Chapter 1 (2/2)

But now, it seems like she was really about to die. Vivian lost consciousness and woke up repeatedly. Autumn had already passed, and winter was just around the corner.

And this is how she will die, forgotten by everyone. No one will remember her. That was her only comfort.

Her older sister, whom she had admired greatly, would only be free after her death, and the Summers would fly freely without the fetters of disgrace under her sister’s rule.

Her hand stroked her hair awkwardly, which made her laugh without a reason.

‘You’d only stroke me once when I’m about to die.’

As she barely lifted the eyelids that were heavy and hard to open, the image of her older sister that she hadn’t seen in a very long time looked blurred.

Vivian couldn’t see her sister’s expression.

“…Sis–ter.”

No.

Truthfully, Vivian was upset that her sister would feel relieved at her death. She was so upset that her sister would finally be freed when she died. Instead of being an existence that would free the fetters around her sister, she wanted to remain in her sister’s heart.

‘Well, I’m so pathetic.’

The whole room was red like the evening glow. That’s odd, didn’t the sun set a long time ago? Has the day changed?

Her brain wasn’t working. She tried to keep her eyes open and forcefully connect her disconnected thoughts. Because of the magic power, her vision flickered and became blurry, before returning back to normal.

“Look out of the window.”

Barely managing to turn her head at her sister’s whisper, Vivian stared blankly at the outside world. Although it was so beautiful that she wouldn’t take her eyes off it, she kept losing consciousness in between.

From above her flickering vision, her sister’s hand descended.

And she fell back into the darkness.

Her sister’s indifferent hand seemed to say that that’s enough.

“Vivi…”

Her sister’s whisper passed through her distant consciousness.

“―――――――.”

At twenty, at the beginning of winter, she died.

And…

“Vivian Summers.”

200 years in the distant future, her eyes opened at the Summers Mansion, in a world where magic has declined.

The problem was that it was no longer the Summers’ mansion, but the Deer’s mansion.

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“Huk!”

When Vivian opened her eyes, she found herself on a soft bed. Even after blinking multiple times, the fact that it felt unfamiliar did not change. A pleasant breeze blew in through the opened window.

“…I thought that I died.”

Was it an illusion?

As she stretched out her hand, it blocked the sunlight, and light reflected off her pale skin, revealing her veins clearly.

Still, it looked more like a human hand than a corpse’s. It was originally much paler than now, and it looked like a dry branch. The family ring on her index finger was also not loose.

As she slowly sat up, the blanket dropped down with a loud sound. It was a completely unfamiliar room. With a glance, it was evident that the room was made of the highest quality wood, and was lavish and glamorous, but it wasn’t her room.

“But why does it feel so familiar?”

No. The problem didn’t lie there.

‘I’m not dead, I guess I just lost consciousness.’

‘Did Sister succeed in saving me? It’s amazing how light my body feels.’

“It’s been a while since I’ve been in such good condition.”

Then, the door swung open.

The man entering moved naturally, as if he was entering his room. With a look of tiredness on his face, he stiffened when he made eye contact with Vivian, who was still on the bed.

‘Who is he?’

‘I’ve never seen him before.’

‘I wouldn’t have forgotten it if I had met someone that had an appearance like that.’

The man and woman stayed like that for quite a while without taking their eyes off each other.

The man with golden hair that even the sun would pale against opened his mouth, trying to form a sentence. From the looks of things, he seemed to be as bewildered as she was.

“Excuse me, may I ask where am I?”

But as she was about to continue speaking, he slammed the door shut with a loud bang. She flinched at the loud noise. He burst into dumbfounded laughter.

Although the room was spacious and there was quite a distance between the door and the bed, he strode with his long legs and reached right in front of her in a few steps.

Vivian didn’t realize that he was so tall when he stood by the door, but she had to crane her neck upwards for a moment to meet his eyes when he was in front of her.

His face was filled with various emotions.

The man suddenly lowered his posture. As she blinked at the suddenly lowered field of vision, he slowly spoke as if he had experienced a miracle.

“Vivian–”

‘He knows my name. Is he someone that Sister assigned to me?’

“Do you know me?”

“Summers.”

He nodded slowly in affirmation.

“Yes, I’m Vivian Summers.”

The man’s face was dyed with joy, and she only tilted my head as she couldn’t understand.

It was her first meeting with Edmund Deer.

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