Remembering Ivy’s horrendous statement, Dias covered his face with his hands. After a while, the sound of a clearly angered sigh escaped through the gaps in his fingers.

At the same time, Ivy moved hesitantly with an awkward feeling.

‘I attacked Dias.’

But this was the fault of the side that kept asking even when told not to.

So Ivy faced Dias with honesty.
Instead, she needed a long explanation to herself.

“Just say it.”

It might sound like a weird statement, but it seems like the Marquis is the same person as the astrologer.

If she had said this, Dias would have taken it seriously. Moreover, former hunters often have peculiar knowledge, so she could expect some useful advice.

So, there’s no reason to hide. There is no need to run away. On the contrary, it’s time to go and say what needs to be said.

“But why am I walking…”

Ivy sighed as she lamented herself, walking up the stairs of the two-story house.

Even though she claimed that things weren’t sorted out yet, this was also truly an absurd statement.

It had been a day since the last day of the Marigold Festival, and five days had passed since she talked with the Marquis. By now, it should have been over long ago.

No, if we talk about sorting, it was already done.

Relying on the Marquis is like returning to the days when she depended on the astrologer.

Worrying about fate while leaving it to others is now a thing of the past.

So, it doesn’t matter either way. Whoever the astrologer is, whatever the truth is, nothing will change.

Ivy clearly came to this conclusion.

“But why am I hesitating?”

Walking with her eyes on the ground, Ivy bit her tongue and raised her head. Then she sighed again at the sight in front of her.

“What am I supposed to do…”

Somehow, Ivy, who had reached the hill behind the village, became irritated with herself for coming this far without any reason. Although she came out of the house without any plan, she ended up climbing this hill as if it were a habit. This hill was the one Ivy often climbed in her childhood for protests against the astrologer.

As the familiar scenery entered her eyes, Ivy sighed unknowingly.

On top of the hill touching the sky, a large tree stood tall. It was a thick tree that could be used to build a small house on its branches.

It was still a big tree, but it didn’t seem as terrifyingly big as it did when she looked up at it when she was young. So, her feelings were a bit strange.

Ivy looked at the tree and then moved her steps below its shade. Then, she leaned against the tree trunk, reminiscing about her childhood.

As she lifted her head, the small village and the adjacent wheat fields were visible at a glance. It was a peaceful scene, as if the curse of last year was just a dream.

“The Marquis settled in this village two years ago.”

Two years ago, Ivy was about to step into the Teynda social circle. Just a coincidence? Or…

Feeling her heart flutter again, Ivy raised her head more.

Then, through the overlapping emerald leaves and the gently swaying leaves in the breeze, the fragmented sunlight appeared.

While looking at that, Ivy absentmindedly recalled.

Their identical voices. Same body temperature, same height, and same shoulders. The seemingly identical yet different scars on the backs of their hands.

And…

“I even thought about marriage!”

Ivy gritted her teeth and stomped on the ground. She wanted to bury her fatal past somehow.
After abusing the ground for a while, Ivy regained her composure and shook her head.

“It’s not the time to act like a fool.”

It’s a matter involving my freedom and Dias’s life.

So, I should focus on clearing away the trash like Cassel Montra. It doesn’t matter who the Marquis is.

Ivy tried to clear her complicated thoughts and immediately decided to go back to Dias.

However, as she was about to take a step, she felt a strange gaze.

Following that feeling, Ivy turned her head absentmindedly, and suddenly, she was shocked to meet the eyes of a white boy.

“Kyaa!”

Unconsciously screaming, Ivy took three steps back. Then, she looked at the white boy, Uvia, who was crouching and looking at her with his hands on his beating chest.

“When did you come?”

“About an hour ago.”

Unlike Ivy, who was stuttering due to surprise, Uvia’s response was relaxed.

When Ivy narrowed her forehead at his answer, Uvia subtly gestured behind her. There, roots of a tree were tangled enough to fit snugly if a small boy crouched down.

Uvia had been sitting there from the beginning, but Ivy, whose mind was elsewhere, hadn’t noticed.

Knowing that Uvia was a seer superior to herself, Ivy was once again bewildered.

“Why did you get angry at the ground?”

…I see, as expected.

“I couldn’t bear the shame, so I vented my frustration on innocent soil.”

And the curse works hard again today.

Feeling self-reproach, Ivy touched her forehead for a moment. Then, to quickly change the subject and cover up her disgrace, she asked:

“What are you doing here?”

“Sightseeing.”

Uvia said so and shifted his gaze below the hill.

“I was admiring the connected things.”

Uvia, whom she met after a week, was still enigmatic.

While Ivy hesitated to find a response, Uvia asked first:

“Have you found the culprit of the curse?”

“No, I haven’t found them. My predictions were wrong.”

Uvia tilted his head slightly at Ivy’s answer.

Then, Uvia’s two strands of hair swayed together, and the shimmer of his white hair caught Ivy’s eyes once again.

Not entirely absent but an unusual hair color. The astrologer also had such white hair.

Looking at Uvia’s hair as if fascinated, Ivy secretly asked:

“Hey, by any chance, can seers manipulate time?”