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Chapter 27 – Luna Winfred (3)

“Ugh—!”

A rough breath burst out of Luna like someone who had been buried underground for a long time.

Beep—

Amidst the distant ringing in her ears, Luna slowly opened her eyes.

When she regained her senses and opened her eyes, Luna found herself inside the palace.

“…”

She should be dead.

Unable to bear the shock of losing Kyle, that terrible sense of guilt.

Together with the Winfreds, they had surely had their last supper…

“Ah.”

An instinctive realization struck Luna’s mind.

“…I’ve returned.”

The devil’s whisper asking if she wanted to start over from the beginning again became a clear reality before her eyes.

“Ha… Haha…”

Unable to believe it, her eyes wide with disbelief, and filled with joy.

Luna burst into hollow laughter.

Kyle is alive.

The fact was overwhelming, and she gasped for breath.

Luna muttered as she felt the heat of her cheeks burning.

“…How is this possible?”

Was it all just a long nightmare?

If not, did god answer her desperate prayers?

After pondering for a while, Luna soon got up from her seat and straightened her clothes.

“…”

There’s no time to dwell on unanswered questions.

If she had returned to the past, when exactly had she returned to?

And if she were to meet Kyle, how should she react?

Despite everything being in chaos, Luna had no intention of letting go of this golden opportunity given to her.

“First… let’s go outside.”

Luna cautiously took steps forward.

Her steps were filled with a faint excitement.

****

The situation wasn’t ideal.

Surprisingly, Luna’s return coincided with the imminent engagement of Kyle and Isabel.

Which ultimately meant that it was impossible to annul Kyle’s engagement through conventional means.

But there was a bigger problem.

Kyle loves Isabel.

In the midst of that, if she were to intervene and urge for the engagement to be broken, she would only be seen as a hindrance to Kyle.

It would have been better if it were further back in the past.

Before Kyle and Isabel’s engagement talks even began.

No, even before their relationship became so complicated.

It was then.

The moment she heard the news from the servant that Kyle wanted to break off his engagement with Isabel.

“Break off? Did you say he wants to break it off now?”

“Yes, Miss. The Young Master officially wants to end the engagement with Miss Isabel, and it’s already been agreed upon by the Duke.”

Luna was speechless.

Did the Kyle she knew, at this point in time, want to break off his engagement with Isabel?

And even that selfish Duke had agreed to Kyle’s engagement being annulled?

It couldn’t be true.

Unless Kyle had returned to the past like her…

‘Could it be…’

Suddenly, a chilling sensation pierced through her chest.

At the same time, a possibility dawned on her.

If Kyle had also returned to the past like her.

Preserving all those terrible memories originating from her, had he returned to the past?

If that were the case, could she ever be forgiven?

“…”

A profound resignation lingered on Luna’s face.

For that brief moment, it felt like plummeting to the depths of hell.

Cold sweat drenched her entire body.

“…There’s no time for this.”

She must return to the Duke’s estate immediately.

A determined thought dominated her mind.

Luna rushed towards the Duchess.

Moments later, a fierce struggle ensued between her and the despicable woman she had killed with her own hands.

“What? You need to return to the Duke’s estate?”

“Yes, right away.”

“Are you out of your mind? There’s still plenty of time before the schedule…”

“You came to the palace to meet a man, didn’t you?”

Luna coldly cut off the Duchess’s words.

Though she wished to plunge a blade into her throat right then and there, Luna restrained herself.

Assassinating the Duchess required caution in timing and method.

“Marquis Patrick. Do you think I was unaware of your intimate relationship with that man?”

“…You’re truly out of your mind.”

“Shut up.”

The Duchess was having an affair with Marquis Patrick.

Luna had discovered this fact after conducting thorough investigations before returning to the past.

“If it were to be revealed that the woman known for her modesty is, in fact, indulging in an illicit affair behind her husband’s back…”

“…”

The Duchess’s lips tightly sealed shut at Luna’s sharp remark.

No further conversation followed.

With a bluish face filled with indignation, the Duchess ordered Luna to return to the Duke’s estate.

After a few days, Luna finally arrived at the Duke’s mansion.

As soon as she got off the carriage, she searched for Kyle.

What should she say first when they meet?

From which point should she convey her true feelings to Kyle?

Her heart pounded with anticipation.

After a while, Luna found Kyle watching a female knight training in the middle of an empty training hall.

She struggled to maintain her crumbling composure.

The sight of Kyle, whom she had longed to see, filled her vision.

Luna cautiously called out to Kyle.

The mere thought of finally hearing Kyle’s voice sent her heart thumping with excitement.

Kyle stood there, silently observing her.

Eyes devoid of emotion, a face thoroughly indifferent.

Seeing him like that, Luna felt her mind go blank.

And above all.

‘…Knight Commander Diana.’

The supernova who would one day rise to the position of Commander of the Empire’s knights.

A woman with the exact same face as Knight Commander Diana was now sending hostile glares at her.

Was it really possible that Kyle had also returned to the past like her?

She couldn’t bring herself to believe it. No, she didn’t want to believe it.

She had to confirm Kyle’s reaction.

Driven by impatience, Luna began provoking Kyle in her usual manner.

That’s when it happened.

A coarse curse escaped from Kyle’s lips.

— Fuck your worries.

Kyle’s deeply sunken eyes pierced through Luna.

— Can’t you just leave?

— Seeing your face after so long makes me want to vomit.

But that’s not it.

The Kyle she knew wasn’t like this.

Her hands trembled, and her head spun.

— Who’s your brother?

Kyle.

My dear brother.

— Younger brother, bullshit.

— Why are you so surprised? Have you ever treated me like a younger brother even once?

Kyle glared at Luna with narrowed eyes.

In his fiery gaze, there was intense anger and disgust.

As a brother… Treated as a younger brother…

It should have happened. No, it must have happened. It couldn’t be otherwise.

Ah, I see.

I’ve never once treated Kyle as a brother.

Luna was speechless.

Her eyelids trembled with self-loathing.

She felt suffocated.

— There’s no way I’d waste my emotions over someone else’s words.

It hurt.

More than when she was struggling on the brink of death, poisoned by venom.

Luna had no choice but to admit it.

No, maybe she just didn’t want to admit it.

— Just act like a dog as usual.

— Because that’s who you are.

The innocent boy she remembered.

In the distant past, he had died at her hands.

***

Luna didn’t give up on watching over Kyle.

She instructed people to keep track of Kyle’s whereabouts and even participated in auctions to separate him from Isabel, that damned woman, as soon as possible.

For Kyle’s sake.

And for her own.

By making such efforts little by little, wouldn’t there eventually come a moment when her true feelings reached Kyle?

Luna gathered a handful of hope like building a sandcastle.

However, a handful of hope was just a handful of hope.

— How convenient.

The abyss of despair turned into a giant wave that swallowed Luna whole.

— Putting false accusations on me and publicly humiliating me, treating me like an idiot in front of the knights under the pretext of sparring, even throwing rotten food in my room, saying I’m Winfred’s disgrace.

The burden she had piled up pierced through her ears and split her mind in half.

It was agonizing.

— Because I was young. Because there was a good reason for it.

— And because I’m a bastard.

A tingling pain pricked her chest like a grain of sand.

— You don’t need to explain yourself to me.

— I told you last time. I don’t resent you.

— Younger brother, bullshit.

There was only you left for me.

And yet, I can’t even hold onto that.

It was cruelly empty.

The overwhelming agony made it feel like her soul was shattering into pieces.

Her palms were damp.

Huh, am I crying?

Why?

By what right?

Hahaha.

A mocking laughter bubbled up.

It was ridiculous.

Her own appearance.

In the midst of reflection.

In the midst of regret.

Kyle, you’re the only one left for me.

A completely shattered voice echoed through her mind.

She looked at the letter lying in the corner of the room.

A letter Kyle had given her long ago, congratulating her on her birthday.

“….”

Should I just give up?

Wouldn’t it be not so bad to just die like this?

Luna laughed out loud, screaming like a banshee.

As if struck by lightning, Luna leaped out of bed and collapsed on the floor.

The throbbing pain coursing through her body strangely felt satisfying.

So she laughed.

Yet, the tears streaming down were bitter.

Luna lay on the floor, staring up at the ceiling.

In the same position as when she was dying from poison.

“Kyle.”

Kyle.

Kyle Winfred.

My dear younger brother.

“…I’m sorry.”

I’ll protect you, brother.

“I… I.”

I have no one else but you

“…I can’t give up.”

So.

Please punish me just like you are now.

“Uh, Ugh…”

A madness flickered in Luna’s eyes.

****

It was a day with the full moon shining.

Kyle left the mansion.

Luna had anticipated it, but it still hurt.

The next day, Luna went to visit Count Yustia’s estate.

Isabel Yustia, that damn woman who poisoned Kyle.

She wanted to break her neck right then and there, but she restrained herself.

It wasn’t the right time.

— …Yes.

— I’ve also returned to the past.

Unbelievably, Isabel Yustia had returned to the past.

— If only we had more time.

— Kyle would understand my sincerity too.

That foolish woman.

It’s too late for both of us to seek forgiveness.

— It seems that the princess’s coming of age ceremony is soon…

Princess, Rudine Eckhart.

Kyle’s childhood friend.

And a woman more dangerous than anyone else in the Empire.

— Following the traces of the carriage, it’s highly likely that it’s headed for the Imperial Capital.

That day, Luna and Isabel headed to the Imperial Capital.

Upon arriving at the Imperial Capital, Luna and Isabel went straight to the Imperial Palace.

The Princess’s coming of age ceremony was more splendid than any other banquet.

But Luna’s only concern was Kyle.

As soon as she entered the banquet hall, Luna focused intensely on places where Kyle might be.

Finally finding Kyle, Luna saw him engaged in conversation with the Princess.

She bided her time.

To extract Kyle from there, she openly picked a fight with the Princess.

But the Princess requested Kyle’s escort, and Kyle left saying it’d be an honor.

It couldn’t be happening.

There were noble escorts designated specifically for escorting the Princess.

The future had changed.

That meant…

“Lady Luna, could it be…”

“…Yes.”

The Princess had also returned to the past.

Luna didn’t give up and pursued Kyle.

Seated at the high table with the Princess, Kyle conversed with the Emperor and then left together.

Luna, mingling with the crowd, continued to follow Kyle.

Finally, in a corridor, Luna met Kyle as he was leaving the reception room.

Desperately, she made him an offer.

Come back home.

I’ll take care of everything that threatens you.

Please, come back to me.

Kyle’s face was indifferent as usual.

There was no hint of any emotion, just weariness.

— There won’t be anyone threatening me?

— There is, right here.

Kyle approaching her seemed so vulnerable.

— Luna Winfred.

— Your very existence is a threat to me. Where could I go?

Kyle’s voice, chewing himself out, was sweet.

Even though it was excruciatingly painful, Luna was ecstatic that Kyle showed some interest in her.

— I’m sorry, but I won’t return to Winfred unless you go somewhere to disappear.

The malice in his words pierced Luna.

Seeing Kyle ready to speak of his own death made it hard for Luna to breathe.

— I’d rather die than go there.

Luna wiped her pale face with her hand.

Each word felt like a needle poking her, but the pain was so addictive.

That’s when it happened.

Cough—!

A thick, dark liquid spurted from Kyle’s lips.

Luna’s mind went blank with shock.

Blood. It was dark red blood.

Kyle, coughing up blood, chuckled painfully and writhed.

His pitiful sight tore Luna’s sanity apart.

“K-Kyle!!”

She rushed out and grabbed Kyle’s shoulders.

Kyle’s breathing in her arms began to fade.

No way.

If.

‘He… is dying again…?’

In front of her eyes.

If he dies in my arms like this.

At that moment, something translucent floated in the air.

[You may lose what is most precious to you.]

What is most precious.

It was my younger brother, Kyle.

Fear filled Luna’s dilated pupils.