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Chapter 5
How to Win Back a Childhood Friend’s Heart
Because their mothers were close friends, he had known Fay since he was five years old. As they grew older, they even created a secret code that only the two of them understood and exchanged through letters.
The rules were simple. After writing a letter, you just draw a shape next to the sender’s name.
For example, a circle meant “let’s play together,” a diamond meant “I have a secret to tell you,” and a star meant “I need help.”
Fay, who was deeply into spy games at the time, taught him these codes almost on a whim, but they used them for years, so they were easy to remember.
“If something hard happened to you…”
At least once, he wished she had remembered their game.
If she had drawn a star even once in her letters, he would have rushed to her no matter what.
Or maybe she thought it was uncomfortable because he had once said he liked her for a short time. But did she really have a reason to avoid him that much?
Fabian had spoken casually, but Dante, who had lived as a knight for many years, could tell.
Whatever else it might be, the bruises on Fay’s body were not from an accident. Especially the hand-shaped bruise on her wrist—it was clearly a mark of violence.
Fay was royalty. And there were only a few people who could lay hands on someone like her.
Even now, nearly three years after her marriage, Fay and the prince still had no children. Looking back, it was a strange thing, yet no one noticed anything wrong.
The reason was simple—Fay had never written even a single line about her husband in her letters.
At the time, he thought she simply didn’t want others interfering in her private life. Friends didn’t have to share everything.
“Just what happened while I wasn’t there…”
Was that why she had written that she couldn’t attend Giulio’s wedding? Now that everything had come to this, every letter he had received from her kept replaying in his mind, driving him nearly insane.
If only he had noticed sooner. Or at least asked her properly about what was going on.
A faint sigh slipped through Dante’s lips, white breath scattering into the cold air. He blinked slowly as he watched it fade.
Something was strange. Why was he getting so sleepy all of a sudden?
The sun would rise soon. He had to show up at her funeral looking at least somewhat composed.
He shook his head, but the drowsiness came rushing in like a tide. A chilling sensation crawled down his spine.
The wind went silent. It felt as if the world had been cut off entirely.
Sitting in that unnaturally quiet space, Dante forced his heavy eyelids open and thought:
“Please, just once…”
If he could see her alive again.
A small violet light circled around him. With that impossible wish as his last thought, Dante lost consciousness completely.
And then, he woke up in an unexpected place.
“…What?”
He was on a tree.
The moment he opened his eyes, bright sunlight poured down onto his face. Instinctively shielding his eyes with his arm, he muttered softly.
“…Am I dreaming?”
For a vision before death, this was far too bright.
He glanced down at the thick branch he had been lying on and slowly touched it. The surface felt smooth yet slightly rough under his palm.
This tree, standing in the manor garden, was said to have existed even before the mansion was built. Because it was too valuable to cut down, it had been left as decoration.
He had climbed this tree since childhood whenever the weather was nice, taking naps on its branches. So being here wasn’t strange in itself.
“Then why am I here?”
He had clearly been guarding Fay’s coffin in the freezing mortuary of the border war and then lost consciousness.
Even if he had collapsed there, there was no way his older brother or anyone else would have placed him here.
And this weather…
It should have been winter. Yet the sunlight was so strong it stung, like midsummer.
Confused, he looked around and suddenly noticed his left hand. He stared at his wrist, which looked strangely smooth, then rolled up his sleeve.
He blinked.
“…There’s no scar.”
During the three-month border war, there had been many dangerous moments. At one point, a delayed decision from a commander nearly wiped out his entire unit.
Back then, Dante had received a long scar from his left wrist to his elbow. It had been said it would remain permanently, though it didn’t affect movement.
But now—
“How…”
“Hey, Dante!”
At the voice calling him, Dante slowly turned around.
A woman ran up from under the tree, wiping sweat from her temple as she looked up at him.
“I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”
Red hair tied neatly up, pinkish eyes, a beautiful face. Someone very familiar.
Dante muttered blankly.
“Vivian?”
Vivian Crocus. His brother Giulio’s wife, and the only daughter of the Crocus Duke family that ruled high society.
But—
“She looks younger.”
The Vivian he remembered last time was a mature woman. But this one looked much younger—around twenty at most.
“Hoho, what nonsense are you saying to a lady three years older than you?”
Vivian smiled sweetly, but her gaze felt oddly sharp. Sensing danger, Dante quickly closed his mouth.
“Anyway, I thought you might be here. Aren’t you supposed to be at school?”
“School?”
He hadn’t been to one since graduating seven years ago.
“This is interesting. Even Dante is acting like a student on the verge of graduation?”
“On the verge of graduation?”
None of this made sense.
Dante hid his confusion and lightly jumped down from the tree, landing smoothly on the ground. He brushed the leaves off his shoulder with calm, precise movements.
Vivian watched him and sighed.
“You really are too composed for your age. You don’t look like an eighteen-year-old at all.”
The moment he heard that, Dante froze.
“…Vivian, what did you just say?”
“Hm? What?”
“Say it again.”
“You look too composed for your age?”
“The next part.”
“…Not like an eighteen-year-old brat? That?”
Vivian checked her pocket watch and suddenly screamed.
“Oh no! You need to get ready and go to school! It’s already 8:30!”
She grabbed his arm and dragged him toward a carriage. Dante followed silently, but his mind was in chaos.
If he was eighteen and about to graduate, then as he suspected from the weather—it must be summer now.
But how could this be real?
Where did his twenty-five-year-old self go, and why had he returned to being an eighteen-year-old student?
Smack!
Vivian jumped in shock as Dante suddenly slapped his own cheek.
“What the—why are you doing that?!”
“…It hurts.”
“Why are you suddenly acting like this?”
“It’s nothing. By the way, Vivian, is it okay for you to be with me? Weren’t you supposed to meet my brother?”
If he was eighteen now, then she and Giulio weren’t married yet. They hadn’t even confirmed their feelings.
Vivian clicked her tongue.
“Hmph. Why would I go see that shameless, stupid man?”
She turned her head away, but her ears were red.
“Did you two fight again?”
“Fight? He ditched me today saying he had work after promising to go out with me.”
“My brother messed up.”
It was obvious what had happened. Giulio, who normally spoke so smoothly, always became awkward and caused trouble only in front of Vivian.
Dante leaned his elbows on his knees and fidgeted with his fingers.
“Vivian.”
“What?”
“…Do you think miracles exist?”
Vivian blinked, then burst out laughing.
“What’s with that? That’s not like you.”
“I just feel a bit strange.”
“Well, you’re going to the temple soon. It makes sense. That’s your lifelong dream—becoming a holy knight.”
“I wonder…”
As Dante trailed off, the carriage stopped. Hearing the driver announce they had arrived, he pulled his school cloak over his shoulders and opened the door.
If I really went back seven years…
“Then I’ll go.”
“Alright. I’ll treat you to something good after class, so come with Fay!”
You’re safe too, right?
The hill ahead, the open gate, and the students walking inside.
His heart was pounding so fast it felt like it would burst. Dante walked slowly among them.
Then faster.
Then he started running.
Dodging between students, he reached the gate.
What class did they have first period? Where could he find Fay?
Then—
His eyes caught someone in the crowd, walking diagonally ahead.
He recognized her instantly.
“Fay!”
He shouted her name.
The figure walking ahead paused… and slowly turned back.
