Then, she calmly separated her upper body and extended her hand toward Asralda, as if requesting a handshake.

Asralda looked down at the hand Marinda was holding out. She didn’t show it, but she was somewhat tense.

For Marinda, who had spent her whole life as Lady Muriel, it was a constant practice in her mind to avoid any slip of the tongue.

She thought that even if she held Asralda’s hand, who was a woman with a sharp mind, she couldn’t refuse it immediately.

‘But I never expected her to accept it so readily.’

Of course, the words Marinda had just said to Asralda were not entirely false. Most of them were sincere.

Asralda held her hand with as composed an expression as possible.

The clasped hands in mid-air soon separated again as Asralda let go first.

Leaning her back against the backrest, Marinda spoke slowly.

“So, have you thought of a way to bring Aiden down?”

Asralda nodded.

“For starters, send a secret letter once a week without Aiden knowing.”
“A letter?”
“Yes. The recipient will be Aiden, and the sender will be Oscar Grantry.”

Oscar Grantry? At the familiar name, Marinda stared at her, taken aback.

“Write my father’s name on it.”

***

Marinda left the room and headed towards the garden.

She had a feeling that things would resolve more easily than she had expected.

After finishing their conversation, she held back those who were about to leave and recalled the conversation she had with Asralda.

‘And finally, one more thing. Do you happen to have any sleeping pills?’
‘Sleeping pills?’
‘Not something strong, just enough to help me fall asleep naturally.’

From the flow of the conversation and the meaningful expression, it was clear that she wanted to feed it to Aiden. But Marinda didn’t ask anything and handed her insomnia medication.

At first, I was suspicious of her intentions for coming to me, but it didn’t seem like she was telling lies no matter how you looked at it.

No, her eyes were rather filled with determination.

Come to think of it, it wasn’t strange at all. On the contrary, considering what happened in the previous regression, holding back and not killing Aiden right away was forgivable.

Marinda arrived in the garden with light footsteps.

Under the sky where the setting sun had begun to sink, the summer flowers were in full bloom in various places.

She, who was wandering in the garden, soon stopped her steps in the corner of the garden.

Inside the modestly built arch-shaped dome in the garden, Kyle was there. He was sitting on a white velvet chair inside the dome, looking at the water stream pouring from the opposite fountain.

Probably because of the sunlight shining down, Kyle’s hair seemed undeniably cold, but the scenery appeared very warm and gentle.

Unconsciously lost in thought as she gazed at the sight, Kyle felt Marinda’s presence, turned around, and looked back.

When Marinda quickly approached and sat in the chair opposite him, he asked.

“Why didn’t you just call me?”
“No, I just wanted to get some fresh air and came out.”

Kyle, tilting his head, quickly looked in Marinda’s direction and asked.

“What about Louis?”
“Louis went ahead in the carriage. So, what do you want to talk to me about?”

His gaze shifted back to Marinda again.

“Do you remember?”
“What?”
“On my twelfth birthday when you gave me a necklace as a gift.”
“……”
“For some reason, you insisted that I wear it around my neck when I sleep and when I bathe.”

Marinda’s lips curved into a gentle smile as she looked at Kyle.

But it was fleeting. She nodded casually.

“Okay. I remember.”
“And do you remember how you got mad at me for not wearing it after I lost it soon after?”
“Yes, I remember.”

Then, as if reaching into his uniform pocket, Kyle pulled out something.

“I happened to find it again recently.”
“You found it again?”

Marinda’s voice was frozen in surprise, even though she didn’t mean to sound that way.

A golden thread shimmered in the air.

What Kyle took out was a small white jewel hanging from a thin gold chain. It was so small that it felt like a grain of sand.

Placing it on the table, he looked at Marinda, who was frozen in place.

“I have something to ask you about this jewel.”

Her heart sank.

What Kyle handed her was a part of the jewel she had. The one she had given him as a gift when they were very young.

“When?”

Marinda blurted out the question. Then, realizing how sharp her voice sounded, she closed her mouth.

Marinda tried to hide her anxiousness and forced a smile as she asked again,

“When did you find it?”

Kyle looked at her with an indiscernible gaze before answering,

“Not too long ago. Three days ago?”
“Three days ago?”
“Yeah. Claire found it in her room and sent it to me with a letter.”

Claire was Kyle’s only younger sister. Marinda knew her well as they had grown up together.

A sense of relief washed over Marinda’s frozen expression, but she couldn’t let her guard down just yet. It was possible that he knew everything and had come to confront her. The fact that he was asking about the jewel was already nerve-wracking.

“What do you want to ask about the jewel?”

Jewels are not restricted by time. Just owning them can preserve their owner’s memories.

If Kyle had possessed the jewel since a previous life…

‘Then Kyle must also remember what happened before.’

It was the worst-case scenario that Marinda didn’t even want to imagine.

She had always excluded Kyle from anything that could reveal her true self, even through multiple regressions. She could remain the gentle and innocent Marinda in front of him forever.

Kyle opened his mouth.

“Where did you buy this jewel?”
“It’s my mother’s heirloom.”

Marinda replied calmly, staring at Kyle with her brown eyes.

“It’s a jewel that she gave me as a gift when I was young, and I took part of it and made a necklace out of it. I don’t know what it’s made of or who crafted it, so I don’t know why you’re asking about the jewel. I just heard from my mother that it’s a very rare jewel.”
“Your mother’s heirloom?”
“Yeah. Why are you asking about the jewel?”

Marinda opened her eyes and put her thin hand on her lips as if surprised and embarrassed.

“Wait a minute. Did I say something I shouldn’t have?”

Marinda looked at Kyle’s face with a troubled expression.

“It’s an heirloom… Is it too much for you to handle? If it’s a burden, I can look for something else.”

Then she reached out to take the jewel on the table, but Kyle’s large hand grabbed it first. He put the jewel back into his own pocket with a smile and shook his head.

“No, it’s not a burden at all. I’ve met your mother many times, too.”
“…… “
“Now that I know how valuable it is, I’ll cherish it even more.”

With that, Kyle stood up from his seat. He acted as if he had only come to ask about the jewel.

“I should go now. Louis must be waiting.”

Kyle’s behavior seemed strange to Marinda. She gnawed at her lips uneasily.

But when Kyle’s gaze returned to her, he smiled brightly as if nothing had happened.

“Okay, be careful going back. Kyle.”

***

On the way back to Ashard Castle by carriage, darkness had descended and spider webs had gathered around them.

When the lights of the castle began to appear beyond the carriage window, Kyle suddenly called her.

“Louis.”
“Yes?”
“I want to ask you why you decided to cross-dress.”

The sudden question made Asralda freeze up without her even realizing it.

“Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve ever heard of it before.”

Although Kyle had made some bold confessions to her, he always kept a certain distance. Since he had never asked her anything that would make her uncomfortable, Asralda was very surprised.

However, Asralda answered with an indifferent attitude, not revealing her feelings.

“I just did it in the moment to avoid the situation.”

But Kyle didn’t seem to be willing to let it go easily. One question led to another, making Asralda feel more and more uneasy.

“What was the price? For the encounter in the forest?”
“What do you mean?”
“You didn’t get caught by Aiden, did you?”
“No… I wasn’t caught.”
“But why did Aiden keep you locked up?”
“Well, he thought I might try to escape again….”
“Then why did he suddenly release you after only a day?”
“That’s….”
“Why did Aiden allow you to go out in this situation?”
“……”
“What did you talk about with Marinda today?”

As the questions poured out like a machine gun, the carriage suddenly lurched and stopped like a savior.

Asralda jumped up from her seat as if she had been thrown off.

“Sorry, but the lady told me to keep it a secret… I’ll go now.”

Then she quickly jumped out from under the carriage without even saying goodbye. At that moment, Kyle’s sharp voice was heard from behind her.

“Madam Chlorus.”