Excluding the fact that I was smeared with dirt while she was perfectly clean and flawless in appearance, we both harbored the same face.
‘How can that even be possible?’
Do doppelgangers even exist in this world? No, perhaps I was hallucinating right now? I rubbed my eyes and raised my face to view her appearance once more.
Nevertheless, no matter how much I scrutinized the woman, she seemed indistinguishable from me. The reality of the difference between ‘same’ and ‘similar’ sent cold shivers through my spine.
“Y-you, who are you…?”
As I stuttered in a quivering voice, she bent her knees and stared straight into my eyes. The young woman replied with a wide smile, one that reminded me of a fresh spring flower.
“My name is Serrine Latni.”
Serrine Latni? That somehow feels like a familiar name…
As I fumbled through my memory, she carefully scanned my face, as though she were reconfirming something.
Soon she addressed me, her eyes glimmering with satisfaction.
“Eishan, you.”
Contrary to the pretty smile built on her face, a sharp voice penetrated my ears.
Unlike her widely-curved lips, bizarrely, her eyes were void of emotion.
“In the future, you should live as Serrine Latni of the Tekkenen Empire in my stead.”
I remembered.
In this devastating novel, there existed Serrine Latni, a wicked, unmerciful woman who eventually faced a miserable death.
‘Why do I have the same face as the antagonist Serrine…’
More so, what did she mean I had to live as Serrine? What kind of laughable nonsense was this?
I shook my head from side to side to organize my complicated thoughts and opened my mouth.
“What nonsense are you talking about… More than that, our faces…”
“Yes, it is indeed surprising to hear something like this all of a sudden. I fully understand.”
I’ve read many descriptions regarding her appearance in the novel.
But I never thought her face would be the same as mine.
Silver hair and blue eyes. I simply thought I was born pretty!
When I failed to operate and remained lost, Serrine grabbed my hands and slowly raised me upwards.
She pulled the thick shawl she was wearing and wrapped it around my scrawny shoulders.
“Since we have a lot of time, why don’t we chat for a while? It’s cold here… Let’s head to the warm carriage I arrived in.”
I faced the area Serrine’s finger was pointing towards to witness a wagon assembled of gold. It was the most expensive carriage I ever witnessed in my life.
‘I’d believe it if the Imperial family also used the same one…’
No, right now was not time to pay attention to the carriage!
“How on earth are those two…”
When I motioned to the two men who flew to the wall and asked hesitantly, Serrine silently placed something warm on my hand.
“Let’s head inside first.”
The smell that tickled one’s nose without even having to face its origin, this⋯ This is a freshly baked dumpling. Steam blew to my face, and the attractive, pleasant scent pierced my nose mercilessly.
“Let’s speak as you eat. If you’re thirsty, there is also water in the carriage.”
My stomach growled. I didn’t notice until now, but the moment I caught sight of the dumpling, my body suddenly felt dizzy.
“Are you giving this to me?”
Once I took a bite of the dumpling, I faced her and asked so. There was no such thing as conducting business when it came to food. The moment I witnessed the dumpling, formal speech immediately left my mouth*. In turn, Serrine replied with a bright smile, one opposite of a wicked woman’s evil grin.
*TL/N: Korean consists of formal and informal speech. Normally, when you are speaking to someone you don’t know or is older than you, has a higher hierarchy, etc., you use formal speech. For informal speech, you mainly use this with friends, siblings. Principally people you are on the same terms with.
“Of course, I brought it for you, Eishan. There are more in the carriage.”
There was no other option. I was starving, and if my body didn’t consume anything at this point, I’d faint. I didn’t wish to abide with a wicked woman, but my death would be practical if I remained here until dawn.
‘I’ll die anyway, whether it’s this way or that. Let’s eat before that happens.’
As I nodded in confirmation, Serrine supported my arm.
‘Was she the same Serrine in the novel?’
Now that my memory was fading, I only briefly recalled her as a wicked woman who poured hot water on the heroine, was heartless to her own family, and flirted with all men in the novel.
Was she this kind and nice?
It was as I trotted out the warehouse by virtue of her help. She stopped walking, turned around, and faced the man accompanying her while uttering words colder than the winter breeze.
“Pulverize them without a trace.”
Right… That is who Serrine was. That’s right. I’ll have to be careful.
After we left the warehouse and reached the carriage, Serrine gently reached out her hand. When I tilted my head to indicate my misconception of her actions, she kindly explained.
“A young lady tends to be escorted for her dress to remain tidy and without wrinkles, Eishan.”
“It’s fine for me though.”
The carriage wasn’t even that high. What did she mean my dress would become ruined? I’m not even wearing a dress, to begin with.
As I spread my legs and hopped inside, Serrine smiled brightly, conveying her amusement. She held the hand of the coachman standing beside the wagon and entered gracefully.
“You’re very cool, Eishan. However, young ladies do not behave that way, so in the future, it would be helpful to learn how to receive someone’s escort.”
Learning how to receive someone’s escort for the future? Doesn’t that suggest I’ll have another chance to ride a carriage?
There were a few suspicions of mine, but I’ll set them aside first. We sat facing each other.
“First, eat slowly and listen to me.”
As I looked around the inside of the carriage, Serrine handed me an oversized dumpling and a cup of water.
My stomach growled. As soon as I spotted the thick bag, I couldn’t afford to think. I hurriedly shoved the dumpling in my mouth as if I were nothing more than a slave to food.
Having this be my first time in a few days to touch food caused tears to swell in my eyes.
Serrine, who continued watching as the overflowing emotions swelled over my face, calmly opened her mouth only after the speed of my eating slowed significantly.
“Perhaps I will die soon.”
“Cough!”
The dumpling I was consuming caught in my throat due to the shocking words that entered my ears. She stood still and calmly awaited for my cough to cease.
After I wiped the tears from my eyes and gazed at her with suspicious eyes, Serrine laughed.
“You don’t have to seem so wary. It is true. I was poisoned, and if I am not able to succeed in detoxifying the venom properly, I’ll only have six months to a year at the longest.”
Serrine remained calm throughout. It almost seemed as though she were talking about someone else. Or was I dumb enough to mistake she was talking about herself for a moment?
‘She was poisoned?’
I don’t recall such content from the original. Was Serrine poisoned?
It has been so long since I read the novel that I don’t remember the contents properly.
As I dug deeper in my memory, Serrine crossed her legs and shifted her eyes to stare out the window. She had the same face as me, but our atmospheres entirely contradicted.
That luxurious atmosphere and complex expression that conveyed sadness all proved her noble line.
Even in the face of her death, she was not afraid, let alone making a fuss.
Can people be so different depending on the environment in which they have lived?
“…That is why I desperately searched for you, Eishan.”
It was then that I recalled the nonsensical words she previously uttered.
‘You’re crazy, crazy. You can’t sell your life for dumplings, Eishan.’
“I don’t know how much this will be worth… but I will spend the rest of the year to compensate for the amount. I want to run away from everything now.”
There stood a slight change in Serrine’s calm tone thus far. Genuine annoyance was plastered on her face, which crumpled like paper.
“That is why I so hopelessly need you.”
“…Me?”
“Yes, you.”
Serine stood and moved next to my side. The fresh fragrance of spring flowers exuded from her body.
She adjusted my hair to confirm my face once more and smiled delightfully.
“As I said earlier, you should become Serrine Latni in my stead.”
Her shining blue eyes sparkled with joy that longed for freedom.
“P-please hold on. I am not you! It’s too much to be you, and in the first place, you are…”
You are the villain who faced the most tragic death in this novel!
As I bit my lips to swallow the words that threatened to spill out, Serrine calmly tilted her head to the side.
“It won’t take too long. The probability of success amidst the detoxification treatment is very slim. If my life span is short, I’ll die in six months. You just have to pretend to be me throughout that period.”
Don’t speak as if this matter was as simple as eating dumplings.
“If I die and appear as a corpse, you just have to return to being Eishan. It’s a rather simple story, isn’t it?”
Just where is ‘simple’ in this?
I looked at her with a ridiculous expression on my face, but Serrine remained calm.
“Of course, your family…”
“They won’t recognize you. You and I are identical in appearance.”
Serrine cut me off as she raised one corner of her mouth confidently.
Following that, she placed forth something thick and chunky on my lap. The jingling sound was very familiar.
“…This.”
My eyes shook before the sack filled with money on my very own lap.
“That is a down payment. You didn’t mean to work without pay, did you?”
She beamed before me.
Look at that capitalist smile.
With trembling hands, I untied the strings of the sack. It was so bright and dazzling. It’ll be hard for me to face these coins properly.
“I’m going to die anyway, so you can do whatever you wish while living as Serrine.”
Serrine continued her words, sweeping each piece of jewelry over her body.
“You may consume all the money in the mansion and use my power and honor. If you want, sleep with a different man every night.”
Serrine whispered little by little in my ear. It was a sweet temptation, like that of a devil’s.
“A colder winter will approach soon. If you live as Serrine… you wouldn’t remain a slave; you would sleep on a soft bed in a warm mansion and eat three meals a day, including dessert.”
She stroked my starving stomach with a tempting smile.
“Perhaps you’ll become rather worried whether you’ve gained too much weight.”
This, this girl. She has enough talent to work as a sales manager.
My brain immediately started calculating.
Then, as if she had noticed my slight consideration, Serrine whispered temptingly once again.
“Moreover, would that be all? I will pay you back for helping me stay free in the end.”
Serrine stretched her finger and pointed out the window. As I moved my eyes along with her fingers, I perceived a man moving about the warehouse.
“He is my friend. On the day I die and return to the mansion as a corpse, he will present you with a huge sum of money, including a large mansion in the Tekkenen Empire. Of course, he will give you enough so you are able to eat and play for the rest of your life.”
My brain shouted a profitable business contract was to be made.