldn’t have been so sullen as to follow in his sister’s footsteps, but she had changed so much in recent days that he couldn’t help but do it now.

 

“I’m not really Estella, and this is a novel!”

 

A few months earlier, while lying in bed after a carriage accident, she had said to herself.

 

He couldn’t believe it, so he worried about her and sent her to more doctors. But after that, his sister was completely different.

 

She stopped making wild claims, but instead began to withdraw and avoid him, and she was very lethargic and rarely came out of her room.

 

Then, a few days ago, she started going out without telling him.

 

‘She won’t tell me why, so I have to pay more attention to her.’

 

Their parents died in an accident when he was young and he and his sister had to rely on each other to survive in the harsh north. It’s no wonder his feelings for his sister are so strong. He relied on her, too.

 

And he certainly did, until one day, everything went wrong. His precious sister was off on a wild goose chase.

 “Wait here.” “Yes, Your Excellency, be careful.” 

Leaping from his horse, the man approached the small counseling center without a sound of footsteps.

 

He bit his lip for a moment in front of the cozy door, then raised his hand and knocked.

 “Is anyone inside?” 

A few seconds later, the door slid open. The door swung open to reveal the figure of a woman.

 

The brown-haired woman looked up at him questioningly, her eyes a very pale light blue.

 

Then she opened her lips and spoke.

 “Who are you?” “I was wondering if you know where…” 

Even though he had prepared a response before knocking on the door, he was taken aback.

 

His lips were still pursed as he stared at the woman’s pale face when he saw a familiar silver glint over her shoulder.

 “Sister Vanessa, this is here…” 

The silver-haired girl walked out of the kitchen.

 

The girl, so familiar to him, dropped the plate she was holding as soon as she saw him.

 *Shatter* 

The sound of shattering dishes rang out loudly. The girl flinched, her complexion cyan.

 “Oops. Oh, big brother…”