From seventeen years ago to seven years ago, there existed a being that people referred to as the Blind Angel.
She was a woman named Shirai, known as the saint of this generation, someone said to be born once every hundred years.
According to the records left by distant ancestors, it is said that the woman who becomes the saint inevitably loses something as a trade-off.
The first saint had her sense of smell taken away, and the saint from the previous generation lost her two thumbs.
The saint before that lost her sense of taste,
and the one before that lost her left foot.
But despite the disadvantage of losing a part of the body or certain senses, most women wished to be chosen as the saint.
Regardless of their background or level of education, becoming a saint would bring immense benefits and honor.
In short, there was arguably no greater opportunity for a life-changing reversal of fortune in this world than becoming a saint.
Therefore, it was unthinkable that any woman who wasn’t of exceptionally noble birth, like royal family members or the daughters of a duke, wouldn’t aspire to become a saint.
There were also quite a number of women who underestimated the sacrifices made by the saints, because the precedents inspired trust.
While many saints lost a body part or an organ, not a single case in history resulted in a threat to their life.
For instance, though a limb might be taken, crucial things such as the head, brain, lungs, heart, or blood vessels—things necessary for sustaining human life—were never taken away.
Perhaps for this reason,
this generation’s saint is considered to have made the harshest sacrifice of all existing saints, including those from the past.
Simultaneously, this became the first case to set straight the minds of women who underestimated the role of a saint.
Shirai, once known as the Blind Angel,
had her vision in both eyes taken away when she was farming in a rural village at the tender age of ten.
Not just one eye, but both eyes. Losing the ability to see from both eyes equates to becoming completely blind.
It was an excessively cruel price for a young girl of only ten years old to bear. Shirai became blind the very moment she became the saint.
“…”
In a remote valley, at the peak of a mountain, stood a small but sturdy cabin.
Beside a clean river filled with fish, similar to a camping site, there was a small, cozy setup.
Neatly stacked firewood, crackling campfires, fireflies glowing and flickering, the ethereal atmosphere of dawn swallowed one’s spirit.
In a place where no one was around, breathing in the pure air while observing the beautiful night sky.
This was what she had always envisioned as her ideal life. But it was nothing like she had dreamed of, bringing no happiness at all.
On the contrary, it was only suffocating and hollow.
Her tiny room, proof of her simple life, contained a thick Bible and only a feather pen on the table, with a candle hung on the wall brightening up her bedroom.
After regaining her sight with the help of a man, today, once again, she sat on a wooden chair by the window, looking at the night sky with her two eyes.
Her light pink hair swayed in the cold breeze, and a single tear rolled down from her ruby-red, beautifully crimson eyes.
Though seemingly random, Shirai somehow thought she understood the reason.
“…”
Today, for some reason, Shirai felt the full moon in front of her seemed unusually beautiful.
It seemed to shine even brighter, compelling her to see it up close, even making her wish to touch that round moon.
As if she were projecting someone she missed onto that full moon.
“…”
Mate Mundurst—now known as Mate Munderst since he inherited the title of Duke.
Unconsciously, she uttered his name, only realizing it several seconds later. Shirai was stunned by her inappropriate action.
Shirai was married. She shouldn’t be longing for another man.
He was already married to another woman, a colleague of hers. No matter how desperately she called out his name in her nostalgia, nothing would change.
“…”
Still, why?
Even though she knew this better than anyone, Shirai’s mind was filled only with memories of that one man.
It happened when we visited an ice cream shop near the academy.
– Here, your favorite strawberry flavor.
– …But I can smell vanilla.
– That’s right. You don’t have eyes, but you have a sense of smell.
Thinking back now, it was a truly ridiculous thing to say: “You don’t have eyes…”
“Hmm.”
Not only did she not immediately frown and demand an apology, she even encouraged him.
“Not that I don’t have eyes—it’s that I lack sight. Tell me to say I don’t have sight from now on!”
Of course, she was hurt by that comment, as it touched her deepest pain from someone she considered a friend.
She had chosen to go along with it to avoid unnecessary conflict, though deep down she wanted to scold him for his tone.
But,
he understood her feelings more than she thought.
– You don’t have to pretend to be okay.
The words that came out of his mouth were somewhat surprising.
– …What do you mean?
– Well, pretending to be okay could be a sign that you’re struggling.
After that, he muttered something she couldn’t understand.
After a while, Shirai stopped caring to listen to his muttering, but one phrase stuck firmly in her mind, down to the tone and pitch.
It was such a striking statement, and an often revisited memory.
– Finally, I feel like all my hard work has paid off.
Now, years later, she truly understands the meaning of his final words back then.
That’s why her chest aches even more.
Perhaps long before he made that remark, he had spent days and nights working to help her regain her sight. The ingredients for the medicine were all top-notch.
And all this time, she had no idea about his effort—not until they both married different people.
She thought it was Yuren who developed it, and that’s why she ended up with Yuren.
But no,
It wasn’t Yuren but Mate, the man who helped her regain her sight. And yet, she and Mate… they already have someone else.
“…Ah, ugh…”
Swollen with regret, her tears soaked her clothes.
The thought unconsciously rising in her mind was:
“God, please…”
If only she could have the chance to start everything over again.
“Send me back to the past…”
Even if she were to lose her sight again, it wouldn’t matter. She’d seen the night sky countless times.
It would be sad to no longer be able to see his face, but so be it.
If only she could go back in time, to when neither of them was married, and make him someone other than Judith Mundurst’s husband.
“…Is such a miracle… even possible?”
Shirai whispered sadly, wiped her tears, and looked at the night sky.
“…Wait?”
The night sky shattered like broken glass.
The countless stars and the full moon floating in the sky began raining down like hailstones toward the ground.
Something catastrophic was overturning the world.
*
“Kyaaaaaa! Wait? It doesn’t hurt at all?”
“Lord Mate!? Is he safe?”
“Over there on the terrace… he’s with a young girl!”
It was complete chaos.
Amid the urgent situation where the sky was breaking apart and stars were plummeting to the ground,
thankfully, the falling stars didn’t harm anyone. That’s why Xyah and I could still stand firmly on the terrace.
“Did you tell Shirai?”
“Of course not. She’d obviously get hurt.”
A slightly warm silence followed. The atmosphere was distinctly different from when it was just me and Judith the other day.
Perhaps because we both knew time was about to be reversed, even close friends like Xyah seemed unsure about what to say or how to act.
“I’d have torn up the regression scroll spectacularly in front of Judith.”
“What reason would there be to look for someone who’s together with Yuren? Besides, I don’t want to see his face ever again.”
That’s why I didn’t even hesitate to tear up the regression scroll.
I could endure being disrespected by my father-in-law and Judith’s constant focus on the protagonist, but this was different.
I only ever regretted receiving the regression scroll as a bonus, until now when I finally felt like I had made the right choice.
The regression scroll was already torn in two and rolling on the terrace floor.
The light that circled the torn scroll gradually grew in size, eventually forming a pillar of light that reached the shattered night sky.
“How long have you known?”
That question, of course, pertained to Judith and Yuren.
“Today.”
I see.
“Did you know we were called by Muse today?”
“Yeah, I heard from Judith.”
“But why didn’t you come? Muse was disappointed.”
…?
For a moment, I thought I had misheard because the story was the opposite of what Judith had told me.
“Anyway… I was helping move a bunch of stuff, doing various chores, and got too tired that I fell asleep in the warehouse.”
“…”
“And while I was going home today, I accidentally died.”
Had someone who didn’t know Xyah’s ability listened to this, they would have been completely lost.
But I was the one who had observed Xyah Stella more closely than anyone.
Xyah Stella revives at the last place she slept. That’s how she earned the nickname “the Immortal Xyah.”
“And I woke up like that in the shop…”
As I covered her shoulder and simultaneously muffled her mouth with my right hand,
there’s no husband in the world who would want to hear about his wife making eye contact with another man.
Besides, given Xyah Stella’s trustworthiness, I judged there was no need to go further.
Huuuuh…
A cold wind blows.
Because I had been blocking her mouth while standing close, her silver hair whipped against my shoulder.
Poof.
A speed that only someone extraordinary could react to.
Xyah Stella, who never showed any interest in others and always appeared gruff to the point where she was called “bloodthirsty,” had voluntarily hugged me.
Stunned, I froze like a statue, and it appeared Xyah was the same.
Xyah held me in her arms, maintaining silence and stiffness for a rather long time.
“After all, neither of us will remember this moment, right?”
“…”
“So, I’m trying to be a little honest.”
Her harsh breaths against my neck.
If they were winter breaths, they were too warm.
“It’s warm.”
“…”
“Why? Shouldn’t I be this way?”
Xyah’s grip around me tightened gradually.
As she tilted her head up, our eyes met briefly.
“A body like this… I don’t feel anything when we’re this close.”
Despite her actions and words being embarrassing, Xyah’s face remained the same as usual.
There was no blush, no subtle change in expression. Her appearance hadn’t changed at all, making it hard to believe this wasn’t some act.
Nevertheless, even the always gruff Xyah was still just a normal person.
“Huff!”
Even the cold-blooded Xyah could make such sounds.
Apparently shocked herself, her eyes widened and her lips tightened immediately.
Anyone watching might think she had assaulted me. All she did was cover her now red ears with her hands.
Despite being tense enough to curl up her body, the arms around me showed no signs of letting go and instead tightened further.
“I guess it is cold.”
“…”
“Your ears are really red right now.”
“…Yeah.”
After all the stars had fallen, the broken sky started to cover the ground.
Reality was collapsing at a speed incomparable to before.
It seemed as if space and time had already begun to twist, completely cutting off all sounds outside the terrace.
“Will you not regret it?”
“Turning back time?”
She nodded while closing her eyes.
“From now on, I intend to avoid involving myself with you guys as much as possible.”
“…”
“I realized the heroine belongs to the protagonist, no matter what I do.”
The arms holding me began to loosen.
It wasn’t that Xyah relaxed her hold, but a sign that time was about to rewind.
“Don’t worry. I will address your traumas and remember not to forget them.”
“Just a moment!!”
As Xyah reached out her arm towards me,
the flow of space-time began to slow down like slow motion, as if an image was playing frame by frame.
I thought the phenomenon had completely stopped when,
Kuuuuung-!!!
A thunder-like loud noise rang out,
and the beam of light from the torn regression scroll grew larger, swallowing the frozen world.
The world was upside down.
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