Chapter 4

Chapter 4

In an instant, my heart sank.

‘Did it notice that I possessed this body?’

I couldn’t easily affirm or deny it.

As I was contemplating an answer, Ash muttered a little.

[I’ve been through a lot…]

“What?”

At my question, the bird jumped like it had been struck by lightning and responded in a hurry.

[Ah, nothing!]

It couldn’t make eye contact with me, and avoided my gaze.

It certainly looked suspicious.

As if it had read my doubts, it quickly added,

[I won’t hurt you, I came here just to help.]

But I realized at a very young age that there would be no one who would help without asking for something in return.

“You and I met for the first time today, so how can I trust you?”

Ash rolled its eyes at my question.

[I will give you power.]

“Power?”

[Yes, the power you need and should have.]

The bird, who had just moved from the palm of my hand to my wrist, muttered softly,

[And also the power that was originally yours.]

The bird’s beak pecked on my wrist slightly.

Then, a sparkling blue liquid began to flow from my wrist.

“This… what is this?”

[I am calling on the power contained within you.]

In the blink of an eye, the blue liquid spread throughout my body.

I blinked seeing the blue light that it emitted.

It shined so brightly that my entire view was obscured.

After a while, the liquid began to be absorbed back into my body.

I trembled slightly, feeling the power that slowly seeped into my veins.

It was unfamiliar, but somehow I felt a warm energy that evoked nostalgia.

When I looked at Ash in confusion, the plump white bird smiled and said,

[The name of your kind is Epure, you are a purifier who has just awakened.]

‘A purifier?’

In many stories, the female lead tended to have unique abilities.

Maybe the ability to contract the spirit, healing powers, become a magic or swordsmanship genius, or at least something unique that captivated the male lead.

So, just by hearing the name, I could guess what kind of power it was.

It was the power to defeat evil spirits, and healing.

But I didn’t like it.

‘The problem is that there’s a good chance I’m not the main character.’

There is a reason why I vaguely judged that there is a high probability that I am not the main character here.

Of course, the true protagonist of Reversed Lady, which the author acknowledged, was not Olivia, but Carinne.

‘But there are suddenly many things that were different from the original.’

The polite attitude of the maid, the sudden appearance of a bird, and the power I gained.

‘It could be that me possessing Olivia’s body itself is a big variable.’

The appearance of a new character could change a lot of things.

The storyline could already twist in a slightly different direction.

If so, it was better for me.

“I need to be alert all the time to survive.”

[Who is trying to kill you?]

“Huh?”

I accidentally let out my thoughts, so Ash heard me.

I wanted to make an excuse.

‘But I’ve already said Carinne’s name. Even if it believed me this time, it’s only a matter of time before it knows.’

The bird who awakened the power within me didn’t seem to be planning on leaving me anytime soon.

‘Even if I pushed it to leave, it didn’t seem like it would hear me.’

In the end, I frankly confided in it,

“I think my sister wants to kill me.”

I could not reveal that I possessed Olivia’s body and that this world was a novel, so I gave a vague explanation of how I found out.

[Hmm, I see.]

I thought it would be surprised, but the response I got back was surprisingly relaxed.

“I’m not sure, it’s just a speculation.”

[You’re probably right.]

It was a confident answer.

The bird continued with a small shrug,

[Because you wouldn’t have felt that way for no reason.]

“How are you so sure?”

[Epure is by nature very sensitive to intuition. Have you ever heard of sixth senses? Have you ever felt that you are better at noticing risks or crises than others?]

Without realizing it, my mouth opened slightly.

‘How did you know that?’

Ever since I was a kid, if I had a feeling that something bad was going to happen, it would always be right.

But I didn’t know exactly what would happen until it happened.

In other words, it was a useless ability.

“Even if we detect it in advance, we can’t avoid it anyway.”

[It may have been like that until now, but it will become a necessary skill in the future. Epure is a special being with the power of purification.]

According to the bird, Epure is a powerful healer, a curse-dispelling healer, and at the same time a detoxifier.

‘It’s a better power than I thought.’

I thought it was just a healing ability, but I could also remove curses and detoxify.

‘Wait, detoxification…?’

I paused at the thought that came to mind while I was repeating Ash’s words involuntarily.

‘If what it said was true, isn’t it safe to drink the poison?’

If Carinne put a curse on me, I could use an Epure’s power to release it.

I felt as if the dark sky had suddenly changed to blue.

“That’s a pretty useful power. In the future, if something happens to me, I can use this power.”

But it only took a few seconds for my expectations to collapse like a deflated balloon.

[I’m sorry, but that’s not possible. A purifier cannot heal itself.]

“What?”

[Epure’s holy purifying power does not reach the Epure themselves.]

‘Crazy.’

A curse almost came out of my mouth.

Instead, my honest feeling came out,

“God’s blessing?”

[Yes.]

“This power is a blessing from God?”

[Yes.]

‘Oh my God.’

I put a hand on my temple due to a headache.

I didn’t think I’d ever get picked because of my former life as a pushover.

[What’s wrong, Olivia? You have the power, but you’re not happy?]

Rather than being happy, I was angry at the sight of it tilting its head as if it didn’t understand me.

“Isn’t that obvious? Do I really need a power that I can’t use?”

[Even if you don’t need it, it will be of great help to someone…]

“That’s the problem!”

I lost my patience and self-control in an instant.

“How is it a blessing to only do good things for others until the day you die? Damn! I am just an ordinary person whose dream is to live an ordinary life!”

Of course, I sincerely respected great people who sacrificed and threw themselves into danger for others.

But I couldn’t be like them.

As if my reaction was unexpected, Ash’s expression went blank.

Ash hurriedly started to comfort me with,

[Don’t be too negative. Do you know many beings covet the power of Epure?]

‘Wait.’

I grabbed it with both hands after hearing the words.

“That sounds like a lot of people are after me?”

[Uh, that…]

Ash looked me in the eye and hesitantly said those words.

The sound of my death flag being raised again was heard in my mind.

“Sigh…”

I was speechless.

‘I’m going to dig my own grave.’

I was struggling to live, but there were more and more people aiming for me.

“I don’t need this power, so take it back.”

Then the bird was visibly confused.

[I-I can’t do that.]

“What?”

The bird who was hesitating while looking into my eyes answered,

[I can’t get rid of the power I’ve already drawn out.]

“… Are you kidding me?”

The words came out of my mouth in irritation.

Ash was astonished and stuttered, not knowing what to do.

[S-sorry. I never thought you’d hate this ability so much. But it has always been yours in the first place…]

It stuttered excuses, but they didn’t even reach my ears.

I had never seen a character in a story have powers without any reason.

I didn’t know what the God of this world was thinking when they gave me this ability, but it was definitely not for free.

Was the poisoned tea the price?

That great poison that could swap people’s bodies and lives.

‘Oh, right.’

‘I forgot.’

I turned around, leaving Ash alone.

Ash, who was watching me, took a step back.

‘I have to look at the tea leaves.’

I lost my mind because of the bird who suddenly came over.

When I walked to the table and opened the lid of the teapot, I saw the tea that had just cooled off.

I laid a white handkerchief on the table and spread out the tea leaves one by one on it.

The leaves that were soaked in moisture were restored to their original shape.

“They all look the same… If the tea leaves weren’t the problem, then is it the water?”

While mumbling to myself and rubbing my forehead, Ash sat down on the table and asked me.

[Olivia… what are you doing?]

I didn’t respond.

However, I didn’t forbid the bird from approaching me.

[Wait.]

Then, the expression of the bird who had been paying close attention to the leaves suddenly became strange.