While I was seriously worrying about my future, the surrounding scenery changed.

 

This time, it was the hallway of the mansion.

 

There were maids standing around Lucy, each doing their own work.

 

“Isn’t Miss Lucy too mean?”

 

“Yes. I can’t believe she’s the daughter of a noble family.”

 

“It must be because she has lowly blood in her veins.”

 

“Well, her mother was a slacker on the street, so how could her child be any different?”

 

I could hear them muttering as vividly as if they were talking right next to me.

 

What is this?

 

Lucy wasn’t born to a noble family?

 

Then isn’t it normal for Lucy to be treated as an illegitimate child and have a separate child to carry on the family line?

 

The noble families in my original world seem to imply that.

 

While I was wondering, the surrounding scenery changed.

 

The scenery that unfolded this time was one that I had often encountered.

 

In front of the door of the office where Benedict always stayed.

 

The door slid open on its own without me having to open it, revealing the inside of the office.

 

The scenery inside was so bleak.

 

The documents that were always overflowing.

 

The study that filled one corner of the room.

 

Benedict sitting in the middle, everything was the same.

 

I felt a coldness in the office that always had an inexplicable warmth.

 

“Lucy.”

 

Benedict’s voice, which had been filled with affection, was strangely cold.

 

The moment I raised my head because it was strange, I could see the hateful gaze directed at me.

 

“I hate you.”

 

Suddenly, the words that Benedict would never say came out of his mouth.

 

There was no way that, that foolish father would say something like that.

 

He was a fool who would shout that he loved Lucy even at the moment he died by her sword.

 

I don’t know for sure, but it was clear that not everything in this nightmare happened in reality.

 

So, could it be possible that the fact that I was openly cursed at in the social gathering just now or that I heard the maids gossiping was just part of the nightmare?

 

I really hope so.

 

There must have been something similar.

 

Considering what Lucy did and her reputation, it’s only natural that there would be gossip.

 

However, it was probably milder than what I saw.

 

At least, he would have tried to keep Lucy from hearing it.

 

He had to, to keep his child sane.

 

If all this was true, my future would be too bleak.

 

“You’re a worthless kid. The only thing you can do is bully others.”

 

Benedict’s cold voice brought me back to reality.

 

“Not sports. Not studying. Not manners. Not magic. You can’t do anything. You’re a disgrace to the Allen family.”

 

You know how to drive home the truth.

 

If you had told Lucy that before I possessed her, she would have died.

 

Unfortunately, I’m Lucy, but I’m not Lucy.

 

No matter what you say, it won’t hurt me.

 

As I stood there with an indifferent expression, Benedict got up from his seat and stood in front of me.

 

Benedict’s huge body cast a shadow over my face

 

“Don’t you feel sorry for your mother who sacrificed herself for the likes of you?”

 

With those words, the documents lying around fluttered and blocked my vision.

 

Then, when all the documents melted away like snow, I was standing somewhere else.

 

This time, the scenery that unfolded was one of the bedrooms of the Allen House.

 

“Lucy.”

 

I was standing next to the bed, and when I heard a woman’s voice, I lowered my head.

 

There was a woman wearing a cotton robe lying there.

 

The woman, who seemed to be in poor health and was breathing hard, looked at my face and spoke in a small voice as if crawling out.

 

“Lucy. I regret giving birth to you.”

 

Was this person Lucy’s mother?

 

Still, she speaks normally.

 

I had thought that Lucy’s Mesugaki speech was hereditary, but it seems that wasn’t the case.

 

Then how on earth did Lucy become a Mesugaki

 

Was she just born that way?

 

I imagined a baby crying and calling her dad a sloppy papa instead of papa.

 

It was horrible.

 

If there really was such a baby, shouldn’t we call it demon and have it exorcised?

 

“From the moment I held you in my arms, I’ve never been happy. If only I hadn’t had you, I would have lived a better life.”

 

Lucy’s mother coughed, interrupting her words of resentment.

 

Since the blame and resentment weren’t directed at me, I didn’t care.

 

But strangely, tears flowed from my eyes.

 

As I continued to wipe away the tears that kept flowing down, I came up with one hypothesis.

 

It’s just a guess, but isn’t this nightmare simply showing what Lucy fears the most?

 

Lucy was afraid of being rejected by the mother who gave birth to her.

 

She was afraid of being hated by Benedict, who loved her.

 

She was actually terrified of being criticised by those around her.

 

She was shedding tears inside while being insulted by other nobles.

 

It was a boring story.

 

The arrogant and presumptuous Mesugaki was most afraid of others criticising her

 

Isn’t that such a common and obvious twist.

 

That’s it.

 

If this child had grown up in a different environment, would she have grown up to be such a bad person?

 

Well, it could have been.

 

The possibility would have been very low, but it’s not impossible that Lucy would have reformed and become a good person.

 

However, it was meaningless now.

 

Now that I had taken her body.

 

“Lucy, I resent you. You were the nightmare of my life.”

 

I see the thin hand holding my hand.

 

I see the tears falling down.

 

It’s true that I took Lucy’s place, even if it wasn’t intentional.

 

So now I have to take Lucy’s place.

 

If only to pass the test.

 

Did Lucy’s mother truly hate Lucy?

 

No.

 

If she had, she wouldn’t have appeared in Lucy’s nightmare.

 

Considering Benedict’s daughter-foolish nature, this person would have been even worse.

 

There’s a reason why they say birds of a feather flock together.

 

Lucy’s mother must have been someone who worried about her daughter’s future until the moment she died.

 

I don’t know what Lucy’s real mother was like, but I want to believe that.

 

I’ve never had a mother, but that’s the kind of person I imagine my mother to be.

 

Okay.

 

Let’s imagine that Lucy’s mother was a fool for her daughter like Benedict, and imagine what she said.

 

Let’s say she worried about the daughter she would leave behind after she died.

 

Then how would Lucy have responded?

 

As I imagined her, a question occurred to me.

 

Was Lucy a Mesugaki back then?

 

This is a bit important.

 

If Lucy had been a Mesugaki since birth, wouldn’t she have called her a foolish mother in this situation as well?

 

I have a feeling that she would have been, but let’s say she was fine this time.

 

I don’t think it’s right to say things like “foolish, weak, and sloppy” to a sickly mother.

 

As a young man who was born and raised in the Republic of Korea, I can’t allow that kind of scene!

 

I’ve never even talked to my parents who gave birth to me, but I’ve imagined it a lot.

 

People who don’t know this kind of thing are the ones who know better.

 

Just as romance novels are fun when written by someone who has never been in a relationship, wouldn’t embarrassing words toward parents be cool when thought up by someone who doesn’t have parents?

 

“Thank you for giving birth to me. I will always love you too. Mother.”

 

Huh?

 

Why isn’t the filter working?

 

As soon as I finished answering, my vision darkened and I returned to the temple.

 

In front of me was a mace that was shining brilliantly.

 

“It’s amazing even in a test of patience, you gave the best answer without a single movement.”

 

“I passed the test, right?”

 

”..”

 

“Grandpa, tell me whether I passed the test or not.”

 

“Yes, you passed the test I prepared with flying colours. You have earned the right to hold my mace, and at the same time, you will inherit the blessing I had in the past, the Mercy of Armadi. This means…”

 

‘Then open the door that leads back.’

 

“It’s noisy so open the door. I feel like I’m going to collapse.”

 

I said to the old man as if arguing with him while wiping away the tears flowing down my eyes.

 

I’m about to collapse right now.

 

If I collapse, I have to collapse outside so that someone can pick me up.

 

Open the door.

 

Anyways Grandpa, I know everything about the mace and skills you gave me.

 

Maybe I know better than you.

 

So stop giving me useless explanations and just open the door.

 

Grandpa let out a hollow laugh after feeling annoyed by me.

 

“Okay, you cheeky girl. Pick up the mace.”

 

The moment I picked up the mace as he told me, it changed its size to fit my body.

 

As expected, it was an endgame grade item.

 

It had this function, too.

 

“We’ll meet again later.”

 

Huh?

 

Who?

 

Me and you?

 

What are you talking about?

 

“Miss?”

 

When I came to my senses, I was standing in front of the stone statue.

 

In front of the old and shabby statue of Ruel.

 

“Miss.”

 

I turned my head at Karl’s voice.

 

He was looking at me as if he was wondering

 

“Didn’t you have business with this statue?”

 

‘Karl.’

 

“Hey, slacker. Didn’t I go inside?”

 

“Huh? Going in? What do you mean?”

 

You don’t know anything?

 

Why?

 

Did I have some kind of hallucination?

 

Now that I think about it, my body feels fine.

 

Just a moment ago, there really wasn’t a single spot that didn’t hurt.

 

My mind kept fading in and out, so I was sure I would collapse soon.

 

But why am I feeling fine?

 

I wondered if I was dreaming, so I pinched my cheek with all my might.

 

“Ouch!”

 

It hurt so badly.

 

This wasn’t a dream.

 

Then what the heck was this?

 

Just when I was seriously thinking that I might be going crazy, I noticed that the weight of the mace in my hand was different than usual.

 

It was definitely different.

 

How could I have mistaken the weight of the mace I’d been carrying around for the past two weeks?

 

When I lowered my gaze, I could see that the shape of the mace in my hand had changed.

 

The whole handle and the body made of mithril that shone brilliantly.

 

The head was heavy and sharp, and it looked like it would crush everything if I struck down on it.

 

And the symbol of the church engraved on the head.

 

This is Ruel’s Mace

 

I carefully touched the head of the blunt weapon and felt the cold metal.

 

“Huh? Miss, what is that mace?”

 

‘Karl, I think I’ve already been through the trials.’

 

“Sloppy, I think I’ve already been through enough hardships.”

 

After that, I came up from the lowest level and met Possell who was running wild while destroying the dungeon floors.

 

Even though Evans’ dungeon was a medium-sized dungeon, it was possible to break through it in a straight line like that.

 

In the game, it was something that was blocked by the system, but now that it’s real, such an unusual behaviour is possible.

 

As soon as Possell saw me, he pushed his face covered in dirt toward me and asked if I was okay.

 

Although his fierce face was quite burdensome, I tried my best to smile and nodded.

 

“I’m sorry! Miss! I was careless!”

 

‘It’s okay.’

 

“Stupid Possell, it’s burdensome, so why don’t you just stop?”

 

“No! This is all my fault.”

 

Instead of reprimanding me for stepping on a trap, Possell bowed his head several times and apologised to me.

 

It seemed as if he would have killed himself if something had happened to me.

 

I absolutely had to hide the fact that I had deliberately stepped on a trap.

 

If I didn’t, I would really get beaten up by Possell.

 

Possell was definitely stronger than the Minotaur I had met.

 

It was obvious what would happen if I got beaten up by Possell.

 

‘It’s okay, I don’t care.’

 

“Idiot Possell, I will forgive your petty mistake just this once.”

 

“Thank you so much!”

 

“Miss!”

 

“You are truly generous!”