IQBSA 02

Chapter 02

“So this is me now.”

I stared intently at the unfamiliar woman in the mirror, as if having a staring contest.

Pinkish eyes that didn’t seem to belong to me were reflected clearly in the glass.

‘How can this be possible?’

I’d hoped it was just a strange dream from overworking myself.

But the next day, I was still Serpine Mirabel.

After gripping and releasing my waist-length, fine silver hair dozens of times, I finally decided to accept reality.

‘Fine, maybe this is an opportunity.’

Perhaps heaven took pity on me—an ordinary office worker who struggled like a worker ant and died young from overwork—and gave me this chance.

The problem was that I was fated to die soon…

I couldn’t exactly celebrate yet, since I was about to die before even getting to try this new life.

‘Let me think. How did Serpine die?’

I didn’t want to end this second chance at life with a meaningless gruesome death.

I mobilized all my memories and began to recall the original story.

“In other possession stories, characters can recite lines fluently—why can’t I remember anything?”

It seemed not everyone was cut out for possession.

Unfortunately, my memory wasn’t like those protagonists in other possession tales who could recall novel passages with perfect accuracy.

Aside from the broad strokes of the plot, only minor, insignificant details came to mind, so I had to piece things together.

With a complicated heart, I opened my notebook to a clean page and picked up a quill pen.

After reconstructing the overall plot, there were two things I knew for certain about Serpine’s death:

1. She received a commission from the Empress Dowager and brewed the poison.

2. She was secretly murdered on the Empress Dowager’s orders.

‘But I don’t know exactly when or how she died!’

That was the most important part, but no matter how hard I thought, I had no memory of reading such details in the book.

There was only the implication that she lost her life at the hands of the Empress Dowager.

‘Besides, there were barely a few lines about Serpine in the first place.’

There was no reason to devote much space to a villain’s extra who appeared briefly at the beginning of the novel and then vanished.

‘Anyway, Serpine died a meaningless death, and now that’s going to happen to me.’

What difference would it make to rack my brain over details not even in the book?

If I wanted to live, I needed a plan.

‘How much time is left until Foundation Day?’

I turned my eyes toward the imperial calendar set on the desk.

Among Serpine’s densely noted schedule, I spotted the date for Foundation Day.

“……20 days.”

I’d checked the remaining days until Foundation Day to estimate when the Empress Dowager’s commission would arrive.

The Empress Dowager planned to elevate her son on Foundation Day instead of the Crown Prince, making him visible and winning public support.

According to her scheme to poison the Crown Prince before Foundation Day, the commission would arrive at my doorstep slightly earlier than the event.

‘So that means I don’t have much time at all?’

I felt my blood run cold.

The Empress Dowager’s purpose in killing Serpine was to destroy the evidence.

That meant the moment I received the commission—regardless of whether I accepted it—my life would be in danger.

What could a powerless supporting character do against the Empress Dowager of a great empire?

After much agonizing deliberation, I reached a conclusion.

‘……Run!’

For now, there was no other option.

I would go into hiding in a place no one knew about until the original story concluded.

‘If I disappear, the Empress Dowager will find another way.’

The plot might be slightly altered, but ultimately it wouldn’t deal a major blow to the protagonists.

If I were an important enough character to significantly affect the main storyline, I wouldn’t have died so pointlessly at the start of the original.

“Alright. I’m quitting immediately.”

First, I had to get out of the Magic Tower where I currently was.

I’d settle my affairs at the tower, lie low in hiding, and resurface after the protagonists defeated the Empress Dowager.

Scribble scribble—

I immediately wrote my resignation letter and, with solemn determination, headed to the top of the Magic Tower.

In the original, she was only referred to as “the witch of the Magic Tower,” so I hadn’t known—but Serpine was the Tower Master’s secretary.

To quit my job, it was only common courtesy to inform the Tower Master.

So I was making my way up to the top floor where he resided, but…

“Huff. This isn’t some fitness test.”

The stairs went on and on without end.

This terrifying parade of stairs was because the Magic Tower had been built without any consideration for convenience.

‘You guys can just teleport around, right?’

Just because teleportation magic was familiar to the ear didn’t mean it should be taken lightly.

Teleportation was a dangerous spell that could tear your body to shreds if even slightly misused—only experienced mages of at least advanced level could use it safely.

Most mages in the tower were advanced level or higher.

But Serpine, contrary to how she was depicted as a fearsome witch in the novel, had no magical power at all.

‘This completely contradicts the setting!’

Unfortunately, as a low-level mage, I couldn’t teleport, so I had no choice but to tackle the stairs the hard way.

Finally stepping onto the last stair, I caught my breath.

“Huff, huff. I’m about to die from exhaustion.”

There was only one room on the top floor.

‘The Tower Master’s quarters.’

I walked along the long red carpet and knocked on the door.

As I waited for permission to enter, the door creaked open on its own.

‘……Magic!’

In this world, magic to open a door was nothing special, but to me, freshly possessed, it was utterly fascinating.

‘Is he letting me in?’

I carefully stepped inside.

Trying my best not to look around, I soon spotted the Tower Master sitting at his desk, gaze fixed on documents as he attended to work.

Beside him sat a cat, swishing its tail with a mischievous expression.

‘Lucifer!’

With its sleek, glossy black fur, I recognized it at a glance.

That cat was the Tower Master’s familiar, Lucifer.

Its appearance was adorable, just as described in the novel, making me want to pet it endlessly—but from this body’s memories, its temperament was foul, so I shouldn’t touch it carelessly.

Averting my gaze from the cat’s piercing stare, I approached the desk.

As I slid the resignation letter forward, the Tower Master slowly raised his head.

“What’s this?”

‘……Holy shit.’

I was so stunned by the Tower Master’s face that I forgot what to say.

‘Is that face even possible?’

I couldn’t help but marvel at his exquisitely sculpted yet distinctly masculine features—a strange, beautiful face that seemed almost unreal.

He had a decadent, sensitive aura that perfectly matched the image I’d imagined.

‘……He’s far too good-looking to be just a second male lead!’

If a face like this couldn’t surpass the plausibility factor, just how extraordinary must the Crown Prince be to have claimed the male lead position?

‘I heard the female lead and the Crown Prince were childhood friends—so childhood connections really are unbeatable.’

As someone who’d been a staunch second-male-lead fan while reading the novel, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of regret on many levels.

“I asked what this is, Serpine.”

Roakin’s voice pulled me back to reality from my wandering thoughts.

‘Right. I came to submit my resignation.’

What could I do about my tendency to get distracted by good looks even after possession?

Recalling my original purpose, I clenched my fist tightly. Then, in a firm voice, I continued.

“It’s my resignation letter. I’m quitting.”

Ah, that felt good. Perhaps because it was a sentence I’d only imagined but never dared to say aloud in my previous life, saying “I quit” gave me a refreshing, liberating feeling.

“……Did I mishear? What did you just say?”

His sharply gleaming violet eyes fixed on me with a dazed look.

…What’s this?

In Serpine’s memories, the Tower Master was always cold as ice, never showing emotional disturbance.

But right now, he looked clearly flustered, which was even more disconcerting for me.

‘Ah, well, it would be awkward if your perfectly functional secretary suddenly quit, I suppose.’

I nodded. Then, facing the bewildered-looking Roakin, I continued resolutely.

“I said I’m quitting.”

“……Reason?”

“That’s a personal matter, so I can’t disclose it.”

“You want to quit without even giving a reason?”

When I nodded in affirmation, the Tower Master’s expression hardened into something bloodless and cold.

‘What’s with that scary look…?’

Even though the room was warm, his chilling aura made my spine feel icy.

It wasn’t like I wanted to be so abrupt either.

But how could I explain that I was actually a possessed soul, and if I stayed at the tower, I’d inevitably die at the Empress Dowager’s hands?

If I told the truth, he’d definitely think something was wrong with my head.

“I’d appreciate it if you could find a replacement as soon as possible.”

Even after hearing my request, Roakin merely flicked his long fingers over the desk, lost in thought.

A suffocating silence fell, and the crackling of the fireplace filled the room.

“I don’t want to.”

When he finally opened his mouth, his answer was completely unexpected.

“Excuse me? You d-don’t want to?”

I stammered from sheer bewilderment.

“We have to fulfill our agreed-upon term, Serpine.”

“……?”

At Roakin’s gesture, a golden-bordered document appeared in the air, revealing a paper densely filled with writing.

This world used a unique script resembling a mix of hieroglyphs and mathematical symbols—but ever since possession, I could interpret it as naturally as my native language.

I read through the text calmly.

‘This is… an employment contract!’

Though the format differed from modern ones, it was unmistakably an employment contract.

And a specific line gleamed with an eye-catching, luminous glow:

[—Contract Term: 3 Years.]

Calculating roughly from when Serpine had entered the tower, there was still one month left before the contract ended.

‘Stay here another month? Are you kidding?’

That was more than enough time for the commission to arrive. If I obediently followed the contract, I’d be as good as dead.

“There’s only a month left anyway… Couldn’t you just terminate it now?”

I asked in the most earnest voice I could muster.

But Roakin silently took the resignation letter, crumpled it in his hand, and—

Whoosh.

Flames erupting from his fingertips blazed fiercely, engulfing his entire hand, and the resignation letter instantly turned to black ash.

“……!”

I froze, eyes wide with shock.

The meaning of the Tower Master’s action was clear.

Rejection.

“Let’s talk again in a month.”

The moment I met his eyes, where the red flicker of flames danced—

I had a gut feeling that something was going terribly wrong.