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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 2
Chapter Title: Time Turned Back (2)
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‘Goddess, thank you.’
Rosette offered a silent prayer of thanks before speaking.
“Unni, you know that pink dress you bought the other day?”
“Yes.”
“Could you not wear it for a while?”
“That’s not a problem, but why all of a sudden?”
Rosette quickly came up with a plausible excuse.
“It’s so thin. If you wear it out, you’ll catch a feverish cold just like me.”
“Oh, I suppose you’re right.”
“Yes. Unni, now that I’ve been sick, I realize how awful it is. So let’s wait until spring to wear that dress. And when you do, always go out with me.”
“Why?”
“Because I want to see you looking pretty!”
As Rosette spoke, trying her best to sound like a child, Jane burst out laughing.
“You must really like that dress, huh? Alright. From now on, I’ll only wear it when I’m with my Rose. No, wait. I just won’t wear it. Come to think of it, I think it would suit you better than me. I’ll save it and give it to you when you’re a little older.”
“You don’t have to do that.”
“No, I’d like it better if you wore it, Rose.”
Seeing Jane's cheerful smile, Rosette felt her nose tingle again. She threw her arms around Jane again.
“Unni, for a while, just stay with me instead of going to the village.”
Jane gently patted her head.
“My Rose has gotten so clingy since she got sick, hasn’t she? Alright. I won’t go anywhere for a while; I’ll stay with you.”
“Promise.”
When Rosette held out her pinky, Jane hooked her own around it without hesitation.
“Yes, it’s a promise.”
Jane's hand was warm against hers. Unlike the cold, lifeless hand she held as Jane was dying, this one was full of warmth.
Rosette squeezed Jane’s hand and made another vow.
*I will save Jane, no matter what.*
*And unlike in the past, I will avoid Marquis Dallas and live happily with her.*
* * *
“...sette.”
“Mmm.”
At the buzzing voice in her ear, Rosette pulled the blanket over her head. Her body felt languid, and a wave of sleepiness washed over her. She wanted to be left alone to sleep.
But the unwelcome visitor seemed to have no intention of letting her rest.
“Hey, Rosette!”
A sharp shout followed, and the blanket was ripped away. As the covers that had cocooned her disappeared, a chill washed over her body.
“Get up for a second.”
Rosette immediately recognized the rough voice of the boy. It was Jude, the one who tormented her almost daily.
*Is he here to bother me again?*
Though he was a friend she was seeing again after returning to the past, her annoyance outweighed any sense of reunion, given the circumstances. Rosette’s voice was naturally sharp as she replied.
“Whaaat? Why are you waking up someone who’s sleeping?”
But her voice, heavy with sleep, came out limp and drawn out, contrary to her intent. She heard Jude chuckle.
“Hey, you sound like an idiot right now.”
“Did you come here just to make fun of me?”
“No, that’s not it.”
Rosette cracked open her eyes and glared at him. Jude fidgeted, nervously watching her reaction.
“Where’s Jane? I haven’t seen her for a while.”
Rosette yawned and answered dismissively.
“To the village… *yawn*… she went.”
“I saw her heading to the village, but she’s still not back?”
The nuance in the word ‘still’ felt wrong. Rosette glanced at the winter sunset, which was beginning to paint the sky orange, and asked in an anxious voice. When Jane had left for the village, the sun had been high in the sky at midday.
“Jude, how long has it been since she left?”
“Huh? Um, about an hour? No, maybe two hours now?”
It was a twenty-minute round trip to the village at a child's pace. Jane had declared she would be back quickly because she was worried about Rosette, so she should have returned long ago. There was no reason for her to be out for two hours.
Cold sweat trickled down her back. Her heart pounded, sensing danger instinctively.
“Huh? Rose? Hey, Rose! Where are you going?”
Rosette shot up and started running toward the village. Jude followed behind her, shouting, but she ignored him and kept running.
She was usually slower than Jude, but she didn't know where the strength came from as she quickly left him behind. She hadn't even had time to put on shoes, and though her bare feet ached from running, she couldn't bring herself to stop.
*Jane!*
*Please, let it not be what I'm thinking!* But a rising tide of anxiety blurred her vision with tears.
Because of that, she didn't see the rock on the ground and tripped, sprawling onto the path.
“Child, are you alright?”
A woman helped her up, but Rosette could only manage a quick nod before she took off running again. And when she reached the village, the scene that greeted her was horrific.
“Learned nothing but bad habits!”
“Is stealing the only thing you know how to do?”
The villagers were gathered in the small square. They had surrounded someone and were throwing stones.
The distance made it hard to see who was in the center, but Rosette knew with certainty that it was Jane.
Jane—the same Jane who had been smiling so kindly just two hours ago—was lying on the ground, covered in blood.
It was the exact same scene she had witnessed in the past.
*But Jane was wearing a different dress. Why?*
Why was this happening all over again?
Rosette realized the truth too late.
*The dress was just an excuse.*
The people didn't truly believe Jane had stolen anything. They just needed someone to take their frustrations out on.
This year, the harvest had been significantly smaller than the last due to low rainfall. Naturally, some people had fallen on hard times.
To their eyes, the sight of Jane, an orphan they considered beneath them and from whom they derived a sense of superiority, finding happiness was simply unbearable. The new dress was just a pretext.
If not the new dress, it would have been the money she had, or the snacks she bought. There were plenty of excuses.
She only understood this now, after turning back time. Her plan to protect Jane had been an impossible dream from the start. No matter how she had tried to avoid it, Jane would have suffered the same fate.
But one thing had changed: Rosette. She was no longer the coward from the past who had hidden and trembled in fear of the venomous crowd.
Rosette screamed and plunged into the crowd.
“Stop hurting my sister! You devils!”
“Who's this kid?”
“What? Devils?”
Ignoring the murmuring crowd, Rosette ran to Jane and held her. Even while bleeding, Jane was clutching a paper bag protectively.
This, too, was the same as before. Jane must have gone out to buy snacks for Rosette with the money she had saved, just as she often did.
*You fool. What's so special about a useless little sister like me?* Tears of sorrow fell like raindrops on Jane’s bloody forehead.
“U-Unni. Open your eyes. Please? Unni…”
No matter how many times she called, Jane didn't move.
This was the happiness she had barely managed to reclaim by turning back time. The two days she had spent with Jane were far happier than the twelve years she had lived at the Dallas estate. She had thought only happy days remained, but how could she have made such a mistake?
*It's all my fault. If only I had known this would happen and stopped her...*
This time, stones began to fall on Rosette's body. The sound of cackling laughter and venomous voices was terrifying.
“It’s because of things like you that the goddess is angry and the harvest failed!”
“None of this would have happened if you vermin hadn’t been leeching off us!”
That wasn't true. They had never once leeched off anyone.
The orphanage where Rosette lived was run by the temple and subsisted mostly on donations of goods and money from noble families. They had never once leeched off or begged from these people.
So why did they blame them?
But Rosette couldn't argue with them. Right now, Jane was all that mattered.
“Unni, please, just breathe.”
If she was just breathing, if she was still breathing, Rosette could save her. She was no longer the helpless, incompetent little girl from the past.
Just then, Jane let out a breath she had been holding. Overcome with joy, Rosette placed a hand on Jane's forehead.
*Wait, is this really okay?*
She had a nagging feeling that if she used this magic, Marquis Dallas would find her. Her vow to escape him and live happily with Jane would be shattered, and she would be caught in his grasp once more.
But her hesitation was brief. She would be happy even living in hell, as long as Jane was safe.
Without further hesitation, Rosette channeled her mana. The mana was immense for her small body to handle, and a pain like fingernails scraping her insides flared up.
Swallowing the warm substance rising in her throat, Rosette cast a healing spell on Jane.
A light emanated from where she touched Jane, and Jane's wounds began to slowly disappear.
The gash on her forehead from a stone, her scraped knee from the fall, the sole of her foot pierced by a rock after her shoe came off—all of it healed without a single scar.
Her forehead was so perfect that, if not for the bloodstains, no one would know she had been injured. Jane didn't open her eyes, but her breathing was even, as if she were merely asleep.
The people watching the spectacle all fell to their knees.
“A Saintess?”
“The Saintess has appeared!”
“Saintess, my child is sick, too. Please, just take a look.”
Rosette felt sick watching the people's sudden change in attitude. She was the same person she had been before and after healing Jane. So why had they scorned and despised the Rosette from before, yet revered her now?
Why were these people, who had just been throwing stones at her, now showing her favor?
Just as Rosette was about to say something to them.
“Have you no conscience?”
An angry voice rang out from the entrance of the square. The man's voice wasn't particularly loud, but its heavy, low tone seemed to fill the entire square.
The voice was unfamiliar yet somehow familiar, and Rosette's shoulders flinched.
And when the man parted the crowd and approached her, she nearly had a seizure.
“Are you alright?”
The man with platinum blond hair and violet eyes extending a polite hand to her was undoubtedly Duke Adrian.
He looked younger than she remembered, but it was definitely Duke Adrian. She could never forget that beautiful and unusual hair color.
He was also the man who had died by Rosette's magic in the past.
At the same time, she remembered Joshua, crying before her in his final moments.
Why, of all times, did he come to mind now?
“What is your name?”
Rosette, lost in the memory of Joshua's face, was snapped back to reality by Duke Adrian's sudden question.
“Rosette… my name is.”
“Rosette. Then your nickname must be Rose. A pretty name that suits your hair.”
Despite the compliment, Rosette couldn't manage a word of thanks. Ever since she had laid eyes on Duke Adrian, her body had been trembling like a leaf.
