The Gloomy and Timid Princess Heads to the Academy

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The first memory of ⬛⬛⬛ was a void where nothing existed.

If it could feel temperature, half of its body would be burning while the other half froze in a hellish environment, but ⬛⬛⬛ was perfectly fine.

“Why am I in a place like this? And who am I?”

Intellect and selfhood were unnecessary for the observer, so ⬛⬛⬛ had no questions.

However, ⬛⬛⬛ knew its mission well.

“Observe civilization and record the meaning of life they deduce.”

Following the mission ingrained at its creation, ⬛⬛⬛ headed toward the first star system recorded in the database.

– – – –

– Nice to meet you, Aida.

At the moment those words appeared, it froze as if it were a mannequin.

The shock was greater than when my father brought up the embarrassing things I had done as a child at a gathering, rendering me unable to move.

Does the text appear automatically upon opening this page? If so, then why is it in Hangul? Who could possibly write something that doesn’t even exist in this world?

Questions piled up endlessly, but there was no time to ponder such trivial matters.

Another sentence was immediately written.

– I’ve already heard a lot about you from Ho-yeon. I wish to have a brief conversation with you. Is that okay?

“…Who are you?”

There would be no reply, yet I had to ask. Who am I talking to right now?

It wasn’t just me drawn into this novel; I should have at least hoped the other person would be a fellow Korean, an acquaintance of Ho-yeon, and likely friendly.

I couldn’t think straight; I was that confused.

Yet, either hearing my question or not, another sentence appeared in the book.

– You are the mother of the White Royal Family’s Eldest Daughter whom you just put to sleep. You might be more familiar with the name Onbyeolbi. Feel free to call me however you wish. I do not wish to wake my daughter, so let our conversation be through writing from now on.

The moment I read that sentence, all my questions were instantly answered.

Ah, it was Onbyeolbi.

I might have doubted it if it were someone else, but I could believe it was her.

Knowing the powers she displayed during the final battle made me think she could do something like this.

However, I thought her divine power had prevented observation across the entire continent in the original work. Could it be that if she set her mind to it, she could pierce through that barrier?

…Really, how exactly am I supposed to win against this?

– I understand. But why do you wish to talk to me?

Since she was showing me goodwill for some reason, I tried to match her tone and escape the situation.

It would be impossible to pry out information. A single slip of the tongue could lead not just to the army, but to a mountain flying straight at the academy.

– As a mother, would I need a reason to talk with a boy my daughter has an interest in?

– I see.

Perhaps I shouldn’t have asked. Not being able to see her expression heightened my anxiety. There would be no way to recognize a mistake if I made one.

– Then, first, I would like to ask this. What do you think of my daughter?

About Ho-yeon.

…To be honest, I was starting to think of her as a one-person escape pod I could use if everything went wrong.

Of course, the biggest reason was for a happy ending.

Ho-yeon hinted at the danger of twisting the narrative by simply existing.

I was considering her as a trump card to eliminate elements that might disrupt the narrative, and if I got lucky, I might even skip the invasion event in the second part altogether.

But I had no way of knowing if that would actually lead to a happy ending. The author never stated that we would get a happy ending if there was no invasion.

I was just blindly believing the vague information that pursuing all the heroines would lead to a happy ending.

The only things I possessed were my knowledge of the original work and a decently fit body, but I wasn’t confident that those two alone would suffice.

So perhaps I was viewing Ho-yeon as my escape route.

…I pondered if I could fool Byeolbi, but I couldn’t write that I was thinking of her daughter as a lifeboat.

– I believe she is a precious friend I made when I first came to the academy.

So I crafted a plausible lie.

– A friend. You say the same as my daughter. Then, as a woman, how do you perceive my daughter?

It was both a relief and a misfortune that she didn’t seem to have the ability to read the thoughts of others. She likely knew because she understood Hangul, yet chose to let it slide.

However, the sentence she wrote next froze me once again.

As a woman?

What on earth was she talking about?

– I see you committed quite the daring act in the locker room. How wonderful it would have been if he had been as proactive as you.

…She was watching. I couldn’t help but let out a sigh.

– How were you watching? I dare to ask. Despite the divine power enveloping the continent, how could you see anything?

I knew that even if I figured it out, I couldn’t stop her from watching me, nor would it change my fate of being beaten to death by Jeongho when he finds my diary.

– There’s a suitable medium lying next to you. I know about the events occurring around that child. You speak of friends so casually.

She must have been watching and listening through Ho-yeon. Another question was answered.

– By any chance, is this your daughter’s diary?

– Indeed.

…How overwhelming it was already just by one thing I had done to Ho-yeon, but here I was, unknowingly opening Pandora’s box.

– Can I say to my husband that I beg for a merciful end?

I thought Ho-yeon only had letters to contact her parents, but it turned out there was a diary that allowed real-time communication.

On top of that, Byeolbi was monitoring Ho-yeon in real time.

I couldn’t help but crack a dry smile.

– Do not worry, Aida. He knows nothing at all.

If Jeongho knows nothing, then the army won’t come, and I won’t die the moment I meet him.

Just as soon as I felt relief and gratitude, the grim realization that if I stayed close to her, I would eventually have to meet him struck me.

Jeongho would take terrible care of his own, so it goes without saying that family would be no different.

So eventually, he would definitely call for his daughter to see her.

But if there happened to be an unknown dog bone there, the next situation would be painfully obvious.

– And whatever you do to Ho-yeon, as long as it doesn’t endanger her life, I won’t stop you.

…Excuse me? Weren’t you worried about her?

– Weren’t you cherishing your daughter?

I wrote in a daze, bewildered. Just a moment ago, it seemed she valued her daughter, but now she said it was okay as long as I didn’t kill her?

– Of course, I cherish her. If she asks me, I would bring about the end of the world. But I do not wish for her answer to change because of me.

An answer? What was she talking about? I wanted to ask but was suddenly overwhelmed by a strong intuition that I shouldn’t.

– The course of action will depend on the answer she presents after seeing the world. You know what I mean. Act wisely.

It was a threat disguised as approval to do whatever I wanted. There was no need to ask about what I was to decide.

It was likely the future of this world or the future of humanity.

After that sentence, nothing more was written, so I quietly closed the diary and returned it to its original place.

…To summarize the information.

Ho-yeon has a direct means of contacting her parents, and her mother is always monitoring her, and if Ho-yeon wishes, this world could meet its end.

Could I really do well? My confidence dwindled.

“…Ugh.”

Just my luck, Ho-yeon woke up.

The shock of meeting Byeolbi hadn’t even worn off yet, and now I felt crushed thinking she was still watching me.

“Why are you here…?”

“Uh? Why am I here…?”

I honestly hadn’t even prepared a decent excuse yet and planned to just go with the flow, but it seemed like she had forgotten everything.

“Did you forget what happened?”

If she really had forgotten, at least this messy thought process wouldn’t get more convoluted.

“…You didn’t do anything strange, did you?!”

The way she suddenly wrapped herself in blankets and uttered nonsensical words made me think she truly had forgotten.

“…I swear, I would never do such a thing. Friends don’t do those kinds of things.”

I waved my hands, conveying that whatever she was thinking, that was not the case.

“Right…?”

The fact that she had initially doubted me and then accepted it on her own felt unfair, yet knowing who was behind her made it hard to interact as before.

“…More importantly, how did you get into my room?”

Ah.

How on earth do I explain this? If I tell her what happened, she would probably remember and question me about what I had done.

Yet staying silent would also raise suspicions.

“The door… was open.”

In the end, I had no choice but to go with such a trivial excuse. Surely, there was a better way, but with my current state of mind, this was my limit.

Seeing her stare at me in silence suggested I hadn’t conveyed anything.

Maybe I was too lackluster.

However, she unexpectedly said something.

“Then, let’s go for lunch.”

“Lunch…?”

So it wasn’t that she was silently interrogating me.

In the midst of it all, words suddenly flashed through my mind.

Door, open, mealtime.

Ah, she had woken me up for dinner that first night.

“…Is that what you came for?”

She must have thought I meant to wake her up to eat together just like she did.

“Ah, right. Let’s go have lunch together.”

I didn’t want to unintentionally create more misunderstandings. Leaving the now sleep-drained her behind, I stepped out first.

She followed silently behind me, so we headed straight to the cafeteria.

…What should I do from here on out?

I felt crushed under the weight of worrying about the future and about her.

Certainly, it was not due to Byeolbi, yet I tried to comfort myself.