Time Healer Ceres - Chapter 61

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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As she read, her face began to contort with each passing moment. The document was one she knew all too well.
It was the Debt Document—proof of all the loans the original owner of this body had accumulated over the years.
“Why do you have this?”
“I bought it all.”
“What?”
Rather than wait for Kainel’s terse reply, Deil stepped forward.
“All debts owed by the Droue Marquis House have been transferred to His Highness Persha as of today.”
“…Why would you…?”
Seres stared at Kainel with a bewildered expression.
How was she supposed to make sense of this? Why would he pay off her debts?
“That’s what I’m wondering too.”
Watching Seres stand there dumbfounded, Kainel’s lips curved into a smile.
“So what are you going to do about it?”
“Repay the money.”
…….
Irritation flared hot in her chest, and Seres scrubbed her face roughly with her hand.
Had he lost his mind? What was this about?
“What? Don’t have it?”
Whoosh!
In a fluid motion, Seres seized Kainel by the collar.
There was no wasted movement in the gesture.
…….
…….
The two locked eyes in tense silence, and the onlookers swallowed hard, sensing a fight was about to break out at any moment.
Yet Kainel remained unmoved, as though he’d anticipated her reaction.
If anything, the faint smile playing at his lips deepened.
“Seres, what are you…!”
As Deil, his expression hardening, began to protest, Kainel raised a hand to stop him.
The way he tilted his chin—as if inviting her to try—caused Seres to drop the formal speech altogether.
“What’s your angle?”
It was too simple to assume the creditor had merely changed hands. Not when that creditor was Kainel Persha.
Seres knew him as well as he knew her—or rather, knew Grace Elsia.
‘He’s not the type to do something unprofitable.’
Kainel was, at his core, a noble.
A man for whom his house’s interests came first, always.
What felt like a breeze to one person could be a storm to another.
Grace and Kainel’s friendship had ended the day one of them died.
Seres did not forget that she and the Kainel standing before her were nothing but strangers to each other—complete strangers.
“So what’s the scheme? Why entangle a paltry marquis house like Droue with the Persha Grand Duke House? Planning a war? Need someone to take the arrows?”
“Sharp tongue.”
“If I’m not careful, I’ll end up a puppet, drowned alongside my siblings. Consider this my restraint.”
“Maybe I’m just offering goodwill with no ulterior motive.”
“You?”
Even Deil, whose expression had stiffened at her behavior, unconsciously nodded in agreement.
There was that….
Whether the people around him fidgeted or not, whether a mere marquis’s daughter spoke to him in the familiar register or not, Kainel maintained his composure.
“I’m not planning to harass you or use you as a shield. Just repay the money to me.”
“That’s not even an argument. I’m in no mood for jokes.”
“I’m not joking either.”
…….
Stop smiling. It doesn’t suit you—why do you keep doing it?
“If you don’t have money, you can work it off instead.”
“What?”
“Work.”
“What do you…”
“Read this over and sign, if you would. It won’t be unfavorable terms for you, I assure you.”
Seizing the moment, Deil slipped into the conversation and handed her a document. Another contract.
The most striking words were…….

“…An Employment Contract?”
“I told you. Pay with your body.”
Seres’s face flooded with bewilderment in an instant.
Side Story: Seres Droue
“Seres, what are you going to do? This isn’t the time to hesitate.”
“I… that is…”
“You weren’t thinking of stopping Yulia’s treatment, were you?”
She couldn’t breathe properly. The tighter her aunt’s grip tightened, the emptier her mind became.
“Don’t let her push you around like this!”
“I’m sorry… I’m so useless…”
“Don’t say things like that!”
Her sister’s rebuke was justified, of course.
But it was herself she despised — useless, powerless, a burden to them all.
‘Sister…’
Every time she thought of young Yulia leaving for the Sanitarium, breathing felt heavier still.
That child — I should be the one taking proper care of her.
I should be the one stepping in for our parents, being her strength.
“Seres!”
“Sister!”
She couldn’t breathe.
Debt Documents piling higher with each passing day.
No courage to resolve them.
What have I done?
Do I even have a place in this family?
Is there anything I can do at all?
“There’s… one thing.”
Something no one could interfere with.
The one way to break free from all of this.
And so I surrendered to impulse.
* * *
“…”
Where am I?
It’s dark.
An empty, pitch-black space.
Is this what death is supposed to feel like?
Did I fall into hell the moment I took my own life?
‘I thought it would be peaceful…’
I’d believed that escaping from everything would let me breathe freely at last — so why does breathing still feel this impossible?
Not even tears would come.
I have no right to think of those I’ve left behind, yet their faces keep surfacing — the children’s faces, again and again.
Will they still mourn me as sister, as mother?
I know how absurd it is to think this way after running away alone, unable to bear it all — and yet…
[Hello.]
“…!”
In that moment, someone approached me.
A young man who looked to be in his mid-twenties.
The white robes he wore left a striking impression.
A mage? The crest on those robes — that symbol meant he belonged to the Arcane Tower.
“Who are you?”
[My name is Artia. I’m the one who brought you here.]
“Are you… a god?”
The man let out a small laugh at my question.
[I’m merely a Soul Fragment.]
“A Soul Fragment?”
[A piece of my soul, placed within a spell I cast.]
…I couldn’t make sense of any of this.
So this man is the reason I’m in a place like this?
[Do you want to live again?]
“…What?”
[I’m asking if you want to live again.]
“…….”
I stared at the man in silence for a moment.
Do you want to live again?
Do I want to live again?
My siblings’ faces flashed through my mind, however briefly…….
No.
I shook my head vigorously.
I don’t want to go back there. I don’t want to return to that situation.
I know my choice was wrong, but even so, I have no regrets about it.
[Then, would it be all right if someone else used your body for a while?]
“What…….”
Someone else using it? What do you mean?
[The life you’ve abandoned — would it be all right if someone else lived it instead?]
…My life?
“Is that… possible?”
[It is. That’s why I’m here right now. I’m quite an extraordinary mage.]
…Magic.
“What about my siblings…….”
I know it’s ridiculous to worry about this at all.
How absurd it is to pretend to care about them now, after abandoning them.
But will this person who lives a new life in my body take good care of Antonien and Yulia?
What if that person were to harm them…….
[That one’s temperament can be difficult, but he’s soft when it comes to children.]
At my question, the man’s eyes grew distant for a moment, then he smiled warmly.
“Then… that’s enough for me.”
As long as he looks after my siblings well, nothing else matters.
Though there’s one more thing that troubles me.
“Our family situation is rather… wouldn’t he resent us?”
[Yeah. He probably will. You’re going to get cursed out pretty badly.]
“Really?”
The man, who had been chuckling softly, soon continued with a determined expression.
[But don’t worry. He’ll be able to endure any circumstances just fine.]
Who is this person?
What manner of person could inspire such unwavering trust in another?
[He’ll be coming soon.]
“Here?”
[Yes. But… are you good at crying?]
“Pardon?”
A mischievous smile played at the corners of the man’s mouth.
[When you see him, cry. Without fail — and make it as pitiful as possible.]
Cry? Why?
I do cry rather easily, I suppose…….
[Because he’s soft-hearted underneath. Just cry, won’t you.]
“Sob… ugh… sniff…….”
So I wept. Drawing upon every sorrowful memory I could muster.
“What’s wrong? Are you hurt somewhere?”
…Is this the person?
The woman who appeared before me, drawn as if by the sound of my weeping, just as the man had said.
“Please… help me… please help me.”
Now that I think of it, these were words I’d never spoken in my life.
There were times when I was exhausted, when I wanted to die, but I could never reach out to anyone.
Because no one would catch me if I fell.
“Please…….”
For the first time, I extended my hand. With all the longing in my heart.
“…….”
The woman, who had been watching me in silence for a long moment, slowly reached down and took my hand.
Thank you so much!
I’m truly grateful.
And…….
I’m sorry.

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