“...Oh my goodness!”
Everyone who saw her open her eyes froze in shock.
“Ceres!”
A middle-aged woman who had rushed in first hurried toward Grace, her eyes filled with tears.
Clutch!
“Ceres, you... what were you thinking? Do you have any idea how worried your aunt was?”
...Aunt?
Still holding the confused Grace, the woman continued in a trembling voice.
“No matter how hard things got, how could you try to take your own life!”
...I tried to kill myself? What nonsense is that?
“That’s enough now. Ceres, I’m just glad that you’ve woken up.”
The woman wiped at her eyes again and smiled brightly as she patted Grace’s shoulder. Grace watched the gesture, then asked in a slightly irritated voice.
“Who are you?”
“...What?”
“I asked who you are.”
“O-oh my... Ceres?”
“It’s been bothering me for a while now. Why do you and that boy keep calling me by that name?”
“Oh my... oh my...”
Enough with the “oh my” already.
Watching the woman hurriedly cover her mouth with both hands, Grace clicked her tongue.
What on earth is going on here...
Can someone please explain this properly?
***
“Haha...”
A hollow laugh slipped out.
“So...”
She did die, but she came back to life?
“And in the body of a girl I’ve never seen before?”
It took her a full day to roughly piece together the situation.
“What the hell happened?”
She spent the entire day thinking, but couldn’t find a real answer. She definitely died, so why is she inside someone else’s body?
...It’s a familiar face.
She had never seen her while alive, but wasn’t there someone she met after she died?
That girl she saw in the depths of darkness. The one with platinum hair and pale violet eyes that left quite an impression.
Seeing that very face staring back at her from the mirror was absurd.
Despite looking so innocent, she really knows how to stab someone in the back.
No matter how she thought about it, everything pointed to the moment she took that hand. If she had known this would happen, she would’ve ignored her no matter how pitiful she looked!
Why would anyone go this far just to bring back someone who had already died peacefully?
She twisted a strand of platinum hair that fell over her shoulder and sighed.
Ceres Drow.
A girl who took her own life, though the reason is unknown. Seventeen this year, and that boy she saw yesterday is really her younger brother.
“Ha...”
She’s seventeen now?
“...I got younger, didn’t I?”
She didn’t know whether to be happy about it or cry.
Grace—no, Ceres could only let out a hollow laugh.
Knock, knock.
A light knock sounded, and the boy she saw yesterday stepped inside. A woman who looked like a maid followed behind him, carrying a tray of light meal.
“......”
The boy stepped closer and stared at Ceres. It was a face that clearly had a lot to say.
“Kid, do you have something to say? Go on.”
“...Antonian.”
“Antonian?”
“Yeah. So don’t call me a kid.”
Seeing him frown at being called a kid, Ceres chuckled. For a moment, he reminded her of someone from the past.
Arti used to be exactly like that.
Artia. Like Kainel, he was a friend she had known since childhood.
Back then, he was shorter than her and had a pretty face. Whenever she treated him like a younger brother, he would always react just like that.
Who would’ve thought that brat would grow up to become the youngest master of the Magic Tower?
After lingering on that memory briefly, Ceres turned her head toward the maid, who had been watching her closely ever since she entered the room.
“Um, my lady... are you feeling alright?”
“I don’t feel any pain, at least.”
“That’s a relief.”
A long sigh of relief escaped the maid.
“While you were unconscious, Lord Antonian was very worried. He came every day to check on you...”
“Jay, don’t say useless things.”
“Ah! I-I’m sorry!”
At Antonian’s irritated tone, Jay hurriedly apologized and bowed to Ceres.
“My name is Jay.”
She introduced herself without being asked, like she already knew Ceres had lost her memory.
“If you need anything, please let me know at any time.”
Ceres gave a small nod and stood up.
That aside...
Step.
Creak.
Step.
Creak.
“.....”
As she walked toward the table where the food was set down, Ceres clicked her tongue at the grating sound.
Step.
Creeeak.
...Is this place abandoned?
The bed she slept in last night was just as bad. Even the slightest movement made strange noises, so it was difficult to get proper rest.
And not just the bed. Every step she took made the floor let out an unpleasant creak.
Looking closer, the furniture and everything in the room were so worn down it looked like it might fall apart at a touch.
“Is this perhaps the room of a noble lady who is neglected by her family?”
“What are you talking about?”
“I’m asking why the room is like this.”
It was worn down, but judging by the size of the mansion and the presence of a maid, this was clearly a noble household. The woman who called herself her aunt was dressed extravagantly as well.
But...
Just look at the clothes she was wearing. The fabric felt decent enough and they looked clean at a glance, but that was about it. The colors had long since faded, and the cuffs and hem were so worn they looked ready to unravel at any moment.
They’re not any better either, huh?
Upon closer inspection, Antonian’s clothes weren’t much different. The maid Jay was no exception.
“Because this family has fallen.”
“Fallen?”
“You’ll understand soon enough.”
Antonian pressed his lips together like he didn’t want to say any more, then quickly left as if escaping.
When Ceres turned a questioning look toward Jay, she hesitated before hurrying out as well, saying she would return once the meal was finished.
“Hmm.”
After watching the two leave, Ceres turned her attention to the food on the table and scoffed.
Hard bread and a bowl of stew with barely any ingredients in it. Wasn’t this a bit too careless for someone who just came back from the death?
“A fallen family...”
Just like Antonian said, it didn’t take long for her to understand what that meant.
***
“The weather is annoyingly nice.”
The garden was completely neglected and overrun with weeds. It might have once been beautiful, but now it was nothing more than a bleak, lifeless space.
While sitting in one corner, Ceres stared blankly up at the sky. The cloudless blue felt especially irritating today.
“Three hundred years...”
A dry chuckle slipped from her lips. It was no wonder her fragile composure fell apart when she learned that fact.
“What?”
“Yes?”
“What year did you say it is?”
“1513.”
“...You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“Pardon?”
“Wow... this is f*cking insane.”
“M-My lady?”
After learning the current year while speaking with Jay, who had come in to clean, Ceres could only sit there in stunned silence for a long moment.
I died in 1213.
That meant exactly three hundred years had passed. The sheer absurdity of it was staggering.
What on earth had she been doing all that time?
It did feel like I’d been in a deep sleep...
When she first opened her eyes in the darkness, it felt like waking from a long sleep. But who could have guessed that three hundred years had passed?
“Ha...”
After gaining a new life, the first thing that came to mind was the Ellesia County family she had led. Once she got used to this life, she thought she could quietly pay them a visit.
Of course, she had no intention of declaring, “I’m Grace Ellesia,” and demanding her position as head be returned. No one would believe a situation she herself could barely accept.
I just wonder if Enoch is doing alright.
That dim guy might’ve let others take advantage of him...
But three hundred years?
It was all pointless. Enough time has passed that not even her disciple’s bone dust would remain.