Chapter 2 — Medeia, It’s Nice to Meet You
“You slept the entire way back, and you’re only waking up now. You slept so soundly. I see you haven’t changed when it comes to loving your sleep.”
“……”
“What’s wrong? Are you feeling sick? Should I ask the coachman to stop the carriage for a moment?”
Baron Bellosi gazed at Medeia affectionately with his light brown eyes.
Inside the carriage, which swayed with every bump in the road.
The coachman’s voice urging the horses onward.
The warm scent of spring sunlight.
“……Uncle. Where are we going right now……? Why are you here?”
Medeia didn’t know why she could see again, but she had assumed that Baron Bellosi had rescued her.
“Where else? We’re on our way home after thirteen years. Serenier is quite different from Aragon, so it must feel unfamiliar, doesn’t it? I hope you’ll adjust quickly.”
“……What?”
“I’ve imagined this day so many times. I’m so happy that I was finally able to find you and bring you back to the Heidel ducal family.”
‘Wait a minute…….’
It was all far too familiar.
Thirteen years ago, Medeia had been kidnapped and thrown into the sea, only to be rescued by Princess Charlotte of the neighboring kingdom of Aragon.
Afterward, the shock of falling into the sea caused her to lose all her memories from childhood, and she remained in Aragon.
Then, at the age of eighteen, she met Baron Bellosi and was able to return to Serenier.
“I’m so upset that if I hadn’t gone to Aragon as part of the delegation, I never would have known that you were Medeia.”
Even the words he had spoken that day two years ago were exactly the same.
He was even deliberately speaking to her in Aragonian because he knew she wasn’t familiar with the Serenier language.
‘Am I dreaming……?’
Medeia pinched her cheek.
A sharp sting immediately spread through it.
There was no way all of this was simply a dream.
“There’s no one here who will treat you carelessly. You’re the legitimate daughter of the Heidel ducal family. Everyone has been waiting for you.”
Just as she remembered, Baron Bellosi was saying the exact same things.
She blinked several times, but she could still see.
Other than the fact that she had died and returned to the past, there was no other way to explain what was happening.
Wanting to make certain, she asked Baron Bellosi,
“Uncle, what…… day is it today?”
“April fifteenth.”
“……The year 620 according to the Serenier calendar?”
He looked puzzled, as though wondering why she was suddenly asking such a question, then abruptly froze.
“Medeia, you could barely pronounce Serenier a moment ago! No, what on earth is going on?”
Seeing Baron Bellosi startled, Medeia became certain.
She had truly returned to two years ago.
“You could barely even pronounce your own name when we got off at Bettiang Port, and suddenly…… How?”
At his bewildered reaction, Medeia realized she had made a mistake.
Aragon and Serenier used different languages, so Medeia had learned Serenier only later.
It had taken her six months after coming to the Heidel ducal residence before she could finally speak Serenier. Until then, she had communicated with her family in Aragonian.
She had only returned to the past, but from Baron Bellosi’s perspective, it was only natural that he would be shocked to hear her suddenly speaking Serenier perfectly.
“Medeia, you……”
Seeing him narrow the space between his brows and trail off in a serious tone, Medeia tensed.
Had he noticed something strange?
“You really are Elize’s daughter! Elize was fluent in the languages of several countries too, which was how she caught His Highness Prince Chavelle’s attention and became his lady-in-waiting!”
“……”
“Thanks to that, she received a marriage proposal from the Duke of Heidel and became a duchess.”
……Ah.
She had forgotten.
‘Uncle was always like this.’
He had always been so bright and carefree that he never thought too deeply about anything.
Medeia relaxed her tense shoulders and took a deep breath.
Before she knew it, the main gate of the Heidel ducal residence came into view, and the carriage passed inside.
The enormous mansion visible even from a distance immediately captured her attention.
As they passed between the fountains, the scent of daisies in full bloom filled the air.
Medeia took a deep breath of the fragrance and fought back her nausea.
Her previously slow heartbeat began racing.
Chirp, chirp.
She looked up at the sky at the sound of birds singing.
It was clear and cloudless.
She pressed her fingernails firmly into her skin.
But her heart refused to calm down.
Soon, she would have to face her family.
And Daphne.
She wanted to avoid all of them.
Everything about them was painful.
But……
‘……If God really did turn back time to this very day for me.’
Then it meant she was supposed to take revenge on Daphne.
Perhaps she had been too excited after returning home and meeting her family for the first time in thirteen years.
Although she had been under Princess Charlotte’s protection, there had been many occasions during her time in Aragon when she had nearly lost her life.
Having to suspect someone at every moment and remain constantly on guard just to survive had been exhausting.
Because she was relieved to finally be home, she simply trusted everyone without suspicion and chose to see the best in them.
Even when she was occasionally hurt by Daphne, she told herself that it couldn’t have been intentional and let it go.
Without realizing that Daphne had never once been sincere.
This time was different from when she had been unable to fight back and had merely endured everything until she fell down the stairs and died.
She knew exactly what events would occur over the next two years.
She could return every single one of them to Daphne.
The carriage began to slow to a stop.
“Come, Medeia.”
Baron Bellosi got out first and held out his hand.
Medeia bit down gently on her lip, took his hand, and stepped out of the carriage.
Her feet touched the ground.
She slowly raised her head.
“Lady Medeia, we have been waiting for your return.”
Servants stood in long lines on both sides, bowing their heads.
“My dear……!”
Her mother, the Duchess of Heidel.
“……Medeia.”
Her father, the Duke of Heidel.
And then.
“……Medeia, it’s nice to meet you.”
Daphne was standing there.
Medeia noticed the corners of her lips, raised upward in a smile, trembling ever so slightly with stiffness.
Why hadn’t she noticed back then?
That Daphne wasn’t happy to see her return at all.
“My daughter…… my baby……”
The Duchess of Heidel clutched a handkerchief tightly as she held back her tears and pulled Medeia into a tight embrace.
Her tears fell onto Medeia’s cheek.
Her sorrowful voice tickled Medeia’s ears as she repeated the same words.
Back then, even though Medeia couldn’t understand Serenier, she had loved the warmth of her mother’s embrace.
She had been happy simply knowing that she, too, had a mother.
Happy to have found the family she had lost.
“Dea, my precious baby…… Mommy was wrong……. I should never have left you alone……”
Yes.
Back then, the affection reflected in those light brown eyes had overwhelmed her, and she had cried along with her.
‘You never even admit that you were wrong until the very end. Why do you keep saying it wasn’t you……?’
Now, all she could remember was the disappointed look in those eyes.
‘Mother said that she loved me, but in the end, she loved Daphne more.’
How else could it have happened?
She had been the one who gave up on finding her biological daughter after only five years of searching and took in an adopted daughter.
The trust that had never had the chance to grow during all those years apart could never have been unshakable simply because she was her biological mother.
Just as the Duke of Heidel had slapped Medeia the moment Daphne collapsed while vomiting blood.
In the end, they had abandoned her.
They had chosen Daphne.
Medeia had no intention of ever being abandoned again.
The swelling on her cheek had disappeared, but the dull ache remained vivid.
The mark might have faded, but the memory would remain forever.
Even when she could barely see, she could never forget the cold gaze of the Duchess of Heidel.
She stepped backward, pulling herself out of the Duchess of Heidel’s embrace.
“……Dea? What’s wrong? It’s Mommy.”
The duchess stared wide-eyed at the hand she had left suspended in the air, as though she couldn’t believe what had just happened.
