Chapter 2
“I’m sorry, but it seems the young lady does not have much time left.”
At fifteen years old, I was given a terminal diagnosis.
It happened a month after my entire family, including my father, died from a raging fever.
I stared blankly at my physician.
“Right. At most, I’ll live another ten years. And for the last six months, I probably won’t even be able to walk.”
“If you continue taking the medicine, there’s a chance your condition could improve—”
“Forget it. It’s useless.”
Ignoring the shock spreading across his face, I let out a small laugh.
I already knew I was destined to die in ten years.
Because I had regressed.
In my previous life, I didn’t know I would die in ten years. So I wasted my precious time.
I was too busy desperately trying to be loved by the damned relatives who exploited me.
“Sienna, you may have inherited the ducal title, but you’re young and know nothing, don’t you? So this great Uncle Marshal will handle everything—I mean, ahem, take care of everything!”
…Even when they embezzled so openly, I couldn’t say a word.
Because I was starving for love. I had been so desperate to fill the emptiness left by my family with fake affection.
Then, whether it was fortune or misfortune, five years later—at twenty—
“M-Miss Sienna has been identified as a Stabilizer Mage.”
I was declared a Stabilizer Mage.
A stabilizer mage is someone who helps prevent those with special powers, called Authority, from losing control.
Most Stabilizer Mages could only calm a compatible Authority wielder through direct contact.
But I was different.
“To think you can prevent the rampage of all Authority wielders! Miss Sienna, you are the savior of this world!”
I possessed a unique ability. I could stabilize not just a few, but every Authority wielder.
And yet, it brought me no fulfillment.
Those Authority users were all arrogant and self-absorbed. Not a single one was grateful.
I was used by everyone until I died.
And when I opened my eyes, I had returned to this time.
‘I don’t know why time turned back.’
If I had gone back to before my family died, I would have thrown myself into researching a cure for the fever.
But…
‘I don’t have a family anymore. This time will be different.’
I didn’t want to struggle desperately like before. I wanted to live this life differently.
I smiled at the physician.
“I’ll enjoy myself like crazy and die in the coolest way possible at twenty-five.”
There was no need to extend my lifespan. There was no way to, anyway.
So I planned to live short and bold.
There was just one problem.
What should I do with these ten years to actually enjoy them?
“Oh, the weather’s nice.”
After accepting my fate, the first thing I did was open the window and let the wind wash over me.
In my previous life, whenever I stood by the window staring at the sky, my older brother would shout up to me from the garden below.
“Sienna! Want me to fly a kite up to the sky for you?”
“What would you even fly?”
“It’s popular among commoners, you know!”
“I’m already thirteen. I’m an adult. I don’t do childish things like that anymore!”
If only I had known I would never see that face again.
‘I should have told him I loved him more.’
I closed my eyes and felt the wind brush against my lashes.
Because the window was open, I could hear the maids laughing outside.
I looked down at them without thinking. Perhaps they felt my gaze, because they hurriedly bowed.
“Oh! Young Lady—ah… hello.”
“Mm. Hello.”
The moment I greeted them, surprise filled their faces.
Around this time in my previous life, I had been unable to overcome my family’s deaths. Even months later, I stayed locked in my room, wearing a gloomy expression.
But now that I had decided to die, everything felt strangely refreshing.
“What’s so funny? I want to try something fun too.”
It was just a simple comment.
Yet tears shimmered in their eyes.
“We’ll help you!”
From that day on, with the maids’ help, I traveled, learned painting and writing, and studied foreign languages.
I hosted tea parties, invited musicians for concerts, and even held a circus.
But that only lasted about a month.
“Wow. This is all so boring.”
Tea parties were predictable. Dressing up was tiring. Travel was repetitive. Everything I tried learning didn’t suit me.
“I’m bored. There’s nothing to do.”
The only option left among my choices was…
“…Become a delinquent?”
But drinking, smoking water pipes, and gambling—they didn’t appeal to me.
‘What can I do that’s still legal?’
Since I had grown up like a flower in a greenhouse, how about going somewhere I had never been before?
I unfolded a map and glanced around casually.
“Found it.”
The place was—
***
I walked slowly in the drizzling rain that dampened the earth.
‘Getting rained on isn’t so bad.’
After some time, as my gray robe darkened from the rain, I stopped walking.
“I’m finally here.”
Shadow Street.
The Vuitri Ducal Estate stood in the southern part of the capital, in the lavish district called Prosperity Street. From there, it took over an hour by carriage to reach this place—Shadow Street.
I had read that it was densely populated and commercially active.
‘There’s not much to do here either.’
I stood beneath the eaves of an old shop that looked either closed for the day or permanently abandoned.
‘Was this a mistake?’
Just as I began to regret coming—
“A-acho!”
Under the eaves of the shopping street, I spotted a very small boy coughing.
I looked down at him indifferently and muttered,
“What’s this scruffy little rat?”
He wore a bright yellow raincoat that obscured his face, but judging by his size, he looked about seven or eight.
The child glanced up at me and gasped in horror.
“G-g-g-ghost…!”
Oh. He meant me.
Well, I was wrapped head to toe in a gray robe. No wonder he thought I was a ghost.
I was about to tell him I wasn’t—
“H-hic… s-save… me…”
The tiny boy staggered backward on his own and plopped down with a thud.
Unfortunately, he fell straight into a puddle.
Water splashed everywhere, spraying toward me.
Already terrified, the boy froze stiff.
I quickly spoke first.
“It’s fine. You don’t need to apologize.”
“H-h-how did you k-know what I was g-going to say?”
He pulled his yellow hood down further, covering his entire face.
I smiled lightly.
“But hey, kid. You’re not just sitting in that puddle because you don’t know how to stand up, right?”
His small hands clenched tightly around his raincoat.
Hmm. Did I tease him too much?
I extended my hand.
“I’m not a ghost. I’m a person. I’ll help you up. Take my hand.”
It did sound a bit like I was luring him into something, but I wasn’t sure how to sound kinder.
“I-I’m not s-supposed to h-hold s-strangers’ h-hands…”
“Then are you going to stay there like a drowned rat?”
“I can g-get up m-myself—”
“Hm.”
But the puddle was deep, and it didn’t look like he could stand easily on his own.
“I’m not trash enough to leave a fallen kid behind. Take my hand.”
It was just a single act of kindness. Something small enough to forget over time.
“Not taking it?”
“…”
“I’m really leaving.”
His small shoulders trembled.
“I’ll count to three and go. Three, two, one.”
Even after I counted, he didn’t take my hand. And I didn’t leave either.
Stubborn little thing.
“…One and a half.”
“…”
“One and a quarter.”
Though it was dark and raining, I could feel him glaring at me defiantly.
I deliberately withdrew my hand, pretending to give up.
“Fine. I’m really going.”
Just as I turned halfway—
At most, he couldn’t have been older than ten. The sniffling kid suddenly lifted his hand.
He tried to grab the hem of my clothes, then froze midair like he had malfunctioned.
“D-don’t…”
“Don’t go?”
Without waiting for permission, I firmly took his hand and pulled him to his feet.
“Alright. I won’t go. Where do you live?”
“You—you held my hand…”
“Yeah. I did. Since I already did, I’ll take you home too.”
“H-how could you just…”
What is wrong with this kid?
