Rachel appreciated the world where not everyone had become unhappy.

Creon asked Rachel what she had left, but Rachel felt content just to have escaped the tiresome constraints. The peace she had regained was the most important thing she had left.

[…….]

This time, even Creon didn’t object, seemingly understanding her feelings.

That’s when it happened.

“Oh! I just remembered there’s something going on with our family! I completely forgot about it! I think my brother and I should get going now. My goodness! How could I have forgotten that?”

Viola suddenly clapped her hands and made a fuss. However, Edward tilted his head, surprised by this news.

“Something going on? What are you talking about, Viola? I haven’t heard anything about…”

When Edward expressed his confusion, Viola frowned and gave him a meaningful look.

But Edward remained bewildered, having no idea what Viola was trying to say.

“Oh, come on! How could you forget? You know, that thing.”

“…That thing?”

“Yes, that thing!”

After finishing her words to the still-confused Edward, Viola turned her head and smiled with crescent eyes, pretending it was nothing.

“My brother knows all about magic but nothing about family matters! Anyway, we should probably go now. I’m sorry for leaving so suddenly after dropping by unexpectedly.”

As Viola made her excuse with exaggerated gestures, Rachel nodded, somewhat taken aback.

“It’s fine. If you have something to attend to, I understand. Don’t worry about me.”

Rachel smiled gently, finding Viola’s obvious ploy rather endearing.

Tervan, who had been observing the situation, looked back and forth between Viola and Rachel. Then he finally spoke up.

“Ah, then I should—”

“What?”

Viola frowned sharply when Tervan opened his mouth, apparently intending to leave with them.

“Tervan, why would you join our family event? You should stay here and talk with Rachel. We already showed up unannounced, and if we all leave, how awkward would that be for Rachel? It would be nice if at least you kept her company.”

“…”

When Viola chided him, Tervan showed reluctance. But soon he nodded in agreement.

Thinking about it, Viola’s words made sense.

The slightly unfair part was that Viola herself had come to find Tervan and brought him to the Pluret estate.

Viola grabbed Edward’s hand, who still hadn’t grasped the situation.

“Rachel, you don’t need to see us out. We’ll be going now. See you next time!”

Viola dragged Edward out of the reception room before he could even finish saying goodbye.

After the two left, the door to the reception room closed.

The previously noisy reception room instantly became quiet.

“…”

“…”

Rachel, who had been watching Violet and Edward leave, stared at the closed door for a moment before turning her gaze to check on Tervan.

Tervan picked up his teacup to ease the awkwardness.

“Viola did something unnecessary. It’s fine, Tervan, you should head back too.”

Viola knew that Rachel liked Tervan. That’s why she always tried to create moments for Rachel and Tervan to be together. Like today.

But Rachel wasn’t particularly pleased with Viola’s efforts, neither before nor now.

In the past, it was because she knew Tervan had a one-sided love for Viola, and now, it was because she no longer loved Tervan.

Tervan put down his cup and furrowed his brow, appearing deep in thought.

“No. Actually, I needed time to talk with you, so this works out.”

Tervan spoke to Rachel in a low voice.

“What do you want to talk about?”

Rachel raised her eyebrows at the unwelcome words. Watching her reaction, Tervan began to speak gravely.

“About the things you’re hiding.”

“…What do you mean?”

Rachel asked, pretending not to know anything. Tervan placed his interlocked hands on his knees and stared intently at Rachel.

His already sharp gaze seemed even more keen now.

Rachel didn’t think Tervan would know the detailed circumstances, but even so, she worried that something troublesome might occur here with someone as perceptive as him.

“You said you could cast three magic spells.”

“…And?”

“That’s not true.”

Tervan spoke with certainty.

“Why do you say it’s not true? How would you know about my magic?”

“The barrier that blocked lightning, twice. Your sudden disappearance was probably a physical speed enhancement spell. And I don’t think you could kill a witch with just enhanced speed. You must have used some other magic there. Finally, you neutralized the witch’s poison, right? That’s five in total.”

Tervan spoke in a particularly low tone.

Rachel realized that Tervan hadn’t brought this up without reason.

Indeed, since Tervan had participated in the Witch’s Forest subjugation team and had been observing Rachel the whole time, it wasn’t strange that he would notice.

“Am I wrong?”

Tervan asked Rachel seriously. Rachel hesitated but eventually nodded.

She judged there was no point in lying to Tervan, who had directly witnessed her magic.

“You’re right. Five.”

Tervan, who had expected Rachel to maintain her lies as she had with others, was momentarily taken aback by her honest response. But he quickly regained his composure.

“And you told Viola that you acted that way because you were shocked by what happened in the Monster Forest, but the you I saw…”

“How was I?”

Rachel crossed her arms and questioned Tervan with what seemed like genuine interest.

Tervan paused for a moment and stared intently at Rachel.

This was exactly the moment.

The moment he felt something off about Rachel.

Since returning from the Witch’s Forest until now, Tervan had constantly thought about Rachel, trying to figure out why she had suddenly changed.

At first, Tervan wondered if she was angry with him. Otherwise, her behavior made no sense.

But seeing her lukewarm reaction to Viola as well, it didn’t seem like she was angry with Tervan specifically.

“You seem like a completely different person.”

It was difficult to voice such an absurd assumption.

After much deliberation, Tervan finally spoke with difficulty.

“Are you really Rachel?”

Tervan’s voice trembled slightly.

Tervan hoped Rachel would burst into laughter. He wished she would tease him with a playful voice, saying she had been acting all this time to fool him.

But Rachel didn’t treat Tervan’s question as absurd.

In fact, she herself felt that she had changed too much from her past self.

Viola and other people around her had also noticed her change and found it strange.

“What was I like, the one you knew?”

Rachel asked Tervan in a voice heavy with skepticism.

Tervan hesitantly began to speak.

“…The Rachel I know is sometimes quirky and likes to play strange pranks with Viola. She loves animals, and sometimes when we’re walking and she sees a squirrel or raccoon, she stands frozen, watching them so intently she loses track of time. She’s excessively honest with her emotions, so sometimes… she would look at me with a sad expression.”

Slowly, with each mention of Rachel from Tervan’s lips, she sank into a sentimental mood.

Indeed, Rachel had lived such a life until she experienced Tervan’s death.

Born as the eldest daughter of a count’s family, she had grown up happily without lacking anything, never knowing how to hide herself.

But now those memories were faint.

“Was I really like that?”

“…”

As Rachel spoke in a wistful voice, tracing faded memories, Tervan pressed his lips together.

It was because she looked so fragile, seemingly ready to disappear at any moment.

“Yes, I suppose I was.”

It was a strange feeling to hear about herself from someone else, as though it were about a different person.

[Rachel, do you regret it?]

Due to their contract binding their souls, Creon could sense Rachel’s thoughts and emotions more keenly than she herself could.

That’s why he could detect the emotions she had carefully hidden deep in her heart and ask her about them.

Rachel looked at Tervan, who was staring at her with wavering eyes.

He was the only person she had saved at the end of her long regression.

But now he was also someone who doubted the changed her.

“Tervan, you knew I liked you, didn’t you?”

“…”

Tervan didn’t answer. Or rather, he couldn’t.

Because he felt guilty for pretending not to know that Rachel liked him all this time.