“First, the glass container that Larisa was in served as her life support device. Larisa entered it on her own, and she never demanded you to take her out because she knew she would die if she came out.”

More precisely, she demanded it from Guinevere. Asking William to kill her would be too painful for him.

Larisa remained graceful in front of William until the end. Guinevere herself felt a sense of admiration in the face of such sublime love.

So, William’s dream must have reflected his past guilt.

“Why did Larisa end up like that?”

“She was poisoned. But we don’t know who the culprit is or why she became a target. We were too hasty to keep Larisa alive, and we missed the timing to investigate.”

“How could such a thing…”

Guinevere didn’t give William a chance to recover from the shock and continued speaking.

“And second, I’ve never told you that you turned back time.”

“You mentioned it even at Larisa’s mother’s funeral. You said I would sacrifice my heart to turn back time…”

“That happened in the present time axis. There was no such thing in the past. Now, tell me in detail. What did I say in the past?”

William hesitated before speaking.

“…You said I had talent in magic and asked me to become a wizard.”
Guinevere tightly closed her eyes. It happened to be the most regrettable moment, the very past that she regretted the most. Her hands, pouring tea into an empty cup, trembled slightly. William silently observed her, waiting.

“When you first turned back time, I… I thought you had a talent for magic. So…”

After taking a deep breath, Guinevere spoke with difficulty.

“I pushed you. I told you to become a wizard surpassing me.”

A long silence followed.

“I’m sorry.”

Guinevere buried her face in her hands. William was merely bewildered, witnessing his mother in such agony for the first time.

“…Even if you say that, I don’t remember.”

“Now, as you learn magic, memories will come back. How much I tormented you.”

“Sorry to interrupt, but I’m curious. When you say I turned back time for the first time… Does that mean it happened more than once?”

Why is he so clever? Guinevere sighed at his unexpected insight.

“Three times.”

“Three times?”

“Yeah. Each time, I went back to when I first met Larisa.”

“Larisa? You mean?”

“Because you love Larisa.”

“Huh?”

William couldn’t escape the shock of consecutive revelations. Guinevere continued to speak, somewhat complaining.

“At first, I tried to stop it. But as I tried, it burned even more. So now I’ve decided to accept it. I can’t stop you two.”

“Wait, am I talking about that little girl?”
“Don’t deny it. You’ll soon realize. Every time you turn back time, you fall in love with Larisa. No matter what I do.”

“Wait, wait a minute!”

William covered his reddened face with both hands and shouted.

“It’s just a crush. If you went out, you could have given up, but every time, you fall in love, dig up Larisa, and keep pestering me to save her.”

“Ugh, stop it!”

It was too embarrassing for a teenage boy in puberty.

‘I love you, William.’

And it turned out to be real!

“Ugh!”

“What’s the fuss about?”

After dozens of fake coughs, William, who barely regained his composure, still with a reddened face, asked.

“But what are you talking about? Pestered to save her every time?”

“Larisa was threatened by someone every time she fell in love with you.”

“Who on earth…”

“I don’t know. Someone who liked you, I guess. At first, I thought that when it was revealed that Larisa died, someone would approach you, but surprisingly, no one approached you for over ten years.”

“But then it might not be a murder for revenge.”

“But ironically, the time Larisa was poisoned was after she started dating you.”

“What does that mean…”

William’s head throbbed with pain from something he couldn’t remember.

“Today’s conversation ends here. Come find me if you dream again. It seems that your dreams alone might create misunderstandings about the past.”

“Mother, I…”
“I’m tired too. You also need to go to the academy early in the morning. Let’s stop here.”

William reluctantly stepped back.

Now, he was worried about how he would face Larisa, but when he actually saw her face in the morning, it didn’t feel strange at all. William breathed a sigh of relief.

Larisa was still a cute little girl, and he felt no emotions other than thinking she was cute.

After having breakfast together, as always, Larisa saw William off as he left for the academy.

“William.”

“Yeah?”

William lowered his face at the small hand gesture clinging to his clothes. Larisa whispered in his ear.

“Will-Will, have a safe day.”

“Uh, yeah…”

It’s fortunate that Larisa is cute. William, who was anxious about whether there would be any affection other than the sisterly affection, sighed with relief inside the carriage.

‘The time Larisa was poisoned was after she started dating you.’

Then, wouldn’t it be better not to date her? William thought seriously. After all, since childhood, he hadn’t developed any emotions beyond affection like for a sister.