Chapter 50
“There’s a smell of oil.”
Winter said while looking at the Rohia Castle. His words helped me come to my senses, and I suddenly shouted without meaning to.
“Duke! We have to put out the fire! The knights will get hurt!”
But Winter had already stretched out his right palm, ready to act before I even finished talking.
A bluish light appeared above his hand, and a strong wind—or maybe it was his aura—rushed out from him.
The wind was so powerful that I almost fell backward, but Winter pulled me behind him just in time to keep me from falling flat.
“That fire wasn’t caused by me,” Winter said as he slowly closed his hand.
Then, the huge red flames that were swallowing the entire castle began to die down.
“Izana, it looks like there was an intruder in the castle.”
An intruder?
Why is he suddenly talking about intruders?
— Just go back to the castle and stay there quietly.
My head hurt as I recalled someone’s voice. I suddenly raised my head.
“Loti? Where’s Loti? Loti!”
That silly girl—surely she didn’t stay inside the burning castle just because someone told her to?
— You told me to stay still, so I did. I did a good job, right?
“Loti! Where are you?!”
I didn’t even realize what I was doing. I must’ve rushed forward like a bullet.
The Rohia Castle was on the verge of collapsing. But I didn’t care. I ran into the fire like a madwoman.
“Izana. They’re not in the castle.”
Winter stopped me firmly.
“Are you sure?”
His calm face gave me strength.
If Winter said they weren’t in the castle… then maybe Loti had escaped safely.
“Then where is she?”
But why did Winter’s expression look so dark?
Without saying anything, he led me somewhere. I immediately knew where we were going.
The stables.
The stables had caught fire first, so most of it had burned to ashes. When we got there, a few knights were gathered around.
“I don’t know who the other two are… but this girl is definitely Loti, right?”
“They dared to break into the Duke’s house, kill the staff, and set fire to the estate—what kind of crazy person would do that?!”
I rushed between the knights.
“Loti? Loti!”
And there she was.
No, to be exact—she was lying there.
Next to her was another person, burned black like charcoal. But Loti… she looked the same as always.
Her face was a little dirty from soot, but I could tell it was her.
It looked like she could wake up any moment…
“How come she’s the only one who didn’t burn?”
“All three were in the stables…”
Then, I saw the dagger stuck in Loti’s chest—and I froze.
I dropped to my knees and couldn’t move. Winter leaned down beside me and said quietly,
“The clearest way to tell if something is a holy relic—holy relics don’t burn.”
“….”
“Izana, believe it or not, I think she is a [Materia] relic.”
My fingers twitched.
That didn’t matter right now.
Loti was dead.
She died because I told her to stay here.
My body trembled so much I couldn’t move, but my mouth still knew what it needed to say.
“D-Duke. We have to bring Loti ba―”
Back to life.
I was trying to say that.
But I didn’t get to finish.
Suddenly, everything went black.
Yes. I had died again.
* * *
“Ah?”
I opened my eyes and dumbly muttered.
“I told you.”
That cold, wintery voice made me look up.
In the same too-familiar setting, I saw that same holy-looking face.
“There’s no one on this continent who can cut a head faster and more painlessly than I can.”
I instinctively grabbed my neck.
It was still in place.
“To save a relic, we had to return to this moment. But since we don’t know exactly when you go back after dying, we had to make sure everything was the same as last time.”
We still didn’t know when my time return ability activated.
Did I go back to just before death? Or back to some fixed moment?
Last time I died in Elahi but woke up in this room.
That time, I didn’t even know I was dying.
Just like now.
Then I whispered,
“Loti…”
I quickly stood up, brushing off my knees.
I hadn’t died that many times yet, but I was already getting used to the feeling.
I stepped out onto the balcony and saw Winter still standing by the railing. I called out to him.
“Duke. We need to find out exactly when I return. We have to be sure.”
I had nearly lost Loti.
If I hadn’t come back to this exact moment, she would’ve been gone forever.
Who’s to say something like this won’t happen again?
If I have this power, I need to understand it fully.
“Holy relics are gifts from the gods meant to help us.”
Winter nodded as if he understood.
Standing with sunlight behind him, he looked like a glowing statue.
“I think I understand now why that maid is your relic.”
Ah… that’s scary.
Right after that thought—everything went black again.
Just like Winter said—quick and painless.
When I opened my eyes again, I was sitting on my bed, not on the balcony.
Holding my neck with a trembling hand, I muttered,
“So recognizing my own death… that’s the trigger to go back to just before I die.”
“If you don’t realize you’re dying, you go back to an earlier death moment,” Winter replied.
I got up slowly, still a little dizzy.
“There are still more things we need to check.”
Winter slit his palm and said,
“If you return to this moment, the ‘Vow of Nazareth’ will break. It’s better to fix your return point after making the vow again.”
That made sense.
It was best to set my return point after the vow.
So, we bound our lives together once more and turned back time again.
When I woke up, I didn’t hesitate.
I ran with one goal in mind.
Back to the rear building I now knew too well.
I swallowed my tears and, upon seeing the red pine door, opened my mouth.
“Ro—”
But I quickly shut it and bit my lip.
The butterfly effect.
If even my smallest actions could change the future I knew…
I had almost kicked the door open but stopped myself just in time.
Instead, I stared at it in silence.
I didn’t know how long I stood there.
A few minutes? Ten?
Then, a shadow fell over me.
Winter had quietly followed.
Without saying a word, he reached over my shoulder and gently grabbed the doorknob I had only stared at.
“Well done.”
We had to do everything the same way as before.
The timing.
Who opened the door?
Even my expression and reaction.
Everything had to be the same.
“This is how we’ll do it from now on,” he whispered.
Bang!
The door exploded open with a loud crash.
Dust flew everywhere.
“My ladyyyy!!”
A loud voice called through the broken doorway.
And then Loti, alive and well, threw herself into my arms with so much force I nearly fell over.
“Move!”
“Who’s this guy?! Why is he so handsome?!”
“Loti!”
I wanted to hug her so badly.
But instead, I shouted,
“This is no time to be saying that!”
A flirt, a fan of good looks, and a messy girl…
But I’m so glad I could save you.
