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I hastened my steps to catch up with her, but the distance between us did not narrow no matter how far I walked. My mind struggled to comprehend what was happening as my mother continued to move farther and farther away.

“Mom.”

I hurriedly called after her, but she didn’t even look back.

“Mom!”

Even when I started to shout, nothing changed. My mother still did not look back at me, and then I noticed what the problem was.

Mom isn’t getting faster—I’m the one who is slowing down.

As soon as I figured out the issue, I became aware of the heaviness weighing upon my steps, as if someone was clinging desperately to my legs.

No! I can’t stay here. I can’t lose my mom.

I tried my best to move forward, but no matter how hard I struggled against this invisible force, I couldn’t reach my mother. Her figure grew smaller and smaller as she moved farther away, threatening to disappear from my sight.

No, don’t go! Mom!

“Mom!” I screamed. “Mom! Mom!”

I labored hysterically to make any sort of sound, but there was an obstruction in my throat. My voice still couldn’t reach her, and I had no energy left to move. It was like my legs were glued to the floor. No matter how hard I tried to move toward her or call for her, nothing changed.

No, please move! No, help me…

My vision blurred. Tears spilled from my eyes when I saw my mother’s figure dissipate and scatter into the wind, like a mirage. At that moment, my voice returned, and I let out a hopeless cry.

If I had known this would happen, I wouldn’t have acted so harshly toward her.

The morning before I woke up in Riddel’s body, I had fought with my mother. Back then, I had no idea that I wouldn’t be able to meet her again. I regretted everything: the fight, my words, and the way I had stormed out without apologizing. There was nothing I wouldn’t give to see her again.

My mom, dad, younger brother, and friends… I had never truly considered how precious they were to me until I came to this strange and lonely world and lost them.

Right now, am I dead or alive to them?

The last thing I remembered before waking up in Riddel’s body was that I had gotten into a car accident. But that didn’t necessarily mean that I was dead, right? There could be a possibility that I survived and my original body was just in a coma…

But…

What if I really was dead in my world? No, it can’t be—I haven’t even apologized to my mom yet. There’s so much I still want to say to her.

I’m sorry, Mom. Really, I’m so sorry.

“I’m sorry.”

My legs suddenly lost all their strength and I collapsed to the floor. Sobs wracked my body as I sat helplessly sprawled out on the ground. I didn’t know how much time had passed since I started crying. Then, out of nowhere, I felt the air change. My surroundings were quickly plunged into darkness, and I could hear a mixture of voices murmuring anxiously from somewhere, but my mother’s voice was not among them.

Ah? I think I hear someone familiar.

I tried to focus on that distant sound. At that moment, a cold sensation touched my forehead.

What is this? Snow?

As I looked up, I saw a delicate, white flurry drifting softly onto my face from above. It was really strange.

“… Cold,” I murmured as the icy particles grazed my skin.

I stretched out my hands to grab at the snow.

It feels good.

Funny enough, the snow felt strangely warm and comforting, even though I knew snow was supposed to be cold. It was as if the little, icy flakes were soothing me. Slowly, the darkness started to ebb. The shadows in my vision also gradually faded away, and the snow melted and disappeared.

Only

Wait, don’t go. No, don’t melt. No…

In my half-conscious state, I could hear that worried voice again. I wasn’t sure what they were saying or who it belonged to.

****

The mansion was gripped by a tense silence. Almost all the servants were gathered in one room, but no one dared to make a sound. Only Riddel’s breathless panting interrupted the otherwise strained atmosphere. Kyle paced restlessly in front of the bed with a frightfully dour expression.

“What the hell is happening?” he barked at his terrified staff, demanding answers they could not give. “What’s wrong with her? Why isn’t her fever going down?”

“That… that’s…”

“Why hasn’t she recovered after taking your medicine?!”

The Archduke shouted furiously, like a raging beast. His face held nothing but contempt for the trembling physician before him. The doctor could feel the murderous intent emanating from Kyle. His face turned deathly pale. As the Romani family’s personal doctor, he had dutifully been overseeing their care for the past fifteen years. He had treated the Archduke since he was a young boy, even before he was afflicted by the dragon’s curse, which was why he was one of the manor’s few long-standing employees. Because he knew what Kyle had been like before his curse, the doctor still had faith in the Archduke and refused to quit his position.