“How is this possible…?”
Aster frowned as he stared at the vibrating pocket watch.
Seoden asked, his face filled with surprise.
“Didn’t you give the watch back to Lady Blante?”
Without taking his eyes off the watch, Aster replied.
“Lady Blante refused. She said the sealed magic had already used up its power and the clock had stopped, so she donated it to the Tower for research.”
His words trailed off and his frown deepened.
Yes, it had been a clock without magic, with only traces of the original spellwork remaining. A clock frozen in time from the moment Lady Blante had been brought back to life.
And yet… now it was moving again?
Moreover, the amount of magic emanating from the clock was comparable to Aster’s own – a clear sign that this wasn’t just the magic needed to power the clock.
It was the ancient magic hidden within the clock’s mechanism.
The magic…
“…shouldn’t it be completely used up?”
But why now… Could it be because of Archduke Seyerd?
Had the seal on the ancient spellwork been imprinted with the Archduke’s desperation when he saved Lady Blante?
Aster shook his head. No matter how much he thought about it, such a thing seemed impossible.
The magic etched into the Blante family heirloom could only be wielded by a Blante descendant.
If his wish hadn’t been to save Lady Blante, the spell wouldn’t have responded to him.
If, against all odds, the Archduke Seyerd had somehow connected with the spellwork, he would surely have regained consciousness from the magic by now.
And yet, the Archduke Seyerd remained unconscious.
“The magic is getting stronger…”
Unlike the unconscious Archduke, the magic of the watch grew stronger, as if it resonated with its owner.
“An owner…”
A sudden thought flashed through Aster’s mind and he turned away from the bed.
“Where are you going?”
Seoden’s question reached him as Aster abruptly headed for the door.
“To see if my theory is correct.”
“What?”
Seoden asked again, not understanding his words, but Aster’s hand was already reaching for the doorknob.
Click.
But just before Aster’s hand could reach it, the door opened and a familiar face appeared.
“Aster?”
Ariel’s eyes widened in surprise as she opened the door to find Aster standing there. He greeted her with a faint smile.
“It seems I was right.”
“What?”
As Ariel stepped closer, the magic emanating from the clock grew stronger.
The ancient spellwork wasn’t responding to Archduke Seyerd – it was responding to Ariel. To the depth of her emotions and her heart.
Aster held the silver pocket watch out to the stunned Ariel.
Her green eyes widened as they landed on the clock.
“Time… it had stopped completely…”
“It has begun to flow again. Because of you, my lady.”
Because of her?
“What does that mean…?”
Ariel’s brow furrowed slightly at the cryptic statement, but Aster continued to explain with a strange expression on her face.
“You have been brought back to life by ancient magic, my lady. At that moment, you seem to have become the owner of that magic.”
“Owner…”
“The magic resonates with its owner, which means it reacts to changes in your emotions.”
Scenes from the Imperial Palace flashed through Ariel’s mind.
She had felt the weight of her vengeful burden lighten slightly, believing that the vicious ties of her past had finally come to an end.
Though it wasn’t quite over, and she couldn’t afford to let her guard down, she had allowed herself to think briefly – about a new life, and about Kylance, who stirred her emotions in ways she couldn’t quite place.
Ariel looked at the pocket watch in Aster’s hand, her expression complicated.
If it resonates with me, what emotion of mine is it responding to? My future or Kylance… which weighed more?
The silent question lingered in Ariel’s mind, but the pocket watch offered no answer.
“I’m relieved,” Aster said softly. “I was worried that you had been trapped in the past for too long, but it seems that your time has begun to flow again.
And I sincerely hope that this clock will never stop again.
At Aster’s silent addition, Ariel took the pocket watch with a faint smile.
“Thank you.”
“Then we’ll say goodbye. I’m sure you didn’t come here to see Seoden or me.”
“Ah…”
Feeling as though her emotions, which she had hoped to keep hidden, had been exposed, Ariel’s face flushed slightly.
“The spellwork still contains powerful magic. And that magic will respond to your will, my lady.”
Aster glanced at the still, silent figure on the bed before looking back at Ariel.
“So follow your heart, my lady. It seems there’s nothing more for Seoden and I to do here.”
With a gentle smile that met Ariel’s wavering eyes, Aster and Seoden left the room.
As the door closed, a heavy silence fell over the room.
Ariel took a deep breath, grounding herself as she thought about why she had come.
“The Tower Master has gone to the Archduke’s residence.”
“Why?”
“Well… it seems that His Grace the Archduke still hasn’t regained consciousness.”
“……”
At Jeddran’s words, a fleeting fear crept into Ariel’s heart – what if Kylance really never woke? But despite the turmoil in her mind, she had hesitated to come here.
Just as she hesitated now, unable to approach him easily.
Tick-tock, tick-tock.
But then as now, Ariel came to the same conclusion in the end.
“What I wanted… was not your death.”
Ariel took slow, deliberate steps towards Kylance, who lay motionless, as still as if he were dead.
* * *
In the dark of night, amidst the ruins.
Kylance stood over the man sprawled on the ground beside the Duchess of Viasteus, staring down at him with icy eyes.
“Say that again, clearly. Who did you say killed my father?”
At Kylance’s cold voice, the man trembled and squeezed his eyes shut before he screamed,
“The Marquis of Blante! He’s the one who ordered it! He told me to tamper with the late Archduke’s carriage… In return, he promised me a life of wealth and luxury… I’ve committed a grave sin. Your Grace, please, have mercy, please spare my life…”
The man reached for Kylance’s trousers, but before he could touch them, the Archduke’s escort kicked him away, sending him reeling backwards.
“How dare you!”
“Argh, please spare me! I was promised mercy if I told the truth… You said… Ack!.”
The fury of the escort and the man’s desperate cries echoed through the ruins. Yet Kylance stood frozen, motionless, as if turned to stone.
The father of the woman he loved… was his enemy.
How long had it been since he had asked her to spend the rest of their lives together? And now this.
Ariel’s smiling face flickered before his eyes, followed by the image of the Marquis Blante.
“Something… doesn’t feel right…”
But before he could collect his thoughts, a shiny gold coin was thr*st in front of him.
“It is a gold coin bearing the seal of the Blante Marquisate. With witnesses and evidence, are you really going to turn a blind eye to your father’s death?”
“……”
Kylance couldn’t answer immediately, and the Duchess of Viasteus shouted at him again.
“Kylance Seyerd! Pull yourself together! Have you forgotten your father and mother who were unjustly killed?”
In his mind, an unforgettable, horrible scene resurfaced.
Ariel’s smile faded before his eyes.
Kylance’s dark eyes flashed sharply as he clenched the gold coin in his hand.
“I haven’t forgotten.”
Melish took his hand and urged him on,
“You must repay me a hundred, no, a thousand times over. By any means necessary – bring down the Marquis Blante!”
“…I will.”
Kylance replied slowly, hiding the wavering in his gaze.
After that, everything moved at a dizzying pace.
A conspiracy not only to overthrow the Marquis Blante, but to eradicate the entire Blante family from the Empire.
And in his hands, the perfect fabricated evidence was being created to bring down the Marquis Blante.
Melish, unable to contain her overwhelming emotions, spoke excitedly to him.
“At last… we can clear Brother Arnold’s name. Hurry and take this to the palace.”
But why? At that moment, Kylance felt a strange sense of unease.
The room he was standing in, the evidence in his hand, the expression on the Duchess of Viasteus’ face, even her words – everything felt familiar. As if he had seen it all before.
Without saying a word, Kylance looked down at the forged evidence in his hand.
When I present this to His Majesty… what comes next…
“…They will surely kill the Marquis, won’t they?”
“What?”
Melish froze for a moment, her excitement fading. Kylance turned to face her directly, meeting her eyes with unwavering intensity.
“It wasn’t the Marquis Blante who killed my father. It was you.”
As all his memories flooded back, Kylance realised that this moment was a dream.
“Kylance… you…”
Melish’s face was painted with shock, but she was already fading from Kylance’s view.
One foolish decision had been enough.
“That’s why I’m going to take revenge on you, Melish Viasteus. I will kill you. No matter what.”
In front of the trembling Melish, Kylance tore the fabricated evidence to shreds.
He walked past her, frozen like a statue, and left the room without a backward glance.
“Kylance.”
The familiar soft voice calling his name.
Even if this was a dream, if he had truly returned to the past, there was one person he had to see.
Kylance sprinted madly towards Ariel.
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Pitidri
Ele sonhou? Igual quando eles estavam lendo um livro e ela disse que existia um feitiço que poderia mostrar o futuro, e ele disse que não precisava olhar o futuro, pois ele sabia que eles seriam felizes juntos?? Tomara que sim, só assim para perdoar ele