Chapter 58
The moment, my mind snapped awake.
I hurriedly opened my eyes.
Everything looked hazy and blurred.
Only after rapidly blinking several times did my vision slowly come into focus.
As the world became clearer, my dazed mind sharpened as well.
The pain I had forgotten came rushing back all at once. A burning thirst flickered through me.
“W–water…”
I curled up, clutching my throat. Anna grabbed a water bottle from the nightstand.
And then she dumped it straight onto my face.
“Gah—! Wh-what are you…!”
Of course, the one beside me wasn’t Anna.
Even with my creaky, poorly-oiled-machine brain, I could tell that much.
I scrubbed my eyes with my sleeve, and finally my vision was clear again.
Only then did I identify the little creature tormenting me.
“Squeee—!”
“…What is this?”
Some kind of baby animal was kneading my pillow.
It was palm-sized.
Its cries sounded like one of those squeaky toys you squeeze for toddlers.
Its fluffy white fur floated like dandelion seeds.
Pale yellow spots dotted its forehead and body, and the fur behind its ears was especially snow-white.
“…A cat?”
Judging by its appearance, it had to be a cat.
I tried to move closer for a better look, but my body wouldn’t move well. I only blinked at it.
“Squeeee—!”
The cat seemed very displeased for some reason.
With its chubby tail, it whapped the pillow repeatedly.
“Stop that. You’re kicking up dust.”
“Squeeee—!”
“Don’t talk back.”
But why was there a cat? Had Anna started keeping pets?
I glanced toward the window.
It was tightly shut.
The room was filled with the smell of burnt herbs—it must’ve been kept closed on purpose to trap the smoke.
It doesn’t look like it came in through the window…
I looked back at the cat.
“Cat. Where’s your owner?”
“Squeeee—!”
“Anna. You know, Anna—brown hair, light freckles, about as tall as that dresser… isn’t she your owner?”
“Squeee?”
The cat tilted its head as if confused. So probably not.
Why does it feel like we’re communicating… No, must be my imagination.
I’d raised two dogs, but never even been close to a cat. I had no idea what was normal.
The cat stared at me with narrow pupils.
Its glassy, shining irises were bluish-violet.
Looking into those eyes, someone naturally came to mind.
“…I hope His Highness is okay.”
My last memory was the massive fire consuming the bedroom.
If I wasn’t mistaken, someone must’ve rescued us before it was too late.
And since I’m alive—well, not completely fine, but alive—the 3rd Prince must have survived too.
But…
My survival didn’t necessarily mean he was fine.
I was terrified to find out his condition.
Honestly, it was a relief Anna wasn’t here.
If her expression carried even a shred of sorrow, I wouldn’t have known what to feel.
The last emotion I’d felt before losing consciousness in the flames was guilt.
Guilt for coaxing the prince, who was scared, and causing that disaster, guilt for being over twenty years old and still failing to protect a child.
But most of all—I felt guilty knowing I had likely burdened the prince with a lifelong sense of guilt.
I was alive now, sure—but if I had died?
That sensitive, fragile child would have blamed himself endlessly.
“Hey, kitty.”
“Squeeee—!”
“Do you think His Highness is awake by now?”
“Squeee—”
“Since I woke up, he must’ve regained consciousness too. Right?”
“Squeee—”
The cat clearly didn’t care.
It scratched behind its round ears with a hind leg.
“…Do you have fleas?”
“SQUEEEE—!”
“I’ll ask Anna to wash you later…”
Can’t let you bring fleas into my bed…
Drugged by the thick herbal smoke, I muttered nonsense and drifted back to sleep.
A few hours later, when I woke again, Anna was thankfully beside me.
“Oh, my goodness! My lady!”
“…Hi, Anna.”
“Thank the goddess!”
Anna mumbled unintelligible words—some prayer, judging by the tone—face twisted between laughing and crying.
“I’m so glad you woke up! Are you hurting anywhere?”
“Not really? Actually I’m not sure. My head feels fuzzy from the medicine smoke.”
“I’ll bring the healer immediately!”
Anna sprinted to the door, summoning a servant for the healer and another to notify the Count and Countess of Lurupel.
By now, I was used to the whole dramatic flare of it.
Soon, heavy footsteps thundered outside.
The Lurupel couple burst in without even knocking.
Chaos followed.
The count hovered over the healer, badgering him nonstop and interrupting his work.
I felt terrible for the poor healer, so I obediently followed every instruction—blink, turn my head, whatever he asked.
Then the count became furious, insisting something must be terribly wrong because “My daughter would NEVER be this docile! Normally she’d cause trouble the moment she opened her eyes!”
…What did this man think of his own daughter?
Because of his fussing, I had to drink five cups of mysterious medicine in a row.
Honestly, I thought he was overreacting.
But later, Anna explained the reason for his behavior once they left.
“You must be tired.”
“Yeah… feels like I could collapse any second.”
“Please understand. You were unconscious for two months, my lady. Master has been terribly anxious.”
“…Two months? Did you really say two months?”
I couldn’t believe my ears.
No wonder my body felt like it was crushed under a boulder.
“Don’t worry too much. If you eat well and move around, you’ll regain strength quickly. Even the healer said so.”
“Still, two months is way too long…”
I’d already noticed that each time I lost consciousness, the duration seemed to increase—three days after the lake, five after the pond, a week after shattering the bathtub.
But this time the jump was enormous.
A delayed sense of dread crawled over me.
“…His Highness?”
After endless hesitation, I finally asked about the 3rd Prince.
And Anna’s face froze.
“…Is he… really badly hurt?”
Anna never liked it when I brought up the prince.
But even with that in mind, she looked especially reluctant now.
“…He’s not dead, right?”
At my anxious tone, Anna let out a long, heavy sigh.
“…His Highness is safe.”
“R–really? Thank goodness. You scared me. When did he wake up?”
“Two months ago.”
“…Two months ago?”
“Yes. Exactly the morning after the fire.”
Anna’s words shocked me more than learning I’d been unconscious for two entire months.
So that means… I didn’t pass out because the prince was dying…
It meant I had nearly burned to death.
I had genuinely stood at the doorstep of a fifth lifetime.
Or maybe… there wouldn’t even be a fifth one.
In all my previous lives, I had never died.
I didn’t regress by dying—I automatically regressed around my sixteenth birthday.
I had believed my regression was tied to the 3rd Prince’s death.
But beyond that, I knew nothing.
So what would happen if I died before the prince?
Perhaps everything would simply end.
A chill ran down my spine.
“…Does he have any injuries?”
“I don’t know. And I don’t want to talk about His Highness anymore.”
“Anna, come on.”
“You don’t understand, my lady—things outside are absolutely chaotic!”
“Chaotic? How?”
Anna didn’t answer. She just sulked and picked at her nails.
“Tell me. Or I’ll escape this bed when you’re not looking.”
“You can’t even walk!”
“Maybe. Won’t know till I try.”
Anna sighed again—deeply.
Then she spoke, voice filled with reluctance.
“…This really isn’t something you should hear…”
“It’s fine. Tell me. Please?”
“…Well, people are saying all sorts of things. Some claim you tried to assassinate His Highness and were punished by the heavens. Others say His Highness finally took revenge after suffering from your bullying.”
“So either way, I’m the villain?”
“Exactly!”
Anna slapped the nightstand and shot to her feet.
She ranted about how she had scolded the servants endlessly for spreading nonsense, but the rumors never stopped.
“Don’t get so worked up, Anna.”
“How can I not!?”
“But… it’s true that the fire was my fault.”
“What? Really? That’s impossible! You must be lying! My lady would never do something like that!”
