Total pages in book: 142
Estimated words: 137017 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 685(@200wpm)___ 548(@250wpm)___ 457(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 137017 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 685(@200wpm)___ 548(@250wpm)___ 457(@300wpm)
“Hmm.” I kicked my feet. “Didn’t that happen a couple of days after we arrived in Stein, too?”
“Some people are extra sensitive to mana, and overexposure results in a cold-like illness that can appear anywhere from twelve hours to days later,” Rina said from somewhere over by the window. “It could be that travelling through the magic circles is too much for Annie, especially if she’s not had much to do with magic until now.”
“That’s a problem, since we’re here and not in Stein. Is there not a remedy for it anywhere? It’ll be two weeks of travelling on the road otherwise.”
“The mages will likely have a temporary solution to reduce her exposure to the mana for the journey back, but they’ll probably advise that she doesn’t travel by them again unless it’s an emergency.”
“It is quite unpleasant,” Bella said, peeking at my eyes. “There. Luckily you calmed down before your eyes swelled too much, my lady.”
“It’s a true miracle granted by Khimos himself,” I quipped.
“Yes, now quickly, get into the bath. There’s no time to wash your hair, but we only did that last night. Dip in and dip out.”
“Yes, ma’am.” I got up from the bed and allowed her to hustle me into the bathroom.
She was running this like a military operation.
Mind you, I was the one who’d told her to let me sleep a little longer this morning, so this rush was all my fault.
Finishing the handkerchief for Kalon wasn’t the only reason I hadn’t slept well last night—but he was.
Him and that damn kiss.
I must have replayed the entire evening on a mental loop ever since I’d bundled into bed. I’d expected Kalon to be as he was in the book—cold, standoffish, completely uninterested in me.
This touchy-feeling, needy, clingy, obsessive version of him was completely new. I’d had to physically send him away at the ball last night because we couldn’t be in two places at once and there were people who wanted to talk to him while I was with my friends.
I’d not sent him far, mind you. I’d kept him close enough that I could rush over and swoop in if Lillia had tried to talk to him again… Which is exactly what he’d done when Crown Prince Torin had made his way close to me.
Clearly, Kalon had been right when he’d told me that the Empress hadn’t given up on her desire for me to become the Crown Princess.
Which was yet another fluctuation from the book’s storyline. In the world I knew, the Empress had seriously considered Alicia, but had ultimately given up after her marriage to Kalon and quickly set her eyes on the young, easily manipulated Lillia as the perfect partner for her son.
Whatever was happening in this world, it was not in line with my expectations. Absolutely everything was changing—and the only conclusion I could draw was that it was down to my arrival in this world.
However it’d happened, my soul appearing here had thrown everything else off its axis. It’d warped the timeline and tossed emotions into disarray, and I had no idea what was going to happen next.
Even if Lillia had appeared earlier than I’d expected her to, I’d still thought Kalon would fall in love with her.
But he hadn’t.
Not even close.
He’d called her a ‘doe-eyed sycophant,’ for goodness’ sake. Those were not the words of a man in love. Those were the words of a man who’d seen right through a relatively solid attempt to garner his attention.
Yes.
On the day I’d expected Kalon to fall in love with Lillia, he’d kissed me, and he’d done so in a way that had practically seared himself into my soul.
One thing was now for sure: I really could no longer trust the story I knew.
This was not the world I thought it was.
And that was all on me.
The butterfly effect was very real.
The question now was what I was supposed to do with it. It wasn’t as though this was some monumental shock—I’d already been questioning my existence here and how it’d changed things, and I’d been doing so practically since I opened my eyes back in my room at Vermillion House. I’d also theorised that perhaps the major events would happen but the circumstances around them would be vastly different, and Lillia’s unexpected appearance five months early backed that theory up.
I knew one thing. I wanted to return to Stein so I could comb through my notebook and try to figure out all these variables.
I was still scared of the potential of my impending death, but was that even guaranteed anymore? Unless Kalon suddenly had an epiphany overnight, miraculously fell for Lillia, and decided I was no longer his ‘exception,’ as he’d put it, there really was little reason for Alicia Vermillion to cross paths with Lillia de Armand.
From my side, Kalon’s actions all pointed to the fact that he had feelings for me. If that was the case, then there was no room for either of them to pursue a relationship with one another, meaning I had no reason to hate her.