Time Healer Ceres

“It was a dream where I was spending time with people I’d never met before.”

The details of the dream changed every day, but the people who appeared in it were always the same.

“Just seeing them made me happy. They made my heart feel warm.”

“......”

“In those dreams, I called one of them...”

“‘Kai’?”

“Yes.”

She nodded firmly.

“And I called the other person Arti.”

“......”

“At first, I wondered why I was having such dreams. But even after waking up, I couldn’t forget them.”

The people who appeared in her dreams every time...

“I always wondered who those happy-looking people were. But no matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t figure it out. I had never met them even once in my life.”

A long sigh escaped from Yuness’ lips, carrying all the worries she had endured until now.

“Then, one day, I found a book written by Lord Artia at a bookstore. When I saw his portrait inside...”

Yuness continued, her voice growing more excited.

“That was when I finally realized who the person I always called Arti in my dreams was. I learned who the other person beside him was as well.”

That was why she came to the Principality of Persia without hesitation. She wanted to meet the only person from her dreams who was still alive.

“Then I saw that there were patients in the village...”

That was how she ended up helping them.

“Why do I keep having dreams like this...”

Yuness slowly reached toward the small flower vase on the table. White mist drifted from her hand and wrapped around the flower. The flower soon began to wither away.

“Gasp!”

Del, who was quietly watching from the side, drew in a sharp breath. But what happened next left him even more stunned.

The flower, once again enveloped by the white mist, returned to its original form and bloomed with life again, as if it had never withered.

So this was the power she used to cure the epidemic. Del heard about it before, but seeing it with his own eyes was far more astonishing. He looked between Yuness and the flower, unable to hide his admiration.

“This is the reason I came to be called a Saintess. I used this ability to heal people.”

When she asked if the Grand Duke knew what kind of ability this was, saying that she was curious about it herself, Kainel remained silent.

“Your name is Yuness, correct?”

“Yes.”

“Del.”

At Kainel’s call, Del stepped closer and leaned in.

“Move her to the middle room in the west wing.”

“...Pardon?”

Del couldn’t immediately respond to Kainel’s order. The middle room in the west wing was only opened for important guests of the Grand Duke’s estate. It was a room that was rarely even offered to royalty, but Kainel was giving it to her?

Honestly, Del had assumed that room would be given to Miss Ceres.

“Remove the restrictions on her movements as well.”

“...Understood.”

Even after being told to lift the restrictions, Del nodded with a slightly troubled expression. From now on, there would be no place in the residence that she was forbidden from entering.

“Thank you.”

Only then did Yuness finally smile brightly, as if her worries had disappeared. Kainel continued staring at her. The longer he looked, the deeper her smile became.

***

“Wow.”

Nothing has changed at all.

As Ceres looked around the Grand Duke’s residence, she couldn’t help but marvel. Three hundred years had passed, so how could this place remain exactly the same, as if time had stopped only here?

Does the residence stop aging too because its owner’s time has stopped?

Looking at the buildings that still held memories of the distant past, Ceres chuckled.

“Aah! It’s freezing here!”

“No one asked you to come.”

“You’re the worst! You’re banned from entering the Magic Tower from now on!”

“Grace, Artia said we’re not allowed to come to the Magic Tower anymore.”

“Not Grace! You! I’m talking about you!”

Even though they constantly bickered and complained like that, the three of them always spent time here together whenever they visited.

“Haah, it’s so cold today.”

“Yeah. I think this is the coldest day we’ve had this year.”

As Ceres walked along the snow-covered path, voices reached her ears. She turned toward the sound and saw two maids talking beside a well in the distance.

That’s...

Ceres’s gaze softened as she looked at the two wells standing side by side. A fragment of an old memory stopped her in her tracks.

Ceres slowly walked toward them.

“I’ve always wondered, why are there two wells here?”

“Who knows? Maybe they made a mistake while digging it. That one doesn’t even have any water.”

The two maids who were drawing water stopped for a moment to chat. Their attention was fixed on the other well sitting beside the one they used.

Having two wells in the same place was unusual. Splitting the water source between two wells was hardly efficient. Maybe they had started digging one, failed to find water, and ended up making another one right beside it.

“It’s strange having two wells.”

“Exactly.”

It was a well that had been there since they first arrived at the Grand Duke’s residence as children. They never understood why it was still left there when it didn’t even produce water.

“If it’s not being used, they should just get rid of it.”

“Everyone who comes here for the first time gets confused.”

“They always throw the bucket into both wells. I did too.”

The two maids chuckled as they remembered the past. On a day this cold, even drawing water from the deep well was exhausting. Only those who had experienced it knew the frustration of pulling up a bucket after all that effort, only to find it completely empty.

“Anyway, looks like we’ll be spending the whole day heating water again. It’s freezing.”

“The kitchen and the other places will be asking for hot water nonstop.”

“Haah.”

The two maids, who were in charge of carrying water around the residence, sighed heavily. On days colder than usual, their work doubled because they had to keep the water warm.

“Is this one not used anymore?”

“......?”

A voice suddenly interrupted their conversation. The maids turned around and found a stranger standing there. She was tilting her head as she looked at the well.

It was the woman who had arrived with the Grand Duke yesterday afternoon. They had never seen her up close, but they clearly remembered the Grand Duke holding her hand tightly before walking away.

Why is she here...?

Why would a guest come to a place like this?

The Grand Duchy’s residence was never lenient toward outsiders. Unless given permission, guests weren’t allowed to wander freely. Even Saintess Yuness, who had recently arrived, was only able to access a limited area.

Then how is this woman able to move around so freely?

Even the Saintess must be careful of the butler’s presence and couldn’t freely leave her room, yet this woman was walking around the residence without anyone stopping her.

The maids had no idea that this was all thanks to Del, who had quickly informed the residence’s key staff about Ceres despite his own poor condition. As a result, no one in the residence, including Butler Roel, stopped Ceres from walking wherever she pleased.

“Hmm.”

While the two maids watched her in surprise, Ceres stared quietly at the unused well. It looked as though it hadn’t been touched in years, with not even a trace of moisture inside.

Why would they leave something this useful abandoned?

This well was made by Artia long ago.

“I didn’t make this for you! I made it for Grace, who hates cold water!”

Artia had specially created it for her because she hated putting her hands into cold water, even during summer. He had made it so she could use it comfortably whenever she visited this place, where winter lasted all year round.

Of course, others always prepared warm water for me.

However, there were always people who complained about the trouble of drawing and heating water. Artia had made this well because he couldn’t stand seeing her blamed by others simply because she often asked for hot water.

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