Chapter 3
It had been three days since I was confined to the room.
Thankfully, the servants came at fixed times each day to bring food and tend to me, but that was it.
I couldn’t go outside, nor could I see any of my ancestors’ faces.
All I could do was stare out the window or sleep.
Though physically comfortable, it was a harsh punishment mentally.
“Ugh.”
I groaned unconsciously at the sight of the crumbs of bread and the few remaining grapes that were brought in for lunch.
‘Even the food quality isn’t that great.’
I skipped lunch and laid back down on the bed.
As I silently stared at the ceiling patterns, a wave of fear about the future washed over me.
I had resolved to accept any punishment that came my way, but in truth, I was utterly weak.
What happens to me now?
Will I spend the rest of my life trapped here, atoning for my sins?
Trying to forget my fear, I deliberately shifted my thoughts to other topics. Most that came to mind were regrets about the past.
If I had been a bit smarter, maybe I could have protected Ignitus.
If I had paid more attention to people’s movements.
“Go complain to the spirits in the afterlife who burdened you with pointless tasks. Tell them it was their forced sacrifices that brought this ruin.”
Valonius’s words echoed in my ears like a nightmare.
“Tasks,” he said.
I understood how it might seem that way. The spirit of guardianship was a concept far removed from chaotic reality.
But that spirit had been my pride.
Carrying that name meant I had a duty to bear the family banner and protect our people.
So even if that was just a “task,” even if it led to our downfall, I didn’t care. That was the path we were meant to walk.
If only I’d had a bit more time.
If I hadn’t been completely powerless, if even a sliver of hope had remained, I might’ve been able to do something.
Perhaps due to the intense stress, my head felt feverish and my consciousness began to drift.
I was pulled into a long dream.
‘…Where am I?’
A vast space stretched endlessly, covered by a translucent veil.
Behind it loomed a massive, indistinct shadow. Upon closer look, it was a great flame, endlessly blazing without base or end.
—Hello, my descendant Cassia. Welcome back to Ignitus.
A small light appeared before me and greeted me. It was a soft, feminine voice.
As if enchanted, I reached out to the light—and was startled.
My limbs had returned to their original adult size.
—Your prayer reached us.
As the light touched my hand, it instantly transformed into the shape of a person.
A beautiful girl around my age, with red hair and amber eyes.
—Give it a try.
With just that short phrase, she reverted back into a ball of light and disappeared behind the large veil in the distance.
When I opened my eyes again, I was lying in bed.
“…Goddess…?”
The word slipped out of my mouth, dazed. But I quickly shook my head.
‘No.’
The girl radiated a warmth and kindness worthy of being called the embodiment of the goddess Vesta, but she wasn’t the goddess.
I knew instinctively. The Goddess Vesta was behind that veil in my dream.
So the light was probably one of the spirits who followed her.
‘She called me a descendant. Then maybe she was another ancestor.’
Rising from bed to gather my thoughts, I tried to get down—but ended up crashing to the floor with a loud thud.
“Ow… that hurt…”
My limbs, sprawled on the floor, were small again.
‘My body’s small again?’
Tilting my head, I saw my hair spill in front of my eyes.
‘…This color.’
It was the same shade as the girl’s hair in the dream.
And her face… now that I thought about it, it looked oddly familiar. Like the faint reflection I’d once seen in marble…
‘No way…!’
A sudden realization hit me, and I frantically searched the room for a mirror.
‘There’s none!’
No matter how much I searched, there wasn’t even anything resembling a mirror. I started looking for anything reflective—water bowls, metal ornaments, anything.
While examining a spoon that didn’t reflect a thing, I put it back on the table—and finally found something useful.
“A silver tray!”
I took all the plates off the floor and flipped the tray over, finally able to see my reflection clearly.
“…Identical.”
My mouth dropped open.
Red hair. Amber eyes. A face much younger than the one in the dream, but otherwise the same.
Why did I look like one of my ancestors?
Then I remembered the words from the dream:
—Your prayer reached us.
—Give it a try.
My final prayer:
“Goddess… or anyone, please… please protect our family.”
That was my plea—to protect Ignitus.
And now they say that prayer reached them? That I should try?
I didn’t understand.
How could someone who had lost everything, collapsed in a temple, possibly do anything?
Wouldn’t I need Ignitus to still exist for any of my efforts to matter?
I took a deep breath and retraced everything I’d seen since opening my eyes.
The middle-aged Lord Tiberius, walking and alive before me. Lord Abellus in his youth. People dressed in clothing that looked like something from a historical play. And…
I ran to the wall and touched the window with trembling hands.
Then I saw things I hadn’t noticed before.
Though the outer wall and gates built to prevent invasion weren’t there yet, the building structure was unmistakably that of the Arden Truna estate.
And far on the mountain stood the Temple of Vesta—not in its crumbling state I knew, but brand new and gleaming as if just built.
Could it be…? Have I come to the past?
As a child version of one of my ancestors?
Even after realizing this place wasn’t the afterlife, I stayed lost in thought for a long while.
Though much of it made no sense, a few things were clear.
I had been given a chance to save my family.
And through the grace of the Goddess Vesta and a nameless ancestor, a new life was beginning.
Sitting by the window, I looked toward the distant Temple of Vesta and tried to guess when exactly in the past I was.
This was the era of the 14th family head, Lord Tiberius.
The golden age of Ignitus.
As the words “golden age” suggest, our family had only declined after this period.
After the 15th head, Lord Abellus, died in battle without an heir, the royal family used that as an excuse to push the Ignitus family out of central politics.
Though we once had influence by placing branch families and vassals into the Senate, our presence diminished with each generation—until finally, we held not a single seat.
To prevent that isolation, I would need to stop both Lord Abellus’s death and the royal family’s creeping grip.
‘It’s impossible alone, but with the family’s support now, it might be doable.’
Besides, right now I have Lord Tiberius, who controls the kingdom’s administration, and Lord Abellus, a historically great general, by my side.
‘Let’s see… Lord Tiberius is up there in the family tree, and I’m about…’
I recalled the family genealogy and started counting the generational distance between us.
Ignoring adoptions and sibling succession, by direct line—I was about the 14th descendant.
To think, as a distant descendant, I have the chance to save my ancestors directly. What greater honor could there be?
I jumped up and declared:
“Alright! Ancestors! I’ll save you!”
“My lady, you haven’t eaten anything yet.”
“Eek! You scared me!”
Startled by the sudden voice of the maid behind me, I let out a scream.
