Rachel savored the refreshments prepared by Catrin while recalling the events from the previous night’s ball. In the end, none of the mages staying at the Magic Tower turned out to be responsible for erasing the attackers’ memories.

If not the Magic Tower mages, the next suspect would be Duke Bermund, who possessed both the wealth to handle mages and the audacity to launch an attack against Crown Prince Ryan.

For this reason, Rachel felt the need to visit the Bermund estate at least once. However, the main problem was that she had no plausible reason to visit the Duke’s residence.

Previously, she had been able to visit under the pretext of examining the memoir, but now that she had declined it, she couldn’t simply show up unannounced. Moreover, she was reluctant to disregard proper etiquette by visiting without invitation.

Above all, Duke Bermund wanted Rachel to regress through time. Her death in the current timeline was necessary for the Duke to achieve his goals, which meant visiting alone could potentially lead to a dangerous situation. Yet she couldn’t claim she wanted to reexamine the memoir either.

Rachel began to carefully analyze the situation. Though she had vaguely declined the memoir offered by Duke Bermund, the Duke wouldn’t simply take her words at face value. He must have realized that she had seen through his intentions.

Until now, the Duke had been cautious because he wasn’t sure how Rachel would react. Since she understood what Duke Bermund wanted and how he planned to achieve it, while maintaining her friendship with Ryan, the Duke might soon make his move.

Until now, Rachel had been focused solely on saving Tervan, keeping herself at a distance from the conflict between Duke Bermund and Ryan. While she knew the general framework of how events would unfold, she lacked detailed information, and each timeline had slight variations. 

Sometimes Ryan would thwart Duke Bermund’s plans, and other times Duke Bermund would seize imperial power. What variable had caused these differences? Rachel regretted not paying closer attention earlier.

Nevertheless, she had no desire to turn back time according to Duke Bermund’s wishes. More importantly, Creon wasn’t pleased with her regressions. Knowing that his concern was for her wellbeing, Rachel decided to follow Creon’s advice and avoid regression if possible.

This meant she needed to use the information she currently had to prevent the Duke from staging a rebellion and stop him from taking reckless actions.

‘If Duke Bermund starts to move, he’ll probably try to eliminate me first…’

Even Rachel herself recognized that she was the biggest obstacle to Duke Bermund’s plans. Therefore, his priority would be to either prevent her from approaching Ryan or force her to withdraw from the situation altogether. The best approach for him would be to somehow make Rachel choose death herself, ensuring she couldn’t interfere further.

She considered what she would do if she were in Duke Bermund’s position. First, she would investigate why Rachel had no choice but to contract with the Time Demon Creon.

There must have been something she desperately wanted to change, something worth risking her life for. If the Duke began investigating Rachel’s movements, he would easily discover that she changed significantly after joining the subjugation team.

[Once his thoughts turn to the subjugation team, he’ll immediately think of Tervan Sanchez.]

Creon, who had been listening to Rachel’s thoughts, continued her line of reasoning.

‘Do you think Duke Bermund will approach Tervan?’

She asked Creon for confirmation.

[Most likely. Using Tervan Sanchez, it wouldn’t be impossible to force you to regress. Even if that fails, he could make you take a step back for the sake of your childhood friend Tervan.]

Rachel agreed with Creon’s assessment. It was true that her feelings for Tervan had worn down after numerous regressions. The intense, sharp pain she once felt watching his death had dulled over time.

However, not all her emotions toward Tervan had been completely eroded. Although she had let go of her romantic feelings, she still considered him a friend. Therefore, if Duke Bermund threatened Rachel using Tervan, she would inevitably have to yield to some extent.

But would Tervan be the type of person to easily fall for Duke Bermund’s schemes? Rachel recalled the Tervan she knew. He certainly wasn’t the type to be easily deceived by Duke Bermund’s machinations.

Moreover, his swordsmanship was exceptional, making it unlikely that he would be easily overwhelmed. After all, he was an imperial knight, so Rachel’s judgment wasn’t wrong.

Should she consider someone else besides Tervan? There was someone close to Tervan who could greatly disturb Rachel—their mutual close friend, Viola Hestein.

Thinking of Viola, Rachel had a sudden realization. She needed to be suspicious of Duke Bermund’s appearance at Viola’s birthday celebration. They claimed it was coincidental, but was it truly a chance encounter?

From the moment Duke Bermund discovered Rachel had contracted with the Time Demon Creon, he must have gathered information about the people around her. Even if Rachel refused to turn back time, he would have created some insurance to prevent her from acting rashly.

That’s why he had made contact with Viola and deliberately attended her birthday celebration. In retrospect, this was also a form of pressure directed at Rachel.

Rachel decided it would be better to speak with Viola first rather than worry about Tervan. Duke Bermund might already be making his move. To prevent Viola from being endangered, Rachel immediately prepared to meet her.

“Catrin, I’m going to the Hestein estate. Please make preparations.”

“Yes, my lady!”

Rachel promptly instructed Catrin, who had been waiting nearby. Catrin immediately left to carry out Rachel’s orders.

[Still, check on Tervan’s side too. You never know. Duke Bermund might approach Tervan Sanchez directly instead of Viola Hestein. No matter how skilled a knight Tervan is, you know better than anyone—even he was nearly defeated by Witch Sara.]

‘…’

Creon’s point wasn’t wrong. While Tervan was strong, he had his limitations. That was why Rachel had repeated her regressions numerous times.

‘I think I’ll meet Viola first, then visit Tervan afterward.’

[Good. And be careful yourself, just in case.]

Rachel smiled silently at Creon’s worried tone.

‘Alright. I’ll be careful.’

She found Creon’s concern touching and appreciated it, even though they both knew that if she died, she would simply return to one month before the subjugation team’s departure.

After Rachel responded with a smile, Creon fell silent.

“My lady, the carriage is ready.”

Before long, Catrin returned to Rachel. Hearing this, Rachel rose from her seat and promptly boarded the carriage waiting outside the mansion. The destination was the Hestein estate.

As the carriage traveled, Rachel began to consider various scenarios. Her greatest concern was whether Duke Bermund had already done something to Viola.

Though she thought it unlikely given that Edward, a Magic Tower Master candidate, was at the Hestein estate, she needed to prepare for the worst possible situation.

[What will you do if Duke Bermund has already made his move?]

‘Then at that time…’

Rachel paused briefly. If, as Creon feared, Duke Bermund had already acted against Viola and created an irreversible situation… Rachel would, for the first time since contracting with the Time Demon Creon, turn back time for someone other than Tervan.

‘I just hope it won’t come to that.’

Releasing a long sigh of worry, Rachel fixed her gaze on the Hestein estate visible through the window. They would arrive soon.