“Hmm, just the colors. Why?”

“You chose these colors, my lady?”

“Yes.”

Martha was a little surprised. They were colors that young ladies Saena’s age would never typically choose. Even the debutante dress had been a plain white, which had been surprising. Though once Saena tried it on, it had been so stunning that it no longer mattered.

“Why don’t you try it on, my lady? We should check if it fits well.”

“Madame Charlize surely made it perfectly.”

“I just want to see it on you.”

At her nanny’s urging, Saena allowed the maids to assist her in changing into the dress.

“Oh my… my lady, you look stunning.”

“You’re absolutely elegant.”

As Saena emerged wearing the dress, the maids exclaimed in awe, and even the nanny was taken aback.

“My lady… this color suits you so well. How did you know?”

The dress was a dark silvery-blue tone that, at a glance, could look like pale lavender. It was a shade typically worn by older noblewomen, so there had been some concern. But when Saena wore it, it suited her so perfectly that words couldn’t do it justice.

The lace sleeves clinging to her arms, from her chest to her wrists, subtly revealed her skin, exuding a refined and alluring charm. With her hair styled and makeup applied… she would radiate a charm far beyond the fresh beauty of a nineteen-year-old girl.

But Saena herself gave a wry smile.

‘How did I know this color would suit me?’

In her past life, her husband’s family had been utterly dreadful. They had no interest in the lives of their subjects or in managing the estate, indulging only in luxury and debauchery. Even the enormous dowry Saena had brought was depleted in no time. No one cared about managing the estate, so Saena had been forced to take on the responsibility herself, despite having no training or knowledge in such matters. If she turned her back, the tenants would likely all starve to death.

She had no choice but to learn through trial and error, relying on her naturally sharp mind to gradually pick up the skills needed to manage the estate. Yet no matter how hard she worked, she was criticized—if she succeeded, they found fault; if she failed, they berated her for being incompetent.

In the fifth year of her marriage, her mother-in-law, the old madam, died in an accident. She had been traveling with her lover and was killed in a scandalous incident. Saena felt no sorrow at her death. If anything, it was a relief to have one less person indulging in extravagance. But it didn’t improve the household’s finances.

With no one earning and everyone spending, it was inevitable.

Amid this situation, as the nominal lady of the house, Saena still had to attend certain social gatherings.

‘If I said I learned about this color because I couldn’t afford a new dress… it would sound ridiculous.’

The truth was, she had been broke. She couldn’t even afford third-rate ateliers. Her solution had been to alter her late mother-in-law’s dresses. The old madam had purchased so many dresses each season that there was no shortage in quantity.

The funny part came afterward. When Saena wore the altered dresses, many of them surprisingly suited her. In fact, they often looked better than the ones she had worn before, much to her own astonishment. Her husband had even thrown a tantrum, accusing her of secretly buying expensive dresses.

Back then, it had been heartbreaking—not only could she not afford new dresses, but the fact that such old-fashioned styles suited her had been upsetting. Now, however, she accepted that everyone had their own unique style and that these colors simply suited her better.

“My lady, why don’t you wear this dress tomorrow when you go out?”

“Tomorrow?”

Saena snapped out of her reverie at the nanny’s suggestion.

“Tomorrow is the first day of the Founding Festival. Why not go watch the parade during the day?”

…The parade?!

Saena’s head shot up.

“Oh my, look at how excited you are. If I hadn’t mentioned it, you might have snuck out on your own, wouldn’t you?”

The debutante ball occurred twice a year, but the parade led by the Guardian Spirits was exclusive to the Founding Festival. It was no exaggeration to say that the Founding Festival parade was Saena’s most anticipated event of the year. At least, it had been before her marriage.

“Which family is it this year?”

In the Macfeyden Empire, there were four ducal families:

Rosadale of the southeast.

Francis of the southwest.

Aberdeen of the northwest.

And Kramer of the northeast.

These four ducal families were the inheritors of the Guardian Spirits.

It was said that in ancient times, during the era of <Arles-Promesa>, a civilization known as the <Era of Oaths> flourished. The ancient language from that time, known as <Arlesian>, was used for contracts and pacts, and many people controlled Guardian Spirits through such agreements.

However, over time, most families lost or forgot the conditions necessary to form these pacts. The only families that had retained their Guardian Spirits were the four ducal houses.

The Macfeyden Empire occupied the most fertile and livable lands on the continent, making it a frequent target for external threats. While the northern barbarians and southern alliances were troublesome, the greatest threat came from the demonic beasts. Among them, the larger and more specialized types often required the power of Guardian Spirits to handle. As a result, the territories of the four ducal families naturally became barriers against these beasts over time.

Because of these security concerns, the dukes spent more time in their territories than central nobles did. Opportunities to meet them were rare, making events like the Founding Festival incredibly valuable.

Especially for Saena.

In her previous life, Saena had been a girl utterly captivated by everything related to the <Era of Oaths>. Her obsession with the Arlesian language stemmed from her desire to learn more about <Arles-Promesa>. And the Guardian Spirits were living proof of that era.

The thought of seeing such evidence tomorrow reignited a long-forgotten spark of excitement in her.

“It’s the Kramer family this year, isn’t it?”

Yes, I’ll go see the Kramer family’s Guardian Spirit…!

‘Wait, hold on. Kramer?’

Something felt… off. Saena sifted through her memories. The year of her debutante ball, when she was eighteen, had been the turn of the Francis family. So at nineteen, it should be Aberdeen’s turn, shouldn’t it?

“…Is it really the Kramer family?”

“Yes.”

The nanny’s response was unwavering, confirming that it was indeed Kramer’s turn.

Something was definitely strange. In her past life, she distinctly remembered the Duke of Aberdeen participating this year.

“…Isn’t it supposed to be Aberdeen’s turn?”

Saena remembered because the last parade she had attended in her previous life had been when she was nineteen. Why wasn’t it Aberdeen this time?

“Oh, they said there’s been a surge of demonic beasts in the Aberdeen territory, so they swapped turns with the Kramer family.”

“…Demonic beasts?”

“Yes. Apparently, there’s been a lot of concern about them. Since last year, the number of demonic beasts across the empire has been unusually high, and their behavior has been erratic. I heard the ducal families were extremely busy last year because of it.”

…A surge of demonic beasts?

Saena closed her mouth for a moment and tried to recall her memories, but no matter how much she thought about it, this definitely hadn’t happened in her previous life.

Something was different.

After lying in bed for a year and then getting up, not only had the flow of her life changed, but external events had as well.

Especially Yuri, who was gone. No one even remembered him. Except for Saena, that is.

‘…How exactly should I interpret this?’

Could it be that this place was similar to where she had lived before, yet also different?

“Come to think of it, Miss, you’ll finally get to see the Guardian Spirit of the Kramer family.”

“Huh?”

“You know how something always came up whenever it was the Kramer family’s turn, so you couldn’t see it.”

“Ah… That’s right, that did happen.”

Saena had never seen the Guardian Spirit of the Kramer family in person.

Strangely enough, whenever it was the year for the northeastern ducal family to hold their parade, something would come up, preventing her from going. She would either fall seriously ill or something more urgent would happen.

She had a rough idea of its appearance through descriptions from those who had seen it or illustrations in books, but she had never seen it in person.

“That’s right. Nanny, I need to go out tomorrow.”

“Yes, since we’ll be moving to the townhouse, let’s get you changed quickly.”

“Okay.”

It felt a little strange, but…

Could she finally get to see the Guardian Spirit of the Kramer family in person?

Thump.

Her heart, carrying a slight sense of anticipation, beat a little faster than usual. She suddenly felt the reality of having turned back time.

Seeing Saena’s rare excitement, which was unusual for her, the nanny smiled along with her.