🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter: 3
I Regressed Right Before the Ending
But—why, how, for what reason—
why is there a rejuvenated doctor grandpa standing right in front of me right now?
No matter how much I thought about it, the idea that I had regressed didn’t feel real. Honestly, wasn’t I just dreaming? If I opened my eyes, wouldn’t I be back in a carriage or something?
I squeezed my eyes shut and shouted all kinds of battle cries in my head, but I didn’t wake up. Of course I didn’t—because this wasn’t a dream. It was reality.
Staring blankly like I’d lost my soul, I looked at the doctor grandpa. I remembered being carried on Laura’s back, but when I came to my senses, I was already being examined.
I told the doctor at least fifteen times that nothing hurt, but no one believed me.
I already felt so unsettled I could collapse at any moment, and now the frustration was killing me.
“Oh dear. You have a slight fever. Are you dizzy? Nauseous? Any discomfort?”
After finishing the examination, the doctor asked. I didn’t think I was seriously ill, but maybe returning to the past was more stressful than I thought. The fever seemed to prove it.
The heart disease treatment hasn’t started yet, has it?
The effects of Ruen were discovered during the summer when I was ten. It was probably winter by the time medicine was properly made and treatment began.
Since it was autumn now, this was before treatment—
in other words, when my body was at its weakest.
It made sense that stress alone could give me a low fever. I obediently lay in bed to rest, following the doctor’s instructions.
Seeing me lying down, the adults told me to rest well and quietly left the room. Only David and Laura remained.
“Are you really okay?” David asked.
“Yeah. Don’t worry, David. I’ll be fine soon.”
“Hmph. Like I was worried or anything.”
He sharply lifted his eyes, but he kept glancing at me, which was honestly pretty cute.
“I came to visit after so long, and we didn’t even get to play properly.”
“Come visit again next time, David. Then we’ll finish playing hide-and-seek—you know, the one you like.”
“I don’t like childish games like that.”
Yeah, right. He’d dragged me around playing hide-and-seek at least a hundred times when we were little.
“Then I’ll be ‘it’ next time.”
“No. I prefer searching to hiding.”
“Didn’t you just say you don’t like hide-and-seek?”
“……”
I was already a master at dealing with little David. When I caught him off guard, his mouth snapped shut stubbornly.
He looked so obviously sulky that I almost burst out laughing—but I barely held it in. Laughing now would only make him sulk more. Pretending not to notice, I changed the subject.
“By the way, David, is it okay for you to stay here? Everyone went to eat. You should go have lunch too.”
“What about you?”
“I’ll probably have to eat a patient’s meal here.”
“Then I’ll eat here too.”
He shrugged, then casually picked up a fairy tale book from the bedside table. The naturalness of it left me speechless.
“Why eat here? Go have a proper meal.”
“…I’ll just eat here with you.”
He answered curtly, then gestured to Laura, who had been standing by.
“Prepare a simple meal here.”
“Yes, Young Master. I’ll also bring the young lady’s meal shortly.”
Laura’s gaze as she left was suspicious. She glanced between David and me, the corners of her lips lifting like she understood everything.
I scrunched up my face.
Laura. It’s not like that. What kind of misunderstanding is this?
David is basically a kid I raised like a pet hamster!
Romance between us? Don’t be ridiculous. Just imagining it made my stomach churn. Was this how it felt to be paired with someone from the same family registry?
“Why do you look like that?” David asked.
“…I think I’m going to throw up.”
“What? Hey! No—don’t! Swallow it back!”
I quickly covered my mouth with both hands. When I looked at David with a pale face, he jumped up and shouted.
He was so flustered he reverted to his original speech pattern. I ignored him and removed my hands as the nausea surged up.
“Ugh—!”
“Hey! Joy Mikaela!”
***
After David and the Taylor family left, I truly fell ill.
The slight fever was just a warning shot. It kept rising without any intention of stopping, heating my entire body as if it were boiling. My pale skin flushed red from the heat.
“D-damn it… the wedding… the honeymoon… I even reserved the train tickets…”
“Joy, are you in a lot of pain? Oh my goodness…”
“She’s taken a fever reducer. The fever should come down soon.”
Overwhelmed by fever, I babbled my thoughts out loud. Thankfully, everyone seemed to think it was just childish delirium and didn’t take my words seriously.
Though every time I muttered words like “damn it” or “crazy,” my mother’s sky-blue eyes trembled slightly…
It would be fine. Probably.
“Mo… ther…”
“Yes, Joy. Mommy’s here.”
“…Don’t worry too much…”
“Yes, yes. My good daughter…”
My mother cried. It probably looked like her sick daughter was comforting her.
“I’m… going to live…”
“Joy…”
I really meant it.
I would live. I’d get past the summer of fifteen, earn my academy diploma—and this time, I’d attend David and Rosemary’s wedding and even catch the bouquet.
“Joy, do you want to go to the academy?” my mother asked.
Oh no. I must have spoken my thoughts out loud again. I nodded awkwardly.
“When I get better… I’ll go to the academy…”
My voice, which had been groaning earlier, was clearer now. I had to go see David and Rosemary’s youthful romance all over again.
But this time, I wouldn’t interfere like I did in my past life.
Even without me, those two would meet like destiny and fall in love deeply enough to marry. This time, I’d step back and live my own life.
“Joy. Mommy will send you to the academy. So please, don’t be sick—get healthy.”
“Okay, Mom… thank you…”
Even after that, I kept muttering deliriously while my mother held my burning hand and stayed by my side.
The first day after my regression ended like that—engulfed in a brutal fever.
***
“Big sister!”
“Bonnie! Don’t run—you’ll fall!”
From afar, a little girl scampered over like a baby squirrel. She was my younger sister, Bonnie Mikaela—six years younger than me.
I struggled to catch Bonnie as she jumped straight into my arms without slowing down. I stumbled back a step or two from the impact, but hugged her tightly out of habit.
A sweet giggle spilled from her lips.
“Bonnie, what if you fall and get hurt like that?”
“But you’ll catch me, big sis!”
She looked up at me with sparkling sky-blue eyes.
“You’re not fully better yet, you know?”
“But the doctor grandpa said you’re all better!”
“……”
Two years had passed since that fever-filled first day. I was twelve now, and thanks to the doctor’s efforts, my heart condition was being treated.
I was still weak and anemic, but healthy enough that it was hard to argue with her.
“Ahem. Anyway, Bonnie, what’s that in your hand?”
“This is a flower crown!”
“A wreath?”
Changing the subject always worked.
Sure enough, Bonnie immediately bit. She proudly thrust the crown toward me.
The flowers were clumsily tangled together, just like something a child would make. But because Bonnie made it, it looked like the most beautiful crown in the world.
“Oh my, Bonnie. You’re so skillful.”
“It’s a present for you, big sis!”
“Really? Put it on me.”
When I bent my knees slightly, Bonnie giggled and placed the wilted crown on my head.
“How is it? Does it suit you?”
“You look like a princess!”
Oh my—how could she be this adorable?
I hugged Bonnie and kissed her cheeks repeatedly. She squirmed and burst into laughter.
As I laughed along and tried to help her stand, a voice came from behind us.
“A princess? That’s ridiculous.”
“…?”
Turning around, I saw David—also twelve now—standing there with his usual crooked posture and pouty expression.
“David. When did you get here? And why are you picking a fight the moment you see me?”
“Hmph.”
He sharply turned his head away. He was clearly annoyed—and I knew exactly why.
“You really hate going to the academy with me that much?”
“……”
“Give it up. I already submitted the application and took the entrance exam.”
“…Someone as weak as you—what business do you have going to the academy?”
“I’ve gotten a lot better. Even the doctor approved it. Why are you against it?”
I muttered in disbelief. David’s brows furrowed deeply.
“…Why do you want to go to the academy so badly?”
To watch the male lead David and female lead Rosemary’s youthful romance, of course.
But I couldn’t say that, so I dodged.
“It sounds fun.”
“What?”
“I’ve been sick since I was little, so you’re basically my only friend. I want to make lots of friends at the academy.”
David’s mouth fell slightly open in surprise. I didn’t miss that subtle change.
He’s wavering. Just push a bit more.
I quickly put on a dejected expression and looked up at him. He avoided my gaze and awkwardly spoke.
“D-did you… get your uniform fitted?”
Got him.
“Of course. I have to move into the dorm next week.”
“…If anyone bullies you there, tell me immediately.”
“Anyone who bullies big sis will get scolded by Bonnie!” Bonnie declared.
David and Bonnie spoke one after another. I nodded, patting my reliable little sister’s head.
“Right. Bonnie will scold them. Okay?”
“Yeah! Tell me everything, big sis!”
Seeing Bonnie puff up proudly like a knight made me smile warmly.
As she circled around me protectively, I clapped for her. Then I met David’s gaze—he was looking at me like I was hopeless.
What.
What.
You don’t have a sibling this cute in your family, do you?
