Episode 36
“…What kind of nonsense magic is that?”
“But it’s fine for now.”
“Why?”
“To use that magic, another magician has to help. But the only magician who can help has fallen into a deep sleep this time. Probably around the time you all stopped dreaming.”
So until that person wakes up, there’s nothing to worry about. As she watched Payton cheerfully finish speaking, Sophia fell into thought.
Until now, at the moment of her death in every life, there were always people who seemed to lose focus in their eyes, as if being controlled by something.
If those people are fine now because a certain magician is asleep and the magic isn’t being used, then that would explain why they were easier to deal with during this time in each of her previous lives.
At first, they gave her hope, as if they were being rehabilitated—only to suddenly change and crush that hope mercilessly. That hadn’t just happened once or twice.
A year… no, was it two years later? When was it that they suddenly changed after acting soft for a while?
That was probably around the time the dream magic started being used again.
As she pondered, Benjamin, worried about when he might change because of a dream, asked Payton,
“Do you know exactly when that magician will wake up?”
“Hmm… not really. They fell asleep after smelling the scent of the Sleep-Death flower on a full moon, so it’s hard to say.”
“Sleep-Death scent?”
“It’s a scent that comes from the Sleep-Death flower. If you smell it on a full moon, you fall into a really deep sleep.”
Payton proudly added that the flower was created by Edmund, then continued the explanation.
“That person isn’t Edmund, who made the flower, so they can’t wake up easily. And since they’re asleep, they can’t even use their own medicine to wake themselves up. We just have to wait for them to wake up on their own.”
“How long does that usually take?”
“It depends on the person… but almost ten years?”
Benjamin frowned at the mention of ten years. If those people hadn’t dreamed for ten years, they probably wouldn’t have suddenly turned on him and tried to kill him.
Sofia, deciding there was no way someone could wake on their own after such a ridiculous amount of time, asked:
“Is there a chance Edmund might wake them?”
Payton stared blankly for a moment before breaking into a bright smile.
“Nope! I can guarantee that!”
Was it just her imagination, or did it feel like a mask was covering the real expression on his face?
Still, something didn’t make sense. If Edmund won’t wake them, why did they kill her because of a dream in her past life? What was the magician who used dream magic really after?
Her memories and the present words didn’t line up, leaving her mind more tangled.
“The dream magician is in a place no one can reach. Even I, a magician, have never seen them. I don’t know much about them either.”
Judging from that, there was nothing more to gain from Payton.
But one thing became clear. Joshua and Benjamin were just being used through magic.
She still didn’t know why the dreams ordered them to kill her, but at least she now understood that they hadn’t pointed their swords at her of their own will.
But…
Sofia gently touched the back of her neck, where a chill still lingered. The sensation of being slashed, the pain, those terrifying eyes looking at her.
The poison sliding down her throat, melting everything inside her with a nauseating agony—all of it was still vivid.
Even if they killed her multiple times only because they were being controlled, saying “They did nothing wrong” was something she wasn’t ready to accept.
Could it really have been without any emotion? Maybe they had been holding a grudge over Chase, and the magic merely exploited that gap to make them kill her.
“Sofia. You don’t have to overthink it.”
As her thoughts started to spiral, Joshua’s voice snapped her out of it.
“Like I said, what we’re saying now isn’t to justify what we did to you.”
Did he read her thoughts through her expression?
“Just think of it like hearing about the weather today. Let it go.”
“…”
“Live however you want. However you feel like.”
She never thought he could say something like that. If only she’d felt this warmth a little sooner.
Why is it that she’s the only one who remembers everything from a past timeline? Why did she have to return like this?
Why did she end up shouldering all the fear, sorrow, and anger alone?
Sofia sighed deeply, brushed back her hair, and finally spoke.
“You say all that, but… you do want to get closer to me again, right?”
At those words, Joshua flinched hard. He’d been hit right in the heart.
They hadn’t tried to kill her this time, hadn’t poisoned her. In fact, they were trying to protect her.
Sofia gave him a look that said, “Be honest now,” and Joshua eventually gave in and slowly opened his mouth.
“…This might sound really lame and you might hate it, but…”
Then Benjamin added his voice too.
“He’s right. But… we really do want to protect you, Sofia.”
“Let us protect you.”
They hadn’t hurt her this time. They looked at her with such sincere eyes. What could she say to that?
“…Do whatever you want.”
“…Ah.”
“Ah?”
“I’m so happy….”
Joshua let out a groan, covering his face with both hands.
“How about dropping the formal speech while we’re at it?”
“I like this bit of distance.”
“Oh, okay. Yeah, that’s fine. That’s totally fine.”
He kept repeating the same words like a parrot, leaving Sofia slightly flustered. Benjamin, meanwhile, calmly pointed out Joshua’s behavior.
“Don’t be an idiot, Josh.”
Yet he himself was busy refilling Sofia’s teacup, adding sugar, offering pie on her plate, and even serving fruit.
“Who’s calling who an idiot…?”
Joshua grumbled, seeing everything Benjamin was doing with his hands.
Payton burst into hearty laughter and gently patted Sofia’s shoulder.
“Smart little sister suffering thanks to two idiot brothers!”
“I think it’s more like I’m suffering thanks to a dumb old grandpa.”
“Oho, and who might that be—oh, that’s me?”
Idiot.
Sofia sipped her tea and enjoyed the lively teatime. It was a kind of joyful noise she could never have even dreamed of in the past.
In that dreamlike moment, she finally said something she’d been thinking about for a while.
“So, uh… is baking cookies and stuff really hard?”
Benjamin was the first to perk up at the mention of sweets.
“Baking? Why?”
“I thought I might try learning…”
She’s going to learn baking? Sofia?
“It’s not hard! Seriously, it’s really not hard. I can teach you super well!”
Somehow excited, Benjamin clenched his fists and made a bold promise.
I never said I was going to learn from you, though.
As Sofia stepped out onto the terrace, slightly regretting how much dessert she had eaten, she ran into a hurried Lucion.
“Miss!”
He was holding a mountain of documents in his arms, but ran over, tilting his body left and right as he tried to check on her physical condition.
“I heard you were better, but seeing it in person really makes it feel real.”
“Were you worried?”
“Of course! I was so, so worried about you…”
Remembering the moment she collapsed into his arms, Lucion’s blue eyes welled up with tears.
“I’m fine. Thanks to you, I’m totally fine.”
Seeing his teary eyes, Sofia spread her arms slightly and twirled around once—to show there wasn’t a scratch on her.
Payton’s whining, “Hey, I’m the one who healed you, where’s my credit?” was completely ignored by everyone, and Lucion gave her a soft smile.
“Yes…!”
“Are you really busy?”
“A bit… but it’s okay! I’ll be free during lunch!”
“Then let’s have your farewell party then.”
“Fare…well… party? You heard that I’m quitting?”
“Yeah.”
Sofia nodded, pointing to Joshua and Benjamin next to her.
At the mention of a farewell party for him, Lucion first looked happy, but his expression quickly darkened.
“Do I really deserve such a send-off…?”
“Why do you think you don’t?”
“Because… if I had been more careful, none of this would’ve happened to you.”
“…”
“If I hadn’t met you… if I hadn’t entered this mansion…”
Sofia quietly watched him tear up and then took a step forward, gesturing for him to bend down.
When Lucion knelt down to meet her eye level, Sofia pinched his cheek hard with her small hands.
“Here’s another idiot.”
“M-Miss…!”
“You protected me.”
“…”
“You tried to protect me. You did your best, didn’t you?”
“…Yes.”
“Then that’s enough.”
As she slowly let go of his cheek, she added,
“Do your best at work. See you later.”
“Yes.”
With a far more relaxed expression than before, Lucion smiled and watched as Sofia walked toward the kitchen—
—hoping, desperately, that the kitchen wouldn’t explode.
