IAYA 06

Chapter 6

“Who gave you permission to sell this house! This house is mine, and so is the barony of Farrington. Without my permission, you can’t sell it!”

Once the tears began to fall, they wouldn’t stop. It felt like everything that had been holding me up until now had suddenly collapsed.

I was resentful.

I was furious.

A torrent of uncontrollable emotions surged up from deep inside my chest.

“Ah, if you have something to say, don’t make a fuss here—go take it up elsewhere.”

“I will. I will, so you get out of my house. I said this is mine!”

“Hah, what a crazy woman causing trouble.”

The maid gave me a look of disbelief before turning back into the mansion. Then she started calling for someone inside.

“Bern! Bern!”

At her call, a burly man came walking out. Judging from his clothes, he seemed to be a servant working in the estate as well.

It looked like they intended to drive me out by force. But I couldn’t back down.

If I gave way here, it felt like I would lose everything I had left. No, perhaps I had already lost it all.

“…Hic, I said it’s mine.”

My legs gave out, and I collapsed to the ground, but I still clutched the gate tightly with my hands as if I would never let go.

I had nowhere else to go. Other than the small bundle of belongings I’d prepared for a job interview, I had nothing.

“Mom…”

I missed my mother desperately. I wanted to run to her, to complain that my sisters were tormenting me.

But now, there was no one to listen to my troubles, no one to reach out a hand to me.

“Bern, get rid of that woman before Madam comes back.”

The maid who had argued with me pointed a finger at me.

“Who is she?”

“I don’t know, some lunatic.”

“Got it.”

The servant called Bern strode toward me. He was about to grab me, crouched down in front of the gate, and drag me away—

Just as his hand was about to touch my shoulder—

“Stop right there.”

A man’s unexpected voice came from behind.

Startled, everyone—including me—turned to look. There, standing with his white coat billowing in the wind, was the man who had said he wanted to experiment on me—an alchemy professor from Kamar Academy.

“Don’t lay a finger on my precious test subject.”

The servant froze at the word “test subject” and frowned.

“Who the hell are you?”

“Me? An alchemy professor at Kamar Academy.”

At those words, the servant scowled and snapped, “Mind your own business and get going—”

“Maybe you’ll recognize the name Marquis Fredov?”

“…!”

At the mention of Marquis Fredov, the servant and maid’s eyes went wide. I too was shocked to learn his true identity.

The Fredov family was a renowned household, honored by the Empire of Vulcanus. I’d heard rumors that the current head of the family was eccentric, but I never imagined he would be working as a professor at the academy.

“So I’ll say it again. Don’t touch my precious test subject.”

It was the same warning as before, but now that I knew who he was, it sounded completely different.

The servant quickly stepped back, retreating several paces from me. I just sat there in stunned silence, tears still streaking my cheeks, unable to wipe them away.

Then the marquis turned to me with a sly smile. Somehow, his face looked like that of a devil whispering sweet words while leading me to ruin.

“My offer still stands. If you help me with my experiments, I’ll erase your debts and even give you a position as an assistant apothecary.”

I had already heard him say those words once before, but hearing them again now felt entirely different.

With things as they were, I couldn’t tell Medina or Claire about my condition. If they discovered I had somehow become young again, who knew what they would do?

They had already been eager to dispose of the Farrington estate, marry me off to another family, or send me to a convent.

If my sisters saw me like this now, I couldn’t imagine how they would react.

In short…

I had nowhere to go.

Realizing once again how utterly alone I was, my heart ached even more amidst the confusion.

But I had no reason left to hesitate. In my current situation, his contract wasn’t a choice—it was my only option.

“Will… will you also provide food and lodging?”

At my words, he smiled brightly for the first time. He clearly understood that my question meant I had accepted.

With a light chuckle, he replied,

“Of course. My name is Jer Ivan Fredov. If you’re not sure what to call me, just call me Professor.”

Jer arranged a place for Belia to stay at Kamar Academy and returned to his laboratory, wearing a pleased expression.

He could have taken her to the Fredov estate, but it was more convenient to house her near the academy, where his lab was located.

Just thinking about the experiments he would conduct on her made his heart race with excitement.

He hadn’t expected to find her in such circumstances when he had gone to pressure her again—it was sheer luck.

Humming to himself, Jer began planning his experiments. That was when—

Knock, knock.

Someone knocked on the door.

“Come in,” Jer said casually.

With his permission, an assistant in a white coat entered.

“P-Professor, I heard you were looking for me. About the mistake I made managing the experimental drug—I hadn’t slept in two days, so…”

“Funny, you hadn’t slept, yet you had time to go on vacation?”

“I-I came back the moment I heard the news…”

“You do realize your carelessness led to a priceless experimental vial being broken, right?”

“I’m so sorry. I’ll do whatever it takes to—”

Jer cut him off coldly.

“You’re fired, effective immediately.”

“What?”

“I told you time and again to be careful, and yet you handled the experimental drug like that? What if someone ingested it and died? How would you take responsibility?”

Jer hadn’t mentioned it to Belia, but the assistant bore even greater blame for not securing the vial properly in the first place.

Leaving such a precious substance out on a table where anyone could touch it was inexcusable.

“B-but to dismiss me just like that…”

The assistant’s face crumpled with despair, but Jer only looked at him impassively.

“Didn’t you hear me? I said you’re fired. Get out of my lab, now.”

Though things had turned out well—since he’d gained Belia as a test subject—in another scenario, he might have had to dispose of a corpse.

Of course, casualties during the acquisition of test subjects weren’t uncommon—such risks were to be expected.

But giving a rare experimental drug to just anyone was unacceptable. It had to be administered only to someone with potential, after careful consideration.

He’d been lucky this time, but he wouldn’t allow the same mistake to happen again.

The assistant opened and closed his mouth helplessly, but in the end, he slumped his shoulders and left the lab without another word.

Alone once more, Jer stroked his chin and smiled in delight.

“Now then, where should I begin?”

Though he had dressed it up nicely to gain Belia’s consent, there were many things about the experiment she didn’t know.

And Jer had no intention of ever telling her. If she realized how dangerous it truly was and tried to run away, it would be troublesome.

Following the attendant Jer had assigned to her, Belia arrived once more at Kamar Academy.

She asked no questions along the way. The mere fact that her family had abandoned her was overwhelming, and it took all her strength just to hold back tears.

Eventually, the attendant stopped walking.

“This is it.”

When I turned my head, I saw a small but clean room.

Judging from the cluster of doors along the hallway, these seemed to be lodgings for academy staff.

Compared to the luxurious accommodations at Theansis, it was modest. But the room had a bedroom, a kitchen, and a bathroom—all the essentials.

It wasn’t the sort of place a noble would usually accept, but I was only the daughter of a baron—the lowest of the nobility—and I had never lived in wealth anyway.

More than anything, I was grateful. For someone with nowhere to go, simply having a place to stay was a blessing.

“From now on, you’ll be staying here.”

The attendant handed me a key labeled [Room 201].

I silently nodded. He seemed to sense that I didn’t feel like talking, because he spoke only as much as necessary.

“The Marquis says you should rest today. Starting tomorrow, you will report as an apothecary assistant. You’ll receive details directly from him in his lab.”

“…Yes.”

“Be there by nine in the morning.”

With those words, the attendant left, closing the door behind him.

And so I was left alone in this unfamiliar room. Oddly, being alone was a relief—it meant I could finally cry as much as I wanted.

“Hic…”

I sank onto the cold floor and let the tears pour out.

It felt like I was the only person left in the world.

Like I had been tossed into the trash, unwanted.

No one needed me. No one loved me.

If I went to sleep, I half-expected to wake up and find my mother, still alive but afflicted with dementia, waiting for me. But she had passed away not long ago. And before I could even accept that loss, my sisters had abandoned me.

Everything felt unreal—like this strange room itself.

I sobbed quietly, clutching at my chest.

Since it hadn’t been long since my mother’s funeral, memories of her still pierced my heart with unbearable pain.

People always say, “Cherish your parents while they’re alive.” Only after she was gone did I finally understand those words.

I should have done better.

I should have just said, “I love you,” no matter how awkward it felt.

But during those twenty years I spent caring for her, I had been too exhausted to be honest about my feelings.

Household chores, nursing her through her illness—it had been so overwhelming that I excused myself from showing my heart.

And yet, now, I regretted it.

I missed her so much.

The world, now that I was alone, felt unbearably cold.

I cried until no more tears would come, until I was so drained I couldn’t even move a finger.

Sprawled on the floor, I gazed up at the ceiling. It was already growing dark, and the plain wallpaper overhead was barely visible in the fading light.

“…This too shall pass.”

It was something my mother often said. That hard times, happy times—everything eventually passes.

Now, at thirty-eight, I had learned that she was right. Everything comes to an end eventually, just as my twenty years of caregiving had ended.

I slowly dragged myself up and went to the washbasin. Splashing my face with the coldest water, I felt my dulled mind slowly clear.

When I looked up, the mirror reflected my youthful face.

Unbelievable as it still seemed, this was reality.

Slap!

I smacked my cheeks with both hands.

I had cried enough. I had grieved enough.

I was still angry, still sorrowful when I thought of my sisters. But I couldn’t just sit here and do nothing.

As long as I was alive, I had to keep moving forward. I had to find something I could do in this new reality.

I studied the reflection in the mirror, gently touching my damp cheeks. My skin was firm and elastic, nothing like before.

“…Maybe this is a chance. Maybe there’s something I can do.”

Youth had slipped by me in the blink of an eye, and only afterward had I realized it would never come back.

But now, at thirty-eight, I had been given youth once more.

Perhaps, with my old, mature body, it would have been too difficult to try something new. But now… now was different.

True, I might lose not only the mansion and wealth, but even the title of baron’s daughter.

Yet, I still had this—the hope of a fresh start.

It still didn’t feel real… but surely there was something I could do with this newfound youth.

Yes. I’ll try.

Without realizing it, I clenched my fists tightly.