Chapter 3
"Lady Tillien will arrive at the castle soon. If this matter goes awry—"
"—It will be difficult to find another suitable tutor?"
Interrupting Herwin, Everiel hastily turned her head to gaze at the fireplace.
Above the fireplace hung a flag adorned with a white stag and three flowers.
'The Solgren's stag!'
Each of the four noble houses of Veloyton bore a symbol representing their lineage.
Among them, the Shield– Solgren, bore a white stag and three lilies.
As the only daughter of Duke Solgren, Everiel couldn't mistake that symbol.
'This is Solgren. Dad's room in Solgren Ducal Castle.'
That wasn't all. The faint scent of bitter medicine, the crackle of logs in the fireplace, and the soft touch of thick blankets.
'How can they be all so vivid?'
As doubt crept in, Everiel's tears ceased. A knock suddenly sounded.
"Come in."
With Herwin's permission, the door opened promptly. A woman clad in a deep blue dress cautiously stepped inside.
"Excuse me, Your Grace. I've come to attend to Milady."
Everiel recognized the face and her eyes widened.
"L-Lily?"
"Yes, Milady."
Oh my. It really was Lily!
Everiel was speechless with shock.
Neatly tied light brown hair and sky-blue eyes resembling the heavens. Even the mole on the corner of her eye was prominent.
Though her face was more mature than the last time she saw her, there was no mistaking Lily Velgreen, the girl who had been her governess.
‘If it’s Dad, I can understand, but why is Lily here?’
Lily had returned to her homeland in the Western Empire when Everiel turned six. There was no way she would have been involved in the corruption in the north.
‘Is this really the afterlife...?’
But if it wasn't the afterlife, then where was it? Everiel was perplexed by the conflicting logic.
"Take her back to her room."
Herwin gestured towards Everiel with his eyes. Lily's expression stiffened.
"Yes, Your Grace. I'm truly sorry."
Lily apologized, bowing her head, then approached and embraced Everiel.
"Ah."
Everiel gasped at the sensation of being lifted.
'Was Lily always this strong? Or was I always this easy to hold?'
While Everiel was still bewildered, Lily swiftly carried her out of the room.
"W-wait...!"
Before she could react, Herwin vanished from Everiel's sight.
"Oh, my goodness, Milady. Do you know how startled I was when you disappeared while I was preparing the bath?"
Lily quickly turned the corner and began ascending the stairs.
"Even if you don't want the governess to come here, there's nothing we can do. She's someone His Grace hired with great difficulty."
The words Lily spoke echoed what was already in Everiel's mind.
‘I’m certain. I've experienced this before.’
Eve thought, clutching and releasing her hand repeatedly. Her hand felt strangely small, almost as if her body had shrunk...
"Don't worry too much. A good teacher will definitely come."
Lily reassured, pausing in the middle of the corridor to open the door with one hand.
The interior bathing in sunlight was unmistakably a child's room.
In a fleeting moment, Everiel confirmed that the canopy over the bed was a light salmon color and the carpet on the floor was ivory.
Once again, she blinked at the oddly familiar scenery.
On one side of the room stood a serene shelf. The moment she spotted the rabbit doll placed on it, memories flooded back like waves.
‘I got that as a gift.’
Lily attached blue buttons to the doll's eyes to match Everiel's eye color, with a ribbon tied around the white rabbit doll.
‘I even named it Snowberry.’
It was a present Lily had handmade for Everiel's fifth birthday.
Even after leaving Solgren for the palace, she still remembered how she couldn't take it with her.
‘Of all things, I just had to see that.’
Before Everiel could realize anything else, Lily opened the door connecting the room to the bathroom.
A warm steam infused with a pleasant floral scent wafted from the warm bathwater.
"Now, let's get you cleaned up and go downstairs. You must see the birthday cake the head chef has ambitiously prepared, Milady.”
Lily's statement struck Everiel just as she was heading towards the tub. An unbelievable scene unfolded before Everiel's eyes.
"I—I'll go down. I want to go down.”
"Oh, I'll help you down. Please don't struggle. It would be quite a mishap if you were to fall.”
Lily said tenderly as she lowered Everiel.
Everiel descended to the floor and hurriedly dashed off somewhere in a panic.
The place where the child stopped was in front of the long, full-length mirror hanging on the bathroom wall.
In the pristine mirror, Everiel's reflection stared back.
The curly silver hair and the subtle azure irises were unmistakably her own.
However, this sight was unexpected.
"...This is me?"
Cheeks full of innocence. Short limbs and a petite stature.
"I’m weally…"
An unmistakably awkward pronunciation.
Everiel turned her head in disbelief. Putting Lily's words into consideration and the doll she had received as a gift, she realized now.
"Am I weally five years old?"
"Yes, it's your birthday today!"
Lily, oblivious to everything, exclaimed joyfully.
"Congratulations on turning five, Milady!"
"Waaahhhh, this can't be happening!"
* * *
For a while, Everiel was lost in confusion, only admitting to herself that she hadn't died but had traveled back in time after finishing her bath.
'Are the memories of my stay in the palace actually just a very long dream? Or perhaps glimpses of the future?'
She briefly entertained these ideas but soon realized it wasn't the case.
"Milady, have you been injured here?"
Lily, who was helping her dress, asked in surprise.
Everiel checked and found a small scar beneath her collarbone, near her heart.
She lightly touched it.
'It's a place where I've never been injured before. This is probably...'
Emperor Kaizen's sword had pierced exactly this spot in the sanctuary. The wound was clearly from that time. She couldn't imagine any other reason.
She didn't know why there was a scar on her body now that she had traveled back in time, but thanks to it, Everiel could quickly gather her thoughts.
"I've dressed you every day, how could I have not noticed?"
Lily looked at her with a sorrowful expression.
"You must have been in a lot of pain."
Yes, very, very much.
Everiel barely restrained herself from throwing a tantrum right then and there.
Who would believe the story of someone traveling back in time? And from the mouth of a five-year-old at that.
'I'd be lucky enough If she didn't call a doctor.'
She couldn't even bring herself to rashly mention the possibility of dying at the hands of the emperor.
'I could easily end up with my head on a spike for insulting an imperial.'
As Lily dried her hair, Everiel pondered deeply. Why had this happened to her, and what should she do now?
'No matter how much I think about it, I have no idea why I ended up back in the past. But one thing's for sure....'
As she envisioned the future, Everiel's body grew cold as if she were caught in a snowstorm.
If things continued like this, her fate was clear.
‘I'll be fourteen when Solgren falls, and the emperor will kill me.’
Everiel shuddered, recalling the sensation of the blade piercing her.
The child vividly remembered Shaia's smile just before death. Now, in hindsight, it wasn't a smirk after all.
‘This is a chance given by God. A single opportunity to change the future, to escape death.’
So, what could she do to seize that chance?
‘I'm only five years old now.’