episode_0019

10 years ago from now. When I was possessed.

The first thing I felt when I opened my eyes was the coolness of the floor.

-Bubibubibubib.

‘It’s cool… no, why am I lying down?’

There were two questions that came to mind about that sensation.

Why am I lying on this stone floor when I was just fiddling with my broken phone screen?

at the same time…

Why is Esti, who I have been waiting for so long for today, collapsed like this?

I blinked for a moment, then grabbed my hair in a daze.

What was caught was long, silver hair that swayed.

It’s a body part that has no connection to me as a man, but is very familiar to me as an Estee.

A cold sound came out.

“… … Huh?”

-dripping.

-Your Majesty, it’s time to go now.

“Huh? Huh? Okay, wait a minute. I’m just… … .”

‘What, what!!!? What the heck am I… Huh!!!?’

* * *

Without even a moment to recover from the shock, I followed the maids who were harassing me to the ballroom.

Today was the day of my 10th birthday ball, ‘Estie Noir d’Abruen’.

But fortunately, it was still a bit far to the ballroom.

Furthermore, my stride was shorter than mine when I was a 13-year-old boy.

While I was moving, I was able to sort out what had happened to me.

-Thump thump.

‘… … Ice cream?’

Abruen. The name of the empire that appears in the novel I, a man, was reading, ‘How to Survive a Witch’s Academy.’

And the name of the empire where I, a woman, Esti, was born.

That’s why I thought I was the first to do something called Bing.

As a man, I possessed the body of the 3rd princess who died on her 10th birthday in ‘The Witch’s Life’.

At the same time, my current self denied it.

‘No, is this what ice is like? It’s a bit strange.’

Because I still have the memories of living as ‘Estie’ and the values I built up over that time.

Rather, the man’s memories were even more blurry.

Like the female protagonist who often appears in romance novels and realizes memories of her past life.

Just looking at this, it doesn’t seem like it’s a bing…

It was difficult to conclude that it wasn’t just a coincidence.

-Sarak, sarak.

‘… Looking at the uncomfortable dress, it seems like it might be a coincidence?’

Estee liked the dress the best.

Because when I wear this, other people think I’m cute.

That’s why Estee wore dresses almost every day.

So comfortable that it’s more comfortable than any other clothes.

But, I was feeling a little uncomfortable in the dress right now.

She said that the feeling of her thighs brushing against her skirt every time she walked was ticklish and unfamiliar. She wanted to change into pants.

Feeling the discomfort from that, I quickly checked my own identity.

To check if I was Estee or if I was a man.

-Thump thump.

“Hmm, huhmm… ?”

Abama? Sister, brother? The best in the world.

Skirt? I don’t like it. It looks empty.

The fiancé I’ve been waiting for, the one I’m meeting for the first time today? Ugh. He’s not gay, what kind of man is he?

So do you like girls? No, I don’t really think about it when I think about my sisters naked.

… The conclusion I reached after a brief moment of deliberation was quite unsettling.

‘Is it about 40%…?’

My identity is mostly Estee, but I also feel that my identity as a man has a huge impact.

As for sexual identity, Estee has not yet fully established it, so it leans slightly towards the male side.

Like love for family, I felt like I was biased towards Estee because I was an orphan and didn’t know about it.

That is, I am neither the man I was when I was a boy nor the Estee I am.

It was something ambiguous.

‘What the heck is this… Eight, let’s get past the ball first and think about it again!!’

After thinking about it, I decided to spend the day as Estee.

I was thinking about it so seriously that my head started hurting…

——Because there was no time to think any more.

When I came to my senses, I was already in a ballroom.

-Growling.

-Your Highness, you are dressed up beautifully.

-Well, what kind of day is today? If I were you, I would have done the same thing.

-It’s exciting just to debut as a debutant, but it’s also the first time I’m meeting my fiancé.

-Be romantic~.

“Eh, eh…!?”

As soon as I entered the ballroom, the noble ladies surrounded me and pushed me to one side.

and,

“You, Estee… ?”

A boy with black hair and blue eyes standing at the end.

When I saw him with his eyes wide open…

I smiled, forgetting how flustered I had been earlier.

“…Louis!!”

‘Wow, by the way, my fiancé is Louis?! How is it that the male protagonist I was pushing is my fiancé?!’

Just thinking about his name made my heart feel warm.

Louis de Blasére. The only character who was kind to the female protagonist of ‘The Witch’s Tale’.

A hero I strongly supported as the male protagonist.

That is, it was the emotion that came from meeting my favorite person in person.

‘I’m going to break off the engagement because it’s embarrassing… but it’s nice to see you like this. Oh! So that’s what you look like? I’ll treat you like my younger sibling from now on!’

My smile, bursting with inner intimacy, eventually blossomed.

I heard later that it was the typical expression of a girl falling in love for the first time.

———However, my smile was soon shattered miserably.

“More, less… .”

“Huh?”

“It’s not ripe… … .”

“… … … !!!!!!?”

‘What the hell is this crazy guy talking about!!!!!?’

It was because of the words that Louis blurted out when he suddenly became sad.

I wasn’t the only one who was surprised, I could hear gasps from people around me.

-What, what…!!!?

-No, huh? What did I just hear?

-Undercooked? You must not have said that to your fiancée just now… .

“… … Ugh!!! Ah, no. This is… .”

Louis, who blurted out such a bombshell, waved his hand in thought, as if he was surprised.

And, in that appearance.

I couldn’t stand it anymore and screamed.

‘That bad kid who says such things is my favorite!!?’

“What are you talking about, this thing that looks like a rice cake———!!!!!”

“What, what the!!!!?”

Right after shouting.

The ball was a bust.

* * *

The next day, after the atmosphere of the ball was ruined.

The ball was held again in one day.

Well, it must be because of me.

​

That’s why I was getting dressed for lunch.

Since I was anxious because no one could pet me, I asked for some time and then went alone.

At the corner of my mouth as I put on the clothes…

Unlike yesterday, there was an evil smile on his face.

-Hehehehe.

‘I finished cleaning up after eating cookies at night. Haha.’

The third princess died on her 10th birthday, sparking a war for succession within the royal family and spreading chaos throughout the empire.

But I was still alive and well after my birthday.

I guess it was probably something that happened to me, like a possession or something.

And what that means is…

That I am special in this world.

My actions could have distorted the original story, or in other words, its fate.

‘From today onwards, I will be the mastermind…!!!’

So, since it has come to this, I decided to become the mastermind.

Since the identity is ambiguous anyway, let’s just become New-EST.

In the sunny areas, she acts as a princess, and in the dark areas, she acts as a villain.

Let’s recklessly twist the fate of the original work, which was predicted to be destroyed.

When I took on such a great undertaking, the little things like whether I was a man or a woman didn’t really matter.

… Actually, the more I thought about it, the more depressed I became, so I decided to just live. Anyway.

-Slurp.

‘Where… Then, shall we go and boil Louis first?’

After I finished changing my clothes, I immediately left the room.

… No, I was going to come out.

Until I suddenly saw myself reflected in the full-length mirror in the room.

-Stop.

‘Hmm. It doesn’t suit you since your hair is long.’

After yesterday’s incident, I heard the words, “Do whatever you want with our Estee,” so I dressed up nicely in a shirt and riding pants.

But when I actually looked in the mirror, it didn’t suit me as well as I thought.

It was definitely because of the flowing hair that reached down to her waist.

… It keeps going into my mouth every time I eat something, and it takes a lot of time to dry it. I guess I’ll just cut it now.

On a sudden impulse, I moved.

‘Huh. Okay. Let’s just do it neatly and bob short. Yeah.’

-Shaksha.

Originally, Estee also felt uncomfortable because her hair was long.

I thought it wouldn’t matter if I just cut it short and refreshingly.

I picked up the letter knife, placed the mirror in front of me, and started cutting my hair.

20 minutes after that.

———My hair was cut short and had some tangles here and there.

‘Wow, this is totally screwed.’

… No, I thought that if I tied it all together and cut it, it would become short hair. But when I cut it like that, the shape was weird.

Because of that, I tried to fix it here and there, but it ended up being a real mess.

Even the best letter knives become dull from the middle, making it even more so.

‘Well, I’m still cute though!’

But looking closely, it wasn’t all that bad.

When I cut it, the back of my neck felt really cool and it felt good, and more than anything, the original was so nice that it was cute.

Feels a bit like a prince? I actually like it.

-Your Highness, it’s time now… .

“Okay~ Go out now~.”

Feeling better, I left the room cheerfully.

Leaving behind a pile of hair that had fallen all over the floor.

I wonder if everyone will praise me.

———My thoughts changed as soon as I opened the door.

-Squeak.

“Your Highness. It’ll take… a long time… … ugh.”

-dump.

“… … Huh?”

The maids’ faces turned pale as soon as they saw me, and they fell to the ground.

My heart sank too.

‘Oh, oh? Is it really that shocking to cut your own hair?’

… It happened later, but it was a shocking thing.

Esti, who had grown up receiving nagging until she was 10, and I, a 13-year-old boy, were the only ones who didn’t know.

But I had no idea that would happen, so I anxiously woke up the maids and ended up going to the ballroom alone.

On the way, he caused about thirty more servants to faint.

“Princess… Sob.”

-dump.

‘I’m screwed, I’m screwed…!!!’

In response, his face turned pale as he realized that he had caused a major accident.

But since the ball was held just because of me, it would have been a big deal if I didn’t attend. So I reluctantly took that step.

And then, as I opened the door to the ballroom.

———A massacre occurred.

-Squeak.

“Princess… Sob.”

-dump.

‘Is that all…?!’

Almost 30% of the young ladies trembled and collapsed as soon as they saw me.

The rest who had not fallen were shocked and covered their mouths.

Louis, who was standing at the end, also couldn’t hide his shock.

-Two-wook.

“Huh, Princess…? What on earth is that outfit?”

Louis drops the bouquet of flowers he was holding and hurriedly runs to me and asks.

I forced the corners of my lips to rise.

‘It seems like it’s already ruined, but we have to fix it somehow…!!!’

“That, that, that… Hehe, does it suit you?”

“… … Yes?”

“I thought long hair didn’t suit me, so I cut it myself. Hehehe.”

I was shivering, but I desperately appealed because I had cut it for no reason.

… about 20% of the girls fainted.

-Oh, because of what you said yesterday… Ugh.

-How could you, on what should be the happiest day of your debutante life… and on your birthday at that… … Ugh.

-How sad must you have been, alone… and dressed like that… .

-Thud. Thud. Thud.

‘No, not to that extent!!!’

The remaining young ladies also covered their mouths and cried.

Louis’ face turned ashen.

With his eyes completely black and dead.

“Oh, no. I was trying to apologize, to say I’m sorry… .”

-dump.

And even Louis, who had been staggering, eventually got down on his knees.

“What’s the fuss… Eh, Esti!!!? Elena, Esti!!! I’ll go to Abamama!!!”

“… Yeah, sis.”

The last thing I saw was my sisters running towards me despite their busy schedules.

The second ball of the New Estee has come to an end.

———After that, I was not allowed to leave the inner palace until my hair grew back.

For about 3 years.

“Est, Est… What should I do, my poor Est… .”

‘No, not to that extent… .’

It was a bonus that I was treated like gold by my older sisters.

* * *

My consciousness, which had been reminiscing about the past for a moment, returned to the classroom.

‘… … But, if I just say this, Louis will become trash.’

Objectively, Louis was the villain in this incident.

To the point where there was even talk of execution.

Of course, thanks to my blood shield and the headbutting of Louis’ father, Archduke Blazer, I was spared from execution…

If I had said that exactly, it was obvious that my favorability towards Louis would plummet.

So, as always, I decided to explain it in a slightly modified way.

Without bringing up the topic of Bing-ui or anything like that, I tried to do it in a way that was as favorable to Louis as possible.

[On the day of my 10th prom, Louis made a stupid mistake with me. Of course, I didn’t care.]

[……yes.]

[But the next day, I did a little hair-do by myself? People were making a big fuss and saying it was because of Louis or something. It wasn’t like that.]

[Alone, with my head…]

[Yeah. Anyway, it’s nothing. Don’t worry about it! Louis did nothing wrong!]

“… … .”

And, towards the end of the explanation.

-Ugh.

“… … … Huh?”

Irene started touching my thigh.