Chapter 5

Elise instinctively sought warmth and nestled into it. Something soft and fluffy enveloped her comfortably.

Heaven?

With the moderate temperature, the gentle breeze, and the cozy scent, how could she think of hell?

Elise slowly opened her eyes. The bright light hurt her eyes, as she hadn't seen it in so long.

The stinging pain made her close her eyes again.

"Would you like to sleep more?"

Someone spoke to her.

"No, I'll get up."

If this was the afterlife, there was no time to dawdle.

She needed to meet someone, apologize for her sins, and ask for another chance.

"Oh, why the formal speech all of a sudden, miss?"

Miss, a title she hadn't heard in nearly eight years.

It had been that long since she succeeded her father as a baronetess.

"You can't sleep more, even if you want to. Remember, Lord Chase is visiting today."

Chase? Lord?

Sensing something odd, Elise narrowed her eyes.

In that short time, her eyes adjusted to the light.

"Are you in pain?"

The face of the person approaching her was familiar, yet strangely unfamiliar.

"…Regina?"

Elise abruptly grabbed Regina's outstretched wrist.

"What are you?"

"Miss, ouch, that hurts! You're so energetic this morning. It's me, Regina. You're not still dreaming, are you?"

Regina's forehead crinkled.

Regina? The young one?

Elise looked around with suspicion, taking in the familiar surroundings.

The desk, chair, wardrobe she used in the baronet's house, and even the view outside the window – everything was the same.

"You'll make Lord Chase wait. Miss, please get up."

Regina, securely fastening her apron, snatched away the blanket.

Beneath the thin nightgown, Elise's white and smooth legs were fully exposed. Her eyes widened.

"No scar?"

In the autumn of her 20th year, Elise had been seriously injured during a Gate investigation.

She had sustained a large wound on her leg, leaving a scar, but now her leg was smooth.

Elise tensed up. Slowly turning her head to Regina, she asked.

"Regina, how old am I this year?"

"You're acting really strange today. You're 19 years old."

"19? Then what month is it?"

"Why are you like this?"

Despite her skeptical gaze, Regina readily answered.

"It's Galmary month. Are you eager to become an adult? Just wait a few days. The new year is coming."

It was the tail end of winter.

"Are you nervous? Because Lord Chase is bringing an engagement ring?"

Elise abruptly stood up.

The winter of her 19th year, and the engagement ring!

Elise jumped out of bed and rushed to the bathroom, turning on the faucet. Cold water poured over her head.

Her body shivered, and she snapped back to reality.

"Miss! You'll catch a cold! Even if you're in a hurry, how can you shower fully clothed? Come out, quickly!"

Despite Regina's frantic pacing, Elise didn't budge.

'Back to nineteen? Or is this a dream?'

But the pain was too vivid.

Her ankle, crushed by Gabriel, still throbbed.

Her fingertips, worn away from drawing the magic circle, burned.

'This wasn't a dream. Then…'

Had her wish before death come true?

Was the regression circle real?

Elise turned to the bathroom mirror. She frantically felt her face.

Alive and returned!

Joy wrapped around Elise's body and then vanished, replaced by a question.

'Who activated the regression circle?'

A faint memory emerged. A voice, desperately calling her.

Karan.

The one who had been scandalously associated with her, had come looking for her.

Could Karan have activated it? But he was not a magician.

To activate a Regression Circle, a magic circle of immense power, a sage-level magician was needed.

Was he a magician?

Had he hidden the fact that he possessed such immense mana to use a Regression Circle?

If so, it was possible.

Still, doubts lingered.

Sage-level magicians, regardless of their origin, were treated with immense respect.

Even a family cast out for rebellion could be restored by a sage-level magician.

Every country bragged about having a sage-level magician.

But he hid it?

Even in Titris, a land scorned for being forsaken by the gods for not producing magicians?

It was all too confusing.

"Miss, Lord Chase has arrived!"

Elise tensed at Regina's words. The excitement in her eyes quickly turned cold.

Now was the time to be alert and face Chase.

"Elise!"

As Elise entered the drawing room, Chase rose abruptly.

A flower-like smile adorned his face.

My beautiful woman.

Chase hurried to the door and tightly grasped Elise's hand.

"Let go, Your Highness."

But Elise's demeanor was different than usual. The smile that used to bloom like wildflowers at the sight of him had vanished.

"Elise, is something wrong?"

Chase examined her face.

"No. The troubles will start now."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

Elise looked up at Chase.

His clean face, his mature and sturdy body. She had made it all.

And now it was time to destroy it.

The moment she saw his face, she couldn't bear the thought of a future with him.

'I feel like I'm going to be sick. Let's end this.'

Elise forced a smile.

"Your Highness, let's consider the engagement null and void."

Cracks appeared on Chase's face. His shining eyes grew dull, and his lower eyelids twitched.

He looked pitiable at a glance, but to Elise, he just looked hideous.

She didn't want to face him anymore and turned away.

"Wait! Elise, I must have heard wrong."

Chase grabbed her forearm.

Elise swung her hand fiercely. Her flung hand struck Chase's shoulder and fell.

Both Elise and Chase were startled.

But Elise quickly composed herself.

"That was an accident, Your Highness. But I mean it when I say I won't engage."

"Elise, why suddenly? What did I do wrong?"

Suddenly… It might have been sudden for Chase.

But for Elise, who was used only to be discarded by him until she was twenty-nine, it wasn't sudden at all.

"Wrong…"

Elise murmured as if talking to herself.

"Yes, Elise. If I did something wrong, tell me. I'll apologize and fix it, okay?"

"Do we need someone to be at fault to break up?"

Elise asked coldly.

You didn't do that to me.

You pushed me away, falsely accusing me of things I didn't do.

"Well…"

"Let's say it's my fault, Your Highness."

Everything would be blamed on her anyway, like in the past.

Elise didn't want to explain further.

The past life, like a nightmare, was too vivid, and even standing was overwhelming.

She needed to rest and collect her thoughts.

"Don't look for me again, Your Highness."

Elise turned away from Chase.

Like he had left her alone in the underground dungeon, she never looked back.

"Sigh."

As soon as Elise entered her room, she locked the door and collapsed to the floor.

She struggled to control her expression while facing Chase, as her emotions churned.

Chase had looked at her painfully, as if he had easily abandoned her.

'As if he truly loved me.'

But now she knew.

His affection was no more than a fleeting fever, an elusive mirage.

It still felt unbelievable that she was alive. Elise felt her body. Only when she felt the flesh and warmth in her hands did it become real.

'It feels like I've just had a long, terrible nightmare.'

But the memory was too vivid to be dismissed as a dream. She couldn't forget the sensation of dying, and Karan's desperate voice kept echoing in her ears.

"Lord Karan…"

Thinking of him brought a flood of complicated thoughts.

Elise was curious about many things regarding him.

The most pressing was why he had saved her.

Karan and Elise had little in common. They had conversed a few times for the subjugation of the evil dragon Ragnaros, but it was a stretch to say they had a personal bond.

'Didn't Karan dislike me?'

He had declined all her invitations to dance or dine together. He even often avoided her gaze.

Then why had he activated the Regression Circle?

'No, I might be wrong. He isn't even a magician. Maybe it was just a coincidence…'

Elise chuckled. It was unlikely that such fortune would happen in her life by chance.

It must have been Karan who activated the Regression Circle.

There must be a special reason why he hid his identity as a magician.

Once she concluded this, gratitude for him overwhelmed her curiosity.

"I should repay his kindness."

What could the daughter of a baronet do for a prince of Titris?

But there were other matters to attend to first.

'Chase and Iris… What to do about those two.'

Chase, who had exploited her thoroughly and then discarded her, and Iris, who had always mistreated her and ultimately led her to death.

Elise looked out the window with a stern face.

She realized she had returned to the detestable Warton baronetcy. Barely having become Baron Warton in the past.

To Elise, her parents, the Baron and Baroness Warton, were enemies no less than Iris.

Neglect, discrimination, abuse…

Memories of her childhood sent shivers down her spine.

'I have to start over. Think of it as an opportunity. Now I can do what I want.'

She had lived for others until now. This life, she would live for herself.

To do that, she had to remove those who hindered her life.

'The first thing I need to do…'

Her eyes sparkled in the reflection of the window.

"Is to make sure the engagement is broken off."

Originally, Elise was to receive an engagement ring today and get engaged to Chase in a month.

But since she had spoken of breaking up, that future would change.

Chase wouldn't hold onto her.

"Miss, a gift has arrived."

But then Elise's conviction shattered. Chase had sent her a gift.

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This novel has been translated up to chapter 30.

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