Time Healer Ceres - Chapter 96

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

“Who… died?”
“Lord Tonio participated in the Black Forest Subjugation, but….”
She staggered.
“Nailia!”
Someone she had loved for over a decade.
When she was very young, she had cherished him as a friend, but somewhere along the way she had realized he had become something vast and precious to her.
So she had confessed her heart to him, and he had answered in kind.
But then….
He, who was merely a Knight Aspirant and not even a formal knight, suddenly insisted on participating in the Black Forest Subjugation.
Everyone had tried to dissuade him, but his resolve was unshakeable. He said he would surely accomplish great deeds there, that he must return and tell her something important….
And then, not long after, word reached her.
Tonio had lost his life in the Black Forest.
Crash.
The place she had gone to confirm his belongings.
“…Brother? What are you doing here?”
Prince Alaks was there.
“What are you burning right now! Stop it at once!”
Something was burning brightly in his hands—a letter.
“Brother!”
She immediately snatched the letter from his hands and extinguished the flames.
But the letter was already mostly consumed; scarcely a legible character remained.
「Nailia… love….」
Only then did she understand. It was the final letter Tonio had left for her.
How many tears did she shed looking at that letter, burned down to just a few surviving characters?
“Why… why on earth!”
“…….”
She could not begin to understand Alaks’s action in burning the letter.
She resented him, again and again. But she heard from him neither excuse nor explanation.
In the end, he departed the Capital once more without speaking a word to her.
All that remained was the charred fragment of the letter.
“…….”
Princess Nailia gazed at the blackened letter fragment tucked carefully within her book and released a long sigh.
‘When I return from the Subjugation, there is something I must tell you.’
This letter was surely what he had wanted to say.
Princess Nailia gently caressed the letter, of which only a few words survived.
“Princess Nailia!”
Just then, someone approached where she sat—it was Aria.
Seres could be seen following along with her.
“Were you looking at Lord Tonio’s letter again?”
“Yes….”
Watching her offer a bitter smile, Aria’s eyes too reddened with sorrow.
“Prince Alaks went too far. How could he burn the letter….”
Seeing Aria voice her own anguish on her behalf, Princess Nailia’s lips curved into a faint smile once more.
‘Prince Alaks burned it?’
Led by Aria’s hand to come here together, Seres turned her gaze to the letter Princess Nailia held upon hearing the name Alaks for the first time.
‘Hmm.’
It looked like a love letter….
She didn’t quite understand the circumstances, but it was somewhat unexpected.
Though she hadn’t known him for long and they weren’t particularly close, the Prince Alaks she had seen thus far did not strike her as someone who would meddle in another’s love affairs.
“That letter was surely Lord Tonio’s confession to you. It’s such a tragedy.”
“What can be done.”
Listening to Aria’s sniffles, Princess Nailia carefully touched the blackened letter fragment once more.
“Couldn’t you restore it?”
“Hm?”
“…Restore it?”
Both their gazes turned toward Seres at the same moment.
“Wouldn’t a Restoration Potion work?”
She had once seen Artia use that potion.
‘Grace! Look, look! This is the magical potion I developed!’
‘A Restoration Potion?’
‘You just apply this liquid like so, and in ten minutes, anything broken is completely fixed! Pretty neat, right? Grace, if you ever need it, just say the word—I’ll fix whatever’s broken!’
‘Why would Grace need that?’
‘Huh?’
‘Grace can fix things faster than you can. She just has to rewind time.’
‘Oh… right.’
After receiving that look of disdain from Kainel, she’d never shown that particular spell in front of him again—not once.
Though she knew well enough that Restoration Magic existed.
“Such magic exists?”
“Really, truly?”
…What was this reaction? Had that kind of magic ceased to exist in modern times?
“Let me ask again. Is what you just said actually true?”
She had the uneasy feeling she’d said something she shouldn’t have.
Princess Nailia’s normally unreadable face seemed to flush slightly with excitement—and that wasn’t her imagination.
‘But… this reaction is strange too.’
That much she understood—the way Princess Nailia’s eyes now burned with hope and longing as she gazed at her.
‘However.’
Aria, why do you look so anxious?
“Yes. I have that Restoration Potion.”
“……!”
The two women’s expressions diverged sharply once more.
Seres watched Aria with keen interest, noting how her anxiety had deepened even further.
* * *
Click.
The classroom was empty—everyone was out for their outdoor lesson.
A figure slipped quietly inside: Aria.
Her footsteps carefully muted, she made her way toward Princess Nailia’s seat.
‘Where is it?’
She began hastily rifling through the desk drawer and its surface, searching for something.
Soon she pulled out a book, a faint smile crossing her lips.
She flipped through the pages and found what she was looking for.
A charred scrap of letter.
“…….”
As Aria stared at the burnt fragment, irritation suddenly flared across her face.
She clicked her tongue sharply and reached for the scrap.
“What are you doing?”
“……!”
But then came a familiar voice from behind her.
Aria flinched and spun around.
“S-Seres.”
Seres stood with her arms crossed, watching her intently—though how long she’d been there was unclear.
“I asked what you’re doing.”
“Oh? Uh… I was just looking for something.”
“From someone else’s desk?”
“Well, it’s something I lent to Princess Nailia.”
“Hmm, so that letter is what you lent her?”
“No, no! This just fell on the floor, so I was picking it up.”
She quickly returned the letter scrap and book to their place, then approached Seres.
“I should ask her to return it later. Come on, let’s go.”
Offering a bright smile and casually linking her arm with Seres’s, she spoke as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Seres said nothing in return, only letting her gaze linger briefly on the book Aria had put down.
“By the way.”
Aria’s tone became cautious as she noticed Seres’s gaze still on the book.
“Can you really restore that letter?”
“Probably.”
“Where did you get that potion?”
“Someone gave it to me.”
“Who?”
Seres studied Aria as the questions came rapid-fire. And at once, a strikingly lovely smile bloomed across Aria’s face again.
“No, I’m just curious. Princess Nailia has such high hopes, you see… and if the restoration doesn’t work, she’ll be terribly disappointed.”
“That would be true.”
“Besides, he doesn’t like you much to begin with. Can’t you just tell him there’s no such drug? Say it was a lie.”
“At this point?”
“It’s better than failing and disappointing him. I’m so, so worried about you. Really!”
Aria’s eyes reddened as she clasped her hands tightly together, speaking with genuine concern.
Seres gently patted her shoulder.
“I’ll handle it.”
“Seres, listen to me. You’re going to regret this! Do you know how terrifying Nailia is?”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“You…….”
When Seres refused to give her the answer she wanted, Aria finally fell silent, her lips pressed together in frustration.
Seres turned and walked past her toward the classroom door.
“You’re going to regret it!”
Just then, a desperate cry echoed behind her.
‘Regret…….’
There was an urgency in that voice that made Seres smile faintly.
* * *
“Damn…….”
Slam!
Even after classes ended, someone continued to pace the Academy building, venting his frustrations however he could—and that someone was Fake.
He had challenged Seres on the first day, backed down in fear at a mere pen, and by now had become the butt of jokes among the other students.
“That bastard!”
Why had he acted that way back then? Had he really been frightened by something so trivial?
The more he thought about it, the more absurd it seemed.
Frightened! Frightened by someone like Seres Drow!
Slam!
Fake kicked the building wall again with all his strength, then let out a long breath.
He couldn’t go on living like this, disrespected by everyone…….
“Hm?”
It was then that someone caught his eye.
Sitting alone in an empty classroom, looking forlorn—it was Aria.

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