"After all that cursing, why the long face?"

"Shut up. I’m not in the mood to talk…"

"I’m just saying it because it’s uncomfortable for me too. Did you forget we share the same body? I might not feel your emotions, but I do feel your physical sensations."

I wish it would just shut up.

Orca resisted the urge to smack her own body, as the parasite occupying her mouth taunted her. If she hit herself, the parasite would feel pain, but so would she.

No matter how much she wanted to hurt it, the backlash of that action would come straight back to her. So, as much as she despised it, she couldn’t strike.

While she silently fumed, the parasite’s voice slithered back into her ears.

"By the way, I’ve been watching, and… why are you just lying there?"

"What’s your problem now? Why are you picking a fight?"

"I’m not. Just wondering why you don’t go looking for her. It’s not like she hates you."

"…What?"

Orca’s anger flared at the smug tone, as if the parasite was speaking to an idiot. But just as her fury reached its peak, something the parasite said left her stunned.

"You don’t have proof, but you have a feeling, don’t you? You know better than anyone that she’s pushing you away on purpose."

"What are you talking about?"

"…You seriously didn’t notice? She’s been deliberately provoking you."

"What?"

The moment those words left the parasite’s mouth, Orca slammed her head against the wall.

"Ouch! What the hell are you doing?!"

"…Explain that statement. Or things are about to get a lot more painful for you."

She stared at herself in the mirror. Blood trickled from her forehead, and the pain throbbed in time with her heartbeat, but that was irrelevant. What mattered now was confirming the truth behind what the parasite had said.

That was the only thing that mattered.

"You don’t have to threaten me; I’ll tell you."

"Then get to it. Now."

"So impatient. …It’s nothing complicated. Unlike everyone else, you have a way to figure out the counselor’s true intentions, don’t you?"

"And what’s that?! If I knew, I wouldn’t be asking! Hurry up and tell me!"

Orca was on the verge of bashing her head against the wall again, but the parasite’s next words stopped her.

"That incense."

"…Incense?"

"Yeah, the one you’re smelling right now. I overheard before that it’s supposed to subdue demons."

"So what?"

"You really don’t get it? You’re listening to me talk just fine right now, aren’t you?"

"…Huh?"

"That stuff’s fake, you idiot."

…Fake? This?

Orca stared blankly at the incense burning by her bedside, holding it in her hand.

"But… ever since I started using this, you haven’t tried to take control of my body…"

"Oh, that? …Ha, do I really have to explain this?"

The parasite, Hazed, hesitated briefly, as if contemplating whether to reveal the truth. But it didn’t take long for it to decide.

It wasn’t out of kindness or any deeper motive—it was just amusing to mess with Orca.

And besides, it would feel good to expose the truth about the counselor, who had cursed him with this contract.

"I don’t like admitting this, but I lost."

"Lost? What do you mean?"

"Don’t make me repeat myself. I lost a bet to your counselor."

Orca’s gaze remained fixed on the familiar smoke rising from the incense, but her mind was entirely focused on what Hazed was saying.

The pain in her forehead, the blood dripping into her eyes—it all faded into the background.

"I haven’t tried to take control of your body because I can’t. I told you I lost, right? The counselor claimed their reward as the winner: no more evil deeds. But here’s the weird part."

"What’s weird?"

"I was already starting to think that good deeds were better than evil ones before I even made the bet. …So yeah, it’s true. The counselor has the power of hypnosis."

So, the counselor really does have that power.

Just as Orca was about to lower her head in shame, Hazed’s voice stopped her once again.

"It’s true that the counselor used hypnosis on you. But have you ever considered that the content of the hypnosis might not be what you think?"

"What do you mean?"

"If she really hated you, there wouldn’t be any need for all this. She could’ve just hypnotized you and disappeared."

Lies.

Hazed claimed that the counselor had lied to her.

But what could that mean?

Normally, Orca would brush off anything difficult as a hassle, but now her mind was racing at a pace that startled her.

"…"

The counselor had used hypnosis on her, and it was clear that she had lied multiple times.

But those lies were not what Orca had thought. The counselor was deliberately pushing her away.

As soon as she realized that, it felt like a lightning bolt struck her brain.

"Shit…"

She didn’t want to believe it, but no matter how she looked at it, there was only one answer.

"The hypnosis… it was to help me sleep?"

"Probably. There’s probably more too. Like helping you study better. You’ve been doing pretty well in class lately, haven’t you? You’re not usually that kind of person."

"…"

She wanted to dismiss that as too trivial to be the result of hypnosis.

But she couldn’t. No matter how hard she tried to rationalize it, she couldn’t deny the truth.

It didn’t take much thinking to realize that the counselor had noticed her sleep deprivation and had taken measures to help her rest better.

It was all just to help her sleep.

Orca slammed her head into the wall again.

How could I have missed something so obvious?

"Owwww! Why are you hitting the wall again after I just explained everything?!"

"Haaaa…"

This is driving me crazy.

If what she just realized was true, then that made her the worst kind of trash.

The person who had secretly been helping her, who she had unknowingly driven away with cruel words…

What had she said back then? Something about killing them if they didn’t get out of her sight immediately?

Orca covered her face with her hands and looked up at the ceiling in a daze.

If she could go back in time, she would beat her past self to death.

"You couldn’t find them?"

"No, Your Highness. The lack of information makes it incredibly difficult to track them down."

"That’s… no, I understand. Keep looking, and report back if you find anything."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Stella held herself back from yelling at the knight who bowed before her.

She wanted to scream, How can you not find something so simple?!

But she knew that losing her temper would only demotivate them, and they would take even longer. So, she bit her tongue and forced herself to respond calmly.

"Haa…"

But even so, she couldn’t hide her frustration.

It had only been a few days since she and Leo had started searching for the counselor after seeing his efforts.

It was only natural that they hadn’t made any progress yet. Still, the lack of results made Stella anxious.

"…What in the world are you doing, Ophelia?"

The reason was simple.

…Stella realized she knew almost nothing about Ophelia.

Her exact age, her birthplace, her family—none of it.

To narrow down the search, they needed more specific information.

But all they had were vague facts that anyone could know.

"What kind of crown princess am I, damn it."

To be honest, Stella hadn’t expected the search to be this hard.

After all, she was the crown princess.

She was destined to be the highest-ranking person in the empire once her father passed away, which was expected to happen soon.

But despite her lofty position…

Despite having the power to command anything in the kingdom with a single word, she couldn’t even find one person.

Stella clicked her tongue in frustration.

"Stop! Who are you? This is the residence of Her Highness the Princess—"

"Move aside. I have business with someone inside."

"How dare you!"

How can I find the counselor?

As that question echoed in her mind, she suddenly heard a commotion outside the door, accompanied by a familiar voice.

"What’s going on?"

"I apologize, Your Highness! It seems an uninvited guest has arrived. We’ll deal with them immediately."

"An uninvited guest?"

"Yes. They insisted on seeing Your Highness. A strange individual with black hair and white specks in it."

"Let them in."

"Excuse me?"

"Don’t make me repeat myself."

"…Yes, Your Highness!"

Black hair with white specks.

There was only one person Stella knew who fit that description.

It had to be Orca.

It was the first time that Orca had come to her directly.

…Whatever the reason, Stella decided to let her in.

After all, they were still friends.

"Looks like you're living the good life, huh? Even got some annoying guards around."

"That’s what happens when you’re the crown princess."

"Yeah, yeah. Neither of us likes small talk, so I’ll get straight to the point. I need your help finding Ophelia."

Without bothering to hide the blood dripping from her forehead, Orca made her demand.

She asked Stella to help her find the counselor.