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“Empress Ophelia.”
Rovair’s face bore a rare expression of bewilderment, startled by my sudden attack.
The moment I recognized him, I hastily lowered the wooden sword with both hands.
‘I unconsciously acted like Seo Yeon-hee again.’
It was no surprise that Rovair looked astonished. After all, the frail woman who once struggled to lift even a fist-sized rock had instinctively spun around and aimed a weapon at him.
This was all thanks to the fact that inside Ophelia’s weak body resided me—a former fencing champion.
Blinking slowly, Rovair composed his expression and extended his hand toward me.
“Allow me to take it.”
My arms were beginning to ache from holding the wooden sword for too long. Grateful for his preemptive offer, I handed it over with an awkward smile.
Somehow, I felt a bit embarrassed. He clearly had no intention of attacking me, yet I had ended up pointing a weapon at him.
To my apology, Rovair shook his head slightly and smiled faintly.
“I was a little surprised. Have you been practicing on your own consistently?”
“Uh... something like that. I’ve swung it around a few times whenever Sir Rovair was busy.”
“Perhaps Your Majesty possesses some latent talent for swordsmanship.”
Facing Rovair’s sincere admiration made me feel oddly sheepish.
Unintentionally, I had deceived him. But would he even believe me if I told him I was once a fencing athlete? Explaining it in detail would likely only lead to confusion.
I tilted my head back to gaze at the starlit night sky. The moon and stars seemed especially bright tonight.
“Will I ever be able to wield a real sword with this body?”
“Of course. Whatever Your Majesty desires is possible.”
Though Rovair’s voice remained as calm as ever, there was a subtle certainty in his tone. After a brief pause, he carefully opened his mouth.
“If your stamina improves significantly, we could incorporate sword training alongside your conditioning. If you truly wish to learn swordsmanship.”
“Really? That sounds great, but… won’t it take up too much of your time, Sir Rovair?”
“My life already belongs to Your Majesty. Offering a portion of my time is nothing. Please don’t worry about it.”
Rovair ran his palm along the surface of the wooden sword.
Seeing the faint smile on his face stirred a fundamental question within me.
Even though he owed gratitude to Lord Meredith, how had this man come to pledge blind loyalty to Ophelia?
No matter how much I, as the author, tried to recall, I couldn’t access Ophelia’s past memories.
I had subtly asked Lena about Ophelia’s history, but her knowledge was limited.
‘Since I’m inhabiting her now, why don’t you tell me everything about Ophelia Meredith, from A to Z?’—but such a direct question wasn’t feasible.
Rovair was undoubtedly part of the Imperial Knights, yet he valued the Meredith family more than the emperor himself.
Come to think of it, had I ever seen Rovair together with Serdelius? I couldn’t recall seeing him active as the deputy commander of the knights.
‘It must feel different from now. I’m curious.’
I suddenly became intrigued by the image of Rovair commanding knights and protecting the royal family.
Living as Ophelia, I’d surely witness it someday. Just as I thought this, Rovair softly spoke.
“The night grows late. Shall we return now?”
“Ah, yes. It’d be best to go back before Lena notices.”
---
And so, Rovair escorted me back to the empress’s quarters. Our farewell was shorter than usual.
After confirming his departure, I entered the room and stretched lazily. Suddenly, I sensed something unusual.
Though the room appeared empty, I instinctively detected a presence.
‘What is it?’
I turned my head to check my surroundings, but nothing seemed out of place. It wasn’t Lena or Serdelius.
Could it be… an assassin straight out of a novel? Keeping my guard up, I cautiously stepped backward.
Right now, I had no weapons, not even something to swing.
What should I do? My heart pounded so loudly I could hear it in my ears.
‘Behind the curtains?’
A presence lingered behind the gently swaying curtains. Though I couldn’t identify the stranger, one thing was clear: they were an uninvited guest.
If I screamed now, would Lena come running?
Reaching toward the table with sweaty palms, I grabbed a silver candlestick. While it wasn’t lethal, I figured hitting someone hard enough might knock them unconscious.
‘What a dramatic life Ophelia’s led. Should I attack now?’
The thought of striking first battled with the idea of waiting until the intruder revealed themselves, like angels and devils taking turns dominating my mind.
Just then, the curtains parted with a soft rustle. And the figure that filled my pink eyes was…
“Pof!”
Lowering the candlestick I’d raised above my head, I stood there dumbfounded.
…What on earth was this?
Confusion overwhelmed me, making my head spin. My grip slackened, and I dropped the candlestick.
“…An arctic fox?”
The presence hiding behind the curtains wasn’t Serdelius or an assassin—it was some small, adorable creature.
Well, not exactly ordinary, since it floated in midair without wings.
The unfamiliar lifeform, about the length of a forearm, unmistakably resembled an arctic fox.
Round like a rolling ball, except it hovered around me instead of walking.
It looked like a fluffy snowball with three black beans stuck on for eyes.
“Pom! Poo! Popop!”
The flying arctic fox—or rather, this mysterious being—circled me like an excited puppy, emitting cute sounds.
Instinctively, I reached out and scooped it into my hands. Though I couldn’t rule out the possibility that it was a monster from A Common Girl Becomes Empress, my gut told me it wouldn’t harm me.
“So soft…”
As I held the fluffy bundle, its silk-like fur felt incredibly smooth.
Fluffy and sleek white fur, perky ears, and a bushy tail—it was the epitome of cuteness.
“Poom, Po, Popo?”
Though I couldn’t understand what the bundle was saying, one thing was certain: it was adorable enough to bite.
How had it gotten into my room?
“What’s your name?”
I gently stroked the bundle while muttering to myself.
Whether it wanted to respond or not, the strange creature leapt into the air, rolled a circle, and made a sound.
“Pompoo!”
“Pompoo? Is that your name?”
“Pompoo! Pom!”
It probably didn’t mean anything, but…
Watching the bouncy bundle roll around on the bed made me burst into laughter. So cute. How wonderful it would be if we could actually communicate.
“Then I’ll call you Pompoo from now on. Is that okay?”
“Poooooom!”
Pompoo, who had been rubbing its tail against the pillow, flew into my arms and snuggled close.
Looks like I’ve accidentally acquired a pet.
Wait, was this even an animal? At least, nothing like it existed on Earth.
“So soft… Pompoo, where did you come from? Did you get lost?”
“Poom, Puoom, Ppo.”
“It feels like you understand me.”
Tilting its head left and right, Pompoo was so cute that even its antics didn’t seem strange. With such a lovable face, surely it wouldn’t hurt me.
Thanks to this sudden companion, I completely forgot about the events at the banquet hall.
‘I need to ask Lena tomorrow. He must be hungry too.’
Unaware of my worries—or perhaps fully aware—Pompoo simply chirped and stared at me adoringly. I placed him gently on the pillow.
I’ll sleep on it and think about it tomorrow. Snuggling under the covers with Pompoo, I drifted off, lulled by the warmth of his soft fur.
Pompoo, too, nestled naturally into my embrace as if he’d always belonged here.
It was a quiet night, filled only with his cheerful chirps.
---
“Where on earth does it appear?”
The next day.
Five hours had passed since entering the imperial library, but I hadn’t found a single clue.
First thing in the morning, I showed Pompoo to Lena. She squealed endlessly, repeating how cute he was.
Feeling triumphant after receiving so much attention, Pompoo accompanied me to the library, where I hoped to uncover answers.
But neither Lena nor dozens of books provided the information I sought. I’d gone through countless volumes, and my eyes were on the verge of falling out.
Meanwhile, Pompoo played innocently, hiding in my hair and teasing me with his tail.
‘Looks like I won’t need separate conditioning. At this rate, I’ll collapse from exhaustion tomorrow.’
Thanks to hauling countless books on animals, monsters, and magical creatures, my arms ached.
These books were heavy and thick, with the thinnest one clocking in at 200 pages.
While studying unexpectedly, I learned that the Carlot Empire was home to hundreds of thousands of species, including familiar ones like rabbits, cats, and pigeons.
“Monsters… they’re all so grotesque. Surely they don’t appear near the palace, right?”
Closing the massive tome titled Introduction to Monsterology, I picked up another book underneath it.
Hours had passed, yet I hadn’t found a single creature resembling Pompoo. Flipping through pages absentmindedly, I suddenly froze at an illustration.
“Huh? This looks kind of like Pompoo.”
“Could it be… this?”
Holding Pompoo, who had been playing in my hair, I looked down at the book and burst into a mix of laughter and relief.
Pompoo merely tilted his head, staring at me curiously.
Ah, finally found it.
Indeed, a persistent Korean can achieve anything.
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