Don't Ask, It'll Hurt If You Know - Chapter 13
Her pink hair, uncombed and spread out in all directions, and her slightly faded dress. A youthful, innocent appearance as if she had just completed her coming-of-age ceremony.
It was the strange woman Chloe had met back in Rumonie, the one who had begged her to help her get closer to Ian.
Why was she reflected in the window? Chloe rubbed her eyes and checked again, but the woman in the reflection remained the same.
When Chloe raised her hand, the woman did the same. When Chloe tilted her head, the woman followed suit.
“Impossible.”
It was as if…… I’ve become this woman.
“Is this a dream?”
Yeah. It must be a dream. There’s no way something this nonsensical could happen. Chloe pinched her cheek hard, hoping to wake up.
But all she felt was a dull pain, and the absurdity didn’t go away.
Then…… is this reality?
Did I really become this woman?
“What is this……?”
Shocked as if hit hard on the back of her head with a large hammer, Chloe blankly stared at the reflection of the woman in the window.
“What are you doing here?”
It wasn’t until someone grabbed her arm roughly that Chloe snapped back to her senses. Frowning, she turned to face the person.
The woman who locked eyes with her flinched at the intense gaze but soon scowled, as if nothing had happened, and spoke irritably.
“I told you clearly not to wander around outside carelessly if I’m to avoid being a nuisance to the madam and the young miss, didn’t I?”
From the clothes she wore and the way she spoke, it was clear this woman was a servant of the estate.
The pink-haired woman must have been a lady who this servant was meant to serve respectfully. Yet she behaved so arrogantly. Even if the lady wasn’t her direct superior, it was unthinkable for a mere servant to act so insolently toward a noble.
“Come on, hurry up and go back to your room. If the madam catches us, it’ll be us who get in trouble……!”
“What’s my name?”
As the servant tried to push her away, Chloe grabbed the woman’s arm firmly and asked. The servant, clearly startled, widened her eyes and froze.
“I asked what my name is.”
Chloe wanted to scold the servant for being disrespectful toward her, the one she should be serving, but it seemed more important to assess the situation, so she asked for her name first.
The servant, finally regaining her composure, gave Chloe a puzzled look, but answered obediently.
“Bianca Lloyd.”
Bianca. In ancient language, it meant ‘white’, ‘pure’, ‘a clean person’.
After the events in Rumonie, Chloe learned the strange woman’s name just a few days later and thought that the name didn’t suit her at all.
* * *
Wouldn’t everything return to normal with time?
Maybe if she woke up after sleeping, it would all change.
Chloe tried denying reality and attempted various things, but in the end, she had no choice but to accept it.
The fact that she had become Bianca Lloyd.
“Is this the transmigration thing I’ve only seen in novels?”
Chloe muttered to herself, staring at Bianca’s reflection in the mirror. Her hair and skin were dry from lack of care. She was wearing what seemed to be clothes she had outgrown as a child, with sleeves too short.
She had thought it strange when she wore the old dress and ridiculous makeup in Rumonie, but Bianca’s position in the Lloyd family was very limited.
“Well, of course, it’s like that.”
Her stepmother and stepsister had completely taken over the estate.
Bianca’s only ally, her father, Master Lloyd, often went away for work on the ships, so he was hardly any help at home.
Bianca’s timid nature was another reason for her lack of standing.
After asking the servant who had told her Bianca’s name, Chloe learned that Bianca was the type to endure torment without saying a word, always silently suffering.
“It’s just like scenes from novels.”
Like when the female protagonist, after dying in an accident, possesses the body of some poor noble lady and then seeks revenge on those who tormented her, eventually marrying a handsome man…….
“Wait. Did I die?”
That means…… I died?
So, I possessed this body?
Chloe’s face turned pale as she reached an unexpected conclusion. Bianca’s already pale face looked even paler, giving her the appearance of a dead person.
“I need to check this right now.”
Whether I’m dead or not!
Without hesitation, Chloe quickly left the room, her dress swirling behind her.
“Hey!”
She spotted a servant passing by in the hallway and called out to him. However, even though the servant clearly heard her, he ignored her and continued down the stairs.
Had it been the usual timid Bianca, she might have sighed and let it go, but Chloe wasn’t Bianca. She took off her shoes and threw them at the servant.
Thud—
“Ah!”
The slipper struck the servant squarely on the back of his head. The impact seemed substantial, as the servant wrapped his hands around his head, wincing in pain.
“What is this……!”
“That’s what I want to ask.”
Chloe quickly stepped forward, crossing her arms and looking up at the servant.
“How dare you ignore your mistress when called? You don’t want to work here anymore, do you?”
The servant, taken aback by the unusual behavior of the young lady, quickly looked around nervously.
