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Chapter 2
It all happened in an instant.
Ricador, staring down in shock at the sword that had pierced straight through his chest, turned his eyes toward Oberon.
“…You—what are you doing…! Cough! Cough!”
“Please forgive me, Young Master Ricador.”
Oberon bowed politely—then pulled the sword out without hesitation.
Liersha, frozen as Ricador collapsed to the floor, suddenly screamed.
“Brother!!”
Oberon stopped her as she tried to run to him, letting out a sigh.
“You’re too loud, Lady Liersha. What will you do if the Imperial troops hear us?”
“What are you doing?! Why did you hurt my brother…!”
“Do you know something, my lady?”
Still staring at the burning castle, Oberon turned to look directly at her.
His silver-gray eyes were full of contempt.
“If the Duke hadn’t ordered me to protect you, things wouldn’t have come to this.”
“W…what are you talking about?”
Liersha’s trembling voice barely came out.
“I mean that the reason the entire Aracrene Duchy was destroyed—
is because of you.”
Liersha could only stare blankly. She didn’t want to hear Oberon say that everything had happened because of her.
“Look. Look who has died trying to protect you.”
Oberon pointed at Ricador.
Liersha’s eyes widened in horror.
Her family had to die, her house had to fall—because of… her?
Because of me?
No. Grandfather had always ignored her.
Father had never once come to see her.
Her other brothers were the same.
They had always treated her like a stranger.
But Oberon shattered everything she thought she knew.
“Do you even know what kind of sacrifice the Young Duke made to protect you?”
Liersha’s eyes trembled violently.
“Why did His Grace take in a child like that? Because of her, the Young Duke is—!”
She remembered the maids whispering.
“Do you know how your family ended up on the path to ruin?”
Liersha’s whole body shook.
A wave of helplessness hit her—she couldn’t do anything.
If only I’d had power…
If only…
“Well, what good is knowing now?”
Oberon raised his sword high.
A moment later, unbearable pain engulfed Liersha.
“Anniya!!”
Liersha jolted awake, arms flailing. Her nightgown was soaked in cold sweat.
Panting, she rushed to open the window—and exhaled in relief.
Outside, under the dim light, the Aracrene ducal castle stood whole and untouched.
“Th–thank goodness…”
It had all been a dream.
As she wiped the sweat from her forehead—
“…Huh?”
Her eyes went wide.
Her hands—round and chubby, with short fingers—were at least a hand’s length smaller than before.
Not only that—her body was smaller, and her perspective much lower.
Panicking, she hurried toward the mirror—only to trip and tumble with a loud thud.
Her suddenly shrunken body couldn’t balance properly.
“W-what’s happening…?”
The pain was brief. When she finally looked up and saw her reflection, her jaw dropped.
In the mirror was a little girl with short pink hair framing her chubby cheeks and red eyes, staring back in shock.
“…T-this can’t be real.”
When she muttered stupidly, the reflection mimicked her perfectly.
She had gone back in time—
and even worse, back to when she was a small child.
Was that all really real?
Liersha couldn’t move from in front of the mirror until morning.
Even when a maid came in to bring her breakfast and gave her a puzzled look, she didn’t care.
Finally, hunger hit her. Liersha turned toward the tray on her table.
…Wait. I’m allergic to nuts.
She sighed deeply when she saw that the plain tray held only a piece of bread studded with nuts.
She began picking them out one by one, a motion that felt strangely familiar.
Back then, she hadn’t even known she had the allergy—she’d only discovered it after eating bread like this and falling terribly ill.
As she absentmindedly plucked out the nuts, her eyes went wide.
“It’s exactly the same…”
The same thing that had happened in her past—was happening again.
Unable to tell if this was a dream or reality, she dropped the bread.
“It really happened. The house… really fell…”
Liersha remembered everything up until she’d been ten years old.
Too vivid to call a dream.
But too unbelievable to call reality.
My fault. He said it was all my fault.
It didn’t make sense—how could the downfall of a powerful noble family have been caused by someone like her, a girl who barely existed?
If I weren’t here… would they all survive?
She clenched her small fists.
She wanted to protect them all.
But I haven’t even awakened my ability yet… how can I?
In the Aracrene bloodline, if a child didn’t awaken by the age of four, all hope was considered lost.
No one had told her that—but she knew, because that was around when she’d been completely cut off from the family.
“…Still, I have to protect them.”
Oberon had never revealed what truly happened to the family—but one thing was certain: her existence was poison to this house.
“Alright.”
Then there was one solution. If she left the ducal castle, Oberon would never have a reason to betray them.
She’d always known, deep down, how much Oberon despised her.
She still remembered that sharp, stinging gaze that seemed to burn her skin.
She hadn’t known it would lead to something so irreversible—
but now she did.
This time, I know.
Liersha looked around, spotted a piece of cloth sticking out of a drawer, and pulled it out with all her might.
Liersha was tiptoeing down a corridor, clutching a neatly wrapped bundle.
If I can just make it through that forest, it should lead outside.
When the castle burned, Ricador had taken her that way.
That forest had to be the path to the outside world.
She remembered once wondering why their family mansion had been built so close to such a frightening forest, despite the many other estates they owned.
Now she understood—it was probably because her grandfather couldn’t stand the sight of her.
But at this moment, Liersha was grateful for the forest’s nearness.
No one cared enough about her to notice her sneaking out.
“Mmmph, it’s heavy!”
At this hour, the heirs of Aracrene would be in lessons.
Normally, Liersha would have sneaked into the “Tower of Truth” to watch secretly from the shadows—but today, she had decided to leave the castle altogether.
“Why’s this so heavy?”
There wasn’t even that much inside, yet her arms were already aching.
Pouting, she looked down at the bundle.
She had gathered things that might sell for a decent price outside.
Apparently, even toys and trinkets used by noble children could fetch a lot of money—something she’d learned from listening to the maids gossip.
