Chapter 51 – The Day She Returned
What does it mean to be “capable”?
Arwyn was confused for a long time.
Maybe she said that because she’s so capable herself—reading magic books even adults can’t understand at her age. So, that’s her standard?
Everyone had their own sense of values, after all.
I see. So Annelia judged me by her own standards—and that means she thinks highly of me.
A strange thing happened.
Once he thought that, he felt really happy.
“Annelia, let’s eat breakfast together.”
At first, it had just been an act.
But before he knew it—
“Want to take a walk after studying?”
“Lia, can I sing you a lullaby tonight?”
“Can I sit beside you while you study?”
He found himself saying things like that all the time.
Whenever Annelia was studying, reading books she probably didn’t even fully understand—
“Arwyn, are you really sure you’re not sick anymore?”
“Of course. My brother made the medicine himself.”
“Still, you should be careful. Special medicines like that can work differently for each person.”
“Really?”
“Uh-huh. So check for side effects, okay?”
Whenever she smiled with that confident little face of hers, his heart would start pounding uncontrollably.
What’s wrong with me? This wasn’t part of my plan.
Just then, her voice echoed from down the hall.
“Arwyn! If you don’t hurry, I’m going without you!”
He snapped out of his thoughts.
Annelia was tugging at the lab door, grunting and struggling to open it.
“Coming!”
He smiled softly, as always, and hurried to catch up.
After all, she was waiting for him.
***
A few days passed since the Crown Prince’s visit.
By now, Logrio must have received my medicine.
He must be drinking the infection-preventing Lubawen and applying the healing ointment Lubarina regularly.
He was probably starting to get better by now.
Even though she already knew her medicine worked perfectly, Annelia couldn’t help feeling anxious.
She wanted that royal recommendation letter as soon as possible.
“What are you planning to do today?”
Arwyn asked with a bright smile beside her.
“Go to the library,” she answered.
“The library? You’ve been studying so much lately. Aren’t you overdoing it?”
Arwyn didn’t know how to read the ancient language she studied.
So, he thought all her “research” was just regular studying.
But actually, it’s not studying—it’s research.
The Abner family now officially had an academic organization—
The Abner Academy.
For the academy to gain recognition quickly, it needed at least five published research projects under its name.
Annelia wanted to expand it as fast as possible, so she pushed hard to complete all five.
Poor Owen hasn’t been sleeping much lately, she thought with a sigh.
After all, there were only two members in the academy—her and Owen.
Of course he was exhausted.
She felt a little guilty, then shook her head.
No, don’t feel bad. I’ve done plenty for him.
That was true. Objectively speaking, she had done a lot.
She’d saved Arwyn’s life and got Owen a stable job.
Right. Exactly.
And it wasn’t like the Dennis family was poor.
If anything, Owen owed his current success entirely to her.
And I’m not just exploiting him either.
She respected Owen.
As her teacher—and her business partner.
After all, she had even revealed her secret to him.
Because if I wanted to work with him as equals, I had to be honest first.
…That’s what she liked to tell herself, anyway.
But the truth was, she had another reason.
Owen was the person she spent the most time with now.
And if he didn’t know who I really was, I’d suffocate.
Living as a child again was unbelievably frustrating.
She could think like an adult—but she had to constantly pretend not to.
That was torture.
I have to act like I don’t know things, and pretend to be even dumber about the few things I don’t know…
Worse, there wasn’t much she didn’t know.
And then there were the moments when her child instincts suddenly took over—
Whenever she was hungry, tired, in pain, or under stress, her thinking would blur.
She became more emotional, more childish.
Her speech would slur; her eyes would sting with tears.
But with Owen, none of that mattered.
With him, she didn’t have to pretend to be a child. She didn’t have to hide her knowledge.
After finishing each stage of their research, they’d sit together and decide how to document it.
***
“We’ll record this one under your name, Master.”
“Right. If we say you did it, no one would believe it.”
“Then for this one, it’s fine to write that I did it. I can say I used the Callic Theory we learned last time.”
“…Would anyone actually believe that, my student?”
“Why not? It really happened in my previous life!”
***
Sharon Abner never asked about their research process,
but they made sure to keep their notes consistent anyway.
Every research project leaves a paper trail. Once the academy expands, other scholars will join.
And when that happened, other researchers would surely review their work.
If the records didn’t make sense, it would be disastrous.
I really can’t wait to grow up already…
If she could just be three years older, she could finally move more freely.
Originally, she had planned to take things slow—
better to progress carefully than rush and fail.
I wasn’t even supposed to found the academy this soon. I wanted to do it quietly, maybe next year.
But her near-death experience had changed everything.
Since Duke Longtern had sent an assassin, she had no choice but to adjust her plans.
You can’t escape danger just by running from it.
Brooke had failed to kill her this time.
Which meant next time, he’d definitely try again.
Frustration welled up inside her.
…What did I even do wrong?
And another thought followed—
Why am I so “precious” that they’d rather kill me?
It was absurd, but she knew Lambert Longtern too well.
He wanted her dead precisely because she was valuable.
He couldn’t bear the thought of Abner owning something he considered his.
He’s insane. Utterly evil!
If she was so precious to him—if he wanted her under his control so badly—
Then he should’ve treated me better in my last life.
Just thinking about her past in the Longtern mansion made her mouth taste bitter.
He had treated her kindly—at first.
No, not even that. Looking back, it was all an act.
It had taken her years to realize the truth.
Even during the times she’d believed she was happy, Lambert Longtern had been wearing a mask.
Pretending to care, pretending to cherish me… only to use me.
The three Longtern sons had been no better.
After Hyana returned, they had left her completely alone—
ignored her until she withered inside the mansion.
They were only sincere to Hyana.
They had loved Hyana. Truly.
And as that memory crossed her mind, Annelia suddenly froze in place.
Then she turned to Arwyn.
“Arwyn, what day is it today?”
“Hmm? The last day of July, I think.”
Her mouth went dry.
She had completely forgotten because she’d been so busy lately.
But now she remembered.
Today was the day Hyana came to the mansion—and got thrown out.
***
Her steps quickened.
She told Arwyn to bring her a water jug—
not because she needed it, but because she needed time alone to think.
So Hyana must have returned by now.
And this time… she probably hadn’t been kicked out.
Things were different now.
Annelia was here.
And Duke Longtern wouldn’t have left the mansion empty.
She stared straight ahead.
The back garden stretched from the lab’s exit, lush and green in the height of summer.
The air smelled of flowers and sun.
…I feel dizzy.
Her hands were clammy with cold sweat.
Ever since realizing Hyana’s return, she hadn’t been able to calm down.
Her thoughts kept spiraling toward dark, extreme places.
I thought I was fine, but maybe I’m not.
Just remembering her days at the Longtern estate made her chest ache.
The unease. The fear. The pain.
Is this… trauma?
Her heartbeat was so loud it echoed in her ears.
It almost felt like a panic attack.
She shook her head violently.
If I need medicine for panic symptoms, I can make it myself.
So she couldn’t let herself dwell on it.
She needed to think. Clearly.
Duke Longtern wants me dead. That’s why he sent Brooke.
But she was still alive—
thanks to that mysterious light… and Sharon Abner’s quick hemostatic potion.
The problem was, Lambert Longtern wasn’t the kind of man to give up.
