Chapter 5

Lucelle left the room in search of the spirit measuring sphere that would measure Arisella's soul growth and told her to stay inside for now, leaving her alone with her thoughts.

Many things were going through her head, from what she should do next, how she should deal with the events she herself created, to how to deal with her current feelings about John… and even how she should take responsibility for the characters he gave a tragic life and death to.

I felt sick remembering how the Duke and the original female lead of this world had to die because of the closure he decided to give to the characters in his original novel.

The way the Duke died could at least be described as a "heroic" death that would appear in a history book or something... But Yulia, his supposed lover, was crushed to death by a six-meter wall!

Imagining that silver-haired, blue-eyed beauty being mercilessly crushed to the bone by the cold gravity, Arisella visibly shuddered.

It was a horrible sight, and the worst possible ending for that poor girl. After suffering all she had, she... Did she die like that?

Only now did he realize how unfair it was. Do you know what's worse? Arisella herself had also contributed to his misery in this world!

Although now I'm sure those readers' theory was pretty accurate... At least I can say I have no reason to ruin someone beautiful when I myself am a world-class beauty!

Arisella was very confident in her appearance, which was undoubtedly top-notch. The idea that she would indirectly harass Yulia because she didn't like her beauty was ridiculous. It was obvious to her that it was all a misunderstanding... and a very serious one at that.

I've noticed that Yulia views me with hostility because of my "malice" and manipulative mentality... that's problematic...

He couldn't help but worry.

After all, she wasn't stupid and understood that she was currently on the world stage of {Northern Blooming Moon} instead of {The Duke's Heir's Revenge}. That means Yulia is still the world's protagonist for now... And having the world's protagonist's hatred against you?

Arisella suddenly felt that the world could arrange many ways to kill her even if she overcomes the current dilemma...

It's not good to be hated by the female lead...

As a small-time villain who wasn't even a real villain, it would be easy to imagine being squashed like a bug by an obsessed duke who didn't appreciate "bad deeds" against his beloved...

Though come to think of it, the novel was canceled before I could come up with a scenario where Duke Astrain became properly obsessed with Yulia, so I guess that won't happen, but...

Still, it was deadly to be a character hated by the female lead herself. Arisella felt things were getting harder for her.

I wish I had gotten my memories back before I accidentally caused a bad relationship with Yulia like a fool!

He couldn't help but regret it. Why did he only regain his memories now? There were many things he could have avoided before. Wouldn't he have been lucky to have developed a friendship with the heroine?

No... that would have been difficult since for some reason I decided that Arisella, that is, me, looked like her evil and selfish stepmother or something like that and as such she didn't like me from the beginning...

"...."

Considering this was the case and it seems that she unintentionally made Yulia a relatively mean character, would it have been difficult to see her friend even if she had tried?

It would be nice to gain the support of other future heroines if I have to deal with this.

As her mind ran through each of the heroines in {The Duke's Heir's Revenge}, a sudden thought struck her.

"Wait... since I'm in a timeline before that city invasion, doesn't that mean the enslaved heroine is still here?" Realizing that, her mind filled with curiosity and anxiety. "I wonder who she is? Only by seeing her will I know. It would be ideal if I could have her on my side..."

The problem was that Arisella had absolutely no memory of the name she had given to that heroine.

In fact, with the exception of Jayden/Leonardo, most of the names and occasional characteristics of the heroines in {The Duke's Heir's Revenge} were a fuzzy mess in his head.

After all, his minor success was just one of many novels he had written in the past, and it wasn't even his best.

How impressive would your memory have to be to remember every detail of that?

At least I made some illustrations that I remember more or less well... I think I could figure out who one of Jayden's future heroines was?

It would also be good to make sure she never becomes a slave in this life. Now that everything in this world is real, I can't allow a girl to fall into such a horrible situation...

Besides, since she's a girl and my reputation isn't bad in town, it should be easy to win some of her affection. At the very least, being seen as a good older sister or something should have some effect... Perhaps that will counteract the potential harmful effects of Yulia's hatred toward me?

That would be ideal... well, we have to try it. First of all, I have to locate her...

Fortunately for her, Arisella was also a mage in this world. She only needed to communicate with the spirit she made a contract with, and in exchange for her mana, her spirit would use its power to allow her to sense a girl with her description in her head.

A very convenient magic system.

Thinking this way, Arisella closed her eyes and concentrated, feeling the spiritual connection between her and the wind spirit that served as the source of her magic. Sending her thoughts to the elemental entity, she instructed it to search for the girl's location while giving it a mental image of her possible appearance.

A girl with red hair and green eyes... since this was a few years before {The Duke's Heir's Revenge}, those physical characteristics would be found in a child rather than a young woman.

He also remembered that she had something like a mole on her forehead. He imagined a younger, stronger version of that heroine in question, detailed with the realistic appearance of a real human in this case.

Airean, look for a girl like her

I understand, Arisella!

Quickly, her little contracted spirit responded willingly with a childlike voice and obeyed, using its power to connect with the surrounding wind and search for the girl.

He quickly got what he wanted.

Is she part of a farming family?

That was the knowledge he gained.

The girl, whose name was Natia, according to Airean, after an older woman called her, was a 6-year-old girl who is part of one of the six farming families in Taylan. 

These families had a great favor with Arisella because it was due to their ideas that the influence of farmers like them in the village was greater, and it should not be a problem to befriend a girl from that family.

You're from the Runei family, huh?

Yes, apparently! I know because they worship wind spirits just like I do!

His little spirit responded with energy.

Spirit worship in Taylan was almost as common as worship of the gods themselves. However, in other regions of the empire, many would frown upon such a thing, though they would not say anything or call it heresy.

Still, his attitude would not be very good.

Anyway, this is better than I thought; my relationship with this family is the best in Taylan thanks to their eldest daughter being my personal maid.... Should I ask Amelia to take me to meet her family?

♦♦♦♦

"I'm back"

"Welcome back..." Arisella laughed as she said that line.

Lucelle spent quite a while searching for the spirit measuring sphere, and finally returned with what looked like a glowing violet crystal. It was called "Bright," but its glow was as weak as the light from a small candle.

And when Lucelle placed it on the table, the sphere lost its faint glow.

It's said that the violet crystal was something made from spiritual gel extracted from the waste left behind by spectral undead; something from Arisella based on ectoplasm. When crystallized, it acquires the special property of reflecting "Soul Light," or spiritual power.

It's really lovely...

Since it's obtained from death-defying entities, many consider it creepy, but Arisella just thought it looked quite beautiful, like a work of art.

The faint light released when Lucelle hugged her is a reflection of her spiritual power, which was particularly high, enough for its light to be reflected even without direct contact.

…Or maybe it’s because Lucelle, who is somewhat paranoid, uses her spiritual power to probe the environment by interacting with the elements as a habit… it could be either.

"Very well, Arisella... place your hand on the sphere." Lucelle looked at her with serious and expectant eyes, causing Arisella to breathe deeply as she sat down and extended her two hands towards the spirit measuring ball.

When he touched her...

"Wow, what…!"

"This is…!?"

Cries of surprise and shock were heard.

The light emitted by the spirit measuring sphere was so bright and blinding that it momentarily blinded them, causing Arisella to drop the thing and thus, the violet light gradually weakened.

The two women were stunned.

"So much spiritual light...!" Lucelle exclaimed in complete disbelief.

I had expected Arisella to have a two-degree increase in her spiritual power but… the light that came out of the crystal was so dazzling that I couldn't judge it accurately, as it seemed to illuminate not only the entire sphere, but the entire room as well.

"I didn't think you would have so much spiritual power hidden in your soul... With that immeasurable degree, you could even receive various divine protections from the gods without your soul being in danger of collapsing."

"Yes..." Arisella nodded, equally surprised, but by the intensity of the light. Still, this scene compared to her system made the increase in her power more real to her, and a feeling of joy filled her.

With the mysterious growth of her spiritual power, her Prophetess skills naturally improved, going from "Insignificant" to "high-level." She could even now use superior Master Prophetess skills such as [Clairvoyance], [Psychometry], and [Past Vision] naturally, which was a huge advantage.

In this world, predicting the future on a large scale was surprisingly easier than observing the secrets of the past or distant events.

Only the most powerful prophetesses can utilize these abilities, allowing them to better decipher confusing visions of the future when they are not clear enough.

Furthermore, people with a high level of spiritual power, if they meet specific conditions, can communicate telepathically with other spiritually sensitive beings, transmitting their thoughts or emotions to them; without forgetting that, as Lucelle said, one can have several divine protections over the soul without it collapsing.

If the wards are the most powerful, they might even call you a Saint. A prophetess with the greatest power of the gods... that was an unheard-of existence.

By the way, not everyone with a high spiritual power can read the flow of destiny, as it is an inherent talent found in beautiful women with a specific profession. However, it's a mystery because they have to be high-level beauties...

Anyway, with her current high rank and her new ability, Arisella now had the power to change the tragic fate she had set for herself.

But Arisella couldn't help but wonder: Did she always have that hidden potential, even as an extra? Or was it something she gained from God by being a Soul reincarnated by him in this world?

It was most likely the latter, as the scenario where Arisella didn't foresee Taylan's misfortune wouldn't make sense if she had awakened that enormous spiritual power in the first place.

Wait, maybe... it was the world that filled in the plot holes I left?

Arisella suddenly realized that possibility. Some of the inevitable plot holes; naturally, both the large and the small had to have a cause beyond their effect for the world to become real.

An example would be the “hidden potential” of prophetesses with excessive beauty but terrible prophetic abilities, as Arisella was recently.

I would be remiss if I ignored the unknown changes this world might bring to correct the low plausibility of the arguments I wrote.

Thanks to the secret revealed by Lucelle, Arisella realizes that this world is more complex than a few lines on a computer. In fact, her memories of herself as Amael made her briefly think that this world worked as it did in the novel, forgetting that she was born and raised in it.

As a current native of this land, that mentality is dangerous. I had to be careful, for this world is real, not one of the little stories the ancient Amael created for fun.

"¿With Arisella?"

"Hu? Mn... Yes?" Surprised that her thoughts were interrupted by Lucelle's worried voice, Arisella looked at her nervously.

"You've been very quiet since we verified your awakening... You seemed excited at first, but then you got very serious... Is something wrong? Was it a prophetic vision?" he asked her curiously.

Only prophetesses with low levels of spiritual power need specific rituals to predict the future; something that those with a high spiritual level can do even involuntarily with the right clues.

“Ah… no, he just asked me if this should be reported to the village chief.”

"No way, no matter your accomplishments, that scum would sell you for a couple of coins if he learned of your current power! You know that prophetesses with great abilities become prey to those horrible nobles, right? The nobility in the duchy is more rotten than anywhere else, and precious prophetesses like you would become their sex slaves.

Arisella had already expected that answer and replied calmly: "I know... I was just thinking about the consequences it would have on Taylan if my growth was not reported to the man who manages these lands and they found out somehow..."

Lucelle sighed. "We'll worry about that in time... Even if they discover something, we can always use Alica's divine abilities to create almost natural-looking ugly faces with makeup."

Arisella looked at her without expression.

Somehow, she didn't like the idea of ​​looking so "ugly" even as a charade to protect herself from the unscrupulous nobles of the north.

As for Alica's makeup...?

She was famous throughout the village not only for her beauty, which surpassed other clerics, but for her ability to create monsters with the full intention of making you a more beautiful woman… despite the fact that she was a follower of Aphrodite, the goddess of love, beauty, and sex.

Alica was quite a comical character if you looked at it that way... Arisella was really reluctant to try her "beauty" techniques once again!

And how do you supposedly plan to hide my sexy, elegant hourglass figure...? I'd rather not know...

"Oh, that's right. I'd forgotten that our little beauty of the century hates ugliness, especially if it's her own making herself ugly!" Lucelle laughed with a mocking look and said exaggeratedly, "Narcissism is a sin, Arisella, humility is a virtue! Let go of your arrogance about your beauty and embrace the humility of ugliness!"

"Please, if you crave ugliness so much, burn your pretty face and preach about inner beauty." Arisella rolled her eyes.

"Of course not, I love my beauty too" Lucelle smiled cheekily and Arisella snorted as she thought;

That's another problem... I'm a bit of a narcissistic woman. 

He felt a little helpless at this trait of hers, which he didn't have in his past life. He even remembered her unusually large personal collection of beauty products, and his lips twitched.

Although I can't help it... I'm like a goddess !

At the same time, pride was reflected on her face as she reflected on her body. It was very complicated, her current feelings...

"Oh, Oppa¹ is here."

"Hmm? What did you say?"

"¡Arisella!"

Suddenly, a young man with copper hair, blue eyes, and a rather attractive face came in shouting her name, causing Arisella to stare at him.

The man, John Asher, had tears of happiness and relief running down his face when he finally saw her awake.

He approached with his large, muscular body, took Arisella, who looked at him with wide eyes, in his arms, and gave her a deep, wild kiss.

"¿¡Mmmmm!? ¡Mmmmmmm!"

Arisella was stunned. She was finally reunited with John... and how.

This... certainly was something normal, they were lovers and she had a worrying incident where she could have lost her life, but with regaining her memories of Amael and having those of this life still slowly returning, she still had to "readjust" to this romantic relationship.

Also, this kiss was... unforgettable in its own way.

Without thinking, Arisella pushed John with her hands, who looked at her confused, and said with an extremely nervous and somewhat displeased face, while forcing himself to smile "W-wait a minute John, I remembered that I have something important to do and I need to finish it quickly, so... Bye!"

She took advantage of John's daze and freed herself, then quickly ran out of the room before Lucelle and John could react to her strange behavior, all with amusingly stiff yet unnaturally quick movements.

He was clearly using magic to go at high speed.

"W-wait!"

Lucelle called out to her, but she simply ignored her and left like the wind.

"Hey, Lucelle..." John was stunned. He didn't understand what had just happened. He asked his sister with a stupid expression. "What the hell was all that about?"

"...I have no idea, oppa... Maybe because their first kiss was doggy style?" Lucelle shrugged as she teased John, causing him to wince as he realized the grave mistake he had made.

"...Shit!"

He ran away, trying to catch up with Arisella. Too bad his lover used body-strengthening magic to escape him faster...