“Well, the Ardion I saw on the battlefield was the same Ardion I saw before.”

    “...”

    “Oh, there was a difference. That crazy dog ??sang a song about wanting to smell lilacs at night and missing it.”

    It was the first time I heard that story. I never imagined that he would think of me that much there.

    While I didn’t answer, Serina said, “I didn’t know what he meant then, but it turns out he was talking about you.”

    “...”

    “How interesting. The old Ardion wasn’t like this.” She smiled at me.

    “So, you’re working under Rowell because you want revenge on Ardion?”

    “I’m not working under Rowell. I’m just doing it because I want to.”

    “Why in the world would you want to do that?”

    “He ruined my life like that, so shouldn’t his life be ruined as well?”

    I had nothing to say to that. Of course, the old Ardion did wrong Serina. He had locked her up, making her lose her freedom, and obsessed over her until the end.

    But the current Ardion was a different person than that timeline.

    “Ardion didn’t do that to you this time.”

    “I know, but what does that matter? At least I remember what happened to me.”

    “So, you tried to kill me too?”

    “Well, I couldn’t help it. I needed the necklace around your neck, but I didn’t think you’d take it off easily.”

    My mind went blank when I heard that. I barely exhaled and said, “... You didn’t lure me back then, did you?”

    “You didn’t know that I moved around wearing that cloak on purpose?”

    In the end, it was no different from me being attacked by her. The Serina in the original story had totally disappeared. She was totally a different person now.

    Looking at her, I raised my voice in anger. “Then, does that give you the reason to kill innocent people at the cost of killing Ardion?”

    Serina stared at me blankly. “Actually, I’ve been waiting for this moment. I’ve really wanted to kill Ardion, but I couldn’t before. And now that the opportunity has come... I can’t help it.”

    Her expression changed in an instant. The corners of her mouth that had been smiling faintly were now completely frozen, and her eyes were shining brightly.

    I didn’t know that Serina would be so consumed by revenge from the original story. I just thought she would accept everything and live on because it seemed that way at the end of the story.

    I thought that’s how the story ended in the original...

    My mind felt complicated again. Was I in a book or reality?

    Seeing my expression distort, Serina said, “But you don’t seem that surprised. Whenever I said something like that, people usually thought I was crazy.”

    “There are many things in the world that can’t be explained in words.”

    “Then you’ve experienced something like this before, right?”

    I raised my head; Serina tilted her head. For a moment, I felt strange looking at her.

    I didn’t want to stay here any longer. I wanted to get out of here as soon as possible.

    I soon walked to the collapsed Derol, put him in my pocket, and left the forest. However, the more I walked, the more confused I became.

    I had used too much mana.

    Why did I have so little mana?

    Was it because Ardion didn''t give me enough mana?

    I couldn’t believe it.

    Could it be because Serina took my mana, and that side effect made me lose strength so easily?

    A healer was not a healer for nothing. All sorts of thoughts ran through my head, but before I could support myself with another tree, I lost all my strength and collapsed on the spot.

    ? ? ?

    A rumbling sound resembling blocked water echoed.

    “What... Hey! This... is all I can do...”

    I occasionally heard unfinished words. It was a familiar voice. That voice was particularly deeply engraved in my ears. For a moment, my head hurt.

    I wanted to escape that moment, so I moved my body. I rolled my eyes, wiggled my hands, and tried to bend my legs. It felt like my blocked breath was coming back.

    At that moment, I opened my eyes. The voice in my ears suddenly stopped.

    “Laila!”

    The person who ran to me in an instant was Ardion.

    “Your Highness?” I said in a rough voice.

    Ardion handed me a glass of water. As I slowly drank the water, he looked at my face. “Are you okay?”

    There wasn’t anything that hurt in particular. When I saw Ardion, his hands were shaking, and his gaze towards me seemed lost in thought.

    When I finally met his green eyes, his eyes shook, and he hugged me tightly. Because of that, the glass of water I was holding spilled onto his clothes.

    But Ardion didn’t care and hugged me tighter. “Laila, why do you keep hurting me? Because of you...”

    “Your... Your Highness.” The healer carefully patted Ardion’s shoulder. Even so, he didn’t back down.

    “We need to treat her first...”

    Only then did Ardion slowly back away. The healer took the glass I was holding and carefully examined my pulse. Then he checked my pupils and the inside of my mouth. “There’s nothing wrong with her on the surface, but I’ll have to examine her a little more. In any case, it seems like a temporary decrease in mana and a decline in function.”

    Ardion grabbed my hand. “Do the mana check-up right away. Even if she looks fine on the surface, she could be injured inside.”

    “Then, Your Highness, you should let go first...”

    Ardion frowned slightly and let go of my hand. Soon, the healers surrounded me and began to shine a magical light.

    I fell asleep again.

    A few hours later, I opened my eyes. The surroundings were pitch black. When I looked at the furniture and walls, I thought it was a mansion belonging to a noble of some repute.

    Plot twist~