CH 39

“I lost.”

Theodore grinned at the sword that came under his neck.

Despite being in a mess and drenched in sweat, he had a happy face with no regrets.

The same was true of Viola.

Even the referee was surprised to see them smiling with a flushed face.

“Winner, Viola Liviatan!”

However, it was only for a moment, the referee’s ruling filled the stadium with cheers.

Viola pulled up her sword at the referee’s words, and Theodore sank back in his spot as if his legs had lost strength.

“Sister Viola won!”

“She said she would win so it’s only natural.”

I jumped out of my seat, unable to hide my joy.

My hands turned red and were whining in pain, but I clapped my hands hard.

“Oh my gosh.”

Not only me, everyone was still in shock from the game a little while ago.

Viola knelt down and bowed her head towards the Emperor who was sitting in the highest seat.

“Congratulations, Dame Viola. You won twice in a row. I’m so proud that a genius like you is a knight of the Imperial family.”

The Emperor’s voice contained sincerity.

“I will continue to be loyal to the Imperial family.”

Viola’s solemn determination made the Emperor laugh in satisfaction.

“I will send the prize to the mansion of the winner, Dame Viola, tomorrow. Everyone, you’ve done a great job.”

At the Emperor’s words, I asked Liliana.

“Is he giving an award to only the winner?”

“I suppose so.”

“That’s mean.”

I murmured softly and then turned to Theodore.

It bothered me that he didn’t seem to have any regrets at all.

‘I should give him a small gift, too. To celebrate! Since we’re friends, that’s okay, right?’

As I was alone in my thoughts, the Emperor’s greetings at the closing ceremony inadvertently ended.

After the Emperor left, Viola strode up to the hall, drawing everyone’s attention.

Viola stood before Theodore and looked down at him.

Everyone stopped cheering and focused on the two people that had a strange atmosphere.

She reached out to Theodore.

“It was a great match. If you do a little more, you might surpass me, so I should be nervous.”

Viola’s praise erased Theodore’s tired expression and he smiled confidently.

“Of course. I’ll definitely beat you in the next tournament.”

“I’ll look forward to it.”

Theodore took Viola’s hand and, with her help, he rose from his spot.

Someone exclaimed in admiration at the way they acknowledged each other as colleagues, as if neither status nor victory or defeat mattered.

After everyone cheered, the two let go of their hands and came down from the arena together as if they had promised.

Viola’s smile had already disappeared from her face, but her face was flushed as if the sense of elation during the game remained.

She raised her sword high to the audience who supported her.

At the winner’s performance, the voices calling her again grew louder.

I would never forget Viola’s face, rejoicing in victory as she raised her sword high.

✲ ✲ ✲

Even though my parents and Liliana dissuaded me, I ran to Viola, who I could see in the distance.

“Congratulations!”

Viola quickly approached me from a distance and immediately took me into her arms.

“You could get hurt running.”

“I wanted to be the first person who congratulate you.”

Viola smiled at my words.

Perhaps because she finally won the victory she wanted, Viola looked truly at ease.

“Yes. Thanks to your help, I could win fair and square.”

“With the opponent you wanted to defeat?”

“Yes. I could have been defeated.”

Viola’s calm words surprised me.

‘It wasn’t Theodore?’

As I couldn’t hide my surprised expression, she smiled quietly.

“I think I can finally accept that someone better than me might show up. I defeated my stubborn self.”

Viola kindly explained it to me, but I wasn’t sure what she meant.

She just nodded, patted my head, and turned her eyes.

“I won. Father, Mother.”

“Congratulations.”

“Congratulations, Viola.”

As our parents approached, I slipped away slightly, and the two of them hugged Viola without hesitation.

She hesitated and stiffened at their action, but as if she couldn’t help it, she hugged the two of them.

While smiling at the harmonious sight, I suddenly felt sorry for being unable to do this in the original future.

‘I think our relationship with our parents has gotten better too?’

In the future seen through dreams, the relationship between Sisters and our parents was awkward, but that wasn’t the case right now.

Thinking that it was such a relief, I laughed again.

‘I laugh a lot these days.’

I loved the change that came after I got along with my sisters.

There would be no rebellion now.

How can I not laugh when all the things surrounding Sisters have been resolved?

‘I hope this happiness lasts for a long time!’

I made an earnest wish in my heart.

✲ ✲ ✲

On a quiet night with low darkness.

Viola walked down the corridor in a strange mood.

Even after having a good night’s sleep for the first time in a long time, her steps were heading toward one place.

When Viola arrived at her desired destination, Liliana was waiting for her.

“As expected, I knew you would come on a day like today.”

“Why are you here at this hour?”

At Viola’s question, Liliana pulled up her shawl and laughed.

“I came to see Daisy. It’s the same for you, isn’t it?”

Viola didn’t answer.

But reading her twin’s minds was a piece of cake for Liliana.

Liliana quietly opened Daisy’s door.

The door opened, and at the same time, the white curtain fluttered to announce its existence.

“No matter how hot the summer is, what are you going to do if you catch a cold?”

Liliana entered and closed the window, and Viola closed the door carefully to not make a sound. The sound of breathing was heard in the quiet room.

Those two sat down beside Daisy’s bed.

They did nothing.

“It’s comfortable and nice.”

“Indeed.”

They enjoyed this moment where just looking at Daisy felt precious.

The appearance of Daisy sleeping quietly without any worries gave them peace of mind.

“Hey, Viola.”

“Hm.”

“Aren’t you nervous?”

“Well.”

To Liliana’s question, Viola answered improbably.

“You become a scholar, and I won the knight competition. I’m walking on a different path from the worst one I’ve already taken, so what’s there to be anxious about?”

Liliana smiled bitterly at Viola’s unfriendly consolation.

It was so cryptic that if anyone heard it, they wouldn’t understand what it meant.

But Liliana nodded with a strange expression as if she understood the meaning of her words.

“That’s right. Our future that would be ruined has changed, so you can relax now.”

Ruined future.

The worst path ever taken.

Despite the strange combination of words, there was no awkwardness in the conversation between those two.

“I should feel at ease.”

But unlike what she said, her expression didn’t seem at ease at all.

“But strangely enough, I keep getting anxious.”

“What?”

“Well.”

Liliana looked at Daisy, who was asleep, with a frustrated expression.

“Is it because we unexpectedly came back to the past?”

“…”

At Liliana’s words, Viola looked at her.

“At first I thought it was a dream.”

Liliana smiled, recalling the night she returned from the past.

It was a day full of regrets, as usual.

She barely fell asleep due to insomnia, but when she woke up, she realized that she was in her room in the past.

It was as if she was born again.

After rummaging through the bookshelves and waking up the sleeping maid, she was able to accept that she had truly returned to the past.

What she did immediately after that was to go see Daisy right away.

And on her way to Daisy’s room, she met Viola, and the look in her eyes revealed that she was going through the same situation.

“All I could think about was that I had to see Daisy right away.”

Liliana nodded at Viola’s words.

Whatever she dreamed about, Daisy’s forehead was furrowed.

Liliana patted her brows gently, arranging the messy quilt.

The touch was friendly as if it would drive away a bad dream.

“Daisy hasn’t changed. She still thinks of us and understands us now and in the future.”

“That’s just like Daisy.”

Liliana gently patted Daisy’s stomach and whispered softly.

“Why did we come back?”

“Well.”

Viola couldn’t answer Lilliana’s question.

She also suddenly returned to the past, so she also had the same worries as Liliana.

However, no matter how many times she thought about it, there was only one answer.

“Maybe it’s for Daisy. To protect Daisy this time.”

For Daisy.

At Viola’s firm resolve, Liliana’s hand stopped.

“It was a future that wouldn’t have happened if we had walked the right path in the first place. So Daisy will no longer be in danger.”

“That would be nice.”

Even with Viola’s words, Liliana couldn’t shake off her anxiety.

“You realize now that it was a future that wouldn’t have happened if we had accepted Daisy without deceiving ourselves in the first place.”

Liliana nodded at Viola’s cold words.

Liliana stopped craving love from Ronald and learned how nice it was to have someone who believed in her.

Daisy helped her get the position she wanted by getting Lord Grayton’s book.

Viola caught the culprit who ruined her match and was able to play fair and square.

When playing the fair match with Theodore, she could overcome her pre-return shabby self who had succumbed to a sense of defeat.

All the worst futures that had been scheduled were changed just by having Daisy by their side.

Daisy was their salvation and their hope of moving forward to a better future.

“One regret is enough.”

At Viola’s words, Liliana nodded her head, holding her trembling heart firmly.

“That’s right. No matter what happens, I won’t be helpless again. I will become stronger to protect Daisy.”

Deep into the night, the two people who had been through the future erased their regrets and started writing a new future for a better tomorrow.