Sunlight appeared.

The midday light entangling and shimmering on eyelashes.

What is heard in the ear is a beautiful piano melody. And grandfather’s gentle voice.

“Oh my, smiling so brightly. To already enjoy the beauty of the sonata, truly my granddaughter! You may one day succeed me as a musician.”

My beloved granddaughter, my muse.

The grandfather whispering affectionately and the young child smiling brightly without even understanding the words.

That was my first memory.

“Father! Stop bothering Ariana. How can such a young child already play the piano? Come here, baby. Let’s have a snack.”

“No, it’s true! She really knows how to add harmony!”

Seeing the vivid smiles of grandfather and mother that seemed within reach, I realized.

‘Ah, I’m really…’

Dying.

This scene is the theater that the grim reaper unfolds for the last time in the eyelids of the dying, the kaleidoscope of life.

In the next scene, the young child was crying sadly in front of the funeral of grandfather and mother.

It was a sudden death. And from that day on, the ‘musical noble family’ Lopez Count family faced a steep decline.

Unlike grandfather, father’s compositions received scathing criticism from critics one after another.

“Damn it! Now that I’m finally out of that old man’s shadow, they tell me to make derivative works? Hah! Don’t make me laugh. I’m Count Lopez now!”

The more this happened, the more stubbornly father released works that were far from the ‘traditional Lopez style’.

As if to compensate for the years he had lived watching his father-in-law’s mood after being sold as a son-in-law to the Lopez Count family.

Fewer and fewer audiences came to the Lopez Opera House. When father, who had run out of money, belatedly put grandfather’s compositions on stage, it was too late.

Father lived drunk every day. Several times he came home holding a woman’s wrist and kissing her while intoxicated.

Then one day he brought home a young girl.

“Hello, say hi. This is the child who will be your little sister from now on.”

She was a doll-like cute girl.

For the first time, I thought God had granted my wish. I had always wanted a younger sibling.

“Is sister a princess? Elena has only seen such sparkling dresses in storybooks!”

Elena was like a gift from God.

In a house where a drunkard father and a brother who was wary of me came and went, only Elena smiled at me.

‘Because she called me family, called me sister.’

Although she coveted my accessories and necklaces excessively, and even laid hands on mother’s keepsakes which I said I couldn’t give her.

One day even father collapsed from acute alcohol poisoning. As soon as he was declared brain dead, the position of head of the family passed to young Edward.

Edward, who became a count right after graduating from the Royal Academy of Arts, tried to save the family. Just as father had done.

However, Edward’s compositions were buried amid harsh criticism that they were cliché and boring. Again, just as father had done.

The atmosphere in the house became even gloomier than before.

Creating melodies with my voice and piano was my only breathing space, but…

“Ariana! Shut up! Your inferior sound is disturbing my inspiration!”

Because Edward extremely disliked it, I couldn’t even do that.

Then one day, Lucas appeared, falling like a comet of salvation for me.

“Ariana, the melody you create is truly beautiful.”

Thanks to Lucas’s encouragement, I played the piano in front of my family for the first time since grandfather passed away.

Lucas began to give me full support, saying I had talent. Edward and Lucas, the two of them quickly agreed and put my music on stage.

At the first performance, critics showered praise. It was the same for the next and the next performance.

“It’s the revival of the musical noble family Lopez!”

Smiles began to bloom on the faces of family members.

People began to praise the name Lopez once again.

That alone made me overflowingly happy.

Not knowing that the family I thought was the reason for my life was exploiting me.

“No matter what happens, you should think of your happiness as the top priority, Ariana. Understand? This old man just wants you to be healthy and happy.”

‘I’m sorry, grandfather.’

The taste of blood came from the tears that seeped into my lips.

Foolish and stupid Ariana.

But if only, if only there could be one more chance, just one more…

No matter how earnestly I prayed and prayed, consciousness finally lost its light.

“…Miss, Miss Ariana!”

Like a fish pulled out of the water, I gasped for breath.

“Oh my, Miss! Are you alright?”

I blankly stared at my gradually clearing vision.

Is the kaleidoscope still not over?

How long do I have to endure the punishment of reminiscing about my stupid past?

“Miss, Miss!”

I reflexively turned my head at the touch shaking my shoulders.

And then my heart nearly stopped in shock.

“…Sophie?”

“Phew, you’re coming to your senses!”

Sophie smiled brightly as if relieved. I was dazed at the smile shining with vitality.

But Sophie…

‘She died.’

Three years ago from now, Sophie died in a sudden fire that swept through the mansion.

The memory of commemorating her third anniversary just a few days ago overlapped with Sophie now looking at me worriedly.

“How are you…”

A place where the dead Sophie is.

Then is this the afterlife?

“You suddenly collapsed, I was so surprised. Are you really okay? I told you I would do this, really.”

Sophie helped me up and wiped the spilled tea on the floor.

Looking at the brown tea stains scattered messily, I asked blankly.

“What… is all this?”

“Oh, come on. Viscount Fedegrin is attending the tea time, so he said he wanted to prepare the tea himself.”

Viscount Fedegrin.

My body temperature sank at Lucas’s name.

“…Lucas, where is he now?”

“Lucas? Oh, you mean the Viscount? Well, I’m not sure… He said he wanted to take a walk in the garden until the refreshments were ready, so he’s probably outside, I guess?”

At Sophie’s words, I walked out to the garden as if in a trance.

The surrounding scenery that brushed past my vision was strange. Decorations that were only in fashion years ago were seen here and there.

Suppressing the sense of incongruity, I moved forward.

The face of my husband that I last saw flickered.

“You should have known not to show off too much.”

The face that babbled shamelessly without any guilt while embracing my younger sister.

“…Lucas.”

I stopped in my tracks.

It didn’t matter if this was inside a kaleidoscope or an illusion. I had to at least slap his face.

I couldn’t be dragged to the afterlife without taking any revenge.

It was at that moment as I was making my way through the garden aimlessly.

“Viscount, really! Stop it.”

A voice full of aegyo scratched my eardrums.

‘…Elena.’

There was no way I couldn’t recognize it.

Because I had spent hundreds of nights creating the song where that child’s voice would bloom most beautifully.

Feeling my blood run cold, I moved towards where the sound was coming from.

In a corner of the garden, beyond the secluded rose bushes, the shadows of two people were intertwined.

“I’m not in the mood for this today! I heard the date for sister and the Viscount’s wedding has been set? You know how upset I am right now.”

“Don’t think of it that way. It’s even better, isn’t it? We’ll be able to live under the same roof. Don’t you agree?”

“Oh my. Are you saying you’ll continue doing this even after getting married?”

“Of course, isn’t that obvious? How could I give up our fairy? You’d be bored to death without me too.”

“Hmph, you shameless man. Sister won’t know anything!”

Elena lightly hitting Lucas’s chest and my former husband embracing her.

“…Huk.”

A headache arose from the terrible déjà vu.

I slowly backed away.

‘So it was from this time.’

I hadn’t believed Elena’s words that it was just a mistake of one night.

But to think it was a relationship that had continued since before the marriage.

Just how long-standing a deception it was.

The fighting spirit to at least slap his face was consumed by the loss of strength that arose like a wildfire.

As I was backing away blankly, at some point I sat down on the grass.

Somehow I kept laughing. Because all of this seemed like a ridiculous, disgusting farce.

“Ariana. What are you doing here?”

Then a voice was heard.

Looking up, I saw my brother approaching.

For a moment, over that neat face, the face forcing me to press my bloody fingers for a thumbprint as I was dying overlapped.

Those lips twisted like a demon as they smiled.

“…Ugh.”

As I covered my mouth and dry heaved, Edward frowned.

“What, how disgusting. Did you eat something bad? …Anyway. Come over to my room when the tea time is over. You haven’t forgotten there’s a ‘lesson’ today, right?”

Lesson.

After Lucas began to take interest in my music, Edward often called me saying he would give me composition lessons.

In reality, it was nothing more than time stealing my composed music, saying he would correct it.

Looking up at that shameless face, I quietly asked.

“Brother. What year, month, and day is it today?”

“What nonsense are you… Fix that habit of acting dazed. What if the Viscount gets tired of you? Do you think you’ll have another marriage prospect as great as the Fedegrin Viscount family?”

“I asked what year, month, and day it is.”

When I asked again in a low voice, Edward flinched slightly.

Looking at me with a strange gaze, he frowned and said.

“…It’s November 27, 325. The St. Berdicto Festival commemorative opera is opening in a month.”

325. Exactly five years before the day I remember.

Slowly lowering my head, I closed my eyes.

Have I really come back to the past? Or am I wandering through a mad illusion just before death?

Ah… well. Perhaps it doesn’t matter what it is.

“Ariana?”

When I raised my head, Edward was looking at me with uncharacteristically confused eyes.

I smiled gently while looking at those blue eyes that looked just like mine.

“About the ‘lesson’ today. I just had a good musical idea.”

“What?”

Edward’s eyes widened at the sudden remark.

I said with a bright smile.

“Would you like to hear it now?”