CHAPTER 3
I gently placed my palm over the scar, and beneath it, I could feel the steady thump of my heartbeat.
Lifting my trembling lashes, I looked into the mirror.
The girl reflected there was me—Inerea Mertiel, nineteen years old.
Not the Inerea Mertiel of twenty-two.
Perhaps God had taken pity on me. For some reason, I wasn’t twenty-two anymore.
I had no idea why this happened, or what I was even doing here.
But one thing was certain.
“One regret is enough.”
I etched the memory of that death-marked scar deep within my heart. Now, with this second chance, I was determined to live a life with as few regrets as possible—achieving all the things I once wished for.
For myself, if for no one else.
I ran out of the estate, my robe pulled tightly over me, desperate to find answers to this impossible situation.
“To the temple.”
Right now, that seemed like the only place where I might get a real answer.
I scaled the tall wall with all my strength and ran, without a plan.
The barrier—one that only the privileged could pass—let me through without resistance.
As if it had never been meant to keep me out.
“Ha!”
For the first time in my life, I laughed as I ran freely through the outside world, not as a fugitive, but as a normal person.
I ran until my feet were scraped raw and the cold wind cut into my lungs like blades.
And finally, I arrived.
“Hah… hah…”
The temple.
A grand white building, shining with an ethereal glow even in the dark of night.
I had never once stepped foot in that unfamiliar place before. I hesitated at the entrance but clenched my hands tightly.
‘There’s no need to hesitate now.’
I stepped inside.
All the trembling and worry that had clung to me on the way here vanished the moment I stood in that stark white space.
“So quiet.”
It was night, so not a single soul was around.
Then I noticed something strange.
‘I don’t know much about temples, but…’
A maze? Why did it feel like a labyrinth?
No matter how far I walked, I didn’t seem to get anywhere. It felt like I was walking in circles. I tried retracing my steps, but again, I found myself on the same path, over and over.
“Is it magic? Maybe it’s a spell to ward off intruders?”
Whatever the case, I had to keep going.
I had no idea how long I’d been walking when my foot caught on something, and I fell hard.
“Ugh…”
Ow. That hurt.
Then, from high above—like a voice descending from the heavens—I heard a sound.
“Welcome.”
Startled, I instinctively turned.
Standing there was a woman dressed in pure white. She radiated purity, as if untouched by the filth of the world.
“I am Iris, agent of the divine.”
The woman with snow-white eyes continued,
“I’ve been waiting for you.”
Iris.
The High Priestess. The Holy Saint.
A woman blessed by the gods, beloved by the world.
“Inerea, you don’t need to explain anything.”
Iris sat before me with the grace of an angel descended from heaven.
“There’s nothing I don’t already know.”
They said she was harder to meet than the Emperor himself. I never imagined I would see her like this.
“You… know everything? Then you know why I’m here?”
She gently brushed her fingers along her chin and leaned closer, meeting me at eye level.
Then she said,
“You turned back time, didn’t you? To the day you regretted most.”
When she saw the shock on my face, she smiled.
“It happens from time to time.”
“…This kind of thing happens?”
“Like the blooming of the Admine flower once every few hundred years—rare, yes. But for the sake of shattered, noble souls, the gods sometimes grant such a chance.”
Her words were vague, and I struggled to keep my brow from furrowing.
“Noble… That word doesn’t suit me.”
“Hmm.”
“…”
“I think it does.”
All I could do was give a hollow laugh.
I had no idea what she saw in me to say something like that, but I didn’t want to dwell on it.
Shaking my head, I asked,
“So… I just live this new life now?”
Her voice was calm, without emotion.
“This world exists to fulfill your wish.”
Every word she spoke stirred something inside me.
“If you achieve your wish, this world will remain yours.”
And then—
“But if you fail, everything will return to how it was.”
Return to how it was? Does that mean I’d go back to the moment before I regressed?
I sprang to my feet without realizing it.
No. That can’t happen. That place held only death.
There was no coming back from that dying moment.
Pain throbbed through my chest, my heart crying out in agony.
Suddenly, my strength gave out.
As I stumbled, Iris gently caught and helped me sit again. Looking up at her helplessly, she spoke after a brief pause.
“Fulfill the wish you made just before you died. That’s what brought you back.”
And then, it came flooding back.
[The duke—at least that man—I wanted to drag him into ruin with my own hands.]
[I want power. Enough so that no one can ever treat me like dirt again.]
Those bitter, resentful words I’d muttered as I lay dying.
“If you ever face difficulty, come find me. I’ll listen.”
So basically…
‘If I want to live, I have to make that wish come true.’
This unreal reality crashed over me like a tidal wave.
Now, there were two things I had to do if I wanted to stay alive: drag my father into ruin and seize power.
The first—well, that was practically done on the day I returned.
Which left the second: gaining power… Hmm.
“It’s already been two months since the Duke and Duchess went missing!”
“We can’t keep this from His Majesty the Emperor any longer!”
“This is a serious matter! We can’t just sit idly by!”
Too noisy.
I couldn’t even think with all the shouting outside.
As the voices outside grew louder, I leaned my chin on my hand and glared at the door.
“So what do we do now, Head Steward?!”
“You think asking me will magically bring answers?! Damn it!”
It had already been two months since my mother passed—two months since I regressed.
True to this dysfunctional family’s nature, they responded right away. And now they were bouncing off each other like kangaroos.
“They’ve even come to my room today?”
For the record, I had never spoken a word about my mother or father.
No one had ever asked the quiet, neglected daughter where they were.
“But I guess this is the end of that.”
With all the commotion outside my door, it seemed the storm had arrived.
Then—
Knock knock.
“…?”
The knock was quickly followed by a loud BANG! as the heavy door burst open.
Startled, I could only stare between the wide-open doors and the man who barged in.
“Lady Inerea. Long time no see.”
A stout man with a round belly stepped confidently into my room.
‘Ugh… I hate this.’
Behind him, knights and servants hesitated awkwardly.
The man stroked his beard and gave a hearty, falsely pleasant laugh.
Beside him stood a young man about my age, who looked just like the older man must’ve in his youth.
That man was Lubrion, a branch noble who had always tormented me. Always pushing for adoption of an heir, always saying I was unfit to bear children and that we needed a successor soon.
“You’ve grown quite a bit.”
So he’d clearly been paying very close attention to the ducal household.
He must’ve sensed something was wrong and come to stake his claim.
“Stop right there.”
I cut him off as he tried to march in like he owned the place.
At my sudden command, he flinched.
“…Lady Inerea?”
The branch nobles all knew exactly how I’d been treated. What kind of person I had been.
“Such a shame.”
In the past, I would’ve held my tongue, fearing my father. But today… I was ready to speak every unsaid word.
“You seem unfamiliar with proper noble etiquette.”
“What? Lady Inerea, what did you just say?!”
Lubrion’s eyes widened in shock, his body stiffening with hesitation.
