/
“Ah, it just flew out while he was swinging his arm. He didn’t throw it on purpose.”
“Since he doesn’t have that much courage, it must have been a simple coincidence. But of all things, the box flew towards me
”
As soon as Lyna finished speaking, she let out a hollow laugh.
There was nothing else to say about the accident other than that she was really unlucky.
Even though Ainar was blocking her way, the box flew through the gap between Lyna and him.
If Ainar hadn’t blocked it at that moment, the one who would’ve been injured wouldn’t have been him but her.
No, because it was Ainar, it ended with a minor injury; if it had been her, perhaps her forehead would’ve been cracked and blood would have streamed down.
“As always, I’m unluck
”
Lyna’s sentence was left incomplete as a larger and coarser hand than hers clamped over her mouth, muffling her voice. She blinked, and her fluttering eyelashes grazed against the rough skin of the hand.
Ainar’s lips formed a faint smile as he continued to keep Lyna’s mouth covered with his hand.
“There’s a saying that words become seeds. I know it originated from Bolsheik.”
Ainar’s palm was teased by Lyna’s breath, causing him to feel a ticklish sensation both on his skin and within. He withdrew his hand, prompting Lyna to tilt her head in curiosity.
“Where did you hear that saying?”
“People say it all the time.”
“No, I mean the origin.”
“I once looked it up for fun because the history of Bolsheik is so unique. In addition to the fairy tales and plays that have been passed down from the empire, or rather the continent, there are many myth-like stories. For example, they fought against the world, reincarnated, or came from a completely different world called the ‘martial world.’ There were visitors from there.”
Ainar enumerated remarkable tales from the history of Bolsheik by counting them on his fingers. The city had existed since the inception of the continent, and even predates the current empire.
“As one empire fell and another rose, going through ups and downs, at some point, they say it was heavily involved in underground trading and crime. Ah, that’s right. There was the story of a person from a different world. And then
”
“Regression,” Lyna caught the tail end of Ainar’s words, “Not just going back in time like me, but being trapped in an infinitely looping time.”
To be precise, it was about being trapped in one situation and regressing repeatedly until certain conditions were met.
“Ah, yes. There was such a story.”
“So you believed right away when I said I came back in time because I’m from Bolsheik.”
A complete denial came in response to a casual remark, which had no particular meaning.
“No.”
Ainar briefly but very strongly denied.
“I believed it because you said it.”
He then smiled and said narrowing his eyes.
“So even if you weren’t from Bolsheik, I would have believed you.”
That was the truth.
Unlike Smith, who clung to Lyna’s Bolsheik identity, it held no meaning for Ainar.
Rather, the attention and annoying people that came with it were nothing but a nuisance.
“You are the first person to say that to me.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes.”
In Lyna’s eyes, as she nodded her head, a complex mix of emotions surged like waves.
She hadn’t realized that having someone who sees and acknowledges her for who she is could be so heartwarming.
No one had ever said such a thing to her before.
But the sweet feeling, like taking a full mouthful of honey, was only for a moment.
When she heard the words “not from Bolsheik,” she felt a stinging pain, as if chewing on a bitter pill.
Even though she declared to leave her family, the thought of no longer belonging to Bolsheik didn’t bring her joy.
It was just something she had to do.
How could a successor who only fails and a duchess who only knows failure support the Bolsheik family?
If only she had hated her family, or if her father had been a cold-hearted leader who only cared about the family’s interests, as others claimed.
Then, she wouldn’t have had any lingering regrets about leaving.
It really was like poison and a swamp.
She want to leave because she loved them, but it was heartbreaking to leave because of that love.
It was Ainar’s call that pulled Lyna back from her sinking thoughts.
“Lyna?”
His voice calling her name felt both familiar and unfamiliar, causing Lyna to snap back to reality as if splashed with cold water.
She couldn’t shake off her desires and the things she still loved all at once.
But she was determined not to be consumed by them.
So she had to endure the heart-wrenching pain.
Lyna reached out to Ainar, who hadn’t been by her side before the regression.
“This
 time, my luck has won.”
Ainar noticed the resignation underlying her calm, whisper-like voice.
And also the faint, but unmistakably present hope.
Only he would notice and understand it.
As her fingertips, which seemed like a magpie’s foot, hovered near Ainar’s torn forehead, she ultimately pulled back without touching him.
Ainar grabbed her wrist and pressed it against his wound.
At that moment, even Lyna, who had experienced all sorts of things before the regression, was surprised, and she quickly tried to pull her hand away.
“What are you doing?”
But Ainar didn’t let her go.
“It’s nothing.”
He even pressed the wound harder, causing the barely held blood to flow and stain Lyna’s fingertips.
“Wait
 Ainar!”
“You don’t need to say things like you had bad luck or that you won.”
As he closed his mouth, the surroundings fell silent.
The warm, lukewarm air and the kind of silence that made it difficult to bring up any words.
As Lyna’s blue stars began to appear one by one in the vast ash-gray plains of Ainar, which had been empty.
“Ainar.”
“Lyna.”
As if they had made a promise, they both opened their mouths at the same time.
Although not entirely the same, the two with similar expressions eventually laughed.
“What were you going to say?”
“What about you?”
“Answering a question with a question.”
“Before hearing the accusation of cowardice, let me answer that when you called me, the words I was about to say flew away.”
Lyna shook her head as if she couldn’t stop him and rubbed her blood-stained fingertips.
“No matter how much you say it doesn’t hurt, what happened can’t be undone.”
Especially if you remember even after turning back time, the time remains clearly for those who remember.
And someone from the Bolsheik family, who had experienced infinite regression, said it was quite a sad thing.
Soon, she gently touched Ainar’s forehead with her magpie-like foot.
“The wound is open.”
Ainar, who was staring at her slightly parted, plump, and red lips as she sighed softly, tried to step back but remained in place.
“Fortunately, the torn wound is not big, but the bruise will be severe.”
“It’s a shame that the glorious medal for protecting you will be gone.”
Lyna shook her head even before Ainar finished speaking.
“Because we can’t just dismiss it as if it never happened.”
She stared straight at Ainar and counted on her fingers.
“So, my luck won this time as well, making it 3 to 1. Twice at the temple, and now this incident, totaling three times. The only time Ainar’s luck won was when we went to pay off the debt and nothing happened
”
“0 to 1.”
“Ainar.”
“If I win, we’ll keep score, and if you win, we’ll pretend it never happened.”
“I don’t know how many times I’ve said this, but there’s no way it can be, no, it’s just
 What is it? Erasing all the unfavorable things. What kind of bet is that?”
“We started this bet together, so we can set the rules together.”
“It’s strangely plausible, but
”
“Then accept it like that.”
Before Lyna could say anything else, Ainar lightly kissed the back of her hand and disappeared.
As she looked at the empty space where Ainar had vanished before her eyes, Lyna let out a hollow laugh.
“He does as he pleases.”
As she said that, a faint smile spread across her lips, one that she herself didn’t even notice.
Becky’s debt disappeared, and Smith left the Bolsheik estate as if fleeing, and a few more days passed.
Before long, the dawn of the day when the hunting competition was held approached, along with the heat of the approaching summer.
As the sunlight chased away the lingering night, it cast its rays over the Bolsheik estate.
Becky was deep in thought.
The lady had clearly said, ‘You must find out what the blackmailer is up to and expose it.’
The man who used her past as leverage to demand a permit, what was his plan?
What could the man, who could never be considered a noble, possibly want to do at the hunting competition?
“A noble
 perhaps?”
Not everyone is eligible to participate in the hunting competition.
Invitations are sent only to families with a certain degree of power and tradition, and those who don’t belong to such families must be invited as guests in order to participate in the competition.
Moreover, although it is rare for the Emperor himself to attend the hunting competition, at least one member of the royal bloodline is required to be present.
The reason being that the winner of the hunting competition must be appointed as a knight or the knight’s squire.
Although it is a very rare case, if someone is exceptionally talented, there is a possibility of them getting close to the Imperial Knights.
For those without hope of inheriting a family, the hunting competition is a guaranteed opportunity to secure a brighter future, as long as they have some skill.
However, Becky immediately shook her head vigorously.
“No. He can’t be a noble. Absolutely not.”