It Turned Out She Wasn't a Favored Concubine - Episode 2

“Ughhh!”

I slid onto the bed, which was even bigger than the bathroom in my old house, throwing myself down.

After dismissing the maids and tossing aside the tight corset and dress, I felt an indescribable sense of freedom.

The smooth satin sheets brushed against my cheek. Just a few months ago, this kind of luxury was something I could only dream of, and now I was living it but it didn’t bring me much joy.

More than anything, I wasn’t even sure if the word “reality” applied anymore.

Wrapped tightly in the white satin sheets, I quietly traced back my memories.

Three months ago, I was just an ordinary office worker. Fresh out of college, I had landed a decent job and was fumbling through the early days of my career.

Work was tough and exhausting, but I consoled myself with the thought that everyone’s job is hard. I’d come home, watch TV, or flip through history books I liked to unwind.

That day wasn’t particularly special.

Well, except for one thing my dad had brought back a box of my grandmother’s belongings from the countryside.

My grandmother, who had always doted on me since I was little, had passed away from illness six months prior.

She used to say I was born clutching a precious stone and would grow up to be someone great, always cheering me on no matter what I did. Losing her was devastating.

My parents had been too busy to sort through her things earlier, so my dad finally brought back two boxes filled with items she had cherished.

Among them was a transparent stone fragment she had always kept hidden and only showed me on special occasions. It was wrapped in layers of white cloth inside an expensive wooden box. She said I had been clutching it in my palm when I was born.

She claimed that when she touched the stone that had fallen from my tiny hand, she felt a shock so intense it made her whole body tingle. She had forbidden me from touching it, insisting it was no ordinary object.

Back then, I dismissed her words as superstition and didn’t pay much attention to the stone.

But things were different now.

That transparent stone was the item most deeply tied to my grandmother’s memory. That day, I took it out gently, reminiscing about her.

And that was my last memory.

I don’t even remember if I fell asleep. But when I woke up, I was in a lavish room I’d never seen before, wearing a frilly white slip so delicate I was afraid it might tear. No it wasn’t “me” wearing it. The body in the slip belonged to “Arne von Edelheit.” My soul, my consciousness, had entered Arne von Edelheit’s body.

There was no warning, no sign.

I had suddenly fallen into a strange world. The clothing and architecture reminded me of Europe centuries ago, but it wasn’t.

The continents and countries on the map were completely unfamiliar, even to someone like me who loved history.

Most notably, there was a special mineral called “Motus” that didn’t exist in my world. Through Motus, phenomena that defied modern science almost magical could be realized.

It wasn’t the kind of magic from fantasy novels where fireballs shoot from your hands or holy light heals all wounds. But with expensive Motus, people could transcend space and enjoy conveniences.

There was also an imperial society with emperors and nobles, a gleaming white temple built for the continent’s one true god, wars fought at the borders with swords and spears, teleportation via Motus, and artisans who specialized in crafting Motus…

Ha ha ha, it was truly a mysterious and fantastical world.

I chuckled. A mysterious and fantastical world ha, I was both proud and pitiful for being able to say that so easily.

It had taken a lot of emotional struggle to get to that point.

I missed everything I’d left behind in my original world.

Mom, Dad, my friends even my annoying younger sibling. Just thinking of their faces made me tear up.

The package that was supposed to arrive in two days, the TV shows I watched every week, the novel I was waiting to finish, the golden music box I bought on a solo trip…

How much must my parents be suffering, searching for their suddenly vanished daughter?

Would my coworkers think I’d run away from my responsibilities?

What happened to my real body? Was my golden music box gathering dust somewhere?

It took a long time to let go of all the questions I couldn’t answer.

Then came the adaptation.

A new world, unfamiliar people. And this body spoke a language I didn’t know, yet I could speak it fluently. I followed dining etiquette I’d never learned as if it were second nature.

The body I inhabited scared me, and the people who looked at me strangely made me anxious.

Especially Erich, the man who visited me daily claiming to be my husband—he was overwhelming.

He was the emperor, and incredibly handsome. Just looking at his face was exhausting.

And he was my husband?

Shouldn’t we know each other intimately?

He was the most likely person to notice I wasn’t the real Arne.

But he was also the kindest to me. Well, to Arne, not me.

Right after I possessed this body, I was bedridden with a mysterious fever.

My head throbbed, my vision blurred, and I couldn’t recognize the unfamiliar faces around me.

I babbled nonsense, forced down food that didn’t suit my taste only to vomit it back up. I’d recover for a few days, then relapse again…

It was a bizarre illness, but Erich never once frowned. He comforted me warmly through it all.

Thanks to his kindness, I gradually adapted to this world without needing to pretend I had amnesia like some novel heroine.

Most importantly, a few days after I arrived in Arne’s body, I received her diary from the Edelheit family, which gave me the confidence to act as her.

That diary was my lifeline in this chaotic new reality.

It was delivered by Ortlang, a loyal old butler sent by Arne’s brother, the head of the Edelheit family.

The fever came in waves, but Ortlang waited patiently and handed me the diary in person once I recovered.

I was nervous he might notice I wasn’t Arne, but Ortlang showed no suspicion and respectfully gave me the diary. It was a tremendous help.

The diary was as thick as an encyclopedia—not a childish journal with one-line entries.

It contained everything about Arne’s life.

From her childhood to her time in the imperial palace, major events, social connections, names of relatives, hobbies, even her speech patterns!

It wasn’t just about Arne—it detailed the Edelheit family and the empire itself.

I wasn’t sure if it could even be called a diary, but since the cover said “Diary,” I decided to treat it as one.

I had no idea why Arne had written such an encyclopedia-like diary, but it was incredibly useful to me.

Thanks to it, I could pretend to know things during unexpected situations and avoid strange looks from the maids when I asked basic questions.

But because of its massive volume, I’d need to study it repeatedly to fully absorb the contents.

So yes, I had adapted. But then I discovered a huge problem.

The emperor my husband Erich, was only pretending to favor Arne.

I realized it through simple observation.

I was quite perceptive. As a rookie employee, reading the room was a survival skill.

And Erich wasn’t my husband—he was Arne’s.

Sure, he was extremely handsome, but I didn’t fall in love with him at first sight. Of course not. He was a stranger in a strange world. A dazzling emperor who felt distant.

So I could see things objectively.

And I saw that he didn’t love Arne.

Among his four concubines, he visited Arne the most. He treated her kindly and sent her expensive jewelry every month.

Officially, Arne was the most favored concubine.

As a result, she became increasingly arrogant. According to the diary, Arne was the only daughter of a prestigious marquis family and had grown up without hardship.

Her brother was a war hero, and their family held immense power.

She caught the emperor’s eye at a social event, entered the palace as a concubine, and rose to prominence, always appearing with him at official events.

Her pride soared. To her, palace servants were mere slaves, and she had to get whatever she wanted.

She threw tantrums and abused her power. Just recalling her actions from the diary made me blush with shame.

She behaved like a villainess from a soap opera.

And she wrote all of it in her diary—objectively, even.

Maybe she didn’t realize her actions were wrong?

She beat maids for minor mistakes, wasted palace funds on rare jewels, crashed noble parties uninvited, and ruined orphanages she claimed to support…

Yet Erich favored her most.

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