~Chapter 1~
Deep underground in the temple, there was a prison so hidden and secret that not even guards were stationed there.
“Woof! Woof woof!”
The divine wolf beast trapped with me whimpered sadly.
I couldn’t comfort it. I was crying too hard myself.
“Zahid… Zahid, please open your eyes… Zahid…”
Outside the iron bars, a man covered in blood had collapsed.
His name was Zahid Dyphenril.
He was the Duke of Dyphenril, the owner of the divine wolf beast, and… the only person left in the world who was truly my friend.
“Please… please don’t die… okay?”
I had been locked in this underground prison since I was twelve years old. For ten whole years, the temple ran all sorts of experiments on me.
During that time, my older brother died and my family collapsed.
It was all the temple’s doing.
It was truly hell. But I managed to survive because Zahid would sometimes risk his life to sneak in and see me.
And now… the temple had taken another precious person from me.
“Zahid… please… stay with me…”
No matter how much I cried, I couldn’t hear his breathing anymore.
Because of the iron bars between us, I couldn’t even brush his black hair one last time.
“Rossi…”
He had dragged himself to my cell just before he died. Then he pushed something through the bars.
“…Take it. It’s a holy relic.”
“What?”
“It’s the treasure of the temple. The one said to turn back time. I stole it.”
The relic looked like a small pebble and was soaked in Zahid’s blood.
“I don’t have any holy power, so I can’t use it. But you… you have a little. At least give it a try.”
I didn’t really know much about relics. Just that they only worked for people with strong holy power.
They say only someone like a high priest could activate it.
“I’m sorry… I promised to destroy the temple and set you free… but I couldn’t keep that promise.”
Zahid really wanted to break me out of this place.
Even though I knew how hard he was trying to take down the temple, I was stuck in here, doing nothing.
That had already felt miserable enough. But now, even in the face of his death, I was completely powerless.
I hated myself for it. It hurt so much.
Through my tears, I saw the relic lying on the prison floor.
It was the last thing Zahid had left me.
I crawled over and picked it up.
I’ve had three different names in my life.
When I lived in the orphanage, I was just called Rossi — no last name.
Then, when I was five, I showed a tiny bit of holy power. After that, they sent me from the orphanage to the temple. There, until I turned eleven, I was known as Rossi Trian.
‘Trian’ was the name they gave to trainees who had just a little bit of holy power.
There were tons of kids like me, and we mostly did chores around the temple.
And then…
“Hey. I’m Yulian Noart. Sorry I came so late. I just found out you existed.”
In the spring of my eleventh year, the older brother I never knew about came to find me, and from then on, I became Rossi Noart.
He and I had the same mother but different fathers.
“Rossi, come with me. Our mother was the daughter of Count Noart. That means from today, you’re also a proud Noart.”
Becoming part of the Noart family — the richest family in the empire — was something I’d never even dreamed of.
Especially since the Noarts were openly opposed to the temple.
But honestly, none of that mattered to me as a kid.
What really mattered… was that I finally had a family who loved me. And that alone made me so happy.
“My precious little sister… I’ll never let you grow up like I did. All you need to do is eat well, play, learn, and grow up happy. Like any normal eleven-year-old, without a single worry.”
At the cold and strict Noart mansion, Yulian treated me like I was the most precious thing in the world.
Our grandpa, the Count of Noart, was always super busy. Since we didn’t have parents, we only had each other.
We didn’t really talk to the other relatives living at the mansion, but still, it was the happiest time of my life.
Yulian was incredibly talented. He beat all the other relatives and became the heir to the Noart family. People even said he was the strongest among normal humans—not counting priests or mages.
And I, his beloved little sister, was protected and treated like a princess.
But that happiness only lasted 14 months.
Because after 14 months, Yulian got into an accident and lost his memory. He didn’t even recognize me anymore.
“What the…? Who’s this little kid? Is this a joke? She’s supposed to be my sister? Ugh…”
That was the first time I saw Yulian look at me like I was annoying.
Like I was a problem.
I was already a kid with low self-esteem who didn’t think I was good enough to be Yulian’s sister.
I didn’t want to be a burden to him, especially since he must’ve been confused and overwhelmed already.
So I left the Noart mansion right away and went back to the temple.
I thought I’d just go back to being a trainee there.
And that… was the worst mistake I ever made.
“What? That trainee from the Noart family came back? Oh perfect, didn’t we need a new test subject? Lock her up in the lab immediately!”
The temple locked me up as soon as I returned and started running experiments on me.
That’s how I ended up trapped from the age of twelve for ten whole years.
If Zahid hadn’t secretly snuck into the temple and found me in the underground prison, becoming my only friend, I never could’ve survived.
And now… even Zahid was gone.
He died and left behind a relic that could supposedly turn back time…
“Is it really possible to go back?”
Could this powerful relic really react to the tiny bit of holy power I had as just a lowly trainee?
“But… I really want to go back. I want to change everything.”
I gripped the relic soaked in Zahid’s blood.
“Please… please let me go back. Please…”
Tears poured down my cheeks.
But I didn’t even think to wipe them. I just prayed with everything I had.
“It’s so miserable… not being able to do anything when someone I love dies.”
I pushed every little bit of my weak holy power into the relic.
“I’ve been powerless my whole life.”
I squeezed it so tightly that my nails dug into my palms and started bleeding.
“If I get another chance… I’ll never live like that again.”
I thought of my big brother—the one who cherished me more than anyone.
I thought of Zahid—who kept coming to visit me all those years in that dark, underground prison.
All the people I couldn’t protect. All the people who were now gone. If I could just turn back time, I’d protect them all.
“If I can really change everything by going back…”
I clenched the relic tightly and grit my teeth.
“I’ll protect everyone this time… and I’ll destroy the temple, no matter what.”
Wait—hold on.
I just said I’d destroy the temple in front of its sacred relic… What if that makes it not work?
Just as that thought hit me—
My vision slowly started to blur.
“Woof… woof!”
The divine wolf beast’s crying was the last thing I heard.
And then—I completely lost consciousness.
And then…
“Is this for real? Really real?”
I stared blankly into the mirror.
Smooth silver hair, bright green eyes, soft chubby cheeks…
A small body that looked more like a nine-year-old than a twelve-year-old.
“I’m back.”
It had been ten minutes since the miracle happened—I had gone back in time.
I slowly started to accept that I was a kid again.
I took a deep breath and looked around the room.
“I really did come back…”
A fancy ceiling, a cozy and big bed.
Shelves full of toys any little girl would love.
“This really is the Noart mansion’s guesthouse.”
Those 14 months I spent here before were the happiest time of my life.
Maybe that’s why the relic brought me back to this exact moment?
I slowly walked toward the table by the window.
In the Noart household, it was tradition to always have the morning paper delivered with breakfast.
Sure enough, the newspaper was on the table. I hurried to check the date.
“…Oh.”
The printed date showed it was exactly ten years ago.
Which meant… I was twelve years old again.
