It wasn’t that noisy, which wasn’t so bad, either.

After a while, Aiden got up, and soon my brother and mother also woke up.

As soon as they saw me awake, they murmured something like ‘oh my god’ and embraced me tightly, so tight that it felt like my third rib snapped, making me feel like I would need to lie down for a while.

“I….I can’t breathe.”

I protested as I patted their backs, and the two of them were startled and quickly fell back. Their expressions were unreadable.

They were very relieved that I was awake, yet angry at me for doing something so dangerous… But then again, I was kidnapped and dragged away, so there wasn’t much to say.

Wow, their expressions were so blunt. I felt scolded even without hearing their voices.

“Father and… Sir Lucas haven’t come back yet?”

I asked cautiously, pretending not to notice the complicated expressions on their faces.

My mother answered, pushing my hair flowing over my face behind my ear.

“They returned yesterday. The wizards opened a passage for them. But they had some urgent matters to attend to today, so they went there. They’ll be back soon.”

Some urgent matters today… I was glad that those two had returned, but it was also disappointing not to be able to see them as soon as I woke.

Did my mental age get a little younger every time I died and came back? Or did my childishness increase?

“You were asleep for three days. You have no idea how worried we were.”

Brother said, wiping my face.

I know, I know. I know how worried you were. I vividly remember my brother lying face down on that last day.

But… I would have made the same choice even if I could go back to that day.
It would be better not to talk about such things right now, so I just nodded.

By the way, sleeping for three days… Perhaps I had accumulated fatigue from not being able to sleep during that time.

In the midst of exhaustion from lack of sleep, with plenty to worry about, I was kidnapped by the High Priest and strangled, hitting my head, and then jumped off the tower… It was chaos, to say the least.

“Our daughter… Mom is really… my heart is shaking.”

Mother touched my cheek and shed tears.

I reached out and wiped Mother’s tears. The flowing tears were hot. The dampness warmed my heart as it touched my fingertips.

I’m fortunate to be alive. Suddenly, that thought came to me.

Everything that happened felt like a dream, and now everything seemed calm.

* * *

Father and Lucas returned late in the evening. Only after being embraced in Father’s large arms, and surviving a secondary rib-collapse crisis, could I face Lucas.

It was a face I hadn’t seen in a long time. However, it didn’t feel awkward.

His flickering purple eyes seemed to contain a tremendous nagging.

“It’s been a while, Sir Lucas.”

“Yes, it has. I left for the war… but it was Selena who took down the High Priest.”

He spoke with a raised corner of his mouth, but his eyes seemed to hold no smile at all.

That was far more terrifying.

I nodded quietly, avoiding his gaze. Lucas looked at me intently for a moment, then erased his smirk and spoke again.

“You’re safe so it’s alright. But judging by the atmosphere… it seems like we’re back to square one.”

“Square one?”

“Yes. Back to the beginning, like before.”

Saying that, Lucas walked past me.

Back to the beginning… What did he mean by ‘before’?

And it was not long before I learned the meaning of his ‘before.’

* * *

Yes, the very next day.

From the next day onwards, a chair appeared in front of my room door.

Somehow… it was an oddly familiar scene.

“Jane.”

“Yes, Miss.”

Jane, sitting in the chair in front of the door, answered with a bright smile. I was captivated by her graceful appearance and extended my hand.

There wasn’t anything particular to discuss in the first place.

No, let’s leave Jane alone for now… but why on earth is he here…?

“Aiden.”

“Yes, Miss.”

While Jane sat in the chair on the right side of the door, Aiden was sitting in the chair on the left side of the door. Sigh… I couldn’t help but let out a sigh.

Yes, we were back to square one, all right.

Back to when I first arrived, the day after I was caught trying to jump off the bell tower. We were back to that day.

A little round of applause and respect to Lucas for his foresight displayed yesterday.

“I’m not here to spy on you, Miss. It’s just that with matters not completely settled yet, how could we know who might intrude next? It’s just a precaution.”

“Ah… I see. So, how long do you plan on staying as a precaution?”

Aiden just grinned without saying a word.

I rolled my eyes at that fake smile that I hadn’t seen in a long time.

Yes, it seemed like he was planning to stay for a while.

Yesterday, he held my hand and said he would return as a servant, speaking of…. He had returned to his position.

In a remarkably clever way, he had kept his authority intact and simply returned only to his physical position.

Haa… Well, I couldn’t say I didn’t understand.

I know our family’s worries were not ordinary.

Moreover, with this incident, even ordinary families would have acted unusually.

Brother had seen me kidnapped from my room while sleeping and then plummeting to the ground, strangled in the High Priest’s hand… Brother must have been utterly shocked to witness that.

Yes, I understand. Let’s be understanding. A life of understanding, how peaceful and pleasant it is. Besides, it’s not like I have any secrets to hide.

With that thought running through my mind, I buried my head in my pillow.

It reminded me of the time when I first came to this world. Remembering those days, I suddenly felt a strong urge to lie down in bed.

A place that felt like the home of my heart.

As I pulled the soft blanket up to my neck, I realized this was heaven.

Now that everything was over, I could finally relax and roll around without a care in the world.

With just that fact, nothing else really mattered anymore.

__