Arthas April 08, 2024 No comments
Don't forget to rate and review the novel on Novelupdates
"...Miss."
A familiar voice gently roused her from her haze. It was a warm, soft-spoken tone; raising her heavy eyelids, Isabel turned towards the woman calling her.
"Young Miss."
In her half-closed eyes, she saw the figure of a woman. Short hair, dense freckles on her cheeks, and the familiar attire of a maid. It was a sight she couldn't forget. Erika, her personal maid, whose appearance seemed to have aged backwards over the years, filled her vision.
"Young Miss, it's time to get up."
The familiar voice cleared her mind, and the memories came flooding back - the translucent apparition that had appeared before she lost consciousness, and the contents written within it.
That meant...
"... returned?"
"My, you're quite forgetful, young miss. The master returned just yesterday," Erika replied, cheerfully.
“He really... truly came back?"
"Yes!"
But Isabel paid little heed to the exchange. What mattered to her now was not Erika's reappearance, but the realization that had dawned on her. She turned her gaze around the room - the antique yet charming decor, unmistakably her childhood quarters.
"Ah."
A short sigh escaped through her parted lips. At the same time, a realization struck her like lightning.
Isabel had regressed.
And not just that, but to a time before her relationship with Kyle had become twisted.
To be more precise.
'...Kyle is alive.'
To a time before she had killed Kyle with her own hands.
"Shall I prepare your bath first, young miss? Or would you like to have breakfast first?" Erika asked, moving about the room with her familiar cadence, throwing open the windows to let in the refreshing breeze; the cool breeze tickled her nose.
Isabel pinched her thigh, wondering if she was dreaming, but the sharp pain made her frown involuntarily. It didn't seem like a dream after all.
Tears welled up in her eyes at the realization that she could start over from the beginning. She rubbed her eyes with her sleeve several times to clear her blurred vision.
After a while, Isabel took a deep breath. Then, she calmly stretched and stood up from her seat.
"Prepare the bath first," she instructed Erika calmly.
"Yes, Miss."
"And make a light breakfast. Ah! And..."
She had returned to the past.
Although she was still shaken by the overwhelming sense of unreality, she clearly remembered her purpose.
Isabel's tightly closed lips parted slowly.
"Will you help me prepare for an outing?"
A serene smile spread across her face.
* * * * *
Kyle was alive. The realization that she could finally see him again sent a thrill through Isabel.
She would finally be able to see him again, the Kyle who had whispered words of love to her.
What would she say to him when they met? Words of apology? Or perhaps the simple greeting, "I missed you"?
The thought of seeing Kyle made her heart ache. Would she be able to control her emotions and keep from bursting into tears?
Her eyes burned with tears as she imagined their reunion.
"Focus," Isabel told herself.
Kyle was unaware of Isabel's return to the past, of her mistakes, of the disastrous future that had once unfolded. All of that lay in a distant, hazy future.
There was no time for second thoughts. She had to approach him calmly and naturally, just as he had always done with her; yet her hands trembled as she held the teacup. Excitement, nervousness, and guilt swirled within her.
She took a deep breath and forced herself to remain calm. She couldn't make a fool of herself during her first meeting with Kyle.
Just then, she saw him.
“...........”
Kyle stood before her, his raven hair like the night sky and his piercing azure eyes as clear as a summer's day. He was alive and well, staring at her in surprise.
Isabel's voice cracked as she greeted him.
It was Kyle.
Alive and well, standing before her.
Isabel greeted him in a quavering voice, her words more formal than usual, yet she waited eagerly for his response.
“Kyle?"
However, Kyle remained silent, his expression unreadable. He didn't seem surprised by her sudden visit.
Unable to bear the silence, Isabel tried to start a conversation.
After a moment, Kyle's lips parted slowly, "......Long time no see."
That deep, resonant voice - it was undoubtedly Kyle's.
Seeing the faint discomfort on his face, Isabel surmised it was likely due to her unannounced arrival. She apologized and began to explain her purpose.
But before she could finish, Kyle interrupted her. He said he had something to say, and then he looked up at her with eyes like ice.
Fixing his gaze on her, he uttered the words that struck her like a bolt of lightning, "Let's nullify our engagement."
She couldn’t help but blink, dumbfounded. Kyle, who had wanted their engagement more than anyone, was suddenly asking to annul it.
Had she misheard him? Was this some kind of joke? Or was it a punishment for her unexpected visit?
Gazing at Kyle in horrified disbelief, she felt a wave of dizziness and nausea. A blaring alarm sounded in her mind, warning her that something was terribly amiss.
"Are you serious?" she asked, her voice strained.
Kyle nodded solemnly.
Isabel couldn't believe it. It couldn't be true. How could he, who had loved her so, now seek to undo their engagement?
In a suppressed tone, she pressed him for the reason but his response struck her like a dagger.
"I did love you. But not anymore."
Shock etched itself on Isabel's pallid face; those words, tearing apart her very soul, that he no longer loved her.
She repeatedly asked, but Kyle's answer remained the same.
He no longer loved her.
He was clearly stating that.
"But you don't like me, do you?"
The questioning look in his eyes caused Isabel's heart to plummet. A terrible chill washed over her, as if doused in icy water.
Kyle no longer loved her.
No matter how many times he said it, Isabel could not bring herself to accept it.
No, she refused to accept it.
— I love you, Isabel.
His voice still sounded tender in her mind; the sweet voice that blushed shyly and whispered love to her.
"...What a waste of time."
Kyle's sigh-laden voice echoed in her ears like a haunting melody. He withdrew his gaze from her and turned his back without hesitation.
Desperate, she called out to stop him.
And then she noticed.
There was something missing on the ring finger of Kyle's left hand, something that should have been there.
Intense disillusionment engulfed her.
Suddenly, memories of the past, the lies she had told to hurt Kyle, flashed through her mind.
— I threw it away. It was in the way.
No, it couldn't be.
Please, it couldn't be true.
Isabel frantically tried to convince herself.
But Kyle, as if mocking such an Isabel, sharply retorted in a cold voice.
"Ah, this."
"I got rid of it."
The door to the drawing room closed with a thud, and the suffocating silence choked her breath.
Only then did Isabel finally realize.
『 You may lose what is most precious to you 』
What she had lost — the most precious thing to her.
* * * * *
Isabel refused to give up. She did her utmost to try to sway Kyle's heart once more.
However, there was a fact she overlooked.
That was...
The wounds she had inflicted on Kyle's heart were deeper and more severe than she had imagined.
— Constantly treating me like insects, and now what? Trying to clear up misunderstandings?
Kyle spat, his eyes brimming with contempt and hatred.
— Are you sure? Are you absolutely certain about the past misdeeds you've heard about me?
He accused her of ignorance, of not trusting him.
Why didn't she believe him?
Why did she treat him so harshly, swept away by mere rumors?
— Vermin. Trash. Despicable human.
Those words, all spat out from his mouth like sharp blades.
— Shall I continue? Human scum. Horrible human. One deserving of damnation...
Those blades turned into boomerangs, relentlessly tearing at her skin.
— Strange. Why was I so obsessed with you?
I'm sorry.
The words of apology melted into a lump in her throat.
— Vermin, trash
— Just the same old insults I've heard every day. But hearing them directly from your mouth made it all the more miserable.
— As if I've truly become the scum you see me as.
Her throat felt like it had a thorn in it, and she couldn't speak. She couldn't breathe properly. Each word, each sentence, was like a stone hitting her.
That's when it happened.
The ring that Kyle had said he had thrown away was stuck in Isabel's eyes like a stake.
"You clearly threw it away-!"
For a moment, Kyle's face turned red with embarrassment.
For a moment, a glimmer of hope blossomed in a corner of Isabel's heart.
Maybe...
Maybe there was still a spark of affection left for him...
But that hope didn't last long.
"Young Miss! You'll never believe what I just saw - Kyle Winfred, alone with some woman, at a jewelry shop..."
Isabel's face contorted in anguish, tears streaming from her eyes.
"The engagement ring! Oh my god, you can't just sell your engagement ring at auction! Miss? Miss! Why are you crying...!"
Erika wiped the tears from Isabel's eyes with her sleeve, at a loss for what to do.
The black tar of regret festered in Isabel's heart.
Isabel, this damn girl.
She cursed herself, unable to bear the weight of her own actions.
"Ugh! Miss, please calm down...!"
Erika grabbed Isabel's arms, at a loss for what to do.
Isabel's strength was so strong that Erika had a hard time calming her down.
"He's selling the ring..." Isabel murmured.
Seizing the opportunity, Erika tried to reassure her, "Yes! It's great! Everything is going just as you said! You're finally breaking free."
— Annoying. When will I finally break free?
The piercing ringing in her ears felt like a sharp stab. The content echoed in her ears was oddly familiar.
'Ah, I...'
Yes, it felt like something she might have said one day while resenting Kyle. Not through someone else's mouth, but directly from her own cursed lips.
She gasped for breath intermittently, feeling like a person trapped in a space with sparse oxygen.
“...........”
Choking on her breaths, Isabel's trembling lips parted, her hands clasping her own throat in terror.
Kyle was erasing every trace of his love for her.
Shortly after, Isabel mustered a strained voice to give an instruction.
"...Find out the exact details of that auction."
Arthas April 08, 2024 No comments
Don't forget to rate and review the novel on Novelupdates
"...Miss."
A familiar voice gently roused her from her haze. It was a warm, soft-spoken tone; raising her heavy eyelids, Isabel turned towards the woman calling her.
"Young Miss."
In her half-closed eyes, she saw the figure of a woman. Short hair, dense freckles on her cheeks, and the familiar attire of a maid. It was a sight she couldn't forget. Erika, her personal maid, whose appearance seemed to have aged backwards over the years, filled her vision.
"Young Miss, it's time to get up."
The familiar voice cleared her mind, and the memories came flooding back - the translucent apparition that had appeared before she lost consciousness, and the contents written within it.
That meant...
"... returned?"
"My, you're quite forgetful, young miss. The master returned just yesterday," Erika replied, cheerfully.
“He really... truly came back?"
"Yes!"
But Isabel paid little heed to the exchange. What mattered to her now was not Erika's reappearance, but the realization that had dawned on her. She turned her gaze around the room - the antique yet charming decor, unmistakably her childhood quarters.
"Ah."
A short sigh escaped through her parted lips. At the same time, a realization struck her like lightning.
Isabel had regressed.
And not just that, but to a time before her relationship with Kyle had become twisted.
To be more precise.
'...Kyle is alive.'
To a time before she had killed Kyle with her own hands.
"Shall I prepare your bath first, young miss? Or would you like to have breakfast first?" Erika asked, moving about the room with her familiar cadence, throwing open the windows to let in the refreshing breeze; the cool breeze tickled her nose.
Isabel pinched her thigh, wondering if she was dreaming, but the sharp pain made her frown involuntarily. It didn't seem like a dream after all.
Tears welled up in her eyes at the realization that she could start over from the beginning. She rubbed her eyes with her sleeve several times to clear her blurred vision.
After a while, Isabel took a deep breath. Then, she calmly stretched and stood up from her seat.
"Prepare the bath first," she instructed Erika calmly.
"Yes, Miss."
"And make a light breakfast. Ah! And..."
She had returned to the past.
Although she was still shaken by the overwhelming sense of unreality, she clearly remembered her purpose.
Isabel's tightly closed lips parted slowly.
"Will you help me prepare for an outing?"
A serene smile spread across her face.
* * * * *
Kyle was alive. The realization that she could finally see him again sent a thrill through Isabel.
She would finally be able to see him again, the Kyle who had whispered words of love to her.
What would she say to him when they met? Words of apology? Or perhaps the simple greeting, "I missed you"?
The thought of seeing Kyle made her heart ache. Would she be able to control her emotions and keep from bursting into tears?
Her eyes burned with tears as she imagined their reunion.
"Focus," Isabel told herself.
Kyle was unaware of Isabel's return to the past, of her mistakes, of the disastrous future that had once unfolded. All of that lay in a distant, hazy future.
There was no time for second thoughts. She had to approach him calmly and naturally, just as he had always done with her; yet her hands trembled as she held the teacup. Excitement, nervousness, and guilt swirled within her.
She took a deep breath and forced herself to remain calm. She couldn't make a fool of herself during her first meeting with Kyle.
Just then, she saw him.
“...........”
Kyle stood before her, his raven hair like the night sky and his piercing azure eyes as clear as a summer's day. He was alive and well, staring at her in surprise.
Isabel's voice cracked as she greeted him.
It was Kyle.
Alive and well, standing before her.
Isabel greeted him in a quavering voice, her words more formal than usual, yet she waited eagerly for his response.
“Kyle?"
However, Kyle remained silent, his expression unreadable. He didn't seem surprised by her sudden visit.
Unable to bear the silence, Isabel tried to start a conversation.
After a moment, Kyle's lips parted slowly, "......Long time no see."
That deep, resonant voice - it was undoubtedly Kyle's.
Seeing the faint discomfort on his face, Isabel surmised it was likely due to her unannounced arrival. She apologized and began to explain her purpose.
But before she could finish, Kyle interrupted her. He said he had something to say, and then he looked up at her with eyes like ice.
Fixing his gaze on her, he uttered the words that struck her like a bolt of lightning, "Let's nullify our engagement."
She couldn’t help but blink, dumbfounded. Kyle, who had wanted their engagement more than anyone, was suddenly asking to annul it.
Had she misheard him? Was this some kind of joke? Or was it a punishment for her unexpected visit?
Gazing at Kyle in horrified disbelief, she felt a wave of dizziness and nausea. A blaring alarm sounded in her mind, warning her that something was terribly amiss.
"Are you serious?" she asked, her voice strained.
Kyle nodded solemnly.
Isabel couldn't believe it. It couldn't be true. How could he, who had loved her so, now seek to undo their engagement?
In a suppressed tone, she pressed him for the reason but his response struck her like a dagger.
"I did love you. But not anymore."
Shock etched itself on Isabel's pallid face; those words, tearing apart her very soul, that he no longer loved her.
She repeatedly asked, but Kyle's answer remained the same.
He no longer loved her.
He was clearly stating that.
"But you don't like me, do you?"
The questioning look in his eyes caused Isabel's heart to plummet. A terrible chill washed over her, as if doused in icy water.
Kyle no longer loved her.
No matter how many times he said it, Isabel could not bring herself to accept it.
No, she refused to accept it.
— I love you, Isabel.
His voice still sounded tender in her mind; the sweet voice that blushed shyly and whispered love to her.
"...What a waste of time."
Kyle's sigh-laden voice echoed in her ears like a haunting melody. He withdrew his gaze from her and turned his back without hesitation.
Desperate, she called out to stop him.
And then she noticed.
There was something missing on the ring finger of Kyle's left hand, something that should have been there.
Intense disillusionment engulfed her.
Suddenly, memories of the past, the lies she had told to hurt Kyle, flashed through her mind.
— I threw it away. It was in the way.
No, it couldn't be.
Please, it couldn't be true.
Isabel frantically tried to convince herself.
But Kyle, as if mocking such an Isabel, sharply retorted in a cold voice.
"Ah, this."
"I got rid of it."
The door to the drawing room closed with a thud, and the suffocating silence choked her breath.
Only then did Isabel finally realize.
『 You may lose what is most precious to you 』
What she had lost — the most precious thing to her.
* * * * *
Isabel refused to give up. She did her utmost to try to sway Kyle's heart once more.
However, there was a fact she overlooked.
That was...
The wounds she had inflicted on Kyle's heart were deeper and more severe than she had imagined.
— Constantly treating me like insects, and now what? Trying to clear up misunderstandings?
Kyle spat, his eyes brimming with contempt and hatred.
— Are you sure? Are you absolutely certain about the past misdeeds you've heard about me?
He accused her of ignorance, of not trusting him.
Why didn't she believe him?
Why did she treat him so harshly, swept away by mere rumors?
— Vermin. Trash. Despicable human.
Those words, all spat out from his mouth like sharp blades.
— Shall I continue? Human scum. Horrible human. One deserving of damnation...
Those blades turned into boomerangs, relentlessly tearing at her skin.
— Strange. Why was I so obsessed with you?
I'm sorry.
The words of apology melted into a lump in her throat.
— Vermin, trash
— Just the same old insults I've heard every day. But hearing them directly from your mouth made it all the more miserable.
— As if I've truly become the scum you see me as.
Her throat felt like it had a thorn in it, and she couldn't speak. She couldn't breathe properly. Each word, each sentence, was like a stone hitting her.
That's when it happened.
The ring that Kyle had said he had thrown away was stuck in Isabel's eyes like a stake.
"You clearly threw it away-!"
For a moment, Kyle's face turned red with embarrassment.
For a moment, a glimmer of hope blossomed in a corner of Isabel's heart.
Maybe...
Maybe there was still a spark of affection left for him...
But that hope didn't last long.
"Young Miss! You'll never believe what I just saw - Kyle Winfred, alone with some woman, at a jewelry shop..."
Isabel's face contorted in anguish, tears streaming from her eyes.
"The engagement ring! Oh my god, you can't just sell your engagement ring at auction! Miss? Miss! Why are you crying...!"
Erika wiped the tears from Isabel's eyes with her sleeve, at a loss for what to do.
The black tar of regret festered in Isabel's heart.
Isabel, this damn girl.
She cursed herself, unable to bear the weight of her own actions.
"Ugh! Miss, please calm down...!"
Erika grabbed Isabel's arms, at a loss for what to do.
Isabel's strength was so strong that Erika had a hard time calming her down.
"He's selling the ring..." Isabel murmured.
Seizing the opportunity, Erika tried to reassure her, "Yes! It's great! Everything is going just as you said! You're finally breaking free."
— Annoying. When will I finally break free?
The piercing ringing in her ears felt like a sharp stab. The content echoed in her ears was oddly familiar.
'Ah, I...'
Yes, it felt like something she might have said one day while resenting Kyle. Not through someone else's mouth, but directly from her own cursed lips.
She gasped for breath intermittently, feeling like a person trapped in a space with sparse oxygen.
“...........”
Choking on her breaths, Isabel's trembling lips parted, her hands clasping her own throat in terror.
Kyle was erasing every trace of his love for her.
Shortly after, Isabel mustered a strained voice to give an instruction.
"...Find out the exact details of that auction."
