I Refuse To Be A Character In A Novel - Chapter 51

Erna’s delicate hand held a fork and poked the cake before slowly putting it into her mouth.

‘Why is she telling me all of this?’

After taking a bite of the cake, Erna continued,

“But now that I have come to my senses, I will be the proper mother that I should have always been to my son, and make up for all the time I had missed with him.”

“…Why are you telling me this?”

Catherine asked nervously, unable to keep her composure.

‘Is she going to fire me?’

After Catherine’s expression grew evidently stiff, Erna then replied to Catherine’s words calmly.

“Because I will be counting on you for your help in the future.”

‘I’m not… fired?’

Catherine breathed a long sigh of relief.

Why did I even think of that?

She can’t fire me.

I was personally hired by the duchess dowager, and by firing me, it would seem like the Duchess was indirectly disregarding her mother in law.

“So from now on, I want you to tell me about the things you would do for my son so that I can do it instead.”

‘What?’

“The madam doesn’t have to concern hersel-”

“I can trust you, right?”

“… Of course.”

Catherine replied bitterly as she understood the Duchess’ intentions.

“I understand. If that’s all you need then I’d like to take my leave now.”

At the end of their conversation, Catherine carried herself up and strode away from the table where Erna was seated at.

“Oh and, Ms.Dale.”

She then halted her steps with annoyance at the sudden call that came from behind her.

‘What is it now?’

“The next time you forbid my son from visiting my chambers… No, actually, make sure that there will be no next time.”

Even when she was the one looking down on Erna, Catherine felt like she was being looked down at instead.

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Later that evening, rumors about the conversation between the two ladies had spread far and wide among the servants.

Some of them criticized the Duchess for being ungrateful and doubted her intentions, while others defended her, simply because they were pleased to hear that Catherine, who had always looked down on them even as she hung out with them, received a verbal blow.

Even Mielle, who would usually not partake in such gossip, was overjoyed by the turn of events, thinking that it might hasten Baroness Catherine’s dismissal.

The two of them were always at odds, but coming from a low background, Mielle was always pushed down by Catherine and didn’t dare to point out the Baroness’ behavior even though she witnessed how strict Catherine would get around Jonas when the Duke was absent and how Catherine didn’t tolerate any mistakes, pressuring Jonas for perfection.

Luckily, the Duchess had woken up from her slumber and had started seeing things more clearly.

Bearing such positive thoughts, Mielle opened the door to the Duchess’ chambers after she was given permission.

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Chapter 5 : Forgotten memories

“Madam.”

When she entered the room, Mielle called Erna suspiciously.

“Hm?”

Sitting on the carpet, cross-legged, eyes closed and fingers gathered in a pinch, Erna hummed with a peaceful look on her face.

“What are you doing?”

“Meditating.”

“Is this another one of your ‘modern’ exercises?”

“Have you ever experienced memory loss?”

As she approached, Mielle bent forward, waving her hand across Erna’s closed eyes.

“Not that I’m aware of. Why do you ask?”

“Never mind then”

“Does this have something to do with the amnesia you experienced last winter?”

“It does!”

To be more precise, it’s related to that.

The fact that I couldn’t recall all the memories of the past 8 years didn’t shake me much because I didn’t experience them in person. What bothers me more is that I don’t remember some of the things that happened before that either.

There’s a good chance that it was due to the emotional shock I had experienced when I switched bodies, so I figured that clearing my mind might help me remember it.

“You didn’t seem concerned by it before, why now?”

It’s all because of that dream… And I keep having this weird déja vu every now and then.

‘I can’t quite define this feeling but my heart feels heavy.’

After letting out a long sigh, Erna opened her eyes and relaxed her hands as she faced Mielle with a concerned expression.

“I feel like I’m forgetting something … something important.”

“And you hope that by lying on the carpet with your legs crossed, it will help you remember it?”

“Don’t be sarcastic. It’s called meditation. And, do you have a better idea?”

“Wouldn’t it be wiser to consult a doctor?”

“I don’t think it’s an illness-related amnesia.”

‘I don’t even know how to explain the reason for my amnesia in the first place.’

“I see.”

Mielle settled on the carpet next to Erna.

“Ahem! Actually…”

Letting out a fake cough, she then proudly announced.

“I think I know someone who might be of help.”

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Announcement :

Hello!

This is Cherr.B. Writer of (I Refuse To Be A Character In A Novel).

As you may have witnessed : Previous chapters have all been deleted.

I am here to let you know that I have not dropped the novel.

The reason I took down the chapters is for editing purposes.

Some readers have noted a slight confusion when it comes to the line of events in the early chapters so I have decided to re-edit the chapters for hopefully a better understanding of the plot and a better reading experience for everyone.

The novel will be shared again after it has been edited and revised, with a new and official cover.

Please look forward to it.

As for readers who are up to date and want to find out more :

First of all let me apologize for the inconvenience because I know that many of you are enjoying the novel and are looking forward to new chapters.

That makes me so happy and that is exactly the reason I was encouraged to re-edit the novel to provide a better reading experience so I hope you will wait this through.