Rachel’s eyes widened at Edward’s unexpected response. She had anticipated that he would try to dissuade her once he learned about her contract with the Time Demon Creon. After all, Edward was a kind and gentle person. But she never imagined he would plead so desperately.

Her gaze wavered. She opened her mouth but closed it again, unsure what to say. In the meantime, Edward spoke up.

“I won’t ask why you did it. Your reluctance to explain means you don’t want to reveal your reasons.”

Edward paused briefly, his voice catching. “Whatever you need to do, if you’re willing, I’ll help you. I might be weaker than you, but I’ll do my best to support you…”

“You don’t… need to worry,” Rachel interrupted, cutting off Edward’s concerned words. “Unless something extraordinary happens, I won’t be going back in time again. So please don’t worry.”

As she spoke, Rachel felt a roughness in her throat. Though she wasn’t lying, she had the strange sensation of deceiving him. Edward, however, couldn’t shake his concern.

Rachel found herself unable to meet his eyes and turned her head away. Only then did Edward finally exhale a belated sigh of relief. He reached out and took Rachel’s hand.

Rachel flinched momentarily in surprise but didn’t pull away from his grasp. Edward’s hand was soft and warm. He carefully enveloped her hand in his and squeezed his eyes shut.

“…Thank goodness.”

The words slipped out, but it was hard to tell if he truly meant them. Rachel’s statement that she wouldn’t need to go back in time likely meant she had already achieved her wish through countless regressions. This implied she had experienced numerous deaths to reach this point.

Edward felt foolish for having thought Rachel’s changes were merely due to maturing after returning from the subjugation team.

Her sudden transformation was actually the result of emotions worn down and eroded through countless deaths. His heart ached for Rachel, who had to bear everything alone because she couldn’t reveal the truth to others.

Just then, a knock sounded at the door. Both of them looked toward it simultaneously, and the door opened silently.

“Rachel, I heard you were looking for—”

Viola’s cheerful greeting cut off when she saw Rachel and Edward holding hands. She looked back and forth between them with a surprised expression.

“Viola, even if it’s your mansion, barging into a reception room when guests are present is—”

Tervan’s voice came from behind Viola, startling her. She quickly turned around.

“Y-you’re right! Tervan, I think we should knock and enter again.”

“What? But we’ve already entered, haven’t we?”

Viola spun around and pushed Tervan, who was about to follow her in. Watching this, Edward and Rachel burst into laughter simultaneously. The heavy atmosphere between them finally dissipated.

“Anyway, Edward, please don’t worry too much,” Rachel said again, her tone comforting.

“Alright. And if you ever face difficulties or hardships, don’t hesitate to ask for my help. I’ll come running to you no matter what happens.”

Edward’s deep voice was pleasant to hear. Rachel smiled brightly and nodded.

“I’ll definitely do that.”

In other timelines, and even now, Edward had always been someone Rachel could rely on. He had never rejected her requests for help and was always by her side when needed. She was eternally grateful to him.

[But is it really okay to tell him like this?] Creon asked Rachel worriedly.

[Wouldn’t it be better to keep it hidden? Nothing good comes from more people knowing.]

‘Edward is fine,’ Rachel responded.

[……]

Rachel seemed to trust Edward almost unconditionally.

‘You’ve seen what kind of person Edward has been all this time. Besides, I had a specific reason for revealing this to him now.’

[What reason?]

Creon immediately asked.

‘If Duke Bermund targets someone besides Tervan, I think there would be two possibilities. One is Erika, but she’s at the academy now, so I’m not too worried. The security is excellent, and the academy professors are highly skilled.’

Rachel briefly thought about her mischievous sister Erika.

[Then the other person must be your friend Viola.]

‘Yes. But I’m not with Viola every day.’

[So you told Edward the truth to ask for his help.]

‘Yes…’

The thought of using Edward even in this situation troubled her, but it was better than Viola being in danger. Above all, Viola was Edward’s sister. Edward wouldn’t want Viola to be in danger either.

‘I guess this is what you’d call a win-win situation.’

Though she was surprised by how sad Edward had become, it wasn’t a bad choice for Rachel. Edward released her hand and gave her a faint smile. Rachel caressed the hand he had held and returned his smile.

Soon, another knock sounded at the door.

* * *

“Ugh! What are you doing, Viola?”

Pushed into the hallway, Tervan expressed his confusion, but Viola hurriedly stepped out and closed the reception room door. Perhaps from shock, her breathing became rough and her heart raced. The hand holding the door grew cold, and she felt a chill run down her spine.

She felt like she had seen something she shouldn’t have.

“Viola?”

Finding her reaction strange, Tervan examined her complexion.

“You’re breaking out in a cold sweat. Are you okay?”

“Huh? Oh, I just feel a bit hot.”

Finally coming to her senses, Viola answered Tervan’s question with an awkward smile.

“Hot? Suddenly?”

Tervan found it difficult to follow Viola’s reactions.

“Is something wrong inside?”

It seemed strange to claim she was simply hot. Viola had started acting oddly after barging into the reception room, so the cause must clearly be something inside.

‘But what could be the problem? Isn’t Rachel in there? Why would Viola be shocked to see Rachel?’

Tervan tilted his head, finding it hard to guess the reason.

“A-anyway! Let’s go back in. Rebecca, could you announce us?”

At Viola’s instruction, the maid bowed her head and knocked on the door again.

“Lady Viola Hestein and Young Master Tervan Sanchez have arrived.”

Rebecca announced to those inside and carefully opened the door. Viola, with some trepidation, checked the reception room before Tervan.

Fortunately, unlike moments before, the atmosphere was now composed. Viola entered, her racing heart finally calming.

Rachel and Edward rose from their seats to greet the two.

“Rachel, were you surprised earlier?” Viola asked with a broad smile.

Rachel shook her head, smiling casually. “Not at all. But you came back earlier than expected?”

“Yes. Things wrapped up quickly. Everyone, please sit down. Your legs must be tired.”

Viola suggested to the others. Following her words, everyone sat on the sofa. The maid prepared fresh refreshments for Viola and Tervan.

Meanwhile, Viola observed Rachel and Edward. She had many questions but couldn’t bring herself to ask with Tervan present. Even she wasn’t tactless enough to ask thoughtless questions while knowing the relationship dynamics between the three.

She had only recently discovered that Edward had feelings for Rachel—and had for a very long time. Meanwhile, she’d learned that Rachel had harbored a one-sided love for Tervan for years before recently giving up.

To make matters worse, Tervan had belatedly realized his own feelings. Caught between the three, Viola found the current situation both awkward and fascinating.

In this context, witnessing Edward holding Rachel’s hand and gazing at her with such a poignant expression naturally made her curious about what had happened. But she also felt somewhat strange about it.

If the two of them ended up together, Rachel would become part of her family. While she liked the idea, she somehow couldn’t quite picture it. Viola glanced sideways at Tervan.

Tervan, their friend who, like Edward, had feelings for Rachel. But she judged that if Rachel were to end up with someone, Edward would be better than Tervan, who had caused Rachel heartache for over ten years.