"…!"
I, after experiencing an incredibly strong wave of drowsiness that I couldn't resist, finally managed to slowly open my eyes.
'Ah, the ceiling of an unfamiliar room. Is this a hospital?'
That's the first thought that crossed my mind upon seeing the weird ceiling, which was vastly different from the one in my apartment.
'... It seems like I lost consciousness.'
After coming to this simple conclusion, I couldn't help but berate my own recklessness and foolishness.
I had guessed it; I shouldn't stay awake all night. I should have gone to sleep instead of reading my younger brother's book all night long.
...
Wait, my younger brother's book?
I blinked my eyes, feeling that something important had slipped my mind during my unconsciousness. Something strange had happened to me without my realization, and it began to envelop me.
But what was it?
"..." I closed my eyes and I winced slightly as I felt a faint, unfamiliar pain.
"????"
'What is this pain I'm feeling right now?'
For now, I don't know. Let's focus on my surroundings first. I need to find out how long I've been unconscious and who the person kind enough to bring me to the hospital is.
... That was my intention, but I couldn't understand what the people next to me had been talking about all this time.
"Lady Gwendolyn! Lady Gwendolyn!"
Who is that person they keep calling? Lady Gwendolyn? Huh, an unusual and unfamiliar name in my surroundings.
'Hold on. Gwendolyn?'
It sounds unfamiliar, but I feel like I recently read that name somewhere, so I'm quite confident in my memory. But where exactly did I read it?
As I continued to think, I tried to slightly turn my head, which felt heavy and mysteriously painful, in an attempt to get a clearer view of my surroundings.
"..."
I blinked my eyes, stunned by my surroundings. It successfully made me forget whatever I was thinking earlier.
'What's going on here?'
Initially, I completely ignored my surroundings, feeling confident that this room was part of a hospital and that I was safe. However, I was dumbfounded and couldn't utter a word. My focus on this room became crystal clear.
This room was far from what I usually perceived as a hospital patient's room. Hospitals are typically associated with clean, white colors, but this room was elegantly green. There was no advanced medical equipment that is usually found in patient rooms. In particular, there is foreign furniture that looks striking and antique, which should be in a museum rather than a hospital.
'No matter how hard I tried to think, this room clearly wasn't part of a hospital as I had imagined!'
"Lady Gwendolyn, hicc! Hicc!"
I closed my eyes again, feeling a headache from continuously hearing a name I didn't recognize right next to me.
Hearing those sobs made my already throbbing head pound even harder. I wanted to tell the noisy woman to stop crying, but my body felt utterly drained of strength.
What actually happened?
Feeling uneasy about something inexplicable, I finally managed to force my voice out.
"Where ... am I?"
Ah, my voice was hoarse; I almost didn't recognize it as my own.
"Hicc! You're in the academy clinic, Lady!"
'Academy clinic? What nonsense is this?'
I squinted my eyes, feeling that something strange was definitely happening without my knowledge.
As if intimidated by my gaze, the woman in her twenties with neat green attire, the one who had remained silent while the woman next to her kept sobbing, quickly spoke up.
"Lady, you, you fell while riding a horse! And your head...!" She paused, looking at me to confirm something.
I raised an eyebrow, confused, but gestured for her to continue her sentence.
"Your head ... hit the ... ground...!" Her voice trailed off, and the woman next to her, who was still sobbing, weakly nodded her head as if to confirm the green-clothed woman's confession.
"That's right, Lady, hicc!!"
"Oh." I could only let out a short sigh.
'My head hit something, huh?'
I spontaneously touched my throbbing painful head while pondering that statement.
Initially, I thought it was because I hadn't slept enough, leading to a terrible headache. But it turned out to be something else.
But what did that woman say...? Did she mention that I fell while riding a horse...?
'Hahaha!! Hahaha!!' I laughed awkwardly in my heart.
This is the most impossible joke I've ever read somewhere.
"Then?"
I turned to the woman in green who immediately lowered her head. Meanwhile, the young woman next to her, who had finally calmed down after sobbing and frequently calling out 'Lady Gwendolyn', also looked at me deeply with tear-filled eyes.
"Y—Yes?"
Both of my eyes stared directly at the two women.
"Which academy is this?"
!!
The woman, who had been looking at me with teary eyes, turned even paler in an instant after hearing my question. It seemed as if she had just been asked the most frightening question of her life, as she nearly collapsed and almost fainted.
"It can't be, our precious Lady Gwendolyn, how could you be like this! Noooooooooooo!!!" She screamed hysterically, leaving me in shock.
'What on earth is happening?' I thought, feeling exhausted
***
"I'll take my leave then, Lady."
The two of them finally left.
I didn't pay it any mind. It was only after the green door was completely closed that I finally spoke up, something I had been holding back since the beginning.
"Crazy."
I stared at both of my hands, which felt foreign.
"I don't know what's happening, but this is definitely insane!"
Not only were my hands unfamiliar, but also the voice I was currently using, the body that made me uncomfortable, and even the behavior and treatment of the two women who had spoken to me earlier.
Everything felt incredibly foreign.
Therefore, I reached one very certain conclusion.
"This is a famous possession incident from novels."
Why could I conclude something so far-fetched was happening to me?
"Because this body is not mine. And the most important point is...." I paused and recalled the answer from the neatly dressed green-clad woman, who turned out to be an academy clinic attendant when I asked her earlier.
"This is the Chronos Academy."
And this place is the Chronos Academy, a prestigious educational institution located in a remote country that prioritizes education over military power.
The issue is not because of this academy or this remote country.
"You've completed your exams and have been declared as a graduate, just waiting for the graduation ceremony. So, you decided to spend your free time horseback riding, and... suddenly, an accident happened...."
I closed my eyes.
"No need to worry, Lady! I've contacted the Gwendolyn family. If Emperor Magnolia approves the use of the warp gate, Lord Marquis and Marchioness will surely be able to arrive here tonight!"
Those were the words of the young woman who had been incessantly mentioning Lady Gwendolyn's name, almost like a parrot with tear-filled eyes. She turned out to be a personal maid brought from Gwendolyn's residence, Tina.
Why did I know her name even though I didn't recognize her and had just seen her for the first time?
Is it because of memories left behind in this unfamiliar body? I had no clue. But I knew one thing for sure.
The fact that I, no, the body I currently possessed, was the only daughter of the Gwendolyn family, felt like a thousand hot needles stabbing my head.
"..." I rubbed my throbbing temples.
So, who is the Gwendolyn family?
The Gwendolyn family is known for their exceptional intelligence and unwavering commitment to education. They have family members who are exceptionally brilliant down to their roots. The founder of this family was a genius strategist who assisted the first Emperor in a continental war. Thanks to his contributions, the Magnolia Empire achieved victory with minimal casualties on their side.
Furthermore, the younger brother of the Gwendolyn family founder had extraordinary diplomatic skills. He managed to persuade the Kings involved in the war to surrender and convinced neutral Kings to join the peace alliance. All of this happened under the leadership of the first Emperor, and the Magnolia Empire became the center of a vast continent thanks to the efforts of the Gwendolyn family.
Although this family held power equivalent to that of a Duke family, they declined offers to become Dukes. Their reason was that they believed some boundaries needed to be maintained to keep the Empire peaceful and prosperous. Despite this, their good relationship with the Emperor remained intact, and even to this day, their descendants maintain a close sibling-like relationship.
And why do I know all of this background?
Because that information came from the contents of the book I had just read before the moment I mysteriously lost consciousness!
To be more precise, this is a novel entitled [World For Her], which was my little brother's last work before he disappeared after we argued.
"Haha, you foolish little brother! Even when you disappear, you continue to make me suffer, as if you don't want me to forget about you." I murmured with a weak, soft voice.
Suddenly, drowsiness began to wash over my entire body.
I closed my eyes. After accepting the fact that I had entered a book, especially one written by my younger brother, the throbbing pain in my head that had persisted began to slowly fade away, and I breathed a sigh of relief.
I felt an unusual sense of calm.
'By the way, did my little brother disappear because he had actually entered his own book, just like I have now?'
I blinked my eyes with a sudden conclusion I managed to obtain thanks to my now calm and peaceful mind.
"... That can't be, right?"