Chapter 88: Chapter 88

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Dazzling white feathers swirled around and filled Riv’s field of vision.

As the feathers disappeared, an empty space appeared. Everything was pure white.

Riv retraced her memory, trying to figure out why she was here.

‘Did I die again?’

Riv gave up her magic and disappeared from the world.

It would be more accurate to say that she was expunged.

Riv thought about her past lives.

She died and changed the past by turning back time with a magical tool. She lived and died as the Princess’ insignificant maidservant, and as a Duchess.

‘Everything was like a dream.’

Her second life was a series of events that were hard to believe.

Riv loved Lionel and wanted him.

Their marriage lasted less than a year, but the time she spent with him was precious and beautiful.

Yes, the time they were apart was longer than the time they were together.

Even so, the memories of the moments they spent together were happy. They were the best of her life.

But it was a happiness she would never experience again.

‘I’m dead.’

When Riv raised her head, a form appeared in front of her. It was the reaper.

The reaper had a skull for a face and was clad in a ragged black cloak.

It had been around for a long time.

‘Is it Philip?’

Regardless, that didn’t mean anything after she died.

“What will happen to me now?”

The reaper tilted his head.

“Do you enjoy this?”

“There is no one by my side, so it means that I am the only one here.”

“…Isn’t it sad to be alone?”

Riv shook her head.

“It means I’m the only one who had to sacrifice, right?”

Lionel was alive. So was everyone else.

That was enough. Even so, Riv felt no relief.

Everything was in vain.

‘Is this the end? Is there really nothing after this?’

“What do you want to do now?”

As the reaper spoke, Riv’s body began to float in the air.

She realized that she was a soul without substance.

She wanted to see Lionel, but she couldn’t.

The reaper pointed with a bony finger.

Riv followed the trajectory of his finger over her shoulder.

She saw a woman with long blonde hair.

She had a gentle smile, and bore a slight resemblance to her. Riv recognized those eyes.

‘Ah.’

She was the woman in the pendant.

“Shana?”

Her own mother?

Shana whispered to Riv.

“You’ve grown a lot, my daughter.”

“M-Mother?”

Riv could barely speak.

Was it normal to have this kind of hallucination?

It was so unexpected.

Riv was also shocked that her mother looked much younger than her.

But once she thought about it, Shana died younger than Riv.

Riv reached out to touch Shana, but her hand passed through her form.

“Huh?”

Riv desperately tried to grab her, but even maintaining her own form took all her strength.

Her soul was in an intangible state and she couldn’t hold her mother’s hand.

Shana regretfully touched Riv’s form.

“Do you think it’s over Riv?”

Shana had a gentle voice.

But Riv didn’t know what Shana meant.

She laughed.

“You still have a chance. Forgive me for only being able to do this.”

“Mother?!”

“I couldn’t see you die, Riv.”

Riv tried to grab Shana’s hand again and passed through her.

Then she realized.

Shana was the only real thing within this space.

‘Why?’

In the midst of her confusion, Riv quickly experienced her mother’s memories.

A lonely childhood. A chance to change her life. A pregnancy. Imprisonment. Death.

“It’s time to go back.”

“Mother! Why? Why?”

Riv’s attempts to grab Shana were in vain.

She was quickly expelled from the realm of the dead.

Riv’s soul flew through time and space in an instant.

Her body, which was lighter than air, became heavier and heavier.

She fell down and down, endlessly.

“My darling Riv, when you wake up, you won’t remember anything.”

Only Shana’s voice could be heard from afar.

The white space had disappeared.

It was limbo, the boundary between this world and the underworld.

***

The reaper asked the witch.

“Won’t you regret it, witch?”

“This was a choice for my daughter.”

Shana’s voice was calm, but there was sadness within it. Riv was the daughter she could not see, the daughter she was never meant to raise.

They were destined to never meet each other.

Their blood was connected, but their fates went in opposite directions.

If Shana were alive, she would have watched Riv die.

For Riv to live, Shana had to die.

Their fates were harsh and unhappy.

Shana, a witch of time who could see the future, didn’t want her daughter to die.

Shana gave up her destiny and chose to save her daughter.

However, even with her death, it was not easy to change fate.

“You died to save your child, Shana.”

“I have no regrets.”

Shana’s answer was firm. The reaper sighed.

Its shape flickered between that of the reaper, and that of Phillip Katana.

She had made great sacrifices for Riv to come back to life.

Riv was born a witch, but in order to be revived, she had to give up her powers.

Even if she didn’t want it, this was the best Shana could do.

This was a gamble. A gamble that would not have been possible without Lionel Sentoren.

Shana nor Riv could turn back time any longer.

Everything had come to an end.

“Live well, my daughter.”

Riv disappeared, and Shana’s figure also flickered into nothingness.

In the white space, nothing was left.

It took a very, very long time for Riv to return back.

***

Her body was too heavy. She couldn’t even lift a finger.

Loud voices could be heard, but it was difficult to respond.

She felt trapped inside a heavy object. Perhaps her soul was sent into a rock by accident.

But after some time, Riv realized that she was trapped inside a body.

A living body. It was slow, but she could hear her heart beating.

‘I am Riv. Riv Sentoren.’

The past flashed through her mind.

Why was she trapped in this living body?

Was it a punishment for turning back time?

‘Why, why?’

Riv couldn’t believe that she was alive.

‘I thought I was dead, so why am I here?’

There seemed to be a gap in her memory.

After she gave up her magic and disappeared, she met someone.

It was a person she missed very much. A person she had wanted to meet all her life.

Riv sluggishly tried to grab something on her chest.

But she didn’t have the ‘something’ hanging around her neck that was supposed to be there.

She couldn’t even remember what that ‘something’ was.

It was as if her memories had been erased.

‘What did I forget?’

As she desperately tried to think, her headache worsened.

But she didn’t mind. Headaches were proof of being alive.

‘Am I alive? Wasn’t I dead?’

If she was alive, then she could wake up.

Riv couldn’t move a finger, but she tried to wake up.

After struggling for a while, she succeeded in opening her eyes.

A bright light pierced her vision.

‘Ugh.’

Riv was even more bewildered when her eyes adapted enough to examine her surroundings.

“…?”

She was in the Duchess’ bedroom.

‘Why am I here?’

Wasn’t she dead?

Why did she come back to life and wake up in the Duchess’ bedroom?

She saw the familiar posts of a large bed, a soft duvet, colorful furniture, and patterned wallpaper.

She also saw familiar faces squeezed into her field of vision.

“Riv?”

“Madame, have you come to?”

“Madame is awake!”

Riv saw her maids, the butler Karl, head maid Claudel, and Lionel.

‘Lionel.’

Lionel’s face looked more haggard and pale than usual. The red scar across his cheek was prominent.

“Riv? Are you awake?”

Lionel’s platinum blonde hair was tangled, like it hadn’t been brushed for a while.

He had also grown a beard, which stuck out in different directions. His hazel eyes looked bloodshot, and there were dark circles under his eyes.

Despite the commotion, he looked at Riv and Riv alone. He gently caressed her face.

His hands were really warm.

“Riv.”

Lionel’s voice was sickly sweet.

‘It would be nice if this wasn’t a dream.’

If this was the dream she had after she died, she didn’t want to wake up. If it was a fantasy of heaven, she wanted to be trapped in it for the rest of her life.

‘This can’t be real.’

Riv’s magic had run out. She reversed time and maintained her life through magic, so it was only natural that her life would end the moment her magic ran out.

‘I have no magic left.’

If this was real, then how was she here?

Instead of speaking, Riv just stared at Lionel. He was puzzled and called Riv’s name.

“Riv?”

“…?”

Lionel was bewildered and called over his shoulder.

“My wife is in a strange state. Do you know why?”

“Is she surprised? Oh! She must be in shock.”

Dr. Rambaud came forward and examined Riv thoroughly. Riv also stared intently at him.

Lionel’s face suddenly obstructed her view.

It felt too strange to be a dream.

“Is this heaven?”