The flow of magic had changed.

The magical energy that had gathered in the Dragon’s Valley was rapidly dispersing. Guinevere guessed that the dragons had departed for their respective territories.

‘There’s no time.’

It was then, as she was staring intently at the sphere of magic.

Knock knock.

Another knocking sound was heard. Guinevere could now tell it was Larisa just from the sound of the knock. She sighed. Though annoying, she couldn’t ignore it when she thought of it as her son’s lifeline.

“What is it?”

When she opened the door, Larisa was looking up at her with sparkling eyes.

“Mother, may I also go to William’s entrance exam?”

“What?”

“I want to cheer for William too!”

‘Ah, the entrance exam. It’s soon, isn’t it?’

Guinevere rubbed her brow with a tired expression.

“Fine.”

She thought Larisa would leave immediately after getting permission, as usual. However, Larisa was still looking up at her with a strange expression. Guinevere paused as she was about to close the door.

“What’s the matter?”

“Nothing. I just…”

Guinevere, who disliked hesitation, frowned. Visibly flinching, Larisa quickly spoke.

“You’ll be going too, right?”

“What?”

Guinevere was really busy. She glanced back at the golden sphere and answered.

“I don’t have time for that.”

“What? But…”

But nothing, Guinevere was truly busy. The thought that someone might harm William as soon as tomorrow made her dizzy.

She could accommodate everything else, but taking up her time was unacceptable.

“I’m busy, so you should go now.”

Guinevere closed the door. Larisa, who hadn’t even had a chance to properly persuade her, stared blankly at the closed door.

With no other choice, she trudged down the stairs, and through the window, she saw William practicing swordsmanship. Larisa headed towards William.

Seeing Larisa looking dejected, William asked.

“What’s wrong? Did something happen?”

Larisa was unsure if she should tell him what had just happened. If she did, William would be disappointed. But if he was going to be disappointed anyway, maybe it would be better for him to be disappointed sooner rather than later.

“Mother says she’s too busy to come cheer for William.”

“Huh?”

“She says she’s very busy. So I think I’ll have to go alone…”

William finally understood what Larisa was saying.

“Don’t tell me you were planning to come to the entrance exam?”

“Yes.”

William frowned, with the same expression as Guinevere.

“You can’t.”

“Huh? Why?”

“We’ll be taking a stagecoach, but you’d have to come back alone. It’s dangerous.”

Larisa blinked in surprise. A stagecoach? Stagecoaches were public transportation that circled the capital, available for anyone to call and ride.

As far as Larisa knew, no nobles rode stagecoaches.

“…Don’t you have a carriage?”

The question blurted out despite knowing it might be rude, such was Larisa’s surprise. William answered nonchalantly.

“No.”

“Why?”

“Mother has teleportation magic, so she doesn’t need things like carriages.”

“But you need one, don’t you?”

William said nothing. Reading resignation in his expressionless face, Larisa bit her lip.

‘This isn’t right.’

Although it didn’t make sense for her, a slum-born girl, to pity the young master of the Rodante family, Larisa felt sorry for William. And she couldn’t believe it.

‘She definitely cried while calling William’s name…’

How could she treat a son she cherished so much like this? Larisa was dumbfounded. And she made a decision.

‘The witch is a fool.’

She must be a fool who doesn’t know what’s important. And Larisa didn’t want to see Guinevere regretting it later.

Larisa clenched her fists and steeled her resolve. Then she marched back up the stairs. Standing in front of Guinevere’s study on the top floor, Larisa knocked on the door.

Knock knock knock.

This time, the door opened a bit later. Guinevere, worn out with fatigue, rubbed her face and said,

“Why are you here again?”

“Mother, I have a favor to ask.”

As she said this, Larisa was staring intently with determination in her eyes. Guinevere hesitated before responding belatedly.

“…What is it?”

“If you grant my request, I’ll consider having a baby with William.”

The condition was alarming. Guinevere, overwhelmed by the seven-year-old child’s audacity, took a step back.

“…What’s the favor?”

“But if you don’t grant it…”

“If I don’t?”

Larisa knew Guinevere’s weakness. She hated it most when Larisa threatened to leave. Larisa smiled brightly and said,

“I’ll go to the orphanage.”

It was like a bolt from the blue.

Guinevere rubbed her ears for a moment, wondering if she had heard correctly. She couldn’t believe a seven-year-old girl had just said she would go to an orphanage by herself.

On the other hand, Larisa was calm. Larisa, Marina’s daughter, like all slum children, wasn’t even registered in the family registry. So originally, she couldn’t even go to an orphanage.

But now, because Guinevere had vouched for Marina and Larisa’s identities to hold Marina’s funeral, she could go to an orphanage. She had already confirmed this with the priest during her mother’s funeral.

Larisa, who could go to an orphanage if push came to shove, boldly stuck out her stomach and said,

“Will you grant my request?”

“…You’ll go to an orphanage?”

“Yes.”

Guinevere felt dizzy. She held her throbbing head and said,

“Do you know what that means? How harsh orphanages are…”

“It’s okay. I’ve always envied the orphanage kids!”

At those words, Guinevere bit her lip. Guinevere, also from the slums, had once envied the orphanage children. At least they could eat two meals a day.

“…Let’s hear what your request is.”

“I want you to buy a carriage and come with me to William’s entrance exam!”

Guinevere felt indescribable. Given Larisa’s confident attitude, she had expected some grand request, but this…

“How does that benefit you?”

“Pardon?”

“That’s not even a favor for you. Why for William…”

Guinevere choked up and swallowed the rest of her words. Was there still a subconscious feeling of love in Larisa? Was that why the two children kept falling for each other?

“If I’m going to stay here, I want us all to get along well.”

“…”

“William will be lonely. Other parents will all come to cheer, but if William has to take a stagecoach alone, it’s pitiful, isn’t it?”

‘Pitiful?’

Guinevere felt like she had been called out on something she had never considered. Was William’s situation so dire that even Larisa, who had no parents and nothing to her name, could pity him? Guinevere found herself making excuses without realizing it.

“I’m… really busy. There are circumstances I can’t talk about…”

Larisa realized it was time to back down a little. Remembering her deceased mother’s face, tears welled up quickly.

“Then there’s nothing we can do. At least buy a carriage so I can go cheer for William alone. You can do that much, can’t you? Are carriages very expensive?”

Even a back-alley boss would usually grant Larisa’s request at this point. Her ultimate move always worked unless someone was truly heartless.

“The carriage… I’ll prepare it.”

“Thank you so much, Mother!”

Guinevere bit her lip as she looked at Larisa, who was forcing a smile with tears brimming in her eyes.

After Larisa left, Guinevere was lost in thought.

‘First, I need to buy a carriage…’

Until now, William had only stayed at home, so she hadn’t felt the need for a carriage. She had almost been so focused on the time reversal magic that she wouldn’t have even known how William was getting around.

What was it like in the erased past? She couldn’t remember what William had ridden. What she did remember was his grades. William had scored 0 in the practical exam but got a perfect score in theory, barely managing to enter the magic department.

There were rumors that he was only admitted because he was Guinevere’s son. He had thrown tantrums about not wanting to go, but once he entered, he seemed to study quite diligently, which satisfied her.

She thought he must have been motivated by seeing his peers. Back then, she still believed that William would someday be able to control his magic.

William attended school without complaint, quietly. She thought his excessively taciturn and expressionless face was just his personality, that he took after her. She thought his increasingly gloomy appearance was due to his inferiority complex about magic, and that it would all be resolved once he became a magician…

‘He became quieter and quieter after starting school.’

Suddenly, she remembered the seven holes William had dug. William had wanted to run away for as long as she could remember. Probably because of her.

“Because of me…”

Guinevere stood in front of the golden sphere again. But she simply couldn’t continue her research. Guinevere pressed her wristwatch and called for Hedel.

“Hedel.”

[What is it?]

“I need a carriage. Right now.”

[Carriages need to be custom-made, so it will take at least half a year…]

“I said I need it right now.”

[Ah, understood.]

Guinevere dipped her quill in ink again. She needed to complete the time reversal magic immediately. She didn’t know when the dragons would act. But questions kept arising.

‘Why did William commit suicide?’

Because Larisa died. Because Larisa was everything to him. Probably because Larisa was the only one who… loved him.

William, who could commit suicide in front of his mother without any regard for Guinevere’s feelings. It must have been because their mother-son relationship was so estranged.

And it was all because of her. Because of her, who had neglected William to the point that even Larisa pitied him.