Even at Philip’s words, Riv just smiled coldly.
A magic that reversed time.
She had no choice when she did it. Maybe he knew that, too.
There was nothing after death. She had already experienced it.
Even if the reason Riv was revived was to be taken advantage of by Lionel’s ancestors, their purposes ultimately coincided as one.
“What does the priest want from me?”
“Well.”
Riv pressed Phillip just to be certain.
“Did God send you? Or the Bishops’ Church?”
“God does not extend his power to such a place. The Bishops’ Church has no interest in the Duchess.”
“Then why?”
“I am here to correct fate.”
Just then, Aiden appeared behind Riv, along with the unnamed dog.
“Madame? I thought I heard someone else, are you alone?”
Philip had disappeared.
Riv looked around the castle ruins, noting the long and dark shadows cast by the broken walls.
Philip might be hiding in the shadows, watching her.
“I was just talking to myself.”
“I know it must be frustrating.”
Riv pretended to agree and nodded her head.
Returning to the villa, she spoke to the dog.
“Will Lionel come back?”
Even now, she wanted to see him. She wanted to save him.
But it was not time yet.
Riv brushed the dirt and leaves from her dress.
The more she thought about Lionel, the more distressed she became.
“Can you show him to me?”
Riv was able to borrow the powers of the land to see anyone she wished.
The pendant hanging from her neck glowed red. Its magic was activated.
“Show me Lionel.”
Riv’s ‘eyes’ flew to the Ezul Plains in the far North.
The prosperous land was a mess because of the fierce months-long battle.
The armies of both countries faced each other across a wide plain.
A general from the Southern camp’s barracks glared across the plain.
Upon hearing the name of the Duke of Sentoren, they could not invade the Ezul Plains nor could they give up, so they cursed him and continued their confrontation.
Riv’s consciousness plunged towards Lionel.
– Lionel!
Lionel unconsciously looked up at the sky. He murmured as if he felt her presence.
– Riv?
At that moment, Riv’s connection was severed.
***
Riv had a dream that night.
She could see the late Duchess wearing the heirloom of the Duchy, an old ruby ring.
She was easily recognizable because she looked exactly like her portrait. Riv had seen it often. It hung at the top of the staircase in the Duke’s mansion in the Capital.
– Helen.
Riv approached her, calling her name.
The pendant hanging from Riv’s neck gave off a dazzling light. Their bodies were engulfed in red.
Helen’s figure morphed.
She grew reliable shoulders and wide arms. She morphed into the man who provided comfort and protection to Riv.
A person Riv loved so much, but she had no choice but to wait desperately for.
-Lionel.
-You’re still alive, right?
Riv’s body gradually sank into the floor. It felt like she was being submerged in a bottomless sea.
Above the water, she could barely see Lionel’s face.
He extended his hand towards Riv.
– Can I grab it?
Someone whispered in Riv’s ear.
– He’ll be back. So, take that hand.
Riv grabbed Lionel’s hand.
Her surroundings were still unusually dark.
Riv sank further down, pulling Lionel with her until suddenly, she was pulled to the surface.
***
When Riv woke up from her dream, she went out into the wilderness.
It was an all black world. Like her dream, everything was so dark that it was impossible to tell whether she was looking at the deep blue sea or a dark sky.
The wind blew lightly around Riv. It carried a vision.
She saw Lionel dressed in military uniform, with his long platinum blonde hair blowing behind him. Perhaps because he was upset, his scar appeared violently red.
He was on the Ezul Plains.
Lionel shouted in the direction of the enemy.
After several months of sluggish confrontation, the enemy suddenly attacked.
There was brief chaos in Lionel’s barracks.
Lionel quickly grasped the situation and took the lead.
Boom! The sound of cannons burst in her ears.
She felt like she was really there, though she knew it was just a vision. Her ring, the heirloom of the Duke hanging from her neck, emanated a red light.
Fire rained down on Lionel.
“This was the moment of his death.”
Riv looked into the future and murmured.
By Riv’s side, the faint energy of Lionel’s ancestors wailed ominous cries.
“I’ll make sure you don’t feel sad.”
Riv said repeatedly to herself.
***
Riv waited for a few days.
She now had a reason for staying in this land.
But she still struggled, because she couldn’t go North to find Lionel.
This all had to do with the cause of her revival.
“I couldn’t have survived without the Duchess’ ring.”
Riv recalled the moment when Princess Marianne killed her.
She remembered how she was frostbitten, and then burned to death. She remembered the pain. She remembered how there was nothing after death.
“I can’t let anyone but me go through that pain, right? You all want that as well, right?”
It was not a noble self-sacrifice.
She lived when she should have been dead.
And there was a favor that had to be repaid to those who brought her back to life.
That, too, was what Riv wanted.
The time had come for destiny to change.
Riv walked into the darkened wilderness. At night, when everyone was asleep, the world was filled with only silence.
“Please wait.”
The power that flowed from her silenced her surroundings. Now, no one in the mansion would notice Riv’s work. The cold air penetrated Riv’s body as if it was cutting through her flesh.
“Wait.”
Repeating herself, Riv looked up at the sky.
A half moon stood high in the clear sky. The moonlight seemed particularly bright.
“It’s today.”
Today, Lionel’s fate would change.
Riv ran towards the ruins of the Sentino castle.
As she jumped over the crumbling walls, she saw a huge hall where the throne room might have been.
Even though the walls had crumbled and there was barely anything left, a throne remained.
The souls of the Sentino and Sentoren family still remained here.
“Do you want to protect Lionel?”
Was it them who led Riv to Lionel, or was it fate?
Before Riv’s eyes, the faint souls of Lionel’s ancestors formed into a rough human outline.
Their wish was one.
Since Riv was perhaps the last witch in the world, she had appealed to them to turn back time and in turn, changed her fate.
“I changed Lionel’s life and his destiny.”
When Riv died, Lionel was alive.
But after she returned, Lionel would probably die.
That was his fate.
Riv’s relationship with Lionel moved his death to several months earlier.
“That’s why I am here.”
Was Riv’s wish the reason why she was alive, or was it the magical power of the Sentoren family?
Riv scattered the tools she had filled with magic all around her.
Her ability to change fate had been taught to her by this land.
The ghostly form began to recite a spell with her.
Magical characters floated above the tools.
The ring hanging from Riv’s neck shone.
“Lionel.”
The land he was in was far away. That meant they would need more power.
The outcome that Riv didn’t want would happen soon.
Her power surged. Now she had enough power to reach Lionel.
The ring hanging from Riv’s neck strained against the chain and radiated red light. It was almost blinding.
Her surroundings quickly melted away.
On Ezul Plains, a battle had begun.
An enemy attack.
The soldiers, who were relaxing after a few months of small battles, were perplexed by the sudden attack.
They were chaotic and disjointed soldiers. Lionel lost his composure trying to direct them.
His face was bruised, and his untrimmed platinum hair was long enough to cover his forehead.
-Lionel.
He felt like a stranger to her. He screamed angrily as they prepared for the first attack.
Blood stained the golden wheat on the plains.
“It’s a surprise attack!”
The enemy targeted Lionel.
They diverted his attention and immediately aimed for his heart.
It seemed that they had waited months for this moment.
Riv reached out her hand.
Magical characters unfolded from her fingertips. Her magic that had been accumulated in the magic tools were carried here through the characters, and headed towards Lionel.
Fate and the magic to change it fought fiercely.
And at some point, magic swallowed fate.
Red light spread in all directions, completely obscuring Lionel. And in a moment, it was gone. The magic was gone.
Riv sighed heavily and sat down.
“Hah.”
The tools that were scattered around her had turned to ash.
“I’m dizzy.”
Her whole body was exhausted. She couldn’t even walk. Her magic and her stamina had been exhausted at once.
Philip, holding a lamp, appeared in front of her.
***