Ivellia lowered her hand under the table, her head bowed. Her fingertips kept trembling. He was such a caring father. No matter how much she thought about it, her father was not someone who would lie. But what if, for once, her father lied?

Her thoughts led her in a vicious circle. And when she reached the end, Ivellia was captured by a fear that was incomparable to the past.
Having completely forgotten the man who believed only in her father’s words and risked his life for her, Ivellia couldn’t fathom how to cope with the guilt.

She couldn’t muster the courage to speak. She was afraid that this uneasy feeling that kept pushing in might become a reality. If possible, she wanted to avoid all this situation.

However, every time she felt that way, Felix’s words echoed in her ears, and the face of Caliph, who had gazed at her affectionately, came to her mind.

[Caliph will never leave you alone and run away. If he were that kind of person, he wouldn’t have started this terrible loop in the first place. Even if becoming a regressor was irreversible, in the repeating life, the choices given to him were not just sacrificing for you, Ivellia.] […….] [So please, come to your senses. And this time, make a choice for Caliph.]

To hold onto her weakening heart, Ivellia vividly recalled Felix’s words.

‘He will never leave me alone and run away. If he was willing to sacrifice for me, then he wouldn’t have started this terrible loop in the first place. Even though becoming a regressor may have been irreversible, the choices given to him in the repeating lives weren’t just about sacrificing for me.]

Ivellia muttered to herself inwardly, squeezing her hands under the table.

The fact that he was not yet Liu Rurian, and the fact that he was a regressor, were not perfectly understood. But one thing was certain: whatever the reason, he was enduring and undertaking things that might be dangerous for her.

So, she shouldn’t run away. Just like Felix said, this time she had to make a choice for him.

“Father, I have something I want to ask.”

Ivellia stared at Edwick with a determined heart. Edwick, who had been choking on tea, quickly put down his teacup.

“Whatever it is, please speak.”

“When I was… when I was young.”

“You, when you were young?”

Edwick was visibly flustered at this seemingly out-of-place remark. Ivellia keenly observed her father’s change.

“When I woke up after about ten days of illness… in a state where I hadn’t completely recovered from my faint, I said something like that. I was definitely in the territory before I woke up.”

Ivellia spoke with difficulty, swallowing dry saliva with each word. Each utterance was painful as if her dry throat was splitting.

Edwick felt the same way, too. As if his dry throat belonged to him, he grimaced in pain.

It was a very painful time for both of them. However, neither of them wanted to avoid this moment.

“Now it’s so blurred that I don’t remember it well, but at that time, the time I spent in the territory was so happy for me. Happy enough to remain as a happy memory even now.”
“So, when I woke up, I couldn’t easily understand Father’s words about my room being in the capital. It was the same when you said it seemed like a dream.”

“…….”

“Still, I believed in the end. Because it was Father’s words, not someone else’s. Father is someone I respect a lot… and someone I love very much.”

“…….”

“But no matter how much I think about it, something feels strange. I can’t find an answer to my thoughts alone… So, I think I need to ask Father again.”

Ivellia blinked her eyelids rapidly. Tears kept gathering at the corners of her eyes. Now it was really just one word, but the sight of her father, who was listening to her story with great effort, touched her heart.

But she had to ask. Even if everyone was in pain in this situation, she had to endure and persevere to correct it.

Repeating that thought in her mind, Ivellia uttered the last remaining words.

“Father, please answer me honestly.”

“…….”

“Did I really never go to the territory?”