Chapter 52
“Duke, there’s something in the basement of the Rohia mansion. I don’t know what it is, but whatever it was… it killed all the prisoners in the underground prison.”
I told Winter everything the spirit of the vault had shared with me.
He did seem curious about how I knew how to open the vault, but I brushed it off, saying it was “a lady’s secret.” He didn’t ask further.
Honestly, Winter probably had many questions about me—like how I knew Laglia was there. But he didn’t press, and that was a relief.
Maybe he didn’t care, or maybe he was waiting for a better time. Either way, I preferred it this way.
After hearing my story, Winter frowned slightly as if thinking, then spoke again.
“Izana, in my experience, the mysterious destruction of the continent usually happened after Huérion was killed or sealed—but not always.”
“You mean the continent was destroyed even before Huérion was sealed?”
“Three times. If I remember right, exactly three times.”
Winter gave me a thoughtful look.
“Come to think of it, it was around this time of year. The whole continent split and sank into the sea without warning.”
“And you’re just now telling me this?!”
I stomped my foot in disbelief. Winter blinked slowly and said,
“For me, recalling memories is like finding a single grain of sand on a beach.”
Ah. So it was a side effect of his infinite regressions.
“I tried everything to find the cause by going back again and again, but I couldn’t figure it out. The only thing I noticed was that the collapse always started in the Western Empire, near the Arnim Sea—where Huérion is sealed. So I assumed it had something to do with his seal weakening.”
The Western Empire… the Arnim Sea… that meant it was all pointing to Rohia.
Everything started to make sense, and I grew more anxious.
“Out of all your millions of lives, those three times—did they have anything in common?”
“None. But hearing your story now, I have a thought.”
Without warning, Winter picked me up in his arms, princess-style.
He walked swiftly toward the basement of the Rohia mansion.
“Maybe in those three lives… you somehow survived. Just like now.”
I had the same thought.
“If that’s true, then it’s really unfortunate we didn’t meet back then. You’d probably have great-great-grandkids by now.”
“It doesn’t bother me much anymore.”
“Why not?”
“Izana, if you knew the kind of person I used to be, you wouldn’t be calmly letting me carry you right now. You definitely wouldn’t call me a hero anymore.”
Winter gave a faint, unreadable smile.
“Even now, I’m not much different from the man I was during those dark times. I know what you mean when you call me a hero, but here’s what you need to understand.”
His long, silver hair brushed against my nose as he spoke.
“I’ve lived more years as a villain than as a hero.”
I’ll admit—I had stopped listening halfway through.
Not because of his beautiful sea-blue eyes or his soft, fair skin. Absolutely not.
“You’re too harsh on your own idea of what makes a hero.”
No, it’s just that I don’t usually pay too much attention to crazy people when they talk.
“You were the kind of guy who would choose to rewind time just because someone’s neighbor caught a cold.”
His power to rewind time had once driven him mad.
He thought it was his responsibility to prevent every death in the world.
That crushing sense of duty, which he invented for himself, had broken him.
“That’s why I don’t trust your judgment. I bet even when you thought of yourself as a villain, you were still nicer than I am now. I remember—wait, I mean I heard—that you once thought about rewinding time just because the bear you hunted turned out to be a pregnant mother.”
Whew, whew.
I got a little heated while talking and had to stop to catch my breath.
Winter didn’t respond right away, but I noticed his ears turned a little red.
“Should we stop talking about this now?”
I guess he didn’t expect me to know even his lowest, most embarrassing moments.
Now that I’d said it out loud, I felt a little guilty—like I’d cheated somehow.
And I think Winter sensed it too, because his expression turned serious.
“I was going to let this go, but now I want to know for real. How do you know all that?”
Looks like even someone who’s lived a million lives can still feel embarrassed when you bring up their dark past.
I squirmed in his arms and tried to change the subject.
“Ahem, well… I think it’s a gentleman’s duty to respect a lady’s secrets.”
“A very noble idea. But Izana, there’s just one problem with that.”
Instead of letting me down, Winter clutched me under one arm like I was a handbag.
Strangely enough, thanks to his smooth movements, it felt surprisingly comfy—like sitting in a rocking chair!
“I plan to protect and care for you, but I’m not a gentleman.”
“What’s the difference between protecting someone and being a gentleman?”
I couldn’t see his face from this angle, but I heard him chuckle.
“I’m just happy I finally get to teach you something.”
I stayed limp like seaweed in his arms and listened.
“To protect someone is to care deeply for them. If you asked me to bring you bread made of sand or warm iced coffee, I would still try, because your wish matters to me.”
Winter’s voice was clear and calm—like a bell. Not soft like a girl’s, but firm and full of quiet strength.
…Though honestly, if he actually fed me sand bread, would that really mean he cared? Wouldn’t I just end up eating sand?
“But if I go to any length to find out your secrets or keep you safe, even if it means breaking rules—that’s not something a gentleman would do. So no, I’m not a gentleman.”
Is this his way of saying he’ll do whatever it takes? Was that a threat?
“Then I’ll do whatever it takes to protect my secrets too. I’m no gentleman either!”
“Good spirit. I wish you luck.”
His reply was polite but dry. Somehow, that made me even more annoyed. Why did it sound so smug?
Just as I was stewing over it, Winter stopped walking.
“We’ve arrived at the basement entrance.”
He finally put me down, and I looked up.
“Izana, would you like to wait here? It might be safer if I go down and check the prison alone.”
He might be right.
We didn’t know what that thing in the basement was, but if it was really connected to the collapse of the continent, then I—being weak like a cracker—could easily die again.
And let me tell you, dying isn’t as easy as it looks. The mental shock hits hard.
If I kept taking it lightly and dying over and over, I might end up going crazy like Winter did once.
That’s why I wanted to do my best in every moment and avoid rewinding time as much as possible.
But then—
“All I can do is tell you to open this door.”
The ancient magic that left warmth in me… I didn’t think it would give me bad advice.
I stepped behind Winter and said confidently,
“I think I need to go too.”
Just hiding behind him made me feel like I had become a dragon myself. I felt this strange confidence rise in me.
Winter didn’t mind. He allowed me to stay behind him as he slowly opened the door to the basement.
A cold chill brushed against my cheek.
And finally, we began to descend into the darkness.
***
“What do you mean you left the First Princess at the mansion?!”
At that same time, in the capital city of the Western Empire, Lionia—Emperor Silis had just received the unbelievable news.
I’m super curious about what’s happening