It’s not that I didn’t regret the experiences and time with her, the emotions we had shared.

Nevertheless, Joseph had no choice but to rewind time.

‘Because what’s important to her is not me.’

It’s the children.

Joseph gauged the appropriate time to rewind to.

This morning would probably be safe.

Then he could find Leopold Hosse before he threw the Molotov cocktail into the chimney.

He could just prevent the fire itself.

Then Daiern would be able to spend a peaceful day in December without any problems.

So…

‘Price?’

Suddenly, Sergei’s voice pierced Joseph’s mind.

He couldn’t ignore his words.

It was thanks to the sage Sergei’s thesis and research that Joseph learned the true nature of Chronomancy.

He had to listen to him. So he should have asked what the price was.

But he couldn’t take back the magic that had already been activated. At best…

‘Inside the carriage!’

His head felt like it was about to split.

But Joseph didn’t have the luxury of waiting for the headache to subside.

He flung open the front door of the Landgritz baron’s mansion and boarded the carriage with Lieselotte.

After that, there was nothing but worry.

He didn’t know what had happened at the mansion.

Why the fire had started, what situation had caused everyone except Euphemina and Sergei to die.

‘Should I still turn back time to this morning?’

Then he could bring back the rain clouds too.

But Sergei’s words stuck in his mind now.

A price. He had never thought about it before.

‘It’s probably just talking about the headache?’

That was all he could think of for now.

Because in over 4,000 cumulative years of rewinding time, he had never experienced anything that could be considered a particular penalty.

‘Right, let’s solve this problem first.’

He could ask Sergei again afterwards. There would be plenty of excuses.

“P-please save me…”

A faint voice was detected by Joseph’s sensitive hearing.

It was a servant trapped in a pile of collapsed debris.

“Have you seen the young lord and young master Chersion?”

Joseph, who had secured an escape route for the servant, pressed a magically dampened handkerchief to their nose and mouth.

“I don’t know about the young lord, but young master Chersion went to Mr. Rosier’s room…”

After advising them to crawl out by lowering their body, Joseph immediately headed to the guest room on the first floor where Mr. Rosier’s room was located.

Breaking through the corridor that had become a complete sea of fire with magic, Joseph entered the inner room and witnessed a horrific scene.

Mr. Rosier’s room had completely collapsed.

In particular, the heavy and thick wooden door at the entrance had fallen, completely blocking the exit.

Inside, black smoke and raging flames obscured everything from view.

He was told he definitely came here.

Had he already escaped? As he was thinking this, he had an ominous feeling.

He thought he heard a small cough.

Even a small clue was good. There was no time to think.

Joseph magically lifted the fallen door. Underneath, he saw an old man dying, crushed.

The old man was also curled up protecting a child, but both were unconscious.

“Young master Chersion!”

He found him. Joseph immediately dispelled the flames around them and surrounded the two with a barrier of water.

Fortunately, Mr. Rosier was still barely breathing.

Moreover, thanks to his sacrifice, Chersion’s condition was relatively stable. Of course, if they had been left like this, they would undoubtedly have been found as black ashes.

“Mmm…”

At that moment, Chersion regained consciousness. Joseph immediately raised him up.

“Young master Chersion. Are you awake?”

“Ugh, urgh…”

Chersion’s condition was unstable. It wasn’t a physical problem, but a mental one.

Joseph guessed the reason. The surroundings were narrow and dark.

It was perfect for stimulating the fear of a child who couldn’t forget experiential memories.

“It’s alright, young master.”

Joseph comforted Chersion in a gentle voice. His large hand covered the child’s eyes, blocking visual information.

“I said I would help you. Do you remember?”

The frightened child nodded.

“I need to go rescue others now. In the meantime, young master Chersion, you need to help Mr. Rosier get outside. Can you do that?”

“B-but outside there’s a fire…”

“I’ve cleared a path, so it will be fine. You remember I said I was a magician, right?”

Of course. Chersion nodded once again.

“I’ve cleared all the debris on the way here. So you just need to find your way as you usually would. Keep your eyes tightly closed. Can you do that?”

Chersion’s hyperthymesia was of course different from Joseph’s perfect memory ability.

But the inability to forget experiential memories was the same.

Even with his eyes closed, the child would be able to perfectly remember his usual stride length, the position of the stairs, the direction of branching corridors.

“I-I can do it.”

“That’s brave of you.”

Chersion finally regained his composure. Joseph had him support the unconscious Mr. Rosier.

The weight of the limp old man was considerable, but it was manageable enough for an eleven-year-old boy’s strength.

“You must not open your eyes.”

“Yes!”

“Now, this is the starting point.”

Chersion’s feet were moved to the point where the door began.

Joseph had cleared a safe passage for the child to the mansion’s entrance.

“Ah, right! Brother Kar…”

Chersion spoke as if he had just remembered, recounting what Kardiel had witnessed.

“He said Congsam was in uncle’s room… He went up to get him, and Uncle Sergei followed.”

“The fourth floor then. I understand.”

Finally, the location of the last target was ascertained.

Joseph took one more look at Chersion’s back before finding the fastest stairs leading to the fourth floor.

Cough, cough.

The smoke that had filled the air now invaded Joseph’s lungs as well.

Removing his cravat instead of a handkerchief and dampening it again, he covered his nose and mouth as he climbed the unstable stairs by feel.

‘To take a shortcut, it would be better to go through another room.’

The path to the fourth floor was complex and more treacherous than expected.

There was no direct way up, and the nature of flames and smoke rising upwards made it difficult.

Black smoke increasingly obscured vision on the upper floors, and the place presumed to be where the Molotov cocktail was thrown had completely collapsed, causing Joseph to stumble several times.

It was fortunate that he could use magic.

Without this ability, he would have long since been crushed under the rafters and unable to escape death.

No, he would have suffocated from the smoke.

Yes, that was precisely what Joseph needed to be most cautious about.

The flames consumed oxygen, and the lack of oxygen made one’s mind hazy.

If he were to sustain a major injury, he could at least rewind time. He could make it as if it never happened and be more careful.

But if he were to lose consciousness for even a moment, he could do nothing. He would become a corpse, collapsing along with the mansion.

So maintaining oxygen was most crucial.

“Kuh!”

And he also had to be wary of the superheated doorknobs.

Even with the water barrier, the pain of burns seared through his gloves and into his palms.

For a moment, Joseph considered rewinding time, but hesitated again.

Was it worth enduring the headache? Would the price be acceptable? Could he endure a bit more?

This much is fine. Having made his decision, Joseph mentally counted before pushing the door with his shoulder.

As great force was applied, the door opened.

It was at that moment.

Kwang!

The combustible gases trapped inside exploded. It was a backdraft.

In the instant the explosion occurred, Joseph instinctively rewound time.

“Urgh…!”

He had nearly been incinerated to the point where not even his remains would be found.

This much was unavoidable, but it felt like his head was about to split. Perhaps it would be better to rewind to the morning after all?

However, the unknown fear made Joseph hesitate once again. Let’s try a little more.

The headache persisted, but Joseph rose to his feet. He hoped it wasn’t inside.

The interior, which had exploded without even a moment’s glimpse to imprint on his retina, was now impossible to confirm.

Let’s find another way. Joseph once again felt his way through the pitch-black smoky view. And finally…