Duke and Duchess Reunion - Chapter 87

Chapter 87

The paintings that Ellen had shown while pretending to be an artist were all arranged on the right side of the wall, with a door in the middle dividing the space.

As Aneta’s gaze flowed over the familiar paintings, she noticed one she hadn’t seen before.

It was a painting of a star-studded night sky.

Even though there was no night in this world, it wasn’t as if related paintings couldn’t exist. Despite that, Aneta couldn’t tear her eyes away from this particular painting.

‘…Could it be?’

The only thing that came to mind when thinking about lost time in this world was the night. Aneta, as if in a trance, reached out towards the painting.

As her hand touched the delicately rendered image, something astonishing happened.

The stars, which had been small dots in the sky, suddenly began to fall, leaving long trails like arrows being shot across the canvas.

Startled, Aneta pulled her hand back, but the painting continued to move even after her touch.

It was as if it wasn’t just a painting, but the actual lost night trapped within the frame.

Just to be sure, she touched another painting nearby, but it didn’t react at all.

Taking in this surreal scene, Aneta’s doubts turned to certainty. It seemed she had found the lost time before discovering Lei’s true form, so she decided to follow Elena’s cryptic instructions.

However, Elena had only given her a vague hint to “reconnect the lost time” without explaining exactly what to do.

Aneta anxiously looked out the window. Twilight was nearing its peak.

The thought of Lei laughing, sensing his victory, sent a shiver down her spine.

Aneta turned back. As she considered the paintings and the frame that held the night, her eyes suddenly widened.

‘Why didn’t I think of this sooner?’

The paintings before her were all related to time. However, they were arranged in a completely jumbled order.

Aneta finally realized what Elena’s words had meant.

‘Finding the lost time and connecting it means I need to arrange these paintings in the correct order.’

From “Dawn,” which she first discovered at Lefevra’s gallery, to the “Morning” and “Noon” that Elena had given her as gifts, the “Twilight” that the miracle had shown her just before she arrived here, and finally, the “Night” that held the lost time of this world.

The sequence in which the paintings appeared perfectly matched the flow of time. Aneta didn’t think this was a coincidence.

There was no time to waste. Aneta immediately set to work.

As she rearranged the paintings in the correct order, beams of light emerged from each one and converged in a single spot.

The focal point of the light was the night painting. At that moment, she heard Lei’s voice, seething with frustration.

[No! Damn it!]

Aneta grasped her forehead as the loud voice echoed in her mind. While she squinted in pain, the light beams exploded, engulfing everything in their brightness.

The light soon transformed into darkness.

The frame seemed to vomit out the night it had contained, and that darkness soon swallowed the sun. The crimson sky rapidly turned black.

The night had returned to this world.

Aneta realized she had bought time to find the miracle’s true form. As if to prove it, the night unleashed a force more powerful than ever, having been confined for so long. The darkness that burst out all at once overwhelmed the energy of the miracle.

Only the place where Aneta stood was illuminated by moonlight.

‘Now all that’s left is to find the miracle’s true form.’

Aneta placed a hand over her pounding heart. Pressing down on her chest and taking deep breaths, she felt her tangled thoughts slowly start to clear.

She began to retrace her steps, recalling what had happened before she discovered “Dawn”. The last things she had done were attending Derek’s funeral and personally restoring Elena’s room.

‘Yes, the restoration. That must have been when I first came into contact with the miracle.’

The only time she had touched so many objects, which she would normally never have handled, was on that day.

Coincidentally, the room where she moved those items was also the one she was in now, and it was the same day she discovered the painting of “Dawn.”

The only things she hadn’t touched back then were the heavy and large furniture, which she had asked the servants to move for her.

Aneta began to recall each of the items she had moved that day.

From the cushions on the sofa to the easel that Elena had used.

As she recalled each new item, Aneta found herself standing in front of Elena’s portrait. The moment she took in the image of Elena in the painting, something finally clicked in her mind.

Aneta flinched in surprise, her body trembling as if she had just been struck by a bolt of lightning, a sudden realization hitting her.

Before she could even register her parted lips, she turned around quickly, as if fearing the realization might escape her.

As she spun in place, her eyes fell on a mirror. Though slightly large, it was indeed one of the items she had moved herself.

And inside that mirror, unbelievably, were the very things Lei had spoken of.

“It was something I could only achieve through a combination of you, the one you miss, and an item belonging to the one you miss.”

She could almost hear his voice, describing how he could enter the necklace.

Aneta stared blankly at her reflection in the mirror. Just like when she had hung the mirror and stepped back, the necklace that had belonged to Elena was around her neck, and behind her was the portrait.

‘So when he said he had my blood…’

The hint Lei had given her naturally came to mind.

Aneta recalled what had happened at Chris’s house. After breaking a mirror she had never seen there before, she had picked up the shards, cutting her hand. Besides the time she had coughed up blood after drinking the poisoned wine, that was the only time she had bled.

‘If he’s hinting at that event, could the miracle’s true form actually be the mirror?’

She had doubts about whether it could be solved so easily, but this was Lei they were dealing with.

He knew how suspicious Aneta was. By giving her an easy answer, he likely hoped to throw her into confusion.

Aneta forced herself to push aside her natural skepticism and emotions, focusing solely on the facts that were now becoming clearer.

Once she had a grasp of the miracle’s true form, all of the abilities and traits she had witnessed began to make sense. His ability to change his appearance, mimic someone else’s behavior, and the distinct difference in his power when there was light versus when there wasn’t—all these mirrored the characteristics of a mirror.

Mirrors also often serve as gateways to other worlds in stories.

Aneta speculated that perhaps her entry into this world had followed the same logic.

She only had one chance, but there was no hesitation. The only thing that saddened her was the thought of having to destroy an item filled with memories of Elena.

But it would be a grave mistake to think Aneta couldn’t bring herself to do it.

“Goodbye, Lei.”

Holding the mirror, Aneta muttered as she imagined Lei, now likely suppressed by the power of the night. Seeing that nothing was hindering her, it seemed he was indeed unable to act.

Aneta, her anger towards all that she had suffered up until now boiling over, threw the mirror to the ground with all her might.

The loud crash of the mirror shattering echoed like Lei’s own scream.

The fragments of the mirror and the beams of light scattered violently in all directions like sparks.

The world that had engulfed her began to split apart as well, cracking like the mirror. The shattered fragments swiftly started to absorb the surrounding scenery.

As Aneta watched the crumbling scenery before her, she realized that her suspicions and choices had been correct. In the end, it was Aneta, not Lei, who had seized the victory.

Before long, something like black smoke began to envelop her body.

Aneta instinctively sensed that this mysterious presence was related to the night she had reclaimed.

The smoke dispersed through her fingers like a dark mist. Though it was an indistinct and vague presence, it didn’t seem threatening.

On the contrary, it felt calm, somewhat still, and strangely familiar, as if it were something she had known for a long time.

As she reflected on her feelings, Aneta finally understood what it was.

What greeted her was not the world Lei had created, but her original world.

‘I can finally go back now.’

The choice had already been made. She had no lingering attachments to Lei or his world.

Without hesitation, Aneta surrendered herself to the presence before her.

The darkness slowly crept over her eyes, and she gently closed and reopened them.

In that brief moment, Aneta found herself back in her original world. She quickly turned to where the miracle would be and saw a shattered mirror lying on the ground, just as it had been in the other world.

The miracle, now utterly broken and being consumed by crimson flames.

It was as if he was burning in the twilight. As she thought this, her attention shifted to the presence that held her tightly, as if to keep her from ever leaving.

“Carlos.”

“Aneta. Is it really you?”

With a desperate question, Carlos reached out to touch her face repeatedly, as if confirming that she was truly there.

He looked as though he might cry at any moment.

Only after realizing that the warmth and texture under his fingertips were not an illusion did Carlos collapse to the ground, his strength leaving him. Even then, he clung tightly to the hem of her dress, afraid she might disappear again.

“I’m so glad. I’m so, so glad.”

He kept repeating the same words.

Surprised, Aneta quickly lowered herself to his level. As soon as their eyes met, a single tear fell from his gold-colored eyes.

It was a tear of relief.

“I thought I’d never see you again. No matter how long I waited, you didn’t come, and I feared you had chosen that world after all.”

“There’s no way I could be happy in a place like that without you. Even if this were to happen over and over again, I would always return to your side. So don’t worry, Carlos.”

Aneta reached out to wipe away the tears that stained his cheeks. His face had grown noticeably gaunt in the time they had been apart. It was clear to anyone that he hadn’t been living normally, and it pained her deeply.

“I’m sorry for making you wait. I’m sorry for making you anxious.”

Aneta gently caressed his roughened cheeks. Then, after kissing the still-wet corners of his eyes, she softly whispered as he began to regain his composure.

“I’m back, Carlos.”