Tia’s Smooth Life After Regression - Chapter 32

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Tiya’s Smooth Regression Life

Chapter 32

“Damn it.”

Rather than recklessly rummaging through someone else’s garden, it would be more efficient to write a letter to appease Lucian and find out where the keepsake was.

Unable to give up on the keepsake after all, Valentina immediately went and sat at her desk.

Her hand holding the pen trembled with anger, causing ink to stain the letter paper, forcing her to take out several new sheets.

She was frustrated with herself as her mind was urgent but her body wouldn’t cooperate.

How stupid. Why did I treasure Mother’s keepsake so much?

I should have thrown it away long ago. I shouldn’t have made anything precious.

Drop. Instead of black ink, a clear water droplet fell onto the letter paper, leaving a round mark.

Valentina’s head turned toward the window in front of her desk.

Heavy snow was quietly falling at some point.

Valentina stared blankly at the scene that was rarely seen in the South.

Snowflakes that struck through the window left water marks on the letter paper, and the world was being covered in pure white.

Valentina could no longer endure it and rushed out to the garden.

* * *

The pouring snow felt like a disaster.

Even all the comfort she had used to rationalize herself was covered by snow and nowhere to be found.

Valentina became anxious that if snow accumulated in the garden and froze solid, she might never find the keepsake.

“Rose! Find Mother’s keepsake. Be careful not to be caught by people!”

As soon as she came out to the garden, Valentina summoned her spirit and rummaged through the dry grass wherever her eyes could reach.

In truth, the keepsake was nothing more than a crude, insignificant bracelet.

Even knowing that—

“Mother made this by weaving together seeds from the most beautiful flowers and trees she’s seen in her lifetime.”

“Someday, when we no longer have to run around and can settle in one place, let’s plant these seeds in that home.”

It was too unfair to lose it without knowing what the seeds contained, without even glimpsing the final landscape Mother had dreamed of.

How long had she been rummaging through the garden like that?

Her clothes caught on something. When she turned around, Rose was tugging at her hem with her mouth.

Valentina hurriedly ran after Rose.

At the outskirts of the garden, a single-story building that appeared to be a storehouse.

Rose, who had instantly climbed onto the roof, jumped up and down barking loudly.

“You’re saying it’s up there?”

Valentina’s eyes spotted a ladder leaning against the wall as she looked around.

When she climbed the ladder and got on the roof, she saw a wooden box wedged in the rain gutter.

“Well done, Rose!”

Valentina grunted as she pulled out the wooden box, then quickly opened the lid.

However, instead of the expected keepsake, the box contained a single unfamiliar key.

Looking at the wooden box again, it was more worn and scratched than the one he had.

It was a different box that only resembled his in appearance.

“Ah…”

It was when her strength drained from disappointment.

Her shoe sole slipped along the snow-covered roof with a sliding sound.

Without time to grab onto anything, her body was thrown off the roof.

“…!”

For an instant, time seemed to flow slowly.

Her body floated lightly like apricot petals blown by the wind, and snowflakes slowly circled around her, having lost their weight.

Rather than falling, it felt like being sucked up into the sky.

Right then.

“Valen!”

Tiya’s shout was heard, and when she came to her senses, she was already being held like a princess in Tiya’s arms.

“Ugh!”

Tiya, who caught Valentina, swayed for a moment before regaining her balance.

She thought she could easily lift her since she looked so skinny, but she was no less heavy than her brother Lev.

“Valentina is packed solid inside.”

Even though she used floating magic, Valentina was unexpectedly heavy and she almost dropped her.

However, Valentina wasn’t in the right mind to react to Tiya’s words.

“How…”

Looking down, she could see both their feet still floating in mid-air in her field of vision.

Only then did she realize it. That the world had truly stopped.

A moment later, Tiya stepped on the air and carefully descended to the ground.

Following that, Valentina’s feet touched solid ground, and the lost gravity returned her body to reality.

Tiya held out something to Valentina, who was still dazed.

“You were looking for this, right?”

As soon as she saw the wooden box, her mind snapped to attention.

A thin ice-like wariness settled over Valentina’s expression.

Unaware of this, Tiya said triumphantly.

“My nickname is little crow! I can find shiny things like a ghost!”

A lie. Contrary to Tiya’s words, the keepsake in the wooden box didn’t shine at all.

It was just a bracelet made by weaving seeds together.

Instead of reaching for the keepsake, Valentina asked coldly.

“How did you know what I was looking for?”

“Um… well, it seemed like Valentina was looking for something in the garden? I happened to see your brother drop this in the garden, he told me to say, no, I saw it! So I! Directly! You know.”

Her gesturing at empty air was suspicious, and her words didn’t make sense either.

In Valentina’s world, there was no kindness without a price. So instead of reaching out, she shook her head first.

“It’s not mine.”

“Isn’t it precious to Valentina?”

That’s right. The only remaining keepsake of Mother.

“No.”

But that’s exactly why she had to abandon it. Because she’d been caught treasuring it.

She didn’t have any price to pay Tiya right now.

So for now, she had to let it go.

After that, she needed to find out what Tiya wanted and prepare an appropriate price.

It was when Valentina deliberately looked away from Mother’s keepsake.

Tiya, who had been tilting her head, seemed to think of something and soon forcibly pressed the wooden box into her hands.

“Then I picked it up on the way. You take it.”

“What?”

“More importantly, let’s hurry back to the house! Everyone’s waiting!”

“W-wait a minute!”

Tiya suddenly changed the subject and grabbed Valentina’s hand arbitrarily, then began leading the way.

She tried to shake off Tiya’s hand, but her hands frozen from the cold wouldn’t move as intended.

Even while being half-dragged by Tiya, Valentina didn’t stop thinking.

What does she want?

And that power from just now, was it the power of spirits?

But I heard that girl hasn’t subdued any spirits yet.

As various questions piled up, Valentina’s gaze toward Tiya grew sharper.

‘This kid is hiding something.’

She realized it instinctively.

If only she could figure out what it was, she’d be able to grasp her weakness.

Fortunately, she had a guess. Her grip tightened on the wooden box.

Soon the two arrived at Vladijef Manor. Valentina immediately tried to hide her thorny expression and let go of Tiya’s hand.

However, Tiya neither released Valentina’s hand nor stopped walking.

“Not yet, not yet. We need to go to Lev oppa’s room.”

So she intends to receive compensation there for finding the keepsake.

With that thought, Valentina obediently followed behind Tiya.

Tiya, who was walking ahead, looked back at Valentina almost every five steps.

At first she thought it was to monitor whether she was following properly, but for that, her expression was… as if she was eagerly anticipating something.

“…?”

What on earth is she scheming?

Just as Valentina became even more suspicious of Tiya’s intentions, they arrived in front of Lev’s room.

Only then did Tiya release Valentina’s hand.

“Come on, go inside. Quickly.”

“…Me first?”

“Yes! Valentina goes first!”

Unable to hide her reluctance, Valentina opened Lev’s room door and stepped inside.

And-

“Welcome to Vladijef Manor, Miss Valentina!”

Paper flowers poured down over Valentina’s head.

Above Lev, who sat on the bed wearing a party hat askew with a sullen expression, hung a banner.

Around him were also gathered the employees whose faces Valentina had grown familiar with during her stay here.

Looking at the banner’s crude lettering and Tiya’s expectant face, she could tell that Tiya had prepared all of this.

Valentina asked dumbly without even thinking to compose her expression.

“This is what… you want from me?”

Tiya, who had been tilting her head in confusion at not understanding Valentina’s meaning, soon gave a thumbs up and winked.

“That’s right! What I want from Valentina is for Valentina to thoroughly enjoy the welcome party!”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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