A Friend from My Previous Life Lives in the Neighboring County

‘What should I do now?’

Judging from the furnitures, it looks like a room of a foreign aristocrat.

‘Now then, am I currently living as a noble in a foreign country?’

As she was contemplating about the future, she continued to think about what might have happened to her parents.

Then, the door opened with a click.

Surprised, Hyeseo pulled down the blanket that was covering her head. She brushed her hair lightly, pretending to be calm, before looking at the door.

A beautiful blonde woman came in. Behind her, a young woman in a maid’s uniform followed her with a tray.

“Baby! Are you okay? Why are you sitting already? Lay down.”

Seeing Hyeseo sitting, the blonde woman quickly strode towards her and put her hand on Hyeseo’s forehead. She could easily understand what the woman was saying, but Hyeseo was too busy to understand the situation, so she didn’t notice it.

“The fever has gone down a lot. Thank God.”

“Miss Eleanor, you’re finally awake. The Count and the Madam were very worried.”

The woman in a maid’s uniform said with a happy expression.

‘What do you mean ‘miss’? Then, is this woman a maid who serves me?’

The blonde woman, who seemed to be her maid as well, told the other to call a doctor. Then as she sat down in front of Hyeseo, she showed her the bowl of soup on the tray.

“Ellen, this is made by mother herself. Let’s eat this first. The doctor will be here soon.”

Hyeseo, who was repeating to herself not to forget the name ‘Eleanor’, was at a loss for words at the woman’s words stuck in her ear.

…She said mother.

This woman is her mother.

Hyeseo’s own mother died in an accident, but she does not know whether she is alive or dead, but the blonde woman is the mother of this body.

Her memories and guilt for her former mother tormented her head and heart. Besides, she also feels guilty for this woman in front of her eyes.

Emotions that she didn’t know what to do were mixed together, and tears fell on the blanket.

‘Mom… I miss you.’

Her mother has dark hair, not blonde.

“Ellen! Oh, are you still very sick? If you cry like that, you will have a fever again.”

The woman hurriedly hugged her, wiped her tears, and patted her on the back.

‘I’m sorry ma’am. I’m not Ellen. Your real daughter…I don’t even know what happened to her.’

The patting on the back made her cry even louder.

 It was sad to see the woman touching and soothing her daughter without knowing that a stranger came into its body.

After crying for a long time, Hyeseo emptied the bowl of soup. After she finished the soup, the Doctor who was wearing a single-eyed glasses came, and he thoroughly examined her body.

After the doctor left, she took the medicine the he prescribed and lay down.

“Sleep a little longer.”

The woman brushes her hair softly.

Hyeseo was already tired of the situation itself. Naturally, she wanted to forget everything and sleep, but she could hardly close her eyes, so she had to lie in bed and toss and turn all night.

‘If this were my real body, I would somehow go to Korea and find my family.’

No matter how much she thought about it, it seemed that there was nothing she could do with this little child’s body.

It just felt too far-fetched and unrealistic for her to find her family with this face and reveal that she is Hyeseo.

‘What the hell am I supposed to do?’

She ripped off her hair

“Why are you doing this to me, really…!”

If there is fate, blame fate, if there is God, blame God.

Whoever it is, she wanted to blame this reality to anyone.

***

No one wakes up Hyeseo because she was a sick child, so she slept until dawn and woke up only in the middle of the day.

Although she woke up, she just sat still in bed because she couldn’t figure out what to do.

‘I think the fever’s gone… I’ll have to gather information first. My name, my family, where I am. Fortunately, I’m a kid, it’s okay if I don’t know.’

‘There doesn’t seem to be any problem at all. But… how am I going to find it out?’

She truly was in the midst of a rush.

‘I don’t think I said much yesterday, can I just go with amnesia? Will there be internet here? Since there was an accident on the highway, wouldn’t there have been an article or two on the Korean portal site?’

While Hyeseo was contemplating for a long time how to find out about the situation here and there, someone knocked on the door.

“Lady, this is Marsha. Are you awake?”

“Come in.”

‘I’m talking informally, right? Considering the aristocrats in the past, I think it’s right to speak informally.’

She spoke informally first and took a hint. Luckily, she did the right thing, seeing that Marsha doesn’t care.

The woman, Marsha, looked good, and was wearing something different from the maid she saw yesterday.

 A maid? A nanny? An exclusive maid?

As Hyeseo was thinking about everything she heard somewhere in her mind, Marsha sat next to the bed and touched her forehead.

 “You seem to be completely healed now. You did a great job, miss. Once you contacted Rolanda’s disease, you won’t get it anymore, so you’re fine now. It’s a disease that every child at that age goes through once.”

Is that so? Anyway, it’s a relief that she won’t get it again.

Then Marsha held out a medicine bowl to her.

“Miss, now you have to eat a light meal and take your medicine.”

On the previous day, she was distracted so she just ate what they gave her, but now that she looked at it, the smell of medicine brought up a bitter taste that made her face frown.

It looks like poison.

“Aren’t I already doing better? There’s no need to take medicine anymore.”

“This medicine will give you energy. You’ve been very sick for a few days, so please take a little more medicine.”

Thinking that the timing is right, Hyeseo shot a question.

“How many days? Then today’s date is…”

“It’s the seventh day of the fall, year 1258 in the imperial calendar.”

Imperial calendar? Which empire? The only empires Hyeseo knew were the Roman Empire, the British Empire, and they were all in the distant past.

She was so bewildered that she could not find the words to say and just looked at Marsha with a blank expression.

“Ellen.”

Hyeseo was startled by the click of the door and turned to the side where the door sounded. The person who came in was a tall, muscular man with wide shoulders.

“Count.”

Marsha got up from her seat, politely bowed her head and stepped aside.

Count? The woman yesterday is the Countess, and this man is the Count. Then this is the kid’s father?

Hyeseo’s eyes fluttered at the sudden appearance of Eleanor’s father.

The Count, who received Masha’s greeting, sat by Hyeseo’s bedside and placed his hand on her forehead.

“It looks like the fever has completely gone down. It’s a relief, my daughter.”

Confirming that her forehead wasn’t hot, the Count wrapped his hands around Hyeseo’s face.

“Dad was very worried. You’re not sick anymore?”

“Yes.”

Hyeseo answered the Count’s words in a small voice and slowly nodded her head.

“It seems that your energy has not returned yet. Marsha, don’t you think she still needs to take more medicine?”

“It’s time for her to take one now.”

Marsha held out her medicine bowl, which she still had in her hand. The Count who took the bowl and handed the medicine to Hyeseo.

“If you drink this well, Dad will buy you your favorite strawberry cake from Roanoke.”

Roanoke? What is Roanoke?

She was curious, but in a situation where she knew nothing, Hyeseo, who wanted to keep her words as little as possible, swallowed her question and nodded her head.

The Count, who watched her frown and empty her bowl, got up from his seat with a happy smile.

“Dad has to leave now. I’m sorry I couldn’t stay by your side.”

“…Have a safe trip.”

Hyeseo gave a small greeting to the Count, who was stroking and patting her on the head.

The Count handed the empty medicine bowl to Marsha and left the room. As soon as he left the room, Hyeseo looked at Marsha.

“Marsha, I want to see a map.”

She knew it was too absurd to come from a child who just woke up from being sick, but Hyeseo couldn’t help but say this.

Hyeseo continued to be dazed after Marsha left the room.

And when she saw the map…she couldn’t read the name of the places at all!

Because it was a curly handwriting that she had never seen before.

On a large piece of paper, there was a map of the world at the top, then a map of the country at the bottom. The map of this country, of course, she couldn’t figure out what it was, but the map of the world… was completely different from the picture of the globe that she’s familiar with.

Perhaps it is a noble family that values tradition in a very small country that is not well known at best. She thought she can go to Korea when she grows up.

Hyeseo’s vague thoughts and plans, which have been continuing all along, were visibly shattered.

If this is not Earth, what planet is this?

Hyeseo seemed dizzy at the fact that this place was not even Earth. What’s this? She just got into a car accident, but came to such an unrealistic reality.

‘So this is a place that’s not Earth, and I’m a girl named Eleonor. Is this real? Is this a dream?’

She didn’t even think of anything funny like the afterlife service. At that time, she would just search on the Internet or call Korea since she thought there might be a way to go back when she grows up, but now…

She’s freaking out.

‘I was so shocked that the car collapsed, so did my body really died? Or am I just lying unconscious in the hospital because my consciousness is here? Then can I go back to my body when I die?’

No matter how much she thought about it, she could not think of a way to return to her original body except for the option of death.

However, the risk was too great after dying once. What if she really die this time and completely lost her consciousness? Or, what if it she goes into another strange body instead of her own?

‘I miss my Mom. I miss my Dad and I want to see Hyerim too.’

Mom, Dad, Auntie, Uncle, Eunho…

Is everyone alive? It’s all because of me…