Chapter 50
“Life on Pledge”
News came that Irina had fully recovered, and a visitor came to see her.
But it wasn’t a visitor to be welcomed so warmly.
It was Damian and Lurasa.
In fact, they had been at the duke’s mansion since morning, staying until late evening. Judging by the fact that they showed no intention of leaving, it seemed they would soon demand a guest room.
“May I ask why you’re staying here instead of leaving?”
Irina asked them, now able to walk properly like before.
Another change in Irina was that she no longer had nightmares. More precisely, she no longer recalled the moment of her own death.
“Why? Do you want us to leave? Try to understand that I was worried when I suddenly heard that the Duke and Duchess of Ringester disappeared.”
“That’s right. And besides, you can’t just kick me out.”
“We didn’t disappear. We’ve been here the whole time without moving a single step.”
Damian was telling the truth. When the duke hadn’t shown up at his workplace for several days, Damian had worried something had happened. Rumors flew—maybe the duke couldn’t leave the mansion because he liked the duchess too much, or maybe they were taking the travel gate together, or perhaps they were returning to their hometown.
Irina had heard most of this from Casey.
Watching the two of them, Irina spoke again.
“You two really seem to get along well. You suit each other.”
Irina had let go of the hostility she had felt toward Lurasa. They weren’t close friends, but their relationship had certainly progressed.
“Oh, really? This kind of person isn’t my type,” Lurasa grimaced.
“I’m not your type either,” Irina replied.
“Who said you could speak informally to me?”
“You’re doing the same thing, Lurasa,” Irina countered.
Lurasa glared.
“Are you saying you and I are the same?”
“How are we different? Why do you keep speaking informally?”
“Huh—really! Am I supposed to be receiving informal speech right now?”
Irina shrugged, choosing not to mediate. Watching the two bicker was quite entertaining.
Though she was a divine envoy, Lurasa was not exactly the same as Damian, an ordinary human like Irina. But Irina couldn’t explain this to Damian right away, and even if she tried, he probably wouldn’t believe her. All she could do was quietly focus on what needed to be done.
“Let’s not argue, okay?” Irina thought.
Lurasa probably had the same thought.
“Duchess, who are you closer to? Me or her?”
Damian, with lingering cheekiness, forced Irina to choose.
“Of course I’m closer to her.”
“I know things you don’t. Aren’t you curious?” Lurasa said matter-of-factly.
“I’m closer to Howard.”
Irina casually gave a third answer to the two, who were trying to trap her.
“How cheap.”
“Really cheap.”
Irina snorted.
“See? You two really do get along.”
Much later.
The first to leave was Damian, whisked away by Howard for some backlog at work.
“Duchess! Don’t get sick anymore! Work is piling up!” he waved as he left.
Was he worried for Irina or about the growing workload? Either way, his habit of always calling her “Duchess” was still amusing, and besides, he was a cheerful person.
Irina remained with Lurasa.
Lurasa lingered, as if she had something more to say. Though Irina didn’t like her methods, she was undoubtedly grateful for her presence.
“Do you have something else to say?”
“Hmm, no,” Lurasa replied.
As a divine envoy, specifically of the Fate god Cledos, she had apparently been around for quite a long time. One god could have multiple envoys. Irina knew of Kisie and Lurasa. She hadn’t heard much about Kisie—only that she was dormant somewhere and had some connection to Howard.
“Child.”
“Yes?”
“That pendulum—do you have anything else besides it?”
Lurasa pointed at the necklace Irina was wearing.
“Besides this? No, I don’t.”
There were exactly two pendulums.
“Is that so? I see.”
“Why do you ask?”
“It seems Howard didn’t leave any other instructions,” Lurasa said meaningfully, and Irina tilted her head in confusion.
“Is there something else? I know not all my memories have returned.”
“That’s not the problem,” Lurasa lowered her voice.
Even though Howard was away.
“Then what’s the problem?”
“Hmm, could you make a private space for the two of you?”
Lurasa wanted a more secluded place.
“Follow me.”
Irina led her to her audience chamber.
They were alone again, but this time there was no risk of anyone overhearing. The table between them didn’t even have a single cup of tea.
“What do you mean?”
“You. Do you remember I asked if you could turn back time?”
“Yes, I remember,” Irina nodded.
“Good. Now you’ll believe it. You have no choice but to believe. But don’t you?”
Lurasa crossed her legs and sighed several times, either deliberately or out of anxiety. Then she even took a pipe from her coat pocket and smoked it.
“There’s a price to turning back time. No one does such a thing for free.”
Irina’s expression grew serious. Lurasa was referring to Howard.
“A price?”
“Yeah. No philanthropist is going to do something this big for free. Don’t you agree?”
“Then… does that mean Howard had to pay a price?”
“Maybe. Or maybe he already has.”
Irina’s expression darkened further.
“What kind of price is usually taken?”
“Time, of course. He used time, so he’s taken time.”
The statement dropped like a hammer. Naturally, using time means taking time—human time is equivalent to life. Irina’s hands trembled, and her fingertips felt cold.
“Then… can you turn back time too? You’re a divine envoy, aren’t you?”
Through the smoky haze from Lurasa’s pipe, her dark eyes stared at Irina.
“Yes, I can.”
Lurasa exhaled smoke. Her demeanor was slightly different from worrying about Irina all day—it seemed deliberately harsh.
Irina grew more serious. If Howard had sacrificed his time to save her, then…
What if she reversed it?
It was an unwise thought, ignoring the precious time he had spent. But she couldn’t help thinking it. If what Lurasa said was correct, she couldn’t let him sacrifice himself for her.
“Reversing it…?”
Lurasa raised an eyebrow, slowly, deliberately, watching Irina grow anxious.
“You can, right? You already did it once. Are you saying you can’t do it twice?”
“Then if I reverse it…”
“Will you be okay forgetting?”
“Excuse me?”
“Are you okay with forgetting everything? Even if you never meet again? The first time he remembered, you didn’t. Without me, could you have remembered?”
“……”
Irina couldn’t answer. She wouldn’t have known. Even if she had, she wouldn’t know when or where. It would have depended entirely on chance, on coincidence.
“It’s not just the price. Who will bear the side effects this time? You? Him? Or both?”
Lurasa pointed sharply with her finger.
“What am I supposed to do?”
After a long pause, Irina uttered something almost ridiculous.
Lurasa, like a starving hyena, seized the opportunity immediately.
“There’s a way.”
