The Time That Shall Not Return (3)
With the succession, a massive magic circle unfurled before my eyes.
"Would you extend your hand?"
The Duchess removed the ring from her finger and slipped it precisely onto the middle finger of my right hand. The magic circle slid away with a soft shh. As if it had passed some test, it settled into the ring.
"With this, the succession is complete. From this moment, you are the master of Freyvelric. If you show this ring to anyone, no one will be able to deny that you are the successor to Freyvelric... Urk...!"
"Ma'am!"
No sooner had she finished than Rozalin clutched her forehead. Cold sweat poured down her face.
"Hah, hah. If I'd had a bit more time, I would have told you everything... I'm sorry I can't. For the time I have left... may I speak with Tia?"
"..."
She had probably reached her limit. She could sense herself on the verge of Jewel's Sleep.
Time was running out. Instead of answering, I nodded and stepped back, hoping the two could share as much as possible in their final moments. I retreated from the bed, positioning myself far enough in the same room that their voices wouldn't carry to me. I hoped her gaze wouldn't stray to me and waste their precious time.
"..."
While they spoke, I turned my eyes to my hand. The ring proving I was master of Freyvelric. It weighed next to nothing, yet back then it had felt impossibly heavy. It made real what this ring meant, the position I had ascended to. The pressure of countless eyes, the weight of the masses. Even before the vast stage of human relations and society, the ring's power never dimmed.
That weight was unforgettable. Even after experiencing it once.
【Project: ???】
◈ The scenario route has been decided.
Based on the player's existing environment, the episode has been determined.
You have succeeded to the Freyvelric dukedom.
From this point, you can exert influence as the Duke of Freyvelric.
All stats related to the Freyvelric Ducal House are now activated.
You can now issue direct or indirect commands to servants, assign tasks, and interfere in various ways.
Freyvelric finances are now available for purchases and sales.
You can enact laws with the duke's authority or veto them.
... ...
With the succession to the dukedom, changes rippled through the Status Window. Unlike before, when I couldn't interfere directly with the servants, now it was permitted. Unlike the past, where I could only receive what was given outside of lessons, now I could manage and spend money directly. A tremendous power to issue direct decrees to the territory's inhabitants—not powerless, but real authority—had come into my hands.
Some sentences were erased or added, others rewritten entirely. No restrictions bound my actions any longer. Not as a fake duke, but as the true successor.
"Your Grace. The Madam says it's all right now and asks you to come closer."
With that voice, I counted to three in my mind and approached. One. Two. Three. Exactly at three.
"I'm sorry for taking so long. To finish what we were saying earlier... Urk?!"
"Ma'am!"
Rozalin clutched her head again and collapsed. Beneath her sleeve, blue spots began to spread. This was the final signal. The moment the third spot formed, Jewel's Sleep reached its final stage. Soon, she would fall into eternal slumber.
And once more, the moment arrived.
"Out of the way! I said move!"
-Thud!
"Mom! I'm here. Can I come in?"
Commotion heralded the arrival of an uninvited guest.
"Tch. Won't you move?!"
"Miss Lucilla, we can't have you barging in like this...!"
"Why not! I want to see my mom, so why can't I?!"
"Miss, I understand, but... the Duchess hasn't permitted entry. Doctor Widen said it could worsen—"
"Kyaa!"
"Dangerous, miss!"
"I told you not to come closer!"
The maids and servants tried to stop her, but they couldn't. No, they couldn't hope to. An unarmed adult might manage, but a child wielding a dinner knife like a weapon, swinging it wildly? That was far more threatening.
But... I had to accept it calmly. There was no escaping it. The Duchess would soon sleep, and the moment Lucilla entered, anger was inevitable. Because I wasn't family. Because I was an outsider who merely resembled the duke.
Thus, no one watching the Duchess's final moments would be me. That alone gave Lucilla ample reason to pour her hatred on me.
Sensing this instantly, Rozalin glanced at the window... but her eyes soon returned.
"I'm sorry I couldn't help... Lucy will be furious, but please don't hate her too much..."
She knew it too. It was already too late. Lucilla would burst in soon, and by then, she would be lost to endless sleep, unable to reveal she had summoned me here.
I approached her calmly and asked, "If you have final words, I will relay them."
After brief thought, she left me a few words. Even as the frail wall between bedroom and hall rattled, the doorknob splintering, I kept my ears open and etched the Duchess's voice into my memory.
Just as her messages ended.
-Boom!
"Mom!"
With a massive crash, the doorknob shattered, and Lucilla stormed into the bedroom.
***
For a moment, silence fell. No one made a sound at the sight of the Duchess's final form. The silence broke with a noisy clatter.
-Clang.
The knife in her hand hit the floor with a harsh ring.
"What... happened?"
Before her lay only cruel reality. In her eyes, not her desperately sought mother's face, but an arm weakly descending, marked by three blue spots. Accompanied by the despairing thud against the bedsheet.
So it was no surprise her rage turned to me.
"Old man, what's this? Why the hell are you in my mom's bedroom?"
"Miss, that's..."
"Make the old man say it!"
Tia hurriedly wiped her tears and tried to speak, but the enraged child was beyond reason, eyes rolled back.
I turned to face Lucilla.
"Why are you here? Who the hell are you!"
"..."
It was the second time seeing such fury and hatred. How dare you be here? Why are you keeping watch instead of our family? She poured it out.
-Lucilla. Your mother—
'...'
In the past, I had explained it that way. That her mother had called me. That she had something to say to me alone.
But was explanation needed now? I... simply bowed my head in silence.
This future wouldn't change anyway.
Then, small fists gripped in frail hands pounded my shoulder.
-Thump!
"Who the hell are you to be here? Why are you seeing Mom's face when it should be me and my sisters? Why are you stealing the time we should have with her!"
Two fists together now. Heavier than before.
-Thump!
"That time was ours. Time we should have spent with Mom. Why steal it!"
But her blows weakened. She seemed drained from crying.
-Thump!
"It's because of that Mom ended up like this, right...? If we'd been here, she wouldn't have fallen asleep. We prepared everything... But... but you ruined it all. You ruined everything!"
Now so weak it barely counted as a hit.
-Thump!
"Give it back. Give back our time with Mom! Since it's your fault, give it back!"
I wasn't the one who tired first, naturally. Lucilla, panting after her furious blows, soon gasped for breath.
"Hic, sob. It's your fault. Your fault Mom... hic. If not for you...!"
"..."
"You should've been the one with Jewel's Sleep. Someone like you instead of our mom! Why her? Why did it have to be our mom!"
I could guess what came next...
...Yeah. She wasn't wrong. Objectively, it might even be the right thing. Rozalin alive would be far better for this child than me.
I needed to accept it calmly.
"If it's all your fault... if everything's your fault, then instead, instead of Mom, you should—...! Sniff."
But... Lucilla's words didn't finish.
"Lucy."
"...Forgive her, Your Grace. Please overlook Lucy's outburst."
Time had passed; word of the commotion would have reached the other sisters. I thought we'd have more time... Perhaps this too was unchangeable.
The two sisters, rushing in, would cover for their little sister's slip and end it there.
...That was the period at the end of today's bedroom scene. As I remembered from the past.
"We need to comfort our sister a bit. We can beg forgiveness later—could you give us some time now?"
"I join my sister in asking. We... need a little time too."
But maybe I'd seen only the tree, not the forest. They were like Lucilla. Eyes trembling with grief at losing a parent, arms holding their sister and lips quivering—they were deeply shaken.
I really knew nothing about these children.
I nodded and stood.
"Hic, sis..."
A few pats on the back from her sister calmed Lucilla somewhat. Exhausted, she began sobbing in Ellensia's arms and would soon fall asleep there.
So I had to deliver it before then.
"...The Madam had words for you."
Tia watched worriedly, but they needed to hear this.
"She said she loves you all dearly, that she'll overcome this illness and wake one day, so don't worry. And that she'll be watching eagerly for you to grow tall, so surprise her when she opens her eyes."
That was the end of the Duchess's message.
"That's all."
Leaving those words—the sole difference between past and present—I left the Duchess's bedroom. I didn't know what face Lucilla made or what she said after. Whether Ellensia looked back at me, or what she made of it. Whether Veronica's quiet voice held doubt or urged me to hurry.
But... this was my best. My impotent best, unable to change any future even after returning to the past. These children would never forget this day. No matter how exhausted they were.
"Hoo."
-Click.
The moment I found my room and shut the door, my legs gave out, and I sank to the floor. Apparently, Lucilla wasn't the only one worn out. And the same went for being unable to forget this day.
If it's all your fault... everything your fault, then instead, instead of Mom, you should—...!
My chest tightened automatically.
"Hoo. Hearing it twice now, why does it still..."
It should be fine. Not the first time, the second— I should be able to brush it off.
...Those words hurt too much. Like prodding a deep, hidden scar.
Just a moment. Just a brief rest before getting up—that urge hit me. But I suppressed it and rose.
◈ Before proceeding to the main episode of the tutorial, a tutorial introducing various systems to the player will commence.
◆ Tutorial 1. Proceed with a conversation with the visitor to the Freyvelric Ducal Residence.
"Your Grace. It's Tia. May I enter?"
"Come in."
The day wasn't over yet.