~Chapter 21~
“I was just bored. I was also curious about what it would be like if I had the <Regression> power.”
“……”
Blue eyes followed her from behind. After Rachel finished putting the books away, she turned around.
“So, why did you come here?”
“Ah, well…”
Ilya hesitated, then finally spoke.
“I think I did a lot of wrong things to you, Sister. I wanted to ask for your forgiveness…”
“……”
“I scolded the butler who was rude to you, too. From now on, I’ll make sure you don’t go through anything hard alone. So, Sister, could you please forgive me, just this once?”
His blue eyes trembled as he looked at her. He looked so much like their mother.
“If you forgive me, I promise I’ll never let you down again.”
“That’s a lie.”
“…What?”
Rachel spoke without thinking and put her hand on her forehead.
Maybe it was because she had been thinking about her family a lot lately.
It was hard to control her quiet anger.
All the words her parents and Ilya had said before the regression circled in her mind.
“…It’s nothing. Forget what I just said.”
“Sister…”
“You didn’t do anything wrong. I’m the one who changed. I want to get married soon and leave Ingrave.”
“…!”
He was only thirteen.
It was too harsh to blame him for memories only she had.
…This is why I wanted to leave here quickly.
“So you don’t have to worry about me anymore, Ilya. Just relax. Don’t bother with a sister who will leave soon. That will be better for you too.”
Rachel put the rest of the books back on the shelf and left without looking back.
On the second floor, between the shelves, Ilya stood alone, clenching his fists. After a long time, he whispered,
“…How could you do that?”
His sister had been more like a mother than their real mother.
She was always by his side instead of their busy parents.
Sometimes strict, sometimes gentle, she cared for him and gave him endless love.
But now, how…?
“……”
Suddenly, Ilya looked at the bookshelf.
The book Rachel had been reading was still there.
“The History of <Regression> Bearers”
His sister started to change two weeks ago.
That was when she fainted while preparing for the wedding.
He later heard she collapsed after learning the truth about the fake Valencia. He worried and tried to visit her, but she never let him in.
At the time, he thought Rachel just didn’t want to see him because she was hurt, but now, after seeing her face to face, he realized something was really wrong.
Her anger was much deeper than he imagined.
…It looked almost like hatred.
Thinking it over, Ilya started reading the books Rachel left behind.
He had a good memory and remembered where every book had been.
I don’t know why Sister is reading these books, he thought.
Still, right then and there, he read them all, from beginning to end.
Several days passed. Rachel kept visiting the family library to learn more about <Regression> and the “Record.”
She gained quite a lot.
First, the <Regression> power could be used again and again, as long as certain conditions were met.
When the person’s desperation crossed a certain line, the power would awaken, a door would open, and from inside the “Record,” she could choose when to return.
The “Record” listed special points in the past, present, and future of the person’s life.
It helped the bearer decide the best time to return.
These special points were usually big events.
“If <Regression> was about to activate, it meant the bearer was caught up in a big event, so it was best to read carefully and choose the right time to go back.”
That was how the first Marquis Ingrave could return multiple times and finally succeed in sealing the great demon beast behind the capital.
‘And he did succeed in sealing it.’
It really was an amazing, almost blessed, power.
But those who awakened <Regression> rarely had easy lives.
There were people who tried to find out what happened before the regression, those who feared the power, and others who tried to use it.
One ancestor managed to awaken <Regression>, but never activated it.
I awakened <Regression>, but I’ve never actually used it.
Hmm, maybe you just weren’t desperate enough? Should I help you?
What?
That ancestor was kidnapped that very day. After torture, he finally used regression and, with the help of the “Record,” destroyed the family that kidnapped him—but the trauma stayed with him forever.
There were other examples, too.
Marquis! If I invest in this trade, will it succeed?
Move! I was here first. Marquis, if I invest, how much money can I make?
Marquis, there are strange movements near the border lately. Should we prepare for war?
“Every ball or meeting was full of people with questions and suspicions.”
Some ancestors even faced forced marriage to the emperor or pressure from powerful nobles.
They spent their whole lives being watched and used by the emperor and great families.
Luckily, after hundreds of years with no more <Regression> bearers, the Ingrave family was considered powerless, and now people barely remembered that power existed.
“…If you want to live in peace, you must never let anyone know you have <Regression>.”
Even now, there was no guarantee such troubles wouldn’t come back.
There was also the problem of inheritance.
The emperor and all noble houses would make the one with the family power their heir.
For Rachel, being the first <Regression> bearer in centuries, if anyone found out, she’d be forced to become the next head.
That would be the worst ending for someone who wanted to break away from her family.
She thought:
‘I absolutely can’t let anyone find out.’
She had to leave the family before anyone discovered her regression power. The best would be hiding it forever, but if not, she’d still have to get out first.
Even if she lost all peace she ever wanted—
at least she didn’t want to die with the name “Ingrave.”
After learning everything she needed, Rachel had no reason to go back to the library.
She was also worried Ilya might get interested in the books she was reading after that day.
Maybe her brother would notice something, but—
“……”
It couldn’t hurt to be careful. Rachel was about to leave the library when—
“Ah, my lady.”
Becky, who’d stepped out for a moment, returned. She was holding a letter.
Rachel, who had been refusing all invitations using her broken engagement as an excuse, was puzzled.
“What is that?”
“Um, my lady…”
Becky hesitated, then handed her the letter.
“A letter has arrived from Valencia.”
“…What?”
She thought she’d never hear that word again. But a lot had changed in the capital in the past few days.
First, Kahe Sabanio, his lover, and Paris had all been sentenced to death.
Their execution was set for tomorrow in the plaza.
Nathan Valencia had officially become the heir of Valencia.
There was even a rumor that they’d hold the sealing ceremony soon to clear away doubts.
Rachel’s engagement with Paris had been broken off under the name of the imperial family, so she shouldn’t have any reason to be involved with Valencia again.
‘The Duke of Valencia isn’t the kind of person to break his promise…’
Rachel checked the sender’s name and her eyes grew wide.
Nathan Valencia
It was a name she never expected.
Everything between them should have ended already—so why?
