Chapter 10

With a calm heart, she found Harensys sitting under a tree, leaning against it, reading a book in the warm sunlight.

She trotted over to Harensys. Her slow steps sped up until she was right in front of him, tears streaming as she called his name.

“Harensys.”

At her call, Harensys stopped reading and looked up. Seeing her, his eyes widened in surprise and he jumped up, forgetting the book on his lap, which fell to the ground.

Harensys stepped forward and held her cheeks, wiping away her tears.

“Prezia, why are you crying? Who made you cry?”

“I’m sorry.”

“Hm, for what?”

She looked up at Harensys through teary eyes.

“I’m really sorry. I saw you in a bad light. I misunderstood you, even though you were kind and thoughtful. I hurt you and did awful things. I know saying sorry doesn’t erase the pain I caused, but I want to apologize anyway. I’m sorry, Harensys.”

Kind Harensys wore a pained expression as he gently wiped her tears with his warm hands. She’d forgotten that gentle touch.

“You don’t have to apologize. I’m fine. But… did you find out?”

His last words meant: did she learn the whole truth?

He seemed anxious about whether she’d discovered everything. Before answering, she swallowed her tears and gave him the brightest smile she could, her eyes crinkling with gratitude.

“Thank you for turning back time, even if it meant losing yourself.”

Instead of just saying she knew, she expressed her gratitude for him saving her at his own expense. She expected Harensys to smile back, but he looked hurt and troubled instead.

“…If you know that, why are you apologizing?”

“Of course I have to. I hurt you.”

Even kneeling and begging with both hands wouldn’t be enough, so how could she not apologize? Knowing the truth made her all the more sorry and regretful.

“No. I got into trouble because I helped you.”

He thought he’d suffered because he’d helped her find her desk. That’s why she felt sorry. But it wasn’t Harensys’s fault, and even if it was, that didn’t mean she shouldn’t apologize.

She held Harensys’s trembling, anxious hands tightly. Rising on her toes to meet his eyes, she looked straight at him, hoping her sincerity would reach him.

“I approached you first. So it’s not your fault.”

“…Thank you.”

That ‘thank you’ held many meanings: for not blaming him, for knowing the truth and apologizing, for comforting him. Anyone less perceptive than her would have thought it was just simple gratitude.

She swallowed another wave of tears and smiled softly, then hugged Harensys.

“I’m grateful, too, for letting me live again.”

Harensys flinched at her words. She buried her face in his chest so she couldn’t see his face, and he pressed her head down so she couldn’t look up.

But his shoulders shook irregularly, showing he was moved by her words and crying.

‘I saw the tears in his eyes earlier anyway.’

Seeing how hard he tried to hide it, she decided to let it go just this once. She owed him so much.

After a little while, the sobbing stopped. Harensys, who seemed to have finished crying, let go of her head and stepped back. Then, nervously touching his well-kept bangs, he asked,

“Can I ask you just one thing?”

“Yeah.”

Ah, even the way Harensys sniffled was so cute. Now that the misunderstanding was cleared up, she shamelessly found herself liking him again. The saying that love and hate are two sides of the same coin felt so real.

She almost laughed out loud at how adorable he looked, but held it in. Her lips tingled.

“You liked me, right? Honestly, I like you so much too, but I’m not your ideal type. I’m not that kind or the top student, not funny, and only so-so in wealth. Maybe your feelings have changed, but… can you still like someone like me?”

That was what he’d been worrying about. Thinking back, she’d been so busy apologizing that she hadn’t mentioned it.

She should have told him sooner, but his sad face was so lovable she wanted to pinch him.

Smooch.

Without meaning to, she rose on her toes and kissed Harensys on the cheek. Then, shyly clasping her hands behind her back, she stepped away and looked up at him with a blushing face.

“I still like you. I know you’re not my ideal type. But it doesn’t matter. My ideal type changed to you, Harensys—”

She didn’t finish her sentence. Harensys, with a wild look, couldn’t hold back and kissed her on the lips.

So, under the big cherry blossom tree swaying in the wind, they revealed their feelings to each other.

***

But suddenly, Harensys, whose face shone like stars, was nowhere to be seen.

“What’s going on?”

Confused by the sudden situation, she looked around. Only then did she realize she was standing alone in the main building hallway. She’d definitely been under the Academy tree with Harensys, but now he wasn’t beside her.

‘What happened? I was just getting to know Harensys, kissing him…’

This couldn’t have changed so suddenly. She hadn’t lost her memory, and it wasn’t a dream. She’d kissed him moments ago, and his warmth still lingered on her lips.

Was she dreaming now?

Wondering if this was a dream, she pinched her cheek hard.

“Ouch!”

The pain was vivid. It wasn’t a dream.

‘Then I need to figure out what’s going on.’

Having experienced regression, she didn’t find this strange and tried to grasp the situation.

<Should I meet the person who confesses?>

She hadn’t meant to think this, but it popped into her mind naturally. She was trying to understand the situation, not think about confessing!

Wait, hold on! She’d thought this on the day she fell for Harensys.

The familiar line flashed through her mind.

‘Why am I thinking this now?’

Just then, her body started moving on its own. It was her body, but it didn’t obey her will. Her mind was still debating whether to act on that thought.

While she was lost in thought, she found herself walking toward the sword training ground.

“Get out of the way!”

…With those familiar words, a sword flew toward her. The voice and words were strange yet familiar.

Thinking back, that line was the warning a boy gave before the sword came flying.

‘Is this where Harensys says, “Hey, be careful,” and blocks the sword for me?’

“Hey! Be careful.”

Sure enough, Harensys blocked the sword and got stabbed instead. Just like that day in the past.

“Are you okay?”

“What about you?”

Even the lines matched perfectly. Her heart pounded with the same feelings as back then, falling for him at first sight.

‘Wow, he’s really handsome.’

She was amazed at his dignified, good looks—just like before. She got goosebumps all over.

“This is nothing. I’ll be going now.”

“Uh, uh… Thanks.”

She waved blankly at Harensys as he left without hesitation.

‘My heart is still pounding.’

She put her hand over her pounding heart. Thump, thump. Her heart raced wildly, just like that day.

‘Could it be… I’m falling in love?’

Harensys’s face filled her mind. His handsome, charming face kept appearing, making her happy and her cheeks flush.

It seemed she couldn’t fully control her thoughts. That part was different from before.

‘If this isn’t love, what is?’

Her mind rang with the sound of admitting her love. It was funny to think this when she was already in love.

Well, at least she knew for sure she’d returned to the day she fell for Harensys, with all her memories intact.

But why was her body moving on its own?

‘Oh no, could it be…!’

Was this a side effect of turning back time—returning to this day in the past with memories intact, but her body had to follow the same events as before?

So, from the moment she fell for Harensys to the day she died!

That meant all their struggles would be for nothing. Well, at least she’d gain memories and avoid misunderstandings, so that was something.

But what about her life?

Now, her body, thoughts, and even words were being controlled, and on the day she died, she wouldn’t help him find his desk.

D*mn, she was doomed. What’s the point of knowing they liked each other?

Her life was as good as over!

Despair, gloom, and misery—she couldn’t even describe it in words. She wished she didn’t know about her doomed fate.

She sighed deeply, pressing a hand to her forehead.

‘Wait? My body was moving as I wanted now. It hadn’t been earlier. What was going on? Oh, when I was lost in deep thought, I hadn’t moved.’

So, there were times when she could and couldn’t move her body. What was the difference?

Just then—

“Prezia!”

Harensys came running from afar, calling her name.

Why was he running here? That scene hadn’t happened before. She was supposed to part ways with Harensys and meet him again by chance later.

While she was lost in brief thought, Harensys had come close enough for his voice to be clear.

“Harensys. Huh? This line wasn’t in the past.”

Not only the line, but Harensys hadn’t looked at her with such kindness back then. He’d always been cold and expressionless.