who made me a non existent princess???

Alpheus Mansion

Ariana's pov

"Hah...hah..."

I suddenly opened my eyes as the dream still lingered in my vision. I try to calm down my racing heart, raised one hand to rub my eyes and removed my dazing mind.

I felt my body soaking with sweat and my face drenching with something wet like I was crying a while ago.

It was just a dream, right? But it feels so real.

The dream I had previously is still replaying in my head again and again.

_Click!

The door slightly opened to reveal a silver-haired man, entering through the open gap. Ijekiel, who is carrying a tray of water glass in his hands looked at me dazedly for a moment, before fast walking toward me with a surprised face.

"Ria! You are finally awake."

Ah! I teleported to the wrong place before passing out, didn't I? I need to know the current situation.

I try to get up from the bed to ask many questions passing through my mind at the moment.

"Cough! Cough!"

But my head fell back on the pillow as I coughed violently, covering my mouth with my hands.

For a moment, I thought I was seeing things. But that wasn't. There was blood in my hands! I coughed up blood!

I glanced over at Ijekiel, who has the same shocked expression as mine. He put down the tray on the table before wiping my mouth and hands with a handkerchief, that he took out.

He supported me who is trying to get up again by holding my back and held me up.

"W-where is this pl- cough!"

My voice was hoarse and my throat felt hurt when I try speaking. What is this weak body? Did my body change to the one from my previous life?

"Please don't force yourself too much. You aren't completely well yet."

Ijekiel handed me a glass of water, wearing an anxious expression.

"This is a guest room inside the Alpheus mansion. I was surprised to see you appeared suddenly in front of me while coughing up blood."

That is the same for me as well. I didn't mean to teleport here. I looked around the room, listening to Ijekiel's explanations and drinking the glass of water.

If I'm here, does it mean the duke know as well? I remember telling Ijekiel not to call anyone before I passed out.

"Please relax. The duke didn't know about you being here."

Ijekiel who noticed my uneasy expression, reassured me while taking back the empty glass from my hands.

"I'm glad you are finally awake. I'm anxious over the past two months because you won't wake up even after many doctors-"

"What? Two months?"

I was disbelief at what Ijekiel said and doubt my ears. At the same, various questions and curious raised in my head.

If that long time has already passed, what happened to the story plot when I was sleeping?

If I looked carefully at Ijekiel, there are visible dark bags under his pretty eyes. Did he catch a zombie virus?

"Did you change my clothes, Ijekiel?"

That was a simple question which answer I'm curious about and at the same time didn't want to hear.

I asked because the white pyjama I'm wearing which is stained with drops of blood isn't my dress, I didn't wear it before I passed out. And Ijekiel mentions about no one knowing about me being here. So, he didn't do it himself, right?

"I didn't do that. That wasn't me!"

Ijekiel shakes his head violently with his face turning red like a tomato. I inwardly signed in relief, looking at his reaction.

It was then.

_Clang!

I turned my head toward the sudden noise that rang out.

"P, princess!"

It was Jennette who is standing in front of the open door with a shocked expression. She seems to be holding back her tears that are on the verge of falling.

"Jennette?"

I unconsciously called out her hand, confused by the current situation.

"Jennette, be careful on your step."

Ijekiel reminded Jennette who was about to take a step forward.

At his words, my gaze shifted toward the mess floor. There are broken pieces of the bowl shattering on the ground with some unknown liquid like soups? Seems to be the source of the noises from earlier.

Then, Jennette ran toward me, avoiding the broken pieces that she dropped. I was frozen when Jennette suddenly hugged and sobbed on my shoulders like she is seeing a person that came back from death.

I turned my stiff head toward Ijekiel, asking for an explanation.

"Jennette happened to be with me when you appeared. We are the only ones that know about your stay and..."

Ijekiel added while coughing vainly.

"...she is the only one that changed your clothes."

I briefly understand the current situation now. I should collect the rest information after recovering my health.

. . . . . . . . . .

It has been ten days since I first woke up in the Alpheus mansion and in that short amount of time, I've recovered nearly well.

Honestly, these past ten days were like ... Haha... Ijekiel and Jennette stayed by my side by turn and never left except when I'm sleeping.

Most of all, I wasn't allowed to eat anything other than soup. If I refuse to eat, . . . . . Ijekiel's smile that is as cold as a winter storm flashed through my mind. So scary.

Anyways, I heard from Ijekiel that Athy has already returned to the palace not too long ago. And she never lived in the Alpheus mansion nor met with Jennette, unlike the story.

So, I'm guessing she hasn't met with Anastasius as well. Thinking about it, Anastasius was living inside the mansion when Athy ran away in the story. Some parts of the story have already changed so I'm not sure if he is still living here now.

I should beat that b*** if I met him for all the troubles he has done. For now, I should focus on recovering entirely.

"Haa..."

The sound of two people signing rang inside the quiet room, breaking the silence.

"Is there something worrying you?"

I asked Jennette who just signed a while ago, sitting beside my bed.

Jennette parted her lips several times as if to say something.

"...I, it is nothing."

In the end, I couldn't hear the reason. I joked a little because of the serious atmosphere around the room.

"It won't be something like your secrets getting exposed to a black-haired man, right?"

"......."

There was a strange silence ringing inside the room.

Jennette was looking at me with an expression of 'How did you know?'.

"...It was just a joke."

But I seem to have hit the nail in the head.

What's up with the order of the events? Is this because of the timelines difference?