Time Healer Ceres

Although there was no way to tell who was on the other end of the communication, the communication orb was already active.

A voice soon came through.

“Hello, Ceres.”

It was Aria.

“Aria?”

Princess Nailia called out in confusion, but no reply came. It seemed whoever was on the other end had blocked any sound from this side.

“Lady Nailia, what’s going on?”

“Are you speaking with Aria?”

The students who had been watching curiously ever since the unfamiliar man appeared gradually gathered around.

“That’s why I warned you. Things could get dangerous.”

The chatter filling the classroom slowly died away as the conversation coming from the communication orb continued.

Then, came words no one had expected to hear. No one knew what to say.

What are we listening to right now? Is that really... the Aria we know?

“That idiot Tonio.”

“......”

The person most shaken by what she heard was Princess Nailia.

“You’re the one who sent Tonio into the Black Forest.”

“N-No!”

Aria hurriedly shook her head.

“I don’t know what you’ve heard, but it’s all fake! Someone tampered with it! There’s no way I’d ever do something like that!”

“...Fake?”

“What kind of insane person would inflict injuries like these on themselves...”

“So you do know that you’re insane.”

The girl who had been crying and pleading her innocence whipped her head around at the voice.

Everyone turned to see Ceres walking into the classroom.

“C-Ceres!”

Aria burst into tears and scrambled toward her, throwing herself at her leg.

“Let’s stop this, okay? Hic... I may not even know what I did wrong, but... please... please, I’ll do whatever you want. Even if you hit me... ngh... I won’t run away anymore... sob... so please...”

Aria stroked her bleeding wounds and sobbed pitifully, looking utterly miserable. Ceres crouched down and met her gaze.

“Nice makeup job.”

“What?”

When Ceres brushed her fingers over the wounds, the bruises and blood vanished like they had never been there.

The atmosphere in the classroom instantly turned colder. So even that was an act?

“H-How...?”

The wounds she had gone out of her way to inflict on herself were gone. Only Aria stared in stunned disbelief, unable to understand what had just happened.

After quietly taking in the scene, Ceres rose to her feet and walked over to Princess Nailia.

“Would you like me to restore the letter?”

Clink.

Ceres pulled out a small glass vial and shook it.

“......”

That must be the potion she had mentioned, the one capable of restoring the letter.

Princess Nailia lowered her gaze to Aria, who was still sitting on the floor. When Aria saw the vial, her eyes began trembling uncontrollably.

“Please.”

Princess Nailia took the pieces of the letter from between the pages of her book and handed them to Ceres.

“L-Lady Nailia! It’s a lie! This is all part of Ceres’s scheme! You can’t believe her!”

That’s right. It is a lie. There’s nothing in this bottle but water.

Aria’s voice rose to a near scream, but no one paid her any attention.

Plop.

The instant a drop of water fell from the small glass vial onto the letter, something remarkable happened. The sections that had been burned away slowly began to reappear.

“Here.”

Princess Nailia accepted the restored letter and carefully read through it. She had treasured this letter for so long, carrying it with her all these years. And yet, as she read the recovered words, not a single emotion showed on her face.

“......”

When she reached the end, she quietly folded the letter.

“L-Lady Nailia...”

At Aria’s desperate call, Princess Nailia glanced at her once. Then, she turned and walked out of the classroom without another word.

“Ah...”

Aria could only watch her leave. Slowly, she sank back to the floor and lowered her head.

What do I do now?

How was she supposed to fix this? Should she go after her and tell her the letter was forged?

“Aria.”

“—!”

“What are you still trying to do?”

“Y-You...!”

This is all that b*tch’s fault! After everything I’ve done for her! After treating her like a friend!

“How dare you!”

Aria lunged at Ceres. Or at least, she tried to. Right now, grabbing her by the hair and shaking her felt like the only way to vent the fury churning inside her.

Whoosh!

“—!”

But the moment she saw a hand flash toward her face, she instinctively flinched. Just as she braced herself for a punch, the fist stopped right in front of her.

Ceres watched silently as the color drained from Aria’s face. Then, she slowly unclenched her hand.

Tap.

Her fingers lightly brushed Aria’s forehead.

That small touch was enough. The strength remained in Aria’s legs vanished, and she dropped heavily back onto the floor.

Ceres bent down until their faces were close. She spoke in a low voice.

“Don’t push your luck. Not if you know what’s good for you.”

“—!”

The words themselves were calm. If anything, her tone sounded like someone gently reprimanding a child.

Aria’s face went pale. Ceres only let a hint of her menace show, yet Aria was already shaking like a leaf.

Then again, she has plenty of reasons to be scared. Things aren’t going to end well for her from here.

Ceres clicked her tongue softly and glanced around the classroom. The students’ gazes had changed. No one looked at Aria with sympathy anymore. The girl sitting on the floor, trembling pitifully, was met only with cold, distant eyes.

A faint smile tugged at Ceres’s lips. The atmosphere had finally shifted.

***

“Brother Alex.”

Lately, there was one garden Prince Alex found himself returning to again and again. It was also the place where Ceres had seen his true nature.

As he sat there alone, he couldn’t help but look surprised when he saw Princess Nailia approaching.

Had it really been six months since he’d last heard her voice?

Part of that was because he’d been away from the capital. But even after returning, she rarely looked him in the eye.

So, why did she come to see him now?

“Here.”

Nailia unfolded the letter in her hands and held it out to him. Alex frowned slightly.

At first, he didn’t recognize it. But soon, his eyes widened.

How?

He was certain he’d burned that letter.

“You knew all along, didn’t you?”

That Tonio had been seeing Aria behind her back. That the friend she trusted had betrayed her.

“And that’s why you burned it.”

The contents were exactly as she’d heard through the communication orb.

Tonio had confessed everything. Even the word love wasn’t meant for her. Every affectionate line in the letter was written with Aria in mind.

“Why?”

It was the same question she’d asked before.

Why? Why did you burn it?

“You could’ve left it alone.”

You didn’t have to do anything.

“So why did you?”

Nailia held his gaze. This time, she wasn’t going to let him dodge the question.

“I don’t know.”

“...You don’t know?”

“I really don’t.”

Even now, he couldn’t explain why he’d inserted himself into someone else’s affairs.

“It just annoyed me.”

That was the closest thing to an answer he had.

It annoyed him.

Watching her get deceived without realizing it. Watching her surround herself with people like that. Watching her smile at them as though nothing was wrong.

For some reason, he couldn’t stand it.

“......”

Nailia let out a long sigh.

“Is that your reason?”

If anything, that made even less sense. If he were bothered by what Tonio and Aria were doing, he could’ve simply left the letter where she would find it.

“Brother.”

At her call, Alex immediately turned his head away.

“Do you still think I’m seven?”

“Waaah! Brother Alex! Jameson won’t play with me! He said he doesn’t like me!”

Whenever something upset her as a child, she would run straight to Alex.

Looking back, she wasn’t entirely sure why. Even then, he was sickly and spent most of his days in bed.

And yet, to her, he had always been the person she relied on most.

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