Chapter 5
Episode #5
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As expected, now I really know what I experienced was not just a dream .
The fact that the heroine died and I had to use the marble to turn back time for her is proof that it was all real .
I was certain that I had gone back in time but just in case, I grabbed a servant in the corridor and asked them .
“Excuse me, what day is today?”
“What? That’s… It’s the 13th of September . ”
Today was truly my yesterday . There was no need for anymore suspicion .
Shutting my eyes tightly, I let out a sigh .
‘It’s such a wondrous marble . ’
For such a small object that looks like a mere glass marble, to be able to turn back time by simply breaking it, is incredible .
The feeling of having today became yesterday is strange .
It is amazing that the temple could make something like that .
‘Agrita is also amazing . ’
It was only after using the marble did I have this thought . Agrita really does have the qualifications to be the protagonist of the story .
She never once used one of the marbles she got from the temple for herself .
Even a good person would learn of greed if these marbles landed in their hands .
However, if it wasn’t obvious, Agrita didn’t even hesitate to use the marbles to help others .
‘Preventing disasters, accidents… Sometimes they were even used to fulfil the wishes of pitiful people .
That’s why she was eventually called a Saintess .
I felt a bit uncomfortable because it seems like I will be reducing the number of such events .
Umm, whatever, at least I could save Agrita thanks to these .
‘This isn’t the time to act like this . ’
I went over the reasons behind the heroine’s death .
I didn’t have to think too hard . Everything was because of the clock tower .
Of course, it was actually because of Ash but since I couldn’t do anything about him I had to do something about the clock tower .
‘Right now, it’s around noon . It would be better if we could go now instead of tomorrow but……’
I tried to remember . Ash would busy the whole day today .
He didn’t come out of his office at all except for a moment to eat dinner .
He sure is a psychopath villain, creating such a crazy result in such a short amount of time .
‘What should I do? Is my only option to decline with a different excuse?’
My head was starting to hurt .
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You’d think I could just simply not say ‘old’ or ‘shabby’, but you could never be for sure .
This is because we’re talking about Ash here .
You could never predict what Ash Weadgreen would do .
‘Think!! Think of a refreshing, safe, and realistic excuse!’
I was trapped in my thoughts .
It’s amazing how fast time flies by when you’re focused on something .
When I finally returned to my senses, it was almost nighttime .
I had about an hour before Ash would come down . Just like last time, I stared blankly at the living room decor as I continued think .
‘I can’t think of anything . ’
I tried but no good excuses popped into my mind .
But even though I should’ve felt stressed in this situation, I let out a relaxed laugh .
‘Because I was able to think of something else . ’
I realized mid way through that I was suffering over a stupid idea .
‘If I don’t have an excuse, I just have to make sure I don’t decline . ’
Before you assume I’m spewing nonsense, please listen to what I have to say next .
I had only been thinking in terms of finding out how to avoid going to the clock tower . But there’s a better way to decline someone’s invitation .
It’s to not receive the invitation in the first place .
If I never got the offer to go out with him, I would never have to decline either .
Last time, it seemed like Ash had simply come down to the living room and happened to find me there .
And since he found me, he decided to suggest we go see the clock tower .
‘Which means I just have to avoid facing him . ’
I was planning on leaving the living room before Ash came down .
I came down earlier for my tea and since I was done with it, all I had to do was to leave my seat .
‘I’m going to stay in my room and not come out until tomorrow . ’
I have to play it safe . Safely .
Planning to stay in my room for the rest of the day, I got up .
I started humming .
This isn’t that big of a deal is it?
Although the time I spent thinking about this issue was a bit wasted, this would help get rid of the tragic event that caused the heroine’s death…… .
“Sister . ”
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“Ackk!”
I screamed and lifted my head .
Well, the voice I wasn’t supposed to hear started speaking, what else was I supposed to do?
I was at the bottom of the stairs . When I lifted my head I could see my brother, who looked a little flustered .
……huh?
“Are you okay?”
Ash asked . I couldn’t answer right away .
I needed some time to understand the situation .
‘Why did he appear now?’
What is this? I could have sworn it wasn’t time for him to come down yet .
I had checked the time correctly . I was early by an hour so I couldn’t say I read the clock wrong .
‘What went wrong’?
Since I went back in time everything should still happen the same way .
The same things should happen at the same time, so why is it different this time?
“Oh, Duke . You came down immediately . I just sent Alex up a moment ago though . ”
“…… . huh?”
It was Bessie’s voice . I turned around trying to figure out what she was saying and I saw that she had a look of concern .
“I was worried about you . You didn’t respond when I called your name and kept spacing out . You also sighed multiple times earlier, right? So I was wondering if something happened . And I thought, maybe the Duke should know . ”
Then she smiled like a fool .
“I can’t believe you came down immediately once Alex told you though, the way you care for the young miss is amazing . ”
I was speechless .
Oh my goodness .
‘Bessie!’
I couldn’t do anything besides call out to her in my head .
Did I really? Did I really look like I was in a bad condition?
Ahhh, why couldn’t she just ask me if something was wrong?
“If I had known I would’ve come down earlier . Are you okay?”
Ash asked me in a caring voice .
At this moment I started hating Bessie’s kindness, despite her hard work and my brother’s love for family, despite his character as a villain .
I could barely speak .
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“I’m alright . ”
I’m actually not . I was going to be, but I wasn’t because now everything got messed up .
‘What should I do? What if he asks to go to the clock tower tomorrow? I never found a suitable excuse…… . ’
Wait . I started to rethink about my options .
‘Hmm, since they already think I’m feeling unwell, couldn’t I just keep pretending I felt sick?’
It could work out .
Right? Because of Bessie’s misunderstanding, Ash thought I was unwell right now .
It might be better to keep it this way .
He wouldn’t ask me to go out if I’m feeling sick, right?
I spoke as soon as I decided what to do .
“actually . I don’t think I’m alright . ”
My words and actions had to match . I pretended to be dizzy as I wobbled .
I was going to grab the stairs handle but Ash’s sturdy arm caught me before I could reach it .
Uh, hmm… . . He’s fast .
His arm felt strong through the thin indoor clothing I had on .
This made me realize that the person I was dealing with was a full grown, adult male .
Uh, umm . Should I curse at him right now? I have faith in the marble but my ego is still quite large for such a thing .
‘I don’t think I could do it a second time’
He was too much of an adult . My brother had become an adult .
Ash spoke to me as I was acknowledging my newfound awareness of his maturity through the difference in our body sizes .
“Where are you feeling unwell?”
I thought quickly .
He might know that I’m lying if I’m too specific, so I just listed some vague symptoms .
“I think I’m just lacking some energy . Not only that, but I can’t stomach food……”
Wait . I ate too much at lunch to say something like that . I went back on my words quickly .
“… . . Anyways, I don’t have the energy . ”
I felt nervous after saying that .
This would just give him the thought that my condition isn’t top notch right?
To act as “energy lacking” as possible, I let my body slip .
This made me lean onto my brother even more .
I could feel his arm strengthening to prevent my potential fall . I felt a little weird .
‘Why is it weird?’
Maybe it’s because I was comparing it to when he was a small child following me around . He was quite cute back then .
I heard his voice again as I was thinking of the past .
“You haven’t gone out lately right?”
“……hm?”
“Since I was so busy . I should’ve made some time . ”
Huh? Wait, hold on a second .
“Let’s visit the square together tomorrow . You said you wanted to see the clock tower before . ”
Hey!
I shut my mouth tightly to prevent my screaming .
Wait, why is the plot still turning this way?
How could he take what I said and assume that I’m depressed because I’ve been home for too long?
“Tomorrow I’ll be free until night . ”
My eyes shook as I listened .
N-no . I have to fix this . Fast .
‘Right! A cold, should I pretend it’s a cold?’
I quickly thought of a realistic excuse .
Yes, the weather has gotten chillier as well .
I should just say I caught a cold . Why didn’t I think of that before?
“Ash, the thing is, I…… . cough cough . ”
I tried to hint at him with my coughing, a clear, representative symptom of those suffering from a cold .
It would be even better if my forehead was burning up but I can’t do anything about that now .
“Sister?”
Ash’s expression changed .
That’s right, I caught a cold . I can’t go out because of my cold! I can’t go see the clock tower!
But before I could get into the main issue he took his eyes off of me . Huh?
“Call the doctor . ”
When he says doctor… . . does he mean our house doctor?
“I can’t believe someone who can’t even look after my sister’s health is sitting around acting like a doctor . ”