A few days passed.
Right after we returned to the mansion, I ca down with a weak sickness. In the end, by the duke’s strict orders, Zerox’s personal physician was dragged all the way to Ipsun.
I learned the outco of the kidnapping case half-asleep, overhearing the adults’ conversations.
Licht, Titi, and Olivia returned ho safely. All the criminals were caught and thrown into prison.
Asha nearly beca another suspect in the case, accused of approaching the girls, but thanks to the testimony of Licht and the children, she barely cleared her na.
As for , I just slept and slept, as if to refill the strength that had been drained from .
“Looks like you’ve caught a cold. Rest well for a few days...”
Borvel, after carefully examining , said it was just from being drenched in the rain.
A cold.
So when I finally let go of the tension I’d been clinging to... sothing like this could get .
Half-dreaming, I thought faintly as the chill pressed against my forehead.
Why won’t the fever go down?
Why am I crying so much?
An anxious voice buzzed in my ears.
It was strange. Even in sickness, I kept crying. My eyes burned with fever, tears spilling out.
But if I were honest... it happened whenever I felt Dad’s touch.
Every ti he touched , the tears ca.
“Suddenly calling him Dad? It feels weird.”
“You liked it when we adopted her.”
“Well, yeah, but she doesn’t act like a normal kid.”
“Right, she’s always watching people’s moods. Feels cunning sohow... not like I expected.”
Past-life mories stord through .
Hearing those voices through the bedroom door, I had wanted to argue.
You’re the ones who made walk on eggshells. Then why adopt at all? You should’ve just bought a doll.
But instead, not wanting to return to the orphanage, I kept my head down and stayed silent.
“Children with adoption history need love and care the most.”
When those words ca from my second parents through their internet broadcast, I was wandering a dark alley, clutching my empty stomach.
They weren’t openly cruel like the first ones, but...
“I’m sorry. Life got too hard, we can’t keep you.”
“You never called us mom ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) or dad anyway. That hurt our channel. Wasn’t this house uncomfortable for you too?”
I’m not an item to borrow and return when convenient.
I wanted to scream, but I didn’t. Enduring had beco routine.
After two abandonnts, back at the orphanage, I stumbled upon a novel.
A ruined land, a hero rising again, planting his sword in the earth. That scene gave comfort.
Could I ever rise again too?
But I had no sword, nothing. Too weak, too small to endure the storm of life.
I read and reread the first volu, the one with Leviathan. When he died, I wept into my blanket.
If I were you, I would’ve felt so wronged.
To endure so much, only to die in vain.
“That’s why... I wanted to protect you.”
Maybe that’s why I reincarnated into this world.
Honestly... I was a little glad.
Yes, it was harsh and painful, but for once I felt like I had a chance to change sothing.
So from the battlefield onward, I tried—just a little—
To help you.
...
...
Wait.
A thought struck through the haze.
When I went back to the orphanage...
Didn’t I give up my phone? The public computer was locked, too.
Then how did I even read that novel?
At that mont—
No.
A familiar voice swept away the illusion.
Darkness spread before my eyes, endless.
Not yet.
In the center of the dark, a single bright light floated.
“Who are you? Why are you speaking in my head?”
And then I realized.
It was the presence inside —the magical knowledge, the one called Wisdom of Wizeria.
“What do you an, not yet?”
It’s not ti. But... yes. These mories—I’ll return them now.
The light flared. I squeezed my eyes shut as it burst around .
Spinning, spinning—then stillness.
I was back in my old life.
Crying under the orphanage blanket, my phone glowing by my pillow.
Why was I crying?
Because my favorite character had suddenly died.
Why had he died?
At last, the mist cleared.
Now I knew the answer.
He was killed.
“The price of opposing our king is death.”
A man in white priest’s robes, a brand carved into his right arm...
A royal court magician.
Khalid slowly opened the bedroom door.
He stepped lightly toward the sleeping Rubian.
In the moonlight through the window, sweat glistened on her round forehead.
“...”
He spotted a wet cloth and gently wiped her face. She groaned softly, trapped in a nightmare.
“Don’t be sick.”
Khalid bit his lip, carefully holding her small hand.
“If you’re sick... I don’t know what to do.”
He pushed mana into her, but her brow stayed furrowed.
“I’m sorry. Because of ...”
He had promised to protect her, yet she suffered again.
Khalid sighed deeply, blaming himself. Then—
“...Ruby?”
Her eyelids fluttered open.
“You’re awake? Your eyes...”
A fierce red glow whirled in Rubian’s pupils.
Khalid frowned.
Whenever she used Wizeria’s power, her eyes turned like that. She could pull impossible spells straight from the sea of wisdom.
Because of it, people thought her eyes were naturally ruby-colored. Useful for hiding, perhaps. But to Khalid—
“Damn.”
His stomach turned.
So she was never given a single mont of rest.
Her power had been exploited endlessly. Maybe that was why her growth had stalled.
The thought alone made him want to tear everything apart.
“...Khal.”
Her weak voice broke the silence.
“Don’t strain yourself. Did you have a nightmare?”
He held her hand tighter. Her drowsy gaze lifted.
“Sleep again. I’ll stay. Or... should I call the Duke of Jebert?”
At that, her small shoulders trembled. Her eyes, now blue again, filled with tears.
“Why are you crying? Are you in pain?”
Rubian shook her head.
“In the dream... soone died.”
“Who?”
“Leviathan...”
Khalid froze.
“A magician killed him... but I don’t know who... I don’t know...”
She whispered incoherently.
“Ruby, calm down.”
“I have to find out...”
Khalid thought she was delirious with fever. He quickly pushed more mana into her.
Her rambling faded, and she weakly closed her eyes again.
“...Have to save Leviathan...”
Her forehead burned again as he touched it. Her head dropped limply.
For the first ti in years, Khalid felt utterly powerless.
“I really wish I could take the pain instead.”
Guilt and fury twisted together in his chest.
If only he hadn’t let her slip away at the hot spring...
That night dragged on endlessly for the boy.
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