First, the glass tube that Larisa was in was her life support device. Larisa went in of her own accord and never asked you to take her out, knowing she would die if she came out.

To be precise, she asked Guinevere. Asking William to kill her would be too painful for him.

Larisa remained composed in front of William until the end. Even Guinevere felt respect for such noble love.

So William’s dream must reflect his past guilt.

“Why did Larisa end up like that?”

“She was poisoned. But we don’t know who did it or why she was targeted. We were so focused on saving Larisa that we missed the timing to investigate.”

“How could such a thing…”

Guinevere continued without giving the shocked William a chance to rest.

“And secondly, I never told you that you turned back time.”

“But you said it at Larisa’s mother’s funeral. That you would turn back time even if it cost your heart…”

“That happened in the current timeline. I never did that in the past. Now tell me in detail. What did I say in the past?”

William hesitated before speaking.

“…You said I had talent for magic, and asked me to become a magician.”

Guinevere closed her eyes tightly. Of all things, it had to be her most regretted past. Her hand shook slightly as she poured tea into an empty cup. William watched silently, waiting.

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

Taking a deep breath, Guinevere continued with difficulty.

“I pushed you. To become a magician surpassing me.”

A long silence fell.

“I’m sorry.”

Guinevere buried her face in her hands. William was just bewildered, seeing his mother in such distress for the first time.

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

“You’ll start remembering bit by bit as you learn dragon language. How much I tormented you.”

“Excuse me, but I’m curious about something you said. When you said I first turned back time… Does that mean it wasn’t just once or twice?”

Why is he so smart? Guinevere sighed, lost in an unexpected sentiment.

“Three times.”

“Three times?”

“Yes. Each time, you went back to when you first met Larisa.”

“What? Larisa?”

“Because you loved Larisa.”

“What??”

William couldn’t escape the succession of shocks. Guinevere continued, as if complaining.

“At first I tried to stop it. But the more I tried, the more passionate it became. So I decided to accept it now. I can’t stop you two.”

“Wait, me with that little kid?”

“Don’t deny it. You’ll realize soon enough. Every time you turned back time, you fell in love with Larisa. No matter what I did.”

“Wait, wait a minute!”

William covered his reddened face with both hands and shouted.

“There’s a limit to obsession. You’d think I’d give up after leaving, but to fall in love every time and pester me to save Larisa every time…”

“Agh, stop it!”

It was too much embarrassment for a teenager going through puberty.

‘I love you, William.’

To think that was real!

“Aaargh!”

“Why are you making such a fuss.”

Ahem, ahem. After dozens of fake coughs, William finally regained his senses and asked with a still-reddened face.

“But what do you mean by that? That I pestered you to save her every time?”

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

“Who on earth…”

“I don’t know either. There must have been someone who liked you. At first I thought someone would approach you if Larisa was reported dead, but surprisingly, no one approached for over 10 years.”

“Then it might not be a crime of passion?”

“But coincidentally, the times Larisa was poisoned were all after she started dating you.”

“What does that…”

William rubbed his nape, his head aching from things he couldn’t even remember.

“That’s all for today’s talk. Come see me if you have another dream. It seems there could be misunderstandings about the past based on just your dreams.”

“Mother, I…”

“I’m tired too. You have to go to the academy early in the morning. Let’s stop here.”

William had no choice but to withdraw.

*

He had worried about how to face Larisa now, but when he actually saw her in the morning, it felt no different. William breathed a sigh of relief.

Larisa was still an adorable young child, and he felt nothing but a sense of cuteness.

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

“William.”

“Yes?”

William bent down at the small hand tugging at his collar. Larisa whispered in his ear.

“Willy willy, have a good day.”

“Oh… okay…”

It’s fortunate that Larisa is cute. William, who had been anxious about developing any tender feelings other than sibling-like affection, breathed a sigh of relief in the carriage.

‘The times Larisa was poisoned were all after she started dating you.’

Then couldn’t I just not date her? William thought seriously. He didn’t think he’d develop feelings beyond that of a sister anyway, since he’d grown fond of her since childhood.

Whatever his past self did, that was all gone now. His present self is his present self. William decided to think that way and put his mind at ease.

As soon as the carriage left the Rodante mansion, Siod asked.

“I heard you had a dream?”

“Ah, yes. Did you hear from Mother?”

Siod nodded lightly and looked at William with concern. He wanted to teach him dragon language but worried William might be reluctant because of the dream.

“Um, so about that…”

“Yes?”

“Could you teach me?”

“Dragon language?”

“Yes.”

Siod brightened and said.

“I was planning to teach you from the start. Once you learn dragon language, you can be officially recognized as a dragon kin.”

“I’m not interested in that. I just… want to try using magic and make contracts with spirits.”

Seeing Larisa playing nicely with sylphs made him think it wouldn’t be bad to contract at least one. He also wanted to build up his strength for the future.

“William, I want you to be recognized as dragon kin. That’s my and Guinevere’s wish.”

“Why?”

“So you can be safe.”

“Am I in danger?”

“No.”

Siod smiled bitterly. Apart from recalling the past, he didn’t want to talk about how the dragons wanted to hold young William responsible for the time regression.

“It’s just my selfish desire. As I said, you’re my first child, and I’d like you to be recognized as a hatchling and receive protection from all dragon kin.”

“Ah… But do I have relatives too?”

Relatives? Siod burst out laughing at the unexpected question. Dragons had no concept of relatives.

“Why are you laughing? I just asked in case, since there aren’t any on Mother’s side.”

“Unfortunately, no. My mother passed away, I don’t know who my father is, and I have no siblings.”

“I see…”

Siod’s mother entered eternal sleep as soon as he hatched from his egg, as if she had fulfilled her duty. She never woke up until she died in her sleep, so he had no affection for his mother to speak of.

“Still… there aren’t many dragon kin left now, so they’ll be curious when they meet you.”

Whether they would actually welcome him, he couldn’t be sure. At least, the duty to protect a hatchling was something all dragon kin absolutely upheld. Siod didn’t expect anything more from them.

“Since we’re at it, teach me now.”

“Now?”

“Yes, I think I need to hear it often to get used to it.”

William furrowed his brow.

“What did you say?”

“I said good.”

“But forget understanding, will I be able to pronounce it?”

Siod laughed. He was pleased with William’s eagerness to learn.

*

Another dream.

It was the moment his hypothesis that he would dream on the day he heard dragon language was proven.

William instinctively looked down at his hands first. His knuckles were thick. It seemed he had become an adult again this time.

“Wil, Will… I…”

William snapped to attention at the faint voice and looked up. This time, he saw Larisa lying in bed, not in a glass tube.

“It hurts…”

Her face was flushed with fever.

“Larisa?”

“Water…”

William hurriedly looked around. Spotting a kettle on an old side table, he poured water into a cup. Larisa seemed to lack even the strength to raise herself.

He had no choice but to sit at the head of the bed and support Larisa. She leaned weakly against his chest and drank the water from the cup he tilted to her lips.

And soon,

“Cough.”

She coughed up blood.

“Lala!”

“Cough, cough. Ugh…”

William patted Larisa’s back, his face pale. What should I do? As he felt at a loss, he thought of his mother.

“It’s okay, let’s go to Mother. It’ll be alright, Larisa…”

“Cold…”

William wrapped Larisa tightly in a blanket and picked her up. Stepping outside the building, he realized this was the house where Larisa used to live with her mother long ago.

William frantically hailed a carriage. By the time they were rushing to the Rodante mansion, Larisa had already lost consciousness. William shook her shoulder.

“Lala, you can’t sleep. Wake up. Okay?”

But there was no response. He wiped the blood from her lips with his sleeve and held her tightly in his arms. An overwhelming sense of anxiety swept over him.

He knows the outcome that follows. Larisa doesn’t die. Mother will put her in a glass tube and somehow save her.

The image of Larisa crying tears of blood in his dream, begging to be taken out, flashed through his mind, but William didn’t stop running.