TRVLT 12

Chapter 12

Seven years passed after that.
The time of Ariletti, who had manifested the power of the Time Mage, flowed two or three times slower than that of ordinary people.

“Did you know? The strategist that the First Prince always keeps by his side—there are rumors that she can see the future.”
“See the future? How?”

Whispers clung to every place they went.

“No one knows how. But recently, the secret letter that Duke Pembrose sent to the Duchy of Lichenbarten was intercepted by the First Prince before it even reached the duchy.”
“The person who carried the letter to the duchy was Prince Pembrose himself, right?”
“Yes. She waited at the exact time and place the ship would arrive and captured him the moment he disembarked.”
“She must have been tipped off somehow, right? Either the secret was leaked, or something else. Either way, it’s amazing she knew in advance that a duke’s house was colluding with a foreign country.”
“Because of that, the duke’s house was accused of treason. Since the father-in-law got involved, the Second Prince’s position became terrible… The First Prince’s strategist really used her head well.”

Sometimes, there was awe.

“But the Pembrose side claims that nothing was leaked from their family.”
“What? So they arrested the prince and searched Pembrose without any evidence?”
“Yes. That’s why people are talking. Was Pembrose really plotting rebellion, or was the letter claiming he colluded with the duchy forged…? Think about it the other way. If they had decided to make Pembrose the suspect from the beginning and fabricated the whole situation?”

Sometimes, there was suspicion.

“That’s… scary… The First Prince’s strategist fabricated all of that? And she was only sixteen?”
“Yes, but this isn’t the first time. Nobles eliminated by her hand—Pembrose is just one of many. The heads of the families that supported the Second Prince were all dead, in prison, or on trial.”
“But the evidence and circumstances were perfect. As if it had all been predetermined…”
“That’s why it’s stranger. Unless she actually saw the future… She seems to know every single incident that happens in the imperial capital.”
“That’s true. It’s creepy when our eyes meet. Feels like she knows what I’ve done and what I’ll do next…”

Eventually, fear and even contempt followed.
Ariletti repeated countless days over and over.
All for the sake of her lord’s throne.
No, more precisely, for her master’s happiness.

“The speech I just gave didn’t sit right with me. Tch, fumbling over the important part. Ariletti, rewind time. Don’t forget to remind my past self not to make the same mistake.”
“…Will that ease Your Highness’s mind?”
“Of course. Am I going to be laughed at for days and nights because of some absurd mistake?”

The First Prince Albert gestured as if he was too lazy to speak twice.
Ariletti rewound an hour.

“Damn it! I said not to get any questions. What do you mean by letting the Pembrose topic come up there? Ariletti! Rewind again. This time, manage the crowd in the square properly!”

Another hour passed.

“There was a Second Prince’s agitator in the square? Then one hour is not enough. Rewind a whole day! Weed out all the useless ones.”

Then a whole day.

“Now that I see it, the commoners gathered in the square were looking at me with hostility. This speech was wrong from the start. Ariletti, rewind a week. Start over from the operation to arrest Prince Pembrose. This time, make sure not a single word leaks!”

A week.

And then several more repetitions.
Only after countless iterations did Albert smile with satisfaction.

“Everything is perfectly arranged. The Pembrose house will never rise again, and my speech has comforted the empire’s citizens during uncertain times. Well done, Ariletti. You really are the gift the White Forest gave me!”

Even after growing tired from repeating days countless times, one word of praise from her lord could excite Ariletti.
Being recognized for her value was Ariletti’s only joy and reason to live.

To take a step forward, Ariletti repeated the same day two or three times at minimum, dozens at maximum.
The results she produced were always the best and the only choice.
Only she remembered the time of failed rewinds.
She had lived many times the length of ordinary people’s time.
She had prepared the throne by living seven years as if they were seventy.

The moment she saw Albert, wearing the crown and holding the scepter, was indescribably exhilarating and uplifting.
Finally, I did it. For the first time, I led the person who truly needed me to the highest seat in the world.
So now… he will really love me, won’t he?

Ariletti was happy, excited, proud, and satisfied.
Even though her body was battered, there was not a shred of regret.

“You’ve done well, Arile. To commemorate your accession to the throne, I want to gift you your power. What do you think?”

If only Albert hadn’t said something like that and stabbed me in the back.

“Cough.”
Her throat stung.
Ariletti curled up like a bean in the blankets.
Damn, what a horrible dream.

She swallowed her tears.

“Even being sick… is sad…”
Her nose was clogged, making her already poor pronunciation worse.

‘It seems using my power directly takes a toll on my body.’

Three days had passed since the snowstorm of time stopped.
Ariletti, who had fainted within ten minutes of using her power, had spent three full days in bed.

Of course, the power of a Time Mage was not omnipotent. Various limitations applied depending on how it was used.
If one could use power without limit, would that be a human or a god?

The flow of time for the components of the world and its inhabitants was relatively consistent—that was the basic law.
Thus, it was possible to stop or rewind only the time of a specific area or individual.

Designating the domain one controls was called “proclaiming the Time Mage’s territory.”
Temporarily stopping the time of a target within that territory was called the “Time Mage’s blessing.”

Up to that point, there were few problems.
The real issue arose when selectively “rewinding” a specific target.

Rewinding time for the entire world was manageable.
But rewinding only one person’s time was much harder to control.

The reason was that a “rift” occurred between the rewound human and the world that had not been rewound.
The higher the target’s intellect, the more likely they were to notice the rift.

Which was only natural.
Imagine suddenly losing your memory or becoming several years younger while everyone else remained the same.
It would feel strange both to yourself and to others.

The more intelligent beings noticed the rift and tried to find the lost time, the more unstable the world’s timeline became.
A rift in the timeline directly threatened the White Forest as a whole.

Once it reached that point, the White Forest naturally refused to activate her power, and the backlash fell entirely on the Time Mage.

How did she know all this?
‘If your head’s dumb, your body suffers…’

In her first life, she had foolishly used her power to rewind her enemies’ time and make them children—or even undo their birth—almost destroying the world in the process.

That was also when the “needle” appeared.

• Damn it, what crazy master am I getting? Do you want the curse of the forest?

Since that overbearing scolding spirit appeared, she gradually learned how to handle her power.

Originally, these needles were supposed to be invisible to anyone except Ariletti.
Until now, that had been the case.

But Ariletti stared at the three needles now standing upright on her bedspread.
For some reason, when she woke up after fainting, the needles had materialized.
It was the first time this had ever happened.