As the silver-grey-haired woman turned toward us, her serious expression melted instantly.
"Nice work, Tyre," she said with a bright smile, stepping over to the maid. "Now why don't you prepare some food for us? I'm starving."
She said this while openly squeezing Tyre's butt.
I blinked, stunned, as the maid turned beet-red—eyes flickering briefly toward us before she bowed shyly.
"As you wish, Your Highness," she said meekly, and practically fled the room in embarrassment.
I had to resist the urge to applaud.
Both of them were acting—Oscar-level acting, at that.
And the funniest part? Neither the fake highness nor the fake innocent maid knew the other was also acting.
Of course, that was just my assumption based on meta-knowledge…
but hopefully I would confirm it soon.
"So," the woman said, leaning casually against the large desk, "you said you wanted to discuss something with me privately… friend."
The breeze from the open window lifted her light grey hair slightly. Her complexion was fair, her features delicate and beautiful. The luxurious clothing and jewelry only enhanced her charm—and the playful curve of her lips made it seem like she wasn't taking any of this seriously.
For a brief moment, I doubted myself.
Could she really be a transmigrator? Or was she actually the original princess all along?
Then her gaze flicked to Roxanne—specifically to the slave collar around her neck—and her eyes narrowed ever so slightly.
Yeah. She definitely wasn't the original princess.
"Roxanne," I said gently, "can you wait outside? Let me know if someone comes."
I knew the truth: the princess—or whoever she truly was—wouldn't speak openly unless we were alone.
"Yes, Master," Roxanne said, nodding without question.
"Thanks," I replied as she stepped out and closed the door behind her.
"A very cute slave you have there, friend," the woman remarked neutrally as she moved behind the desk with casual confidence.
"Yes, Roxanne is the best," I replied with a small smile.
But as I turned my attention back to her, I noticed it—
a subtle shift in her posture, a faint tightening in her shoulders.
She was wary of me now.
And that was perfectly understandable.
I had just sent someone to guard the door. We were alone. And although she likely had servants and guards stationed nearby… being isolated with a stranger who clearly knew too much would make anyone cautious.
I cleared my thoughts and cast Appraisal on her once more.
[Rolena Maxima n'Wimbledon
Villager Level 2
Equipment: Sacrificial Misanga]
Her long title confirmed she was indeed royalty—one of the Wimbledon siblings, just like Garcia and Tilly whom I had met yesterday.
But what truly shocked me wasn't her name.
It was her job… and her level.
Villager. Level 2.
I had never seen an adult with a Villager level that low.
Vesta was also level 2, but she had just turned fifteen and had barely explored the world. Aside from her, I had only seen the kids in Somara Village being in that range.
But a twenty-one-year-old princess?
Honestly… that was almost impressive in its own way.
Mina had already told me the rumors: the fourth royal sibling, Rolena, was infamous for being a talentless wastrel—spoiled, reckless, constantly tossing money around on whatever caught her fleeting interest.
But that was the old Rolena.
There was no point judging someone based on a life they weren't even the one who lived.
After all, the woman standing before me now was not the original princess.
"Your Highness," I said gently, "could you please accept this first?"
I took a seat on the sofa—deliberately putting some distance between us so she would feel less threatened—and sent her a party invite again.
She narrowed her grey eyes at me, suspiciously…
but this time, she accepted.
'Good. Now we can talk freely,' I said to her through the party chat.
"What?" she blurted aloud, eyes widening in alarm.
'Relax,' I replied through the party chat. 'We're just talking mind-to-mind within the party. It's safer and completely private. And before you panic—no, I can't read your thoughts. This is just communication, nothing more.'
'Oh… fascinating.' Her voice in my mind grew curious. She went silent for a moment, as if sifting through her memories. 'I… didn't know adventurers could use this kind of telepathic conversation.'
'They can't.' I smirked slightly. 'But first, Your Highness… I think we both have questions that need answers.'
Her grey eyes narrowed. She hesitated—
and then finally asked the question we had both been circling around.
'Are you from Earth too?'
'Yes.' I nodded.
She looked doubtful. 'Really?'
'Hmm... how about this,' I suggested. 'Let's both say the place we were born and our birth year. That way we both can verify if we're telling the truth.'
She nodded, settled into her chair, and we compared details—bit by bit confirming things about our past life.
'So your real name is Cheng Yanqi?' I asked, stunned.
I had briefly wondered if the original male MC from RTW had transmigrated here but into a female body instead—which would have been… complicated, to say the least.
But no—she was a woman, through and through—just someone whose name happened to be uncannily similar to the original MC's: Cheng Yan.
'And you're four years younger than me,' she noted with mild surprise. Then she shook her head. 'No—that doesn't matter. What matters is… this proves you really are from Earth.'
She stood, walked over, and sat near me on the sofa.
Her expression sharpened.
'Then… do you know what's happening here? With us?'
'What's the last thing you remember?' I asked in return, genuinely curious.
'Ugh, don't remind me.' She rubbed her forehead. 'My department head dumped an impossible deadline on me—said I had to finish all the blueprints over the extended weekend while he enjoyed his extended vacation. I practically lived in the office for three days. No sleep, just coffee and suffering. I remember feeling dizzy, but I was so close to finishing… so I kept pushing… and then I must've blacked out.' She let out a long, defeated sigh.
'You really died from overwork,' I said softly, sympathy tugging at me.
'Yeah, I guess so.' Her wry smile carried more exhaustion than humor. 'And the next thing I know, some old guy is shaking me awake, asking me to approve the hanging of a girl for being a witch. A witch! What kind of medieval, ignorant world did I end up in?' She sighed again—deeper this time.
I couldn't help the small, wry smile tugging at my lips. Her entire demeanor had shifted—right now instead of a princess she sounded more like a tired old grandma complaining about her life's tragedies.
Also her story matched the original MC's background perfectly:
Mechanical engineer, Chinese, died from overwork.
Was the original protagonist just her male counterpart from another universe? A gender-swapped variant? Or was he perhaps her brother?
'Alright, your turn,' she said, looking at me expectantly. 'How did you end up here?'
'My story's not nearly as interesting,' I replied with a strained smile—and I gave her the condensed version of my life, how things had gone well for me… right up until the moment everything stopped.
She listened quietly.
When I finished, her expression softened—painfully so.
'You had a loving family and a bright future… for that to be taken from you so unfairly is just… cruel.' Her eyes glimmered with unshed tears as she looked at me with pity.
'Yeah, but the same could be said for you,' I replied gently. 'Dying from overwork isn't exactly a noble ending either… But in my case you could at least call it bad luck. You—well, couldn't you have just quit your job? Working so hard that you will die is just…'
I stopped myself before I said stupid.
'I couldn't quit.' She shook her head firmly. 'Unlike you, my parents died when I was little. No relatives. I grew up in an orphanage. I studied like hell to get into a decent college, and when I finally graduated, every "good" job wanted either experience or connections. I had neither. After a year of nonstop rejections, a tiny startup finally hired me—but the pay sucked, the workload was insane, and I barely had any savings.'
She exhaled long and tired. 'If I didn't work diligently, I literally wouldn't have been able to pay rent or even fill my stomach.'
Guilt pricked me immediately.
'I'm sorry. I shouldn't have judged your situation. I've… never actually held a job, so I spoke out of ignorance.'
Her being the sole orphan also crushed my theory about her being the original MC's sibling.
'Hey, it's fine.' She waved it off lightly. 'If I'd known overwork would be what killed me, I would've slammed those blueprints right back onto my superior's face and tell him to finish his own damn work.'
A small, rebellious smirk tugged at her lips.
I couldn't help but chuckle. 'Well, our deaths sucked, we were both dealt a crappy hand… but at least now we have a second chance.'
Her smile faded into a deeper sigh.
'I don't think my bad luck is done with me yet. After going through this body's memories, I realized that even though I'm a princess in this medieval world… my future looks pretty bleak.'
'Because of the Royal Selection for the Crown.' I said quietly, meeting her gaze.
Her head snapped up. 'You know even about that? Wait—how did you find out that I was from Earth? That I wasn't the original princess? And you were standing right in front of me when I woke up in this body… Did you know that someone from Earth would appear?'
Her eyes widened, sparkling with sudden excitement. 'Don't tell me you have a system—a golden finger—like in those isekai novels?'
I hesitated… then nodded. 'Uhh… well… yeah. Kind of.'
'Shit, really?!' She grabbed my shoulder, practically vibrating. 'What is it? Does it warn you when another Earthling is going to get isekai'd? Does it predict the future?!'
'No… although both would've been pretty damn useful.' I gave her a wry smile. 'Before I talk about my system, I need to explain something about us being isekai'd here. There's a fundamental difference between our situations.' I pointed between the two of us.
'Tell me—do you know about the stories Slave Harem in a Labyrinth or Release That Witch?'
She blinked. 'Huh? Are those new isekai titles? Sorry, after my first-semester grades tanked in college, I stopped wasting time on anime, manga, and games. I haven't read anything in years.'
'Is that so…?' I muttered, then asked a few more probing questions—about the year she died, major world events, famous people—just to confirm some suspicions.
After thinking it over, she nodded slowly. 'So we were definitely from the same Earth… you just died years after me. But you arrived here earlier than me. Weird, but not impossible.'
'No,' I said with a long exhale. 'We most definitely did not come from the same Earth. A similar Earth, maybe… but not the same one.'
Her brows rose. 'Oh? And why do you think that?'
'Because I know about the world we're in right now… or rather, I know the two stories that are connected to it.'
I pointed at myself, then at her. 'My story—Slave Harem in a Labyrinth—and yours—Release That Witch.'
Her jaw dropped. 'You know our stories? As in—this world is something you've already read? You know what's supposed to happen?'
I nodded.
She leaned back, stunned, then slowly smirked. 'Well that explains why you were standing in front of the execution stage the moment I woke up in this body. This is… honestly even better than having a system. I was panicking when I didn't find any cheat ability or golden finger with me. Even the memories of this princess were useless. But turns out my golden finger is you—the guy who knows the future.' She said, snapping her fingers at me with a grin.
I chuckled wryly. 'I'm flattered, really. But there are still some problems.'
I explained the basics of the original Michio's story—his miserable life, the questionnaire, the transport, how he hadn't actually died, just shifted worlds. A strange coincidence, given that both she and the original Michio had collapsed at their computers.
She blinked. 'So you replaced the original Michio's soul… the guy who willingly filled a survey to get isekai'd?'
Then she frowned. 'But... how did you end up here in his place? And how did I get here? You clearly weren't in any condition to fill out anything before you died, and I definitely never signed up for some suicide-wish isekai form online. I use so many ad-blockers my browser doesn't even show those things,' she added earnestly.
I gave a helpless shrug. 'I have no idea either. My best theory is that this world is some kind of AU. And that theory is basically confirmed. Because in the story I had read…'
I pointed at her again with a smirk. 'You were supposed to be a man.'
Her eyes widened.
'You were supposed to be Roland Wimbledon… not Rolena Wimbledon.'
Rolena froze, staring at me in absolute shock.
***
[AS1291 has redeemed an Extra Chapter this week]
***
I give a heartfelt thanks to all my new Patreon Supporters! :)
Jack Bradbury
You are Gamma level on Patreon and Tier 0 on Discord now!!
Ghostwolf928
You are Beyond Omega level on Patreon and Tier 10 on Discord now!!