After finishing her bath, Rachel went to the dining room for dinner.

Count and Countess Pluret were already in the dining room.

“You’re here?”

“Welcome, dear.”

Her parents greeted her with happy faces.

“Sister!”

And Rachel’s younger sister Erika called out to Rachel in a bright voice.

Jumping down from her chair, she ran quickly to Rachel and threw herself into her arms.

“Sister, I missed you so much!”

“I missed you too. Have you been well?”

Rachel asked while smoothing Erika’s disheveled hair.

“I’ve been great! But that’s not important—is it true you joined the subjugation team? Are you hurt anywhere? You’re not in pain or anything, are you?”

Erika looked up at Rachel with a worried face.

“Of course not. I’m perfectly fine. Let’s talk slowly after we sit down. We should eat.”

“Okay!”

Rachel took Erika’s hand and led her. Erika sat next to Rachel and gazed at her sister with shining eyes.

“I heard Duke Bermund visited today? Since you were out greeting Erika, you met with the Duke in our place. Was there anything unusual?”

Countess Pluret asked Rachel. Rachel recalled her conversation with Duke Bermund and shook her head.

“It was nothing. I met him at the banquet yesterday, and he came to see me about that.”

“Is that so? There wasn’t any problem, was there? I’m sure you handled it well, but I was worried since he came suddenly without notice.”

True to her words, the Countess’s voice was full of concern. Despite looking at the adult Rachel, her gaze was like that of a parent watching a child near water.

After spending her energy dealing with others outside, Rachel looked at her parents with the feeling of becoming a child again.

“There was a small misunderstanding. He knew I could memorize up to three magic spells and mentioned I might become a Magic Tower Master candidate. He said this in front of Viola. I was surprised and reacted sensitively, and it seems he felt bad about it and came to apologize.”

“That happened?”

The Countess carefully asked Rachel.

“I accepted his apology and cleared up the misunderstanding, so please don’t worry too much.”

“That’s a relief. If you ever have any troubles, you can always tell your mother or father.”

“Yes.”

When Rachel nodded, the tense atmosphere relaxed considerably.

As the meal began, Erika asked Rachel about what happened in the Witch’s Forest.

Rachel had to carefully choose her words to tell the story in a way appropriate for young Erika to hear.

Suddenly, Erika closed her mouth tightly and stared intently at Rachel.

“What’s wrong, Erika?”

“Sister, what’s that necklace? I don’t think you had it before. Did you buy it recently?”

Erika’s gaze was directed at Rachel’s neck. Since it was an item that wasn’t there when Erika left for the academy, it wasn’t strange for her to show interest in the new accessory.

“I bought it on my way to the Witch’s Forest. What do you think? Does it suit me?”

“Yes! It suits you soooo well!”

Erika said with a bright smile. Seeing Erika’s innocent smile made Rachel feel as if all her fatigue had vanished.

“And Sister, I heard you killed a witch in the monster subjugation team! Weren’t you scared? I heard witches are terrifying monsters… I was so worried about you while I was at the academy.”

Erika mumbled in a dejected voice.

“I wasn’t scared at all.”

Rachel spoke in a gentle voice, as if comforting the downcast Erika.

“Really?”

“Yes. Really.”

“My sister is truly amazing.”

Erika’s previously gloomy expression disappeared completely, replaced by sparkling eyes that made her look every bit the child she was.

“Can I brag about it when I go back to the academy?”

“Of course. Why wouldn’t you be able to?”

“Wow!”

Rachel felt as if she had finally returned to the daily life she had longed for.

An ordinary morning with her beloved family.

When she had traveled back in time repeatedly to save Tervan, she couldn’t feel this kind of leisure. Having to face the death of a loved one before her eyes multiple times, life for her was pain and duty.

She had regretted her choice several times and considered not saving Tervan.

But a life without Tervan was too harsh for Rachel. Acting as if nothing had happened in a world that seemed to have turned completely gray was too burdensome for her.

That wasn’t all. The people around her avoided mentioning Tervan to her. It was their way of being considerate to Rachel, who was suffering from Tervan’s death, but their consideration became a more painful shackle for her.

Eventually, Rachel couldn’t bear the guilt and had no choice but to turn back time.

Moreover, the self-blame—thinking she might have been able to save him if she had tried a little harder—also contributed to her being bound.

Only now had she finally been able to save Tervan and escape from guilt, but she couldn’t return to her previous daily life.

It was because Rachel had changed too much during her repeated regressions.

Because of this, people around her found her difficult to approach.

So when Rachel saw Erika welcoming her with the same bright demeanor as before, she felt her chest lighten a little.

That made her even more grateful to Erika.

“By the way, Sister. Could you buy me a necklace exactly like yours?”

Erika asked Rachel.

“Exactly like this necklace?”

Rachel reflexively touched her necklace at the unexpected question.

“…Is that not okay? I want to have the same one as you…”

When Rachel didn’t answer immediately, Erika hesitantly asked.

After thinking for a moment, Rachel smiled slightly and nodded.

“I’ll commission something similar.”

“Wow! I knew you’re the best, Sister!”

Erika became excited and laughed brightly.

[What’s this? You’re going to make a fake version of me?]

Creon interjected in a displeased voice.

‘Why? Don’t you like it? I was planning to commission something with a similar shape, but if you don’t like that either, I’ll do something else.’

Based on what Rachel had observed of Creon so far, she thought he would dislike this. Instead of answering, Creon paused for a moment.

[No, it’s not a bad idea.]

Contrary to expectations, Creon showed a positive response.

[That Belleraine or Bermund fellow from before, and the guy who came earlier both know about me, so it wouldn’t be bad to have a replica of this necklace that contains me.]

‘…’

Rachel couldn’t readily respond to Creon’s words. After a delay, she continued.

‘The necklace I give to Erika will only look similar on the outside, but I’ll put a completely different gem inside. Something like topaz. I don’t want Erika to be in danger.’

Rachel took in the sight of Erika continuing her meal.

Unaware of Rachel’s thoughts, Erika smiled innocently.

‘But I agree with making a replica.’

Even if someone took the necklace from her, the contract wouldn’t be terminated, but there was no harm in preparing for contingencies.

“Come to think of it, I heard Viola and Tervan visited yesterday? If only I had come a day later. Then I could have seen them too.”

Erika continued, sounding disappointed.

“I want to see Viola too. I wonder if she’ll come again?”

Hearing Erika’s soft murmur, Rachel thought for a moment before speaking.

“Then shall we visit Viola today?”

“Can we?”

“Of course. Why wouldn’t we be able to?”

Rachel finished her answer and turned to look at Catrin, who was waiting nearby.

“Catrin, could you send someone to the Hestein estate? I’m planning to visit this afternoon.”

“What time exactly do you plan to visit?”

At Catrin’s question, Rachel looked at Erika.

“When do you want to go?”

“Right now!”

Rachel smiled slightly at the enthusiastic response.

“Right now is difficult. We need to check if they’re available first.”

Rachel briefly told Erika and then turned back to Catrin.

“I’m thinking of visiting around 1 o’clock, so please check if that works for their schedule.”

“Yes, my lady.”

Catrin finished her response, bowed her head, and promptly left the dining room.

Erika already looked excited.

* * *

While Rachel was taking a walk with Erika after the meal, the servant who had been sent to the Hestein estate returned. The response was that they could visit anytime, regardless of the hour.

Rachel and Erika walked through the garden, sharing stories they hadn’t been able to exchange. Unlike Rachel, who didn’t have much to say, Erika told her everything that had happened at the academy.

The main topics were her recent difficulty concentrating in class and how Cesar, the eldest son of Viscount Nemeid, had been showing interest in Erika.

These stories might have seemed trivial to Rachel, but to Erika, they were extremely important and difficult concerns.

“You know how Cesar offered to be my partner for the academy banquet?”

“Really? How do you feel about it?”

“I’m not sure. But I did tell him I’d go with him.”

Seeing Erika’s flushed cheeks despite her attempt to appear nonchalant, Rachel suppressed a smile.