“I don’t understand why you’re suffering alone so stubbornly.”

Her thumb gently stroked Joseph’s brow.

The furrowed space between his eyes relaxed, and the pain that had been gripping and shaking his head slowly began to subside.

“How do you feel now?”

“……”

It was truly a miraculous peace.

Unknowingly tensed muscles throughout his body relaxed, and the neurosis that had been bristling like sharp thorns quietly subsided.

‘Why.’

But instead, a surge of sadness welled up.

‘This woman is the only one who can save me, and yet.’

She rejects me like this.

“Lord Joseph. Your expression doesn’t look good… Lord Joseph?”

It was the moment she tried to remove her hand from his forehead.

Joseph grabbed Lieselotte’s hand.

Only then did he realize that she wasn’t wearing gloves.

That’s why the effect seemed to work so quickly. It was cruelly kind.

“My lady……”

The low, husky voice was clearly not attractive to her.

Knowing this, Joseph could now only plead, backed into a corner.

“I think it would be better to use chronomancy after all.”

“……”

“Please say you will.”

Don’t say it’s useless, please don’t say that.

“Please……”

“Lord Joseph.”

It was then that a sympathetic look filled her lavender eyes.

Finding an opening, Joseph desperately grasped her wrist.

“This incident was just an accident. It was my mistake, Duchess. It’s nothing serious. This level of failure has always happened, and I’m confident I won’t repeat the same mistake if we turn back time this time.”

So.

“…Please give me one more chance. So that I can continue to stay by your side.”

It was like the attitude of a criminal begging for leniency.

Ah, that’s right. He hadn’t knelt down. Pride or whatever, nothing mattered to Joseph at this moment.

“…Please.”

“What are you saying? First, calm down, my lord.”

At that moment, Lieselotte grabbed both his shoulders. He couldn’t resist the force of her frail arms pushing him down.

“Let’s sit down and talk.”

Thanks to that, he was seated helplessly on the bed.

However, even as Lieselotte pulled up a small chair, Joseph did not let go of her arm.

“Tell me properly why. Why do you want to start over so badly?”

“……”

But he couldn’t open his mouth quickly to that question.

Countless thoughts jumbled his mind, and he hadn’t been able to organize them until now.

He couldn’t figure out where to start or how to speak.

“Alright, then I’ll speak first. It seems that Lord Joseph has some misunderstanding.”

Unable to wait any longer, Lieselotte spoke first.

“First of all, I intend to keep Lord Joseph by my side in the future as well. No, I would like you to stay by my side.”

“…?”

Pardon?

Joseph’s eyes widened at the unexpected words.

Only a question that couldn’t quite become sound made his lips quiver.

“Isn’t Lord Joseph the ally I rely on most? That’s why I acknowledged you as a potential fiancé and remarriage partner.”

Lieselotte even mentioned the contract that had burned with the mansion, saying they had written a pledge.

Only then did Joseph’s reason clear up slightly. He also remembered what he should say in response.

“Wasn’t that… when I could use chronomancy? Only by knowing the future in advance and dealing with it can I protect you… and the things you want to protect in times of crisis.”

“Ah.”

Lieselotte let out a short exclamation. The corners of her mouth rose to a pleasant angle, as if she had realized something.

“In other words, Lord Joseph thought I considered you as a tool. So you thought you’d be thrown away. Is that right?”

“That……”

He neither affirmed nor denied, but not answering was itself an excellent answer.

While Joseph rolled his eyes, Lieselotte’s hands fixed his cheeks. His gaze was forcibly raised.

“Then I should be the one to apologize. You were quite rude, Lord Joseph. I wonder how much of a trash person you thought I was.”

“……”

“I know that Lord Joseph has done his best for me and the children, and for Daiern until now. No, actually, I’m not sure. How could I guess how much mental energy you’ve expended due to chronomancy during the time I don’t remember?”

Would it be crazy if her kind reproach felt like comfort? As if enchanted, Joseph overlapped his hands on Lieselotte’s, which were fixing his cheeks.

“You are no different from a benefactor to me, the children, and Daiern. Because I don’t want such a person to sacrifice themselves anymore, I judged it better not to use that forbidden magic. Of course, I’m a very materialistic person, so it’s also because I know that Lord Joseph will be helpful to me even without such things.”

“You say I… am helpful?”

“Of course.”

“How so?”

“Lord Joseph is a magician, aren’t you? Just with that, you can already exert abilities that transcend ordinary people. Moreover, even if you don’t turn back time anymore, you still have information about nearly three years of the future. Also, you’re very knowledgeable and capable, so it would be hard to find an area where you’re not helpful.”

Perhaps that might be true, but Joseph knew her outcome from countless disappeared futures.

That’s why it still felt insufficient with just that.

“…Even without chronomancy, you say?”

Then her beautiful face brightened.

“Usually, we don’t expect such things from a husband.”

“Husband……”

…Ah. It felt as if someone had pounded his heart.

“Strictly speaking, you’re not a husband yet. You’re a potential fiancé.”

No, it was as if someone had thrust a large stake into his heart at once.

The shock given by the words ‘husband’ and ‘fiancé’ was so intense that it made him shudder.

Ridiculously, that pain was rather welcome.

‘Thank goodness. That status is still valid.’

She really won’t abandon him. It seems he’s been allowed to continue staying by her side.

‘It looks like I can live.’

He felt so relieved he could cry.

“Ah, but usually they demand something else from husband candidates.”

“What kind of thing?”

Joseph had recovered enough to ask back to Lieselotte’s words.

Lieselotte raised one finger, tapping it against her lips as she spoke.

“For example, asking to pluck a star from the sky……”

“A star, you say?”

“Of course, I don’t intend to demand such an unrealistic thing.”

Lieselotte reassured Joseph, speaking in a joking tone. In the end, a faint smile had to appear on Joseph’s eyes and mouth as well.

“No. If you wish for it, I should pluck it for you.”

Matching Lieselotte’s tone, Joseph’s speech also mixed with playfulness.

“Plucking a star isn’t that difficult. But stars are actually just small to our eyes, in reality……”

The air in the bedroom, which had been stiff until just now, was already softly loosened.

The space was no longer gloomy, nor could one smell the stuffy, stale scent given by stagnant air.

Especially Joseph, whose whole body had been drenched in cold sweat, now wore a comfortable smile on his pain-free face.

The mysteriously colored hair that had been stuck to his forehead was no longer wet with sweat, and the firm chest revealed through the improperly fastened chemise shirt heaved with breaths of joy.

“…I didn’t know. Then is a meteor falling, in a way, similar to plucking a star?”

“I know that in the magical era, there were actually magicians who summoned meteors saying they were plucking stars.”

“Ah, then I suppose I don’t need a star after all. Just thinking about how to clean up after receiving a wedding gift that destroys a city makes me dizzy.”

“Ahaha.”

Joseph finally burst out laughing at Lieselotte’s reaction, shuddering as if it were terrible.

Looking at Joseph’s face, Lieselotte spoke in a determined tone.

“You don’t need to be so anxious.”

“……”

“Of course, I’ve lost something big because of this incident. Because of that, I can’t say I’m not suffering even now, and I’m clearly anxious because I don’t know what will happen in the future. Still, I don’t think the current situation is as desperate as Lord Joseph is worried about.”

Her eyes, speaking of sadness and loss, were still clear and bright.

They were strong eyes that didn’t hesitate to overcome pain and move forward.

It was courage that he, who had only been turning back time repeatedly, didn’t have.

“Lord Joseph’s ‘current round’ is still in progress. And who knows? This time, since you’ve also formed an alliance with me, you might be able to overcome it without sacrificing yourself.”

“…Ah.”

So for the first time…

Joseph felt that something other than her appearance was beautiful.

“Perhaps.”

Her firm heart, her unwavering inner strength, her unbreakable noble spirit.

“If I say I want to kiss you right now……”

“What?”

…His heart fluttered.

“Would you allow it?”