Chapter 5

As expected, now I really know what I experienced was not just a dream .

The fact that the heroine died and I had to use the marble to turn back time for her is proof that it was all real .

I was certain that I had gone back in time but just in case, I grabbed a servant in the corridor and asked them .

“Excuse me, what day is today?”

“What? That’s… It’s the 13th of September . ”

Today was truly my yesterday . There was no need for anymore suspicion .

Shutting my eyes tightly, I let out a sigh .

‘It’s such a wondrous marble . ’

For such a small object that looks like a mere glass marble, to be able to turn back time by simply breaking it, is incredible .

The feeling of having today became yesterday is strange .

It is amazing that the temple could make something like that .

‘Agrita is also amazing . ’

It was only after using the marble did I have this thought . Agrita really does have the qualifications to be the protagonist of the story .

She never once used one of the marbles she got from the temple for herself .

Even a good person would learn of greed if these marbles landed in their hands .

However, if it wasn’t obvious, Agrita didn’t even hesitate to use the marbles to help others .

‘Preventing disasters, accidents… Sometimes they were even used to fulfil the wishes of pitiful people .

That’s why she was eventually called a Saintess .

I felt a bit uncomfortable because it seems like I will be reducing the number of such events .

Umm, whatever, at least I could save Agrita thanks to these .

‘This isn’t the time to act like this . ’

I went over the reasons behind the heroine’s death .

I didn’t have to think too hard . Everything was because of the clock tower .

Of course, it was actually because of Ash but since I couldn’t do anything about him I had to do something about the clock tower .

‘Right now, it’s around noon . It would be better if we could go now instead of tomorrow but……’

I tried to remember . Ash would busy the whole day today .

He didn’t come out of his office at all except for a moment to eat dinner .

He sure is a psychopath villain, creating such a crazy result in such a short amount of time .

‘What should I do? Is my only option to decline with a different excuse?’

My head was starting to hurt .

You’d think I could just simply not say ‘old’ or ‘shabby’, but you could never be for sure .

This is because we’re talking about Ash here .

You could never predict what Ash Weadgreen would do .

‘Think!! Think of a refreshing, safe, and realistic excuse!’

I was trapped in my thoughts .

It’s amazing how fast time flies by when you’re focused on something .

When I finally returned to my senses, it was almost nighttime .

I had about an hour before Ash would come down . Just like last time, I stared blankly at the living room decor as I continued think .

‘I can’t think of anything . ’

I tried but no good excuses popped into my mind .

But even though I should’ve felt stressed in this situation, I let out a relaxed laugh .

‘Because I was able to think of something else . ’

I realized mid way through that I was suffering over a stupid idea .

‘If I don’t have an excuse, I just have to make sure I don’t decline . ’

Before you assume I’m spewing nonsense, please listen to what I have to say next .

I had only been thinking in terms of finding out how to avoid going to the clock tower . But there’s a better way to decline someone’s invitation .

It’s to not receive the invitation in the first place .

If I never got the offer to go out with him, I would never have to decline either .

Last time, it seemed like Ash had simply come down to the living room and happened to find me there .

And since he found me, he decided to suggest we go see the clock tower .

‘Which means I just have to avoid facing him . ’

I was planning on leaving the living room before Ash came down .

I came down earlier for my tea and since I was done with it, all I had to do was to leave my seat .

‘I’m going to stay in my room and not come out until tomorrow . ’

I have to play it safe . Safely .

Planning to stay in my room for the rest of the day, I got up .

I started humming .

This isn’t that big of a deal is it?

Although the time I spent thinking about this issue was a bit wasted, this would help get rid of the tragic event that caused the heroine’s death…… .

“Sister . ”

“Ackk!”

I screamed and lifted my head .

Well, the voice I wasn’t supposed to hear started speaking, what else was I supposed to do?

I was at the bottom of the stairs . When I lifted my head I could see my brother, who looked a little flustered .

……huh?

“Are you okay?”

Ash asked . I couldn’t answer right away .

I needed some time to understand the situation .

‘Why did he appear now?’

What is this? I could have sworn it wasn’t time for him to come down yet .

I had checked the time correctly . I was early by an hour so I couldn’t say I read the clock wrong .

‘What went wrong’?

Since I went back in time everything should still happen the same way .

The same things should happen at the same time, so why is it different this time?

“Oh, Duke . You came down immediately . I just sent Alex up a moment ago though . ”

“…… . huh?”

It was Bessie’s voice . I turned around trying to figure out what she was saying and I saw that she had a look of concern .

“I was worried about you . You didn’t respond when I called your name and kept spacing out . You also sighed multiple times earlier, right? So I was wondering if something happened . And I thought, maybe the Duke should know . ”

Then she smiled like a fool .

“I can’t believe you came down immediately once Alex told you though, the way you care for the young miss is amazing . ”

I was speechless .

Oh my goodness .

‘Bessie!’

I couldn’t do anything besides call out to her in my head .

Did I really? Did I really look like I was in a bad condition?

Ahhh, why couldn’t she just ask me if something was wrong?

“If I had known I would’ve come down earlier . Are you okay?”

Ash asked me in a caring voice .

At this moment I started hating Bessie’s kindness, despite her hard work and my brother’s love for family, despite his character as a villain .

I could barely speak .

“I’m alright . ”

I’m actually not . I was going to be, but I wasn’t because now everything got messed up .

‘What should I do? What if he asks to go to the clock tower tomorrow? I never found a suitable excuse…… . ’

Wait . I started to rethink about my options .

‘Hmm, since they already think I’m feeling unwell, couldn’t I just keep pretending I felt sick?’

It could work out .

Right? Because of Bessie’s misunderstanding, Ash thought I was unwell right now .

It might be better to keep it this way .

He wouldn’t ask me to go out if I’m feeling sick, right?

I spoke as soon as I decided what to do .

“A-actually . I don’t think I’m alright . ”

My words and actions had to match . I pretended to be dizzy as I wobbled .

I was going to grab the stairs handle but Ash’s sturdy arm caught me before I could reach it .

Uh, hmm… . . He’s fast .

His arm felt strong through the thin indoor clothing I had on .

This made me realize that the person I was dealing with was a full grown, adult male .

Uh, umm . Should I curse at him right now? I have faith in the marble but my ego is still quite large for such a thing .

‘I don’t think I could do it a second time’

He was too much of an adult . My brother had become an adult .

Ash spoke to me as I was acknowledging my newfound awareness of his maturity through the difference in our body sizes .

“Where are you feeling unwell?”

I thought quickly .

He might know that I’m lying if I’m too specific, so I just listed some vague symptoms .

“I think I’m just lacking some energy . Not only that, but I can’t stomach food……”

Wait . I ate too much at lunch to say something like that . I went back on my words quickly .

“… . . Anyways, I don’t have the energy . ”

I felt nervous after saying that .

This would just give him the thought that my condition isn’t top notch right?

To act as “energy lacking” as possible, I let my body slip .

This made me lean onto my brother even more .

I could feel his arm strengthening to prevent my potential fall . I felt a little weird .

‘Why is it weird?’

Maybe it’s because I was comparing it to when he was a small child following me around . He was quite cute back then .

I heard his voice again as I was thinking of the past .

“You haven’t gone out lately right?”

“……hm?”

“Since I was so busy . I should’ve made some time . ”

Huh? Wait, hold on a second .

“Let’s visit the square together tomorrow . You said you wanted to see the clock tower before . ”

Hey!

I shut my mouth tightly to prevent my screaming .

Wait, why is the plot still turning this way?

How could he take what I said and assume that I’m depressed because I’ve been home for too long?

“Tomorrow I’ll be free until night . ”

My eyes shook as I listened .

N-no . I have to fix this . Fast .

‘Right! A cold, should I pretend it’s a cold?’

I quickly thought of a realistic excuse .

Yes, the weather has gotten chillier as well .

I should just say I caught a cold . Why didn’t I think of that before?

“Ash, the thing is, I…… . cough cough . ”

I tried to hint at him with my coughing, a clear, representative symptom of those suffering from a cold .

It would be even better if my forehead was burning up but I can’t do anything about that now .

“Sister?”

Ash’s expression changed .

That’s right, I caught a cold . I can’t go out because of my cold! I can’t go see the clock tower!

But before I could get into the main issue he took his eyes off of me . Huh?

“Call the doctor . ”

When he says doctor… . . does he mean our house doctor?

“I can’t believe someone who can’t even look after my sister’s health is sitting around acting like a doctor . ”