[Translator - Peptobismol]
[Proofreader - Demon God]
Chapter 94 - Another Possibility (2)
"The Duchess... is dead?"
I couldn't believe it.
No, I couldn't accept it.
In neither the original story nor the official settings was there any record of the Duchess meeting such an end.
It simply didn't exist.
So according to the original story, the Duchess should still be alive.
But.
"Yeah, she's dead."
"What?"
"Why? She died in a car accident last year."
Luna said it with an astonishingly calm face.
She said the Duchess died in a car accident last year.
"Is she lying?"
I narrowed my eyes and stared at Luna.
She tilted her head innocently, sensing my gaze.
"Kyle, did you know you're acting really strange today?"
"......"
"Did something happen?"
"...No, it's nothing."
"Hmm, is that so?"
Luna got up and started to circle around me.
But Luna's actions weren't important right now.
I had clearly drunk the Tears of Lethe.
And everything I was experiencing now was part of the "forgotten past."
Luna Winfred, the heir candidate, the Duchess's death...
Everything was unexpected.
'I don't have enough information.'
I barely suppressed a sigh that was rising to my throat.
Then I lifted my gaze from the floor and looked directly at Luna.
"What about the Black Mist?"
"Huh? The Black Mist? What's that?"
What do you mean, what's that?
The periodic disaster that floods and releases monsters...
"What nonsense are you talking about?"
"What?"
"There's no such terrible disaster. I've never heard of it. Have you been having nightmares or something?"
No Black Mist.
The disaster that was central to every episode of the original story, the one that threatened Kyle, that horrible past—all of it was gone.
Without a trace.
"...Hah."
A laugh of disbelief escaped me.
My head was spinning, and I felt nauseous.
I couldn't believe this reality.
After all the trouble I went through to get into the safe and drink the Tears of Lethe, everything was a mess.
I needed to figure out what the forgotten past was, and how everything I had seen and heard was possible.
But I still lacked information.
So, I needed Luna.
"Luna."
"Yes, Kyle?"
"I have something to ask."
I smiled as brightly as I could.
"Merlin Trivia."
I put on my most harmless smile and slowly enunciated.
"Do you know who that is?"
Luna looked a bit surprised.
"Why do you ask about her?"
Her?
Wait, more importantly, she knows Merlin?
"Just curious."
Luna's eyes narrowed.
She was trying to gauge if I was being sincere.
Regardless, I kept smiling.
I needed to get an answer from her somehow.
After a moment, Luna studied my face and then smiled faintly.
"I know."
Gulp.
I swallowed hard.
"Merlin Trivia."
Luna pronounced the name clearly.
"She's known as the Saintess of her time."
"Oh, young master, you're here!"
"Yes, what's the matter?"
A brief pause.
Then, after a moment.
"A guest has come to see you."
"A guest?"
"Yes, young master."
"Who?"
I asked, and a kind voice responded.
"Lady Isabel has come to see you."
As soon as I heard that, I jumped up.
I opened the door to find the old butler with a gentle smile on his face.
"...Did you say Isabel?"
"Haha, yes, you heard correctly."
Isabel Yustia.
She had come to see me at the Duke's estate.
The situation was all too familiar, but I couldn't let my guard down.
In this chaotic state, I had no idea how Isabel might have changed.
But I couldn't avoid meeting her.
Before fully uncovering the past, I needed to gather as much information as possible.
So, my conclusion was clear.
"...Lead the way."
****
The place the butler led me to was none other than the mansion's reception room.
The morning sunlight slanted through the glass windows.
Following the white patches of light with my eyes...
'Isabel Yustia.'
Right in front, she was leisurely sipping tea.
I narrowed my eyes and stared at her.
A woman who had once been my wife.
But that was a past only I remembered.
'What is our relationship now?'
Everything had changed.
The Black Mist was gone, the Duchess was dead, and Luna had become the strongest candidate for head of the house.
So, what was my relationship with Isabel?
'I need to know before I speak...'
She had come to see me, so we still knew each other.
Which meant we were still engaged?
Everything was unclear.
The frustration was eating me up inside.
As I stared blankly at her, Isabel turned her head, sensing my gaze.
"Kyle?"
Our eyes met.
She blinked in surprise and then stood up.
And then.
"Kyle—!"
Isabel started walking towards me hurriedly.
No, she was running towards me.
'What the...'
Her rush towards me was almost comical, like a mischievous child.
But more than that, her fiercely blazing eyes.
As she ran, she looked only at me.
Beyond her ice-blue eyes, sparks flew.
At this moment, her eyes were filled only with intense joy directed at Kyle.
A young girl overwhelmed by madness.
She looked nothing like the Isabel I remembered.
And then.
"......!"
She approached and hugged me tightly.
She buried her face in my chest and gently rubbed it against me.
"Kyle."
A soft, warm voice.
A gentle tone filled with only affection scattered in my ears.
Her golden hair, shining in the sunlight, her hands softly wrapped around my neck, the devoted love in her eyes.
This woman holding me now was...
Isabel, really?
"..."
I was so shocked I couldn't speak.
I stood there dumbfounded as Isabel slowly lifted her head and met my eyes.
Then, she smiled with her eyes.
"I missed you."
[Translator - Peptobismol]
[Proofreader - Demon God]