Chapter 72

I raised my head in surprise.

‘Again.’

This is the same phenomenon as last time.

Everything has stopped. Even the small flame of the lantern in the corner does not move.

‘What should I do?’

Now, just because time stopped, I can’t save Aren with that alone.

At that moment, the air began to sway like waves. The shape is gradually revealed.

In an instant, a small clock appeared in flash right in front of me.

It’s a watch consisting only of dazzling golden lines, the needle is one, and there are no numbers engraved on it.

“What’s this….”

I really have no idea what happened. I want to believe that it is a dream.

Then I lightly touched the needle hesitantly.

“I can move.”

Then I’d better try something.

I’m not sure, but I think it might be better to turn the needle backwards than forwards.

In this situation, no matter how much time passes, there is only a future where Aren dies.

I moved the needle slowly.

‘It’s hard.’

Every time my fingers pushed the needle little by little, my entire body felt drained of strength.

‘Even before, after time stopped, I collapsed.’

It seems that this power cannot be used without any condition. Even with the slightest movement, my breath caught in a rush.

“Huh… ugh….”

I moved it as far as I could and dropped my hand helplessly.

The surroundings began to move again. I can hear insects chirping and kidnappers chattering from outside.

Aren blinked her eyes, then looked down at her wound.

“The light….”

A golden light leaked out from under the cloth that was stopping the bleeding. I hurriedly put the cloth away.

The small watch I had just seen floated above the wound. The needle moved slowly backwards.

At the same time, Aren’s wound disappeared. It was like rewinding a video.

“Ugh…….”

As soon as I saw her wound disappear, I collapsed.

“Madam!?”

I can’t even move a finger, all I can do is keep my eyes open.

“Are you okay? And, how did you…….”

I managed to put on a smile.

“This is my secret.”

“…….”

Because it’s already like this, there’s nothing wrong with sharing a secret with her. So it’s a draw.

Aren said with a complicated expression, “I will definitely keep it. More than that—”

“Aaaagh!”

“Sa- save me!”

Loud screams rang out from outside the cabin. It was the screams of the kidnappers.

‘I’m tired.’

The screams quickly died down.

Then there was a sound of breaking the lock in front of the door.

The door opened slowly.

‘You have a scary face.’

The cabin door opened, and I confirmed the person who appeared and let go of the rope of consciousness I was barely holding on to.

***

When I opened my eyes again, it was dark around me.

I checked where I was lying and was relieved. This is my bedroom in a mansion in the capital.

We came back safely.

‘I bet I’ve fainted for a few days.’

The last time I saved Leah, I had a hard time for days. This time my condition wasn’t so serious, but time must have passed.

‘I want to hear what happened after that.’

It was midnight, so there was no one to ask. I lay down to sleep, but my eyes were wide open.

Eventually, after wriggling on the bed for a while, I cautiously made my way out into the hallway.

As I passed by the door next to my room slowly, the door suddenly opened.

It was Rupert.

“Noel.”

‘Oh right, that’s his bedroom.’

In Ainel’s mansion, there is a distance between his bedroom and mine. However, in the capital’s mansion, his bedroom is right by mine.

It seems that he noticed me leaving my room and came out.

“You better get some rest.”

He came closer and put his hand on my forehead to take my temperature. Despite being reluctant to make contact, his touch is very friendly.

“I’m fine. How many days did I sleep?”

Rupert’s hands were cold. Rather than saying I had a fever, his usual body temperature was originally a bit on the cold side.

“Almost two days.”

I didn’t sleep as long as I thought.

“What about Sir Aren?”

“His wounds have been treated. He won’t die.”

I was a little surprised by the answer. I think I’ve healed Aren’s wounds.

“Where did he get hurt?”

“On the side. He was fine until he returned to the mansion, but he suddenly passed out. Selam was puzzled because of the sudden amount of blood that came out.”

“…….”

What I can guess right now is that the power I used did not heal the wounds.

‘Now that the clock has appeared, does it have anything to do with time?’

Considering the scene at the time, it may have been a rewind rather than a treatment.

For example, returning Aren to his pre-injury state.

‘And then when the time limit runs out, will she go back to her original state?’

My head is messed up. I’ll ask her later for more details.

“Did the soldier and coachman who accompanied me on the day I went out die?”

“…yes, we retrieved their bodies and sent them to their families.”

I was depressed by those words. It’s sad that even people I don’t know die because of me.

“What about the kidnappers and my father?”

“Two of the kidnappers were put in prison to get confessions, and the rest died. Count Opion… I think you’d better listen to it after your recover more.”

“I’m fine now.”

Seeing my stubbornness, he let out a light sigh.

“…you better go in and rest.”

Rupert carefully escorted me to his room.

His room is bright. I guess he didn’t want to sleep at all. Even the antique table and chairs in one corner of the bedroom are full of piles of papers.

“Wait a minute.”

After roughly clearing up the papers, he sat me down in a chair. His behavior was much gentler than usual, perhaps because he considered me a patient.

“Count Opion is currently imprisoned in his mansion in the capital. After you wake up, I was going to proceed with the next procedure.”

“I see.”

It bothers me when I think of my father― no, I mean the Count.

“The issue itself is serious, and public opinion is not good, so it will be difficult to escape from prison while he is alive.”

“…….”

It’s a complicated feeling. I’m neither happy nor sad. I feel empty.

I don’t like my family, but I don’t want it to end up like this.

‘I miss my mom.’

Not the Countess Opion, but my mother from my past life. But I’ll never be able to see her again.

“As expected, I should have told you later.”

He reached out and wiped the tears from my cheeks.

Only then did I realize I was crying.

But I don’t feel like I want to stop.

“…if you don’t cry over things like this, when will you cry?”

I’m so hurt. It’s definitely in the top 3 worst events of my life.

I muttered in a determined voice, “At this moment, I’m crying and trying to let it all go. And I’ll never think of it again. I will never keep the wounds I received from those people.”

“Then I shouldn’t tell you not to cry,” he said, wiping my tears once more.

As I got emotional, a response I wouldn’t normally do came out. “Of course, at times like this, you have to kindly comfort me, to make me feel at ease….”

It is a complaint that is nothing short of foolishness. Tomorrow I might be ashamed of myself for spitting these words out at him.

“I will keep that in mind in the future.”

Rupert came closer. His large hand supported the back of my head, and the other gently wrapped around my forearm.

He carefully pulled me and held me in his arms.

-thump thump. I could hear his heart beating as I pressed closer. 

It’s very fast. Is he nervous?

I muttered in his arms, “You said you only allowed hand-to-hand contact.”

“Then I’m a pathetic husband to do that even in this situation.”

“Well… at least you know,” I muttered as I wrapped my arms around Rupert’s back.

He’s very mean, always friendly at important moments.

To be honest, I was very happy when he came to save me. At this rate, the day may come when I inadvertently jump over the line of his heart.

I put more strength into my arms that were wrapped around his back, and spat out the words that had been stuck in my mouth all along.

“Thank you for coming to save me.”

“…….”

I could feel his breath falling quietly like snowflakes in my ears.

I suddenly became curious.

What are you thinking right now?

How much do you love me?

When will you fall for me?

After a moment of silence, he spoke softly, “Thank you for being safe, Noel.”